Brent Stout
There are about seventy-five “additional” duties required of all US Army companies. Company commanders must assign two or more junior leaders to each duty, requiring each assigned individual to attend schools, conduct online training, receive regular inspections, and create and maintain continuity binders and knowledge management systems. Each additional duty pulls squad leaders away from their squads and platoon leaders away from their platoons. Key leaders at the company level are stuck behind computers for most of their workdays and on many of their off days just trying to keep up. Unsurprisingly, companies struggle to find the time and personnel resources to shoulder this administrative and clerical burden while also accomplishing their top priority: warfighting.
Unit armorer, master driver, equal opportunity leader, and sexual harassment and assault victim advocate—these are a few of the commonly known duties required of all companies across the Army. On top of these, there is an array of others— like communications security custodian, government purchase card holder, unit movement officer, and hazardous material endorsement officer—that require extended specialized training, often held at the corps or installation levels. It is not uncommon for the process to train and certify a government purchase card holder or communications security custodian to last anywhere from six to twelve months, which can put companies and even battalions in an operational bind, forcing them to rely on adjacent units or find ways to make do until they have their own personnel trained and certified in these critical roles.
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