LtGen David Bellon and the 20th Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps, SgtMaj Carlos Ruiz – A Command Team Briefing to Alpha Company TBS Spring 2023

Moments in Leadership

‘The Enemy Doesn’t Care About Your Status’ - Upholding the Standard from the Front to Push Subordinates Forward.

This episode is a unique and extremely rare look into what mentorship in the Marine Corps looks like and how Marines address each other and the issues facing the Marine Corps; head on. Lt Gen Bellon and SgtMaj Ruiz are the Command Element for both Marine Forces Reserve and Marine Forces Southern Command. Lt Gen Bellon is an active and violent supporter of engagement via social media and driving innovation in the Marine Corps.

This episode, taped during a leadership mentor session to a company of graduating Lieutenants at The Basic School (TBS), is filled with great "Moments in Leadership" applicable both to the new Lieutenants in the audience and leaders of all stripes.

Discussed is the ‘uncommon desire to serve’ inherent within Marines, officers, and enlisted, being the bedrock of what makes the Marine Corps the organization it is today and serves as the great leveler within the Marine Corps. The newly announced 20th Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps discusses how standards, and the rigid adherence to those standards, serve as the bare minimum, and leaders need to drive to keep themselves and their subordinates to the utmost of those standards, to include something as innocuous as a formation for a subordinate.

One of the most critical aspects of being a leader is the human component of it, namely the leader and their subordinates are both humans, with basic human wants and needs, like companionship. LtGen Bellon says one of the major initial pitfalls is currying favor with subordinates. Standards are how Marine officers fulfill their responsibility to those they lead. Dropping those standards is beneath those Marines a leader is charged with.

Understanding and enforcing standards goes hand in hand with gaining the trust of those being led. The ability to do the hard tasks creates teams and organizations capable of being self-feeding and self-evolving organisms that can succeed despite losing people or changing missions. Creating an organization that can execute mission intent without being told is the ultimate goal of leaders, both officer and enlisted. Creating this trust in subordinates and leaders is gained through competence in both leader and leaders, which has the added benefit of granting high morale within a unit.

One of the more unique aspects of this episode is the chance to hear the concerns of the newest generation of Marine Corps leaders and the thoughts of some of the most senior leaders on those issues. Topics discussed include Force Design 2030, Talent Management, mentorship and self-education, and Reserve timing/manning issues.

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Relevant Resources & Other Mentioned Episodes:

Moments In Leadership Supercast Support:

Listen to Ep 15: LtGen Karsten S. Heckl, USMC - Addressing Force Design 2030, Death in Aviator/Combat Training, and Risk Assessment https://bit.ly/3ckkm5K

Listen to Ep 11: LtGen David G. Bellon – Commander MARFORRES, "I almost didn't accept my commission" https://bit.ly/3A45RwL

Listen to Ep 22: 1stSgt Shamus Flynn, USMC – From Motor T Mechanic to MARSOC – What Emerging Leaders Need to Know About Setting the Example, Admin, and Awards http://bit.ly/3Z2UjDj

Listen to Ep 21: The Hotwash – A Leadership Panel of Six Officers Discuss their Opinions of the Past Episodes http://bit.ly/3xzTkPn

What is Moments in Leadership?

Moments in Leadership is a podcast where you will hear firsthand about the careers of senior military leaders as they share their unique and individual experiences. Moments in Leadership will immerse you in real-life stories where you will learn about the challenging situations these accomplished leaders faced and discover the lessons they learned early in their careers that were the most influential in developing their overall leadership style.

Conceptualized by a group of friends who served together as young officers in the early to mid-1990s sitting around a firepit telling funny leadership stories, Moments in Leadership is designed to provide some relatable context to the formal leadership training leaders of all ranks and services receive throughout their military careers through the power of storytelling.

Why Should You Support this project?

I realize all of the leaders who listen to the episodes are at different levels of life, and my goal is to be able to have this project remain free and available to anyone who wants it and your donations help go towards that. Your donations go towards offsetting my costs of producing high-quality episodes. Additionally, since this is a part-time hobby project for me, I'm forced to outsource a good deal of work to others to maintain a regular publishing schedule. Your donations help offset these costs as well.

Check out my Supercast site and see if any level is a good fit for helping: https://bit.ly/3C8g7Ua

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Visit our website: https://bit.ly/3SA2XHe

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Other Podcasts Interviews with David B. Armstrong

Scuttlebutt Podcast EP 38: https://apple.co/3py1Wly

Former Action Guys Podcast EP 161: https://apple.co/3d1GVN0

Former Action Guys Podcast EP 141 https://apple.co/3Ppz4GU

Former Action Guys Podcast EP 60 https://apple.co/3Pi128c

Former Action Guys Podcast EP 54 https://apple.co/3Pi128c

About the Host:

David B. Armstrong, CFA, is President and Co-Founder of Monument Wealth Management, an independent wealth management firm he started in 2008 in Alexandria, Va. David received his BA from the University of South Carolina in Government & International Relations and his MBA at the University of South Carolina's Moore School of Business in International Finance. He was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant through the Navy ROTC program and served on Active Duty in the Marine Corps from 1990-1997 as an Artillery Officer and then received a secondary MOS as a Tank Officer. He re-entered the Selected Marine Corps Reserves in 2003 a...