First Weekend as First Sergeant

Got back late last night from the first reenacting event of the season at Knight's Ferry.  Our "camp mom" Judy took some shots with my camera which I'll post "at some point."

Being the senior non-commissioned officer in a unit is a totally different experience from being a private.  Frankly, I don't think I could have handled the job before becoming a father.  Fatherhood has taught me that something can be a chore and fun at the same time, and that's what most of the weekend was for me.  I got very little time to relax until after the sun set; I spent all day doing paperwork, delegating duties, talking with command, reminding people to drink water, and dealing with their health problems when they failed to drink water.

I had a medic call on one of my men, which I'm ashamed of.  In my defense, there were ten medic calls that weekend, something I've never seen in my 18 years of reenacting.  The weather was both surprisingly cold and surprisingly hot and caught a lot of people off guard.  And this kid was new to our unit, having previously served in a much less strenuous unit.  He's also young, very fair-skinned, and doesn't have much physical stamina.  I probably told him to drink water dozens of times and he failed to do so.

Still, it's my fault.  When I'm the senior noncom, safety is my responsibility.  And if my men are not following my orders, that's my problem.  I feel that by allowing someone to have a health problem, I let down my unit.  The good news is I did a lot better on Sunday and I will do my best to make sure it never happens again.

Other than that, it was a fantastic weekend.  I generally did a good job of maintaining authority and kept morale high.  Another unit fell in with us (the 79th New York volunteers) and I had a great rapport with them as well.  I knew the manual of arms pretty well and generally maintained a level head on the battlefield.  Our commanding officer stepped back several times and let me take command of the unit and I generally did well.  (One exception: I got a flustered on the last battle and accidentally ordered my men to turn their backs on the enemy.  Oops.)  I also had a good historical impression; the men particularly enjoyed my verbal abuse during battle (using 1860's swear words).  I also got to see many friends that I hadn't seen in a long time.  My unit also had a fantastic turnout at a time when other units are struggling to survive.

Being First Sergeant is a lot of work and I came back from the weekend worn out and with no voice left.  But just like fatherhood, sometimes the things that take the most work are the most enjoyable.

J<

(Still, why can't I be First Sergeant of Lying on the Beach?)