A 2LT with an idea can be squashed at any level (my first platoon SGT did that to me several times when i was a new butter bar), but a Company Commander (or God forbid a Battalion CO) with an idea? That's the stuff that nightmares are made of!
When I was a company XO, no good
ever came out of hearing from the next office door, "Hey, LT, come in here, i got an idea...!"
But an LT with a map isn't nearly as bad as one
without one. I was sent out to run a convoy serial to a FTX location one without any map, the Batt CO made up the route the day before we went to the field and we weren't allowed any leader's recon beforehand. I'd never been there before and the tank trail did not go right up to it, like we were told it would. I got us all pretty badly lost, thankfully the only time I ever did that, but it really ticked me off that all my soldiers just assumed I was being the 'dumb LT' model instead of having been really set up for failure...
Then, there are the maps that miss a lot of key info. I was running a logistic exercise way out in the field once and my driver and I decided to go check out a nearby river (yes, he had a say in things like that, he could be totally blunt to me in private without fear of retribution and knew not to do that around others). The map said there was just an open field. Turns out, it was an impact field and we were in the middle of it before either of us noticed!
Thankfully none appeared to be HE rounds and we were able to back out of it. Even range control agreed the map didn't mention this and I let into them for having no signs up as there was a dirt road going right through there...
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