It was early, the grass had not even shaken its morning coat of dew. The only sound were the rhythmic thumping of boots and the militaristic calling of cadence as the battalion marched onwards to our next mission.

It was all still a bit surreal, I had been chosen that very morning to be a platoon sergeant, and I was expected to do a job that I had never been prepared for. I was charged with leading my platoon of ten other cadets through the incredibly challenging obstacles that were the Gauntlet. “How am I supposed to do this?” I kept thinking to myself. After all it was only my second year down at Harlingen, the leadership camp that is supposed to train cadets for the actual military. I was completely overwhelmed.

When we finally reach the gauntlet I feel a crushing sense of panic and fear. It is going to be a long day as we wait our turn as the platoons ahead of us go one by one through the course. My panic increases and I start to sweat as I watch platoon after platoon rush forward only to fail and be sent to the back of the line. However just before we are sent out to run the course, I notice a pattern in the way the platoons attempt the course. They are all just rushing forward, there is no order it is just everyman for himself.

I know this is wrong because the commander has been stressing teamwork for the last three days. So I bring my platoon into a huddle and lay out a battle plan for getting through the course. We will have our strongest in the front so they can help the smaller cadets over the obstacles. After five minutes we are done with the course, the first platoon to do so that day.

Through this experience I learned that just leading a team through something isn’t really accomplishing anything. You must use every ones specific skill sets and traits in order to effectively work as a team.