Soldiers sit in the shade to escape the hot sun under the Polish pine trees as they wait their turn to complete the squad live-fire exercise. The evaluated exercise consists of navigating through the woods towards an objective under the direction of their squad leader.

In the U.S. Army, a squad leader is a noncommissioned officer who leads a squad of typically 7-10 soldiers broken down into two fire teams.

The Army utilizes a chain of command to attain command and control of the ongoing mission. A chain of command is a line of authority that consists of senior leaders and junior Soldiers with various leadership roles. Squad leaders are one of these key roles and are part of this chain of command. As such, they follow the orders of their superiors and direct their subordinates. Squad leaders possess a wide variety of leadership traits that help them excel in overseeing a squad. They have a passion for their profession, are role models on and off duty, and have the depth of character to be firm but fair.

“The role of a squad leader is vitally important in the career of an NCO. As a Soldier and team leader, you are expected to be a doer and be hands-on. As a squad leader, the NCO takes a step up and has to plan and lead and trust their team leaders to accomplish the tasks given,” said U.S. Army Capt. Evan Kraemer, commander of Chaos Company, 1st Battalion, 68th Armor Regiment, 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division. “Squad leaders control the fight on the ground at its most pivotal and deadly points. Good squad leaders save lives in combat and inspire Soldiers to be better in garrison. I am lucky to have some of the best squad leaders I have ever seen working in Chaos Company.”



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