Welcome to the Platoon Leader Forum!!

Welcome to your professional forum. PL connects leaders in the experience to leaders with the experience, and enables future platoon leaders to prepare to lead more effectively. By joining PL, you are choosing to participate in a voluntary community of professionals who love leading Soldiers and who are committed to building and leading combat-effective platoons!



We just developed a "Hip pocket" digital LPD to support leader development programs at the company level. The Company Commander Leader Professional Development (CCLPD) package is a ready to go, mobile friendly LPD that can be executed anywhere providing the user has a smartphone or tablet, and has wifi access or a data plan.We provide content for discussion that includes a short video, related article and some recommended questions for discussion. This is designed for mobile platforms, though it can be used on a regular computer.

You can use CCLPDs for you or your unit by visiting the CCLPD webpage here.

The documents and conversations in this space are almost entirely by and for us. PlatoonLeader is more than just a resource for platoon leaders; its value comes from platoon leaders connecting with each other and sharing their experiences and hard-earned knowledge. We invite each of you to participate as your time and experiences allow.

Professionalism is our watchword. We speak candidly, but always with respect for each other and our commission. We tackle our leadership challenges with a positive voice, focused solely on building and leading combat-ready teams. We welcome multiple, diverse perspectives on how we can achieve this common purpose. We seek to bring to bear the knowledge, experiences, and character of each experienced platoon leader to serve all current and future generations of platoon leaders.

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In order to join the Platoon Leader Forum, you must be a registered user of milSuite. If you are already a member of milSuite, click the JOIN PL button. If you are not registered on milSuite, register by clicking the REGISTER ON MILSUITE button, complete the registration process, then come back here and press the JOIN PL button.

           

Platoon Leader Products

There are many products within PL. This is not a complete listing but it should give you a good idea of what is contained with the PL Forum.

Platoon Leader Topics

There are many Topics (areas of discussion) within PL. Each of them is focused on a specific area.

Below is a list of the topics within PL. This is not a complete listing but should give you a good idea of what is contained with the PL Forum.

Leader Challenge

Leader Challenges are video-based vignettes focused on the most challenging experiences that junior officers are facing.

There are three steps to a Leader Challenge

  1. What would you do? What are your considerations? -- Watch the video clip and answer those two questions...in no more than 500 characters.
  2. Compare your response with others: Read the responses, vote them helpful and/or comment on the responses from other members.
  3. Rest of the Story: Watch the "Rest of the Story" video clip in which the protagonist describes what actually happened. You can also access additional resources such as related videos, articles, doctrine, etc.

NOTE: You MUST be a member of the PL or CC Forum in order to access the Leader Challenge Forum

Visit the Leader Challenge Forum here

Leader Cast

A Leadercast is a 3-5 minute video interview with a company-level leader who shares their story which is based on their leadership experiences in various situations in garrison, training centers, or in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan.

There are currently more than 1500 Leadercasts that will help set you off on a learning path as you watch an Army Officer sharing their experiences. Some of the searchable topics include:

NOTE: You MUST be a member of the PL or CC Forum in order to access the Leadercast Forum

Visit the Leadercast Forum here

BOLC Forum

Welcome OBC Students, OCS Candidates, ROTC and West Point Cadets
This Forum is focused on you.

If you are getting ready to head off to BOLC, you definitely want to check this place out. Here are some of the resources you can find in the BOLC to Unit area:

Read2Lead Forum

THE reading list for company-level leaders. Read2Lead is member driven and is focused on books that have actually made a difference for us during our time as platoon leaders and/or company commanders. There are currently over 95 books recommended by members.

NOTE: You MUST be a member of the PL or CC Forum in order to access the Read2Lead Forum

Visit the Read2Lead Forum here

From the Blog

The Platoon Leader online professional forum is the place where past, present, and future platoon leaders voluntarily come together to improve the practice of platoon-level leadership in the Army.

Past platoon leaders: post tools you used as a PL (e.g., trackers, memos, training plans); answer questions; mentor the current generation of platoon leaders; complete a Platoon Leader Interview to capture and share your experiences and lessons learned.

Present platoon leaders: ask questions and download files to save time and avoid having to “re-create the wheel”; share what you are doing and learning; connect with your peers.

Future platoon leaders: read, listen, learn, and connect with those who have gone before you. Your day leading Soldiers may arrive sooner than you expect—be ready!

The Platoon Leader forum is BY and FOR platoon leaders.
A small support team
The PL Team
Keith Archibald Wade Cady
Mark Gnodle Hannah He
Tim Hilke Trevor Kenney
Pete Kilner Micah Klein
Joyce Louden Patrick Moore
Tom Morel Chad Plenge Cris Radulescu
Chris Salerno Michael Shepard
Jon Silk Chris Steimel
Phil Stofanak Ben Weakley Brock Young


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of Army officers (current and past PLs) has the privilege of doing the behind-the-scenes work that makes the forum possible, but it’s EVERY MEMBER’S participation and contributions that make the forum valuable.

Founded in 2001, the forum has gone through many software and server changes (platoonleader.org; platoonleader.army.mil on php, then on COTS, then on MilSpace, now on milSuite), but its vision, values, and operating principles have remained unchanged.

Earlier this year, your support team launched a non-CAC version of the PL forum (https://platoonleader.net), so we all can connect with each other even when we’re not at CAC-enabled devices. We invite all members to join both versions (.army.mil and .net)

If you’re an XO or CO, we invite you to join our sister forum, the Company Command forum, at http://cc.army.mil/ See you in the forum!