Military Matters

Construction
Daenner/KAD traffic circle construction
The City of Kaiserslautern will start construction of a traffic circle between Daenner Kaserne and Kaiserslautern Army Depot on April 6. This construction will be done in two phases and will last approximately six months. The detour plan of Phase I is on U.S. Army Garrison Kaiserslautern’s Web site at www.kaiserslautern.army.mil. Phase II detour plans have not yet been finalized.

1st Sergeants’ Corner
Followership
Often times, personnel are so preoccupied with being the leader they forget how important it is to be a good follower. All great leaders started out as great followers. The PDG spends a significant amount of time on both leadership and followership. The following PDG excerpt discusses the 10 essential points to good followership. Although not all inclusive, it is a good guideline to follow:

1. Organizational understanding: Effective followers must be able to see how their work contributes to the organization’s big picture.

2. Decision-making: Followers must be able to make sound decisions using a team approach.

3. Communication skills: Followers must have effective communication skills.

4. Commitment: Being able to successfully contribute to the organization while also striving to achieve personal goals, requires a strong level of follower commitment.

5. Problem solving: A broader scope of responsibility to help identify and resolve work center problems requires followers to share their knowledge, skills and experience.

6. Integrity: Followers must demonstrate loyalty and a willingness to act according to accepted beliefs.

7. Adaptability: Ever changing roles, missions and systems require followers to be able to adapt to change without being paralyzed by the stress of not knowing all the answers.

8. Self-employment: Followers must take responsibility for their own careers, actions and development.

9. Courage: Followers must have the confidence and guts to do and say the right things at the right times.

10. Credibility: By demonstrating competency in their words and deeds, followers earn trust and an honorable reputation.