| Most new Army National Guard Second Lieutenants | | | | and train the OCS Candidates and perform tasks to |
| serve as Platoon Leaders. In this capacity, they | | | | assists the cadre. |
| manage 20-50 Soldiers and NCOs. Their primary | | | | In some units, new Lieutenants serve as Staff |
| responsibility is to conduct mission planning. They also | | | | Officers. Depending on their Basic Branch and available |
| establish priorities, handle discipline issues, | | | | positions within the unit, a 2LT could serve as an |
| administration issues, and oversee the operational | | | | Assistant Battalion S3 Officer, S6 Officer, or |
| readiness of their platoon. | | | | Assistant S1/S4 Officer. |
| Next, Second Lieutenants can also serve as an | | | | The key point to remember is that a Second |
| Aide-de-Camp for a General Officer. In this position, | | | | Lieutenant position is an entry-level management |
| they work with a Brigadier General or Major General | | | | position. In this capacity, Second Lieutenants are |
| as their assistant. They process paperwork, schedule | | | | expected to take responsibility and act like a leader, |
| events, coordinate with outside agencies, run errands, | | | | even though they don't have the experience or |
| and perform routine tasks to help simplify their | | | | maturity yet. It's one of the reasons new Army |
| General's day-to-day activities. | | | | Second Lieutenants "grow up fast." |
| 2LTs can also serve as Instructors. In many OCS | | | | Most new Army Officers are given much more |
| units, a new 2LT will also serve as an Instructor or | | | | responsibility than their civilian counterparts. Where |
| TAC Officer. They work closely with the senior staff | | | | else can a 22-25 year old recent college graduate get |
| and Officer Candidates. They teach, coach, mentor | | | | a supervisory job with that much responsibility? |