thedrifter
06-22-05, 08:57 AM
June 27, 2005
Top recon leader credits trust for team’s success
By Gidget Fuentes
Times staff writer
CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. — Sgt. Sage L. Goyda shrugs off any extra attention and downplays the actions in Iraq that recently earned him a top honor from the 1st Recon Battalion Association.
He deflects the attention to the men he leads, saying, “I didn’t work alone, by any means. If it wasn’t for … the guy on my right and a guy on my left, who knows what I would have done?”
Yet it’s exactly that attitude — and the actions behind it — that led the association to name Goyda as Team Leader of the Year.
The award, one of the most prestigious honors given in the reconnaissance community, is as much a tribute to the five men he led into combat in Iraq last year, Goyda said.
“Leadership is a lot about responsibility, leading from the front, being strong,” said Goyda, 27, who grew up in Ford City, Pa., a town of 3,300 northeast of Pittsburgh. “They are all strong, no matter what task I give them. I don’t have to worry [about] it not getting done. I can depend on every guy in my team.”
Each member of the six-man team wears a collection of combat decorations, including Navy and Marine Corps Commendation and Navy and Marine Corps Achievement medals with combat “V” devices. Two of his men received combat promotions.
“The accomplishments of his men speak highly of the way they were led,” states the citation for a Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal that Goyda received along with the team leader award in mid-May.
Goyda, who received the Bronze Star for his combat heroics during a vehicle patrol, was key to the success of more than 70 combat patrols and other operations in Iraq. But he said he’s most proud of the missions he didn’t go on, such as several counterambush patrols his men handled.
“They would go out and conduct themselves the way they should, without me being present,” he said. “I didn’t have to baby-sit them or have to worry, ‘Are they going to do the right thing?’”
What makes a good leader?
That’s due in part to the way he trained and led his team.
“You put a great deal of responsibility in that [noncommissioned officer],” said retired Lt. Col. Charles W. Kershaw, who commanded 1st Reconnaissance Battalion from 1989 to 1991 and is now president of the association. In Iraq, “you really have to rely on the NCOs. That’s why there’s a greater premium on someone like Sergeant Goyda.”
Team leadership has an integral role in the success of recon units, Kershaw said.
“It really does require a young Marine with a great deal of dedication, intelligence, endurance and a feel for technology today,” he said.
It was Goyda’s first time leading a team when he deployed to Iraq last year. Although his team included three men who, like him, were combat veterans of the March 2003 invasion of Iraq, it also had two junior Marines fresh out of the School of Infantry.
Their training “was fast and hard,” he recalled. “We all chipped in. It was very intensive. We were constantly giving them classes and PT. Their learning curve is very steep. It had to be. We didn’t have a choice.”
The six-man teams of a recon unit don’t mirror the basic fire team that’s the backbone of Marine infantry. But nowhere do the basics of teamwork exist more simply and clearly than in a recon unit.
A team leader’s job, Goyda said, is to help build the team, to watch and supervise “until they get on their feet, and then you kind of ease off of them a little bit.” The leader helps set the bar and gives his team members the basic tools they need to do the job, he said.
So what qualities does the recon Team Leader of the Year look for in a team leader? To Goyda, it’s the same set of expectations he has for himself and the members of his team.
• Aggressiveness. “That’s the big thing,” Goyda said, “not being afraid to get the job done.” Being hungry to take on more responsibilities and challenges is a hallmark of a good team leader.
• Independence. The emphasis on small teams in the reconnaissance community, where NCO-led units may be operating far from company or battalion commanders, requires a leader who can decide and act on his own. And the leader and team members alike must be confident in orders and their own actions.
• Fitness. Recon team members must be physically fit. What’s more, the time and effort required to keep fit also helps maintain basic discipline in other areas.
• Field savvy. Basic infantry skills and field-craft are critical. A good team leader must be smart, resourceful and up-to-date on combat issues and weaponry — and be able to shape more junior members into seasoned operators cross-trained in every role.
Good team leaders, Goyda said, are effective managers of people and of time.
“A lot of it is having trust in the other guys,” he said. “You just have to be ready all of the time. Any time, we could get called in to do whatever.”
Ellie
Top recon leader credits trust for team’s success
By Gidget Fuentes
Times staff writer
CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. — Sgt. Sage L. Goyda shrugs off any extra attention and downplays the actions in Iraq that recently earned him a top honor from the 1st Recon Battalion Association.
He deflects the attention to the men he leads, saying, “I didn’t work alone, by any means. If it wasn’t for … the guy on my right and a guy on my left, who knows what I would have done?”
Yet it’s exactly that attitude — and the actions behind it — that led the association to name Goyda as Team Leader of the Year.
The award, one of the most prestigious honors given in the reconnaissance community, is as much a tribute to the five men he led into combat in Iraq last year, Goyda said.
“Leadership is a lot about responsibility, leading from the front, being strong,” said Goyda, 27, who grew up in Ford City, Pa., a town of 3,300 northeast of Pittsburgh. “They are all strong, no matter what task I give them. I don’t have to worry [about] it not getting done. I can depend on every guy in my team.”
Each member of the six-man team wears a collection of combat decorations, including Navy and Marine Corps Commendation and Navy and Marine Corps Achievement medals with combat “V” devices. Two of his men received combat promotions.
“The accomplishments of his men speak highly of the way they were led,” states the citation for a Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal that Goyda received along with the team leader award in mid-May.
Goyda, who received the Bronze Star for his combat heroics during a vehicle patrol, was key to the success of more than 70 combat patrols and other operations in Iraq. But he said he’s most proud of the missions he didn’t go on, such as several counterambush patrols his men handled.
“They would go out and conduct themselves the way they should, without me being present,” he said. “I didn’t have to baby-sit them or have to worry, ‘Are they going to do the right thing?’”
What makes a good leader?
That’s due in part to the way he trained and led his team.
“You put a great deal of responsibility in that [noncommissioned officer],” said retired Lt. Col. Charles W. Kershaw, who commanded 1st Reconnaissance Battalion from 1989 to 1991 and is now president of the association. In Iraq, “you really have to rely on the NCOs. That’s why there’s a greater premium on someone like Sergeant Goyda.”
Team leadership has an integral role in the success of recon units, Kershaw said.
“It really does require a young Marine with a great deal of dedication, intelligence, endurance and a feel for technology today,” he said.
It was Goyda’s first time leading a team when he deployed to Iraq last year. Although his team included three men who, like him, were combat veterans of the March 2003 invasion of Iraq, it also had two junior Marines fresh out of the School of Infantry.
Their training “was fast and hard,” he recalled. “We all chipped in. It was very intensive. We were constantly giving them classes and PT. Their learning curve is very steep. It had to be. We didn’t have a choice.”
The six-man teams of a recon unit don’t mirror the basic fire team that’s the backbone of Marine infantry. But nowhere do the basics of teamwork exist more simply and clearly than in a recon unit.
A team leader’s job, Goyda said, is to help build the team, to watch and supervise “until they get on their feet, and then you kind of ease off of them a little bit.” The leader helps set the bar and gives his team members the basic tools they need to do the job, he said.
So what qualities does the recon Team Leader of the Year look for in a team leader? To Goyda, it’s the same set of expectations he has for himself and the members of his team.
• Aggressiveness. “That’s the big thing,” Goyda said, “not being afraid to get the job done.” Being hungry to take on more responsibilities and challenges is a hallmark of a good team leader.
• Independence. The emphasis on small teams in the reconnaissance community, where NCO-led units may be operating far from company or battalion commanders, requires a leader who can decide and act on his own. And the leader and team members alike must be confident in orders and their own actions.
• Fitness. Recon team members must be physically fit. What’s more, the time and effort required to keep fit also helps maintain basic discipline in other areas.
• Field savvy. Basic infantry skills and field-craft are critical. A good team leader must be smart, resourceful and up-to-date on combat issues and weaponry — and be able to shape more junior members into seasoned operators cross-trained in every role.
Good team leaders, Goyda said, are effective managers of people and of time.
“A lot of it is having trust in the other guys,” he said. “You just have to be ready all of the time. Any time, we could get called in to do whatever.”
Ellie