A Marine captain lists 10 things he wishes he knew before commanding a company

Capt.
Lucas Balke writes in the September issue of the Marine Corps Gazette that there are 10
things he wishes someone had told him when he was a lieutenant. (I really like "what
I've learned" articles, and I also am happy to highlight this article because
I've been hard on the poor old Gazette in recent years.) Here they are:

Plan
now to command a company.




Start
collecting PME items.




Read
10 pages a day.




Become
an expert regarding one battle.




Start
constructing your "perfect" field exercise.




Enable
your Marines to be self-sufficient.




Prepare
your Marines to be dismounted
infantrymen.




Trust
your NCOs.




Be
prepared to fight tomorrow's counterinsurgency.




Learn
to train for free.

Tom
again: What do you wish you'd known before taking your current position?