Supervisor Orientation
Permission culture, the four supervisor questions, the apprentice problem — in 30 minutes (or 2 hr joint).
Bring with youDone before you walk in
- One Marine in your section in mind who has already used AI for a real task — you’ll think about how you reviewed (or didn’t review) their work.
- One developmental task you currently delegate — counseling, OPORD drafting, awards write-ups. We’ll test it against the apprentice problem.
- Awareness of your own AI posture. Have you said yes? have you said no? have you said nothing? Be honest with yourself before Module 2.
- If joint session: sit next to your builder. The exercises are paired discussion — you ask, they answer.
- 30 minutes uninterrupted. Phone face-down. This is your one block to set the section’s posture.
Key termsThe vocabulary you’ll hear today
- Permission cultureYour section knows what they’re allowed to try with AI — and that you will say yes, with appropriate review when they ask.
- Guard rails, not roadblocksClear boundaries (no PII, no CUI on commercial tools) instead of blanket bans or per-interaction approvals.
- The four supervisor questionsCan you verify the source? · What did you give the AI as input? · Who reviewed for accuracy? · What’s the update path?
- The apprentice problemWhen AI does the developmental work for a junior Marine, the junior never builds the skill. Routine vs developmental requires a different default.
- SITREP itemAI adoption is no longer side-of-desk — it goes on the standard report alongside readiness, training, and admin.
- The four don’tsDon’t ban it · don’t gate every interaction · don’t assume it’s wrong · don’t skip review for senior Marines.
Exercises in classThree short scenarios — what you’d ask first
Exercise A · AI-generated leave policy summary. A Marine hands you a one-page leave policy summary citing MCO P1050.3K. They generated it with ChatGPT and want to distribute it to the section. Your move: name the four questions you’d ask before saying yes. Done: you can ask can you verify the citation, what was your input, who reviewed for accuracy, and what’s the update path — in any order.
Exercise B · Automated reporting tool. A Marine built a Python script that turns 90 minutes of weekly reporting into 30 seconds. They want approval for official use. The trap: the time savings are seductive. Your move: demand a live demo with real data, ask what happens when input is malformed, require peer + security review, and define the ongoing accuracy check. Done: you do not say “approved” in the first sentence.
Exercise C (joint) · Spot the apprentice risk. A new SgtSec NCO uses AI to draft three counseling statements in five minutes. They’re technically correct. The supervisor signs them without comment. Discussion: what was lost — for the NCO, for the Marines being counseled, for the section? What does a permission-culture supervisor do instead? Done: you can name one developmental task in your section that AI is currently doing instead of being a teaching tool.
If joint session, paired: in each exercise, you (supervisor) ask the four questions; your builder partner answers honestly. The lesson is in the gaps.
Anchor phraseThe structure exists. Your people have the motivation. Your job is to give the permission.What you’ll be able to doBy the end of the session
- Run the four supervisor questions on any AI-assisted product before you sign or distribute it.
- Tell a routine task from a developmental one — and pick the right AI default for each.
- Avoid the four don’ts — ban, gate, dismiss, exempt seniors.
- Set guard rails (data, review, scope) without becoming the bottleneck on every prompt.
- Treat AI adoption as a SITREP item, not a side project.
HomeworkOne ask. One week. Don’t over-engineer it.
- Within the next week, ask one person in your section what they’d build if they had permission. Listen to the answer. Then say yes, with appropriate review.
- Pick one developmental task currently being AI-drafted in your section and rebalance it — AI for format and structure, the Marine for the judgment paragraphs.
- Add “AI adoption” to your next SITREP. One line: who’s using what, for what, and one thing you saw work or fail this week.
- Read the Executive Brief and the Course 5 page if you skipped them — share the brief upward when asked.
- Joint session attendees: name the builder you’ll back this quarter, out loud, before you leave the room.