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As the senior enlisted personnel on the staff, the Sergeant Major (SGM) can make recommendations to the Executive Officer (XO) on who needs to operate inside the command post (CP).  The CP enables the commander to control operations and allow the staff to exercise mission command (Department of the Army, 2014).  The SGM should recommend that all staff elements in the organization work inside the CP.  With each staff element, operating at their stations allows the SGM to see any gaps when running twenty-four-hour operations.  With everyone in the CP also enables the staff to work on battle drills and practice the next person up drills.  Depending on the CP's layout, the SGM may need to adjust sections with the approval of the XO or commander.  If the organization has a standard operation procedure (SOP) for CP operations, this is a good time to validate the SOP or update it based on new equipment fielding.  "Adhering to the SOP minimizes confusion, misunderstanding, and hesitation as commanders make frequent and rapid decisions to meet the continuous nature of operational requirements" (Department of the Army, 2017, P. 3-1).  The SGM can ensure each staff element has the necessary equipment to communicate to their higher and lower counterparts.  Having every staff section in the CP allows leaders to train new members in the organization on that specific equipment, and they can cross train in case of casualties or manning constraints.  Some of the equipment that is mission essential in a Field Artillery CP would include Advanced Field Artillery Tactical Data System (AFATDS), Single Channel Ground and Airborne Radio System (SINCGARS),  and command post of the future (CPOF), to name a few.  The AFATDS allow for a digital fire mission if the organization loses the ability to send over the SINCGARS.  The CPOF can display a common operation picture (COP) to the command and show all enemy and friendly locations.  Each element has a responsibility to track digitally and analog in a CP.  The S1/G1 responsibility is to account for personnel while the S2/G2 maintains an enemy COP.  The S4/G4 works with the Fires element to keep track of round expenditure and equipment status. Lastly, the SGM ensures that everyone in the CP uses the correct doctrine terms and most current publications.

Reference:

Department of the Army (2014). Commander and Staff Organization and Operations (FM 6-0). Retrieved from https://www.armypubs.army.mil

Department of the Army (2017b). Command Post Organization and Operations (ATP 6-0.5). Retrieved from https://www.armypubs.army.mil