Army officer, in charge of a platoon that will deploy to Afghanistan in late spring. ROTC at Princeton, commissioned as a second lieutenant in the infantry. Princeton major: Woodrow Wilson School.
What he does: In late January, after about a year in officer training at Fort Benning, Ga., Gulland started leading a platoon of 33 soldiers. His platoon spent a month this winter in “intensive pre-deployment training” at the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, Calif. As platoon leader, he is responsible for “everything the platoon does or fails to do” and works with the senior enlisted men “to make sure that we’re prepared.”
Challenges: Gulland has been on active duty since January 2011 and never has been deployed overseas, yet he outranks everyone in his platoon. “Those guys know a lot more about basic soldier skills than I do.” The toughest thing, he says, is “walk[ing] the line between taking charge ... but also showing respect for the experience that these guys have.”
His motive: “I wanted to give something back,” says Gulland.