Abstract: Leader-development doctrine has come a long way since General Bruce C. Clarke's day, whose article (page 2) on pre-information age tenets of successful combat leadership began this leadership section. So Colonel Moilanen's piece is a fitting close. Moilanen summarizes the competencies required of today's Army leaders and shows how those leader competencies form the bedrock of Army readiness. OUR ARMY IS PEOPLE.1 Today, the U.S. Army focuses on transforming an existing organization to produce a particular capability for rapid deployment and strategic responsiveness. Army sustains a trained and ready land force for meeting responsibilities in a potential major theater war and significant challenges across the spectrum of military operations. These complex and diverse worldwide environments, from small-scale contingency warfighting to humanitarian assistance, also require an improved readiness for strategic responsiveness. Rapidly deploying competent and confident soldiers demonstrates the most effective method of shaping national, international, and global situations in ways favorable to national interests. In 1999, Secretary of the Army Louis E. Caldera said, The implications are certainly far more than just platforms. They are organizational. And they're also people skills. [W]e are working on producing leaders for change, not just leaders who are doctrinally capable and competent leaders for warfighting, but leaders also for all kinds of missions that we are asked to be able to do today across the full spectrum, and who will have the capability to continue to deal with an evolving global situation in which the array of threats that you face goes across the entire spectrum, including the homeland defense-type issues and use of weapons of mass destruction.2 Success depends on leaders, soldiers, and cohesive teams as the Army transforms into a more strategically responsive, full-spectrum land force. Information-age technologies, enhanced logistics, and improved force-- projection means will support, but not preempt, the indispensable readiness value of leaders and the team climate they create. Leaders must be adaptive to ambiguous and changing situations. Soldiers must be comfortable in new multifunctional roles. Teams must be expert at rapidly integrating skills, knowledge, and attributes into united, synchronized, mission-tailored capabilities. Mental agility enhances the physical agility of current and future systems, platforms, and organizations. Progressive research and development provide enhanced ways and means to man and lead Army organizations in the 21 st Century. One immediate operational requirement is to transform Army strategic responsiveness by merging the lethality and survivability traditionally experienced in the heavy land forces with the agility demonstrated in light land forces. outcome of this union, propelled by innovative and adaptive leaders, will provide a more mobile, flexible, rapidly deployable land power. Leadership Competencies and the Human Dimension four main leadership competencies are conceptual, interpersonal, technical, and tactical. Values, attributes, and actions complement the four competencies. Using this leadership doctrinal baseline, an evolving combined arms training strategy (CATS) incorporates leader and team performance indicators with task-condition-standard criteria to assess and evaluate proficiency. Appendix B, Performance Indicators, in Field Manual 22-100, Army Leadership, presents a listing and basic definition of leader performance areas.3 Ongoing practical unit application and supporting Army experiments will develop more precise measures of leader performance and team measures of effectiveness. Developing innovative leaders is critical during the Army's transformation. Leader development is one of six Army imperatives: doctrine, organizations, materiel, leader development, training, and soldiers. …
Publication Year: 2002
Publication Date: 2002-07-01
Language: en
Type: article
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Cited By Count: 8
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