Abstract: THE CONTEMPORARY operational environment (COE); force design; political and military complexity on battlefield; joint and combined operations; and mission execution have caused changes that require leaders who can understand strategic implications earlier in their careers than has been required in past. Therefore, U.S. Army must begin educating officers for strategic leadership positions earlier in leader development process. The context within which U.S. Army executes its responsibility under U.S. Code, Title 10, Armed Forces, has expanded in an unprecedented fashion. (1) The increase in number, variety, and complexity of missions places a greater demand on Army than ever before and creates great ambiguity in methodology for successful mission accomplishment. Therefore, Army must redefine its traditional paradigms of leader development associated with traditional echelons of execution. In fact, boundaries between echelons of leadership have become so blurred that they overlap almost to point of invisibility. The need to develop tactical leaders into strategic leaders and to empower them to lead in such a challenging environment has never been more apparent. Strategic leaders responsible for large organizations, thousands of people, and vast resources cannot rely on lower level leadership skills for future success. Developing strategic leadership skills using a set of finite leader competencies with broad application as a foundation is necessary to provide a common direction that transcends all leadership levels. Broad competencies span boundaries and provide continuity for leaders when they must function at multiple levels simultaneously. The Army needs competent, confident, adaptive thinkers to exercise battle command. Senior leaders must develop skills and confidence necessary to apply military means in a strategic environment of global economies and instant communications. Leaders must acquire operational- and strategic-level skills earlier in their careers to successfully meet future challenges. The Army must begin strategic leader development sooner to prepare leaders to understand and execute successful strategic leadership and to accomplish mission. The COE is now more complex and unpredictable, and future operational environment (FOE) promises to be equally so. The ambiguity of contemporary crises and military events demands that Army begin developing officers early in their careers who can-- * Predict second- and third-order effects. * Negotiate. * Understand globalization. * Build consensus. * Analyze complex and ambiguous situations. * Think innovatively and critically. * Communicate effectively. The COE has been becoming more complex and unpredictable for some time. An asymmetrical environment or a noncontiguous battlespace was as much an experience during Vietnam war as it is in post-11 September 2001 world. The Army needs an officer corps that can operate in any environment, not just current one. The Army must prepare for future environments as well. General officers clearly need such skills, but company commanders and field grade officers must also be aware of strategic implications of their actions in a complex COE. Former Chief of Staff of Army (CSA) General Eric K. Shinseki's comment about NATO Stabilization Force (SFOR) in Bosnia applies as well to need for better professional development in strategic skills. He said that being SFOR commander is the most difficult leadership experience I have ever had. Nothing quite prepares you for this. (2) In Bosnia and other peace operations, even junior officers face challenges in which their tactical decisions are likely to have immediate strategic consequences. Therefore, they need to develop strategic awareness that lower levels of institutional education and training do not offer. …
Publication Year: 2018
Publication Date: 2018-04-17
Language: en
Type: book-chapter
Indexed In: ['crossref']
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Cited By Count: 11
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