Military Leadership

2007 Key Strategic Issues List (KSIL) Antulio J. Echevarria II Document by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "Today our nation faces several major challenges, ranging in type from the conflict in Iraq to changes in force size and structure. These challenges may be more significant than any the United States has faced in more than a decade. With the publication of the 2007 KSIL, the Strategic Studies Institute and the U.S. Army War College invite all researchers to contribute their efforts to resolving these challenges. Researchers are encouraged to contact any of the SSI points of contact, or those found in the Expanded KSIL, for further information regarding their desired topics. These points of contact are not necessarily subject experts, but can recommend such experts or additional sponsors."

Knowing when to Salute Prof Douglas C Lovelace Jr, Dr Leonard Wong Op-Ed by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "The other morning, about 100 colonels and a handful of civilians assembled for our annual Army War College staff and faculty photo. We were arranged on the outdoor steps of one of the many historic buildings on post and faced the flagpole which dominates the entire campus. Unlike other Army posts, the flag at the Army War College is illuminated day and night and flown continuously—eliminating the need for junior soldiers (who are rare at the Army War College) to raise and lower the flag during daily reveille and retreat ceremonies..."

Strategic Planning by the Chairmen, Joint Chiefs of Staff, 1990 TO 2005 Dr Richard M Meinhart Letort Paper by US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "Military leaders at many levels have used strategic planning in various ways to position their organizations to respond to the demands of the current situation, while simultaneously focusing on future challenges. This Letort Paper examines how four Chairmen Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1990 to 2005 used a strategic planning system to enable them to meet their statutory responsibilities specified in Title 10 US Code and respond to the ever-changing strategic environment. These responsibilities include: assisting the President and Secretary of Defense in providing strategic direction to the armed forces; conducting strategic planning and net assessments to determine military capabilities; preparing contingency planning and assessing preparedness; and providing advice on requirements, programs, and budgets."

Coup D'Oeil: Strategic Intuition in Army Planning Dr William Duggan Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "In our military professions, formal analytical methods co-exist with intuitive decisionmaking by leaders in action. For the most part, there is no harm done. But many officers can recount times when they knew they should have “gone with their gut,” but followed instead the results of their analytical methods. The gap between these two forms of decisionmaking perhaps has grown wider in recent times, especially in Iraq, where adaptive leadership seems to have overshadowed formal methods of planning. Departing from formal methods increasingly seems to be the mark of an effective commander, as we learn from Dr. Leonard Wong’s recent Strategic Studies Institute (SSI) report, Developing Adaptive Leaders: The Crucible Experience of Operation Iraqi Freedom (July 2004)."

Transformational Leadership in Wartime LTC Steven J Eden Student Issue Paper by the US Army War College, Center for Strategic Leadership "Few men are vouchsafed the command of armies; fewer still face the task of rebuilding defeated armies in wartime, and of these only a handful have been successful. Three who assumed command in the midst of defeat were George McClellan, arriving in Washington, D.C., to take over the Army of the Potomac as it licked its wounds after Bull Run; William Slim, coming to Burma as the Japanese drove the British out of Rangoon; and Matthew Ridgway, appointed to lead an Eighth Army reeling back before the Chinese pouring over the Yalu River. "

Touchstones for the Military Leadership Engaged in Asymmetric Warfare BRIGADIER GENERAL Bikram Singh Peacekeeping Institute Publication by the US Army War College, Peacekeeping and Stability Operations Institute "While asymmetric warfare has undertaken a new and a broader dimension especially in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of 9/11, in the title of this paper it refers to counterinsurgency warfare, wherein terrorism is employed by the irregular adversary as a means to subvert the rule of law and effect change through violence and fear. This war is being waged in some form or the other in almost 71 countries of the world and the perceivable contours of the futuristic international security landscape portend a threat for its proliferation. Resultantly, the militaries around the world will have to gear up to counter this scourge, which offers different battle space dynamics and challenges for the military leadership. Such warfare underscores the need for different knowledge structures, wherein military’s mass and energy, in concert with other elements of national power, is applied for ‘control’ as against ‘destruction’."

Strategic Leadership Competencies Dr Stephen J Gerras, COL William Kidd, COL Robert Pricone, COL Richard Swengros, Dr Leonard Wong Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "On December 21, 2001, the Chief of Staff of the Army tasked the U.S. Army War College to identify the strategic leader skill sets for officers required in the post-September 11th environment. The following report is the result of that tasking. Dr. Leonard Wong, assisted by four U.S. Army War College students, reviewed the strategic leadership literature, interviewed corporate leader developers, analyzed the leader development system, and gathered the views of key leader developers in the Army. They distill the essence of strategic leadership into six metacompetencies that not only describe strategic leadership, but also provide aiming points for an integrated leader development system."

Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff's Leadership Using the Joint Strategic Planning System in the 1990s: Recommendations for Strategic Leaders Dr Richard M Meinhart Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "The Joint Strategic Planning System has been considered the primary formal means by which the Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff executed his statutory responsibilities specified by Congress in Title 10 of the U.S. Code. Yet little has been written about this strategic planning system itself, although some of its products such as the varied National Military Strategies and Joint Visions have been thoroughly reviewed. One can gain great insight into the Chairman’s formal leadership since the 1986 Goldwater-Nichols Act by understanding how this system evolved, reviewing its processes, and examining all of its products."

Strategic Leaders Adapting to the Future Environment - Department of State COL William L Wimbish III Issue Paper by the US Army War College, Center for Strategic Leadership "Competent, innovative and effective leadership is absolutely essential to the success of any organization; especially during times of great uncertainty and transformation. In order to effectively implement, manage and lead change, strategic leaders must possess and use certain core competencies and skill sets."