Live fire ranges must deliberately measure marksmanship if they are to achieve their purpose of training soldiers and junior leaders in the skills needed to win close combat engagements. Training Circular 7-9 describes marksmanship as “one of the most important” areas that live fire exercises (LFXs) train; we argue that it is the most important, full stop.[1] Nothing else in a LFX matters, no other training objectives have any validity, if the rounds soldiers fire do not eliminate their intended targets.
U.S. Army Watercraft Are Overlooked, Until You Need Them
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In the Spring of 2024, a minor flotilla of Army vessels crossed the Atlantic. The eyes of Gaza watchers were held by the Army’s curious navy, and the utility of the flotilla was brought to full-light in the service of humanity. But one week prior to this mission, the demand for Army watercraft was near-invisible. Although employed as an instrument of peace, this deployment displayed a capability that large scale combat operations will demand. Army watercraft are invisible until they’re needed – and it’s often been that way.
Fundamental Duties of Leadership
Reflections on the Battle of Chosin Reservoir
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General James Mattis USMC once said, “The most important six inches on the battlefield is between your ears.” If you have people under your charge, then you are duty-bound to think—to make well-considered decisions based on a studied knowledge base. Military leadership is unique because ill-considered decisions send soldiers to their deaths. Leaders cannot blindly follow instructions or even orders.
Inculcating Ownership
5 Key Steps to Get your Leaders to take Ownership
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How do small unit leaders get their subordinates to own their problems?
Inculcating ownership into your leaders can determine success or failure, smooth execution or frustration, system success or failure, and high or low performance.
There’s not enough time in a day to solve all the problems or challenges that a unit might face. Therefore, it’s vital that leaders understand how to ensure subordinate leaders take ownership of problems at their level and uphold their share of the task when solving both simple and complex problems.
Below are 5 tips to get your subordinate leaders to own their problem and think like problem solvers instead of problem passers.
LSCO Ready
Organizing and Equipping for Airborne Medical Care in World War II
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Late September, 1944—Nijmegen
Medical personnel shuffled litters in and out. Outside the doors, the courtyard teemed with humanity. Clusters of aid-men loitered in anticipation of the jeeps, which were operated by their casualty collecting detachments. Like foraging ants they traversed the division area, to and from the regimental aid stations, and they would return direct to the imposing walls of the seminary. The seminary looked like an institution of classical learning, if nothing else for the blanket of vines which clung in patches to the dull brick construction. It was the most suitable location they could find for a division hospital. Mostly because of its size.
Had one of the early developers of the American airborne been able to peer into the future and see this sight, it would have surpassed all comprehension. The scale, the efficiency were beyond anything they envisioned, which wasn’t much. If casualty care in Nijmegen could be considered near seamless, it was not a product of the vision of early airborne developers in the US Army.
It was a gradual acceleration to the display of efficiency on the grounds of the Nijmegen seminary. But the only question that mattered is did it work?
The Battalion Battle Captain
A Staff Lieutenant at JRTC
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Life as a staff lieutenant has many demands. As the battle captain, you will be responsible for managing all of the information coming in and out of the Main Command Post (MCP) and control all current operations. Your command team, staffs, and company leadership will lean on you heavily for an updated status of the operation. You will have minimal guidance and instruction yet will be expected to perform at the level of a career course-qualified Captain. Too easy, right?
Preventing Disappointment through Counseling
Connecting Army Tools to Develop Leaders
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Have you ever been disappointed with the performance of a new team or new leader? Perhaps your expectations were too high or something else went wrong. How do we close this gap between expectations and the desired end-state? Maintaining performance through transition requires the commander to over communicate the vision and guide their people through the discomfort zone. The best commanders will also listen to feedback in stride to best direct resources towards changing priorities or emerging risk.
Paying it Forward
Serving as an ROTC APMS
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An assignment to US Army Cadet Command (USACC) as an Assistant Professor of Military Science (APMS) is personally and professionally rewarding. There are few assignments for officers where our primary role is leader development. In most assignments, we attend the occasional OPD/LPD and conduct counseling as directed by regulations. Serving in a role dedicated to developing ROTC cadets into junior officers provides the opportunity to impact the future of our organization, exercise mission command, and refine our leadership skills.
Systematize Chaos
A Battle Rhythm That Prioritizes Training Over Taskings
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I echo the voices of many of my fellow officers when I say that I want to place training before administrative tasks. Yet, many of us get beaten by the bureaucratic mess that is “Big Army.” Try as we might, we can’t quite get a good battle rhythm that frees up enough time for our soldiers to work on their craft. They are constantly tasked out for details from Battalion, Brigade, and Division. Luckily, there is a way to guard time for soldiers to train and fulfill taskings from higher echelons. It is difficult, and requires communication and support from your Battalion, but ultimately it can work.
Reading to Recall
Moving from Notes to Actions
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Leaders are readers. But why read if you cannot recall 90% of what you read by next week? A good leader is carved from the challenges, trials, hardships, and enlightenment that are provided through experience. This is a variable that leaders cannot control, right? Sort of. The method for filling gaps in your knowledge base and level of experience can expanded via reading. Books, articles, or white papers provide leaders insight into the experience of others. Literature, in all forms, can help sand the edges of our experiences, give them more clarity and perspective, and allow us to incorporate those lessons into our own lives. As the retired General Mattis said, “If you haven’t read hundreds of books, you are functionally illiterate.”