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Soldier Centered Design

Putting Soldiers Front and Center of Army Modernization

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Ever wonder how the Army develops new equipment or vehicles and how soldiers can get involved? You might be surprised to learn that soldiers across the Army are already playing a critical role in shaping the future of Army capabilities. In fact, soldiers now have more input in the development and selection of the Army’s next generation of weapons, equipment, and vehicles than at any point in our history.

U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Stetson Manuel, a Robotics and Autonomous Systems platoon sergeant and infantryman, assigned to the Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 29th Infantry Regiment, 316th Cavalry Brigade, assembles the Ghost-X Unmanned Aircraft System. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. LaShic Patterson)
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Rate of Fire Against Men

A Quantitative Assessment of Fire Team Lethality

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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.

5-20 IN conducts a grueling 36-hour exercise designed to test soldier readiness and war-fighting skills. (US Army Photo retrieved from 1-2 SBCT Facebook Page)
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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.

USAV SP4 (LSV-6) underway on the James River on March 12, 2024. USNI News Photo originally found HERE.
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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.

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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.

U.S. Army Spc. Collin Hall, assistant gunner, and Spc. Areg Safari, M240 gunner, assigned to Charlie Company, 2nd Battalion, 35th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, observe their assigned sector of fire from their defensive fighting position while they wait for the opposing force to attack their defensive positions at the Pohakuloa Training Area, Hawaii, Nov. 9, 2023, during the Joint Pacific Multinational Readiness Center (JPMRC) 24-01 rotation. JPMRC is the Army’s newest Combat Training Center (CTC) and generates readiness in the environments and conditions where our forces will most likely operate. JPMRC 24-01 includes over 5,300 training participants across the U.S. Joint Force, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Indonesia, and Thailand. (U.S. Army photo by Capt. Angelo Mejia) (U.S. Army photo by Capt. Angelo Mejia)
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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?

Based in Fort Liberty, North Carolina, the chorus represents the 19,000 Army soldiers that serve in the 82nd Airborne Division. (Staff Sgt. Javier Orona/Army)
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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?

Life at a CTC for a staff lieutenant often means a similar surrounding of radios, maps, and trackers inside an command post tent or expando van. (U.S. Army photo submitted by author).
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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. 

U.S. Army Command Sgt. Maj. Randolph Delapena, the 82nd Airborne Division Command Sgt. Maj., speaks with Paratroopers assigned to the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, prior to conducting a Joint Forcible Entry (JFE) for exercise Panther Giant on Fort Bragg, North Carolina, March 8th, 2023. Exercise Panther Giant is a validation exercise for elements of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team to demonstrate readiness and lethality before attending the Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC). (Sgt. Jacob Moir, U.S. Army)
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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.

U.S. Army Image submitted by Author.
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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.

Soldiers assigned to 1-502nd Infantry Regiment ‘First Strike’, 2nd Brigade Combat Team 2nd Brigade Combat Team ‘STRIKE’ 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) , UH-60 Blackhawk Helicopters assigned to the 3-501st Assault Helicopter Battalion, Combat Aviation Brigade, 1st Armored Division, Fort Bliss 1st Armored Division and the Hellenic XXV Armored Brigade, conduct wet gap crossing training as part of Exercise Olympic Cooperation 22 on Oct. 11, 2022, in Greece. The United States’ commitment to defending NATO territory is ironclad and the United States will continue to bolster our posture to better defend our NATO Allies. (U.S. Army photos by Staff Sgt. Malcolm Cohens-Ashley, 2nd Brigade Combat Team ‘STRIKE’ Public Affairs.)