Category Archives: Change

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On Technology, Military History and the “Actualities of War”

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War, by its very nature, pits one society’s – one culture’s – mechanical machinery against another in a contest of wills. In 2022, we are told that this is happening at an ever-accelerating pace with the coming of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. For warfare, this age has brought about the harnessing of cutting-edge technology for the purpose of making war; most prevalent today are the utilization of drones and other unmanned systems, with more innovation on the horizon.

Soldiers don the Integrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS) technology while mounted in a Stryker in Joint Base Lewis-McCord, WA. (Photo Credit: Courtney Bacon)
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Slut Shaming

The Prelude of Sexual Violence Against Women in the Military

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“As a woman in the military you can either be a slut or a b****. Choose the latter.” This was the first piece of advice I received after arriving to my unit. If I appeared too friendly or smiled too often-particularly with males, I would be perceived as a “slut”. Someone who flirts (or more) her way to the top than earning it. Better to be a “b****'”- cold and aloof, than have a warm disposition misinterpreted.

A soldier crawls under barbed wire during assessment and selection at Camp Mackall, N.C., March 1, 2021. Women in uniform face obstacles a lot thornier and more dangerous than barbed wire. (U.S. Army photo by K. Kassens)
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Missing the Mark: The US Army’s Project Athena

Revising a Poorly Named Leadership Survey

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The Army Mission Command Center of Excellence (MCCoE) recently unveiled Project Athena Self-Development Tool, the “Army’s premier effort to provide leaders feedback about the skills, capabilities, and tendencies they possess and how those individual differences relate to being a strong leader.” There are several reasons for soldiers to be concerned if this effort is the best that the Center for the Army Profession and Leadership can put forward during a period of challenges in recruitment, retention, and public opinion.

1st Lt. Kelly Brown from Apache Troop, 3rd Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division conducts a 5-mile run as part of the Bronco Fitness Challenge at F-Quad, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii on Mar. 22, 2021. The Bronco Fitness Challenge is a competition over the course of three days that assesses Soldiers on their muscular strength, muscular endurance, anaerobic, and aerobic endurance in order to give feedback on their physical readiness and gain the title of the fittest Soldier in the brigade. (U.S. Army photo by 1st Lt. Angelo Mejia)
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Reflections During Quarantine

How Leaders Adapt and Develop

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Quarantine. It disrupts our sanity and results in day drinking, homeschooling, Zoom meetings, and TikTok challenges. For me, a mandatory quarantine in the desert provided an opportunity for self-development. While COVID-19 became a global pandemic, I watched as novel obstacles confounded long-established systems. Yet despite the surprising fragility of our societal constructs, people and organizations adjusted to our “new normal.” By observing this resiliency, I solidified a core belief: the leader who adapts earns the opportunity to develop.

Soldiers stand in formation while wearing masks and maintaining physical distancing during reception before entering basic combat training May 14, 2020, on Fort Sill, Okla. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Dustin D. Biven)
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Building Your Vision, Philosophy, and 90 Day Agenda

Preparing for Command, Part II

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Your change of command is now only a few weeks away. You have wisely taken the time to think deeply, ask smart questions, and observe how the company currently operates. Now it is time to develop your vision, command philosophy, and 90 Day Agenda. 

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More Than Equal Opportunity

Building Trust and Leading Change for Cadets

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“The day the soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you stopped leading them. They have either lost confidence that you can help them or concluded that you do not care. Either case is a failure of leadership.” – Colin Powell

The following are a few questions that leaders and cadets should be asking themselves candidly and critically. We owe it to the Army, its soldiers, and the nation to be introspective, especially considering that we are looked to as examples of American virtue. This is particularly true at times of high social tension, specifically regarding today’s discussions about race.

Will you allow a lack of trust to undermine your team?
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BCAP, AIM, and now the DA Photo?…Oh My!

Focusing on Constants in a Time of Change

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The Army zeitgeist in 2019, and into the foreseeable, future is change. The Chief of Staff of the Army is not shy about how his past assignments influence his current vision. He assembled an entire Army Talent Management Task Force under a 2-Star General–Maj. Gen. McGee–to lead the effort. In 2019, the force experienced a new, interactive marketplace to match officers and open assignments. Eager majors and lieutenant colonels participated in an NFL Combine-type event (BCAP) to determine who will command at the O-5 level. And units across the Army started gearing up, literally, for a new Army Combat Fitness Test. Some are even calling to get rid of the DA Photo! How are we to interpret these changes? Here are a few constants from my foxhole.

Soldiers from 1-21 Infantry Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division conduct platoon live fires to simulate realistic training, Hawaii, Jan. 15, 2020. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Geoffrey Cooper)
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Delivering Lessons, Outside the Box

How Amazon Helped my Unit Think Outside the Military Box

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On a cold and rainy day in October, the 504th Military Police Battalion and 66th Military Police Company personnel received the great opportunity to tour the BFI4 Amazon fulfillment plant in Kent, WA. Leaders focused on learning about sustainment and logistics. The personnel that went were all leaders in positions that dealt directly with logistics and sustainment. The group was able to gain a new and healthy perspective on their current job in the military and the cost of what it takes to be the greatest logistics company of all time.

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Moving a Mountain

An essay about SHARP

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You cannot move the mountain alone overnight.  The purpose of this essay is to inform about sexual harassment and assault in the Army.  Army Regulation 600-20, chapter 8 requires annual training on Sexual Harassment and Assault Response Program (SHARP).  So, why do cases of sexual harassment and assault continue to take place?  Simply put, tackling the topic of SHARP can feel like moving a mountain.  You can move a mountain if it is broken into smaller, more manageable pieces.  We can begin to move the “mountain” of SHARP issues by addressing contributing factors.  Three contributors of SHARP issues include toxic work environments, behavior patterns, and dated teaching methods.  All missions have a starting point.  Moving this mountain begins with addressing toxic work environments.

CAMP HOVEY, Republic of Korea — Staff Sgt. Chamiracle Earls, right, the Sexual Assault and Harassment Response and Prevention, or SHARP, victim advocate for the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, explains a scenario room decorated as a bar to other Soldiers during an open house event for the SHARP 360 building on Camp Hovey, South Korea, Dec 13. The SHARP 360 building contains scenario rooms that consist of vignettes such as a gym, a shower room, a bar, and a barracks room designed to provide realistic scenarios that Soldiers could encounter in their daily lives. (Photo Credit: Republic of Korea Army Cpl. Dasol Choi, 1st ABCT Public Affairs)
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To Get Outside the Box, Start Inside the Circle

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My first official duty as an Officer in the U.S. Army was a temporary assignment to Joint Base Lewis McChord (JBLM), working for Cadet Command as Cadre for the ROTC Leader Development and Assessment Course (LDAC). I worked for a Lieutenant Colonel who was serving as the Professor of Military Science at Purdue University. He taught me a lot that summer, but one story sticks out. It was a humble parable that continues to resonate with me a decade later.