“You go to war with the army you have, not the army you might want or wish to have at a later time.”

-Donald Rumsfeld, 21st Secretary of Defense

To my fellow Command and General Staff Officer Course (CGSOC) peers, this course is an opportunity to understand our current Army and we can help shape it for the future fight. This is our Army. This is our moment to be stewards of the profession that we have invested a decade or more in. The Army most of us plan to be a part of for the next decade. Our life choices have led us here. Now is the time to stay switched on. While completing CGSOC, I propose three broad areas to focus on and think about. These include organizational leadership skills, stewardship of the profession, and personal goals. The Army gifted us an entire year for personal development and to contribute to our organization. If not us, then who? If not now, then when?

Our Army requires writers and thinkers. It also requires expertise, but I am confident most of us are proficient in our respective occupational specialty. We made it this far. Now is the time to focus on skills vital to organizational leadership. Yes, this means strengthening written and oral communication ability. The expectation is for you to already excel at the email fight. Our future organizations demand more. The units you will lead require proficiency at drafting awards, evaluations, operation orders, and the occasional white paper. CGSOC provides numerous opportunities to improve our professional writing ability. Take advantage regardless of how good you think you are. The school has a writing improvement program for those willing to invest extra time. For those already excelling in this category, why not generate articles to your respective branch journal? You might also consider sharing your talent with classmates to help them sharpen their writing skills and perhaps publish themselves. Assisting a peer with their writing will also hone your own ability to quickly refine and edit products for your boss. This ties in nicely with building teams, also something organizational leaders do, but we just completed our Leadership 100 course, so you already knew that.

Speaking of courses, we can take advantage of the accumulated knowledge of our institution. The doctrinal heartbeat of the Army resides at Fort Leavenworth and we owe it to future generations to understand these models. It is difficult to improve something unless you are familiar with the concept’s evolution. We are committing our prime years to this profession and have an obligation to steward it. What an opportunity! An entire year to learn the nuances of a complex institution designed to defend the republic. Sure, some aspects such as the force management model are cumbersome; however, there are reasons to learn them. We cannot offer improvements unless we have a baseline first. Exposure to joint, interagency, and partnered operations is also invaluable to career growth and future opportunities. Because of their complexity and difficulty to replicate these concepts are an asymmetrical advantage for our nation. It gives us strength. Learn them. Understand how to integrate them. Do not be the friction that slows them down. If you feel there is an imbalance between the policy that guides these concepts and our doctrine, now is the opportunity to address it. You have the bandwidth now to deep dive the causes of friction points. Find the solution and offer it up. The agencies responsible for integrating solutions are right across the street and would love to hear what you have to offer. So too would the profession and the nation you defend.

This brings me to my final point, personal goals. As servants to the nation, our priority list is straightforward and dictated to us. Personal and family goals often go unaccomplished as a result. CGSOC offers ample opportunity to finally catch up (or at least put a dent in your to do list). At present there is no organized physical training requirement. Now you can have breakfast with your children and spouse and create a fitness regime tailored to your needs. You might also consider an elective course that aligns with your personal goals or interests. This is also the ideal time to take care of deferred physiological maintenance. Go get knee surgery or the physical therapy you put off. Arrive at your next unit ready to run. While you are recovering, tackle the reading list your mentors have suggested over the past few years. The books are likely to synchronize nicely with CGSOC curriculum. If they do not, be selfish in the classroom. Leverage the community of dedicated faculty to better understand your information gaps. These professionals won the and the Army’s shift towards large scale combat operations is their wheelhouse. Take their hard-won lessons and shape it for tomorrow’s fight.

Certainly, our nation will call on us soon to solve the next complex national security problem. Our nation values the individual contribution you bring to the fight. But you must bring something. Now is the time to prepare the Army we wish to have in the future. Every push-up today helps you on that future fitness test. Likewise, the more joint doctrine you understand now, the better prepared you will be in the joint fight. Come drink the Kool-Aid. If you do not like the flavor do something about it. This is your Army. CGSOC is the time to develop organizational leadership skills, steward the profession, and  focus on personal goals. I look forward to the optimism and dedication each of you bring. Now let’s go make this the best year of our life.

Maj. George Fust is a military intelligence officer currently attending the Command and General Staff Officer College. He previously taught in the Social Sciences Department at the US Military Academy at West Point. He holds a master’s degree in political science from Duke University and has contributed to a variety of publications.