Making Sense of It All: A Modern Soldiers’ Post-War Reflections
A Guest Post by Captain Christopher C. Little
War is a visceral byproduct of failed diplomacy and does not discriminate against either side. War is a strategic entity, one that begs for existence in the tactical realm. This article will examine a former Army infantryman’s perspective while operating at the tactical level during the conflict in Iraq. The book includes leadership lessons learned through deep self-reflection of the author’s own performance in the less than ideal conditions of intense combat.
I read the article as I out-processed from Yongsan and prepared for a transpacific permanent change of station journey to Fort Leavenworth. A recent Command and General Staff College (CGSC) grad lambasted the school and faculty, declared the education was broken, and bemoaned everything wrong with the institution. That article, and others like it, formed a negative narrative before my arrival. I trust the authors intended to be advocates for improvement, but that intent was buried beneath their obvious cynicism. I can relate to frustration that arises from unmet expectations, and I experienced moments of disappointment and dissatisfaction during my year at CGSC. This essay intends to offer a more balanced narrative to the incoming class by building on a Twitter thread I recently created that gained more attention than expected. It expands on the most pertinent points, and hopes to form a more objective narrative for the incoming class and gives constructive feedback to the faculty and staff.
Your upcoming year of Intermediate Developmental Education (IDE) is a year of learning. It’s also a year to recharge. From my perspective as an instructor at Air Command and Staff College, I want to share a few ideas to help you do both. These ideas promote active learning and white space, which refers to the time needed to process and ponder information, not just read the required material for the day. Both active learning and white space provide the necessary foundation for creative thought, which is the highest form of learning.
Congratulations! You’ve been selected to attend the Command and General Staff College (CGSC). You have an impressive experience ahead of you, one with boundless potential and opportunities. The faculty, staff, and guest speakers will tell you consistently, “this is the best year of your life.” They are right. Here are a few things you can do to get the most out of the wonderful experience called CGSC.
Evaluations are the only thing more contentious than deployment awards. Army evaluations remain the most important discriminatory tool for retention, promotion, and centralized selection for professional education and command, but too often rated Soldiers have no idea how their raters assessed performance and potential. Senior raters have a particularly difficult responsibility, since they must evaluate potential with less contact spread among a larger population. They must manage their evaluations profile while also leveraging evaluations as part of a complete talent development strategy. But these tasks are only half of a senior rater’s challenge. One of the simplest, and often overlooked, rater responsibilities is articulating to the rated officers what is the definition of success. Senior raters can achieve this goal by crafting an evaluation philosophy for the officers and noncommissioned officers they lead.
It is time for the Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT) to politely excuse itself from the party. Besides the semi-annual beating your spine takes from performing the 1940s-era sit-ups, the APFT is an outdated physical assessment for today’s Army. The APFT is limited in scope, beats up your neck each fall and spring, and lacks a mental fitness assessment. The Army Combat Fitness Test (ACFT) arrives in October 2019 to help units build tactical athletes capable of more than they previously thought possible.
As the Army adapts to meet future battlefield challenges, the new six-event ACFT is the right assessment for Soldiers in today’s Army. The first part of this article explains how the ACFT provides a more holistic physical gauge of our Soldiers with direct transferability to tasks on the battlefield, will build more physically fit and mentally tough Soldiers, and helps transform the Army’s fitness culture. Part II provides Soldiers and leaders with an eight-week program to help prepare for the ACFT.
An officer is worth their weight in gold to a staff if they can receive a task, gain an understanding of their supervisor’s intent, identify implied and essential tasks, and guide missions to completion with minimal guidance. Individuals are even more valuable if they can initiate their own tasks and lines of effort based on their commander’s or section chief’s vision and intent.
A leader participates in an interview with a news team in order to further the Army narrative. The photo was taken by Staff Sgt. Jesse Untalan
As Army leaders, there are three reasons why effective communication is important: we owe it to our subordinates so they know what’s going on, we owe it to our leaders so they understand what’s going on, and we owe it to the American citizens who provide us the precious resources of people and funding and hold us accountable for how we employ those resources. The Secretary of the Army uses a legislative liaison and a public affairs officer to help communicate Army priorities to key audiences to secure resources (budget, policies, support, etc.). As leaders, we all have a shared responsibility to tell our unit story; and as field grade leaders, we own that narrative.
Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value. – Albert Einstein
Einstein’s quote is one of many I have scribbled in my journal over the years. I did not grow up writing in journals. I actually came into the practice fairly late. I was a newly promoted Army Major in my mid-thirties when I bought a journal to make a single depository for my accumulated life and professional lessons. The two sections with the most notes are entitled “Leadership” and “People.” Leadership because it is a continuously evolving process and people because relationships are the most important part of our journey through life.
U.S. Air Force photo by Alejandro Pentildea, March 4, 2019
Being a Military Intelligence Battalion Executive Officer was one of the most rewarding experiences I have had as a major. I enjoyed every moment in the position, and I was fortunate to work for and learn from a great commander who went on to become a Military Intelligence Brigade commander. After successfully completing my time as an executive officer, I always thought it was important to share my experiences so that others can succeed. So, here are four things I think every battalion XO should consider to achieve success: (1) be the sounding board for company commanders and the staff prior to their meetings/briefings with the battalion commander, (2) work with the battalion S3 to achieve process efficiency/effectiveness across the staff, (3) ensure your unit’s Command Supply Disciple Program (CSDP) effectively drives maintenance excellence, and (4) develop a great relationship with the other XOs, peers on the brigade staff, and peers on the installation.
