ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY

Garrisons are the most complex colonel-level commands in the Army.

Garrison commanders solve wicked problems and punch way above their weight class. Their work also generates readiness disproportionate to the size of their command.

Every day, garrison commanders and their teams work in a dynamic environment that directly links tactical actions to strategic outcomes. Each one is responsible for the security, housing and welfare of soldiers, civilians and families living on their installation. They deploy forces, host unaccompanied children and Afghan refugees, lead through a pandemic...

It’s too early to talk about lessons learned from the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but it’s not too early to observe how some of war’s perennial truths are illustrated in this, the most current of wars. This essay addresses five of them:

1. The future of war. Some writers have argued that war has changed so fundamentally that, if we have wars at all in the future, they will look nothing like in the past. Artificial intelligence, cyber, drones, robots, hypersonic weapons, space—pick a favorite technology—and you can find someone who predicts it is the future of war. Others have predicted...

As the Army continues to transform for the future, it is looking to robots to carry out some of the dull and dangerous work now done by soldiers.

This move toward robotic process automation (RPA) will enable soldiers to concentrate on nonrepetitive, high-value and complex tasks—and potentially save lives on a fast-moving and lethal future battlefield. Described as a digital work routine that automates repetitive activities or tasks performed by humans, RPA can help the Army bridge its digital transformation gaps before 2035. That’s when the service aims to be ready to conduct and sustain...

As the Army continues to transform for the future, it is looking to robots to carry out some of the dull and dangerous work now done by soldiers.

This move toward robotic process automation (RPA) will enable soldiers to concentrate on nonrepetitive, high-value and complex tasks—and potentially save lives on a fast-moving and lethal future battlefield. Described as a digital work routine that automates repetitive activities or tasks performed by humans, RPA can help the Army bridge its digital transformation gaps before 2035. That’s when the service aims to be ready to conduct and sustain...

While the lack of diversity in the officer corps is not news, historically Black college and university ROTC programs are making a tremendous impact. Historically Black colleges and universities, some with small enrollments, have produced some outstanding officers, but the contributions of these institutions have been largely ignored.

While approximately 270 colleges and universities have Army ROTC programs, 22 historically Black colleges and universities have supplied half the Black officers in the Army, according to a March 2000 article on the Diverse: Issues In Higher Education website...

Accelerating technological breakthroughs by competitors and adversaries point to an increasingly unpredictable future. In the next conflict, it is likely the U.S. Army might not possess the vast technological overmatch that has allowed it to wage certain types of warfare.

In view of this, countless experts are rushing to predict what the future battlefield will look like, only to arrive at the conclusion that it will be multidomain, interlinked, saturated with throngs of data and fast-changing. The sheer number of variables will test command and decision structures in ways yet to be...

Recognizing Black Troops Who Fought Admirably on the Front Lines of WWII

Proud Warriors: African American Combat Units in World War II. Alexander Bielakowski. University of North Texas Press. 352 pages. $29.95

By Robert Jefferson Jr.

In this thought-provoking book, Alexander Bielakowski, a former U.S. Army Reserve officer, attempts to examine the battlefield activities of African American combat personnel who served admirably on front-line duty during World War II.

Despite the vast outpouring of literature relating to the Black experience in the segregated armed forces, few...

Leaders change and make change. Iteratively improving organizations is an inherent responsibility of leadership, a responsibility that’s even codified in the Army’s definition of leadership. But change is hard; leading an organization through it is even harder.

Although research models such as John Kotter’s eight steps from his 1996 book, Leading Change, equip leaders to direct organizational change more successfully, they tend to overlook an important precursor: the organization’s readiness for change. Even before crafting and communicating a compelling vision for change, leaders should...

The general stormed into the command post in a fury, full of profanity and ire. In the middle of my commander’s update, on a blistering summer day in Baghdad, he ordered me outside. At the top of his voice, he stormed, “You were tasked to move me downtown. Your guys never showed up. I want names!”

Quietly I remonstrated, “Sir, that unit doesn’t make these kinds of mistakes. I’ll look into it right away. Meanwhile, my sergeant major will take you where you need to go.”

The general wasn’t having it. Continuing to curse and bluster, he castigated the unfortunate unit, whose soldiers stood...

A wave of new technology, recognition that fossil fuels won’t be around forever and concerns regarding climate change have led to expanding national security efforts to find new ways to supply energy and power to future battlefields.

The Army is working hard on solutions, but there isn’t one easy answer. Instead, Army and industry researchers are pursuing a multipronged approach to find ways to power new capabilities—vehicles, aircraft, weapons, sensors and data networks—while also reducing demand by making engines more efficient and developing quick and secure ways of maintaining power for...

You sign into your new unit with excitement to serve as a company commander or first sergeant. Leadership assigns you to the staff to learn the organization, demonstrate your competence and earn trust. Your commander puts you in charge of the brigade’s leader development program. What does this mean and where do you start?

First, know it is a compliment and an assignment with an immense amount of trust. You will impact the trajectory of every leader in the brigade. Congratulations! Now, stop worrying. There’s work to do, and it’s not that difficult.

A leader development program is a...

Noncommissioned officers have a well-deserved reputation for training, leading and inspiring individual soldiers, crews, other NCOs and small units. I’d like to stimulate thought on a topic that gets less attention but has an enormous impact on Army readiness: the unique role that senior NCOs fulfill in the professional development of commissioned officers.

Senior NCOs had an outsized impact on my professional development. They inspired me with their exceptional character, competence and commitment. Senior NCOs patiently trained me, counseled me when necessary, and helped me become the...

I’d like to share the three kinds of leadership problems I identified as I moved through my Army career. They are technical, systemic and adaptive. My learning about each roughly corresponded to company grade, field grade and then senior officer levels.

If you’re interested in reading about these problems in leader development literature, there are a number of resources, but two good ones to start with are Leadership Without Easy Answers, by Ronald Heifetz, which covers technical and adaptive, and The Fifth Discipline: The Art & Practice of the Learning Organization, by Peter Senge, which...

Sustainment is the foundation that enables maneuver commanders to choose the time, place and delivery of joint war- fighting capability in support of joint all-domain operations. In the words of Dwight Eisenhower, “You will not find it difficult to prove that battles, campaigns, and even wars have been won or lost primarily because of logistics.”

In order to preserve a warfighting commander’s freedom of action, the U.S. Army must think differently about how the theater is set and sustained. This is especially true in the Indo-Pacific Theater, which encompasses over 50% of the world’s...

What a difference a year makes. With the new administration taking office last year, a shift in focus from military power to diplomacy was widely expected to usher in an era of flat, or even declining, defense budgets. These reductions were expected to fall most heavily on the Army, with large potential cuts to force structure used to fund modernization investments elsewhere in the Department of Defense. As the saying goes—when executing a plan, the enemy gets a vote. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has decisively placed the U.S., and our European allies, on a new budget trajectory for the...