ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY

In 1941, the U.S. was drawn into World War II, the most catastrophic conflict the world has ever known. The country realized the need for nontraditional military capabilities and in June 1942, established the clandestine Office of Strategic Services, which was charged with recruiting, assessing and selecting, training and deploying special operations personnel to prosecute unconventional warfare and intelligence operations behind enemy lines.

During this time, the world also saw the beginning of a transition from human to digital computers, driven by increased demand for rapid and large...

In 1941, the U.S. was drawn into World War II, the most catastrophic conflict the world has ever known. The country realized the need for nontraditional military capabilities and in June 1942, established the clandestine Office of Strategic Services, which was charged with recruiting, assessing and selecting, training and deploying special operations personnel to prosecute unconventional warfare and intelligence operations behind enemy lines.

During this time, the world also saw the beginning of a transition from human to digital computers, driven by increased demand for rapid and large...

In 1941, the U.S. was drawn into World War II, the most catastrophic conflict the world has ever known. The country realized the need for nontraditional military capabilities and in June 1942, established the clandestine Office of Strategic Services, which was charged with recruiting, assessing and selecting, training and deploying special operations personnel to prosecute unconventional warfare and intelligence operations behind enemy lines.

During this time, the world also saw the beginning of a transition from human to digital computers, driven by increased demand for rapid and large...

Science Fiction Offers Lens to Future Wars

To Boldly Go: Leadership, Strategy, and Conflict in the 21st Century and Beyond. Edited by Jonathan Klug and Steven Leonard. Casemate Publishers. 304 pages. $34.95

By Lt. Gen. David Barno, U.S. Army retired

One of the most striking findings of the bipartisan 9/11 Commission was that the principal failure in preventing the 2001 attacks lay in “a failure of imagination.” Twenty years later, accurately envisioning the shape of conflict in the 21st century remains one of the most daunting tasks facing America’s political and military leaders...

Starting with the end in mind does not work. It binds you to one definitive end. What happens when the goal or even the enemy is no longer located at or near that end? Worse yet, what happens when the enemy has shifted or changed, and your ways and means are incapable of change? This is what we have witnessed in so many of the U.S. Army’s recent conflicts, from Vietnam to Afghanistan.

The ends will never justify the means. This leads to a finite mindset in strategy and in war. Starting from an intention, and understanding that war is infinite, is a better approach. In the Army, we must...

The 250th anniversary of America’s War of Independence is fast approaching. So, it seems appropriate to take yet another look at George Washington’s wartime leadership. Doing so will highlight three lessons contemporary military professionals need to understand: war as a unitary phenomenon; the two forms of wartime leadership—warfighting and war-waging; and the proper civil-military relationship.

Let’s start with what seems like a simple, straightforward question: When did the Revolutionary War begin and end? The answer that it started in 1775 in Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts, and...

Sgt. 1st Class Alan Boyer was 22 when he went missing in Savannakhet Province, Laos. He was on a classified special operations mission as part of an 11-man team assigned to the Military Assistance Command, Vietnam, Studies and Observations Group.

He and his team of U.S. and Vietnamese soldiers requested aerial extraction when they came under enemy fire. The terrain was too rugged for the responding U.S. helicopter to land, so a ladder was lowered to the men on the ground.

Several team members made it into the aircraft before the ladder broke, and the helicopter was forced to leave under...

Like Gen. George Patton Jr., Edward Allen Carter Jr. believed he was a reincarnated warrior. Carter fought in three wars from 1932 to 1945 with three different armies. He was prevented from fighting in a fourth, the Korean War. And as a mixed-race man in a segregated U.S. Army, he battled racism throughout his career.

It was only well after his death that Carter’s family received the Medal of Honor on his behalf.

Carter was born on May 26, 1916, in Los Angeles. His father was of African descent and his mother of Indian descent. In 1922, Carter’s father took a missionary job in Calcutta...

The U.S. Army Junior ROTC is the best-kept secret in the Army. Unfortunately, being the best-kept secret is not always a good thing, because most soldiers are not aware of this amazing post-service job opportunity.

There were 349 vacancies in Army JROTC programs worldwide as of late October. JROTC needs you, and JROTC cadets need you. As you contemplate what your well-earned retirement from the Army looks like, ask yourself a simple question: “Where can I make more of a difference than being a teacher?”

Simple Goal, Mission

My goal as a leader in the Army at every level was simple...

Valorous Few Memorialized With Medal

In the Company of Heroes: The Inspiring Stories of Medal of Honor Recipients From America’s Longest Wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. James Kitfield. Center Street. 304 pages. $24.99

By Lt. Col. Joe Byerly

Since 2001, over 2.7 million service members have deployed in support of the war on terror, many with multiple deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. While there are untold stories of heroism and sacrifice, only 25 service members from those conflicts have been awarded the nation’s highest award for valor, the Medal of Honor.

James Kitfield’s In...

Nov. 11 marks the 100th anniversary of Arlington National Cemetery’s Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, an idea the U.S. borrowed from France and Great Britain to recognize the remains of thousands of American soldiers that would never be identified and returned to their families.

On Armistice Day 1920, France and Great Britain each buried the remains of unknown casualties of World War I. For France, the burial took place at the Arc de Triomphe, a Paris landmark commissioned in 1806. Britain chose Westminster Abbey in London as the burial site for its unknown soldier, a structure consecrated in...

The U.S. Army is involved in conducting a change of mission to focus on combating the COVID-19 virus. The main emphasis is protection of the Army force through maintaining global operational readiness and supporting the national effort to combat COVID-19. This will result in the best defense for soldiers, civilians, retirees and their families.

The Army is engaged in all aspects of COVID-19 management, from prevention through vaccination, diagnosis and treatment of this devastating virus. The Walter Reed Army Institute of Research continues its work on COVID-19. The Army provides medical...

Cyberattacks, climate change and increasingly devastating storms and wildfires are just some of the growing threats facing the Army as it modernizes its 156 installations around the world.

Resilient, self-reliant installations that can withstand these attacks—from Mother Nature or America’s adversaries—and still provide energy and water are critical to the Army’s ability to project power, deploy and fight.

“The Army’s ability to accomplish its mission is dependent on resilient, uninterrupted access to energy,” said J.E. “Jack” Surash, senior official performing the duties of assistant...

Good leaders and competent, values-based leadership have always been the centerpiece of the Army’s formations, and essential components to effectiveness across organizational levels, from squad to corps. Good leadership, not just good management—and there is a significant difference—has always mattered. Good leadership is hard, inconvenient and uncomfortable. Good leadership is a 24/7 requirement that extracts the full measure of selfless service from those who have chosen to lead.

And, yes, leadership is a choice. Equally important is that the type of leadership required and the manner in...

Good leaders and competent, values-based leadership have always been the centerpiece of the Army’s formations, and essential components to effectiveness across organizational levels, from squad to corps. Good leadership, not just good management—and there is a significant difference—has always mattered. Good leadership is hard, inconvenient and uncomfortable. Good leadership is a 24/7 requirement that extracts the full measure of selfless service from those who have chosen to lead.

And, yes, leadership is a choice. Equally important is that the type of leadership required and the manner in...