ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY

Among the U.S. military installations in the Republic of Korea, one stands out.  

Situated approximately 40 miles south of Seoul and nestled along Korea’s western coast is the largest and most extensive U.S. overseas military base—U.S. Army Garrison Humphreys. 

As the Army’s home in Korea, USAG Humphreys has been called “the largest power projection platform in the Pacific,” and it boasts the Army’s most active overseas airfield, Desiderio Army Airfield. This year, it’s expected that the USAG Humphreys population will grow to more than 38,000 U.S. and South Korean personnel who live or...

When Paris Davis joined the ROTC unit at Louisiana’s Southern University and later the Army, the nation was still divided by segregation.

Signs on bars read, “Whites only.” Some seats on buses were off-limits to African Americans. Schools, streets and shops were still divided. And just 14 years had passed since President Harry Truman had desegregated the military. Davis was warned, “Are you sure you want to join?”

Davis didn’t listen. He became one of the Army’s first Black Special Forces officers—and his service and ensuing actions in Vietnam would come full circle on March 3 as he...

Speaking to the Costs of Close Fighting

Understanding Urban Warfare. Liam Collins and John Spencer. Howgate Publishing. 392 pages. $29.95

By Lt. Col. Russell Glenn, U.S. Army retired

That more of Earth’s population now lives in urban areas than elsewhere is well known. The implications for those conducting warfare in these environments are less so.

We need only look at recent conflicts to recognize that cities and their populations will constitute vital terrain even in theaters typified by rurality. Ukraine demonstrates that urban populations are likely to suffer a...

Many junior Army leaders describe the art of command and the science of control as if they lay diametrically opposed along a single axis. Mission Command is the Army’s command and control doctrine that emphasizes decentralized execution based upon mutual trust. In dynamic and uncertain environments, many leaders rationalize that eliminating as much control as possible is necessary to facilitate independent action.

This line of thinking supposes that the skillful commander achieves Mission Command by eliminating controls in order to accomplish the mission. The antithesis of this, the risk...

I took command of an infantry company in the 28th Infantry Division of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard in 1985. The company I commanded was designated Company A, 2nd Battalion, 109th Infantry Regiment, and the unit had an authorized strength of 144 soldiers. I was honored to have an opportunity to lead the commissioned officers, NCOs and soldiers assigned to the outfit.

I remember reading an Army leadership manual earlier in my career before taking this command. In the manual, there was a statement I will never forget. It said a military unit, and any organization, for that matter...

In June 1775, the Continental Congress commissioned George Washington as commander in chief of the Continental Army. He led the Army for the duration of the American Revolution and during two years of uncertainty following the cessation of armed conflict.

Many Americans fought the British for 6½ years, from 1775 to 1781. Some were present at the beginning and fought in militia companies at the battles of Lexington and Concord, both in Massachusetts, in April 1775. Most Americans assumed a decisive victory over the British had been secured at the Battle of Yorktown, Virginia, in October 1781...

Many junior Army leaders describe the art of command and the science of control as if they lay diametrically opposed along a single axis. Mission Command is the Army’s command and control doctrine that emphasizes decentralized execution based upon mutual trust. In dynamic and uncertain environments, many leaders rationalize that eliminating as much control as possible is necessary to facilitate independent action.

This line of thinking supposes that the skillful commander achieves Mission Command by eliminating controls in order to accomplish the mission. The antithesis of this, the risk...

It was 1985 and, as a junior captain, I found myself at Fort Rucker, Alabama, assigned as adjutant of the 1st Battalion, 1st Aviation Brigade, at the U.S. Army Aviation Center. On a cool spring day, I found myself walking past the post headquarters when a small, erect figure came toward me on the sidewalk. Striding purposefully, with an almost jaunty step, he snapped a crisp salute along with a friendly greeting. On his collar he wore “CW4” rank—the first I’d seen in my short career—along with the insignia of a master aviator.

As we passed, I noticed his nametag, which read “Novosel.”...

Leader development is an enduring priority for most organizations, and the U.S. Army is no different. People deserve leaders they can trust, leaders who are competent at their job and committed to the team and the mission. More than anything else, people deserve leaders of exemplary character.

Character development is a continuous process enabling an individual to develop a powerful sense of purpose, resilience and integrity. Various methods, such as self-reflection, mentor feedback and implementing a plan of action, help cultivate character.

The Army released Field Manual (FM) 6-22...

U.S. political and military leaders, as well as the American citizenry, are stuck in at least six intellectual ruts when it comes to understanding how to use force. Metaphorically spinning our wheels in these ruts has produced suboptimal choices and decisions in both Afghanistan and Iraq. Strategists and veterans are left asking themselves whether sacrifices made by service members, their families and the nation for 20 years were “worth it.” If we can’t break free of these mindsets, we lower the probability of future success.

What are these ruts? They represent a set of six false beliefs:

The days when the U.S. Army could mass and mobilize troops in an uncontested environment and project power abroad without fear of disruption are gone. America’s competitors and adversaries have adapted their way of fighting, and the Army must adapt its way of thinking when it comes to defending the homeland.

Homeland defense is a key component of integrated deterrence for a joint force predominantly based in the continental United States. Successful large-scale mobilization and deployment to a forward theater through the competition-crisis-conflict continuum will require unity of effort...

With the establishment of the U.S. Space Force in 2019, the national security space enterprise underwent its largest transformation since the Army launched the first American satellite in 1958. In the ensuing years, the Air Force transferred its space forces and capabilities, the Army transferred its satellite operations brigade and is preparing to transfer its theater missile-warning units, and the Navy transferred its military communications satellites to the Space Force. Additionally, hundreds of soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines voluntarily joined the Space Force through interservice...

When Christine Wormuth was confirmed as secretary of the Army in 2021, the importance of the moment wasn’t lost on her. “Serving in this role is a tremendous privilege and responsibility,” she said of becoming the first woman to hold the post overseeing the world’s most powerful land force.

Any concerns about her weren’t because she’s a woman, but because despite her deep roots in national security issues, she didn’t have a lot of Army experience. “She will need to gain the Army’s trust,” said Mark Cancian of the Center for Strategic and International Studies shortly after her confirmation...

When Christine Wormuth was confirmed as secretary of the Army in 2021, the importance of the moment wasn’t lost on her. “Serving in this role is a tremendous privilege and responsibility,” she said of becoming the first woman to hold the post overseeing the world’s most powerful land force.

Any concerns about her weren’t because she’s a woman, but because despite her deep roots in national security issues, she didn’t have a lot of Army experience. “She will need to gain the Army’s trust,” said Mark Cancian of the Center for Strategic and International Studies shortly after her confirmation...

Pondering the Changing Face of Conflict

War Transformed: The Future of Twenty-First-Century Great Power Competition and Conflict. Mick Ryan. Naval Institute Press. 312 pages. $39.95

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

For those who study the shifting shapes of conflict, the 21st century has already proven an intriguing enigma. Wars during its first two-plus decades have spanned the gamut from insurgencies waged by nonstate actors, to lesser powers battling for regional supremacy, to the ongoing major conventional war kicked off by Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.