ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY

Soldiers Find Healing in Medal of Honor

Remember the Ramrods: An Army Brotherhood in War and Peace. David Bellavia. Mariner Books. 384 pages. $29.99

By Edward Lengel

Several Medal of Honor recipients who went above and beyond the call of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan have written powerful memoirs. These include Clinton Romesha and his Red Platoon: A True Story of American Valor; Dakota Meyer (and Bing West) and his Into the Fire: A Firsthand Account of the Most Extraordinary Battle in the Afghan War; and Flo Groberg (and Tom Sileo) and his 8 Seconds of Courage: A Soldier’s Story...

Among a galaxy of famous Civil War generals, one has been all but forgotten. His story has much to teach us: about leadership, about character and about soldiering. As we mine the history of America’s Army for insights into command, in peace and war, we can learn much from the story of Maj. Gen. C.F. Smith.

Charles Ferguson Smith was born in 1807 in Philadelphia, the son of an Army surgeon. Graduating from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, in 1825, at age 18, he was commissioned in the artillery.

In a time when many graduates left the service quickly for more lucrative...

I was one of the first women to serve in combat arms units in the 1980s, with service in Germany and Korea. I had the opportunity to build and lead great teams, and to learn from commanders from the brigade level up through four-star headquarters. I saw far too many examples of counterproductive (or toxic) leadership. Thankfully, I experienced even more examples of positive leadership in my 22-year Army career.

As a military professional, I read articles, sat through classes and discussed counterproductive leadership. Field Manual 6-22: Developing Leaders defines counterproductive...

At the U.S. Army Reserve’s 7th Intermediate Level Education Detachment, 7th Mission Support Command, in Grafenwoehr, Germany, we practice the concepts of “truth to power” and “ground truth,” both in the unit and in the classroom. These two models are critical to success as a military organizational leader.

The 7th Intermediate Level Education (ILE) Detachment develops and educates U.S. and NATO partner and ally senior military leaders across Europe, Africa and the Middle East to build and lead effective military organizations capable of winning America’s wars. The curriculum includes...

The mentor-mentee relationship is one of the most productive ways of learning. Those with mentors are more likely to stay in their career field and have measurable advantages over their peers who receive no mentoring. Soldiers often talk about professional development as a top priority, yet there is no system for facilitating mentorship across the Army.

The Center for the Army Profession and Leadership continues to find in its annual survey of the Total Army, including civilians, that “Develops Others” is the lowest-rated competency in the Army’s leadership requirements model. A mentoring...

The Army is facing an unprecedented recruiting crisis. The service missed its recruiting target by about 15,000 new soldiers for fiscal 2022, coming up 25% short of its goal.

When I reflect on my 20 years of military service, I ask myself how this can be possible. Then I remember the wide range of officers I worked for and how their leadership styles affected my choices concerning my military career.

I recall having a couple of toxic leaders who made me seriously question if I wanted to remain in the Army. These officers showed little to no interest in my aspirations, needs or concerns...

Recently, my 8-year-old son and I were reading Who Was Abraham Lincoln? by Janet Pascal during one of our pre-bedtime rituals. In terms both a child and a professional soldier can understand, Chapter 8 speaks of the significance of the words delivered by a president during a time of war, dedicated to the preservation of the Union.

As the story retells the events surrounding President Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, it says, “The Union was fighting to keep the United States united [and] Lincoln, in two minutes, had gotten to the heart of the subject.” Lincoln’s remarks remain one of the most...

Guidons and flags waved gently in the breeze as senior leaders from across the Army prepared to address the gathered soldiers. On June 6, nearly 80 years after D-Day and the invasion of Normandy, France, Army Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville presided over the activation of the Army’s first airborne division in decades—the 11th Airborne Division—and laid out its mission to the hundreds of soldiers in attendance:

• Live up to the legacy of the 11th Airborne Division.
• Master Arctic warfighting.
• Innovate and define the future of Arctic operations.

While the mission may seem like a tall...

For decades, the U.S. Army’s advantages in both lethality and protection largely guaranteed overmatch to units conducting counterinsurgency operations. These operations in Iraq and Afghanistan relied on small units, principally at the company level and below, to accomplish tactical, operational and even strategic objectives. Divisions and corps in both theaters relied on these small units for both operational understanding and situational awareness.

Conversely, the success of small units rarely required those higher echelons to mass effects to support their operations. This will change as...

For decades, the U.S. Army’s advantages in both lethality and protection largely guaranteed overmatch to units conducting counterinsurgency operations. These operations in Iraq and Afghanistan relied on small units, principally at the company level and below, to accomplish tactical, operational and even strategic objectives. Divisions and corps in both theaters relied on these small units for both operational understanding and situational awareness.

Conversely, the success of small units rarely required those higher echelons to mass effects to support their operations. This will change as...

The U.S. Army’s recruiting crisis—active, Guard and Reserve—should spark two important conversations both within the military and, more importantly, among America’s elected leaders.

The first conversation concerns how to adapt the Army recruiting enterprise as well as departmental personnel policies to help meet recruiting goals. This discussion is loud and clear. The second conversation about how to increase the pool of potential recruits across America is near-silent. Both are necessary to prepare for future security challenges. Neither alone is sufficient.

The first conversation is...

The topic of culture and climate is one of the top agenda items for the Army’s senior leaders. Unit or organizational culture and climate—or command climate—is, by definition, an integral part of everyday life in the Army. Every unit, formation, company and command has a culture, which is an outcome or result of the climate, which in turn is set and reinforced by leaders.

Arguably, nothing is more important in the Army than unit culture. It informs and influences everything that happens in a unit.

The culture of an organization is often defined as or referred to in terms like norms...

The topic of culture and climate is one of the top agenda items for the Army’s senior leaders. Unit or organizational culture and climate—or command climate—is, by definition, an integral part of everyday life in the Army. Every unit, formation, company and command has a culture, which is an outcome or result of the climate, which in turn is set and reinforced by leaders.

Arguably, nothing is more important in the Army than unit culture. It informs and influences everything that happens in a unit.

The culture of an organization is often defined as or referred to in terms like norms...

War and Its Consequences in Fine Detail

Bravo Company: An Afghanistan Deployment and Its Aftermath. Ben Kesling. Abrams Press. 368 pages. $30

By Robert Williams

War is all hell, whether you are in daily gunfights or blown up by hidden bombs. That hell is everyday life for Company B, 2nd Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment. Ben Kesling, a seasoned reporter for The Wall Street Journal and a onetime Marine Corps infantry officer, brings all his journalistic chops and military experience to bear in his new book.

Bravo Company: An Afghanistan Deployment and Its Aftermath i...

Young officers and NCOs will be challenged on the fast-changing, complex battlefields of the future. While it might be difficult to teach these young leaders all the nuances required to operate in volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous environments, studying historical examples of leaders who adapted to challenges can be instructive.

One campaign often overlooked is Maj. Gen. Nathanael Greene’s “Race to the Dan,” which took place in early 1781 through the Carolina backcountry.

Greene’s tactical retreat through South Carolina and North Carolina and across the Dan River as he evaded...