Leadership and the Army Profession: Essay

Training is an essential element of any military organization. One military organization, in particular, is the Army. Training helps the commander to assess the level of competitiveness within the units and to determine the improvements necessary to make the unit become more efficient. The unpredictability of the environment in which the Army fights is a complex factor that needs to be taken into consideration during all Army fights. While the current fight is in the Middle East, Afghanistan or Iraq, the next fight could be in a totally opposite environment. All the tactics and techniques learned while in the Middle East are irrelevant if the next challenge the Army faces is in the jungles of the Amazon in Brazil. Therefore Army trains constantly, in different environments, with different techniques, and in various situations. These type of training methods ensures the Army readiness at all times. Additionally, it enables the Army to deal with any situation that emerges from anywhere on the globe. This is why its number one priority is readiness. A strong fundamental of Army training is to produce leaders at all levels of the unit that can take decisive actions enabling them to mold and form proficient units. Thereby facilitating the integration of different elements in its war-fighting function.

Creating leaders that can develop a unit and accomplish the mission is very essential for the success of the Army. To do so, the Army continuously trains ordinary people to make them effective leaders who can convert commanders’ intent into a reality. An efficient way to do so is to get the training as close to reality as possible. One of the Army training objectives is to train to win (ADP 7-0). Although the training content and the mission of all Army units are different, the fundamental training contains similar characteristics across the board. For instance, one of the Army’s philosophies is, “Train in tough conditions, in a realistic environment, with ever-changing challenges” (ADP 7-0). These conditions are essential to birth a true leader that can lead an Army unit in a direction of success. As soldiers train in these environments, the information they know already can now be mastered, even in tough conditions. When under pressure, individuals tend to have a difficult time performing a task that they know well. An increased level of stress combined with a chaotic environment can be detrimental to everyone if not handled properly. A doctor may lose the ability to perform best in a routine procedure because of the inability to manage stress properly at work. The doctor must be able to counterattack the stress and work his or her way through the chaos effectively without jeopardizing the patient’s life.

Moreover, a leader, should be able to face any chaotic environment and still be proficient in performing the assigned duties at the same time. The Army fulfills this requirement by putting all its soldiers through intense training regardless of rank or status. This method of training creates an Army leader at all levels of the Army organization. In addition, training defines and teaches each soldier their respective role as a leader, even while leading in different positions.

There are different levels within the Army organization that range from squad leaders to division-level leaders. Training provides the framework knowledge necessary for operations for all leaders to follow. The mission of a squad-level leader will be different from the mission of the Battalion level leader. For instance, a senior commander has the objective to provide the necessary resources to train during a training. On the other hand, a platoon Sergeant will conduct the mission analysis to determine the best support for the platoon’s battle tasks. This enables all the different levels of leadership to better understand their role as part of a total functioning Army organization. During training sessions, the unit conducts several rehearsals and repetitive actions in order to improve the unit performance. This creates a soldier that is mentally strong and physically fit to endure when faced with tough and hard conditions. According to Field Manual 6-0 chapter 12, “Rehearsal helps Soldiers build a lasting mental picture of the sequence of key actions within the operation (FM 6-0).” Rehearsal creates a habit within all soldiers as they train multiple times on the same tactics. It leads to the efficiency and effectiveness of the soldier as an individual and to the unit as a whole. Also, training helps improve the skills and contributes to the soldier’s career progression. As soldiers train, they become knowledgeable of different circumstances and increase their ability to respond better to different situations.

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Training exposes the strengths and weaknesses of each unit. During training, different courses of action can be implemented. These different courses of action give a bigger picture of the unit efficiency and their inefficiency. The benefit of the revelation of this big picture is that the Army can focus on exploiting its strengths. Thus, reducing and minimizing its weaknesses. This tactic will make all units more effective and less vulnerable. Tactical training makes it difficult for the adversary to infiltrate the unit. Weaknesses and strengths help Army units sort through tactics in order to determine the best course of action to implement. This increases the lethality of the unit as they only implement courses of action that resulted in the desired outcome. Post-training technics that can strengthen the unit include peer review and command evaluations, building on the unit’s strengths and reducing their weaknesses, and providing collective feedback to the unit. All of these outcomes mentioned, but not limited to, can improve the unit internally.

The most famous feedback mechanism that the Army uses is called an After Action Review (AAR). An AAR is a written report that consolidates lessons learned and best practices to follow during the course of an operation. “An AAR serves as a dynamic between task performance and execution to standard” (FM 6-0). With an AAR, Army units can understand better why the task was not performed to standard. They can then work on ways to improve and turn around all the factors of the training that did not work in the prior task. An AAR also has historical benefits. As commanders and soldiers enter and leave the unit, the mission remains the same. When a soldier leaves a unit, the soldier is equipped with all the knowledge they have learned and is able to take that knowledge to another unit to help make that unit a success. On the other hand, if a soldier has not been equipped with the same training, the new soldier will continue to make the same mistakes. A lack of training and leadership knowledge will reduce the proficiency for the unit’s mission. It will also take a long time to train the soldier. Despite this shortcoming, an immediate counter-response available to make the necessary mid-term corrections is the AAR. When the proper AAR is conducted and documented, the unit can execute the mission without making the mistake that soldiers have made in the past. This gives a significant advantage to the unit by reducing time on preparing, planning, and executing.

In order to win a war, the Army has to rely on the competence of its total forces and their ability to integrate the fight at different levels. The Army is composed of several branches that help support its fight. These branches include medical, engineers, transportation, and many more. Each one of these branches, in collaborative efforts, helps support Army fighting forces with materials, equipment, and many more. In order to integrate the warfighting function efficiently, support units have to train just as much as the fighting unit. It is historically known throughout war history that, forces target supply elements in order to disable the fighting elements that are on the front line. Without any supply, such as ration, ammo, fuel, and many more; fighting forces, regardless of their capability, are at a serious disadvantage. Throughout World War II, allies countlessly bombed German strategic supply factories in order to reduce the capabilities of the German force. Therefore, the support unit should train in combination with the fighting forces to familiarize themselves with the conditions and environment that they will be operating in while supporting the fighting forces. Without a joint training effort, support forces will be under-trained and vulnerable to enemy strategic planning to obstruct supply support from reaching the front line.

In conclusion, in today’s Army, training is the most essential factor that makes the Army strong and relevant. Without the pertinent training, the Army is an organization vulnerable to any enemy. With training, individual soldiers acquire the essential skills that will make them decisive leaders at all levels within the Army unit. Moreover, with training, the commander can assess the level of their assigned unit, their readiness, and their capability. Training also shows the commander what the unit weaknesses may be. With training efforts, the commander can exploit their strengths and reduce their weaknesses. This will make the unit more efficient and effective. Training helps to facilitate the integration of all Army forces into the warfighting function. To win its fight, the Army requires the collaboration of all its forces! Without training, this collaboration will not be possible. However, through training, all the units can contribute their perspective, and contribute strategic plans on how they can help support the fight in order to win. Training is the most crucial aspect of today’s Army!

References:

1. ADP 7-0 training. (August 2018). Retrieved from https://armypubs.army.mil/epubs/DR_pubs/DR_a/pdf/web/ARN18024_ADP 7-0 FINAL WEB.pdf.
2. ATP 3-21.10 Infantry Rifle Company. (2018, May). Retrieved from https://armypubs.army.mil/epubs/DR_pubs/DR_a/pdf/web/ARN8519_ATP 3-21x10 Final Web.pdf.
3. FM 6-0 COMMANDER AND STAFF ORGANIZATION AND OPERATIONS. (2014, May). Retrieved from https://www.milsci.ucsb.edu/sites/secure.lsit.ucsb.edu.mili.d7/files/sitefiles/fm6_0.pdf.
4. FM 7-0 TRAIN TO WIN IN A COMPLEX WORLD. (2016, October). Retrieved from https://www.usar.army.mil/Portals/98/Documents/resources_docs/TRAIN.pdf?ver=2016-10-13-162825-717.
5. Petrick, J. (n.d.). The Importance of Leadership Training in the Army. Retrieved from https://work.chron.com/importance-leadership-training-army-23722.html#targetText=Leadership training is important because of a soldier's success and morale.