REFLECT
Operationalizing Individual and Team Development
by Scott Nusom The field grade officer’s chief responsibility is to operationalize guidance and intent. However, often overlooked is how field grade leaders can just as effectively operationalize individual and team development. Simply stated,...
Readiness Displayed: The Ukraine Conflict and the Importance of Readiness Principles
by Aaron Childers The Russo-Ukraine War has captivated the world’s attention as the smaller and less-technologically advanced Ukrainian forces continue to stall the advance of a much larger and better-equipped force. Many issues have plagued...
Missing the Forests for the Trees: The Flaw in Army Future Command’s Vision on Emerging Conflicts
by Yancy J. Bush A common idiom applied to someone too engrossed in a detail describes that person as unable to see the forest for the trees. They miss the larger context of the situation by only considering a small component of it. This saying...
On Practical Leadership- The Value of Active Listening
by Alberto J. Delgado “It doesn’t make sense to hire smart people and tell them what to do; we hire smart people so they can tell us what to do.” You’ve probably heard that quote thrown around at meetings and posted all over social-media as...
The Science and Art of Command
by Michael Everett Does the Army practice Mission Command? Or Command and Control? After the 2019 update to ADP 6-0 Mission Command, many young leaders are confused about the terms command and control and mission command. The bottom line is this:...
Making Good Decisions on Time
by Gary McDonald and Ron Sprang It is D-Day, June 6 1944, Dog Green Sector, Omaha Beach, the waves crash against the beach. Countless Higgins boats race to the shore to deliver the first wave of young warriors to the fight. “Clear the ramp, 30...
The Field Grade Leader and Domestic Operations: A Primer
by Rick Chersicla ...
Leading at the Crossroads of Experience and Personality
by Kyle Trottier and William Branch Upon being selected to serve as the BCT Executive Officer (XO) and BCT Operations Officer (S3), William Branch and I held a series of sensing sessions with each Battalion Commander and Battalion Command Sergeant...
The SFAB: A Lieutenants Experience
by Christopher Wilson Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this article was published in the Spring 2022 issue of Infantry magazine and has been reproduced with permission. As I in-processed to the 2nd Security Force Assistance Brigade...
A Tale of Two Majors: A Simple Way to Seek Shared Understanding
by Tom Dull and Matthew Schardt It is the middle of the night and the Brigade is on schedule to uncoil and maneuver into the vast training area of the National Training Center (NTC) in just a few hours. Two Army Field Grades, Majors, are conducting...
How to Fail as the S6
By: Chris Byrd, Dre’ Abadie, Joe Pishock, Joshua Trimble, Brian Jorgenson, Oz Ortiz, Shawn Carden, and Charles Smith. Two factors determine the operational reach of fighting formations: communications and logistics. The S6 is the center of...
The Leadership Lesson Our Parents Taught Us
When I first started learning to talk, my parents taught me an important lesson about great leadership. They taught me to be gracious. Whenever someone did something nice for me, they would look down at me and ask, “What do you say?” And I would...
How to Leave a Legacy
By Ryan Kenny When you look back at your contributions throughout your career what will matter most to you? How will you judge yourself and expect to be judged? Too often, as leaders, we do not ask ourselves these simple questions throughout our...
Chuck it in the F*ck It Bucket! A Lesson in Resiliency
By: Liz Schloemann There are times as leaders when you expend a lot of effort on a project, a plan, or in some cases, a person. You spend weeks to months building up to the perfect pivotal moment of success, when your effort comes to fruition. You...
Field Grade Years- The Journeyman Experience
By BG Ross Coffman Defining success as a major in a succinct manner is difficult. Leaders typically serve at this rank for seven years and transition from position to position. Each of these positions require different learning objectives and keys...
Some NCO Advice to New Majors
By: CSM Samuel C. Rapp and SFC Harlan D. Kefalas Hey Sir! Welcome to the unit. Whether you are the operations officer or the executive officer, we are going to be working close together. NCOs will do most of the heavy lifting with support from...
Interacting With Your Battalion Commander
By Scott Shaw So you’re in the Staff College, on the Division Staff, or just about to take that Iron Major position. CONGRATULATIONS! You’re about to assume a very important role. Majors run Brigade Combat Teams and Brigade Combat Teams are what...
Speak the Forbidden Letters: MDMP
By Josh Powers and Joe Byerly In many organizations, the letters “MDMP” will send staff officers running. The process can be painful and daunting, but it doesn’t have to be that way. As field grade officers, we control the planning timeline and we...
Field Grade Tales From a Former OC/T
By Jim King One of the benefits of being an Observer Controller/Trainer (OC/T) is that we get to stand with one leg in doctrine and the other in reality. We learn the theory, but then watch countless units fight it out in the Mojave desert, moving...
In Case You Didn’t Know It, Things Are Very Different Now: Part 2
By: Tony Cucolo Exceptional Personal Appearance: The Baseline for a Great First Impression I have taken a lot of good-natured chiding and grief for this portion of the coaching – one of my Majors called it “The Blazer Brief” — but I cannot...
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Idea to Action: The West Point Negotiation Project
By: Luke Hutchison When it comes to creating change in the largest bureaucracy on earth – the Department of Defense – it can often seem like a challenging, if not impossible, task. However, there are some Intrapreneurs who have seen a...
The Top Ten Things I Learned in Squadron Command
By: LTC Chad Foster I learned a lot over two years in command of a Cavalry Squadron. I also re-learned many things that I had discovered during earlier assignments, but these lessons gained a new and broader context when experienced from a...
Let’s Talk #DRAFTFM30
Have you ever read an Army Field Manual and wished you could have added your two cents prior to it accumulating dust on your office shelf? Now’s your chance. The Strategy Bridge, The Military Leader, and From the Green Notebook are excited to...
“Wall Walk” Yourself and Your Team to Better Briefings and Papers
By: Colonel Michael Lawhorn I have delivered, and I have been on the receiving end of less than stellar briefings that usually involve a lot of tedious Power Point slides. Now there is plenty of advice out there both on personal briefing techniques...
When Organizational Change Goes Wrong
By Dan Sanders Five months into my Air Force operations officer tour, my boss and I reflected on how we were doing. I came to the conclusion that while we had made great strides in achieving his vision of unifying our team, and professionalizing...
#DAweek Somebody…Anybody…Revise the TACSOP
By: Jeff Meinders One of the few documents a unit uses to help describe how they fight is their tactical standard operating procedure (TACSOP) book. The Army’s manual on how to write an SOP, ATP 3-90.90, lists 32 questions to help guide the...
#DAweek: Preparing For Decisive Action
By: Jim Greer For 55 years after World War II the U.S. VII Corps prepared to defend the rolling hills, forests and villages of Germany against attack by the Soviet and Warsaw Pact forces. Then, in early November of 1990 they were ordered to deploy...
#DAweek: How Will We Train to Fight and Win in a Complex World?
By: General David Perkins “Military failures are a result of three things: failure to learn, failure to adapt, and a failure to anticipate.” The strength of the United States military – in fact, our asymmetric advantage – is...
Time To Change Mission Command Doctrine
By Regina Parker The Army let me study abroad in China this year to deepen my understanding of international relations, but I have also learned quite a bit about the Army itself. Last week, for instance, I was riding a train through Tianjin when my...
You Want the Best? Embrace Failure
By Brad Hutchison three The troops were ready: SHARP, OPSEC, SAEDA and CTIP training complete; field sanitation, environmental compliance, and ammunition handling teams trained and identified; all Soldiers who would come within the 385 days of...
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