June 26, 2009 -- The Army is set to unveil a new strategy aimed at attuning leaders at all echelons to the complex requirements of conflicts similar to those in Iraq and Afghanistan, where cultural sensitivity and interagency cooperation greatly influence military success.
Work on the new “Leader Development Strategy for an Expeditionary Army” began early this year at the behest of Training and Doctrine Command chief Gen. Martin Dempsey. The document, which could be unveiled as early as next week, is expected to include annexes with detailed guidance for the development of officers, noncommissioned officers, warrant officers and civilian leaders.
TRADOC spokesman Harvey Perritt would only say officials plan to release the strategy “shortly.” He said today it was yet unclear whether the final document would bear the signature of Dempsey or Gen. George Casey, the Army chief of staff.
InsideDefense.com obtained a draft version of the strategy, dated June 16.
The document builds on two fundamental assumptions: that cultural, economic and military problems will continue to converge in future conflicts; and that adversaries will wage war by marrying irregular tactics with traditional and high-tech warfare.
In an “increasingly competitive” security environment, the ability for Army leaders to quickly adapt to change on the battlefield is crucial, Dempsey argues in the 11-page draft document. “We may not be able to dominate everywhere and within and across all domains as we have for the past quarter century,” the document states. “However, we must remain capable of . . . gaining and maintaining superiority at all times and in places of our choosing,” it adds.
An “emerging insight” from current operations and recent wargames is that soldiers at relatively low command echelons contribute significantly to the outcome of campaigns, the document states. This is in contrast to Cold War-era thinking, which stipulated that operationally significant decision-making is reserved only to high-level command elements.
“Our Army is a hierarchical organization, but it must become 'hybrid' in the sense that it develops leaders willing to decentralize authority at every opportunity,” the document states. “If we are to prevail in the future operating environment, this must be as true in our highest strategic headquarters as it is in our lowest tactical headquarters, and it must be applied equally to institutional policies and combat operations,” it adds.
As a result, leaders should be exposed to non-military “instruments” of power sooner than is currently the case, the document reads.
The draft strategy is wary of the effects of extended tours of duty and a “backlog” in professional military education on leader development. “We are not building an adequate 'bench' of senior leaders for the future,” it reads.
It singles out two specific “gaps” in the Army's current leader-development strategy -- preparation for traditional combat operations against “near-peer competitors” and preparation to support civil authorities at home.
The draft strategy announces an upcoming change in the Army Field Manual 5-0, “Planning and Orders Production.” Officials will insert a section on “design” into the field manual, positioning it as a precursor to the formal Military Decision Making Process (MDMP), according to the strategy.
“Design is a problem-framing methodology that provides leaders with the cognitive tools to understand a problem and appreciate its complexities before seeking to solve it,” the strategy explains.
Work on the revised field manual is slated to wrap up later this summer or in the fall, Perritt, the TRADOC spokesman, said. -- Sebastian Sprenger
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