ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY

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.

The Army is in the midst of a generational transformation to ensure it maintains the capability and capacity to deter adversaries, campaign effectively, respond to crises and, if required, win decisively in combat. This transformation to a multidomain-capable force will change not only how the Army fights, but also what it fights with and how those future systems and equipment will be sustained and maintained in a contested environment.

The materiel enterprise is at the forefront of transformation efforts, rethinking how the Army provides logistics and sustainment support, to build the...

World War I is often considered the first modern conflict; its combatants employed modern technology, including machine guns, armored vehicles and aircraft. Interestingly, the most spectacular victory in that bloody conflict was not won through use of those new and potent weapons. The Battle of Tannenberg, fought from Aug. 26–30, 1914, in what is now Stebark, Poland, was won through exploitation of an opponent’s information and communication network.

At the start of the war, before the Western Front settled into trench warfare, a German force of 150,000 faced an invasion from the east by...

World War I is often considered the first modern conflict; its combatants employed modern technology, including machine guns, armored vehicles and aircraft. Interestingly, the most spectacular victory in that bloody conflict was not won through use of those new and potent weapons. The Battle of Tannenberg, fought from Aug. 26–30, 1914, in what is now Stebark, Poland, was won through exploitation of an opponent’s information and communication network.

At the start of the war, before the Western Front settled into trench warfare, a German force of 150,000 faced an invasion from the east by...

After Congress created the Naming Commission to rename Army posts that honored Confederate officers, commissioners this past May recommended changing the name of Fort Benning, Georgia, to Fort Moore. The recommendation to honor both Lt. Gen. Harold “Hal” Moore and Julia “Julie” Compton Moore makes sense: The couple defined the role of command team long before family support groups became the norm.

In November 1965, then-Lt. Col. Moore commanded the 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, during the first pitched battle of the Vietnam War, in the Central Highlands of South Vietnam. Moore and...

In 2018, I was assigned to a two-star headquarters in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility. From this perch, I was able to observe firsthand a trend that had become apparent to all students of global American military intervention over the arc of the long war.

Even then, before the U.S. agreement with the Taliban and eventual withdrawal from Afghanistan, it was apparent that American military involvement in the Middle East was in a slow and steady decline.

American focus was shifting to the Far East and Europe, and this was painfully obvious to the U.S. generals responsible...

He was the fifth and last member of the U.S. Army to achieve five-star rank, a distinguished soldier who served as a senior officer in World War II. Known as “the GI’s  General,” Omar Bradley accomplished much in his life. He also had a sterling reputation as leader of the 12th U.S. Army Group in the liberation of Europe, commanding 1.3 million troops at the conclusion of World War II.

One of Bradley’s major deeds, little known to the public, was his service as administrator of the Veterans Administration, now known as the Department of Veterans Affairs, at a time when millions of military...