Major Anthony S. Miller 24 July 2015
Which imperative is the most important and Why? Give an example of something that the Army could do to enhance capabilities in that domain.
Developing leaders to meet the challenges of the 21st century is clearly the most important imperative for the U.S. Army. History is flush with examples of leadership defeating superior technology or causing the defeat to technologically inferior forces: Battle of Little Big Horn,[footnoteRef:1] Gallipoli,[footnoteRef:2] Tafileh,[footnoteRef:3] Dien Bien Phu,[footnoteRef:4] and so on. Effective leadership is a like a tide that lifts all boats. Improvements in leadership directly translate to improvements in most every other metric of success. It only makes logical sense to focus on the imperative that delivers the most return on resources invested. [1: James Brust, Brian Pohanka and Sandy Barnard, ?Custer?s Field,? Boston College Magazine, summer 2006, accessed on July 28, 2015, http://bcm.bc.edu/issues/summer_2006/endnotes/custers-field.html] [2: Robert Messenger, ?Straits of Disaster,? The Wall Street Journal, May 23, 2009, accessed July 28, 2015, http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970203771904574175763132225506] [3: John Mack, A Prince of …show more content…
As a commander, you do not have direct control over contractors[footnoteRef:31]. Effective control of contractors begins when the Army first articulates its needs to the service provider. Often requirements are not correctly or consistently expressed to the contracted company. If uncorrected, these errors will translate to poorly written statements of work. Additionally, Contracting Officer Representatives must be fully trained in their duties and capable of managing conflicts, performance and changes in the mission. [31: US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Joint Publication 4-10, Operational Contract Support. (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, July 2014), I-10 -
Which imperative is the most important and Why? Give an example of something that the Army could do to enhance capabilities in that domain.
Developing leaders to meet the challenges of the 21st century is clearly the most important imperative for the U.S. Army. History is flush with examples of leadership defeating superior technology or causing the defeat to technologically inferior forces: Battle of Little Big Horn,[footnoteRef:1] Gallipoli,[footnoteRef:2] Tafileh,[footnoteRef:3] Dien Bien Phu,[footnoteRef:4] and so on. Effective leadership is a like a tide that lifts all boats. Improvements in leadership directly translate to improvements in most every other metric of success. It only makes logical sense to focus on the imperative that delivers the most return on resources invested. [1: James Brust, Brian Pohanka and Sandy Barnard, ?Custer?s Field,? Boston College Magazine, summer 2006, accessed on July 28, 2015, http://bcm.bc.edu/issues/summer_2006/endnotes/custers-field.html] [2: Robert Messenger, ?Straits of Disaster,? The Wall Street Journal, May 23, 2009, accessed July 28, 2015, http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970203771904574175763132225506] [3: John Mack, A Prince of …show more content…
As a commander, you do not have direct control over contractors[footnoteRef:31]. Effective control of contractors begins when the Army first articulates its needs to the service provider. Often requirements are not correctly or consistently expressed to the contracted company. If uncorrected, these errors will translate to poorly written statements of work. Additionally, Contracting Officer Representatives must be fully trained in their duties and capable of managing conflicts, performance and changes in the mission. [31: US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Joint Publication 4-10, Operational Contract Support. (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, July 2014), I-10 -