Critical thinking is one of the most essential skills Army officers must master in their professional development. “Creative thinking leads to new insights, novel approaches, fresh perspectives, and new ways of understanding and conceiving things.” Critical thinking is used throughout the operations planning process and is a key component to the Army problem solving process. Drs. Richard Paul and Linda Elder’s elements of thought model correlates directly with the Army Problem Solving Process, and provide additional critical thought components, improving the problem solving process.
