Military Review English Edition November-December 2013 | Page 44

Leader Preparation
to Support Rebuilding

Lt. Gen. Frederic J. (Rick) Brown, Ph.D., U.S. Army, Retired

R
Lt. Gen. Frederic (Rick) Brown, Ph.D.,
U.S. Army, retired from the Army in
1989, having served 32 years in various command and staff assignments.
He graduated from West Point and
later attended the Graduate Institute in
Geneva, Switzerland, as an Olmsted
Scholar, receiving both Licence and
Doctorate degrees. He has published
several books and articles, as well as
numerous papers on national security
issues.
PHOTO: Convoy guide 1st Lt. Justin
Koper, 1st Squadron, 4th Cavalry
(second from right), briefs 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry convoy leaders
about trouble spots on their approach
route to Forward Operating Base
Wilson. The leaders are (from left)
1st Lt. John Ghee, Staff Sgt. Michael
Beyers, and 1st Sgt. Jeff Gunter. (Staff
Sgt. Raymond Drumstar)

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EBUILDING AMERICA’S ARMY after an extraordinarily difficult
and extended commitment presents tough challenges. The Army is
severely attrited from the extended commitment to the “long war”—exacerbated by the converging pressures of continuing transformation and reorganization for the future (a task once described by the director of the Army
staff as “it’s like designing an aircraft in flight”). Intense mission demands
have now endured for well over a decade. To these we should now add
national social stresses such as increased roles for women and open sexual
relationships.
Yet America’s Army responds well, innovating as it reorients and rebuilds.
The modular brigade modifications to create security transition teams that
support security force assistance are clear examples of institutional redesign
to support stability operations and decisive action.1 Now the Army must complement this organizational response with doctrine; tactics, techniques, and
procedures (TTPs); and leader development. Relationships gained through
sharing requisite skills, knowledge, and attitudes (SKA) characteristic of
“soft power” are prerequisites for successful combined arms maneuver and
wide-area security operations.
Modifications in Army governance processes may also be necessary to
improve the effectiveness and efficiency of operating and generating forces.
Similar to how changes were initiated after Vietnam, the most significant
improvements in both approach and eventual execution are likely to come
“bottom-up”—from young officers and noncommissioned officers who
have again-and-again faced the full spectrum of operational environments.
Today, Generation Y leaders who are accustomed to global access via “cloud
November-December 2013

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