Military Review English Edition November-December 2015 | Page 113

LEADING SOLDIERS provide opportunities for such interaction. Training and accountability at this level will further develop soldiers and create the kind of relationships and team cohesiveness the Army needs. It is clear that developments in technology have rapidly advanced our means for communicating. Advanced communication technology is a phenomenon born of the information age; it is one that is likely to progress in its availability and use. People will continue to use technology for routine communication, and the channels for communicating will, no doubt, evolve further. These advances help leaders command and control large formations more efficiently, thus enabling mission accomplishment. Even so, there are potentially negative effects for individual social skills, connectedness, and unit cohesion from relying too heavily on communicating through technology. Protecting lives while enabling a unit to succeed in combat or under stressful circumstances necessitates strong unit cohesion. Moreover, individuals may further develop their personal resilience and social skills by emphasizing active communication channels. The recent advances in technology are certainly astounding, but optimally, personal relationships are built primarily upon direct contact, communication, and trust. The Army needs this trust to be firmly established by direct, active communication, with support from communication technology, rather than primarily by communication through mediating technologies. Maj. Andrew B. Stipp, U.S. Army, is the operations officer for the Provost Marshal, 1st Armored Division, Fort Bliss, Texas. He holds a BA in psychology from Purdue University and an MA in business and organizational security from Webster University. This article won second place in the General Douglas MacArthur Leadership Writing Competition, Command and General Staff College class 14-02. Notes 1. Michael Braun, “Classifying Communication Channels: The Active-Passive Continuum,” MichaelBraun.me website, undated blog post, accessed 5 August 2015, http://www.michaelbraun. me/2012/05/classifying-communication-channels-the-active-passive-continuum/. 2. Kaveri Subrahmanyam et al., “The Impact of Home Computer Use on Children’s Activities and Development,” The Future of Children 10 (Fall/ Winter 2000):135. 3. David Krackhardt, “The Strength of Strong Ties: The importance of Philos in Organizations,” N. Nohria and R. Eccles, eds., Networks and Organizations: Structure, Form, and Action (Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 1994), cited in Subrahmanyam “The Impact of Home Computer Use,” accessed 5 August 2015, http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CB4QFjAAahUKEwiYoZHQvJLHAhVHjw0KHZUWDHU&url=h ttp%3A%2F%2Fwww. cdmc.ucla.edu%2FPublished_Research_files%2Fspkg-2001.pdf&ei=tkjCVZjuJMeeNpWtsKgH&usg=AFQjCNEUaI-xIVH_0krb9dyo15oS3JYWXg&bvm=bv.99261572,d.eXY. 4. Subrahmanyam, “The Impact of Home Computer Use,” 137. 5. Ibid., 140. 6. Laura E. Buffardi and W. Keith Campbell, “Narcissism and Social Networking Web Sites,” Personality & Social Psychology Bulletin 34 (October 2008): 1303-1314. 7. Joe Doty and Jeff Fenlason, “Narcissism and Toxic Leaders,” Military Review ( January-February 2013): 55-60. 8. Patti M. Valkenburg and Jochen Peter, “Social Consequences of MILITARY REVIEW  November-December 2015 the Internet for Adolescents: A Decade of Research,” Current Directions in Psychological Science 18 (2009): 2. 9. Yuhyung Shin and Kyojik Song, “Role of Face-to-Face and Computer-Mediated Communication Time in the Cohesion and Performance of Mixed-Mode Groups,” Asian Journal of Social Psychology 14 (2011): 126-139. 10. Ibid., 129. 11. Ibid., 132. 12. Ibid., 133. 13. Daniel P. Patterson et al., “Network Analysis of Team Communication in a Busy Emergency Department,” BMC Health Services Research 13 (1 May 2013): 1-12. 14. Ibid., 1. 15. Ibid., 12. 16. Paul T. Bartone, “Resilience Under Military Operational Stress: Can Leaders Influence Hardiness?” Military Psychology 18 ( July 2006): 131-148. 17. Ibid., 135. 18. Ibid., 141. 19. David Vergun, “Texting No Substitute for Face-Time, Captains Tell CSA,” U.S. Army Homepage, 14 July 2014, accessed 19 June 2015, http://www.army.mil/article/129901/ Texting_no_substitute_for_face_time__captains_tell_CSA/. 20. Jeffrey Kluger, “We Never Talk Anymore: The Problem With Text Messaging,” CNN [Cable News Network] Tech, 6 September 2012, accessed 17 June 2015, http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/31/tech/ mobile/problem-text-messaging-oms/. 107