Military Review English Edition September-October 2013 | Page 85

TRUST

tions, [and] it is much easier to destroy.”48 The predictability component of public trust is developed through consistent repetitive behavior; but it only takes one confirmed violation to damage that trust. The Army’s vulnerability to the predictability component of public trust is related to action horizons and strategic patience. Action horizons are the timelines on which leaders expect their actions to produce definitive results or trends. Army leaders are habituated to making quick decisions to effect change within action horizons based on command tour lengths; but strategic decisions to effect organizational and cultural change may require years, if not decades, before they produce results. The strategic patience required to manage complexity has a corollary in the operational mission sets of security cooperation, stability operations, and security force assistance. Senior Army leaders appreciate the importance of patiently maintaining a strategic vision while adapting to the immediate demands of a changing operational environment during these missions. Army leaders need to apply the same patience and adaptability to organizational issues. Civilian lead-

ers retain the authority to direct short-term actions based on austere resource conditions and political considerations outside the Army’s professional jurisdiction. Yet Army senior leaders need to maintain a focus on the service’s strategic vision (aligned with civilian policy and direction) and persist in the face of resource challenges. The Army Profession’s senior leadership has a duty and stewardship obligation to clearly and publically articulate the strategic risks associated with landpower management and employment choices, thereby informing civilian decision-making.

Conclusion

Generally, the Army has sustained a tradition of trust at the individual and organizational levels, and is held in high regard by the American public. While this trust is a strategic advantage, it is fragile and the Army needs to guard against complacency. To maintain internal and public trust in the Army and its leaders, there are a number of areas that require the profession’s constant vigilance (See Figure 2). At the individual and organizational levels, trust

(U.S. Army, Spc. Ken Scar)

U.S. Army 1st Lt. Graham Hatch walks the site of a traffic checkpoint near Forward Operating Base Super FOB, in Paktika Province, Afghanistan, 13 March 2012.

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