The Role of Training and Education for Army Leaders

In a world fueled with technological advancement and ever evolving foreign nations, it is with no surprise that we, the United States Army, sprint to create the most lethal Soldier to shield us against the untold threats of foreign powers. In order to produce this Soldier, we must implement new methods of how we develop a leader. A leader is a person that commands a team from experience, training, and intellect. An individual that knows the strengths and weaknesses of his or her Soldiers. By understanding how we educate and train our leaders of today, we can develop a smarter, more modernized soldier for the fight of tomorrow.

Educate Leaders

China, Russia, and Iran are three examples modernized countries that invest their time and money into technologies such as inter-continental missiles and cyber technology. Since the end of World War II, the United States has dominated the playing field with the most advanced air, sea, space, and cyber technologies. The enemies of the United States are no longer crippled from lack of intelligence and technology. With this new world of advanced evading forces, it is imperative that our leaders are highly educated to be able to make complex decisions and execute missions without supervision. 'By exposing these great soldiers to these opportunities in teaching them how to think, rather than what to think in a checklist mentality, that’s how we will build on the leaders of today, so that future leaders will have the ability to thrive in ambiguity and chaos”.

Train Leaders

To become a Leader in the Army you must endure difficult training that push the physical and mental limits of a Soldier. Leaders understand at a larger scale the intent of a mission and use that knowledge to lead their soldiers on the battlefield. Leadership training enhances a Soldiers ability to lead as well as allows them to surface their confidence to direct and execute missions. With training and repetition leaders are able to develop confidence when giving an order. Courses such as Basic Leader Course (BLC), Advanced Leader Course (ALC), and Senior Leader Course (ALC), are programs that sculpt lower enlisted soldiers into tactical, proficient leaders. From the start of day one when a Soldier joins the Army their training and development into a Leader begins. “Leaders are not born but made” (Petrick). It is clear that training will forever be a part of evolving a Soldier into a leader.

Train or Educate

Some may say that training leaders may not be as effective as educating them. It is crucial that the Army both trains and educates their leaders if they have any chance to thrive in this modern civilization. As history shows, training is nothing new to the Army. Training after training is the effective way in which the Army knows how to implement muscle memory into a Soldiers brain. As this does get results, the Army is creating new tactics as to what makes an effective soldier today. Both training and educating leaders is how we will win wars to come. An educated Army is more effective than one that has just been trained. Following orders is important but how about an Army that can make tactical decisions in the interest of the Army with little to no supervision from higher leadership when time is of the essence. The future of our Army begins with the education and training implemented into our Non-Commissioned Officers (NCO’s) for they will be the ones facing the wars to come.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the world is advancing and with that so are our enemies. The Army we are integrating into this new era is one that prevails over the strongest of adversaries, is experienced against cyber warfare, and can execute as well as travel to new destinations if the mission requires. With new training and education programs being implemented into the ranks of NCO’s, tomorrows leaders will be educated and trained in such a way that allows them to adapt to and attack any threat in this evolving technological world.