Invigorating Army Leadership: A Plea for Enhanced Dialogue in Military Circles
The United States Army's Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) is spearheading a significant effort to revitalise professional military publications as part of a broader mission to strengthen the Army during the interwar period.
TRADOC's role encompasses developing, educating, and training soldiers and leaders. This includes the creation and integration of new doctrine and educational materials that reflect current operational environments and threats.
Through its G-2 Operational Environment Enterprise, TRADOC curates and disseminates a wide range of articles, analyses, and documents. These resources aim to inform soldiers and leaders about modern warfare complexities, enhancing critical thinking and operational understanding. A comprehensive Product Repository provides easy access to both new and historical strategic and intelligence documents, supporting professional military education and doctrine development.
TRADOC's initiatives extend beyond the digital realm. Numerous schools and courses incorporate these updated publications into training programs, ensuring Army personnel are equipped with the latest knowledge to out-think and out-maneuver potential adversaries.
The command is also involved in organisational restructuring and integration with Futures Command to enhance innovation in training and doctrine moving forward. This could influence how professional military publications are managed and updated.
Sergeant Major of the Army Michael Weimer, the 17th in the role, General Gary Brito, the 18th commanding general of the US Army Training and Doctrine Command, and General Randy George, the acting chief of staff of the US Army and the 38th vice chief of staff of the US Army, are all part of this transformative process.
The Army recognises the need for ideas about where doctrine and school curricula get it right, need improvement, or are missing something. To address this, TRADOC will lead the effort to reinvest in professional dialogue. This includes experimenting with volunteer editors to better connect Army outlets and create a sense of connection among officers and soldiers.
Moreover, the Army understands the importance of professional writing in informing the force, sharing lessons laterally, and driving doctrinal development. The Army needs to modernise its equipment, doctrine, and training, and incorporating ideas, techniques, and technologies from the civilian world into its operations is crucial.
The Army should also share innovative tactics, techniques, and procedures more widely than just within a unit or group of colleagues. Fixing archives to make historic articles accessible is another focus. The Harding Project, recognised for its work in renewing professional military publications, is a testament to these efforts.
Branch journals are the place to share new ideas, ask questions, and identify challenges and solutions. The Army's professional publications need help due to fewer pages, less frequency, and less diverse authorship. The US Army is currently in an interwar period, and strengthening its professional publications is a key step towards ensuring its readiness for future conflicts.
The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not reflect the official position of the United States Military Academy, Department of the Army, or Department of Defense.
- The United States Army's Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) is revitalizing professional military publications as part of a broader mission to strengthen the Army during the interwar period, with an emphasis on modern warfare complexities, operational understanding, and critical thinking.
- TRADOC's initiatives include leadership development and education, the creation of new doctrine, and the integration of intelligence documents to support professional military education and doctrine development.
- The Army recognizes the importance of professional writing in informing the force, sharing lessons laterally, and driving doctrinal development, and is working on modernizing its publications by incorporating ideas, techniques, and technologies from the civilian world.
- The Army is focusing on sharing innovative tactical approaches more widely, fixing archives to make historic articles accessible, and addressing the challenges faced by the Army's professional publications, such as fewer pages, less frequency, and less diverse authorship.
