Returning to Army Leadership

Abstract

Great military leaders inspire their troops and lead them into battle. No senior officer in today's Army has risen to this level of greatness. Instead, we are led by a corps of general officers who are better described with superlatives like "scholar," "diplomat," and "manager." This paper examines what has changed in the Army's leadership doctrine, selection process, training, and philosophy of leadership that has resulted in this profound change. The paper examines various definitions of leadership, and then describes an Army leader, General George C. Marshall, who set the standard for Army leadership. Two other great Army leaders are briefly discussed: General Maxwell Taylor and General Omar Bradley. The paper also contains sections on the theories of leadership and corporate leadership and management. It makes recommendations regarding how the Army can return to its heritage and revise its leadership programs to develop the next generation of Army leaders.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 15, 2011
Accession Number
ADA560249

Entities

People

  • John M. Riley

Organizations

  • United States Army War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Human Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Civil War
  • Demographic Cohorts
  • Department Of Defense
  • Doctrine
  • Education
  • Human Behavior
  • Instructors
  • Leadership
  • Leadership Training
  • Organizational Structure
  • Schools
  • Second World War
  • Students
  • Training
  • United States
  • War
  • War Colleges

Readers

  • Defense Acquisition Program Management
  • Military History of the United States in the 20th Century.