Cultural Change and the Operational Energy Strategy
Abstract
Energy security is essential to the military and to the nation. Operations in Iraq and Afghanistan have highlighted the critical, dangerous, and enormous requirement for fuel to sustain combat operations on a daily basis. The Department of Defense (DoD) Operational Energy Strategy, which was approved in May 2011, will require DoD Components to change the way they operate in terms of having more fight with less fuel, more options with less risk, and more capability with fewer costs. In the book "Leading Change," the author John Kotter outlines eight steps for creating major change within an organization. These steps will be used as a framework for examining DoD's Operational Energy Strategy. Based on the paper's assessment of progress to date using Kotter's eight-step process, it identifies three broad recommendations to ensure continued cultural change within DoD Components with respect to the Operational Energy Strategy. These three recommendations are centered on the following: (1) reviewing pending national energy legislation to incorporate relevant elements in an updated energy strategy, (2) identifying specific ways for DoD and the Army to support this strategy through changes in military doctrine, and (3) encouraging all levels of leadership to properly focus their attention on this issue. Implementing these recommendations will ensure that cultural change endures in the years ahead.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Feb 01, 2012
- Accession Number
- ADA560847
Entities
People
- Steven L. Allen
Organizations
- United States Army War College