Eisenhower's Critical Thinking Model Of Operation Torch

Critical thinking is an essential trait that every Army officer must possess. Officers must learn this trait and sharpen it through regular practice. The idea of critical thinking as a valuable aspect of the problem-solving process may seem daunting on the surface; however, it creates a more effective process in reaching crucial decisions for the Army officer. The critical thinking process, along with the elements of thought, used with the Army Problem Solving Process provides an established framework from which all involved parties benefit from because it enhances communication channels across all hierarchies. The elements of thought also provide thoroughness in thinking that closely align with the steps of the Army Problem Solving Process. In addition, the critical thinking process creates confidence in problem solving despite the challenges the problem presents. Therefore, it is quite evident that Paul & Elder’s Elements of Thought do assist Army officers in the conducting of the Army Problem Solving Process.

It is important for the Army Officer to pay attention to the concepts and theories, and not to fall into wrong assumptions that will divert the solution away of the purpose, mission, or goal of the Army Problem Solving Process. When the Army Officer compares the possible solutions it’s important form him to remember all the background and information, and to keep in consideration all the inferences and solutions. The Army Officer critical thinking must keep his options open avoiding to fall into false assumptions, and needs to keep a good baseline of concepts and theories.

The author, Patrick Atkinson, lays out a spectacular narrative on what was happening during Operation Torch and in the North African Campaign. In analyzing the narrative, the author’s main points consist of the Allies (American and British) and German strategy/thinking during the campaign. The other main points consist of the ally defeats and failures during the campaign which resulted in them having to re-strategize and rethink of how to defeat the Nazi forces under the command of Generalfeldmarschall Erwin Rommel. All of this cumulates to his important main point, which was that the Allies gained enough vital experience from their past defeats to win the overall campaign. There are parallels and tie-ins fro this book that correspond to the readings that we have had to do

General Dwight Eisenhower was the commander of the landing in northern Africa and the supreme commander of the Allied forces in Western Europe during World War II. Although nervous about the weather conditions of the planned Operation Overlord, with great courage, he sent off his troops to battle. His great speech before the battle and the responsible character displayed by a note in case of failure moved the hearts of American citizens praying for victory; he already displayed strong, charismatic leadership. He oversaw the great success of the Normandy invasion and the liberation of Western Europe. On May 7, 1945, onwards, he commanded the US occupation zone in Germany, accepting Germany’s unconditional

Both “Eisenhower’s 3 Imperatives for World Peace” and “Eisenhower on the Second Berlin Crisis” have similarities. While addressing

Eisenhower was one of the greatest military leaders of his time. However, few remember that there was nothing in the early years of his career that necessarily suggested he was destined for greatness. Upon his graduation from West Point in 1915, Eisenhower received countless denials to his requests to serve in combat during World War I. Instead, he was placed in several logistical and training positions in his early career. More than once, Eisenhower was placed in a position that many considered to be “career-ending,” and every time he was able to take a valuable lesson from it that would later be applied to his military and political

The Allied Powers, during World War II, recognized the only way to achieve a decisive victory was to work in conjunction, and utilize one another’s strengths and assets. However, Great Britain and the United States had differing views on the proper strategy. The United States believed concentrating its power at the earliest possible moment to attack an enemy’s critical center of gravity was the appropriate course of action (Greenfield, 1963, p. 25). The United States desired to conduct a cross channel amphibious assault and securing the French coastline from German forces. Great Britain viewed American strategy, operations, and tactics as reckless and inexperienced (Greenfield, 1963, p. 43). Winston Churchill preferred his forces to concentrate their efforts in the Mediterranean and North Africa, through more cautious engagements, to preserve economic stability in the region, while allowing the Russians to fight Germany directly and weaken German resolve. Successful unified operations in the Mediterranean were necessary, prior to conducting the cross channel invasion, in order to provide the Allies with increased strategic advantages, as well as increased faith in the commitment to combined war efforts. First, the United States needed to prove to Britain that its military forces were able to plan and execute disciplined combined operational

This paper evaluates General Eisenhower’s decision making process in resolving the Major General Fredendall situation during the aftermath of the German offensive in Tunisia in 1943. It describes and contrasts the Polis and the Incremental Decision Making Models. It applies each model to Eisenhower’s decision making process, and concludes with the logic as to why the Incremental Model best describes Eisenhower’s actions in relieving Frendendall.

In 1943 the British and American Allies shared a common language, common enemy, but they disagreed on the war’s grand strategy and struggled building mutual trust in each others’ motives and capabilities. (site) These differences and struggles culminated in the Sicily Campaign, Operation Husky, which provides a luminous and cautionary example of the pitfalls of joint warfare. At the heart of Husky’s struggles stood the Allied dysfunctional Mission Command war-fighting function and it’s inability to coordinate joint FIRES and Sustainment war-fighting function. The Allied Mission Command function failed to ensure all senior commanders understood Commander’s intent and the problem (and opportunity) present in Sicily, and most importantly, they

He initially lacked strategic leadership experience which hampered his ability to manage the internal and external environments. The Allies failed to gain a competitive advantage in Africa because they could not exploit German weaknesses and collaborate as a cohesive command. Eisenhower demonstrated maturity as a strategic leader through improved decision making. He integrated stakeholders into the decision making process which improved planning efforts and execution results as demonstrated in the Mediterranean and European theaters. Eisenhower’s greatest demonstration of strategic environment understanding came in the form of deception planning.

The main concepts presented in the article are the varying definitions of each author on the concept of critical thinking. The information the author uses are definitions which are the opinions of varied authors and are similar in foundation in that to apply critical thinking one must be able to identify a problem, pose a question(s), provide valid supporting evidence, and come to a conclusion. Although the author’s definitions do not identify a problem, questions, evidence, or conclusions, the relationship Petress (2004) shows is that the reader must apply this process themselves as it is not always given. The information used does appear to be relevant, significant, and valid. The references the author listed does provide enough information for me to come to this conclusion. Since this work is a literature review and not a case study, numerical data are not necessary to determine validity of the information.

Browne, Keely, McCall and Kaplan, refers to critical thinking as a "Systematic evaluation of arguments based on explicit rational criteria (1998, p.IX)." The authors go on to state that "critical thinking refers to the following: awareness of a set of interrelated critical questions,

What is Critical Thinking? Is the process of conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and /or evaluating information gathered by observation, experience, reflection, reasoning or communication, as a guide to belief and action (Scriven & Paul, n.d.). When one applies critical thinking more ideas are develop, fewer mistakes are made and better decisions are reached. When people instead of using critical thinking act on beliefs or without giving it a second thought, the end results are poor decisions and as a result have a disaster at hand. People don’t always use critical thinking, it is not uncommon to hear someone say such remarks after making the wrong decisions; “I just was not thinking”, “I did not think it was a big deal”,

There are proposed reasons for the emphasis that is currently on critical thinking. Many factors can be related to this emphasis. They include the societal factors of economic shifts

In the 2004 movie, Ike: Countdown to D-Day, a profile of the leadership style of General Dwight D. Eisenhower is presented as planning and preparation for the single greatest invasion in the history of the world is engaged. This paper examines the leadership style and qualities of the Supreme Allied Commander as presented in the movie and in other literary references.