Jimmy Doolittle : A Visionary And Ethical Leader

The movie “Twelve O’ Clock High” is a case study in the application of leadership theory during World War Two. Gregory Peck portrays Brigadier General Savage, a United States Army Air Force officer thrust into a situation that requires a maximum effort both on the ground and in the air as he attempts to re-invigorate an undisciplined, anxiety ridden, and ineffective combat unit. Throughout the movie we observe Peck’s character employing a variety of leadership methods, but ultimately discovering that true combat effectiveness and cohesion is accomplished through a

Given the opportunity to take command of a Remotely Piloted Aircraft Attack squadron actively engaged in combat is truly humbling, and standing on the shoulders of giants, now is the chance to test whether training, examples, both good and bad, and a lifelong building of one’s philosophy is enough preparation to meet that test. My leadership philosophy is one of proactive engagement, continual process/self-improvement, honest feedback, and 360-degree accountability. On Col Waddell’s continuum of Leader Behavior, my leadership style trends toward follower-dominant but not as far as TQM. I present ideas and problems, get suggestions and ultimately make the calls.

I have chosen to write about my old Battalion Commander, Brigadier General(BG) Peter Jones. The then Lieutenant Colonel(LTC) Jones oversaw my Infantry Battalion when I deployed to Ramadi, Iraq. He displayed numerous attributes that I model my military career from; he had an unwavering presence and strong intellect. His competence was also the highest that I have ever encountered in my military career; he was a lead from the front type of leader and strove to achieve nothing but success whilst keeping the soldiers in his command in the front of his mind. I have set my standards of leadership off BG Jones and that is why he is my personal leader of influence. I will outline some examples of him throughout this paper.

In 2012, General Dempsey states “Mission Command is fundamentally a learned behavior to be imprinted into the DNA of a profession of arms.” The way Mission Command has evolved through the past years is indicative to the US Military adjusting to a new threat. The concept of Mission Command is not new, what is important is how General Dempsey states “Education in the fundamental principles of mission command must begin at the start of service and be progressively more challenging..” The General emphasizes the need for education at the start of the individual’s service. Additionally, this highlights the United States Army’s doctrinal adjustment to the new threat. During the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, the US faced an enemy whose creativity and adaptability are two of its greatest assets. The fast-paced situation changes in both of those AOs required tactical level leadership maintain the autonomy to “exercise disciplined initiative.” This type of initiative historically leads to mission success, specifically in fast-paced situations where a key to success is forcing the enemy to react.

There are a number of qualities that quantify good leaderships and good leaders. According to Kouzes and Posner in their book The Leadership Challenge, all successful leaders have (5) practices in common. They “Model the Way”, “Inspire a shared vision”, “Challenge the process”, “enable others to act” and “encourage the heart”(15). Never is there a more important time to have exemplary leadership, than in a time of war. Both the American Civil War and World War II showed what was possible through good leadership. From abolishing slavery and preserving the Union, to fighting tyranny and oppression abroad, both events in American history had a profound impact on all those involved. The impact would most certainly be different if not for the leadership of Colonel Lawrence Chamberlain of the Union Army during the Civil War and General George S. Patton during World War II. Both leaders possessed the 5 practices essential for god leadership, yet both leaders to different approaches to accomplish their goals.

Commanders at all levels face increasingly challenging scenarios as the operational environment changes. Some instinctively motivate and empower their subordinates to think and act independently, thereby influencing actions during combat. However, those who understand the commanders' activities of mission command will influence not only subordinates, but the outcome of the battle as well. Mission command is the exercise of authority and direction by the commander using mission orders to enable disciplined initiative within the commander’s intent to empower agile and adaptive leaders.1 Commanders who understood the importance of mission command was Major General Horatio Gates. General Gates at the Battle of Saratoga successfully

Maj. Gen. “Fighting Joe” Hooker demonstrated an excellent example of failed mission command during the Battle of Chancellorsville in April 1863. He had thought he would defeat General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia by maneuver beginning in Chancellorsville as he pushed Lee toward Richmond. His commitment toward his own plan for Lee’s response would overshadow his operational planning and ultimately lead to a mission command failure at Chancellorsville despite outnumbering Lee’s troops 128,000 to 60,000. Through decentralized execution, Hooker could have empowered agile and adaptive leadership to operate under uncertainty, exploit opportunities, and achieve unity of effort. Instead, he failed in exercising at least four principles of mission command. He did not provide a clear commander’s intent, create shared understanding, exercise disciplined initiative, or accept prudent risk.

Richtopia calls Adam Milstein one of the 200 Most Influential Do-Gooders in the World based on his influential Facebook and Twitter accounts. Milstein is a leading philanthropist who shares his honor with other prominent benefactors, including Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and J.K. Rowling. Chair of the Israeli-American Council (IAC) and currently involved with StandWithUs, the Israel on Campus Coalition and other organizations, Milstein said "My philanthropic work is one of the most important and gratifying parts of my life, and I am honored to be included among so many leaders in this field."

In any mission, the Commander is the most imperative participant. He or she guides the mission to the intended outcome. It is through the commander’s activities that the directed outcome is achieved. Through successful understanding, visualizing, describing, directing, leading and assessing the commanders of Soldiers are able to accomplish the directed mission and thus winning wars. Throughout the role of commander in the Battle of Hamburger Hill, Lieutenant Colonel Weldon Honeycutt attempted the complete these commander’s activities. (ADRP 5-0) The successes and failures of mission command he had, will be explained, giving a better understanding of the Battle of Hamburger Hill and the pivotal turning point in the Vietnam war.

Hal Moore challenged his man with intellectual stimulation (VL04, FRL, 2016), to think outside of the box, invoke their creativities to find innovative methods to improve existing tactics. His training philosophy is to empower lower ranks to train two levels up, so that when a leader dies, the next ranking person can take over command, (Ally, 2017), this vision would prove to be critical in saving the lives of his soldiers during the battle of Ia Drang Valley in 1965. Also when ordered to train his soldiers in the new methods and improve upon the newly designed air assault doctrine, he displayed dispositional flexibility (VL04, Change Management, 2017) by encouraging his men, he saw a positive opportunity despite difficulties of change in assault

Greg Mortenson 's life as a humanitarian , a climber, and a nurse was very impressive. He was also a founder of the Central Asia Institute (CAI) which builds schools in Afghanistan and Pakistan. He became a hero and was praised for building schools in remote areas. He appeared on the Oprah Winfrey show, Charlie Rose and many other national television programs. He wrote a book entitled "Three Cups of Tea" which has been a best seller for 220 weeks. He was also awarded Pakistan 's Silver Star. Further, President Obama also contributed $100,000 to the CAI. Although Mortenson had been known for the good deeds and received several awards, it was soon discovered that these accomplishments were earned with decrepit and unethical behavior.

Gene Kranz, the legendary flight controller for NASA during the Apollo 13 mission motivated his team and executed careful planning, extraordinary leadership skills, and also was able to

Although I achieved my goals in the jet and flew the F-16 for 17 of my 23 years in the USAF, I never envisioned myself as a 4-star general. However, I’m sure Shags did. He was that type that had the gift of leadership that was needed to be a 4-star General. On this flight over Korea, he was my Coach, my Coach John Wooden.

As I look at my past, and remember all the leaders I have had, and the type of leader I have been, I cannot help and try to categorize the different types of leadership. One specific leader stands out the most, that is Alf Clark. He was a basketball coach, dean of students, and wonderful mentor throughout my high school years. Mr. Clark was the perfect example of expressive leader. I remember one day, before a practice he came up to me and asked me how I was doing. I gave him the generic answer, “I’m fine.” But, that was not enough for him, he knew that their was something going on. He knew this because he took the time to get to know me as a player and as a student. Overall, he cared about the emotions that we had because he knew that they

In life, Apollo 13 was to be the third manned mission to the moon from the United States. After a small hiccup during lift-off, the flight appeared to be on track until about the 56-hour mark when disaster struck. A malfunction caused a dramatic loss of oxygen where oxygen does not exist – the vacuum of outer space. Instead of crumbling in defeat, the space program stood up, dusted itself off and made the impossible happen because there was no alternative in its eyes. The fact the movie Apollo 13 is based on a true story proves real life heroes exist. Heroes are leaders and I will be expounding upon one leader in particular in this paper. The characters in the movie are part of a real family and will be referred to by their first names as they are in life.