Mission Specific Roles: General George S. Patton

“In order to be a good leader, there are two things to remember. Lead from the Front and always set the Example. From these two leadership principles, everything else will fall into place.”

Leadership goals should always contain methods of a continuous process of learning through education, training, and individual experiences that help ensure that the message will be communicated in a confident and competent manner when leading troops. Soldiers tend to follow leaders that demonstrate and live the Army values, while displaying their confidence in every decision that affects change. Leaders are not born as organizational or tactical leaders; but grown by their genetic determinism, which is inside and the characteristics they work toward; that mold is which type leader they will become. Not just anyone can lead; you must have the desire to lead, be willing to make the commitment to being a leader, and prepare yourself properly, then you have the desire to become a leader. (Fulton, 1995).

At the end of the day, a true leader “in the army will do these three things live by the army core values, know the warrior ethos, and lead by example”-MSI textbook. Leaders both in and out of the army are held to a higher standard holding themselves in a professional manner at all times. The success of the group is attributed to the leadership styles and core values instilled in the solider to do his job effectively. General Eisenhower once

Robert E. Lee once said of leadership, “I cannot trust a man to control others who cannot control himself” (Jones, 1875). This is an instance where I believe that even though this idea or thought was mentioned many years ago, it still has relevance today. I do not have an exact date of that quote, but with General Lee fighting in the Civil War, I would imagine it came somewhere in the mid-1800’s (The book it is found in was published after his death). Our current military leaders need to listen to advice like this quote, get out and know the people they put in charge so they are better able to make decisions on who should and should not actually be leading.

Operations Desert Shield/Storm took place during the Gulf War, which was a conflict between Iraq and a coalition force of more than 30 nations mandated by the United Nations, led by the United States commanded by General Norman Schwarzkopf, who conducted one of the greatest military campaigns of all times that resulted with the coalition victory. The name Operation Desert Shield was for the operation leading to the built up of troops and defense of Saudi Arabia and Operation Desert Storm for the combat phase to liberate Kuwait. This war included more than 500.000 United States troops, dominated by technological superiority that definitely favored the coalition forces. The use of missiles, guided bombs and invisible plane made easy to destroy Iraqi ground targets, being so the first war in history to use the air power to defeat ground forces. The commander of this operation General Schwarzkopf was a consolidated leader with great experience in war and diplomacy, who had extend knowledge of the Middle East since the childhood. General Schwarzkopf ability to use the principles of mission command led the coalition into the desired end state, which was the defense of Saudi Arabia and liberation of Kuwait. General Norman Schwarzkopf successfully utilized mission command principles within Operation Desert Storm/Shield by creating a shared understanding, building cohesive teams through mutual trust, provide a clear commander’s intent, and accept a prudent risk, which played a

have military experience so that he/she knows how his armies function from the inside out.

"If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader." This inspirational quote came from the sixth president of the United States of America named, John Quincy Adams.

"The final test of a leader is that he leaves behind himself in other men the conviction and the will to carry on.” – Walter Lippmann

Strategic leaders have acquired the core leader competencies at the lower levels of leadership and are now working at a much more complex level. These leaders are prepared to solve complex problems and thrive in uncertain environments. They have to consider the bigger picture since the decisions made at this level often have a global impact. They do not have to think about an individual battalion or even a corps; they have to think about the army. Their influence reaches out to hundreds of thousands of people. They start to change the way that that the organizational and direct level leaders operate. The ideas being pushed out at this level have been planned for years before the final plan surfaces. These plans will take years to accomplish being as they change the organization as a whole. With a larger influence also comes with a larger range of consequences for ones

General George S. Patton was born on November 11, 1885 in San Gabriel, California. One of his early career goals was to become a war hero. This was heavily influenced by his ancestors’ roles in the Revolutionary War and Civil War. To pursue this goal, Patton enrolled in the Virginia Military Institute in 1904. Just over a year later, he was accepted into the military academy at West Point and graduated on June 11, 1909. While he was at West Point, Patton fell in love with a woman named Beatrice Ayer and they got married in 1910. Two years later, Patton competed in the first modern Pentathlon at the Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden. He did rather well and got fifth place. After the Olympics, he taught swordsmanship at the Mounted Service School

The main points of this article relate to the changing nature of warfare (think terrorism and advancements in technology) and the adjustments military leaders are obliged to make. Hence, according to the article, leaders must: a) be trained in critical thinking skills; b) be "committed to life-long [and self-directed] learning"; c) be willing to take the initiative to "diagnose" their goals, needs,

General Powell highlights 18 lessons learned in leadership that are applied to successful companies, and how they are applied to leadership in his presentation to the Outreach Program, and the Sears Corporate Headquarters. These approaches can be applied not only in business but life in general. I will highlight three of the lessons that have impacted my career in the military

I believe that as a strategic planner he began formulating the plan and laying the groundwork for it as soon as he entered the job. Schwarzkopf explains in his autobiography that upon becoming the CENTCOM Commander he attempted to educate himself on the intricacies of the region by attending a course similar to one that a state department diplomat would attend. He says, “I sat in the front row, taking copious notes on cultures, customs, oil issues, water issues, and religious conflicts.” He did this to gain an understanding of his environment and to allow him to identify existing and future issues or problems. He quickly initiated the building of military to military relations with as many nations as he could. He set the vision for the staff and laid the groundwork to reach a goal of arranging access to crucial airfields, harbors, and military bases in the event of war. These steps and actions resulted from his updated frame of reference, that the threat to the United States’ interests was the Middle East, rather than the Soviet Union. In order to develop the war plan he successfully navigated the joint, interagency, and political environments to build consensus and ultimately include the Middle East in the upcoming Defense Planning Guidance. In stark contrast, my experience to date, as a planner has been very short sighted and focused on tactical and operational objectives for an Aviation Task Force or how to most effectively employ aviation assets in support of a domestic flood operation. I realize that while assignments and experience may influence the way I think it is essential to begin developing these critical thinking skills in order to be able to advise leaders at a strategic level. While I find the transition to a strategic planner challenging, it pales when I consider that of a strategic

“Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done, because he wants to do it”. -34th President of the United States Dwight D. Eisenhower.

This saying has been my philosophical statement and I think the military has a similar footing which is express in the Army acronym LDRSHP (LEADERSHIP), a concept of Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor and Personal Courage. In my personal opinion, the John Quincy Adams quote reflects the qualities of a leader. If ones leadership qualities inspire others to emulate, then it is a true testament of one’s own leadership ability. In essence, the John Quincy Adams quote is similar to the servant leadership concept, which is working for