The Leadership Roles of General Martin Dempsey and General Tommy Franks

The military is comprised of leaders and followers: this concept of leadership is the foundation of the military, leaders are the decision makers, and followers carry out their decisions. These decision makers are the role models the followers have a great deal of respect for and should admire. A good leader is decisive, has integrity, and leads by example. Being entrusted to lead, to mold the individuals around you into a cohesive unit is a special opportunity and only a few in respects to the total population are commissioned. General Colin L. Powell stated, “The most important thing I learned is that soldiers watch what their leaders do. You can give them classes and lecture them forever, but it is your personal example they will

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.

Leadership is an essential part of the military life, however, it does not means that it is easy to lead people. A military man needs to reflect on his own and individual philosophy in order to be ready to make decisions without guidance, especially those that can require a personal sacrifice. Besides, a philosophy is useful to guide the personal development as airmen and a human being. This paper explains my philosophy of leadership as a link between people and something bigger than themselves. It provides insights and connections with theories and examples, covering its origins and the possible concerns for the future.

According to Army Doctrine Reference Publication (ADRP) 6-22, “leadership is the process of influencing people by providing purpose, direction, and motivation to accomplish the mission and improve the organization”. This essay will analyze two different leaders, William Wallace from Braveheart and Ahmad ibn Fadlan from The 13th Warrior. After analyzing each leader, this essay will transition to compare the leadership lessons, concepts, perspectives, and styles I observed. Then this essay will suggest how Army leaders can employ the aforementioned perceptions to motivate others to accomplish missions and improve their organizations. Additionally, this essay will recommend specific groups within the Army enterprise that

US Army Sergeant First Class (Retired) Mark C. Daw was an inspirational senior noncommissioned officer to many Soldiers. He served with distinction throughout many of our nation’s conflicts from the Cold War to Operation Iraqi Freedom. Who was Mark Daw? What qualities did he show as a leader? How was he an inspiration to those he served? Using ADP 6-22 as a guide, SFC Daw’s leadership will be examined to show his superior leadership abilities. SFC Daw was the embodiment of what an Army leader should strive to be because of his lead-from-the-front mentality, his understanding of the human dimension of leadership, and his care for his subordinates.

From childhood hardships to becoming the youngest General in World War II (WWII), James M. Gavin was an exemplary leader who highly valued his men. For instance, when it came to jumping behind enemy lines, Lieutenant General (LTG) Gavin was always the first to exit the paratroop door. The purpose of this paper is to examine the Army leadership attributes and competencies displayed by LTG Gavin throughout his military career. From his first combat jump into Sicily to his last in Holland, LTG Gavin was a leader who always fought alongside his soldiers, and was constantly training his young officers. LTG Gavin demonstrated such leadership capabilities throughout all four of his combat jumps in WWII which included

In order to maintain the highest level of proficiency and lethality, our leaders are responsible for balancing the role of the profession’s leaders. While the Army seems to be a rigid hierarchy of rules, regulations, and policies, there is a delicate balance between the “…culture and climate and its institutional practices” (pg. 9). Moreover, with the ever changing dynamic of the culture, we are dependent on current leaders to develop the younger generation and “…place a high priority on and invest themselves and resources…” into the future leaders of our organization (pg. 5). With the upbringing of these younger Soldiers, strategic leaders are tasked with determining what motivates them in order to make them feel that their work is valued. Why waste all the time and effort to develop future leaders if they do not feel valued or passionate about their profession or that their work is their true

Throughout history, leadership has always been one of the cornerstones contributing to the success of the United States military. Whether in a Garrison or a combat environment, the applicability and level of effectiveness of leadership can be rooted to the resources made available to leaders. To form a clear comparison of garrison and combat leadership; mission and responsibilities must be taken in consideration. A common leadership responsibility, in both garrison and combat environments, is improving the efficiency and development of Soldiers. Utilizing the Army’s Leaders Development Model, the three domains of institutional, operational, and self-development can be used to gauge the comparison.

Managing a group is simply a matter of holding a position of authority and executing inherent duties of that role; however, being a true leader requires a special blend of personal knowledge and traits used to shape those under your charge for the better. Great leaders not only strive to shape their element into a better version of itself, but also attempt to improve the larger organizational structure at every level. The purpose of this paper is to review an influential military leader to identify key traits and achievements of the individual, and how they coalesce to create a true legacy leader. The intent behind this examination is to articulate how this leader impacted the United State (US) military as well as my own personal growth

COIN stated soldiers must “secure and serve the population” (p. 143), not just saturate forces on land. To execute his vision, General Petraeus utilized principles from of the Thomas N. Barnes Center for Enlisted Education [BCEE] core lessons CM and FRL (2017a; 2017d). The different thinking strategy, use of a different mental framework, and the General’s ability to convey to US soldiers and leaders that this shift would lead forces to excel showcased cognitive and dispositional flexibility from BCEE’s CM core lesson (2017a). The General’s delivery in the implementation of his doctrine motivated soldiers and leaders to elevate their performance and efforts, which defines inspirational motivation from FRL (BCEE, 2017d, p.11). General Petraeus’ visionary leadership shifted the war in Iraq to a more survivable environment and secured his place-mark as a visionary leader; unfortunately, it is the General’s unethical leadership attributes that imprinted his legacy in American history.

It is crucial for me to improve as a leader; the Army contends that leadership is the single most important factor for mission success (Skaggs, 1997, p. 650). Yukl (2010) addresses several ways to develop and improve leadership traits. Just as it is important to correct deficiencies in followers immediately, it is equally important to constantly evaluate and make

Tom Peters said it best when he stated that “leaders do not create followers; they create more leaders.” This statement is what fuels my vision of developing more competent leaders who will continue to enhance the military for years to come. I consider it a great step in the right direction of becoming an effective and competent leader. I believe that every solder deserves to experience great leadership in order to know what it is to become successful and forward that knowledge and experience toward future soldiers. As leaders, it is important that we preach and instill the Army Values so that young soldiers not only benefit the military, but benefit our society as a whole.

As an Army leader, I have learned to appreciate the sense of accomplishment, yet guard against premature celebration when my leadership and guidance has gotten my team to the finish line. As General George Patton said, “A leader is a man who can adapt principles to circumstances.” In my early days as an Army officer, I wanted to know the “secret” to successfully leading men in this organization through challenging waters to the top of the objective. However, I have now realized that there is no single “secret”, it is a journey of experiences, teachings and yes failures that will eventually “transform me from a mid-career officer to a senior military leader.”1

I believe that an effective leader needs a plan for success. One of the U.S. Army’s most effective leader is General Omar Bradley. General Bradley summed up his take of leadership: “The test of a leader lies in the reaction and response of his followers. He should not have to impose authority. Bossiness in itself, never made a leader. He must make his influence felt by example and the instilling of confidence in his followers. The greatness of a leader is measured by the achievements of the led.” (Bradley, O.N., 1971). During my research for this paper, I found that General Bradley’s statement has laid the bedrock for my definition of leadership. This paper will show my personal strengths and weaknesses as a leader. The ending result will

Becoming a great leader is most often defined by the successes achieved at the end of the day. Leaders are needed to exhibit personal strengths from their focus, self-belief, vision, integrity and courage while carrying out the course of duty (Howard & Paret, 1989). Add on to this factors like commitment, goal visibility, teamwork and such executable factors, and the modelling of a great leader comes to fruition. Some leaders believe in the end justifying the means, others taking more psychological approaches, and all of these approaches help distinguish the military and civilian skills in leadership.