The Mission Requires Training and Education but Most of All, Leadership

The book Black Hearts opened my eyes to how leadership from a single Officer can have a grappling effect on such a wide range of soldiers from the lowest of ranks. One of the best takeaways from Black Hearts is to never do anything: illegal, unethical, or immoral. Although this is a easy statement to repeat, Black Hearts demonstrates the difficulties that lie behind these words. It has also painted a picture of how leadership can topple extremely quickly from a top down view. The Army is portrayed in a bad light throughout the book relentlessly. This is due to the concentration of poor leadership of the 1-502nd Regiment (Referred to as “First Strike”), a battalion of the 101st Airborne Division.

This paper will first discuss briefly what ethics are and provide the definition for an ethical issue. An ethical leadership issue is identified and explained for this author’s practice area. We will then identify and discuss key strategies for leadership that are pertinent to the ethical issue. Next, empirical evidence which supports the strategies discussed will be analyzed. Then, the impact and importance of the strategies will be stated. The final step will be to provide a conclusion to the reader that summarizes the content and strategies.

The creed of the noncommissioned officer is a baseline for all noncommissioned officers Corporal all the way up to Sergeant Major, on how to conduct oneself in the leading of soldiers. It does not outline every single situation you may come into throughout your military career but if you live this creed then you should be set for success. In this paper we are going to take an in depth look into the creed and how you can apply every aspect of it to leadership.

Leadership development in the military is critical to its mission and objectives. Understanding and embracing leadership will foster an agile culture and facilitate attainment of strategic goals. People desire quality leadership to assist with achieving their goals, albeit personal or professional development. Having a clear vision and the motivation to perform at high-levels influences others to work synergistically together to achieve organizational goals. Insomuch, employees value being treated respectfully, fairly, and ethically. Leaders serve people best when they help them develop their own initiative and good judgment, enable them to grow, and help them become better contributors.

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).

Being a leader is always a challenge, and assuming a new command is challenging. There are a lot of expectations to me as a leader. The organization has selected me to a new position, and they believe I fulfill their standards for their leaders. The organization trust and expect me to lead, develop and achieve. My superiors and subordinates have a lot of expectations. They expect me to lead them in the best way to solve our assigned missions. In my new assignment as commander of 4th Armor Brigade Combat Team (ABCT), the main critical leadership problems are the lack of cohesive teams, ethical and work standards and the level of stress. I will through analyze explain and defend my selection of critical leadership problems and apply a model for solving them, including implementing and measuring my vision as the new brigade commander.

Conscientious effort is required to develop and prepare Soldiers and Army Civilians to make right decisions and to take attendant actions (The White Paper, 2016). Leaders are in control of refining the quality of character instilled in Soldiers and DA civilians. How does the military as a whole directly guarantee proper character development to the force, you might ask? Or what should effective leaders do to indoctrinate Army values and characteristics within their ranks? They do so by teaching the Army values to every new recruits from day one of basic training as soon as they step off the bus. Collectively with the multitude of attributes given from our leaders through years of experience and ADRP 1/ADP 6-22; these values have established the groundwork for Soldiers to use as basis of what it is to be a person good character. After members absorb these values, their leaders certify devotion. Abiding to these ethics of the Army values embodies cohesion; it challenges the belief and self-confidence crucial to cooperation and mission success.

From June to 2004 to present, beloved Colonel Michael Dane Steele is in command of 3rd Brigade, 101st Airborne Division (Rakkasans). I have just been notified that I will take command from Colonel Steele in November 2006 which leaves just short of six months for me to plan for the change. A review of author Raffi Khatchadourian’s article, “The Kill Company,” published in The New Yorker on July 6, 2009 is necessary for background in writing this paper, however; the timeframe assumed for the purpose of writing this essay is June 2004. To this end, it must also be assumed that the author does not benefit from the knowledge gained by reading most of the information in Khatchadourian’s article. My goal is to set and maintain an effective, ethical command climate through investigation, self-education, and unit-wide professional military education.

meet the mission is only the beginning. Compassion and dedication is a part of the

In addition, this document will highlight the importance of an effective leadership style, focusing on the proper use of intelligence assets and the welfare of soldiers in order to accomplish the mission during war.

Character is defined as a person’s moral and ethical qualities, basically who you are as a person. Your character impacts every decision you make or don’t make. It will drive the train on every aspect of your personal and military career. The Army emphasizes that it wants leaders of character based on regulation and the Army Values. The key to the Army’s leadership model is that it will fit into almost every Soldiers own set of values. As an organization the Army’s core values must resonate with every Soldier in order to operate. When you integrate values it is no longer someone else’s view but rather a unified set of core values that everyone believes in. When you are a leader of character with unified values you start to build trust with your Soldiers. Through your actions, and your words credibility starts to form. Once credible, your Soldiers

Leadership, according to the Army doctrine, represents individuals’ ability to influence people by providing purpose, direction, and motivation while operating to accomplish the mission and improving the organization (“Leadership” FM 6-22). However, the varying characteristics of individuals that the Army attracts may instill this doctrine in many different ways, leading to different representations of leadership. Some individuals choose to lead their subordinate in a stern matter, only displaying matured emotions and a “tough-loving” attitude to guide them in the right direction. Others

This thesis will cover the Support of the Commander’s Leadership Philosophy, command climate, strategies, and the role of the gunnery sergeant’s importance in the execution of the Commander’s leadership philosophy for Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 214, Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia. We feel that the command climate at this unit is good. The three strategies that we will use to discuss this will be communication, training and leadership and how important they are in order to establish an effective and productive environment. We will also discuss how the gunnery sergeant’s important role is the key to ensuring that these strategies are

A leader, “has compassion, a sense of justice, and courage, and he makes no distinctions between human beings...he has the same consideration for everyone” (34). If a leader is to be effective, they must have the ability to persuade others. In order to persuade others to follow a principle, a leader must have personal integrity. Morality in leadership is important; every word and action of a leader is watched by their followers intently. Gradually and cautiously, they will produce a culture where mo­rality is cherished and ethics are observed with pride. As a leader, while you have to earn respect, it is important that you respect those around you. Most people greatly desire the respect of their leaders and when leaders give it voluntarily, it creates a very positive surrounding. Under effective leadership, there is always a circulation of mutual respect among the population. A leader always accepts evaluation to improve and change for the greater good. As a leader, it is natural to take pride in what you have accomplished, but humility is important too. Be satisfied of your accomplishments, but use this as a foundation to bring people together for the greater good. Humility is necessary for leadership because it validates a person’s humanity. Recognizing what we do well, as well as what we do not do so well, is crucial to moral leadership. Ethical leadership is a very different type of leadership; rather than aspiring to be followed, they aim to serve. Ethical leaders have

After all, theorists as James M. Burns, Robert K. Greenleaf, and Joseph Rost see eye to eye on ethics are an essential component of leadership because in order for it to be delivered and effective it must convey principles and values (justice, liberty, and respect). For instance, Mr. Burns said that his transforming leadership theory both leaders and followers are morally elevated and driven by values and moral principles that afford the ability to impact the status quo condition within an organization. Thus, Mr. Greenleaf thought that the success of a leader comes with the attitudes and behaviors to followers and overall organizational mission while serving others carrying out principles and values. Although, Mr. Rost stated that if the leader-follower’s ethical principle is violated then, is no longer exist