FROM THE ARGONNE TO THE ARGHANDAB: JUNIOR OFFICER LEADER DEVELOPMENT IN THE MODERN-AGE (1918–PRESENT)

Abstract

Applying the United States Army’s existing leader development constructs, this project answers the following questions regarding in-unit junior officer development: What are the enduring lessons derived from critical analysis of American combat over the past century, and how does one translate those lessons into an in-unit leader development program to prepare junior leaders for future wars? The combat research identifies 15 historical lessons as the most relevant for inclusion in a junior officer leader development program to meet the challenges of the present time—principally defined as an Army that is faced with the probability of confronting both irregular and conventional conflicts simultaneously during this period of great power competition. Furthermore, this project categorizes these 15 lessons of combat in the modern-age into four layers for inclusion in a historically guided leader development program for junior officers: foundational, enduring, applicational, and aspirational. Last, this project amalgamates the four layers of leader development into a cogent historical leader development model for leaders to use as a framework for training junior officers; the endstate being the production of transformational leaders who are imbued with a greater understanding of the requirements of the modern battlefield, informed by the 15 historical lessons.