What’s Missing in Your Leader or Self-Development Program? The Answer is Probably Military History!
MAJ Shameek De Lancey
“Let him read and meditate upon the wars of the great captains: It is the only way to learn the art of war,” said Napoleon.1
Military professionals have debated the usefulness and value of studying military history for centuries. The debate within the U.S. Army has ebbed and flowed de- pending on the Army’s operating tempo (OPTEMPO) or on senior leader emphasis and beliefs about the “practicality” of studying military history for the average military professional. I believe the study of military history is critical and manda- tory for the development of well-rounded and effective Army professionals.
The study of military history informs the long-term development of military profes- sionals in three ways. First, studying history nurtures and cultivates critical- and creative-thinking skills. It is imper- ative that military professionals possess these skills, especially as military opera- tions become more complex, and the time available for leaders to make decisions decreases. Second, the study of military history allows military professionals to develop, adapt, and evaluate current doctrine. Lastly, military history develops military professionals by exposing them to prior examples and experiences before they are personally tested in combat.
The positive benefits of exploring military history allow leaders to learn the art of war and learn from others’ experience, which is critical for the military profession and the success of our force in future conflicts. Michael Howard described the nature of the military profession and the frequency with which a military profes- sional might exercise his or her duty in war as it “is almost unique that he may have to exercise it only once in a lifetime, if indeed that often. It is as if a surgeon had to practice throughout his life on dummies for one real operation; or a bar- rister appeared only once or twice in court towards the close of his career; or a professional swimmer had to spend his
Fall 2024 CAVALRY & ARMOR JOURNAL
life practicing on dry land for an Olympic championship on which the fortunes of his entire nation depended.”2
Future wars rarely go as predicted, but as military professionals we owe it to our organizations and the nation to be ready when called upon. No other army trains as often, as realistically, or as demanding as our Army or even the joint force. In addition to training, one missing or often neglected element of our preparation for future war is deeper and richer under- standing of military history in our Army professionals and within our Army organ- izations. What follows is an argument for including the study of military history in the operational force to build leaders’ mental preparation to execute future mil- itary operations.
Critical, Creative Thinking Skills Our Army should use the study of military history to challenge and develop officers, over the length of their careers, in these three areas. Without a doubt this initiative should be driven by the institutional Army. However, individual military professionals should strive to improve in these areas through their own self-development plans as well. An easy way to begin this journey is to start with your current unit’s organi- zational history. We owe it to our Soldiers to tie their current service to that of those who came before us, and knowing, teach- ing, and exploring our unit history is a way to make those connections. This builds pride in the force and inspires Soldiers to live and work to the high standard of those who served in their unit before them.
Knowing and talking about unit lineage is an excellent way to discuss military history in the operational force. History in the institutional Army is also a difficult subject to teach and study. Many profes- sional military educational (PME) programs superficially cover military history and miss the mark on truly gaining the benefits of deep military history study. Military history in PME usually consists of disjointed and brief wave-top discussions of battles, campaigns, and military leaders focused
on data and information. This approach that covers decades and centuries in mini- mum classroom blocks of instruction does not allow students to truly understand historical events or the full context in which the events take place. Additionally, students do not have the time or oppor- tunity to make meaning of what they are learning.
In “Military History, Is It Still Practicable,” Jay Luvaas lists several prominent mili- tary leaders who believe that military history needs to be studied deeply. Luvaas cites Field Marshal Earl Wavell as saying, “the real way to get value out of the study of military history is to take particular situations, and as far as possible get in- side the skin of the man who made a decision and then see in what way you could have improved upon it.”3 Wavell’s approach takes time and a deliberate effort, but it allows students to truly exer- cise their critical- and creative-thinking skills. These skills are required to develop successful commanders and staff officers capable of winning on the modern battle- field.
Wavell’s approach should be implemented at every PME by every student attending the course. Techniques such as requiring students to conduct a thorough battle analysis like the requirement at the Ma- neuver Captain’s Career Course (MCCC) are excellent opportunities that require students to study the decisions and actions made by prior commanders to learn from those experiences. Additionally, conduct- ing staff rides is another opportunity to learn from military history and get first- hand context to the conditions previous commanders experienced as they parti- cipated in a military operation. These techniques exist in our modern PME system but should increase to allow students more opportunities to partici- pate in these educational events. Addi- tionally, focus on the self-development domain regarding military history should be a requirement for leaders in the oper- ational force. This requirement would ensure these skills are continuously
51
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56
