Online ToolBox offers Army leaders a gateway of resources, references, tips

By U.S. Army Forces CommandMarch 13, 2014

Online ToolBox offers Army leaders a gateway of resources, references and tips
(Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

FORT BRAGG, N.C. (March 13, 2014) -- U.S. Army Forces Command unveiled Mar. 12, the U.S. Army Forces Command, or FORSCOM Leader Development ToolBox, an online resource for leaders across all Army components and cohorts: Officer, NCO, Warrant Officer, Army Soldiers and Civilian employees.

The site -- located at http://www.forscom.army.mil/leaderdevelopment -- connects leader-development expertise across the Army while benefiting from the participation of and contributions by military and civilian leaders Army-wide.

The ToolBox website links the institutional Army to the Operational Army -- providing, leadership news, practical tools, and best practices across the Total Army Force: including active, Army National Guard and Army Reserve.

"It is imperative that we get leader development right," said Gen. Daniel B. Allyn, commanding general of U.S. Army Forces Command. "We must develop and retain our very best leaders who are convinced the Army Profession is the most worthwhile endeavor in which they will engage."

The Forces Command ToolBox is the latest in the Army's leader-development initiatives. The Secretary of the Army, Chief of Staff of the Army and Sergeant Major of the Army approved the Army Leader Development Strategy in June 2013. It codifies the Army senior leaders' vision and strategy for leader development of all Army professionals through lifelong training, education and experiences acquired through opportunities in the operational, institutional and self-development areas. This is part of the Army Chief of Staff's ongoing strategic priority "Adaptive Army Leaders for a Complex World."

"Leader development is an essential complement to training," said Col. Brett G. Sylvia, FORSCOM G3/5/7 Leader Development, and "is critical to ensure the Total Army can successfully adapt to future challenges."

The FORSCOM Leader Development ToolBox is a collaborative effort with other Army commands featuring links to Army doctrine, the Center for Army Leadership, the Combined Arms Center, Center for Army Profession and Ethics, the Army Training Network and many other military and civilian resources.

Forces Command developed the ToolBox over the past 90 days with a collaborative team of leaders from the Army National Guard, U.S. Army Reserve Command, FORSCOM staff and other professionals focused on gathering useful resources for Army leaders of all ranks.

The ToolBox is an "aggregator" of resources, FORSCOM planners says, where other units throughout the command and the Army may contribute to the tools in the ToolBox -- either directly or through the corresponding sites at their division, corps or organization. As the community of interest gets more involved in the content, the content becomes more useful and more applicable to the community.

"The Leader Development ToolBox is an enabler to leaders out in the force, as they build their individual leader development programs," said Chief Warrant Officer Five James M. Israel, FORSCOM G3/5/7 Leader Development Office. "It is the beginning of the establishment of a single entry point to the vast array of leader development resources across the web."

Through the Army Leader Development Strategy, Army units are sharing a renewed commitment and emphasis to the Army Profession and lifelong learning. The strategy balances the three components of leader development: training, education and experience. While redirecting Forces Command's mission focus to Regionally Aligned Forces, or RAF, prepared to conduct Unified Land Operations, the Army must help close capability gaps by building resilient and adaptive leaders," Army officials say. In this capacity, it is well nested with our Army Mission Command Strategy

"Mutual trust and understanding inherent to leader development provide the foundation to instill the Mission Command Philosophy across our formations," said Col. Peter B. Edmonds, FORSCOM Leader Development. "Critical to this process are strong, mutually interdependent relationships between leaders and supervisors and their subordinates."

Leader development is a long-term progressive process that combines training, education, and experience to prepare our leaders for the demands of future assignments. It includes a series of challenging assignments and broadening experiences, career-long self-development, and professional military/civilian education that provides the knowledge and experiences to prepare leaders for positions of increasing responsibility.

Related Links:

Center for Army Profession and Ethic

Army.mil: Inside the Army News

Army.mil: Professional Development Toolkit

STAND-TO!: FORSCOM Leader Development Toolbox

Leader Development ToolBox