Gen. David G. Perkins, commander of the Army's Training and Doctrine Command, spoke to more than 300 students and faculty members from the Army Management Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Jan. 12, emphasizing leadership, the new Army Operating Concept and professionalism.
He started by saying "leaders have to contextualize the world for their subordinates," and did that for the students currently attending courses at the Army's college for civilian employees.
TRADOC, he said, is in the business of designing and building the Army. ARCIC, the Army Capabilities Integration Center, is his primary tool for designing the Army. Based on the design, Army Recruiting Command and Army Cadet Command then procure the men and women who will be the basic material for building the Army. The building begins when recruits and cadets enter the Army and go through initial military training or basic officer leader's courses said the general.
Perkins then related that shortly after taking over his current command he was tasked by the Chief of Staff of the Army to develop a new Army Operating Concept that would be the basis for building the future Army. He said the last fully developed operating concept--AirLand Battle--was created in the 1970's. It was based on a known enemy, the Soviet Union; a known part of the world, Europe; and known coalition partners, NATO.
Given what was known, developers focused on the tactical and operational levels of war and came up with the AirLand Battle concept that was verbalized as "Fight outnumbered and win!"
The assumptions that AirLand Battle was built on no longer exist. The Army of the future will encounter unknown enemies at locations yet to be determined with coalitions that come together for a specific purpose. The new concept would also have to address the strategic level of war that was not considered in AirLand Battle.
The new concept "Win in a Complex World" was published in October as TRADOC Pamphlet 525-3-1. The concept "has everything to do with you," Perkins told his audience. To deal with the unknown we will have to do things differently, he said.
He then outlined a couple of the key pieces of the concept. "Complex" means that things are not only unknown, they are unknowable, and constantly changing. A Swiss watch, with its multitude of gears, is complicated, he said, but if you study it enough you can figure it out. One sweep of the second hand always produces one advance of the minute hand. In a complex environment one sweep of the second hand may produce one advance of the minute hand today but tomorrow it may produce 20 jumps of the minute hand or something completely different.
"Win" was another word the concept developers debated. Perkins said he was asked recently if winning was possible. He responded that not only is winning possible, he finds it desirable.
Perkins said the new operational concept incorporates the concept of Mission Command and the Army Leader Development Model that are recent products of Fort Leavenworth. He also said one reason all of it can work is the Army Profession, the combination of military expertise, honorable service, trust, esprit de corps, and stewardship that is the core of America's soldiers.
"The profession is the secret sauce of America's Army," he concluded.
The Army Management Staff College educates and develops the Army civilian employees for leadership and leader development responsibilities throughout the Army and serves as executive agent for the Army Civilian Education System.
The college provides nine course offerings: Foundation Course, Basic Course, Intermediate Course, Advanced Course, Continuing Education for Senior Leaders, Action Officers Development Course, Supervisors Development Course, Executive Supervisor Development Course, and the Managers Development Course through distance learning, residency at Fort Leavenworth, or a combination of both.
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