Multinational company commanders, general officers gather for unique staff ride

By Michael Huth, U.S. Army Europe Public AffairsApril 6, 2016

Multinational company commanders, general officers gather for unique staff ride
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WIESBADEN, Germany -- Thirty company commanders along with six general officers from four countries followed the footsteps of Lt. Erwin Rommel during World War I, who went on to become the famed "Desert Fox," Field Marshal of World War II, April 3-6.

U.S. Army Europe sponsored the junior officer staff ride, dubbed "Adaptable Leaders," and covered the battles of Caporetto in Slovenia and Longarone in Italy, across complex mountainous terrain.

A staff ride is most successful when research is done beforehand, and this time it was based on the book "Infantry Attacks," a war travelogue featuring Rommel leading small units, usually involving fast action against other small units and even much larger units, which is unusual since World War I was typically associated with the static Western Front.

Soldiers from U.S. Army Europe, Slovenia, Italy and Germany were broken into four groups, each led by a general officer to facilitate discussions and provide mentorship, share experiences pertaining to initiative, risk taking, boldness, mission command and others aspects of leadership.

"This has been an eye opening experience for me - open discussions with active duty and (Army) Reserve peers from different countries showed me we all deal with similar challenges," said Capt. Brian Doble, commander, 1-157th Infantry Company, Colorado National Guard. "Never before have I had personal access to so many generals, (it is) absolutely invaluable to me and I believe the other junior leaders."

Brig. Gen. James Mingus, deputy commanding general, 4th Infantry Division Mission Command Element, agreed.

"In all my years in the Army I never had so much time with a three star general," Mingus said.

The three-day staff ride stopped several points of interest. Staff rides helped bring the book to life allowing Soldiers to see, smell, hear and feel the actual terrain and environment. Surprisingly, little has changed in the last century.

"Although these battles took place 100 years ago, the tactics I would employ today have not changed, and we would still have many of the same challenges," said German Capt. Jasmine Thierer, commander of a Deutsches Heer, or Germany Army, Mountain Company, and expert mountaineer leading 159 Soldiers.

For Dr. Andrew Morris, Army Europe's chief historian and retired Vietnam veteran, this was his last staff ride.

"The use of history to train for today and tomorrow is just a vehicle," Morris explained when asked about the significance of Rommel and the most important aspects of the staff ride. "It is not the venue. In fact, that is irrelevant but what is important is the learning that goes on when junior company commanders and generals (get together), and in turn develop the future leaders of the Army."

Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, commanding general, U.S. Army Europe, shared personal stories from his time as a company commander, as did the other general officers in attendance.

"I'm looking for ways to incentivize risk-taking and create a culture of innovation," Hodges said. "You may get it wrong sometimes, and you have to be prepared to accept that responsibility. But we can't succeed without adapting. Here in Army Europe we're a force of 30,000 still expected to carry out the mission as when we were 300,000. So I ask you as you go back and explain my philosophy to your organizations and help me make this change."

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