When Lt. Col. Christopher Parker wrote
"Lack of Will: How the All-Volunteer Force Conditioned the American Public," he never expected it to be picked up for an award, yet on Oct. 15, 2024, at the Association of the United States Army Annual (AUSA) meeting he was presented the Article Writing Competition award for first place by David Meyer, Futures and Concepts Center, Futures Integration Directorate, director.
The award came from the Army Strategist Association (ASA), a non-profit organization dedicated to furthering the study and practice of strategy and the role of the military element of power in achieving national strategic objectives. Parker, a concepts branch chief at the Mission Command Capability Development Integration Directorate, was awarded (X place) in the ASA's annual article prize.
While an outstanding achievement, Parker did not write the article for the competition; in fact, he did not know that the competition existed when he wrote it.
"I didn't set out to win back when I wrote it; I didn't know there was a competition, to be honest," said Parker. "I wrote it before I attended an AUSA meeting last year and was informed at the Army Strategy Association meeting last year that they had this competition and said, hey, I'll throw my hat in the ring."
"Lack of Will: How the All-Volunteer Force Conditioned the American Public" is a 13-page examination of the United States's all-volunteer force, the conditions it was created, and how it has helped change public opinion on the United States Military and the original safeguards put in place to ensure the American public would stay nested with the military and how some of those failsafe's were not adhered to.
"So, the article, admittedly, is a bit contentious," said Parker. "It's an examination of all volunteer force. The safeguards that were developed, namely the Abrams Doctrine and the Weinberger Doctrine, or the Weinberger tests as they're known, see why, or look at why the Abrams Doctrine failed and what that means. Then why, when the Weinberger tests were ignored in Operation Iraqi Freedom, what was the effect on the public's civil relations at the national level?"
Knowing his article would be contentious with those who read it, he was initially a little worried that his leadership may not react positively to it, but he was pleasantly surprised.
"They've been very supportive, though I was worried because it is a bit of a contentious article, but I think that's the best part about our Army," said Parker. "Unlike most armies, we are free and open to think critically about challenges that we face, and we're not constrained by a fear of upsetting the apple cart. My leadership's been nothing but supportive throughout the whole process, which has been great."
This isn't Parker's first article that has done a deep dive on a topic, but he does think this is his best one yet.
"I've written several other articles, but this is probably my favorite, so that feels good," said Parker.
"Also, there are such amazing thinkers and writers in our Army, and to be recognized is incredibly flattering because of the company that you're in when you do these things, so I really appreciate it."
For anyone interested in reading Lt. Col. Christopher Parker's article, please click the link here.
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