In this article, I thought I would offer some thoughts about what it means and what it takes to be a leader in our Armor and Cavalry formations. Armor and Cavalry will always be essential to the U.S. Army’s fighting and winning our Nation’s wars. But to be clear, this has nothing to do with the tanks and Bradleys that we bring to the fight. Instead, I would argue that we Armor and Cavalry leaders are built different. And we will always be needed because of how we think, how we act, and how we fight as part of the Combined Arms Team.
We Think Differently
Armor and Cavalry leaders do not think like the rest of the Army.
We are big map people, not small map people. Others may move one kilometer in an hour. We move one kilometer every three minutes. That kind of speed and tempo forces us to think further ahead: not just about our next move, but the one after that, and the one after that. We do not simply react to what the enemy presents to us; instead, we move fast and strike hard so that we dictate the terms of the fight to the enemy.
We multi-task and we are comfortable with that. We fight the tank. We fight the section. We fight the platoon. All at the same time. We operate on multiple radio nets: giving direction, executing reporting, and conducting crosstalk. We are constantly developing the situation and driving action at distances and at a tempo that others do not.
Most importantly, we have a bias for trust. Micro-management just isn’t in our DNA. The pace and distance of the fight forces us to trust our crews, our sections, our platoons. We rely on disciplined initiative because at 40 miles an hour, and with weapons systems that reach out and destroy the enemy at kilometers, not meters, we just don’t have time to spell out to our teammates how to accomplish the mission. We trust our training and we trust each other. And through that trust we unleash a terrible force and violence that overwhelms our enemies.
Finally, we develop an intuitive feel for the battlefield. We think fast. We think over distance. We develop a knack for rapid pattern recognition and quick tactical judgments. We decide faster than the enemy, and that is why we win.
We Act Differently
But we don’t just think differently, we act differently.
We are disciplined. The sheer destructive power of our weapons systems forces us to operate with a different level of responsibility. A single tank platoon has more firepower than other battalion-sized formations. That power demands discipline, rooted in a spirit of trust that we develop by proven competence over time.
We value maintenance and logistics. Our fight does not start with just pulling triggers. We keep our machines running. We fight to get into the fight. If your tank is not moving, it is a target. And if your logistics are not planned and executed, you are out of the fight before it even begins.
And for sure, we have a strong, distinct culture. We honor our history, our traditions: Stetsons, Spurs, Tanker Boots. But you do not get those things for free. You earn them. You are awarded your Spurs through hard work and shared hardship. You have to qualify your tank first before you have the right to wear Tanker Boots. And you earn the right to say, “If you ain’t Cav, you ain’t ____,” not because it’s a catchy phrase, but because you’ve lived the discipline and training to back it up.
Us acting differently is serious business. Just like how we think … how we act is part of our DNA. It defines how we train, how we lead, and ultimately how we win as part of the Combined Arms Team.
We Fight as Part of the Combined Arms Team
But let’s be clear. Victory on the battlefield is not won alone, and it is not just about the tank’s overwhelming firepower. It is about forcing the enemy to fight in multiple directions against multiple forms of contact, breaking the enemy, and taking away his ability to respond in the fight. And combining arms is what makes us lethal in combat … it is what allows us to win wars.
For sure, the Armor provides the mobility, firepower, and shock effect to close with and destroy the enemy. But we almost never do this alone. We need the Infantry to clear terrain, seize buildings, and fight in the complex terrain where tanks cannot go alone. We Armor and Cavalry leaders always bring the Infantry into the fight as part of the Combined Arms Team.
Fire support and attack aviation are essential to suppressing the enemy, forcing the enemy to keep his head down as the Armor and Infantry close the distance between their last covered and concealed positions and the enemy’s line. We Armor and Cavalry leaders always bring the Artillery and Aviation into the fight as part of the Combined Arms Team.
We do not go anywhere without the Engineers. The Sapper’s ability to breach obstacles under fire, fortify our positions, and emplace obstacles are essential to all of us. We Armor Leaders always bring the Engineers into the fight as part of the Combined Arms Team.
Today’s wars are also showing us just how important air defense and electronic warfare capabilities are to the Combined Arms Team. And our Logistician brothers and sisters are always at the forefront of our thinking as we plan, prepare, and execute the fight. We Armor Leaders always bring these capabilities into the fight as part of the Combined Arms Team.
Make no mistake about this. The Armor Branch and its leaders have spearheaded the Army’s thinking about the Combined Arms Team for the last 90 years. It is us tankers and cavalrymen who think first about fighting as a synchronized force – playing what General Patton called the Symphony of Mars – not just our own french horn. Our commitment to the Combined Arms Team makes us different because we think with rigor about how it fights, how to train it, and how to keep it ready.
In closing, I think that it is important that from time to time we remind ourselves that we all belong to a branch that is unlike any other. We demand that our leaders fight faster, fight harder, and fight with a kind of discipline that our adversaries both envy and fear. Armor and Cavalry leaders will always be essential to our Army and the Joint Force. Not because of our machines, but because we think differently, we act differently, and because we fight as a Combined Arms Team.
We Armor and Cavalry leaders are built different.
Social Sharing