Military Officer Research Paper

The most important qualities in becoming a successful cadet and Army officer are critical thinking, integrity, and leadership. These qualities are a major aspect in being a great leader. A leader must possess many different traits and conduct them adequately to become a successful cadet and Army officer. In order to become an effective leader, one must have proficient critical thinking. This enables someone to evaluate a situation or issue and be able to overcome it to benefit the organization. Thus making oneself a strategic leader, this is a necessity in a military environment. Being a critical thinker can be the difference between life and death when put in a dangerous situation. Another important attribute of being a successful officer
is integrity. Integrity is doing what is right, legally and morally at all times. Having strong morals builds trust and respect with superiors, subordinates and peers. Without integrity good leadership depreciates and a toxic environment is created. Soldiers will no longer trust each other causing the unit to fail. On the other hand if you bring a leader who possess integrity into a unit that has reached self-destruction, in time with a lot of hard work and other qualities of good leader it can become a thriving unit again. Leadership is the most important quality in an Army officer.
Leadership is the ability to influence others to accomplish the mission and task at hand. This consists of many profound characteristics, such as adaptability, communication, and selfless service. Adaptability is the ability to adapt to the constant changing environment to overcome the situation or issue at hand. Being able to adapt and overcome allows you to strategically have the upper hand in a hostile setting. Communication with your soldiers is also an essential quality of leadership. Clear communication allows orders and information to be understood by everyone. In order to have clear communication an officer must adapt the ability to talk to every individual soldier because not everyone absorbs information the same way. Selfless service is the next critical quality needed. This characteristic causes a leader to go the extra mile for the welfare of his/her country without seeking self-recognition for their actions. If an officer doesn’t possess selfless service they would lose the ability to empower soldiers under their leadership, thus causing the loss of respect and ambition to reach full potential. Here are the foundation characteristics that uphold the quality of leadership of an Army officer. These are some of the many traits required to be a successful Army officer, as there have been many books, documentaries, and lessons composed to develop cadets and officers of all ranks. There is no set science that lays out the ideal way for a cadet or officer to be successful. This is an art, and every situation is different from each command to each soldier that you lead. In order to be a truly successful officer, you must balance each quality an officer should possess adequately, depending on the environment
presented.