Mission Statement Of The Army
In the Army, the overall mission statement is simple, win in a complex world. A complex world consists of the land, air, sea, space, and cyberspace domains. Each one of the domains can be complex in their own right, but when you combine all five, the problems are complicated exponentially. The overall goal of today’s leaders is to teach, coach, and mentor their subordinates to develop a level of critical thinking that will allow them to “win” at their individual jobs, allowing the collective team to be successful and achieve victory in a complex world.
Paparone (2014) compares the critical thinking model of Elder & Paul (2008) to what he calls situations requiring interpretation. The Army and its business is all about situations that
require interpretation because it runs through almost every facet of the Profession. In its most basic form, the process of issuing and receiving orders is all about interpretation. A commander will issue guidance in the form of the commander’s intent to the staff or a subordinate commander. The interpretation of that information, can be skewed if it is not clearly given. Elder & Paul (2008) see this process as having clarity or as an absolute and settled meaning. However, the Army leaders operate under the umbrella of mission command. Mission command allows leaders to understand a commander’s intent and end state and employ their combat power as they see fit in order to accomplish the task. Mission command coupled with the ever-changing operational environment on the battlefield can sometimes swing the pendulum of clarity toward the side of ambiguity. This ambiguity requires leaders, at all levels, to be able to think critically and evaluate their current situation, but how a particular course of action could jeopardize the mission as a whole.
In today’s Army, the operational environment continually reshapes the decisions that are made long after the original orders are given and potential branches and sequels are considered. A complex world of five concurrent domains and enemies, both known and unknown, are the reason that leaders must teach, coach, and mentor their subordinates to thinking critically. Thinking critically can and will save lives on the battlefield.
Paparone (2014) compares the critical thinking model of Elder & Paul (2008) to what he calls situations requiring interpretation. The Army and its business is all about situations that
require interpretation because it runs through almost every facet of the Profession. In its most basic form, the process of issuing and receiving orders is all about interpretation. A commander will issue guidance in the form of the commander’s intent to the staff or a subordinate commander. The interpretation of that information, can be skewed if it is not clearly given. Elder & Paul (2008) see this process as having clarity or as an absolute and settled meaning. However, the Army leaders operate under the umbrella of mission command. Mission command allows leaders to understand a commander’s intent and end state and employ their combat power as they see fit in order to accomplish the task. Mission command coupled with the ever-changing operational environment on the battlefield can sometimes swing the pendulum of clarity toward the side of ambiguity. This ambiguity requires leaders, at all levels, to be able to think critically and evaluate their current situation, but how a particular course of action could jeopardize the mission as a whole.
In today’s Army, the operational environment continually reshapes the decisions that are made long after the original orders are given and potential branches and sequels are considered. A complex world of five concurrent domains and enemies, both known and unknown, are the reason that leaders must teach, coach, and mentor their subordinates to thinking critically. Thinking critically can and will save lives on the battlefield.