General H. Norman Schwarzkopf
When a person mentions the era occurring between 1929 and 1939, the first thing that clicks into their mind is the Great Depression. Economic prosperity in the United States struggled to exist because of events like the stock market crash in 1929. By the time 1934 arrived, the economic crisis showed signs of making a turn around. However, another historical event also occurred in this era. On August 22, 1934, a child was born in Trenton New Jersey (Fredriksen, 1999, p. 692). His name was H. Norman Schwarzkopf. Unbeknownst to his parents at that time, but this child would eventually command one of the most profound wars the United States ever participated in.
General H. Norman Schwarzkopf’s experience as a military dependent and as the United States Central Command Commander epitomized visionary and ethical leadership characteristics.
To support this statement, this paper will highlight events in his time as the United States Central Command Commander validated his visionary leadership skills. Next, it will address the events that demonstrate the decisions General Schwarzkopf made that clearly validate those of an ethical leader. Finally, this paper will discuss the relevance of why it is important for a Combatant Commander of such a wide area of responsibility to possess both of these traits. Let us begin by highlighting events in his military career that establish his visionary leader characteristics.
Visionary Leader
General Schwarzkopf was as a visionary leader as evidenced by his involvement in Operation Desert Storm serving as the Commander of United States Central Command. Before actually taking command, Schwarzkopf worked at the Pentagon serving as a Lieutenant General in the operatio...
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...Next, it addressed the events that demonstrated the decisions General Schwarzkopf made that clearly validate those of an ethical leader. Finally, it discussed the relevance of why it is important for a Combatant Commander of such a wide area of responsibility to possess both of these traits.
General Schwarzkopf’s experience as a military dependent and as the United States Central Command Commander clearly epitomized his visionary and ethical leadership characteristics.
If I received the question, “How could you improve your leadership style?” My answer would be “follow the ideals General Schwarzkopf pursued.” His desire to what is right for his followers and his colleagues is an example we should all try to follow. “It doesn’t take a hero to order men into battle; it takes a hero to be one of those men who goes into battle” (Schwarzkopf & Petre, 1992, p. 1).
Military leaders may find themselves in questionable situations: perceived as unethical; lack moral consciousness, or question their character. Dwight Eisenhower demonstrated moral courage by leveraging the ethical principles of duty, loyalty and subordination in endorsing the French Vichy leader Admiral Darlan.
“Military leadership qualities are formed in a progressive and sequential series of carefully planned training, educational, and experiential events—far more time-consuming and expensive than similar training in industry or government. Secondly, military leaders tend to hold high levels of responsibility and authority at low levels of our organizations. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, military leadership is based on a concept of duty, service, and self-sacrifice; we take an oath to that effect.”
Black Hearts is a great example of the reality on how severe bad leadership skills can ripple throughout a unit and impact its overall mission. This book serves as a guide for future leaders of America and will set the examples of what not to do in leadership positions. The lessons we can take from these soldiers can help us as potential leaders to become more competent and effective. The fact that this book focused on the hardships, poor decisions and sound judgment of the soldiers it helped emphasize on what was not the best choice of action and leaves a moment for you as the audience to think how you would of done it better. So right or wrong there was a lesson to be learned and the book did a good job including the reader. This book puts you in the shoes of a small group of soldiers from the 502nd Infantry Regiment and gives you an up close and personal take on the experience of the soldiers, from the bottom of the the ranks all the way up to the commander. 502nd Bravo Company 1st platoon deployed in the fall of 2005 into one of the most dangerous battle zones in Iraq known as the “Triangle of Death”. Thrown into the heartland of a growing insurgency, with undefined goals and a shortage of manpower, Bravo Company began piling up casualties at an alarming rate. They suffered many losses, as well as mental anguish. Because of the long and tragic deployment, a collapse in leadership began to unfold causing one of the most tragic, brutal, and infamous deployments in U.S Army history. There were many reasons that caused the deconstruction of leadership, and eventually, the actions of the soldiers accompanied by the lack of control, lead to the rape and murder of an innocent Iraqi girl and her family. This is a story about character...
...e leadership characteristic that popped out at me was how Cap. John Goodwin was his resilience to overcome all the horrific parts of this deployment and still stayed with it and worked his hardest with no breaks until he was forced to go on that leave to rest and then as soon as he heard something bad had happened, he stopped everything he was doing and got back to his men as quickly as he could it showed how much he cared, he also listened to his men and what they needed and tried helping them all the time. One thing he did not do a good job of was letting Kunk get to him and knock his confidence down and taking care of his own health so he could be awake and alert as company commander each and every day. His soldiers mentioned how weak, and tired and malnourished he looked from being next to the radio 24/7 which should never happen when you are calling the shots.
“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.” (BAM, 2010, p.20) These words were first written down over 2,400 years ago by a Chinese general named Sun Tzu in his famous military strategy treatise known today as The Art of War. These words, in fact the entire book, are just as valid today as they were during Sun Tzu’s lifetime. He was one of the first truly visionary and ethical military leaders in the world. Despite the fact that there is not much known about Sun Tzu today other than his writings, in this essay, I intend to extract his essence from his treatise to prove he was a visionary leader. I will then continue to prove he was also an ethical leader. Finally, I will finish by detailing how his seminal work has inspired me to self-reflect on how I can be a better visionary and ethical leader in the 21st Century Air Force. So, what exactly is a ‘visionary’ leader?
Dwight David Eisenhower (1955), the 34th President of the United States, gave an explicit definition of leadership, “The job of getting people really wanting to do something is the essence of leadership….” The Army, like any other civilian organization, defines different levels of leadership depending on a size of a unit a leader is in command of. Tactical and organizational leaderships are two first interconnected levels of leadership in the Army. Both levels of leadership have many commonalities regarding duties and responsibilities; yet they are very different in the way the leaders develop themselves, train, and take care of their soldiers.
The scenarios described made me reflect on all of my personal experiences. Once a member of a dual-military couple with over-lapping deployments the ability to balance life and work required critical thinking of the third and fourth order effects. Communication is heard differently when it is passed over 5,000 miles and the various elements must be considered. Additionally, the description of SGT Amy Stokely reaction to the IED detonation in front of her clearly illustrated all of the elements of critical thinking - Clarity, Accuracy, Precision, Relevance, Depth, Breadth, Logic, Significance, Fairness, etc. A leader must be able to reach to instinct and training in stressful situations and apply initiative to ensure safety and mission accomplish.
All soldiers, especially leaders, are highly recommended to keep a certain set of values that radiate throughout the entire U.S. Army. They are challenged to keep them near and dear to their hearts and to define and live them every day. A leader is one who takes these challenges serious and abides by
George Washington is considered a primary example of a leader because he demonstrated the core leadership attributes and competencies. The Army defines leadership as “the process of influencing others to provide purpose, direction, and motivation to accomplish the mission and improve the organization.” (ADP 6-22, 2012, pg. iii) The purpose of this paper is to describe how George Washington modeled leadership during the Revolutionary War, as well as during his presidency. In addition, this paper will focus on how his leadership style made a lasting impact on me. He was a prime example of what a leader should do; lead, develop, and achieve. He also possessed the attributes of what a leader should have; character, presence, and intellect.
Even though he was a visionary leader, there was a time in Norman Schwarzkopf’s career where he had been an unethical leader. This was not common throughout his career but for a short period during the Vietnam War era. . During a second tour to Vietnam, he took his first field command, taking over the 1st Battalion of the 6th Infantry. Schwarzkopf had success in just about everything he had done in his career, which led to a decision where lives were lost. In February of 1970, an artillery shell in route to its target collided with a tree shortly after firing. This incident killed two American soldiers by friendly fire. Norman Schwarzkopf gave the order to fire the shell. Focused on the current objective and success of the the war that
A personal leadership philosophy provides a foundation for beliefs and behaviors and a means to mobilize others toward a common goal. The wellbeing, development and engagement of staff member are integral in mission accomplishment. Commanders must identify and address issues that their staff determine to be of importance to gain trust, motivate members and involve them in processes. An example of application is the actions of CAPT Lane, who identified a general staff concern that quickly became morale crushing is discussed to demonstrate how the importance of people can unite a command and truly propel a command forward.
At the start of Australian Federation, there was already an imbalance of powers, to which many did not realise the impact this would have on the future of Australia as a nation. This imbalance changed ever so slightly with many a dispute but also just shifts towards support of the political party which the politicians serve instead of the state in which they represent. This all led to the Commonwealth having most of the power in Australia, and the State governments being financially dependent on the Commonwealth government.
...rises, since all are key qualities for success in organizations of every nature. It is the nature of the job and context that dictate which portion to be apply when, where and how for the successful accomplishment of a given mission or task. While management competences are important for military leaders, its techniques and application may prove disastrous if substituted for leadership on the battlefield. And conversely, leadership techniques that work well on the battlefield may end up being very futile when substituted for management. That for which soldiers are willing to face danger and death in battle, loyalty, team spirit, morale cannot be instilled by managing. Managers can put the most modern and well equipped force into the field but do not have the competence to inspire men to be able to fight and capture or seize an objective (General John A. Wickham).
Norman Schwarzkopf was a leader that always maintained his presence, character and intellect in every military operation he was involved in. He learned very quickly as a combat commander that in order for his men to fight, he had to be an example of what right looked like. He gave his subordinates broad orders with a clear intent and enabled them to develop and conduct their missions. He would correct subordinates when necessary, but would never attack them, only attack the problem that he saw. He was a man of integrity who consistently followed his moral character instilled in him by his father. He is a great example of accomplished military officer and his actions and leadership abilities should be studied by all who
In this essay we will be introduced to a leader who holds a high place of authority in the military and gain some personal insight on leadership and management. Then will look at this writer’s own personality traits and what leadership model the personality traits best match. Then look at the tenets of motivation and how this writer’s personality suites these tenets. Also look at the relationship between effective communication and motivation. Then finally we will look at some thoughts of what it takes to be an effective employee, successful manager, and an exemplary citizen.