Dwight D. Eisenhower's Utilization of Mission Command Principles in World War II. SSG Luis A. Aviles MI Senior Leader Course Class 24-018 SFC Paul Votruba 12 Jun 2024. Dwight D. Eisenhower's Utilization of Mission Command Principles in World War II General Dwight D. Eisenhower is one of the greatest military leaders in history. As Supreme Allied Commander, his ability to lead through mission command principles during World War II (WWII) made his accomplishments possible. The principles we follow today are not the same as guiding doctrine from the 1940s, but Eisenhower's actions seem to align with these modern principles very well. He used the seven principles of mission command throughout several battles and most of WWII. With any leader …show more content…
Mission Command Principles Competence Competence is something Eisenhower never lacked during WWII. Eisenhower developed under several of the Army's greatest leaders, including General Pershing and General MacArthur. During his time under these infamous leaders, Eisenhower took the time to develop and hone his skills from examples set before him. During Operation Torch, Eisenhower exemplified his competence. Eisenhower's ability to plan and execute the first large-scale Allied invasion in North Africa showcased his strategic acumen (D'Este, 2002). His promotion rate during WWII also shows his competence as a leader. He earned a promotion from Lieutenant Colonel to General of the Army in eight years (2013). He is one of five five-star generals to earn that title. Superiors and subordinates had the utmost faith in his ability to lead, with this in mind Eisenhower appropriately exercised the competence principle of mission command. Mutual Trust Not only did his superiors acknowledge his competence, his subordinates also realized he was a capable leader and trusted his decisions. "From Churchill to the lowest Tommy, from Roosevelt to …show more content…
Risk Acceptance Within the principles of mission command, risk acceptance is one of the principles that provides commanders with the best chance to overtake enemies. Very rarely in war has a major momentum shift followed something that did not require a commander to assume risk. Eisenhower was well versed in risk acceptance. A prime example of his ability to exercise this principle is Operation Overlord. Launching Operation Overlord despite uncertain weather conditions exemplifies calculated risk acceptance on his part. His readiness to take risks, balanced with thorough planning, often led to significant strategic gains (D'Este, 2002). Operation Overlord's impact on WWII is unparalleled by any other operation and Eisenhower's ability to accept the risk is what made it possible. Lessons Learned Shared understanding is something that I realized I have had to do in my duties as an NCOIC and will have to continue to enforce. Soldiers often believe they do work just to do it, but that is not the case. It is the job of NCOIC and OIC to ensure we are reinforcing the purpose of the work we do. When I received a new batch of soldiers in my section, I had to highlight the impact the OSIRs they regularly produce have on the
When looking at the Special Operations (SO) Imperatives, one can gain an understanding of how to change their way of looking at problems that they are faced with in any scenario. By applying these imperatives, Special Forces Soldiers can set the conditions to succeed in any situation that they find themselves in. When reading The Ugly American by William J. Lederer and Eugene Burdick, there are several examples of the correct application and the lack of application of the imperatives throughout the book. Taking a look at the Office of Strategic Service (OSS) linking up with John Colvin during the war, Father Finian and how he operated with and through others, and how Louis Krupitzyn and his wife understood their operational environment and Colonel Hillendale also mastered this skill and was the right man for the job. I will explain how the SO imperatives were applied correctly. Joe Bing and his inability to recognize the political implications while in Setkya and Tom Knox’s return trip from Cambodia serve as great examples of how the imperatives need to be applied correctly.
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.
COL Prescott’s role in the Battle of Bunker Hill, or more correctly know as the Battle of Breed’s Hill, is a great example of how to properly execute mission command. An overview from The Cowpens Staff Ride and Battlefield Tour (Moncure) reveals a number of operation and strategic objectives that the American militia had to consider. In this instance, COL Prescott takes charge of 1200 men with instructions to defend against incoming British forces that were seeking to occupy the surrounding hills during the Siege of Boston campaign. COL Prescott utilized a variety of steps in the operations process that contributed to his expert utilization of mission command over his forces. Through various sources from published works by experts on the subject, COL Prescott’s mission command demonstrates its effectiveness in his understanding of the situation against the British, his visualization to create an end state for t...
The book Black Hearts by Jim Frederick is an in-depth narrative about the 1st platoon, Bravo Company 1-502nd Infantry 101st Airborne Division deployed to Iraq in 2005. The leadership failures documented in this book range all the way from the general officer level down to the lowest private. LT general Ricardo Sanchez failed to understand the climate his command group was entering as they were deployed into Iraq. From then on the entire leadership failures continued to compound upon each other with improper time to plan. It is customary to have a six month lead time to have a proper battle hand off when preparing to take over an AO from another unit. To compound this problem, the entire time the 502nd was in pre-deployment training, they were preparing for the rigors of urban combat. In reality, they were given six weeks to recon their new area of responsibility and were going to a countryside crafted by the heavens for guerilla warfare. As Colonel Ebel said in the book, “It is not going to be an easy road. They are not even sure of what they have in the area. It just feels bad. We can expect a real fight.”
General Sherman was good at utilizing the principles of mission command at various situations and he achieved his final goal, the Confederate’s surrender. Comparing Sherman’s leadership and Hampton’s leadership, we can find out how mission command principles are important in battlefields. Most of all, I think the substantial purpose of mission command philosophy is to grant subordinates freedom of action and foster creative operational challenges. Under the principles of mission command, commanders can have staffs, subordinates and partners understood their intent as well as accomplish mission more effectively and
Mission Command as defined by the United States Army consists six distinct and critical principles. During World War II there were many examples of exemplary mission command that led to stunning victories for the Allies but also many examples of failure. The Battle for Arnhem or Operation Market-Garden was such a failure. Major General Robert Elliot Urquhart, the Commander of the 1st Airborne Division failed in not only in tactics but the ability to lead his division to victory. He did not completely misunderstand the principles of mission command, but four main areas in which he made critical mistakes were; Build a Cohesive Team Through Mutual Trust, Create a Shared Understanding, Accept Prudent Risk, and Exercise Disciplined Initiative.
As the incoming brigade commander, LTC (P) Owens, I see the critical leadership problem facing the 4th Armored Brigade Combat Team (ABCT) is the inability or unwillingness of Colonel Cutler to lead and manage change effectively. In initial talks with Col Cutler and in reviewing the brigade’s historical unit status reports, the 4th ABCT performed as well as can be expected in Afghanistan, but as the onion was peeled back there are numerous organizational issues that were brought to the surface while I walked around and listened to the soldiers of the 4th ABCT, in addition to reviewing the Center for Army Lessons Learned (CALL) report. One of the most formidable tasks of a leader is to improve the organization while simultaneously accomplishing
Operational leaders see how the individual components of an organization fit together and use those individuals work to make a larger outcome. When they focus on a problem, they think of what works best within the process and systems to make an impact on the situation. These types of leaders play a big part in making sure that things get done in an effective and functioning manner. According to the Army Doctrine ADP 6-0, the Army over time has strayed away from operational leaders and adapted Mission Command, which gives leaders the ability at the lowest level the capability to exercise disciplined initiative in an act of carrying out the larger mission . Mission Command is made up of the following six steps: Understanding, Visualize, Describe, Direct, Lead and Assess, in which a commander is responsible for. General Patton understood the intent of the Battle of the Bulge on different levels, he was able to form a mental image for the course of actions for the allies, enemies and lead his Army into combat while guiding his officers and soldiers to succeed in meeting his intent. The Battle of the Bulge is where General Patton gained one of his greatest military achievements by using his tactical leadership and logistical genius, which in return helped him turn around the main forces and forced the Germans to drive back in their final counter-offensive. General Patton strongly exercised Mission Command by understanding, visualizing, leading, and commanding what was known as the largest and bloodiest battle during World War II.
A Southern refugee once reflected, and referred to the Army of the Potomac as the “greatest army in the planet.” Although this is a clear exaggeration, from a Southern perspective following the Battle of Antietam, this was not too far off. Relative to the Army of Northern Virginia, the Federal army was vastly larger, in better spirits, and strategically in better positions. To direct this army of great potential, President Lincoln appointed the reluctant Major General Ambrose Everett Burnside. Almost immediately after receiving command, Burnside adopted a plan; the objective was Richmond. He was convinced that a victory at Richmond would cripple the Confederate’s ability to carry on; whether this would have been true is debatable. What is not arguable however, is Burnside’s neglect of a small city by the name of Fredericksburg, which lied directly in his path. He inherited every advantage a military leader of the time could hope for; however, every one of these advantages was dissolved with his disregard of mission command. The Army of the Potomac’s loss at the Battle of Fredericksburg was a direct result of General Burnside’s failure at conducting the commander’s activities of understanding, describing, leading, and assessing.
In the United States Navy Operational risk management (ORM) is personally experienced. The ORM process is taken seriously by everyone in leadership, particularly when failures can be fatal to personnel or equipment damage, therefore, understanding potential risks faced is vital (Eaamonn, 2013). In many organizations and specifically speaking from military experience, risk management is essential to avoiding catastrophic incidents from occurring. Risk management is sometimes unpopular among subordinates so; it is incumbent on leaders to be courageous and standby decisions made. Leaders must be bold and take a stand to protect the community from the effects of flooding even in times of budgetary austerity (Hall,
Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces during World War II, was close to not achieving commander status. If this had happened, a different person would have taken control over Operations Torch, Avalanche, and Overlord. Eisenhower, in fact, was the key component in the victory for the Allies. Had he not been assigned by George Marshall to a planning officer in Washington D.C., President Harry Truman might not have saw Eisenhower’s potential. Eisenhower’s past 30 years of military experience, his strong mental and social stature, and his ideas and tactics were all key factors for his triumphant victory in World War II.
In assessing Du Pont’s capital structure after the Conoco merger that significantly increased the company’s debt to equity ratio, an analyst must look at all benefits and drawbacks of a high debt ratio. The main reason why Du Pont ended up with a high debt to equity ratio after acquiring Conoco was due to the timing and price at which they bought Conoco. Du Pont ended up buying the firm at its peak, just before coal and oil prices started to fall and at a time when economic recession hurt the chemical industry of Du Pont. The additional response from analysts and Du Pont stockholders also forced Du Pont to think twice about their new expansion. The thought of bringing the debt ratio back to 25% was brought on by the fact that the company saw that high levels of capital spending were vital to the success of the firm and that high debt levels may put them at higher risk for defaulting.
As the operational environment changed, the operation showed that the United States was not looking at the problem objectively. General Petraeus came in, redefined the problem, and reframed the operational approach. Joint Publication 5.0 captures many of the lessons learned during this time. However, the United States needs to be mindful that it does not fight the last war, as it is prone to do.
The most effective commanders through their leadership build cohesive teams. Mutual trust, shared understanding, and accepting prudent risk serve as just a few principles for mission command. Mutual trust is the foundation of any successful professional relationship that a commander shares with his staff and subordinates. The shared understanding of an operational environment functions, as the basis for the commander to effectively accomplish the mission. While my advice for the commander on what prudent risks to take may create more opportunities rather than accepting defeat. Incorporating the principles of mission command by building cohesive teams through mutual trust, fostering an environment of shared understanding, and accepting prudent risk will make me an effective adviser to the commander, aid the staff during the operations process, and provide an example for Soldiers to emulate.
A military connotation of strategic management is “it hasn’t won every war, but it has avoided a lot of ambushes.”