U.S army general John J. Pershing, also known as “Black Jack” once said “A competent leader can get efficient service from poor troops, while on the contrary an incapable leader can demoralize the best of troops.” (“John J Pershing Quotes”). John commanded the American Expeditionary Force, or “AEF” in Europe at the time of World War 1 (Mifflin). He was one of the greatest generals in our society and accomplished a lot in his time on earth. John Joseph Pershing was born on September 13, 1860 in Laclede, Missouri. Pershing served as army chief staff from 1921 to 1924. When he finished school he applied to the United States Military Academy, West Point. Graduating in 1886 from West Point, General Wesley Merritt, the superintendent of West Point,
commended John J. Pershing for his leadership skills and his possessions of “suburb ability” (Alchin). After graduating at the age of twenty six he considered requesting a furlough in order to delay his commission so he could attend law school, but he changed his mind and decided to take part in active duty. Pershing was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Army (Alchin). he was noted early on by officers for his leadership qualities. He was elected president of the class of 1886, and each year held the highest rank in the Cadet Battalion, And that’s a major accomplishment seeing that he graduated 30th in his class out of 77 students (Duffy). Congress promoted John J. Pershing to “General of the Armies of the United States” in 1919. He and George Washington are the only two people who have acquired this honor. After graduation, Pershing was assigned to the Sixth Cavalry and spent the early years of his career fighting Native Americans to protect white settlers. In 1896 Pershing was assigned with the Tenth Cavalry, an all black regiment. The Native Americans called these troops buffalo soldiers because they thought the soldiers hair resembled a buffalo. This is when blacks were separated from whites. John Pershing was one of few generals who could take weak troops and make them great soldiers. As you can probably already tell, Pershing was a very accomplished person and has done things that only a very few amount of people have done. Just from the research I have done on Pershing has inspired me to be a better leader in the areas I am, and do better in school. I hope it has done the same for you.
Introduction. Common Attributes of military leaders are just that, common. The accomplished Generals, Colonels and Majors that contributed to the most successful wars of our country have been molded a certain way. They are molded through vigorous training both in scholastic training and in the field along with rigorous mentorship. Colonel Lewis McBride was a rare exception to the rule. As a renowned Chemical museum curator so distinctively puts it, he was, without a doubt, one of the most interesting and industrious officers in the history of the US Army Chemical Corps.
...didn’t over step his authority or attempt to subvert the army for his own purposes. Instead, George Washington sets the example of the military commander who was subservient to civilian political leadership. He also showed patience and coolness in the face of adversity. On many occasions in the book, the author cites Washington’s expressions of doubt and fears of failure, yet Washington never showed fear or doubt in action in front of his troops.
General Lee said, to be a good soldier you must love the army, to be a good general you must be prepared to order the death of the thing you love, and therein lies the great trap of soldiering. When you attack you must hold nothing back." Thomas J. Jackson was both a good soldier and a good general. In the Mexican War he fought with all his heart for his country. When the Civil War came, he was a general. He never hesitated to send his men forward. He held nothing back. George McClellan also fought with all his heart for his country in the Mexican War. When the time came to send his men forward in the Civil War, he couldn’t do it. He loved the army to much to order its death.
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...
...rned the essential plans that a leader would need to lead him troops. He also had the morale and spirits to keep the troops ready to fight for the freedom they wanted, as well as his ability to command such troops in placement and tactics.
In his book, My Fellow Soldiers, Andrew Carroll tells the story of World War I through the eyes of the American participants. He uses quotes, personal letters and diaries, from an array of characters, to depict a day in the life of a WWI warrior. Though, he narrows his focus on the untold story of General John J. Pershing, a US army leader. He uniquely talks about the General's vulnerable and emotional side. "Pershing was notoriously strong-willed, to the point of seeming cold, rigid, and humorless, almost more machine than man" (p.XVIII). Pershing is commonly recognized for his accomplishments during the war and remembered for his sternness. He was "…especially unforgiving when it came to matters of discipline" (p. XVIII). Nicknamed "Black Jack" due to his mercilessness towards his soldiers, in this book, Pershing is portrayed as a General with much determination and devotion to his troops, family, and close friends.
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.
In this essay I will be analyzing the adaptive leadership qualities of General John Stark from the state of New Hampshire in the United States of America. General John Stark was born August 28th, 1728 in Londonderry, New Hampshire and then later died on May 8th 1822 in Derryfield, New Hampshire at the age of 93. Stark would eventually be buried in a cemetery bearing his name, Starke cemetery in Manchester, New Hampshire. John Stark served in many battles during the French and Indian war and later in the American Revolutionary war. Stark served with Rogers Rangers and eventually would attain the rank of Major General in the U.S. Continental Army.
As our forefathers before us stated, ‘‘No one is more professional than I. I am a Noncommissioned Officer, a leader of soldiers. As a Noncommissioned Officer, I realize that I am a member of a time honored corps, which is known as “The Backbone of the Army (“The NCO Creed writing by SFC Earle Brigham and Jimmie Jakes Sr”). These words to Noncommissioned Officer should inspire us to the fullest with pride, honor, and integrity. The NCO creed should mean much more than just words whenever we attend a NCO’s school. For most of us this is what our creed has become because we learn to narrate or recite. The military from the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard has an overabundance of NCOs who fall under their pay grade of E-5, E-6 and etc. Yet somehow there still not enough leaders. I believe that the largest problem afflicting the military today is our lack of competent leaders, ineffective leader development, and how we influence our subordinates under us who are becoming leaders.
“You never really understand a person until you consider things from their point of view. Until you jump in someone else's shoes and walk around in them for a day or two.”-Harper Lee When I think of the overall message from the book The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt the word judgment comes to mind. The protagonist Holling Hoodhood has a teacher named Mrs.Baker throughout the story he always says “Mrs.Baker hates my guts.” Towards the end of the book Holling finds out that Mrs.Baker’s husband is fighting in a war. But when Holling gave Mrs.Baker a chance to show who she really is he learned she is not such a bad lady. Holling judged Mrs.Baker to quickly to see what was really going on in her life. What Holling did is just like looking at
For some time the Army has been using a certain expression to defines what an Army leader actually is. To keep it basic, the three words be, know and do explains it all!
GEN McClellan may not have been a great war time General but he excelled at training Soldiers, getting his men ready to fight and raising the morale of the Armies he commanded. Multiple historians and various political leaders agreed on this point about McClellan. In a statement, President Lincoln told John Hayes,” There is no man in the army who can man these fortifications and lick these troops into shape half as well as he” . As it can be seen from a statement from a prominent figure such as the President during the war, GEN McClellan was a Soldiers General, but the ability to get political leaders on his side was another story. His cautious attitude towards war soured his reputation with both congress. McClellan’s biggest political obstacle was Edward Stanton, the Secretary of War. He started to work on a petition that would end McClellan’s career.
...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).
Dwight D. Eisenhower was the 34th president of the United States of America and was also a five star general in the United States army (Bacharach 2013). Eisenhower defined leadership as "…the art of getting others to do something you want done because they want to do it." As a general in the army, Eisenhower saw the sort of difficult circumstances his men were fighting under and he realised that duty and discipline was not sufficient in maintaining their morale...
General Norman Schwarzkopf has been named by many as the all time favorite war hero and leader, coming in a close tie to General Dwight D. Eisenhower (Scarborough, 2012). In fact, many people fondly labeled him as “Stormin’ Norman” because of his strategic air assault against Iraq (Scarborough, 2012). However, the men and women in his command referred to him as “The Bear” due to aggressiveness and persistence (Kruse, 2012).