ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY

It has been said, “You don’t have to get ready when you stay ready.” In 2018, upon assuming duties as logistics director for U.S. Forces Korea, I considered U.S. military forces’ preparedness to conduct large-scale ground combat in the Indo-Pacific region. I quickly realized U.S. forces are not ready, but must get ready—and stay ready.

As a result of the 9/11 attacks on the U.S. homeland, the U.S. Army focused primarily on prosecuting the global war on terrorism, which tied U.S. forces to the Southwest Asia region and counterinsurgency fights in Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria. This...

With the Arctic region warming in more ways than one, the implications for the Army are critical. As rising global temperatures melt the polar ice caps, access to critical resources at the top of the globe increases. This unprecedented access to precious resources will invariably lead to near-peers such as the U.S., its allies and Russia coming in close contact.

As more military assets surge into the region, creating an escalating security dilemma, the possibility for conflict rises exponentially. The U.S. Army is not yet positioned to deal with the medical implications of such a conflict...

He was a decisive, plain-spoken leader who became the 33rd president of the United States. But more than two decades before he became president, Harry Truman served as an artillery officer in World War I. His time in uniform tested his courage and core values, and transformed him from a struggling Missouri farmer into a decisive leader. Leadership skills forged in that conflict helped propel him into a career of public service, culminating in the highest office in the land.

As a young man, the studious Truman wanted to attend college but could not afford to do so. An alternative was the...

Today’s Army recruiters face challenges not seen since the all-volunteer force was implemented in 1973. Both Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth and Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George now spend considerable time on recruiting. Their work is not easy. The past two years were the worst for Army recruiting since the all-volunteer force was fielded 50 years ago. This year likely will be more of the same.

Historically, when recruiting has been an issue for the Army, two things are normally on the table: offering more financial incentives and relooking at existing entry criteria/standards...

Protection in the Indo-Pacific is equivalent to possessing a boxer’s on-guard stance. Metaphorically, America’s I Corps aspires to see, sense and understand the adversary like a boxer preparing to enter an arena. When the boxer enters the ring, they must be able to see over and “through” their gloves, possessing an on-guard stance that is synchronized, integrated and not separated from the ability to fire, maneuver and think.

I Corps can deliver and survive any number of punching combinations. The opponent knows the corps can deliver a knockout blow with the first salvo and will think...

Risks to the international system have never been more evident, given Russia’s war in Ukraine and China’s aggression in the Indo-Pacific. Initial military observations from the Russia-Ukraine war reinforce then-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley’s idea, expressed in his commencement speech to the West Point Class of 2022, that the nature of warfare is immutable.

The U.S. Army must prepare for the combined arms fight by retaining the world-class fundamental warfighting capability that the U.S. has come to expect from its Army. The nation and the military also should...

Risks to the international system have never been more evident, given Russia’s war in Ukraine and China’s aggression in the Indo-Pacific. Initial military observations from the Russia-Ukraine war reinforce then-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley’s idea, expressed in his commencement speech to the West Point Class of 2022, that the nature of warfare is immutable.

The U.S. Army must prepare for the combined arms fight by retaining the world-class fundamental warfighting capability that the U.S. has come to expect from its Army. The nation and the military also should...

Picture this: I’m an Army lawyer sitting in an airport lounge, fielding a challenging legal question from a concerned commander. Typically, my go-to response would be, “Have you checked the Commander’s Legal Handbook?” This comprehensive guide has saved me more times than I can count, offering straightforward answers to myriad legal issues. But there I was, far from my usual resources, facing a question I needed to look up myself.

So, I turned to a tool I trust as a reliable starting point, found a satisfactory answer and managed to assuage my commander’s concerns for the moment. What was...

After 36 days of Cadet Summer Training at Fort Knox, Kentucky, I received confused looks when handing in my out-processing paperwork, which stated that my follow-on assignment was to Jerusalem. Many leaders at Cadet Summer Training, and other cadets, were surprised to hear that U.S. Army Cadet Command offers Army ROTC and West Point Academy cadets internship opportunities at the U.S. Embassy in Israel.

As a senior in Army ROTC at the University of California, Santa Barbara, I am honored and privileged to have interned with the U.S. Africa Command and, during the summer of 2023, to have...

Trust Is the Glue During Heated Combat

21 Days to Baghdad: General Buford Blount and the 3rd Infantry Division in the Iraq War. Heather Marie Stur. Osprey Publishing. 320 pages. $35

By Lt. Col. Tim Stoy, U.S. Army retired

21 Days to Baghdad: General Buford Blount and the 3rd Infantry Division in the Iraq War is a thorough analysis of the lightning-fast campaign fought by the 3rd Infantry Division in the opening days of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Based on interviews with the division commander, Maj. Gen. Buford Blount, it covers the three weeks from the division’s crossing into Iraq...

Most would agree that much of what NCOs accomplish is done through teaching, coaching and mentoring.

While those three words are similar, they are different.

Teaching involves transferring knowledge to another person, such as providing instruction on how to perform a task.

Coaching involves helping someone improve or get better. An example would be helping a soldier prepare for their promotion board.

Mentoring takes place when there’s a relationship based on trust and respect, where the mentor is vested in the development and success of the mentee.

Typically, mentors have...

In May 1973, my father, Bob Gerner, told me to meet him at a restaurant for a late lunch. It was a cafe on Second Avenue in New York City. A tough man by any measure, my father completed training as an ironworker on high-rise construction projects. He was drafted into the Army in 1943. Over lunch, my father wanted to discuss his combat experience from nearly 30 years ago in World War II. He began to share his memories of fighting in Italy as a young sergeant in the 10th Mountain Cavalry Reconnaissance Troop of the 10th Mountain Division.

He said war’s unpredictability led him to the...

Leadership encompasses several skill sets, and not all of them are easily taught or learned. Leadership is both a skill and a practice. Leadership is more difficult and advanced than management or supervision, and it relies on the ability to influence and motivate others to achieve a common goal. It is a complex process requiring a variety of skills and qualities, including communication, delegation, decision-making and problem-solving, as well as humility.

All professions and employees value leadership, which is in short supply in many areas, to include politics, business and academia...

Intrepid Warriors on Dangerous Missions

Rangers, Scouts, and Raiders: Origin, Organization, and Operations of Selected Special Operations Forces. Michael Dilley. Casemate Publishers. 240 pages. $34.95

By Command Sgt. Maj. Jimmie Spencer, U.S. Army retired

The need for military special mission units in times of conflict is well documented. Military history is replete with examples of special operations missions that played a decisive role in the outcome of the conflict. Such units have been part of American history since even before the Revolutionary War.

Soldier and historian...

Today’s U.S. Army is in the midst of its most significant modernization transformation in more than 40 years. While the Army spent the first two decades of this century focusing on counterinsurgency operations in Southwest Asia and the Middle East, our near-peer adversaries narrowed and, in some cases, eliminated several advantages that made us the world’s premier military land power. To reestablish those advantages, the Army is modernizing at lightning speeds.

The increased lethality of future battlefields makes sustainment more critical than ever. Army sustainment describes the provision...