ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY

The U.S. Army’s policies designed to mitigate risk may create a distortion for commanders by weighing tactical risk as less important than accidental and causing suboptimal decisionmaking.

There is no such thing as eradicating risk on the battlefield. Act too quickly, and you will make mistakes. Wait too long, and the enemy will punish you mercilessly. We expect commanders to properly balance this tension; we give them staffs, access, proximity to the battle, and authority to make decisions.

Yet combat is still a messy business. The Army proves this time and again by making mistakes such as...

There will be war. This should be the fundamental assumption behind U.S. national security and defense planning by the next administration. When I say war, I mean a conventional conflict between the U.S. and a major power, of which there are only two plausible candidates—Russia and China. This would be a great-power conflict coupled with the possibility of a two-front war involving hostile regional actors.

A succession of senior defense officials, military leaders and intelligence experts have made a point of the growing danger of conflict between the U.S. and at least one hostile power. At a...

Picture this: You are at a movie theater and realize there are only three empty seats. One is in the front row, one is in the middle, and one is in the last row. Which seat should you choose? Is one location better than the others and if so, why?

It is amazing how many decisions a person needs to make to choose the seat that would best suit their needs. The fact that a military area of operations is called a theater is not lost with this analogy. Let’s explore the seats and identify why the lack of a strategic vision can impact one’s world.

If you sit in the front row of a movie theater, you can...

Picture this: You are at a movie theater and realize there are only three empty seats. One is in the front row, one is in the middle, and one is in the last row. Which seat should you choose? Is one location better than the others and if so, why?

It is amazing how many decisions a person needs to make to choose the seat that would best suit their needs. The fact that a military area of operations is called a theater is not lost with this analogy. Let’s explore the seats and identify why the lack of a strategic vision can impact one’s world.

If you sit in the front row of a movie theater, you can...

Discussions about the character—or lack thereof—of world leaders, elected officials and even entire generations abound in the media.

Discussions about the character—or lack thereof—of world leaders, elected officials and even entire generations abound in the media.

New Standard for Senior Leader Biographies

Jacob L. Devers: A General’s Life. James Scott Wheeler. University Press of Kentucky (an AUSA Title). 616 pages. $39.95

Buy Now

By Col. Gregory Fontenot

U.S. Army retired

With the publication of Jacob L. Devers: A General’s Life, retired Col. James Scott Wheeler has closed a serious gap in the historiography of the U.S. Army during World War II. Equally important, he has redressed an imbalance in historical assessment of Devers’ career and leadership in combat.

Until recently, the only biography of Devers merely summarized a great soldier’s career. Devers...

Defense Secretary Ash Carter recently rolled out a number of personnel management reforms to break down the Pentagon’s current system of recruitment, retention and promotion that is largely a one-size-fits-all approach governing the total armed forces.

Carter’s proposals are numerous and far-ranging. There is zero chance that all of them will be adopted before the Obama administration times out. But here’s hoping the initiatives will outlive the secretary’s tenure. They ought to be the start of something big.

America’s military works best when how the military manages personnel matches how...

Retired Lt. Gen. Mark P. Hertling knew he “didn’t want to work as a defense contractor” after relinquishing command of U.S. Army Europe and Seventh Army in 2012, but he did want to continue serving the nation. In 2013, he accepted a senior vice president position with Florida Hospital, based in Orlando, and created the hospital’s Physician Leader Development Course. He joined the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition in September 2013.

1. How did you get involved with Florida Hospital?

During my last year in command of U.S. Army Europe, I was giving Memorial Day speeches at...

If the conflicts of the 21st century have made anything more apparent, it’s America’s pathological problem with ending or preventing wars rather than with fighting them. This is largely because of inconsistent investment in national civilian and military land power capabilities to translate military into political gains and “win the peace.”

Nowhere is this better played out than with civil affairs. We’ve seen this movie many times: After the outbreak of war, civil affairs forces—which act as liaisons between the Army and civilian authorities and populations—are hastily assembled and deployed...

Five Army chiefs of staff – the current and four former chiefs – were present June 17 for a reception marking the departure of the Association of the U.S. Army’s president and CEO.

The event, held in AUSA’s Conference and Event Center in Arlington, Virginia, was held to mark the end of an 18 ½-year era in which retired Army Gen. Gordon R. Sullivan served as the head of the educational nonprofit association.

Sullivan, who was the Army’s 32nd chief of staff, stepped down on June 30.

His successor is retired Army Gen. Carter F. Ham.

The current Army chief, Gen. Mark A. Milley, was at the reception...

Chapters are the backbone of the Association of the United States Army.

They donate their time, skills and money to support soldiers, civilians and families, educate their communities about the importance of the Army, and attract individuals and companies to become members of AUSA. When our chapters are successful, the Association is successful.

However, the diversity of our chapters makes determining one model of success difficult to discern.

That is why AUSA headquarters has launched the Chapter Excellence Project, an effort meant to define the hallmarks and resources required to achieve...

After two months on the job, Secretary of the Army Eric K. Fanning said a key part of his position is making the Army seem more than numbers.

That’s an easy case to make, Fanning said at a June 28 breakfast hosted by the Association of the U.S. Army’s Institute of Land Warfare, because the Army is the service “most connected with America.”

In a discussion led by retired Army Gen. Carter F. Ham, who on July 1 became AUSA’s president and CEO, Fanning said one of his top priorities at a time when the high pace of deployments is showing no signs of easing is to make sure soldiers in far-flung...

Now that both the House and Senate have passed their respective fiscal 2017 defense authorization bills, the next step is to reconcile the differences between the two versions. However, since Congress is out on an extended summer recess, a final version of the bill will not be unveiled until after Labor Day when they return.

The biggest issue lawmakers face is how to pay for weapons, people and programs both sides say the Pentagon needs. The House bill takes $18 billion from the Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) account, a move rejected by the Senate and the Obama Administration.

Senate...