The account of Iraq described by the author of this article opens multiple dimensions on military training and lessons that the events of the wars may help to inform a new understanding of war. Arguably, in more than account, it provokes a reflection of how the military model of training should prepare the men in uniform to not only find adapt to unique situations in the battlefield but also critically incorporate models of thought that are essential to the way that they achieve the goals of the war. Lieutenant Colonel Chris Hughes’s heroic act of taking a knee and pointing the gun muzzle downwards was one of many instances when the skills of creative thought helped the American army to pull through some very tight spots. Therefore, the conceptual thoughts that this memo adopts are the result of an in-depth reflection of the article’s narration of several unique elements of specific actions of military personnel that indicate some fundamental aspects of the war that generals missed from the onset of the war and how these lessons may prove critical to the paradigm of training and battle strategy planning of future wars. The insights of the author, albeit coming from a civilian journalist incorporate very accurate hypothesis of the Iraq war and how the landscape of military approaches should transform in the coming years.
The acts of Hughes on live television, unexpected as it was, introduced the dimension of some of the issues that have for a long time remained in the minds of military scholars for a long time. Arguably, the views of these scholars on the insufficiency of the whole procedural framework that does not encourage innovative thinking in the military calls for a fresh re-evaluation of the current curriculum to ensure that it supports the creative thinking of the military leaders (Caforio, 2018). From this perspective, it is a fundamental value to conceptualize the ways of incorporating these new paradigms of training without destabilizing the current systems. In more explicit terms, in as much as there is a gap in the training process, it is also of imminent importance to ensure that the current systems mainly tactical approaches in the battle remain unchanged (Kawano, 2017). As it is, what is lacking in the whole as pointed out by the article is the requisite soft skills of the military leaders to adapt when under pressure. The process of these new propositions will require the input of battle-experienced military scholars in partnership with those individuals who have outstanding records in innovative thinking such as Hughes. The use of the contribution of the various experts to formulate the new models is vital to ensure that the previous gaps of training do not feature in the new plans. Unlike other professions, strict adherence to set the protocols, compliance and reactionary tactical are of great value to the soldier in the battlefield thus must remain intact to a significant degree (Caforio, 2018). The new aspects of proactive thought and creativity must only apply in situations that demand the application of such in totality. To avoid any forms of confusion that may result from introducing the new curriculum, the army bases must develop them and progressively introduce them starting with the highest-ranking soldiers down to the Sergeant and Constables of lower ranks.
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The paradigm of military training contained in the American catalogue in the 21st century have mainly relied on tactics such as the Napoleonic technique to subdue the enemy, but the Iraq war has shown that there is a need to change the approaches. Primarily, the military personnel must undertake such strategies applicable to the enemy based on an analytical profiling process (Callina, 2017). Undeniably, for example, understanding the motivations of the enemy is a new paradigm because the report shows that the level of religious fanaticism of some of the individuals in the Iraq war caught the troops off-guard. For example, in other wars, suicide attacks using bombs was unheard of and thus in many of the instances when the American forces suffered massive causalities it was a result of these new dimensions of war tactics employed by the Militia and Terrorist groups in the region. To this end, it is the firm view of this paper that a careful profiling process must also be introduced as a new military concept in the planning process to anticipate some of the tactics that the enemy may use in the course of the war. Profiling helps to create an understanding of the character and motivations of the enemy; therefore, the formulation of the short practical terms and long terms interventions becomes very effective.
The article insight of the need to understand the landscape and cultural terrain of the enemy territory is an accurate hypothesis of the necessary procedural strategy shift to incorporate these new paradigms is essential. In retrospect, the military careers of the many of the leaders at the time of the Iraq war duplicated the strategies that they had used in other successful missions including in peacekeeping missions in Eastern Europe and the African horn without understanding that Iraq was unique. I believe that the new dimensions of military interventions should consist of a feasibility test to assess the landscape not just in its physical form but also in its cultural sense thus ensuring that the soldiers are physically and psychologically trained for the conditions they may encounter in the battlefield.
The leadership spectrum between Leaders in the military and the junior staff is also an area of interests from both academia and the military entities. The Generational behavioural spectrum that differentiates different groups of army servicemen must be reflected in the leadership models between Commanding Officers and their juniors not just to reduce the probability of conflicts but also to create a strong bond between the two categories (García-Guiu et al., 2016). With high levels of respect and positive relationship that identify with the Generation of military personnel will promote hegemony of the leadership principles that highest-ranking leaders adopt and the way that the junior officers embrace them while executing these directives. Thus, there is little resentment among the junior officers on the orders that they receive and how they are issued.
In my concluding remarks, I would note of the article’s observations in the Iraq war dimensions especially in leadership as well thought out in the context of the landmark events that happened such as Hughes one-knee act, suicide bombs and guerilla warfare tactics attacks on American troops. The insights inspire a new trajectory of the models of training to promote innovative thinking and a continuous audit assessment of the training and planning approaches of the military personnel for each war as opposed to blanket duplication of strategies.
References
Caforio, G. (2018). The sociology of the military and asymmetric warfare. Handbooks of Sociology and Social Research , 497-522. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71602-2_26
Caforio, G. (2018). Military officer education. Handbooks of Sociology and Social Research , 273-300. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71602-2_14
Callina, K. S., Ryan, D., Murray, E. D., Colby, A., Damon, W., Matthews, M., & Lerner, R. M. (2017). Developing leaders of character at the United States military Academy: A relational developmental systems analysis. Journal of College and Character , 18 (1), 9-27. https://doi.org/10.1080/2194587x.2016.1260475
García-Guiu, C., Moya, M., Molero, F., & Moriano, J. A. (2016). Transformational leadership and group potency in small military units: The mediating role of group identification and cohesion. Revista de Psicología del Trabajo y de las Organizaciones , 32 (3), 145-152. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rpto.2016.06.002
Kawano, H. (2017). Combat leadership on Guadalcanal: In extremis leadership of the Japanese and American soldiers in World War II. Leadership in Extreme Situations , 347-369. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-55059-6_18
