Many changes have occurred within the army in both the active and reserve components over the last two decades. Some changes have been good while others have been bad. The wars in Afghanistan and the operations in the Middle East have given platforms for many our leaders to be tested. Amidst the changes, what remains constant is the need to provide proper leadership in both the garrison and combat environment. Whether in combat or garrison, the job of leadership is to maintain good order and discipline among the ranks and accomplish the mission or task assigned.
The garrison environment is perceived to be boring and mundane. The work assigned to the units in the garrison is usually involving hence keeping the army busy. Several activities that include physical fitness training, maintenance of equipment, administration duties, and distant online courses make the life at garrison not applicable to everybody. For a fresh soldier who is from training or that soldier who loves being on the front line, life at the garrison can seem to be very tedious. Although the garrison method can be viewed as boring, it is necessary to prepare the soldiers for combat as it gives the learner a sense of time consciousness and teaches them other functions such as administrative tasks, equipment maintenance, mandatory briefings, and training in guiding and counseling.
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With regards to the combat environment, it is a dynamic field that is constantly experiencing many changes. It is dangerous and equally exciting for some people. As opposed to a garrison, less emphasis is put on appearance, uniforms, communication, technical, and tactical skills. Decision making is crucial in combat training, and the swiftness at which they are made can be the difference between life and death. Another important aspect in the combat training is mutual trust among the soldiers. To be a successful leader in the combat training, the soldiers have to trust the leader, and the leader has to trust the subjects. Trust is important because it gives members a sense of security, responsibility, and accountability. In the combat environment, a soldier gets the sense of purpose which lacks in a garrison environment hence allowing them to perform their job in accomplishment. Here, soldiers are required to apply various aspects they learned in the garrison environment and put them into action.
In the garrison environment, the focus of a good leader should be turning their attention to readying the troops and deploying them to accomplish a specific mission. The leader must be keen to change their leadership styles whenever an environment changes. Such changes must focus on the management of individual, collective groups, training, personnel readiness, discipline and several other army standards. Both the garrison and the combat training have their risk levels that a leader must be keen to mitigate and find solutions to them. The leader must also set measures that control drug and alcohol abuse, injuries from outdoor recreations, dangerously operating POVs, among others. The leader must learn everything from the soldier to determine their suitability, strengths, and possible weaknesses.
The environment at the garrison and combat might seem to be very different at the face level, but the most important thing is that the qualities needed to succeed are more or less the same. The success of a soldier at the garrison levels determines if they can make it at the combat level. Whereas the garrison training is limiting, the combat environment is purposeful and requires a soldier to make hair splitting decisions. The most important thing in all these environments is the availability of trust among the soldiers as this ensures that there is a maximum corporation and dedication to the cause.
