Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Why America's Army Succeeds

When the chips are down, circumstances on the ground are dire, and the stakes are high America's political leadership and in fact all Americans turn to America's can do force - the United States Army. America's senior military service has built an unsurpassed legacy of achievement through the grit and determination of millions of men and women who have shouldered America's burdens for over 237 years. Soldiers have risked everything to bear the unbearable, suffer the intolerable, and achieve the seemingly impossible.

Today, when assessing why or how the Army is able to succeed where other organizations fail, one may be inclined to point to overwhelming resources - the weapons, the remarkable technology and the awesome firepower the Army can bring to bear. That determination, however, would miss the fundamental element. The truth is much simpler. America's Army succeeds because of its people - the values they adhere to, the processes they employ, and the tenacity they exhibit.

Soldiers come from all walks of life. They don't look the same, they don't talk the same, and they don't think the same except in one respect: soldiers intend to win, plan to win, and fight to win. The Army succeeds in achieving the most difficult tasks, in dangerous, austere environments, because quality people do the necessary things to guarantee success.

The Army, like the other armed forces of the United States, is an institution designed to confront, manage, and overcome the two most influential aspects of the human experience: power and fear. America's Army is the land force charged with managing national power. The Army applies and manipulates deadly force to achieve the national will. To carry out this charge under extreme duress, the Army as an institution collectively, and soldiers individually, must deliberately and directly overcome fear.

The Army relies on universal, immutable principles to organize vast and powerful units, synchronize myriad capabilities, and complete complex and formidable missions. To accomplish the most demanding tasks, to succeed in the most severe circumstances, and to triumph over the most threatening of all adversaries America's Army operates by three indispensable precepts: America's Army is Values Based, Mission Focused and Action Oriented.

These three cornerstones of Army doctrine and Army exploits are the very same principles employed to achieve success in any and all areas of life. The Army has adopted measures to inculcate these principles into its culture. Soldiers come to understand that the power of a team proceeds from the strength of its foundation. Values based, mission focused, action oriented is the Army's foundation and is why America's Army succeeds.

No comments:

Post a Comment