Taking Command from Colonel Michael Dane Steele

3rd Brigade, 101st Airborne Division must face reality. “The kill company” scandal has seriously damaged the image of the US Army, which in turn has challenged the trust the Nation places in its armed forces. More concretely, these events highlighted the need for strengthening the Rakkasans’ ethics standards. Soldiers are not warriors; they are ethical warriors, whose identity relies on two inseparable pillars: ethics principles and operational efficiency. The Army core values reflect this ethical identity and the duties that come with it. Understanding that warriors need solid ethical references, the Brigade will demonstrate commitment to the Army values, invest in ethics education, and engage leadership.

The 3rd Brigade, 101st Airborne Division, a unit known as the Rakkasans, were conducting Operation Iron Triangle in 2006 in Iraq when soldiers killed eight unarmed Iraqi men. The US military severely reprimanded the Commander of the Rakkasans, COL Michael Steele, for the unethical command climate his leadership allowed to exist within the unit at that time. This unit will need a new commander that can set and maintain an effective, ethical command climate through his leadership. That new commander should resolve the issues that led to the reported war crime in order to establish a culture that perpetuates an ethical command climate.

The 4th ABCT used to be one of the best Brigades in the Division. A dedication to its mission and competition coupled with a family environment and a decent leadership used to characterize the Brigade before its deployment into Afghanistan. The inefficient leadership, along with stressful situations the ABCT went through in Afghanistan had a negative impact on the Brigade administration, with a severe impact on personnel stress, discontent, professionalism, indiscipline both on officers, Non Commissioned officers and soldiers. This situation has had negative consequences that the Commander, LTC Cutler, was unable to realize it for redress. The lack of command and control, direction and guidance made that these issues continued and worsened. Considering the extent of issues prevailing in the Brigade, there is a need for changes that would revamp both the leadership and administration of the Brigade. The present paper shall discuss ways to achieve the needed changes, ensure continuity of culture and climate, develop an ethical organization that prevents sexual harassment in the 4th ABCT and create the Brigade vision.

Once an Eagle by Anton Myrer is a very influential novel in the military. In fact, it is required reading material for all 1st Lieutenants in the Marine Corps as well as in the United States Military Academy at West Point. Many Army leaders have read the book and often discuss it among themselves in social situations. Although a fiction read, many leaders extrapolate the use of mission command as well as the leaderships attributes. In this analysis I will be comparing a single event in the novel to the Army’s leadership principles as well as Mission Command. I will then provide a personal reflection and conclude.

Colonel (Col) Michael Steele’s resolute beliefs regarding how to prepare his unit for combat and his bravado demeanor commanded respect from other bemused military officers. While serving as Commanding Officer (CO), 3rd Brigade, 101st Airborne Division, Col Steele aggressively cultivated a command climate focused on three core principles: personal protection, precision, and lethality. Although these three core principles narrowly aligned with the Army's "Soldier's Creed", Col Steele’s principles did not reinforce the Army’s individual and organizational core values. 3rd Brigade’s disassociated ethical subculture fostered a toxic environment which compromised both subordinate commanders' and individual soldiers' moral standards to various extents. Col Steele’s vague guidance concerning proper ethical behavior during the execution of high stress Counter-Insurgency (COIN) missions resulted in subordinates failing to conduct kinetic operations in accordance with established Army ethical standards. The military establishment shall remember May 09, 2006 as the day the revered "Rakkasans" failed to personify the unit's motto of "Ne Desit Virtus," meaning "Let Valor Not Fail". For on this day, four soldiers assigned to Charlie Company, known to the “Rakkasans” as the "Kill Company", murdered eight unarmed Iraqi citizens during Operation Iron Triangle. These four soldiers failed to understand the nature and consequences of their iniquities as they could no longer distinguish

Throughout military history, there have been many leaders that can be considered either visionary or ethical. This paper will discuss how BG Robin Olds was a visionary leader, but not a very ethical leader. From the beginning of his career, he was a visionary in aerial combat tactics and a true believer of leading from the front. His vision of aerial combat was beyond his years, but often fell upon deaf ears due to his flamboyant nature. He never hesitated to say exactly what was on his mind, which is why his actions could be considered unethical. But, his men loved him, and would follow him to hell and back. First, this paper will discuss BG Olds’ visionary leadership abilities he displayed the Viet Nam

Essay #1–L201: Transition to Command ADRP 6-0 defines command as “the authority that a commander in the armed forces lawfully exercises over subordinates by virtue of rank or assignment.” This authority confers upon the commander the “responsibility for health, welfare, morale, and discipline of assigned personnel”. This is a heavy responsibility that is unique to military command and it requires a significant mental shift by anyone who assumes this authority.

The purpose of this paper is to identify Colonel (COL) Jeffrey D. Peterson, Armor Branch, Retired, as a legacy leader who had an impact on me through all attributes and competencies covered in ADRP 6-22 (Army Leadership). His selfless service and his discipline are key components of his character that I strive to emulate. His long hours doing the same things that his Soldiers were doing, whether conducting PT in the morning or taking the pulse of Baghdad and Ad Diwaniyah during his tactical command post patrols, established his presence and professionalism beyond reproach. His steady career as a senior professor at West Point after his squadron redeployed in 2007 speaks to his intellect and his academic commitment. His example helps to

Throughout my ten years in the military, there have been several people who have influenced me or have shaped my career in some way. One Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO) in particular, was Senior Master Sergeant (SMSgt) Timothy Clough. I originally met SMSgt Clough in 2013 when I was a Staff Sergeant (SSG) and he was a Master Sergeant (MSgt). SMSgt Clough arrived at our current unit, Special Operations Command Central (SOCCENT), and placed as the NCOIC for the Iranian Threat Network (ITN) team. Even though SMSgt Clough is in the Airforce, his mentorship and guidance will have far reaching impact on my career. The purpose of this paper is to explain through his actions, character and leadership why SMSgt Clough is a Legacy Leader.

L201 sets the scene for the L200 block of instruction. Throughout L200, you will integrate your organizational-level leadership perspective from a commander’s point of view. The Army confidently declares “commanders are responsible for all their unit does or fails to do.” What does this really mean and what are the implications? You will examine three areas of command in this lesson: 1) develop an understanding of the mental shift required of a leader that is assuming command of an organization; 2) review the commander’s assessment methodology and if that methodology changes when a leader becomes a commander; and 3) examine how the philosophy of mission command supports the central role of the commander and assists them in taking command.

The United States Army has changed their philosophy on leadership and managing their personal. The days of having leadership oversee and dictate every detail of the mission are in the past. Due to changing environments and decentralized operations, leaders have to become adaptive, innovative, and make a sound judgment decision to be successful ("ADP 6-22 Army Leadership", 2012). Captain Gary Harber is the commander for Headquarters and Headquarters Company (HHC) in the 194th Armor Brigade. In the following pages, Harber's background information will be discussed, explore his innovate leadership style, examine changes to the organization's culture, and describe the writer's reflection on this assignment.

The United States Army is undergoing a period of transition as it seeks to build and maintain a flexible force. As a result, the organization is studying potential changes to its structure and composition of its brigade combat teams. As part of the ongoing analysis to explore alternatives between three-battalion and two-battalion brigade compositions, the organization is considering the possibility of examining the entire force in design and structure. The need for such changes has been fueled by the growing need for improvement of security forces as they tackle threats to national security. In addition to this, there have been various calls for initiatives that are geared towards changing the United States Army officer culture through management rather than understanding process. Through a process of understanding instead of management, the U.S. Army officer culture will shift from mere risk aversion to uncertainty intolerance.

In 2001, the U.S. Military entered Afghanistan and began Operation Enduring Freedom. This marked the beginning of the war on terrorism. Nine years later, in 2010, the Secretary of the Army and the Chief of Staff reflected on the challenges the Army had endured as a profession and took a hard look at how the Army must change to adapt to a persistent conflict. This essay will focus on four critical questions addressing the importance of the role of a Human Resources (HR) Noncommissioned Officer (NCO) as a member of the Profession of Arms. The four questions are:

The 56th Armored Brigade Combat Team (ABCT) is considered among the best maneuver brigades in the Forces Command three years ago. I know this because I was a member of the 56th ABCT then. During this period, our leaders want to lead and our soldiers were highly motivated. In addition, the morale across the brigade was high with strong supportive family atmosphere. Today, this is no longer true. My review of multiple assessments, surveys, and reports regarding our brigade couple with my interaction of leaders across the brigade confirmed that our brigade has changed in the wrong direction. The environment for our brigade is toxic. My vision is to return the 56th ABCT to its glory days when it was considered among the finest maneuver

With the proliferation of threats and uncertainty of the security environment, the role of the army has become increasingly central in protecting the American interests. Since the realization of this mission is a collective task, leadership remains the best way to give commanders, at every echelon, the necessary qualities to lead their Soldiers, maintain focus, and preserve a healthy environment to ensure the achievement of objectives. The case of the 4th ABCT presents clear evidence in this area. Three years ago, it was considered one of the best maneuver brigades in FORSCOM. Today, because of multitude of problems, mainly related to leadership, this unit appears unable to find its identity of model unit. As new commander, and after identifying the lack of esprit de corps as the main leadership problem, my vision consist in restoring the 4th ABCT image by using Kotter model with a focus on measuring effectiveness during the process.