Mentorship: A Joint Perspective from a Deployed Environment

摘要

In an era of increasingly joint operations, it is more imperative than ever that strategic leaders are interservice savvy on how to lead and develop officers from sister services. With this premise in mind, one must wonder what role Goldwaters-Nichols has played in setting the stage for joint mentorship. This paper assesses that the components of the Mentorship Model: Leadership, Tacit Knowledge and Trust, are applicable not only to the individual services, but also during joint operations in the Current Operating Environment (COE). During the extended deployments of combat operations in Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom, Army officers have worked closely with sister service officers. Consequently this paper proposes that the cohesion developed during extended joint combat deployments in the COE enhances the mentorship relationship between service officers, and allows joint mentorship a role in developing and stimulating strategic thinking and leading.