New Training Competencies for Today's Junior Leader

摘要

Today's junior leader will report to a new unit, deploy, and almost immediately face the volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) environment of counterinsurgency operations in Iraq or Afghanistan. Up to this point, the junior leader has received programs of instruction (POI) through the Army Reserve Officer Training Course (ROTC) and the branch officer basic course (OBC), which focus on tactical training and basic officership. However, the junior leader lacks formal training and an in depth understanding on leader competencies necessary to operate in the VUCA environment. To quickly adapt to a constantly changing enemy or to solve the complex problems the junior leader will face each day, they must be trained and educated in critical thinking and creative leadership skills. To effectively communicate and operate in the VUCA environment, the junior leader must have the language proficiency and acumen for the culture where Army units will operate. Time for training these additional competencies is not available during ROTC and branch OBC instruction. The Army must identify and better utilize all of the opportunities and periods of time when junior leaders can conduct these additional training competencies.