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The importance of good military leadership
The importance of good military leadership
Importance of leadership styles in military
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General George C. Marshall Jr. was born on December 31, 1880 in Uniontown, Pennsylvania and was the youngest of three children. As a child, George was the sibling that always got in trouble, especially when it came to school. Eventually he metamorphosed into a distinguished military officer. Marshall contributed to both World Wars, served as Secretary of State, Secretary of Defense, as well as took a leadership role in the American Red Cross Association. From assisting in the planning of the St. Mihiel and Meuse- Argonne offensive to establishing Operation Overload and having a main part in training and organizing the troops in World War II, George C. Marshall’s career reflects his execution of the officer attributes and competencies. His …show more content…
If an individual can live by these values and others are able to recognize them, then he/she is on the right track to being a remarkable leader and obtaining the officer attributes and competencies. General Marshall demonstrated every single one of these values. He was loyal, not only to his country, but his subordinates and loved ones. He never failed to accomplish his duty. In the many positions he had, he was successful in every one and could always be held accountable to get the work done. Marshall respected his subordinates and his superiors, and they definitely respected him. He consistently showed signs of selfless service and always put others before himself. Marshall lived through the Army values and honored them. He was a very honorable man and could be trusted. The president had him as his right hand man during the war, and that speaks for itself. He was not ashamed to do the right thing or afraid to speak his mind. Marshall held integrity at a high standard and expected everyone to be truthful and honest. Lastly, he embodied personal courage. General Marshall was not frightened to take risks and was not afraid of failing. He took those mistakes and learned from them and had the courage to take the fault for it as well. Overall, General George Catlett Marshall was an incredible U.S. leader who I now look up to. Those individuals who are aspiring to be leaders in both the military world and political world should learn and understand Marshall’s ways of being a
Natural born leaders are almost nonexistent in today’s military. Military members have to complete numerous leadership classes as you progress through the military ranks whether you are an enlisted or as an officer. There are many attributes that people would have to possess to be considered a great leader. Some of those attributes include honesty, respect, trustworthy, and enthusiasm just to name a few. There have been many leaders I have worked with or for over my past 19 years in the Army. One of the most important one would have to be honesty. Honesty is important because if the people that work for you cannot believe what you tell them, they will never trust you or support you. Employees can make or break their supervisor. If they do not like or trust the manager they will not respect them and they will only do the least amount possible. When your employees believe that, you value their opinion and their work ethic. Like you and trust, you they will do anything you ask of them. Whether the decision is right or wrong it is a decision, a leader never want to leave their subordinat...
Military leaders may find themselves in questionable situations: perceived as unethical; lack moral consciousness, or question their character. Dwight Eisenhower demonstrated moral courage by leveraging the ethical principles of duty, loyalty and subordination in endorsing the French Vichy leader Admiral Darlan.
Sanderson, Jefferey. "GENERAL GEORGE S. PATTON, JR.” Last modified may 22, 1997. Accessed January 4, 2014. http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CCwQFjAA&url=http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a331356.pdf&ei=tYbHUtv3HcGs2gX2u4HAAQ&usg=AFQjCNFU5EzdWjKlt81w8gh_Bj2UEttaZw&sig2=aAz3jIZg7U6peDzL_i8w9w.
General George B. McClellan was born to a prestigious upper class family in Pennsylvania. He attended the Military Academy at West Point and graduated second in his class in 1846. He served during the war with Mexico and earned three brevets for gallantry and sound professional service. He resigned his commission but returned early during the Civil War and immediately given a high rank. He led a successful campaign in West Virginia. These events fueled General McClellan’s egotistical and elitist attitudes.
It is clear that the two generals did not care for each other before World War II even started, as they “rubbed each other the wrong way” when they first met while stationed at Fort Leavenworth together from 1908-1911. When Marshall became MacArthur’s superior, MacArthur would say, “My worst enemy has always been behind me.” The two had their quarrels from the time they met up until the end of World War I, which had been evident for many spectators to witness. However, both MacArthur and Marshall were able to put their hostility towards each other aside when they had to focus on the task at hand in order to help the American military progress. There were times in which General Marshall would encourage and support the decisions MacArthur made, and there were times in which Marshall would not support the actions of MacArthur during the course of World War II. The support for MacArthur endured during the first half of America’s participation in World War II, whereas Marshall’s support and encouragement had become minimal towards the end when MacArthur’s “egotistic” attitude had taken the best of
Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces during World War II, was close to not achieving commander status. If this had happened, a different person would have taken control over Operations Torch, Avalanche, and Overlord. Eisenhower, in fact, was the key component in the victory for the Allies. Had he not been assigned by George Marshall to a planning officer in Washington D.C., President Harry Truman might not have saw Eisenhower’s potential. Eisenhower’s past 30 years of military experience, his strong mental and social stature, and his ideas and tactics were all key factors for his triumphant victory in World War II.
This legendary General was born on February 12, 1893 in Clark, Missouri (“Omar Bradley Biography”). The population of Clark, Missouri today is around 300 people, and one might not think that a small-town boy like Bradley would eventually have the opportunity to grow up and become an officer in the military. But, when Bradley was working as a boiler maker at the Wabash Railroad, he was asked by his Sunday school teacher at to take the entrance exam for the US Military Academy at West Point. Originally, Bradley had planned on saving money to enter the University of Missouri in Columbia to study law, but when the opportunity arrived, he took it immediately.
“The world has achieved brilliance without wisdom, power without conscience. Ours is a world of nuclear giants and ethical infants. We know more about war than we know about peace, more about killing than we know about living” (Bradley 258). Given command of the reactivated 82nd Division, he oversaw its training before fulfilling a similar role for the 28th Division. In both cases, he used Marshall's approach of simplifying military doctrine to
Douglas MacArthur was one of the most famous American Generals. He commanded troops in the Southwest Pacific during World War II (1939-1945). He also commanded the successful occupation of Japan after the war, and was in charge of the United Nations forces during the Korean War(“Douglas MacArthur Biography”). MacArthur was talented, outspoken, and in the eyes of many, egotistical. Douglas MacArthur was one of the most influential generals in United States history.
Well, what are the standards of a U.S. military officer? I mean, what characteristics must a person posses in order to reach the level of Colin Powell? I am certain that there are more than a few characteristics one must exhibit in order to become an officer in the U.S. military (not just anyone can be an officer, you know), but the three that I find the most essential are: a person must be able to think rationally in the time of a crisis; a person must display determination and confidence when confronting a crisis; a person must keep in mind those who depend on the decisions he or she is making. If someone possesses these three abilities, I think the person can be considered a good leader.
Douglas’ education included Force Public School, West Texas Military Academy, and West Point. In high school, Douglas played on the tennis team, was the quarterback on the football team, and was the shortstop on the baseball team. While MacArthur was attended West Texas Military Academy, he earned the gold medal for “scholarship and deportment”. He was named valedictorian, with a final year average of 97.33 out of 100 and graduated in 1903. Clearly, he was an extremely intelligent man.
“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, you are a leader” (John Quincy Adams). However, not all leaders are ethical leaders. Nonetheless, not every ethical person is a leader. Indeed, there are many people that are both ethical and a leader, in fact, I believe that Malcom X was an Ethical leader. Personally, I believe ethical leaders must have a purpose that is both morally correct and inspires many. I believe that the following quote by Malcom X shows the essence of his ethical leadership, “A man who stands for nothing will fall for anything” (Malcom X). Malcom X was a man who stood for the truth regardless of the situation, therefore Malcom X was an ethical
Young George didn't want to be just any soldier; he had his sights fixed on becoming a combat general. He had one major obstacle to overcome, however. Though he was obviously intelligent (his knowledge of classical literature was encyclopaedic and he had learned to read military topographic maps by the age of 7), George didn't learn to read until he was 12 years old. It was only at age 12 when George was sent off to Stephen Cutter Clark's Classical School that he began to catch up on his academic skills; he managed to find plenty of time for athletics as well. While at school, the path toward his goal became focused he planned on attending West Point as the next major step in the pursuit of his general's stars.
Nobel Prize winner, George Bernard Shaw, once penned the words, "You see things; and you say, 'Why?' But I dream things that never were; and I say, ‘Why not?’ (1921).
Many of his fellow generals even called his tactics reckless or uncanny of a German officer. However, this tactics were effective and efficient at neutralizing Allied forces with what little he had. His leadership style would be best described as Transformational, yet his personal interaction with individual soldiers would be Transactional. He was a transformational because he led the men by example, he believed that a commander should be more physically robust then his men, that commanders should always show them the example. He even gave up some special privileges to "live hard" with the men to raise morale and understand their conditions. Hence the men under his command were inspired and motivated on completing the missions at