Professional reading is crucial to our professional development within the military and in all careers. Professional reading helps individuals gain and expand their knowledge and education of topics. Professional reading also allows people to have a better understanding of theories and practice used within the text they’re reading about. Also, professional reading can challenge your original thoughts and beliefs and open up newer perspectives that you perhaps didn’t think of before reading.

As we continue to develop as a military, we learn new things regarding many subjects. For instance, the differences within wars have varied immensely, and because of this, we have had to adapt due to every unique circumstance. Having the individuals that learn of these particular elements within each war has caused reason to write about it, which has to lead to others reading the material to gain a better knowledge of each different dynamic of the various wars. Also, many things have changed and have been enhanced for higher performance, such as our equipment, weapons, and even uniforms. As we all know the best way to learn of the older equipment, weapons, and uniforms is through reading. We also have regulations in regards to how we wear uniforms, which is read in our in our manuals.

Furthermore, it is crucial for leaders in the Army to read to know and to teach better and assist their subordinates. It would be unacceptable as a leader to be unable to explain and implement proper standards to their subordinates. Also, in some circumstances, if a leader doesn’t have the answer to specific questions or have solutions to problems that need to be resolved it would be resourceful to find the answer by researching and reading. Also, it is pertinent to point out that as a leader reading should be implemented for professional development to teach others properly.  If a leader doesn’t have a correct knowledge to pass down to their subordinates, they are doing them a huge disservice and in a sense setting them up for failure in regards to the topics that are improperly being taught.  Also, this is modeling the behavior to their subordinates that learning by reading to further development is an expectation that should be pursued to better oneself as well.