Advice on leadership can take many forms and come from many different places.  Some are obvious and direct, like teachers, coaches, peers, and mentors.  Others are indirect: historical figures, books, or TED t […]

Maintenance — an important topic that isn’t taught very well at most commissioning sources or BOLCs.  For many Lieutenants, maintenance is learned “on the job”.  If you’re lucky, you have NCOs or fellow o […]

To all junior officers and future commissioned Army officers out there, I have a question: Do you want to be a LEADER, or a leader?

Yes, there’s a difference.

You will never hear the word “leader” in any […]

Every year throughout the Army, junior leaders from The United States Military Academy at West Point, The Reserve Officer Training Corps, and Officer Candidate School have one opportunity to volunteer for the […]

Since I was 15 years old, I had dreamed of becoming an Officer in the United States Army.  Now, life as I knew it was crumbling around me; it all began to feel as though my dreams were in jeopardy. After five […]

2034: A Novel of the Next World War by Elliot Ackerman and ADM Stavridis, (published on March 10, 2021)Elliot Ackerman and Admiral Stavridis depart from most military fiction novels with their recently released […]

In the introductory article of the Center for Junior Officers “First 90 Days” series, the authors consider how quickly a new commander should address needed changes in his/her new company. While a gradual approach […]

Outside of a combat deployment, no single exercise defines a FORSCOM training calendar like a rotation at one of the Army’s Combat Training Centers (CTC). Between the months-long train-up, the logistical strain of […]

When my branch manager told me she had some Platoon Leader requisitions opening at Fort Jackson, I initially though she misspoke and meant Executive Officer. I mean why on earth would they need a PL in TRADOC?  […]

Do we have your attention?  If you’re a West Point graduate, maybe you bristled at the headline.  If you received your commission from another source, maybe you nodded and smiled.  Why did we choose this ti […]

During a recent Microsoft Teams meeting for an upcoming field exercise, the instructor of my class mentioned that she would bring along menstrual products for students, but that they should also bring along their […]

The Army of today operates in a joint environment alongside civilians, contractors and interagency staff. It is not a question of “if” you will work with Army civilians, servicemembers from sister services, […]

It was August of 2015, and it was time to submit my accessions packet. The Executive Officer of the ROTC Battalion where I attended school looked at me and profoundly stated: “So you understand the course of your […]

“As always, Cavalry’s motto must remain: When better roller skates are made, Cavalry horses will wear them.”

-Major General John Herr, last Chief of Cavalry

Introduction

Junior officers in the […]

By: Travis Cyphers

As a Battery Commander, I had five rules for my lieutenants.  The first rule was liberally borrowed from one of the smartest officers I have ever worked with.  Simply stated, rule #1 was ” […]

In addition to ushering in spring, April brings with it the annual Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM). SAAM is a campaign that aims to both raise public awareness about sexual violence and educate individuals […]

Fort Jackson is the largest training center in the Army with over 45,000 volunteer civilians entering yearly, hoping to become part of the Army team. With such a vast number of Trainees transforming into the […]

The AIM 2.0 Marketplace can be daunting even for those who have navigated its changing structure over several movement cycles. It is often difficult to know what a unit is looking for, especially if its dashboard […]

The definition of empathy provided in FM 6-22, is sound, if not simplistic: “Identifying and understanding what others think, feel, and believe.”[1] Early in my command, remembering the servant leadership traits […]

Every soldier scrolling through social media on their phone is like an intelligence analyst, sifting through multiple sources of information in order to discern reality. Because of the similarity, leaders must […]