Adaptive and Agile
Why am I writing this?
I write for the past. Every year I write a reflection on the past year to learn from my successes and failures. The past provides the foundation for officers to develop as leaders within our organization.
I write for the present. Writing provides a current form of self development. A moment of reflection in the present creates the opportunity to think critically about how everything is in its current state. We often refer to this as a tactical pause. Writing presents the perfect moment for you to slow everything down and take a look at your current situation objectively.
I write for the future. I write for the future leaders of my organization who will follow in my footsteps. I write to make your job easier, and to leave a legacy. This organization, my organization, will be in better shape than when I found it.
I’ve been commissioned for a little over a year now, currently assigned as a tank platoon leader without tanks deployed in support of OEF/CJTF-HOA (Horn of Africa). I spent 19 weeks at the Armor Basic Officer Leaders Course, 5 weeks at the Army Reconnaissance Course, and was immediately assigned as a platoon leader upon my arrival to Fort Bliss. I spent 2 weeks as a platoon leader before we deployed and now lead 1 of 6 maneuver platoons on this entire base.
One of the many difficulties I have faced early on is conducting a mission set outside of my platoon’s area of expertise. My tank platoon recently returned from a Decisive Action rotation at NTC that validated our ability to maneuver and engage enemy armor units. We’re currently acting as a wheeled QRF element in a totally different environment. We had to be flexible and ready to adjust.
Mental agility. ADRP 6–22 (Army Leadership) defines mental agility as “the ability to anticipate or adapt to uncertain or changing situations (ADRP 6–22, 5–3).” Leaders within our organization must be able to adjust to an ever-changing mission set. Young leaders often struggle with figuring out solutions to complex problems because we drift into one narrow solution. Instead, we should train ourselves to think critically. Thinking critically enables leaders to look at problems from different angles. Why is that important? Leaders influence their organizations. In order to do so, we must understand the different angles at which a problem is perceived from. Your commander, platoon sergeant, and first sergeant may each look at a problem differently. Mentally agile leaders help solve these problems by thinking outside the box, and conveying these ideas effectively to their teams.
Lieutenants are new to the Army team. But new doesn’t mean we can’t contribute. Add value to your organization by utilizing critical thinking and common sense. Run solutions in your head and through your NCOs before running to your rater. Too many times lieutenants become gripers rather than problem solvers. Think critically, use your problem solving skills, and be mentally agile. Gripers are the reason you’re stuck at work at 1800 on Friday evening. Problem solvers are the reason the safety brief occurred at 1500 and by 1800 you had bourbon in your glass on the back porch. Which one do you want to be?
The Army will demand you do a variety of tasks in a fluid mission set. You may be trained as an Armor lieutenant but conducting Infantry tasks. One thing is certain: the Army will ask you to be a leader in all aspects of your mission. Constructively contributing early in your career builds the right type of habits for this team. Be agile, be adaptive, and most importantly strive to better the organization in some shape every single day.
