Main Pillars of Generalship

This essay is about the art and requirements of generalship, or command at the operational level of war. The need for such a study exists in that current leadership doctrine looks almost wholly at the personal attributes desirable in the commander. The paper comprises two main parts. The first explores the nature of the relationship between leader and follower, and concludes that it is in the best interest of the U.S. Army to permit operational commanders to select their own chief subordinates. The second part of the paper examines the fundamental issues with which the senior commander ought to be concerned and knowledgeable. In the author’s judgment, the general should pay special attention to carving out of his schedule time to think, to issuing simple, unambiguous orders, to decentralizing command at low levels, and to developing a tolerance for the unexpected and uncertain. Other major judgments pertain to delivery of force on the battlefield. The commander first must decide, and impart to others, how the campaign should end. Second, he must sequence actions to bring about the desired conclusion. Finally, he must be able to discern with certitude the fine distinctions between tenacity and obstinacy.

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