AMEDD C&S CAPTAINS CAREER COURSE
OUTLINE
 General Reimer Concept
 TRADOC Concept
 US Army War College Concept
 Iraq Crucible Concept
 Agile Leader Concept
 Strategic Leader Competencies
 Questions
 References
GENERAL REIMER CONCEPT – 1999
 “The premium on tomorrow’s battlefield will be
the ability to quickly analyze a situation and
come up with innovative solutions. The speeds at
which events occur and their complexity will
require leaders with agile minds who can think
through a problem logically, come up with a
viable course of action, and translate that
concept into clear, simple language to
subordinates.”
 General Dennis J. Reimer, 33rd U.S. Army Chief
of Staff, 1995-1999
TRADOC CONCEPT – 22 March 2005
Informing the
Leader
• Selfawareness
• Critical
Thinking
• Creative
Thinking
Empowering
the Unit
Influencing
Others
• Unit climate
• Decision
making
• Building
teams
• Climate
assessment
• Scanning the
environment
• Cultural
awareness
• Negotiation
WAR COLLEGE CONCEPT – 2005
 “In the volatile, uncertain, complex, and
ambiguous environment we face for the
foreseeable future, if we were to choose one
advantage over our adversaries, it would
certainly be this: to be superior in the art of
learning and adaption.”
 “Adapt or Die: The Imperative for a Culture of
Innovation in the United States Army”, BG David
A. Fastabend and Mr. Robert H. Simpson
THE SECURITY ENVIRONMENT
IRREGULAR
CATASTROPHIC
Catastrophic challenges involving the
surreptitious acquisition, possession, and
possible terrorist or rogue employment of
WMD or methods producing WMD-like
effects.
Seeking to erode U.S. power
Seeking to paralyze U.S. power
Ethnic War; Guerilla;
Insurgency; Terror
WMD: Rogue, Terrorist;
Homeland Missile Attacks
LOWER
HIGHER
TRADITIONAL
DISRUPTIVE
Traditional challenges posed by states
employing legacy and advanced military
capabilities and recognizable military
forces, in long-established, well-known
forms of military competition and
conflict.
Disruptive future challenges emanating
from competitors developing, possessing,
and employing breakthrough technological
capabilities intended to supplant our
advantages in particular operational
demands.
Seeking to challenge U.S. power
Seeking to marginalize U.S. power
Legacy Nuclear Forces:
Uniformed Militaries
LOWER
VULNERABILITY
Irregular challenges from the adoption or
employment of unconventional methods
by non-state and state actors to counter
stronger state opponents – terrorism,
insurgency, civil war, etc.
HIGHER
LIKELIHOOD
Cyber-War; Directed Energy;
Genetic Weapons; Nano Weapons
Crucible Experience and Adaptive Capacity
 Crucible Experience: both an opportunity and
a test with a defining moment that unleashes
abilities, forces crucial choices, and sharpens
focus; teaches a person who he or she is
 Adaptive Capacity: allows leaders to respond
quickly and intelligently to constant change;
ability to identify and seize opportunities and
allows leaders to act and then evaluate
results instead of attempting to collect and
analyze all data before acting
AGILE LEADER DEFINED
 FM 6-22 defines mental agility as a flexibility
of mind, a tendency to anticipate or adapt to
uncertain or changing situations. Agility
involves breaking from mental sets or
habitual thought patterns, to improvise when
faced with conceptual impasses, and to
quickly apply multiple perspectives to
consider new approaches or solutions.
STRATEGIC LEADER COMPETENCIES
 Identity
 Mental Agility
 Cross-Cultural Savvy
 Interpersonal Maturity
 World-Class Warrior
 Professional Astuteness
STRATEGIC LEADER COMPETENCIES
 Identity
 Mental Agility
 Cross-Cultural Savvy
 Interpersonal Maturity
 World-Class Warrior
 Professional Astuteness
STRATEGIC LEADER COMPETENCIES
 Identity
 Mental Agility
 Cross-Cultural Savvy
 Interpersonal Maturity
 World-Class Warrior
 Professional Astuteness
STRATEGIC LEADER COMPETENCIES
 Identity
 Mental Agility
 Cross-Cultural Savvy
 Interpersonal Maturity
 World-Class Warrior
 Professional Astuteness
STRATEGIC LEADER COMPETENCIES
 Identity
 Mental Agility
 Cross-Cultural Savvy
 Interpersonal Maturity
 World-Class Warrior
 Professional Astuteness
STRATEGIC LEADER COMPETENCIES
 Identity
 Mental Agility
 Cross-Cultural Savvy
 Interpersonal Maturity
 World-Class Warrior
 Professional Astuteness
STRATEGIC LEADER COMPETENCIES
 Identity
 Mental Agility
 Cross-Cultural Savvy
 Interpersonal Maturity
 World-Class Warrior
 Professional Astuteness
Agile Leader Concept Overview
REFERENCES
 Agile Leaders, Agile Institutions: Educating for Adaptive and
Innovative Leaders for Today and Tomorrow, LTC Christopher
P. Gehler, US Army, August 2005
 Barriers to Achieving Mentally Agile Junior Leaders, COL
Marlon D. Blocker, US Army, 21 January 2009
 Developing Adaptive Leaders: The Crucible Experience of
Operation Iraqi Freedom, Dr. Leonard Wong, July 2004
 Strategic Leadership Competencies, Dr. Leonard Wong,
Stephen Gerras, William Kidd, Robert Pricone, Richard
Swengros, September 2003
 TRADOC Concept Paper – Agile Leader in Captains
Professional Military Education, 17 January 2006
REFERENCE LINK
 Strategic Studies Institute, U.S. Army War
College, Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania,
www.StrategicStudiesInstitute.army.mil