Leadership Lessons from the US Army
Leadership Lessons from the US Army
Leaders take responsibility, never credit.
Greetings, everyone. It is hard to believe what we all just endured over the past week. I am thankful to God that we are experiencing warmer temperatures.
I want to offer my sincere condolences to those who lost family members during this trying week of severe winter weather that struck the Lone Star State, and across the midwest. We saw an amazing outpouring of neighbors supporting neighbors, opening up their homes for warmth and water, even showers. There is something to be said about our helping each other through tough times.
As we look back on the past week, I thought I would share some lessons learned about leadership that the Army taught me. It was 30 years ago, right now, that I was a young Captain with Task Force 2-16 Infantry, Second Brigade, First Infantry Division, preparing to launch the ground offensive against the Iraqi Army in Operation Desert Storm.
We had been well-trained and had rehearsed our initial combat operation. What would my soldiers have thought of me if I had stepped back and taken R&R? Army officers are taught that you share in the privations and conditions with your troops. We are trained to eat last, to ensure our troops are fed first. The lesson is that it is about servant leadership. After all, as a Christian, that is what Jesus Christ taught us, that the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve.
The italicized words at the beginning of this missive kinda go along with President Harry Truman’s mantra of “the buck stops here.” I always imparted a simple lesson to young leaders when I was in the Army: “own it.” Nothing would infuriate a senior officer more than one telling them “it was not my fault, sir.” One simply states, “Sir, I have identified the problem, and this is what we are doing to rectify the situation.” You are probably still going to get a butt chewing, but inside, the senior officer realizes that you are displaying the characteristics of a leader, a responsible one.
Leaders don’t just take responsibility, but they hold themselves accountable, and to a far higher standard than others. That is what is expected. After all, when you are in a position of leadership, you should act the part, and realize the standards which you are to uphold.
Prepare for the worst-case scenario.
In the Army, when planning a combat operation, you consider the enemy’s most likely and most dangerous course of action. And, it is the most dangerous course of action that you plan for because that is the one that can bring about the most devastation against your force.
We all knew that there was a major, severe, weather event heading our way. This is where you bring in your Crisis Action Team (CAT), and they conduct all the requisite planning and present recommendations to be undertaken to mitigate the risk of an impending storm, or in my time in the military, an enemy attack. This is what we used to call contingency planning and operational execution. I was taught that real leaders are never caught unaware, especially if they have good intelligence and time.
Leaders are not always expected to know everything, but they should be expected to know the right questions to ask and have that gut instinct. That is why those of you who know me know that I always carry a stack of 3×5 cards on me, a vital lesson that I learned from senior commanders. You cannot remember everything, but you can capture every thought, idea, concept, and insight.
One person does, another person checks.
We lived by this standard in the field artillery. No artillery round was fired until the deflection and quadrant elevation set on the cannon or rocket, was checked by a section chief. That was to ensure that when that lanyard was pulled, that projectile went where it was intended to go. It was always necessary to have redundant checks to reduce the propensity for human error.
That also applies to this situation we just encountered. It is one thing to say, “check the equipment.” It is another thing to check and make sure the equipment was checked. In the case of an impending severe winter storm, there have to be mandated winterization checks. Heck, in the Army, prior to winter arriving, we dedicated an entire week to equipment winterization: vehicles, generators, and weapons. But, we also had a system of checking to make sure the task was, indeed, accomplished. Ronald Reagan even had a saying, “trust but verify.” This goes back to the crisis action planning and preparation as part of the severe weather contingency operation. Issuing guidance as to what necessary precautions and steps must be taken and ensuring that there is follow-up guaranteeing those directives were followed.
No plan survives first contact with the enemy.
I think that is pretty self-explanatory. We would say, “make your plan knowing that the enemy has a deciding vote.” The skilled leader in any crisis situation is the one who is flexible and adaptive, always thinking about what we called “branches and sequels” off of the base plan. You have to have that predictive instinct and always consider trends and indicators that will enable you to stay ahead of the crisis you are facing. Severe cold weather affects pipes, which means water supplies can be adversely affected. Thus, how do we mitigate the loss of water supply? If there is a loss of power, where can we establish warming centers, using arenas and local military installations?
These are just thoughts that two decades and time in combat taught me. However, the real issue to be learned from this episode is that renewable energy is not dependable, reliable, and available. The state of Texas has indeed “invested” in renewable energy to the tune of some $19B in taxpayer subsidies since 2006. In recent years, Texas has taken down coal-fired plants and implemented a threefold increase of wind energy in our energy distribution system, to 23-25 percent. I guess you expect an energy resource to work perfectly when conditions are perfect. But what happens when conditions are not perfect? You still need that energy resource to be reliable. Last week, wind energy failed.
Because we did not consider winterization of our electric grid infrastructure, we had issues there as well. It is rather unconscionable that a state, such as Texas, with an abundance of energy resources, would ever find itself in this situation. That is why you always consider the “most dangerous course of action” or worst-case scenario.
Let’s be honest and stop being held hostage by the renewable energy rascals and use common sense. Our four primary means of energy for the Texas electric grid — to which 85 percent of Texans belong — should be oil, natural gas, coal, and nuclear. Just imagine what Texas could have done with that $19B in subsidies: upgrading our electric grid infrastructure and improving the three coal-fired plants that were destroyed, and building a nuclear facility.
The nine grid operators of ERCOT (Energy Reliability Council of Texas) should not have been in the position of seeing wind energy freeze and power demand rise with no recourse but to enact blackouts on Texans. That is the kinda stuff we expect from California, not Texas. Who made the decision to not require that the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the ERCOT board even reside in Texas?
We do not need any hearings, blame games, or obfuscation. All we need is for leaders to take responsibility — and not credit when they think everything is going okay — like getting a wind energy leadership award the week prior to wind energy failing Texas.
Lieutenant Colonel (Ret) Allen B. West is a Christian constitutional conservative, combat veteran, and former Member of the US Congress. His life has been defined as one of service, sacrifice, and commitment to this Republic, the United States of America. He believes it will be conservative, free market policies, not politics that secures a sound economic future for Americans – with growth, opportunity and returning the promise of the American dream for this generation and those to come.
Allen West was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia in the same neighborhood where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once preached. He is the third of four generations of military servicemen, all combat veterans, in his family.
West was commissioned through ROTC at the University of Tennessee as a Second Lieutenant (2LT) on July 31, 1982. He entered active duty service in the U.S. Army on November 1, 1983 at Fort Sill to attend the Field Artillery Officer Basic Course. He later attended airborne and jumpmaster training at Fort Benning. West’s first assignment was as an airborne infantry company fire support team leader and battalion training officer in the 325th Airborne Battalion Combat Team. In 1987, he was promoted to Captain and attended the Field Artillery Officer Advanced Course.
He was then assigned to the 1st Infantry Division, where he commanded Bravo Battery, 6th Field Artillery Regiment and was a Battalion Task Force fire support officer for 2d Battalion, 16th Infantry Regiment. While with the 1st Infantry Division, he participated in Operations Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm.
After redeployment from Kuwait, West served as an ROTC instructor at Kansas State University from 1991 to 1994. In January 1995, he was assigned to the 2nd Infantry Division Support Command as the Assistant Operations/Combat Plans Officer. During that time, West was promoted to Major and selected for attendance to the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College and graduated in 1997. Afterward, he became the Operations Officer of the 18th Field Artillery Brigade (Airborne), followed by assignment as the Executive Officer of the 1st Battalion (Air Assault), 377th Field Artillery Regiment. Upon completion of these positions, West was assigned to the II Marine Expeditionary Force in Camp Lejeune, and selected to serve as an Army exchange officer to this headquarters from 1999 to 2002.
West’s culminating assignment to his career was as Battalion Commander of the 2nd Battalion 20th Field Artillery, 4th Infantry Division. He assumed command of this unit on June 6, 2002. He deployed with his unit during the Iraq War in 2003 and continued to command his battalion until his retirement from the Army in 2004 after 22 years of honorable service in defense of the Republic.
West’s awards and decorations include the Bronze Star; Meritorious Service Medal (three Oak Leaf Clusters); Army Commendation Medal (three Oak Leaf Clusters, one Valor Device); Army Achievement Medal (two Oak Leaf Clusters); Valorous Unit Award; Air Assault Badge; and the Master Parachutist Badge. Lt Col West proudly wears the Army Master Parachutist Badge, the Army Air Assault Badge, the Navy/Marine Corps Parachutist Insignia, the Italian Parachutist Wings, and the German Proficiency Badge, bronze award.
After his retirement from the Army in 2004, Allen taught high school in South Florida for a year before volunteering and deploying to Afghanistan as a civilian military adviser to the Afghan army, an assignment he finished in November 2007.
In November of 2010, Allen was honored to continue his oath of service to his country when he was elected to the United States Congress, representing Florida’s 22nd District. As a member of the 112thCongress, West introduced seven major pieces of legislation, and was the original sponsor of H. R. 1246 which reduces costs at the Department of Defense, was passed unanimously (393-0), and signed into law by President Obama as part of the National Defense Authorization Act. Congressman West voted for the Balanced Budget Amendment, and voted for over 30 different bills designed to empower small businesses, reduce government barriers to job creation, boost American competitiveness, encourage entrepreneurship and growth, and maximize American energy production.
West holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and two Masters, one from Kansas State University and another from the US Army Command and General Staff Officers College.
Lt. Col. West is a commissioned officer in the Texas State Guard. He is a legacy life member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, life member of the American Legion, life member of the Association of the United States Army, the Society of the First Infantry Division, 4th Infantry Division, and 101st Airborne Division.
Steadfast and Loyal,
LTC Allen B. West (Ret.)
Chairman
Republican Party of Texas