In the last episode we introduced you to Integrated Research Project (IRP) #6. A little over two years ago we sat down with the students and advisors of the study to examine leadership development requirements in the multi-domain operations environment in the year 2040. Due to a hardware malfunction we thought we had lost the recordings of these conversations, but just recently we were able to recover the files. Though the conversation has a couple of dated references, we thought the topic was definitely worth airing. A BETTER PEACE welcomes Jason Schmidt, Rick O’Donnell and Greg Hillebrand to the studio for the second of three episodes to discuss what the team found looking forward twenty years. In this episode they look at how the military has traditionally developed leaders and current trends in that arena. They consider what will still apply in the future and what has to be added to ensure U.S. military leadership is prepared for the challenges of future warfare and peacekeeping.
Straight out of the NDS, the National Defense Strategy, it states that “the creativity and talent of the American warfighter is our greatest enduring strength” and I think as we compete in this new world of global power competition, we need to be able to acquire, again, develop and retain those leaders that will be critical for success.
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Jason Schmidt is a Colonel in the U.S. Air Force and a distinguished graduate of the AY 19 resident class at the U.S. Army War College. He is also a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy. He has served in staff, and command positions throughout the DoD including Headquarters Air Force, the Joint Staff, the Office of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and United States Strategic Command, where he is currently the Director, Human Capital Directorate (J1).
Rick O’Donnell was previously the Director Landpower Concepts, Doctrine and Wargaming at the Center for Strategic Leadership. He is a senior analyst for the Emerging Concepts and Doctrine Department at the U.S. Army War College. He is a retired U.S. Army Colonel.
Greg Hillebrand is an assistant professor in the Center for Strategic Leadership at the U.S. Army War College. He previously served as a military analyst in Space and Cyberspace as well as a faculty member in the Department of Military Strategy, Planning and Operations. His Air force career was primarily focused in the space and missile operations community.
Buck Haberichter is the Managing Editor of the War Room.
The views expressed in this presentation are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect those of the U.S. Army War College, U.S. Army, U.S. Air Force or Department of Defense.
Photo Credit: City photo created by vanitjan – www.freepik.com