Generations Apart: Xers and Boomers in the Officer Corps

The author addresses the junior officer attrition problem by identifying and discussing the disparity between senior and junior officers in terms of generational differences. Officers from the Baby Boom Generation think and perceive things differently than officers from Generation X. Using empirical evidence to support the generational differences literature, the author points out that Generation X officers are more confident in their abilities, perceive loyalty differently, want more balance between work and family, and are not intimidated by rank. Additionally, while pay is important to Generation X officers, it alone will not keep junior officers from leaving. The solutions presented in the monograph range from strategic policies changing the Army as an organization to operational leadership actions affecting the face-to-face interaction between senior and junior officers.https://press.armywarcollege.edu/monographs/1841/thumbnail.jp

Stifled Innovation? Developing Tomorrow\u27s Leaders Today

The author examines the current company commander experience and concludes that the Army values innovation in its rhetoric, but the reality is that junior officers are seldom given opportunities to be innovative in planning training; to make decisions; or to fail, learn, and try again. If the transformed Army will require leaders who can operate independently in the absence of close supervision, the current leader development experience of company command will have to change. Consequently, the author asks for senior leaders not to do more, but to do less and thus give subordinates more freedom to innovate.https://press.armywarcollege.edu/monographs/1824/thumbnail.jp

Developing Adaptive Leaders: The Crucible Experience of Operation Iraqi Freedom

The author examines the Operation IRAQI FREEDOM environment and concludes that the complexity, unpredictability, and ambiguity of postwar Iraq is producing a cohort of innovative, confident, and adaptable junior officers. They are learning to make decisions in chaotic conditions and to be mentally agile in executing counterinsurgency and nation-building operations simultaneously. As a result, the Army will soon have a cohort of company grade officers who are accustomed to operating independently, taking the initiative, and adapting to changes. The author warns that the Army must now acknowledge and encourage this newly developed adaptability in our junior officers or risk stifling the innovation critically needed in the Army\u27s future leaders.https://press.armywarcollege.edu/monographs/1766/thumbnail.jp

Lying to Ourselves: Dishonesty in the Army Profession

Untruthfulness is surprisingly common in the U.S. military even though members of the profession are loath to admit it. Further, much of the deception and dishonesty that occurs in the profession of arms is actually encouraged and sanctioned by the military institution. The end result is a profession whose members often hold and propagate a false sense of integrity that prevents the profession from addressing—or even acknowledging—the duplicity and deceit throughout the formation. It takes remarkable courage and candor for leaders to admit the gritty shortcomings and embarrassing frailties of the military as an organization in order to better the military as a profession. Such a discussion, however, is both essential and necessary for the health of the military profession.https://press.armywarcollege.edu/monographs/1465/thumbnail.jp

Changing Minds In The Army: Why It Is So Difficult and What To Do About It

View the Executive SummaryHistory and organizational studies both demonstrate that changing one’s mind is quite difficult, even in the face of overwhelming evidence that this change needs to occur. This monograph explains how smart, professional, and incredibly performance-oriented Army senior leaders develop frames of reference and then oftentimes cling to their outdated frames in the face of new information. It describes the influence of individual-level concepts—personality, cognitive dissonance reduction, the hardwiring of the brain, the imprints of early career events, and senior leader intuition—along with group level factors to explain how frames of reference are established, exercised, and rewarded. It concludes by offering recommendations to senior leaders on how to structure Army leader development systems to create leaders comfortable with changing their minds when the environment dictates.https://press.armywarcollege.edu/monographs/1514/thumbnail.jp

Veteran Disability Compensation and the Army Profession: Good Intentions Gone Awry

Previous studies analyzing disability compensation have decried its $76 billion annual budget or warned of its perverse ability to incentivize veterans not to work. This study focuses on the impact of this moral hazard on the US Army profession. If soldiers continue to capitalize on an extremely permissive disability system, the trust between society and the military may be threatened, and future Army readiness may be jeopardized should disability compensation be added to the marginal cost of a soldier. More importantly, many of today’s soldiers are rationalizing disability compensation as something owed to them—not for a debilitating injury, but for the hardships of service to the nation. This study uses US Army and Department of Veterans Affairs personnel files, soldier interviews, and discussions with senior leaders to support its conclusions. The intent of the study is to prompt the Army profession to act before the culture surrounding disability compensation becomes permanent. In the end, the essence of the entitlement—taking care of veterans—must remain sacrosanct. This call for reform is driven not by fiscal considerations, but by a desire for the Army to remain both an institution trusted by society and a profession marked by selfless service.https://press.armywarcollege.edu/monographs/1921/thumbnail.jp

Strategic Leadership Competencies

The strategic leadership literature in both the academic and military contexts is replete with long lists of the knowledge, skills, and abilities. Unfortunately, long comprehensive lists are problematic. Looking across the literature on strategic leadership, current Army strategic leader competencies, and the future environment, six meta-competencies can be derived: identity, mental agility, cross-cultural savvy, interpersonal maturity, world-class warrior, and professional astuteness.https://press.armywarcollege.edu/monographs/1785/thumbnail.jp

Why They Fight: Combat Motivation in the Iraq War

With the recent lightning swift combat successes of Operation IRAQI FREEDOM, there may be a tendency to view with awe the lethality of U.S. technology and training. The researchers, however, argue that the true strength of America\u27s military might lies not in its hardware or high-tech equipment, but in its soldiers. Dr. Leonard Wong and his colleagues traveled to Iraq to see what motivated soldiers to continue in battle, to face extreme danger, and to risk their lives in accomplishing the mission. As a means of comparison, they began by interviewing Iraqi Regular Army prisoners of war to examine their combat motivation and unit dynamics. The researchers then interviewed U.S. combat troops fresh from the fields of battle to examine their views. What they found was that today\u27s U.S. soldiers, much like soldiers of the past, fight for each other. Unit cohesion is alive and well in today\u27s Army. Yet, Dr. Wong and his fellow researchers also found that soldiers cited ideological reasons such as liberation, freedom, and democracy as important factors in combat motivation. Today\u27s soldiers trust each other, they trust their leaders, they trust the Army, and they also understand the moral dimensions of war. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the all-volunteer Army. This monograph is a celebration of the success of that radical idea and the transformation of the U.S. Army from a demoralized draft army, to a struggling all-volunteer force, to a truly professional Army.https://press.armywarcollege.edu/monographs/1787/thumbnail.jp

A longitudinal cohort study of malaria exposure and changing serostatus in a malaria endemic area of rural Tanzania.

BACKGROUND: Measurements of anti-malarial antibodies are increasingly used as a proxy of transmission intensity. Most serological surveys are based on the use of cross-sectional data that, when age-stratified, approximates historical patterns of transmission within a population. Comparatively few studies leverage longitudinal data to explicitly relate individual infection events with subsequent antibody responses. METHODS: The occurrence of seroconversion and seroreversion events for two Plasmodium falciparum asexual stage antigens (MSP-1 and AMA-1) was examined using three annual measurements of 691 individuals from a cohort of individuals in a malaria-endemic area of rural east-central Tanzania. Mixed-effect logistic regression models were employed to determine factors associated with changes in serostatus over time. RESULTS: While the expected population-level relationship between seroprevalence and disease incidence was observed, on an individual level the relationship between individual infections and the antibody response was complex. MSP-1 antibody responses were more dynamic in response to the occurrence and resolution of infection events than AMA-1, while the latter was more correlated with consecutive infections. The MSP-1 antibody response to an observed infection seemed to decay faster over time than the corresponding AMA-1 response. Surprisingly, there was no evidence of an age effect on the occurrence of a conversion or reversion event. CONCLUSIONS: While the population-level results concur with previously published sero-epidemiological surveys, the individual-level results highlight the more complex relationship between detected infections and antibody dynamics than can be analysed using cross-sectional data. The longitudinal analysis of serological data may provide a powerful tool for teasing apart the complex relationship between infection events and the corresponding immune response, thereby improving the ability to rapidly assess the success or failure of malaria control programmes

Pain in platin-induced neuropathies: A systematic review and meta-analysis

INTRODUCTION: Platin-induced peripheral neuropathy (PIPN) is a common cause of PN in cancer patients. The aim of this paper is to systematically review the current literature regarding PIPN, with a particular focus on epidemiological and clinical characteristics of painful PIPN, and to discuss relevant management strategies. METHODS: A systematic computer-based literature search was conducted on the PubMed database. RESULTS: This search strategy resulted in the identification of 353 articles. After the eligibility assessment, 282 articles were excluded. An additional 24 papers were identified by scanning the reference lists. In total, 95 papers met the inclusion criteria and were used for this review. The prevalence of neuropathic symptoms due to acute toxicity of oxaliplatin was estimated at 84.6%, whereas PN established after chemotherapy with platins was estimated at 74.9%. Specifically regarding pain, the reported prevalence of pain due to acute toxicity of oxaliplatin was estimated at 55.6%, whereas the reported prevalence of chronic peripheral neuropathic pain in PIPN was estimated at 49.2%. CONCLUSION: Peripheral neuropathy is a common complication in patients receiving platins and can be particularly painful. There is significant heterogeneity among studies regarding the method for diagnosing peripheral neuropathy. Nerve conduction studies are the gold standard and should be performed in patients receiving platins and complaining of neuropathic symptoms post-treatment