Military Review English Edition January-February 2015 | Page 37

DIALOGUE AND TRUST

inculcates shared understanding among officers and
NCOs from two echelons higher to two echelons lower,
unit commitment to the mission is easily achieved.
Second, creating an environment conducive to
dialogue within a unit is difficult due to several other
factors, including the pervasive presence of technology
within soldiers’ lives. Technology, in effect, keeps many
officers and NCOs on shift all the time through e-mails,
text messages, or cell phone calls. Additionally, even
when officers and soldiers are off duty during deployments, or when they have gone home for the night in
garrison, they put in their earphones and begin the
process of unwinding, disengaging from others in a form
of social isolation.
In contrast, not that long ago—perhaps 20 years—in
a typical barracks scene soldiers sat around tables playing
cards or dominoes, typically sparring with words, blowing off steam, and having fun as a group. Concurrently,
officers would huddle around a table at a dining facility
or an officers’ club discussing the mission at hand or
some other professional development topic. In essence,
officers, NCOs, and enlisted soldiers habitually participated in some kind of informal, constructive, after-hours dialogue that the operational Army now often
overlooks or discounts. One may not see the intrinsic
value of soldiers sitting around playing cards, yet in such

settings soldiers can learn who their compatriots really
are—who is a bluffer, who is an incessant talker, who is a
hard-charger, and so on.
Among officers sitting around a dinner table, commanders could gain insight about their staffs: Who is
daring? Who is reckless? Who thinks deeply, and who
does not? Yet today, what normally occurs is that when
the duty day is complete, soldiers go their separate ways.
While perhaps not intended, this automatic isolation
contributes nothing to engendering the trust mission
command calls for.
In contrast, many U.S. allies have preserved the regimental mess, allowing commanders to use this forum for
dialogue with their staffs on a regular basis. In this venue,
much professional development occurs. Commanders
and staffs can speak freely, and the seeds of an ongoing
dialogue can be sown.
To take it a step further, a similar situation can be
imagined that informally associates soldiers with NCOs
on a regular basis. Perhaps once a month or quarter,
a venue might be found for an entire unit to sit down
together to share their thoughts and concerns in an open
forum built on mutual trust and dialogue.
The real value of dialogue is the opportunity for professional development and the creation of shared understanding. Shared understanding built on the foundation

Soldiers from 2nd Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, conduct a dismounted patrol at the National Training Center, Fort Irwin,
Calif., 14 February 2013.
(Photo by Spc. Adam Hoppe, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment PAO)

MILITARY REVIEW  January-February 2015

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