Military Review English Edition July-August 2015 | Page 11

Leader Development
and Talent
Management
The Army Competitive
Advantage
Gen. Raymond T. Odierno

F

or 240 years, America’s Army has been a premier institution for developing and providing
leaders and soldiers of character who selflessly
serve the Nation. We stood for freedom and liberty in
1775. We reaffirmed our commitment to that freedom in 1812, thereby demonstrating to the world that
America would endure. We kept this Nation together
during the U.S. Civil War. The ingenuity, heroism, and
indomitable spirit of our soldiers were displayed in
World War I and World War II. Whether in Vietnam,
Korea, Panama, the Middle East, or anywhere else our
soldiers have been deployed, quality Army leaders have
uniquely influenced the world around them and have
stood as our Nation’s competitive advantage to meet
the many security challenges we have encountered.
Today we find ourselves at a strategic inflection
point in the history of the U.S. Army. Despite our
depth of experience acquired from almost fourteen
Left: Competitors at the 2014 Army Drill Sergeant of the Year
and the Advanced Individual Training Platoon Sergeant of the
Year competitions prepare to take the stage 12 May 2015 at the
awards presentation at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. Staff Sgt.
Jonathan Miller, Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, was named as the
2014 Drill Sergeant of the Year; Staff Sgt. Christopher Croslin, U.S.
Army Reserve, Norman, Oklahoma, as the 2014 Army Reserve
Drill Sergeant of the Year; and Sgt. 1st Class Thomas Russell, Fort
Sill, Oklahoma, as the 2014 Advanced Individual Training Platoon
Sergeant of the Year.
(Photo by Sgt. 1st Class Brian Hamilton, 108th Training Command PAO)

MILITARY REVIEW  July-August 2015

years of continuous conflict, we must ensure that our
Nation and our Army are prepared for future security challenges. The velocity of instability in the world
today is greater than ever, with an increasing number
of failing states potentially risking vital U.S. interests.
Technology and weapons, once the exclusive tools of
states, now find their way into the hands of disaffected individuals and disruptive groups. The volume and
speed of information exchange, the rise of megacities,
urbanization and demographic trends, and the sheer
number of connections between people and societies
has led to sudden, unpredictable, and fluid social,
political, and security upheavals.
History has shown that we cannot predict the future with any reasonable degree of accuracy, but we
can assert with absolute certainty that the Army will
be called upon time and time again. Working with
our partners and allies, the U.S. Army will continue
to do what it has always done—lead the way as the
foundation of the U.S. military’s joint force, while
bringing together diverse groups to solve seemingly
insoluble problems.
As we implement The Army Operating Concept: Win
in a Complex World, our number-one priority must remain the development of our competitive advantage—
our leaders.1 The Army must develop leaders who are
agile, adaptive, and innovative, who thrive in conditions
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