Military Review English Edition July-August 2015 | Page 35

(Photo by Sgt. Christopher Johnston, 3rd Infantry Division PAO)

Spc. Joseph Schrider, a Firefinder radar operator assigned to 1st Battalion, 10th Field Artillery Regiment, 3rd Armored Brigade Combat
Team, 3rd Infantry Division, reports to Command Sgt. Maj. Mark A. Aaron, the board president, during the battalion’s “back to the basics”
promotion board 4 January 2013 at Camp Buehring, Kuwait. The board was designed on the total soldier concept. The board members
evaluated the soldiers’ knowledge and skills in a variety of subjects such as drill and ceremony, Army leadership, radio communication,
map reading, and first aid.

Developing Leaders
Col. Frank Wenzel, U.S. Army, Retired

I

f you asked a dozen Army leaders at various
echelons what leader development means, you
would probably receive a dozen different answers,
including the following:
unit-level officer and noncommissioned officer
(NCO) professional development sessions
counseling
career timelines
professional military education or the civilian
education system
succession planning and leader slating
combat training center rotations
self-development, including nongovernment
educational institutions
broadening experiences
This article will answer the question—what is
leader development? Although each of the above

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MILITARY REVIEW  July-August 2015

answers is an example of leader development
functions, objectives, or tasks, the answers only
scratch the surface in describing how the Army
develops leaders.
According to the Army Leader Development Strategy
(ALDS) 2013,
Leader development is