New Norms for the 21st Century Soldier

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Because future armed conflict will remain in the realm of uncertainty, Army forces demand skills and expertise that, although present within the Army, are not specifically designed into the structure of operating forces or are not trained, tracked, or developed by the military (often these are civilian skills of reserve component personnel). The Army must develop a scheme for identifying and tracking the relevant skill sets that are resident in the Total Force so that it can apply this expertise to future demands. (1) --The Army Capstone Concept The Army Capstone Concept More than nine years of armed conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan have given the Army a multitude of lessons to assess and learn from. The era of persistent conflict has brought change across all military operations and training levels. Operational realities such as no frontlines or rear areas, an enemy in and among the population, and competition for popular support have forced us to learn many hard lessons. Chief among them is the realization that specialized skills are essential for successful operations. The specialized skills required of soldiers today and in the future are articulated in this article as New Norms. They include operational adaptability, cultural and language proficiency, negotiation, digital literacy and space knowledge, weapons technical intelligence, and site exploitation. These specialized skills must now become universal tasks as soldiers continue to face the demands of the current fight. Leader Development Strategy The genesis for the discussion of New Norms is the Army Leader Development Strategy, which builds on the Army's experiences after the end of the Cold War and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. (2) It assumes that the future operational environment will be even more uncertain, complex, and competitive than today's is, as hybrid threats challenge the Army across the full spectrum of operations. The outcome of a campaign of learning over the past ten years, the Army Leader Development Strategy responds to these challenges and demands. It seeks to develop agile, adaptive, and innovative Army leaders. Leaders at all levels must appreciate the complexity of the dynamic security environment in which they operate. They need to have or gain knowledge and understanding of geopolitics, culture, and language. They must act on opportunities within the scope of their units' collective knowledge and capability. The strategy also identifies and develops leaders with expertise in financial management, program management, acquisition, education, strategic planning, and force development. Implementation of the strategy recognizes the necessary balance between leadership and technical expertise within leaders, critical to how we address the responsibilities given to us under Title 10 of the U. S. Code. Operational Adaptability The Army Capstone Concept, The Army Operating Concept, and Field Manual (FM) 3-24, Counterinsurgency, reference soldier specialized skills and the importance of culture, language, and technology for soldiers today. (3) The central idea of The Army Capstone Concept is operational adaptability--being comfortable with ambiguity and decentralization and being willing to accept risk and make rapid adjustments based on a continuous assessment of the situation. This is essential to developing situational understanding and seizing and exploiting the initiative. (4) [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Operational adaptability requires a mastery of operational art and the ability to link the tactical employment of forces to policy goals and strategic objectives. It requires proficient forces that understand how to combine Joint, Army, interagency, and multinational capabilities to assist friends; protect and reassure indigenous populations; and identify, isolate, and defeat enemies. Operational adaptability requires cohesive teams and resilient soldiers who are capable of overcoming the enduring psychological and moral challenges of combat. …