Transforming the Operational Career Field Officer Path: Preparing Leaders for Today's Contemporary Operating Environment and to Lead the Army into the 21st Century

The U.S. Army is one of the most professional institutions in the world. Since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1989, there has not been, nor is there on the horizon, a conventional military peer-competitor. While the Army is equipped with the best military hardware and resources, it is the leadership within the Army that separates it from other institutions. The hard working, committed, tactically and technically proficient, ethically grounded officer corps gets credit for transforming a Vietnam-era conscript Army into the model volunteer force the United States has today. Army transformation is being executed at a rapid pace while its forces are simultaneously engaged in a multitude of operations. The officer corps leading the Army today and into the future requires skills that are intellectually different from those needed by previous generations. To succeed on today's battlegrounds, Army officers at every rank must be capable of simultaneously executing multiple, often times conflicting, missions. To prepare leaders for these uncertain environments, the Army must provide them with the necessary intellectual tools and assignment opportunities throughout their careers. This paper proposes a fundamental shift in Army officer career path policy by emphasizing more academic, fellowship, and exchange opportunities earlier and throughout an officer's career. In addition, eliminating the current officer branch qualification requirement, or expanding the positions that currently qualify as branch qualification, will provide Army officers the time they need to truly improve their skills and proficiencies at every rank. These are just a handful of the ways in which the Army can improve its current officer professional development career path to better equip the leaders of tomorrow.