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Does the military want critical thinking from its lowest soldiers? As a person with close to no military knowledge, my understanding is that the U.S. Marines ar
by croissants 6y ago
Does the military want critical thinking from its lowest soldiers? As a person with close to no military knowledge, my understanding is that the U.S. Marines are more of an "elite" group and might therefore be more empowered as decision-makers.
- bumby 6y agoIn general, I would say yes. I think there is a realization that a counter insurgency will struggle if low ranking troops are not thinking clearly. A single bad decision from a Lance Corporal can erode months/years of effort or escalate into an international incident. Actually, I believe the Marines have the lowest intellectual bar of entry and the highest physical one for any branch. To your point, they do push small unit leadership to a lower level, which may be why they try to advocate a leadership mindset at low levels.
- scruple 6y agoThe USMC Leadership Principles are public [0]. The Army Leadership Principles are, as well, [1]. They're worth reading. [0]: MCTP 206-10B, Appendix B: https://www.marines.mil/portals/1/Publications/MCTP%206-10B%20(Formerly%20MCRP%206-11B).pdf?ver=2016-06-27-164041-660 https://www.marines.mil/portals/1/Publications/MCTP%206-10B%... [1]: ADRP 6-22: https://www.benning.army.mil/mssp/pdf/adrp6_22_new.pdf https://www.benning.army.mil/mssp/pdf/adrp6_22_new.pdf