Final Project-United States Army
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Introduction
United States Army is one of the oldest land- based military units among the seven uniformed troops of the United States’ armed forces established back in 1775, prompted to fight and win the states’ wars. In its land- based military operations, the army is supposed to maintain and sustain land dominance. In the administration spectrum, the top ranking officer is the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff as the secretary of the army; in the department of the army that falls under the department of defense.The unit has a significant force number of over 1.2 million soldiers subdivided into the Regular Army, Army National Guard [ARNG] and the United States Army Reserve [USAR], with black and gold uniform and allegiance to the constitution of the United States of America. The army is guided by its motto, “This We’ll Defend” and motivated by their Marching slogan “The Army Goes Rolling Along”, with several credits on various wars and battles they have conquered since inception. The army has four major missions which include:
preserving the peace and security and providing for defense of the United States, commonwealths and possessions and any areas occupied by the United States
.Support national policies
Implementing national policies
Overcoming any nations responsible for any acts that imperil the peace and security of the United States
Training
Training is an essential component of any armed force in a bid to combat existing and arising cases of conflict within and outside the boundaries; a prerequisite for alertness to the changing terrorism activities and the need to adapt to the mechanization of war science. Initially, soldiers are placed on the parameters of their recruitment and placement that is, as Regular Army, Army National Guard or United States Army Reserve; with the reserve components composed of part time soldiers who trainonce in a month and others conduct two to three weeks annual training, for ARNG and USAR respectively with placement based on the best and most qualified basis during the training period. The changes of national policies for the United States and the change of nature of terrorisms and other national threats and disasters calls for effective training by the soldiers on the various aspects of combating these disasters and strategies to help them exclusively contain threats. Incorporation of innovations and technology in the training field has necessitated a higher profile of threat detection and though the military depends largely on other bodies such as the Central Intelligence Agency, space technology has enabled aerial threat analysis and formulation of strategies of combat in case they arise.
A soldier, before graduating will is required to successfully train the Basic Combat Training [BCT], conducted the first ten weeks, where they are impacted with fundamentals of being a soldier such as combat techniques and problem solving or approach strategies. At this point, the rigorous training for physical and psychology and aspects of self- discipline will be essential to introduce the prospective soldier to daily routine schedule that encompasses duties with high expectations for which civilians are not immediately ready (Taylor &Mossholder, 2010). The Advanced Individual Training [AIT] which encompasses training of specifics of the chosen field for Military Occupational Specialty, with courses lasting 6-52 weeks, calls for strict daily schedules, high degree of self- discipline and tests of physical fitness and weapons proficiency, though not intensively like in BCT. To improve on effective transition from BCT to AIT, specific programs should be implemented to guide the recruits in the choice of specialization as majorities are guided by their previous academic achievements which are not a true reflection of self-worth. Proper guidance will ensure the recruit specializes in a field he can handle which acts as self- motivation, improves behavior and the overall output due to increased performance (Tassa, Sears &Schat, 2011).
Soldiers Motivation
Like in other fields of specialization, military operations are faced with challenging situations which to some extent involve body injuries and loss of lives, separation from families and loved ones and certain situations that call for independent decision making which sometimes have repercussions. For instance, in the BCT, the intensity of training may involve body injuries and during the test of weapons proficiency lives can be lost accidentally due to recruit’s incompetence making the field dangerous and thus motivation is paramount. The physical and psychology demand in the army operations encompass both the physical and psychological separation from their families and loved one since they have to accomplish the intended objective within the specified period; a factor that calls for effective motivation strategies to minimize distractions.As a critical unit of security and safety of the territory, the administration and respective stakeholders should come up with motivational strategies both long and short term, for the active and reserve factions. It is observed that the Regular Army feels over- worked in the sense that their training and operations are almost in daily routine compared to ARNG and ASAR, the effective motivational strategy would be encouraging joint operations endeavors irrespective of the cadre and/ or device other personal or monetary motivations for the group that feel over- worked. Joint operations in case of disasters or security threat would homogenize the disparities of the demands in the fields which as a motivation strategy is a cornerstone of organization performance because of its fundamental collaborative nature (Perkins &Arvinen-Muondo, 2013).
Another approach to guide in soldier motivation is consistent guidance and counseling before and after combat missions and during their training or resting hours. Counseling will create positive role identification and promote self- esteem which will go further to promoting personal rationality in decision making and development of positive perspective of job evaluation. During combat, when in some circumstances there is necessitated need to make rational decisions which might have repercussions to the soldier or the military base as a whole, lenient course of actions should be defined for the soldier deemed to have committed crime in war zone. On the monetary approach, effective and non-discriminatory structures of bonuses and appreciation packages should be formulated in a manner to promote self- determination in service delivery rather than segregate the force into respective organs. For instance, additional monetary perks in form of bonuses for the Regular Army will be a key motivation strategy which should be in line with their daily activities or involvements but a joint annual appreciation perks for the whole department would be paramount to motivate the force as a whole. Other provisions such as family visits and periodic days-off will go further in promoting the personal discipline and the collective responsibility (Clegg, Komberger&Pitsis, 2011), traits necessary for the operations of the military operations.
Data Management and Records
The success of any organization, public or private, is pegged on the evaluation of the progress which is based on data available which demonstrates the planned objectives, the stages of implementation and the overall business level and position. The United States Army has automated its data and information with respect to modern technology streamlining the access of information of the soldiers, their specialty and the list of operations and respective achievements and progress. The information systems vary in complexity and design depending with the nature of information contained in them and the respective organs but the end goal is to monitor the departmental progress and provide functionality support whenever reference is required (Whitman &Woszczynky, 2008). One system shows the data on community outreach whereby community relations division coordinates army national wide community outreach by developing relationships with organizations, businesses and sport teams and individuals who support soldiers, families and veterans. The overall objective of maintaining up- to- date data records is to ensure effective data management to enhance monitoring and control of the army operations and identification of soldiers and forces.
Sensitivity of information contained in the military data base and records calls for effective scrutiny of the systems to ensure privacy and control of public panic more so in safety and security issues. For instance, in the process of overcoming acts that imperil security and safety of United States, the operations might involve forceful approaches which may not be safe and knowledgeable for public to access or synthesize. For information interchange and socialization between the army and the members of public, the management and the stakeholders should adopt social media approach in a larger but controlled scope to ensure socialization and monitor the public satisfaction with of the services provided (United States N.R.C, 2012). Publications on the progress of missions and other involvements by the army should be restricted to one controllable source which should give detailed information and other aspects that the public need to know in line with constitution provisions.To ensure maximum security on stored data and records, innovative technologies should be adopted by the department of defense to ensure maximum security and safety of stored information such as annual change of parameters of the data stored and diversification of security protocols to incorporate current security features.
Technical Upgrade
Innovations in science and technology have seen integration of human activities across the globe to a level of making it a small village where everyone is in touch with the world at any moment. Like any modern institution that relies on the information, United States Army has not been left behind in moving along with technology from using modern weapons to integrating information for convenience and reliance. This has improved awareness on the existence of internal and external threats on timely basis and the combination of the firsthand information with the modern weapons and machinery has eased military’s operations. Majority of the army missions are time-limited with one time output expectations and combining the skills imparted to these soldiers and technological innovations brings about variations of judgments especially in field work; pools together knowledge and non- repetitive results in scope and implementation (Cagnin, 2008).
Highly technical weapons have enabled the infantry conduct their covert missions especially across the boarders in areas where the outburst of their operations are not safe for the public. The technical upgrade of the weapons coupled with modern combat techniques have enabled the reduction of death rates thus improving on their safety at war front which is a motivational factor for recruits joining the forces. Apart from relying on the aspects of technology and new combat techniques, militants should be empowered to use their individual expertise to explore and adapt to new innovations in a bid to create effective and efficient workflow during the combat so as to utilize the equipment. Depending with the scope of war and the financial backing by the government and relevant agencies, open minded thinking will go further to improving on the safety of the militants during combat and in resource allocation by relevant departments to alleviate idling (Han, Kim & Lee, 2009)and timely response in case of threat. With the rise of new and advanced terror activities, management should consolidate the available and scientifically proven methods of technical combat to ensure optimum resource allocation that is, weapons, machinery and combatants in a given mission for maximum results.
Recruitment
To ensure the survival of the force and incorporation of new ideas within the departments, recruitment is done occasionally to fill in for the retiring veterans and to keep up with the operations demand brought about by technological changes. This involves advertisements and applications by interested individuals for different sections within the army via the United States Army Recruiting Command [USAREC] with missions to recruit commissioned, non- commissioned and officer candidates for service in the United States Army and Army Reserve. Recruitment is guided by the command’s mobilization doctrine which focuses on objective, flexibility of the recruits in line with changing business environment, unity of effort and timeliness. Flexibility aspect acts as a backup plan in case there are changes in personnel line up and/or regrouping of the officers for unexpected opportunities and talent friction within the army. Since army operations are commonly a joint in the sense that all arms require functioning of others, appreciation of unity of effort is paramount to cater for teams’ coordination for the purpose of combat or joint operations (Carter, 2010).
For effective objective achievement, integration of chains of command in the five recruitment brigades with those of support brigades in USAREC is paramount to enable coordination and implementation of decisive objectives. For instance, the recruitment activities such as medical and psychological analysis, induction and administrative processing of prospective personnel will require effective definition of hiring process, assurance of attainable aspirations and division of labor between the two sides for effective recruitment. This will further ensure that parties’ efforts are timely aligned for effective mobilization of actions to ensure clear definition of the recruitment objectives and resulting impacts. With the command employing a huge number of personnel from more than 1600 recruiting centers across the United States and overseas, timeliness will be paramount to actively recruitment that would respond to changes of battle fields and environment and ensure the right personnel is placed in the right place (Freeman, 2011). This would further help in coordination of resources across the recruitment centers and convenient access of information and personnel in order to act faster than the enemy during combats.
Leadership Structure and Administration
Leadership and effective management is a core requirement for prompt running of any given organization and calls for integration of powers and authorities within the departments for effective control and transformations. For the United States Army, the chain of command runs from the president who is commander in chief of armed forces, structured to Department of Defense to agencies, civilian and commanding officers. The core goal of the structure and administrative positions is to oversee the complexities of the joint command and control functions within the various units. Leadership is not a mere transfer of command or powers within the structure of the Armed Forces but calls for leaders- follower relationship which is strengthened by mutual reciprocal correlation (Taylor, 2011) between the commanders and the officers in a bid to reinforce the overall military goals. This promotes a mutual influence between the commanders and officers; propelled by a positive attitude and the personal steps taken by the chain of command or administration to correct/ improve the situation, a feeling by the officers that their wellbeing is catered for hence motivated. The administration strategies applied in the United States Army are motivating to the officers and the non- commissioned employees with foster communication taking precedence whereby effective communication is applied to all levels of command and gets to the intended officers in a timely manner. The other effective strategy applied is the officers’ involvement in developing the mission plans at preliminary level creating a network of exchanging information which in the long run promotes personal development of skills on a given role and career wise along the administration ladder.
As a joint operations organization, several measures need to be taken to improve authority and transfer of power within the different units of the army or along the chain of command. With attitude and performance as the basic principles of operations in the military, greater heights of leadership relationships are a prerequisite in that for instance, at the unit level, the commander can best motivate junior officers and integrate other resources if he/she understands the traits of the unit and tries to merge these traits with the officer’s talents and aspirations as governed by the institutional rules (Casper, 2011). It should be noted that this needs to be an outsourced post with commanders not only qualifying in the BCT or AIT but someone with a proven management/ administration background. By adopting task- oriented behaviors along the administration chain that is, from the president down to the officers, improve planning and resource allocation along the chain which promotes effective service delivery along the chain. For effective adaption to changing environments in the combat zones and the rise of new international threats and terrorism, the agencies and respective entities should promote innovativeness and development though support and collective learning, which allows job knowledge, desire to lead and be led with integrity and the overall change- oriented behaviors within the units.
Ethics
Leadership and administration relies much on ethics of the commanders and the officers in that each has to take control on his/her path to ensure smooth running of the institution. In the military setting, ethics refer to behaviors that dictate the principles, standards, policies or rules entitled to Armed Forces which are morally upright; and each of the stakeholders need to observe to be in line with the requirements of the United States Army. In the military grounds, ethics are bound to change with time depending with the environment and missions at hand in that policies and standards expected of each stakeholder for instance, while supporting and implementing national policies will be different with those expected of them during combat or while preserving national and international security (Academic & B.R.I, 2009). As an institution, The United States Army has maintained high ethical standards for the last 25 years with changing policies and nature of work regionally and internationally. This should not be overrated as the same institution can be faced with gross misconduct of a few individuals or the whole institutions due to negligence and criminal behaviors. For instance, during combat a few individual within a unit can breach the international humanitarian laws of combat either due to criminal behaviors or negligence and/ or the whole base/ unit commit such kind of crimes due to negligence by the commander or lack of information from the chain of command.
The United States Army has independent mechanisms of controlling unethical behaviors within the institution such as vigilance controls over the combatants; legal sanctioning within the armed forces’ disciplinary framework and bureaucratic controls along the chain of command. To curb these kinds of externalities in case they are about to happen, adequate psychological and emotional support should be given to soldiers before they get into a combat and effective training of the commanders so as to keep in line with the regional and international principles (Mele, 2011). For instance, during recruitment, medical and psychological analysis should be done by experts who can identify slightest variation of human behavior in a bid to curb such kind of variations in the long run after recruitment and training. Collaborative mechanisms such as pursuing projects that can be done as a unit, finding new challenges that need team work and appreciation of diverse pool of knowledge and expertise within the officers, makes colleagues see each other as resources and this improve control and adherence to ethics by members. In addition, immediate review of policies and standards should be done on regular basis and effective communication network established to ensure that each party is informed and adhere to these rules.
Operations
Apart from maintenance of peace and security from national and international threats, United States Army is involved in support and implementation of national policies such as distribution of relief food and overseeing international policies respectively. As their core responsibility of maintaining peace, strategic planning of their operations and code of conduct is paramount to achieve the intended goals (Sharma, 2010). The army has achieved their goals in several missions regionally and internationally with credits such as 12th combat aviation brigade, V Corps, 2nd cavalry regiment and many more, which can be attributed to functional strategic management. The unity and harmony demonstrated in the way they carry out their operations during training and on other missions is a true reflection of effective leadership and communication (Wang & I.R.M.A, 2010) that integrates coordination. To further improve on effective coordination in their operations, the administration should shift the focus of administrative roles from bureaucratic approach to a more collaborative approach to promote innovations and sustain personal discipline during the operations.
Structural and Organizational Changes
The structure of administration and governance of the United States Army has been changing with time incorporating the institutional needs which are greatly influenced by changes of environment and technology. This has greatly influence the organization of units and techniques or styles of operations (Schein, 2010). For instance, technological advancements have changed the warfare tactics such that in missions that required a troop of 1000 soldiers in the start of 20th century can be accomplished by a troop of 100 soldiers with modern equipment and weapons. This has influenced organization in that for instance, during the time these troops could be commanded by 20- 50 commanders whereas today the 100 soldiers might require 2-3 commanders. This has changed the structure of administration making the chain of command more effective in running their activities; mechanization and automation of weapons have eased the combat missions and streamlining of the labor force has improved on working conditions and cutting of the government expenditure. Though streamlining the structure further might sabotage power transfer and implementation of authority at unit level, the administrative structure can be trimmed further to help on accountability and collective responsibility (Tsoukas& Chia, 2011) aspects in the chain of command.
Accountability and Development
United States Army like any other institutions accountability of leaders and officers is paramount in a bid to achieve predetermined goals and objectives whereby everyone is responsible for his/her actions. As a national institution, its development is important for the security and military prowess of the United States and this can be achieved through accountability in all units and levels of administration. The disciplinary mechanisms within the military jurisdiction have promoted accountability and this has seen development of the army into various functional units. Accountability calls for acceptance of responsibilities within one’s scope of operations which has enabled majority of soldiers and their commanders streamline opportunities to strengthen developmental skills and advance their careers (Ruccio, 2010). As a joint operation institution, more accountability measures need to be put in place to strengthen personal responsibility and discipline within the forces and in the public. For instance, an army officer may misuse powers and privileges granted them by the state and Department of Defense which might inflict pain or atrocities to the public and effective measures need to be taken. Collaborative aspects by the Department of Defense and Judiciary in disciplinary matters of some issues can be paramount for the protection of the public from criminal individuals within the army (Prenzler, 2009).
Soldiers Empowerment
The administration has with time enacted measures that promote empowerment in a bid to enhance personal development and a sense of belonging to the militants. This has been achieved through the strengthened communication network along the chain of command which has enabled each party to channel their views and grievances for collective responsibility and workability of operations (Kushal&Ravishankar, 2010). This has further improved on the innovativeness of the soldiers during combat more so in the complex situations where rational decisions have to be independently made. For instance, the independence of military disciplinary mechanisms that is lenient on some issues that calls for rational decisions by combatant is a form of empowerment which in the long run promotes innovativeness. In leadership and administration, the army has strengthened the transfer of power based on merit and past achievement which acts as motivation and long term empowerment since the soldiers will work effectively for the corporate ladder without fear of discrimination. Productivity of employees in any institution is pegged on the employees’ personal allegiance to the defined roles and job satisfaction and proper motivation encourages innovations and independence in service delivery (Amar, 2012). To further improve on soldiers’ empowerment introduction of goal- oriented activities that involve personal decision making which should be coupled with token of appreciation should be implemented within all units and non- discriminative selection and appraisals reviewed periodically.
Planning and Budgetary Allocation
United States Army is heavily funded by the government with outsourcing from affiliate agencies and other civilian bodies which has enabled the institution in making independent decisions. Planning revolves around the situations at hand with much of the budgetary allocation set aside to cater for equipment and emergencies such as international security threats. This independence has enabled the decision makers in optimizing strategies for effective results and this has seen the army develop into one of the powerful military institutions globally. Planning in the army has lagged in terms of timeliness in that the bureaucratic influence caused by a long chain of command slows down the response on critical planning issues which cannot be tackled at unit level. To improve on timeliness, a factor in the principle of mobilization, decentralization of powers and authority of command on some planning issues can be left in the hands of commanders at unit levels; which should be coupled with unit’s budgetary allocation for convenience and effective decision making process. This is due to the observation that divisional corporate structure separates the units into functional entities that guarantee stability of operations and innovativeness/ competitive strategies (Gibaldi, 2009).
Research and Development
Science and Technology has necessitated adoption of new techniques of combat motivated by new equipment and weapons and the rise of complexities or advancement of terrorism and international threat. Currently, the acts of terrorism are carried out in the space with communication and equipment innovations taking precedence and thus the need to advance in research and development to curb these externalities. United States Army has established research and development centers in various points to help in furthering knowledge on modern combat and timely identification of threats before they can occur. For research to be done independently more so on matters that touch on national security and promote a wide coverage of the matters at hand, the government and other financing agencies should come up with strategies to ensure continuous funding that streamline the research and development department (Elis, Petridis & BCS, 2010) in the army. This will be in line with the technological requirements which call for extensive and independent research that is capital and labor intensive, factor that can be catered for by effective funding.
Strength of the Nation
The United States Army has undergone several transformations since the start of 21st century which has overseen significant events and milestones to maintain posture as the strength of the nation. The army draws much of these transformations such as from a division-centric form to a brigade-centric form which is more agile and allows the army to train and equip units with specific missions they will perform. To maintain physical fitness, the army has implemented programs such as comprehensive soldier fitness, warrior terrorism units, and veterans all receive the support they need while in the army and while out. These are comprehensive programs that cater for holistic development of militants while on combat and when they retire giving the strength of the units at all levels and time. This has further been supplemented with medical innovations where research and development of prosthesis has improved healthcare and quality of life for wounded warriors. To promote further fitness and readiness in the field, management needs to device cyclical readiness processes that units can turn to equipment after deployment, receiving equipment before deployment and effective allocation of high notch equipment to all units for immediate and convenient response (Dutton, Roberts &Bednar, 2011).
Safety and Units Engagement
Complexities and sensitivity of operations by the military calls for high degree of safety is guaranteed by the state and respective bodies and dependent on the units/ soldiers’ engagement. The intensity of the physical training which includes the psychological adjustments to the unfamiliar regions and conditions of life is essential to introducing the soldiers to the mission aspect of the military and prepares them psychologically during a combat or rescue missions. Units’ engagement promotes the social needs of the soldiers such as the acceptance and sense of belonging which not only motivates the soldiers in the process of a combat but encourages innovations and variety of problem solving approaches in future. Safety parameters should be the parameters used by relevant bodies to judge the effectiveness of the safety strategies and to evaluate the militant’s engagement in their formulation (W.L.G, 2011). This is due to the observations that different units will require different safety measures dictated by the environment they are in and this can be streamlined by effective involvement of the units in the process of negotiation and planning.
Conclusion
United States Army has undergone several transformations which have made it the strongest military power globally; factors that can be pegged on leadership and administration, research and financing and their overall objectives and allegiance to the constitution in their operations which can further be improved in the areas stated.
References
Academic and Business Research Institute.(2009). Journal of academic and business ethics.
Amar, A. D. (2012). Managing knowledge workers: Unleashing innovation and productivity. Westport, Conn: Quorum Books.
Casper, W. J. (2011). Special issue: Career and work concerns of diverse and understudied workers. New York, NY: Academ. Press
Clegg, S., Kornberger, M., &Pitsis,
