Adaptability

The last twelve years of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have underlined the need for

leaders to understand and implement creative thinking, critical thinking, and problem solving;

To coin a phrase Adaptability.   According to FM 6-22, Adaptability is defined as “an effective

change in behavior in response to an altered situation”.   Armed with this definition I will explain

how Adaptability will greatly assist Field Grade Officers as they assume roles in staff positions

and operational deployments across all echelons from battalion to the corps level into the next

decade.   The future operational environments will present the current generation of Field Grades

with a very fluid and unique problem set in which to conduct military operations.   At any time

decisive operations can swing rapidly into stability operations as foreign militaries devolve into

militias carrying the battle cry for insurgencies.   To prepare our forces for these contingencies

training on the tactical aspects of war are not enough.   The tenets of Adaptability must be

introduced into the planning of said training to reach the desired outcome of junior Soldiers and

leaders who can deftly utilize creativity and critical thinking to navigate asymmetric operational

environments while operating within the commander’s intent.   Adaptability is an outcome of

training that is specifically designed to encourage, enhance, or promote the inherent and natural

adaptive character of the American Soldier by focusing on the following competencies:

confidence, initiative, decision making, and problem solving all bound by accountability.

    The Army's Perspective of Critical Thinking hinges on the definition of a thought process

that aims to find facts, to think through issues, and solve problems. Central to decision-making, it

enables understanding of changing situations, arriving at justifiable conclusions, making good

judgments, and learning from...