Critical Thinking

As a field Grade officer I believe that critical thinking and problem solving is a necessary and very important tool that will assist in my career development for the next ten years.   Critical thinking is an important part of all professional fields and academic disciplines. The process involves the careful acquisition and interpretation of information and using it to reach a justified conclusion. It allows you to clarify goals, examines assumptions, evaluates evidence, makes judgments, determines courses of actions, and assess conclusions. Critical thinking is important because it is necessary for success and will saves life and makes good decisions on how to use and redistribute dwindling limited resources. It will prepare students and leaders to educate themselves to make better decisions and enable us to solve problems more effectively. Mastering critical thinking skills will prepare you to take greater advantage of the opportunities provided by your constitutional rights.
According to FM6-22, 2006. Par. 6.5, critical thinking is a thought process that aims to find truth in situations where direct observation is insufficient, impossible, or impractical. In addition, it is central to the decision making process and allows people to think through and solve problems. Critical thinking is integral to studying and learning. One of the most effective ways to learn anything is to actively think it into your thinking. For instance, it is very common to hear leaders, teachers, and just about everyone say, “let me think about it” when they have to make decisions about things from simple to complex questions and /or choices. Almost anyone can become adept at memorizing facts, events, names and faces. However, without critical thinking, people find it difficult to integrate ideas they learn from one situation or experience to another. By using critical thinking and decision making processes, officers will increase their chances of drawing valid inferences based on...