Want ‘strategic thinkers’? You’ll have to transform the military culture
Some want to blame the war colleges but really they are just a product of the institution, which fosters the wrong skill sets.
Gregory D. Foster is a professor at the Dwight D. Eisenhower School for National Security & Resource Strategy, part of the National Defense University, where he previously has served as J. Carlton Ward Distinguished Professor and Director of Research, as well as the George C. Marshall Professor; head of the Strategic Human Capital Industry Study, the Environment Industry Study, and the China Regional Security Study. He is also chair of the NDU Faculty Advisory Council. A West Point graduate, Foster was an infantry company commander in the Vietnam War. He publishes regularly on a variety of national security-related subjects.
Some want to blame the war colleges but really they are just a product of the institution, which fosters the wrong skill sets.
Getting out of the Cold War rut takes time but it’s imperative, else all parties are doomed to repeat history.
How we order and prioritize institutionally can dictate how we think, so if Biden truly wants to think differently, let’s begin here.
If he could shed the cloying strictures of the establishment, he might adopt these bold and visionary principles as his own.