Innovation, Flexibility Core of Army Success
(June 17, 2011) |
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 WASHINGTON,
June 14, 2011 – Innovation, dynamism and flexibility must
remain the hallmarks of the U.S. Army, Defense Secretary
Robert M. Gates said here today.
Gates spoke during a
Pentagon ceremony honoring soldiers on the 236th birthday of
the Army.
Gates, who recently returned from visiting
service members in Afghanistan, praised the spirit of
innovation in the Army. The lesson of history is that
leaders must encourage such thinking.
As an example, the
secretary cited the experiences of D-Day in 1944.
“One of the most deadly obstacles U.S. soldiers faced as
they pressed inland from the beaches of France were
hedgerows so thick and tough that allied tanks would ride,
not through, but right on top of them, losing traction and
exposing their vulnerable underbellies to German fire,” he
said.
Army Sgt. Curtis G. Culin, a cavalry non
commissioned officer with the 2nd Armored Division, “had the
brilliant idea of fashioning iron bars, scavenged from
German anti-landing craft fortifications, into tank-mounted
hedgerow cutters,” Gates said.
Following the
successful demonstration of the cutters, Army logisticians
built and mounted the equipment on nearly 300 Sherman tanks.
“The rest of the story is Operation Cobra, the U.S.
Army's successful advance through France,” he said. “That
victory was a demonstration of the great and abiding
strengths of our Army -- exceptional adaptability at all
levels in the face of unpredictable circumstances, and the
great trust and reliance placed in the ingenuity of soldiers
of all ranks.”
The same spirit of innovation and
flexibility pervades the Army today, Gates said. “The ground
wars following 9/11 placed even heavier responsibilities on
young leaders,” he said. “From the earliest days in Iraq and
Afghanistan, our soldiers downrange have been adjusting and
improvising in response to the complex and evolving
challenges on the ground -- often using new technologies to
share real-time tactical lessons with their comrades.”
The missions required soldiers to be scholars, teachers,
policemen, farmers, bankers, engineers, social workers and
warriors -- “often all at the same time,” the secretary
said. “And they have always risen to the challenge.”
This spirit allowed the department to pull Iraq back from
the brink of chaos in 2007 and, over the past year, to roll
back the Taliban from their strongholds in Afghanistan, he
said.
Gates also thanked Army families for their
steadfast support of their soldiers and each other.
The service's challenge is to learn the right lessons from
the past decade of war, Gates said. “This doesn't mean
assuming the next war will be similar to the last -- a
common and dangerous mistake -- but rather making sure the
diverse experiences and agility of today's young soldiers
are institutionalized, so our Army stands at the ready for
conflicts both foreseen and unforeseeable.”
The Army
must avoid a garrison mentality -- one that stifles
innovation and is wedded to ironclad procedures. The service
must embrace “the ingenuity, creativity, and innovative
spirit of younger officers and [noncommissioned officers] so
central to our success in combat,” he said. | |
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
Copyright 2011
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