Towards a U.S. Army Officer Corps Strategy for Success

Book excerpt: Throughout America's history, U.S. Army officers have played an integral role in the formulation and execution of its national security policy. Future national security challenges will be markedly different from those which were met so successfully in the past. Such challenges demand a comprehensive Officer Corps strategy recognizing the interdependency of accessing, developing, retaining, and employing talented people, officers with high learning and problem solving aptitudes, whose mental acuity and intellectual agility allows them to master diverse competencies demanded now and in the future. Such a strategy would position the Army to compete with the civilian market for talent, translate directly into better officer development and retention through increased job satisfaction, and move the Army beyond personnel management to talent management. Such a strategy will create institutional agility, allowing the Army to achieve the right breadth and depth of officer competencies to meet evolving requirements--"the right talent in the right job at the right time."