The document discusses soldier team development, vision, and commitment and their interdependent relationship in building combat power. It describes the three stages of soldier team development: formation, enrichment, and sustainment. It emphasizes that vision provides purpose and direction that fosters commitment among soldiers to achieve shared goals. Commitment is essential for success, binding teams together to accomplish missions. Developing soldiers as committed team members through shared vision is key to maximizing combat effectiveness.

1. SOLDIER TEAM DEVELOPMENT, VISION, AND COMMITMENT
Building and Sustaining Combat Power
CSM Robert I. McKinley
In this February 2003 photo, author, CSM Robert I. McKinley (far right) poses with his Senior NCOs of the 5th
Battalion, 52nd Air Defense Artillery. Standing from left to right are SGM Talmadge King, 1SG Cedric Brown, 1SG
Alexander Klamt, 1SG Joseph Hawkins, 1SG John Ezell, 1SG Don Murchison, and 1SG William Young. Kneeling
left to right are 1SG Roel Garcia and 1SG Ruben Lopez-Lugo.
During my 30 years of service in Air Defense Artillery, I served in numerous
leadership positions, including Battalion Command Sergeant Major and Battery First
Sergeant. Early in my career, I struggled as a leader and was frustrated in finding a
way to inspire my Soldiers to perform to the level of their capability, conduct
themselves in a disciplined manner, and take pride in our unit. Determined to
become a more effective leader, I read numerous books on organizational
management and attended several leadership courses. However, it wasn’t until I
earnestly made a concerted effort to know my Soldiers, genuinely listened to their
concerns, and actively sought to understand the underlying causes for their behavior
before I discovered what was truly missing in our organization. What my Soldiers and
unit leadership lacked was commitment. Soldiers who are committed learn their jobs,
enjoy coming to work, stay out of trouble, take initiative, and demonstrate high esprit
de corps. Now, my inherent challenge was how to develop and inspire the
commitment of my Soldiers and leaders to each other and our unit. Inevitably, I found
the answer lies in developing all Soldiers as valued members of a team who mutually
share a common vision that empowers everyone in the organization. Hence, I would
like to share with you my thoughts on Soldier Team Development, vision, and
commitment; along with their interdependent relationship in building and sustaining
our Army’s combat power.

2. SOLDIER TEAM DEVELOPMENT, VISION, AND COMMITMENT
Building and Sustaining Combat Power
CSM Robert I. McKinley
Soldier Team Development. “All United States military doctrine is based on …
the ingenuity of the individual working on his own initiative as a member of a team
and using the most modern weapons and equipment which can be provided him.”
This statement by Lieutenant General Manton S. Eddy, XII Corps Commander,
World War II, describes our previous Army motto, “An Army of One." More
importantly, it defines the vital role of the individual Soldier, serving as a member of a
team in building our Army’s combat power. And that’s what Soldier Team
Development does; it builds combat power by training individual Soldiers as
members of a team who are committed to each other and the accomplishment of a
shared vision.
I will now discuss the three major stages of Soldier Team Development which
include the Formation Stage, the Enrichment Stage, and the Sustainment Stage.
The Formation Stage is the bedrock of Soldier Team Development. The
foundation you lay in this stage will ultimately affect the strength of the team you
build in later stages. Just like the colorful adage my brother Frank, a U.S. Marine
Corps veteran, who fought in Vietnam, always says, “It takes a stronger foundation to
build a church than it does to build an outdoor privy." Start building a rock solid
foundation for your team by fostering a topnotch sponsorship program to welcome,
orient, and integrate your new Soldiers and their families into the unit. Make sure to
resolve their immediate issues in a timely manner and reinforce your team’s
foundation by ensuring your Soldiers and their families understand their vital
importance to the team and its success. Then complete your team’s foundation by
training your new Soldiers on their individual Warrior Tasks and battle drills. Set each
subsequent stage up for success by providing adequate resources, assigning
individual responsibilities, and delegating your authority to empower your
subordinates. Always remember to treat Soldiers and those they cherish with dignity
and respect as valued members of the organization. In return, you will earn their
allegiance, and they will take care of you and the unit’s mission. In keeping with the
words of Frank Barron, “Never take a person’s dignity; it is worth everything to them
and nothing to you”.
During the Enrichment Stage, Soldiers move from questioning everything and
everybody, to trusting themselves, their peers and their leaders. Collective training is
critical during this stage; in fact, it is the most important thing leaders can do to
strengthen their units. Keep in mind that the complexion of every team is different
and dependent upon the makeup of its individual team members. Build upon the
strengths of your Soldiers and train upon their weaknesses, developing their
collective proficiency into combat teams capable of performing their Army mission.
Remember, the basic function of leadership is to provide Soldiers an environment
that fosters mutual trust and respect while building a cohesive team, in which each
person’s unique strength is made productive and each weakness is made irrelevant.

3. SOLDIER TEAM DEVELOPMENT, VISION, AND COMMITMENT
Building and Sustaining Combat Power
CSM Robert I. McKinley
During the Sustainment Stage, Soldiers start to take ownership, exude pride in
belonging, and dedicate themselves to the team’s success. As your team continues
to mature, your Soldiers will demonstrate increased responsibility, self discipline and
initiative; whereas, the conduct of arduous missions will inherently strengthen the
Warrior Ethos bonds between them and their commitment to the unit. The more
successes your Soldiers share, the more confident and cohesive your team will
become. Keep your team in a high state of combat readiness by conducting rigorous
multi-echelon training focused on the unit’s mission essential tasks and wartime
mission. Never forget, the greatest love you can show your Soldiers is to train them
for war; train them better than any adversary they may face in combat, so they will
win decisively and return home safely to their friends and families. In the words of
General George S. Patton Jr., “Wars may be fought with weapons, but they are won
by men and women”. The sweat your Soldiers expend in training today will lessen
the blood they shed in combat tomorrow.
Now that I’ve given you a brief snapshot of Soldier Team Development and its
respective stages, I’d like to address the mutually supporting relationship of vision
and commitment in developing your combat team.
Vision is the strategic leader’s conceptual model of the future. It is how we as
leaders foresee the road ahead, enabling us to anticipate and prepare our combat
teams for the inherent contingencies of tomorrow’s battlefield. Most notably, as we
share our expectations and conceptualization of the future with our Soldiers, vision
conjointly empowers everyone in the organization with a sense of purpose,
motivation, and direction. Once Soldiers understand their role in achieving a shared
destiny which is internalized by all; it creates synergy, inspiration, commitment, and a
sense of belonging in the unit. Hence, vision fosters a climate of Soldier Team
Development while serving as the basis for establishing our organizational and team
goals. Simply stated, vision is like a jigsaw picture puzzle empowering everyone in
the organization with an important piece to play. As each Soldier performs his or her
role and joins their piece of the puzzle, the vision becomes clearer. And just like the
picture on the front of the box, once all the pieces of the puzzle have been joined
together, our vision will become reality.
All great leaders have enormous vision and are able to articulate it in a way which
inspires us to believe and share in their dream. A tremendous example is Dr. Martin
Luther King, whose vision was to create an America which lived up to the true
meaning of its creed: "...that all men are created equal...where people will not be
judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character." Who can
forget his immortal speech, "I Have a Dream", in which he shared his vision with us
and inspired us to believe; and now, America is beginning to live his dream. Another
terrific example is Jimmy Valvano, the former basketball coach of the North Carolina
State Wolfpack. In 1983, he inspired his team with the dream of winning the NCAA
Championship, envisioning with his players the phenomenal game his team would
play. The Wolfpack lacked superstars and were 40-point underdogs against the

4. SOLDIER TEAM DEVELOPMENT, VISION, AND COMMITMENT
Building and Sustaining Combat Power
CSM Robert I. McKinley
University of Houston’s Clyde Drexler and Hakeem Olajuwan, yet they won the
NCAA Championship. Jimmy V’s philosophy still holds true today; “…everyone has
to have a dream to be successful.” Successful leaders and teams are not
coincidental; they are the consummate result of setting and achieving personal and
shared goals in support of a common vision.
Commitment is the single most important factor in achievement; hence, an
organization’s overall level of success is substantially determined by the commitment
of its leaders and Soldiers. Without commitment, individuals can’t achieve their
personal goals and units can’t accomplish their missions. Leaders can have great
vision, the best laid battle plans, and the finest-equipped Soldiers; yet, be
unsuccessful because no one is willing to support the plan or their
teammates. Success in combat requires commitment to the goals of the team, its
leaders and each other. Commitment is important because it acts as the glue that
binds combat teams together and gives them the collective strength to accomplish
the impossible. Once we’ve envisioned our course of battle and set our goals, we
must all make an earnest commitment to achieve those goals. In the words of
William Arthur Ward, “If you can imagine it, you can achieve it. If you can dream it,
you can become it.” Soldier Team Development is a journey and commitment is how
we all reach our destination.
As leaders, the quality of our combat teams is directly related to our degree of
commitment to our Soldiers. Just like the story of the chicken and the pig, each one
of us must determine our level of commitment. In providing breakfast, the chicken is
partially committed and supplies us with the eggs; while in contrast, the pig is totally
committed and gives us his life to provide the bacon. In combat, team leaders will
have to make life and death decisions. Hence, all of us must be totally committed like
the pig; willing to give our lives for the good of our team, our nation, and our allies.
In this article, I have discussed the interdependent relationship between Soldier
Team Development, vision, and commitment. As you can see, each element is
essential and mutually dependent upon the other in building and sustaining combat
power. No matter how sophisticated our weapon systems become, our Army’s
ultimate combat power will always remain its courageous and resilient Soldiers led by
leaders with great conceptual vision who are committed to Soldier Team
Development and the accomplishment of a shared dream. In summary, we can
achieve the impossible, if we have the vision, the commitment, and the courage to do
it, together.