Gen. Gary M. Brito, U.S. Army Lt. Col. Danny R. Priester Jr., U.S. Army
25th Infantry Division and 2nd Battalion Royal Brunei Land Forces soldiers conduct a jungle field training exercise together during Pahlawan Warrior 24, 23–25 June 2024, in Tutong, Brunei. (Photo by Sgt. Jared Simmons, U.S. Army)
Troops are strongly influenced by the example and conduct of their leaders. A leader must have superior knowledge, will power, self-confidence, initiative, and disregard of self.
—Field Manual 100-5, Operations
We don’t have to look far to find many writings on leadership. Books, academic journals, doctrinal manuals, and more provide material on leadership styles, philosophies, and templates. I would argue that leading in the U.S. Army, although it shares much of what is written in the above material, has its own aimpoint: to be ready for combat.
In May 2025, the Army released Field Manual (FM) 1, The Army: A Primer to Our Profession of Arms. This article builds on and complements chapter 3 of FM 1, “A Leader.” I want to underscore the importance of leadership and its impact on unit performance, unit cohesion, and most importantly, our Army Profession.
A mentor once told me leadership is a little bit of both nature and nurture, and I believe this to be true. In other words, one may have innate leadership qualities such as charisma or empathy, while other qualities are learned and modeled over time. The “learned” qualities come from a variety of sources including formal education, mentoring, training, and more. We have a responsibility to our profession to nurture and develop leadership qualities in all our leaders, regardless of rank.
Supporting and investing in leader development has and will always be paramount to the Army’s success on the battlefield. Positive and effective leadership provides the foundation for combat-focused training—building cohesive teams, caring for soldiers and families, upholding standards, and making decisions. Effective leadership remains a central driver of change, not an afterthought, as the U.S. Army remains fully engaged with continuous transformation in response to a more volatile and interconnected global operational environment and adversaries that have shown the capacity to acquire technology quickly and cheaply.
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