{"id":3481,"date":"2010-07-19T02:48:54","date_gmt":"2010-07-19T02:48:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/zenpundit.com\/?p=3481"},"modified":"2010-07-19T02:48:54","modified_gmt":"2010-07-19T02:48:54","slug":"vandergriff-joins-fabius-maximus-blog","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zenpundit.com\/?p=3481","title":{"rendered":"Vandergriff Joins Fabius Maximus Blog"},"content":{"rendered":"

Noted expert on adaptive leadership, military education, strategy and 4GW, Don Vandergriff<\/strong>, has\u00a0become a contributor\u00a0to the\u00a0Fabius Maximus<\/a> <\/strong>blog. A thought leader on the subject of military reform, Don is the author of Raising the Bar: Creating and Nurturing Adaptability to Deal with the Changing Face of War<\/strong><\/a>, Manning the Future Legions of the United States: Finding and Developing Tomorrow’s Centurions<\/strong><\/a>, The Path To Victory: America’s Army and the Revolution in Human Affairs<\/strong><\/a> and Spirit, Blood and Treasure<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0and his official site\u00a0can be found\u00a0here<\/a>.\u00a0 I know Vandergriff will make an excellent addition to FM’s well regarded blog.<\/p>\n

FM declared last week to be “Don Vandergriff Week” and here are links to FM’s posts regarding some of\u00a0Vandergriff’s ideas:<\/p>\n

A new addition to the FM website team: Don\u00a0Vandergriff<\/a><\/p>\n

Donald Vandergriff has joined the team of writers on the FM website.\u00a0 He’s one\u00a0of the\u00a0select few\u00a0who\u00a0are incomparably more influential after they retired (but still alive).\u00a0 This week we’ll run excerpts from some of his works.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Background<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the world of military theory today there are many people on the cutting edge. \u00a0Historians like Martin van Creveld, analysts like John Robb and Chet Richards, visionaries like Thomas Barnett, even\u00a0some crossing across\u00a0these categories like William Lind.\u00a0 But there are few developing solutions that can be implemented\u00a0today.\u00a0 By solutions, I mean large-scale programs (not incremental improvements) requiring no substantial political or institutional changes.<\/strong><\/p>\n

One of the best known on this short list is Donald E. Vandergriff.\u00a0 He retired in\u00a02005\u00a0at the rank of Major after 24 years of active duty as an enlisted Marine and Army officer.\u00a0 He now\u00a0works as a consultant\u00a0to the Army and corporations.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Why is Vandergriff’s work an important contribution to preparing America for 21st\u00a0century\u00a0warfare?<\/a><\/p>\n

Summary:\u00a0 The second\u00a0chapter\u00a0in\u00a0Donald Vandergriff\u00a0week on the FM website, introducing his work to those readers not already familiar with it.\u00a0 This chapter briefly sketches out why his work is critical.\u00a0 People – not doctrine or technology – are the key to winning 4th generation wars (the many factors are always important, of course).\u00a0 Recruiting, training, motivating, and retaining our men and women in uniform<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Vandergriff: “Theirs Is to\u00a0Reason\u00a0Why”<\/a><\/p>\n

Summary<\/strong><\/p>\n

Outcome-based training teaches the art in a manner that encourages retention while fostering independent and creative means of obtaining the end goal.<\/strong><\/p>\n

War is an art and as such is not susceptible of explanation by fixed formulae. Yet, from the earliest time there has been an unending effort to subject it’s\u00a0complex and emotional structure to dissection, to enunciate rules for it’s\u00a0waging, to make tangible it’s intangibility. One might as well strive to isolate the soul by the dissection of\u00a0the cadaver as to seek the essence of\u00a0war by the analysis of it’s records.
\n– “<\/strong>The Secret of Victory<\/strong><\/a>” by General George S. Patton Jr.\u00a0 (1926)<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Preface to Manning the Future Legions of the United States: Finding and Developing Tomorrow’s\u00a0Centurions<\/a><\/p>\n

Today’s we have a excerpt from the Preface to\u00a0Don Vandergriff’s\u00a0book\u00a0Manning the Future Legions of the United States: Finding and Developing Tomorrow’s Centurions<\/em>\u00a0(2008).\u00a0 Posted here with permission of the author.<\/strong><\/p>\n

“People, ideas and hardware, in that order!”
\n–\u00a0John Boyd (Colonel, USAF, 1927-1997), “A Discourse on Winning and Losing”, unpublished briefing, \u00a0August 1987, p. 5-7.<\/strong><\/p>\n

=========================<\/strong><\/p>\n

Like the United States today, Rome faced multiple challenges in 107\u00a0B.C., and was hard pressed to field adequate forces; the number of men who were qualified\u00a0to serve, who could equip themselves was running out. The Jurgurthine\u00a0War in North Africa had been going on far too long for the liking of the Roman Senate, a task that counsul (general) Gaius Marius took upon himself to resolve. German tribes had already defeated several Roman armies and threatened Gaul (southern France) as well as Italy.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Marius was a man of vision and acted upon the need to secure Roman provinces with the resources at hand. He did not have a technological revolution at his disposal to solve his strategic problem.\u00a0 Marius turned to an intangible solution, the way the Roman Army was manned, structured and fought its legions as the solution.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Training of officers, a key step for the forging of an effective military\u00a0force<\/a><\/p>\n

Chapter six:\u00a0 Training (and Educating) Tomorrow’s Soldiers and Leaders<\/strong><\/p>\n

There is no standardized entry test for U.S. Army commissioning.<\/strong><\/p>\n