3 THINGS WE CAN LEARN FROM THE U.S. ARMED FORCES

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1. The Image of the Soldier

The image of the American soldier is hard to compare with the one in Germany.

In the U.S., soldiers are welcome everywhere and get thanked for their service on a regular basis. The soldiers themselves also have a completely different understanding of their trade and a much closer, more realistic relationship with the military.

That comes from the very long tradition of the U.S. Army, while the Bundeswehr can only draw on its own history. Prussian heritage as a pillar of tradition is honorable enough, but it cannot deliver the same connection to modern warfare as the First and Second World Wars.

So the stock of maxims, sayings, songs and stories of battle and heroism stays fairly small, even though those are exactly the things that are enormously important for morale and esprit de corps in any army.

2. Motivation

My comrades and I only ever met highly motivated American soldiers. Sure, they have their sourpusses too. They just disappear in the crowd.

Germans have a reputation as “masters of talking things down.” U.S. soldiers are just as extreme. Only in the other direction.

That creates a mood where everyone actually wants to be on duty and pushes the man next to him. This is not about pretending everything is fine. It is about a positive basic attitude.

The one downside is that misunderstandings can happen.
Because of all that obvious enthusiasm, we Germans often think a friendship is starting when the American is simply being friendly. Once you know that, it is not a problem, and long friendships still come out of it anyway.

“On Base” 2019 in Grafenwöhr.

3. Leadership Ethics

When I spent a short stretch at the NCOA (Noncommissioned Officer Academy) of the U.S. Army in Grafenwöhr, almost a full week was spent on the mindset, bearing and methods of a leader alone.

• How do I motivate my soldiers?
• What character traits make a good leader?
• How do I build trust?
• How do I handle stress?
• What do I do when a soldier steps out of line?
• How aggressive or authoritarian should I be, and when?

Leading takes more than breaking orders down and handing out instructions. We are dealing with people, not robots. That is why it matters so much to think about the way we lead soldiers in all kinds of situations.

You could feel it across the whole academy: leading people was an honor, and training the next generation of leaders was a bigger one.

Good luck out there!

Shughart

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