United States Army Strategist

Last updated
Army Strategist
Shield with star, lightning bolt, and torch and the number 59 with a sword behind for use in the ((U.S. Army Strategist)) article.png
FA59 Crest
Active1998 to current
Country United States of America
Branch United States Army
Type Functional Area
Role Strategy
Anniversaries15 July
Website https://talent.army.mil/job/armystrategist/

United States Army Strategist or Functional Area 59 or FA59 is a functional area of the United States Army. While the U.S. military and Army has had strategic thinkers throughout its history, the United States Army's FA59 career field emerged in the late 1990's with its first cohort beginning duty in 2001, partially due to arguments made by General John R. Galvin in a 1989 article advocating for military strategists during a period of declining strategic expertise in the United States. Colonel (Ret.) Charles Moore stated that by 2010 the "return of the Army Strategist" was already reversing this decline. [1]

Contents

U.S. Army Strategists have diverse backgrounds and advanced education which provide skills such as creative and critical thinking—allowing them to lead planning at organizations such as combatant commands and multinational headquarters. Officers are selected periodically from volunteers for the career field or are assessed through the Harvard Fellowship Program. Strategists do not command, but instead rotate through repeated strategic-level assignments to obtain the strategic planning and leadership abilities necessary for development and to promote “a deep understanding of national defense issues and processes”. [2]

FA59 officers in 2021 serve in a wide variety of joint, intergovernmental, interagency, and multinational organizations. Assignments include service staffs, the Joint Staff, the Office of the Secretary of Defense, and combatant commands, while the Departments of State, Treasury, and Homeland Security are seeking Strategists. Strategists serve as speechwriters, authors of key defense documents, planners, military assistants, and in other key positions. According to Moore, "demand for Army strategists continues to increase". [3]

History

Military strategists in the United States

Retired Army Colonel Charles Moore notes that, through history, “the Army has always produced strategic thinkers and planners". [1] He points to successful cases from the U.S. Civil War such as General Winfield Scott and his early Anaconda Plan, General John J. Pershing's activities in World War I, [lower-alpha 1] and George C. Marshall in World War II, followed by a declining role during the Cold War where the collective capability of military strategists reached its nadir, a condition also associated with a loss of “America’s strategic competence”. [1]

In 1989, General John R. Galvin published an article called: "What's the Matter with Being a Strategist?" [4] Besides defining the required characteristics of military strategists, Galvin advocated for their return. Galvin's article was an impetus for the creation of the FA59 career field, and the ultimate result was the creation of Functional Area 59 in the United States Army about a decade later. [1]

United States Army Strategists

By the 1990s, the U.S. Army had, for decades, provided several paths for officers to acquire an additional skill identifier which identified its holder with skills in the strategy arena. [5] However, the resulting identifier did not equate to fully capable due to “the pressures of maintaining proficiency in traditional military skills in a limited career timeline”. [5] The Army addressed these challenges in 1998 with a “new functional area called Strategy and Force Development as part of Officer Professional Management System XXI, the redesign of its personnel system”. [6] In 2000, this functional area split, with one part becoming FA59 or "Strategic Plans and Policy”. [6] Its first officer cohort began duty in 2001. [6] At this point, FA59 “effectively became a body of general staff officers who were specially trained in the conduct of strategic art". [6]

U.S. Army strategists had four functions as of 2005: "strategic appraisal; strategic and operational planning; joint, interagency, intergovernmental, and multinational (JIIM) integration; and strategic education". [7] Officers of the time were "usually educated in military history or international relations theory to improve their judgment when facing complex or poorly defined problem sets". [8] They were also capable integrators of JIIM partners, and educators. [9]

By 2010, analysis provided some evidence for a decline in strategic competency in the United States over multiple decades. However, Moore indicated that the "return of the Army Strategist" was already reversing this process. [10] At the time, there were over 400 strategists serving in diverse positions including Army and Joint commands as well as the U.S. government interagency such the Departments of State and Treasury. [1] [lower-alpha 2] Additionally in 2010, the FA59 career field was redesignated from Strategic Plans and Policy to Strategist. [11]

Purpose

According to Colonel Francis Park, Director of the Basic Strategic Art Program in 2021, the purpose of the Strategist functional area is to provide competent military strategists, but the “general competencies [of a military strategist] are not intended to be the same” since military strategists, notably commanders, can come from across the force. [12] Army Strategists "form a core of skilled practitioners who support ... strategic leaders with a variety of activities". [1] Moore also notes that, as strategic practitioners “Army Strategists provide a strategic perspective on complex problems and help create national and regional strategic guidance. They are instrumental in the translation of that guidance into actionable plans at the theater-strategic and operational-levels of war.” [1]

Additionally, a focus on tactics versus strategic vision has caused challenges in recent historical cases. In a 1995 monograph, Major General Richard A. Chilcoat observed a tendency in military officers of focusing on tactical and operational aspects of problems, even in strategic settings. [13] [14] A RAND Corporation study of U.S. operations following Operation Iraqi Freedom had a similar finding—“a tendency to focus on tactical issues rather than strategic factors”—as well as other challenges related to strategic planning and strategic art across the U.S. government. [15] Park echoed this, noting: “One observation that emerged from those conflicts [Afghanistan and Iraq] is that a singular focus on tactics is simply not enough to achieve more than localized success in engagements and battles.” [5]

Characteristics

Francis Park states that military strategists must be able to bridge both policy and strategy (strategic art) as well as strategy and tactics (operational art). [16] This allows balancing of ends, ways, means, and risk. [17]

"FA 59 officers are expert in the strategic appraisal and planning functions."

— Francis Park, Director, Basic Strategic Art Program. [18]

Army Strategists are often confused for graduates of the Army’s School of Advanced Military Studies (SAMS), given some overlap between the courses. [12] [lower-alpha 3] However, while SAMS focuses on planning and operations up to the operational level, FA59s focus on “strategic appraisal and planning at the political and military nexus”. [18]

Moore identifies that the ability to plan and think critically and creatively are central to the strategist’s abilities, noting that strategists are expected to lead planning and develop strategy at combatant commands and multinational headquarters, as well as assist in the creation of national-level strategic documents such as the National Defense Strategy and National Military Strategy . [19]

Selection

Officers volunteer to become Army Strategists from their basic branch. [20] A selection board chooses from among the available applicants to meet operational requirements. Most officers transition in this method. [20] An additional four officers per year compete for the Harvard Strategist Fellowship Program. Those selected serve as Army Strategists after attendance at Harvard University. [20] Although relying on volunteers can result in an occasional mismatch, “This method capitalizes on a vital characteristic of strategic practitioners—lifelong self-development and an intellectual fervor that fosters long-term learning.” [20]

Development

Seal of the Basic Strategic Art Program. Basic Strategic Art Program seal.jpg
Seal of the Basic Strategic Art Program.

Although Galvin and Chilcoat believed officers could serve as both strategist and commanders, [21] policy in the 21st century is for FA59s to not command. [5] Moore states that “repeated strategic-level assignments provide the cornerstone of their development as strategists and set them apart from their contemporaries”. [1] According to Moore, Galvin’s “vision for how strategists should be developed is largely realized in the Army’s current model”. [1]

According to Park, the three parts of a military strategist’s education include “civilian education, professional military education, and relevant experience”. [12] He provides three tiers of competency for a military strategist. The first is untrained, which includes FA59s who have recently graduated the Basic Strategic Art Program. ” [22] Army strategists have a variety of other possible schools to attend beyond the basic requirements of Intermediate Level Education, to include “numerous service, joint, and international military schools”, civilian schooling, senior service colleges for some, and others. [23] Civilian school opportunities include Harvard University, Johns Hopkins University, and others for master’s and doctoral degrees. [23] [lower-alpha 4]

The second tier of competency for a strategist is the “apprentice” who is more accomplished in civilian and military education as well as relevant assignments. [25] There is no standard career path for the Army strategist, and their assignments will contribute toward their professional development and promoting “a deep understanding of national defense issues and processes”. [2]

The “master military strategist” has significant experience, understanding, and leadership ability in relevant areas and will work for strategic 4-star military leaders and civilian leaders. [25] Development of a master strategist is a lengthy process. [19] Moore echoes this, noting that "creating expert practitioners requires time". [26] Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin E. Dempsey also stated in 2011 that developing strategic leaders "is a careerlong process that begins early". [27]

Organization

In the 21st century, U.S. Army strategists serve in diverse assignments. These include various offices in the service staffs, the Joint Staff, the Office of the Secretary of Defense, combatant commands and subunified commands. [28] Examples of current assignments include “lead authors for the Army Campaign Plan, division chiefs of war plans and strategy on the Army Staff", and planning chiefs at various levels. [28] Others will serve as “speechwriters, members of commander’s internal think tanks, or as military assistants to senior defense officials”. [2]

According to Moore, "The demand for Army strategists continues to increase." [3] He adds that:

[O]ther government agencies have realized the value of these strategists. Interagency demand for strategists currently exceeds Army supply; the Departments of State, Treasury, and Homeland Security are actively seeking strategists to enhance their planning capabilities. [3]

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Moore identifies this as Pershing's efforts to keep United States forces separate during the conflict while "balancing domestic and international concerns". [1]
  2. ↑ Moore stated that strategists served "on the National Security Council, Joint Staff, Army Staff, Office of the Secretary of Defense, and recently at the Treasury and State Departments". [1]
  3. ↑ About 15 percent of FA59 officers have graduated from SAMS. [12]
  4. ↑ Moore also states that “nearly half of each cohort will graduate from an elite university and every participant receives the opportunity for a broad liberal education at a civilian university”. [24]

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Moore 2009. p. 5.
  2. 1 2 3 Moore 2009. p. 13.
  3. 1 2 3 Moore 2009. p. 17.
  4. ↑ Moore 2009. p. 6.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Park 2015. p. 9.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Park 2015. p. 10.
  7. ↑ Park 2007. p. 82.
  8. ↑ Park 2007. p. 83.
  9. ↑ Park 2007. pp. 83–84.
  10. ↑ Moore 2009. pp. 5, 7.
  11. ↑ Park 2015. p. 14. See footnote vii.
  12. 1 2 3 4 Park 2015. p. 12.
  13. ↑ Park 2015. p. 11.
  14. ↑ Chilcoat 1995. p. 15.
  15. ↑ Park 2015. pp. 10–11.
  16. ↑ Park 2015. p. 11.
  17. ↑ Park 2015. p. 11–12.
  18. 1 2 Park 2007. p. 84.
  19. 1 2 Park 2015. p. 14.
  20. 1 2 3 4 Moore 2009. p. 15.
  21. ↑ Moore 2009. p. 9.
  22. ↑ Park 2015. pp. 12–13.
  23. 1 2 Moore 2009. p. 12.
  24. ↑ Moore 2009. pp. 12–13.
  25. 1 2 Park 2015. p. 13.
  26. ↑ Moore 2009. p. 16.
  27. ↑ Dempsey.
  28. 1 2 Moore 2009. p. 10.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">School of Advanced Military Studies</span> United States military postgraduate school

The School of Advanced Military Studies (SAMS) is one of four United States Army schools that make up the United States Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC) at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. This "enormously rigorous" graduate school comprises three programs: the larger Advanced Military Studies Program (AMSP); the Advanced Strategic Leadership Studies Program (ASLSP), a Joint Military Professional Education II certified senior service college program for senior field-grade officers, and the Advanced Strategic Planning and Policy Program (ASP3), which supports officers in obtaining doctorates from civilian schools.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joint Chiefs of Staff</span> Senior-most military leaders who advise U.S. executive government

The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) is the body of the most senior uniformed leaders within the United States Department of Defense, which advises the president of the United States, the secretary of defense, the Homeland Security Council and the National Security Council on military matters. The composition of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is defined by statute and consists of a chairman (CJCS), a vice chairman (VJCS), the chiefs of the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and the chief of the National Guard Bureau. Each of the individual service chiefs, outside their JCS obligations, works directly under the secretaries of their respective military departments, e.g. the secretary of the Army, the secretary of the Navy, and the secretary of the Air Force.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff</span> Highest ranking military officer in the United States

The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS) is the presiding officer of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). The chairman is the highest-ranking and most senior military officer in the United States Armed Forces and the principal military advisor to the president, the National Security Council, the Homeland Security Council, and the secretary of defense. While the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff outranks all other commissioned officers, the chairman is prohibited by law from having operational command authority over the armed forces; however, the chairman assists the president and the secretary of defense in exercising their command functions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Naval War College</span> Staff college for the United States Navy at Naval Station Newport in Newport, Rhode Island

The Naval War College is the staff college and "Home of Thought" for the United States Navy at Naval Station Newport in Newport, Rhode Island. The NWC educates and develops leaders, supports defining the future Navy and associated roles and missions, supports combat readiness, and strengthens global maritime partnerships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Goldwater–Nichols Act</span> 1986 U.S. law strengthening civilian authority in the Department of Defense

The Goldwater–Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act of October 4, 1986 made the most sweeping changes to the United States Department of Defense since the department was established in the National Security Act of 1947 by reworking the command structure of the U.S. military. It increased the powers of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and implemented some of the suggestions from the Packard Commission, commissioned by President Reagan in 1985. Among other changes, Goldwater–Nichols streamlined the military chain of command, which now runs from the president through the secretary of defense directly to combatant commanders, bypassing the service chiefs. The service chiefs were assigned to an advisory role to the president and the secretary of defense, and given the responsibility for training and equipping personnel for the unified combatant commands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Army War College</span> Educational institution in Carlisle, Pennsylvania

The United States Army War College (USAWC) is a U.S. Army educational institution in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, on the 500-acre (2 km2) campus of the historic Carlisle Barracks. It provides graduate-level instruction to senior military officers and civilians to prepare them for senior leadership assignments and responsibilities. Each year, a number of Army colonels and lieutenant colonels are considered by a board for admission. Approximately 800 students attend at any one time, half in a two-year-long distance learning program, and the other half in an on-campus, full-time resident program lasting ten months. Upon completion, the college grants its graduates a master's degree in Strategic Studies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Department of the Army</span> Military department within the Department of Defense

The United States Department of the Army (DA) is one of the three military departments within the Department of Defense of the U.S. The Department of the Army is the federal government agency within which the United States Army (U.S.) is organized, and it is led by the secretary of the Army, who has statutory authority under 10 United States Code § 7013 to conduct its affairs and to prescribe regulations for its government, subject to the limits of the law, and the directions of the secretary of defense and the president.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Southern Command</span> Command responsible for South American area

The United States Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM), located in Doral, Florida in Greater Miami, is one of the eleven unified combatant commands in the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for providing contingency planning, operations, and security cooperation for Central and South America, the Caribbean, their territorial waters, and for the force protection of U.S. military resources at these locations. USSOUTHCOM is also responsible for ensuring the defense of the Panama Canal and the canal area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James A. Williams</span> United States Army general

James Arthur Williams was a United States Army lieutenant general. Williams served as Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency in the 1980s. He was a 1987 inductee of the Military Intelligence Hall of Fame and was the chairman of the board of directors for the National Military Intelligence Association.

A unified combatant command, also referred to as a combatant command (CCMD), is a joint military command of the United States Department of Defense that is composed of units from two or more service branches of the United States Armed Forces, and conducts broad and continuing missions. There are currently 11 unified combatant commands, and each is established as the highest echelon of military commands, in order to provide effective command and control of all U.S. military forces, regardless of branch of service, during peace or during war time. Unified combatant commands are organized either on a geographical basis or on a functional basis, e.g., special operations, force projection, transport, and cybersecurity. Currently, seven combatant commands are designated as geographical, and four are designated as functional. Unified combatant commands are "joint" commands and have specific badges denoting their affiliation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Under Secretary of Defense for Policy</span> United States government position

The United States under secretary of defense for policy (USDP) is a high level civilian official in the United States Department of Defense. The under secretary of defense for policy is the principal staff assistant and adviser to both the secretary of defense and the deputy secretary of defense for all matters concerning the formation of national security and defense policy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Air University (United States Air Force)</span> U.S. Air Force military education institution

Air University is a professional military education university system of the United States Air Force. It is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award master's degrees.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee</span> Administrative body of the Pakistan Armed Forces

The Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (JCSC), ; is an administrative body of senior high-ranking uniformed military leaders of the unified Pakistan Armed Forces who advises the civilian Government of Pakistan, National Security Council, Defence Minister, President and Prime minister of Pakistan on important military and non-military strategic matters. It is defined by statute, and consists of a Chairman, the military chiefs from Army, Navy and the Air Force: all four-star officers appointed by the President, on the advice of the Prime minister. The chairman is selected based on seniority and merit from the Chiefs of service of the three branches of the Pakistan Armed and Defense Services. Each service chief, outside their Joint Chiefs of Staff obligations, performs their duty directly for the Ministry of Defence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joint Forces Staff College</span> Military unit

The Joint Forces Staff College (JFSC), located in Norfolk, Virginia, was established as the Armed Forces Staff College in 1946 and incorporated into the National Defense University in August 1981. It educates and acculturates joint and multinational warfighters to plan and lead at the operational level. Military operations increasingly require the Armed Services to work jointly, and JFSC provides students the tools to operate in a joint environment. JFSC is composed of three schools, each with different student populations and purposes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">USAF Air War College</span> Senior professional military education school of the U.S. Air Force

The Air War College (AWC) is the senior Professional Military Education (PME) school of the U.S. Air Force. A part of the United States Air Force's Air University, AWC emphasizes the employment of air, space, and cyberspace in joint operations. Headquartered at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama, its higher headquarters is the Air Education and Training Command (AETC) at Randolph Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. It is one of six war colleges within the U.S. Department of Defense's Joint Professional Military Education (JPME) Phase II Education Program for commissioned officers.

The United States Marine Corps' Judge Advocate Division serves both to advise the Commandant of the Marine Corps (CMC) and other officials in Headquarters, Marine Corps on legal matters, and to oversee the Marine Corps legal community. The head of the Judge Advocate Division (JAD) is the Staff Judge Advocate to the Commandant.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Army Strategic Forces Command (Pakistan)</span> Pakistan Armys field maneuver strike corps.

The Pakistan Army Strategic Forces Command is a strategic and missile formation of the Pakistan Army. Headquartered at the Joint Staff HQ in Chaklala near Rawalpindi, the strategic command controls the land-based ballistics and cruise missile systems—both nuclear and conventional.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Basic Strategic Art Program</span> School in the United States

The Basic Strategic Art Program (BSAP) is an academic program taught at the U.S. Army War College at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania. The course was designed to support the educational requirements for Functional Area FA59 (FA59), U.S. Army Strategist, formerly called Strategic Plans and Policy. The first course began in 2003 and the school continues to teach three 16-week courses per year.

The Officer Education System (OES) is the progressive and sequential education and training process for officers in the United States Army that begins in the pre-commissioning phase and continues in schools through the basic entry level, advanced level, intermediate command and staff level, and senior level. The OES offers the following educational opportunities:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Organizational structure of the United States Department of Defense</span>

The United States Department of Defense (DoD) has a complex organizational structure. It includes the Army, Navy, the Marine Corps, Air Force, Space Force, the Unified combatant commands, U.S. elements of multinational commands, as well as non-combat agencies such as the Defense Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency. The DoD's annual budget was roughly US$496.1 billion in 2015. This figure is the base amount and does not include the $64.3 billion spent on "War/Non-War Supplementals". Including those items brings the total to $560.6 billion for 2015.

References

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.