The United States has been at war for over twelve years with the consequence that the US Army has sustained deployment cycles and an operational tempo unprecedented in our Nation's history. The Army has fought the campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan with inspiring courage, selfless service, teamwork, innovative adaptability, and mission accomplishment as part of a joint and coalition team. This team has operated in as tough a set of conditions as our Nation's Armed Forces have ever faced. As the current campaign draws to a close, the Army is entering a strategic inflexion point, where it faces significant budget adjustments, as well as new strategic priorities and challenges. In light of this inflection point, the Chief of Staff of the Army requested an assessment of officer leader development. Following a thirty-day mission analysis, presentation to the Army Chief of Staff, and incorporation of his guidance, the Leader Development Task Force identified the aim of this study as three major lines of operation: (1) to make recommendations to reinforce and sustain practices that enabled a decade of superb battlefield performance; (2) to reestablish standards as appropriate; and (3) to boldly transform Army systems to best educate, train and inspire leaders for the future. The recommendations from this study, if implemented as an entity, and not fractured into small components, will ensure that the Army of 2020 will continue to be led by an officer corps that is expertly developed to succeed in future military operations.

http://cape.army.mil/reports.php Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.