The United States Army's concept to best leverage new technologies and support expanding mission requirements in the twenty-first century is to field a "Strike Force." The initial Strike Force will serve as an interim headquarters, able to rapidly deploy anywhere on the globe with subordinate elements selected and tailored to meet specific mission requirements. The Strike Force will later serve as the technological bridge between the light and mechanized forces into the Army After Next. This monograph answers the question: "Can the United States Army integrate critical and adaptive thinking strategies to develop the adaptive leaders required for the Strike Force?" A central point to the argument of critical and adaptive thinking strategies is an understanding of decision making skills. The overall intent is to specifically address expert decision-making strategies in complex, uncertain environments because all military decisions are made in the realm of the uncertain. As noted by our senior leadership, the twenty-first century spectrum of conflict or action will be inherently ill-defined, not because of poor guidance or instruction, but because of the complexity of the problems. America's Army will possess creative and adaptive leaders in both the Strike Force of Force XXI and the Army After Next, just as it has for the past two centuries. However, it may appear that the U.S. military remains institutionally trapped in an industrial age paradigm in terms of decision making as well as leader selection over development. This factor is a significant barrier to complete integration of critical thinking strategies required to develop Strike Force leaders. This monograph recommends a new way of conceptualizing the battlefield, a different approach of instructing in the school houses, and a fundamental change in the process of developing subordinate leadership skills. The challenge is to develop a new mindset to fully harness the technological advantages of the information age. The cognitive developmental emphasis for training and education should be on critical, reasoned thought and the mechanisms to assess it. Additionally, given an overall reduction in military forces and a subsequent increased reliance on reserve forces, the emphasis in the leader lifecycle should shift to a rapid, cognitive maturation process over a hierarchical promotion-based selection process for the Total Force.

ADA 370325 Approved for public release; Distribution is unlimited. The opinions and conclusions expressed herein are those of the student-authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College or any other governmental agency. (References to these studies should include the foregoing statement.)