Essay Sample on Army Readiness: The 4 Pillars of Success

Introduction

The lesson on the pillars of readiness provided the purpose, direction, and motivation that a US Army soldier should possess. The lesson aimed at helping the soldiers regain their combined arms capability in tactical formation as they improve their overall strategic readiness. The four pillars of readiness discussed were manning, training, equipping and leader development. Readiness is referenced against the army's ability to deny, deter and defeat threats as well as their ability to meet operational demand requirements. This essay seeks to reflect on two topics I found, how I can I apply the knowledge I learned as well as the barriers I am likely to encounter.

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I found equipping to be a strong pillar of readiness. From the lessons, I learned that the army must ensure that units have the required equipment so as to maintain technological overmatch crucial for defeating the threat posed by the enemies. Soldiers ought to be informed on their unit's weapon systems and support infrastructure. Equipment readiness encompasses designing reliability and supportability of weapon systems so as to achieve the desired operational overreach (Singh, 2013). Equipment preparedness should ensure that weapons do not fail in the middle of a combat session. However, to accommodate for the missteps that may arise, an engineering support team be present to fix vehicles and repair equipment. Moreover, they should be in a position to reset the weapon systems if computerized (Singh, 2013). I will apply this knowledge in learning how to repair and fix the equipment that I often interact with during missions such as vehicles and rifles. Moreover, I will try to get acquainted with the latest weapons as well as how to set and reset them.

Readiness is centrally hinged on the leadership development culture to prepare the soldiers for the complex operational environment. Failure to prepare leaders to adopt for the complex environment may confuse or disorient even the most tactically competent leaders. The leader development readiness should also be driven from within. I believe that every soldier should own their respective leadership development in order to achieve optimal readiness. Put differently, every soldier should share the burden of adequately preparing themselves for complex environments. I will apply leadership development readiness by improving my skills and interpersonal communication. I will review doctrines and regulations to learn about Arm's legal terrain. Moreover, since the warzones and other scenarios involving army services may be traumatizing, I will also improve counseling skills. This will be essential for my self-development as well as supporting fellow soldiers in my unit.

The lessons had some barriers associated with them. For the leadership development lesson, I felt that the training is a top-down model. This poses problems for the unit as a majority of individuals are likely to be dependent on the others for their own development. This may place an enormous burden on the unit leaders. Some of the barriers that I am likely to encounter in equipment preparedness is that some of the new technologies may not be available for familiarizing. Moreover, coordinated use of weapon systems is a daunting task that is made worse when in a real battle scenario.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it is clear that the lesson on pillars of readiness was informative and has prepared us for what is ahead. The essay has expounded on two pillars I found interesting as well as the challenges I am likely to encounter with them.

References

Singh, N. B. (2013). Equipment Readiness: A Systems View. Retrieved from Scholar Warrior website: http://www.claws.in/images/journals_doc/04-Equipment%20Readiness%20-%20A%20Systems%20View.pdf