What Makes A Good Military leader?

A good military leader will always have the welfare of his soldiers come first and foremost is their safety and well being. A person willing to go the extra mile, one who knows how to follow ordwers as well as give orders. A person that has common sense, an educational background and knowledge of the MOS where they are a leader. I know there are a lot more that a leader can have, but their soldiers should be the first.

SFC
 
Amen to that SFC. You really must be able to put yourself in the mind of the soldiers you command. Don't ask more of them than you can do yourself.
Let them use their own brain. You don't have to think for them.
 
they have to use the f bomb or some other vulgar word every 5th word or when talking to the enlisted so they will understand

and they have to drink
 
It is also of importance of a good military leader to persuade the opportunity and be able to read, understand and gain control of the situation before the enemy does.
 
I comment to texasrebel.

I have tested your way and in Sweden it really doesn't work. Trust your men, motivate them and learn them to think for themself and then you get good results. You don't need to scream and threat them.

Thats my experience maybe it doesn't work in the USA.
 
There is only one true test of a Military Leader -- War. Until a commander is forced to deal with the realities of war on the battlefield, you never know whether you got a winner or a lemon.

A great military leader knows his men and they know him. If he gives an order, they know that it is the best action to be taken because of who gave the order. The soldier does not have to doubt or even understand.

A great military leader adapts quickly during battle. He knows his terrain and uses it effectively. He keeps in contact with his soldiers so he can rapidly adjust and improvise when needed.

A great military leader is a free thinker more often than not. Know the tried and true methods, but always remain open to something revolutionary. He adapt and quickly implements new ideas.
 
texasrebel211 said:
they have to use the f bomb or some other vulgar word every 5th word or when talking to the enlisted so they will understand

and they have to drink
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I am going to have to disagree with you there. For those leaders who use the "f bomb" all the time, I tend to ignore the swearing. When it is used all the time, it is quite ineffective. Total confidence will go further than constant swearing in the long run.

Drinking has nothing to due with leadership. From what I have seen, drinking will always bring more problems than benefits in the militay.

Lead by example is a nother leadership biggie. Leaders who do the right thing ALL the time gain my respect. I actually had a leader tell me "do as I say, not as I do." What a farse!!
 
The best commanders lead by example. If you look at the great commanders of history you will see that borne out.
 
A captain that get´s so fed up on non functional AK5s so he grabs the recruit "by the neck" from the class beneath weapon training and goes to the storehouse and gives the recruit he´s own extra maintaind AK5 and tells you, Son I will teach you to handle that weapon personally! :lol:

Cheers:
Doc.S

:viking:
 
Basically you'll need to get the closest thing to a perfect human being. Then you got yourself a good military leader.
 
One interesting fact: Ulysses S Grant abosolutely sucked at pretty much everything else he tried in life. Being a General was something he was just naturally good at.
 
A friend of mine makes an interesting point. Battle of the Wilderness was similar to a chessmatch between two masters. His numerical strength was not overwhelming. After play and counterplay, block and counterplay again, it was Grant who gained a wedge up the middle and forced Lee to retreat. At the Battle of Vicksburg, his strategies were excellent. He's a tad under-rated sometimes.

Grant's foremost strength in confronting Lee there was that (unlike all prior commanders of the Potomac Army) was that he did not back off in the face of casualties. Lee had perhaps become spoiled by the lack of stomach on the part of prior Union commanders he had faced. Lee is still better, don't get me wrong, but Grant was a lot better of a commander than some historians give him credit for.
 
You can not make a Great Leader.

All Great Leaders are BORN to be great leaders.

Of course all great leaders have common attributes.
 
FlyingFrog said:
You can not make a Great Leader.

All Great Leaders are BORN to be great leaders.

Of course all great leaders have common attributes.
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I think you've hit on something there FlyingFrog. Audie Murphy and Alvin York along with a lot of other MOH holders seem to have stepped out of the ranks and showed their qualities.
 
Yup, contrary to belief, not everyone is born equal. From day 1 some of us have it right, some of us have it pretty bad.
It's a lousy thing to say but it is true.
But I think the vast majority of us are still good enough to have reasonable successes. The ones that don't... well either they were in a hopeless situation or they're just not trying.
And for those who really can't get anything done... you can always join the Army lol.
 
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