Publication

This monograph examines how Operation Iraq Freedom and the complexity, unpredictability, and ambiguity of postwar Iraq has produced a cohort of innovative, confident, and adaptable US junior officers. These officers are learning to make decisions in chaotic conditions and to be mentally agile in executing counterinsurgency and nation building operations simultaneously. As a result, the US Army will soon have a cohort of company grade officers who are accustomed to operating independently, taking the initiative, and adapting to changes. The author suggests that the Army should acknowledge and encourage this newly developed adaptability in its junior officers or risk stifling the innovation critically needed in the Army's future leaders.