I n t e g r i t y - S e r v i c e - E x c e l l e n c e The Future Profession of Arms Lt Gen (ret) Chris Miller
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The FutureProfession of Arms
Lt Gen (ret) Chris Miller
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Work in progress; views my own
About “the Profession of Arms,” not professionalism
Not criticism of any Service, component, tribe, leader, hero, or person
Not just about the Air Force or Airmen, it’s about defense and defenders
About the military side of civ-mil relations—not the relationship per se
This is an “and” not “or” set of issues
Issues are in caricature more than nuance – but words do matter
If you’re not uncomfortable, I’ve failed to communicate
Disclaimers
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The EvolvingProfession of Arms
• The phrase “Profession of Arms” is common--but its real meaning is increasingly unclear
• American views on the idea of a Profession of Arms were strongly shaped by Samuel Huntington, less so by Morris Janowitz, Charles Moskos and others, a half-century ago
• Recent PoA scholarship has focused on civ-mil relations and competing models for civ-mil decision-making and civilian control, rather than “identity” – with exception of the US Army
• Decades of technological, organizational, societal, geopolitical change have fundamentally reshaped demands on the profession, yet. . .
. . .the way the PoA is commonly conceived--from outside or inside—has changed little.
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“The distinguishing characteristics of a profession as a special type of vocation are its expertise, responsibility, and corporateness…a distinct sphere of military competence does exist which is common to all, or almost all, officers and which distinguishes them from all, or almost all, civilians... perhaps best summed up [as] ‘the management of violence.’ The function of a military force is successful armed combat.”
- Samuel P. Huntington
“The bearing of arms among men for the purpose of fighting other men is found as far back as we can see. It has become at some times and in some places a calling resembling the priesthood in its dedication. It has never ceased to display a strong element of the vocational. . .. . .The function of the profession of arms is the ordered application of force in the resolution of a social problem.”
- Lt.-Gen Sir John Winthrop Hackett
Points of Departure
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Newton’s 1st Law
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The power of language
“Language, like physical terrain, is patterned. It has repeating features: the conceptual equivalent of crests and draws, streams and roads that routinely channel thought in certain directions. In tactical scenarios, you get sucked in by the easy terrain. In strategic scenarios, you get seduced by linguistic habits. . .This is why, with Iraq, analysts have tended to ask second-order questions about ideology and war planning, but stop short of first-order questions, such as why we believed that war is a tool.”
- Tim Feist
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Language we use
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Historical lexicon
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Contemporary lexicon
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Contemporary lexicon
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How we think
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21st Century Challenges Political Cultural TechnicalOperationalOrganizational
Why does this matter?
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How we live
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The Real Challenge
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Expertise
Huntington- The direction, operation, and control (management) of a human organization whose primary function is the application of violence
Janowitz- The use of a constabulary force that is continuously prepared to act, committed to the minimum use of force, and seeks viable international relations rather than [military] victory
Hackett- The ordered application of force in the resolution of a social or political problem, under an unlimited liability
Feaver- The exercise of coercive power to defend the body politic
Snider- The application of lethal force – “the killing & dying business”
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Responsibility
Huntington- The military security of society, to the exclusion of all other ends
Janowitz- The maintenance of viable international relations
Feaver- The protection of the polity from its enemies
Snider- The defense of the Constitution and the rights and interests of the American people
Schadlow- The application of military capabilities to national policy aims
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Corporateness
Huntington- The sense of organic unity and consciousness of themselves as a group apart
Janowitz- The shared duty to society
Hackett- More or less exclusive group coherence
Snider- The moral motivation at the individual level to self-abnegation and self sacrifice, and a deep culture of trust
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Peace
War
Membership In the Profession:Huntington
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Army Definitions
Army Profession: A unique vocation of experts certified in the ethical design, generation, support, and application of landpower, serving under civilian authority and entrusted to defend the Constitution and the rights and interests of the American people.
Army Professional: A Soldier or Army Civilian who meets the Army Profession’s certification criteria in character, competence, and commitment.
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Peace
War
Membership In the Profession:Snider
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USAF Definitions
Air Force Profession: A vocation comprised of experts in the design, generation, support and application of global vigilance, global reach and global power serving under civilian authority, entrusted to defend the Constitution and accountable to the American people.
Air Force Professional: A trusted servant to our Nation (Active Duty, Reserve, Guard or civilian) who demonstrates unquestionable competence, adheres to the highest ethical standards and is a steward of the future of the Air Force profession. Air Force professionals are distinguished by a willing commitment and loyalty to the Air Force Core Values.
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Culture
“The culture of a group [is] a pattern of shared basic assumptionslearned by a group as it solved its problems of external adaptation and internal integration, which has worked well enough to be considered valid and, therefore, to be taught to new members as the correct way to perceive, think, and feel in relation to those problems. . .the concept of culture implies structural stability, depth, breadth, and patterning or integration.”
- Edgar H. Schein
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Culture is Powerful
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Culture Change is Complex
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Issues in Play
1. Responsibility and competence: management of violence
2. The pivotal role of emotion—etymology of a military ethos
3. Stability and permanence in organizations, ethos, decision-making
4. Evolution of military expertise
5. Acceleration of complexity
6. (Mis)alignment of missions, competence, ethos, understanding
7. Is the profession of arms outdated?
8. The profession of effects
9. Toward mastery of consequential (deadly?) competition
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Key Questions
What do ongoing and observed changes in the Profession’s responsibility, corporateness and expertise imply for defining membership in the Profession of Arms?
Has “mastery of [potentially deadly] or [consequential] competition” effectively replaced “management of violence” as the core competence of the Profession of Arms?
Is “management of” better captured by “responsibility for…?”
Do changes in the nature of war and of the Profession of Arms necessitate a fundamental restructuring of American national security architecture?
Has “the Profession of Arms” been effectively supplanted, subverted or simply confused by “Service Professions?”
Is the entire concept of a “Profession of Arms” obsolete?
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Backup Slides
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Alternative Questions
If the “special competence” of the PoA has expanded beyond “management of violence” in combat with an enemy, how do we describe that new competence? Does each military Service “own” its own profession, and if so, how is the
idea of a “Profession of Arms” even relevant? Are traditional military virtues – courage, valor, sacrifice – relevant for
those who accomplish nontraditional missions, and if so, how? Put differently, “what is valor in cyber?” What distinguishes members of the Profession of Arms from those in
other bureaucracies who accomplish similar tasks? Who really is and is not part of the Profession of Arms?
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Questions with unclear answers
• What is “valor” in cyberspace?• What distinguishes a GPS
contractor from a Space Ops Lieutenant or MSgt?
• Is defense of the software perimeter of the F-35 as important as defense of FOB Chapman in Afghanistan? Do we see them the same way?
• Are civilian DoD employees members of a Profession of Arms, or of something else?
• What expertise or ethos sustains our corporate identity?
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“Modern War” at USMA
“Hmm…it seems like when the Air Force was formed in 1947, we were the Modern War Institute.”
- C1C Grant Van Hoomissen
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Aspects of culture
Observed behavioral regularities: language, customs, traditions, rituals
Group norms: implicit standards and values
Espoused values: articulated publicly announced principles and values
Formal philosophy: broad policies and ideological principles guiding action
Rules of the game: implicit, unwritten rules for getting along
Climate: feeling that is conveyed in a group by interactions
Embedded Skills: special competencies displayed and passed on
Habits of thinking, mental models, linguistic paradigms: cognitive frames
Shared meanings: emergent understandings created during interactions
Root metaphors: ways groups characterize themselves; physical artifacts
Formal rituals and celebrations: ways the group celebrates key events
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Culture is Powerful