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them safer (fight for dominant positions not sub- Leaders must realize that losing a fight does
missions, start in a position on the ground [mount, not undermine their credibility as a leader; re-
guard, etc.] instead of standing or neutral). Lea- fusing to fight undermines their credibility as
ders should emphasize the drilling portions of a leader because it demonstrates the lack of
training over sparring initially, then slowly add commitment to developing the Warrior Ethos
in the intensity. Lastly, the atmosphere around
training must emphasize team improvement over both personally and within the organization.
personal ego. Leaders must reinforce good trai- Unit combatives training is a tool that
ning partner behavior by establishing expecta- commanders at all levels can leverage to impact
tions before training and controlling the environ- the culture of their organization. Combatives pro-
ment during training.
vides a realistic skill set that is increasingly rele-
MACP and Leadership vant in the modern close quarter battle that re-
quires judicious application of lethal force. Even
A last obstacle to effective training that must
be addressed is the ego of the leader. Often unit more importantly, combatives training builds the
warrior mindset in a way that few training events
combatives programs die in their infancy becau- can.
se leaders know that they must participate, and
they are afraid of being embarrassed. Leaders
will default to several common excuses to avoid
training: “It’s too dangerous,” “We don’t have the
certified personnel,” “I’m not combat arms,” or the
ever popular, “I would just shoot you.” It is impor-
tant to understand that none of these excuses Notes
are grounded in reality; they are contrived to 1 Andrew Carroll, Letters of a Nation (NY: Broadway Books, 1999).
protect the self-esteem of the leader and reveal 2 GEN Mark A. Milley and Mark T. Esper, “The Army Vision,” 2018, re-
trieved from https://www.army.mil/e2/downloads/rv7/vision/the_
that the leader does not truly have the Warrior army_vision.pdf.
Ethos. It is impossible to make a cogent argu- 3 Sydney J. Freedberg Jr., “Army ‘Big Six’ Ramp Up in 2021: Learning
From FCS, ”Breaking Defense, 14 March 2019, retrieved from https://
ment for the position that it is not important for breakingdefense.com/2019/03/army-big-six-ramp-upin-2021-lear-
ning-from-fcs/.
U.S. Army Soldiers to know how to fight. And yet, “2019 Army Modernization Strategy: Investing in the Future,” retrie-
ved from https://www.army.mil/e2/downloads/rv7/2019_army_
units routinely shut down combatives programs modernization_strategy_final.pdf.
for any of the excuses previously mentioned. This 4 Training Circular 3-25.150, Combatives, March 2017.
5 Bernard Montgomery, “Bernard Montgomery War Speech, Ma-
is a formidable and well-entrenched problem. roon Beret, D-Day,” retrieved from https://jackashley.wordpress.
Leaders must address this obstacle by first re- com/2011/01/17/bernard-montgomery-war-speech/.
6 Milley and Esper, “The Army Vision.”
cognizing the excuses for what they are and offe-
7 “Why the British Army Needs a Combatives System,” Wavell Room, 9
ring well-planned training solutions that address February 2019, retrieved from https://wavellroom.com/2018/02/09/
why-the-british-army-needs-a-combatives-system/.
the concerns. This returns to step one of building
8 Jeffrey Huber, “Understanding Motor Learning Stages Improves
a successful program: Establish a unit culture Skill Instruction,”an excerpt from “Applying Educational Psychology
in Coaching Athletes,” Human Kinetics, retrieved from https://us.hu-
that values fighting ability. Leaders must realize mankinetics.com/blogs/excerpt/understanding-motor-learningsta-
ges-improves-skill-instruction.
that losing a fight does not undermine their cre-
9 Department of Physical Education (DPE), U.S. Military Academy,
dibility as a leader; refusing to fight undermines “Preparing Tomorrow’s Leaders to Meet the Physical Demands
of the Army,” Operational Concept for the Physical Domain (2010).
their credibility as a leader because it demons- G.F. Cavanagh and D.J. Moberg, “The Virture of Courage Within the
Organization,” Research in Ethical Issues in Organizations (1999):
trates the lack of commitment to developing the 1-25.
Warrior Ethos both personally and within the or- 10 Avni A. Patel, Keith G. Hauret, Bonnie J. Taylor, and Bruce H. Jones,
“Non-Battle Injuries Among U.S. Army Soldiers Deployed to Afgha-
ganization. Soldiers do not expect leaders to be nistan and Iraq, 2001-2013,” Journal of Safety Research 60 (Fe-
bruary 2017): 29-34.
the best at every Soldier skill, but they do expect 11 J. Palmer, “DPE Annual Injury Report,” West Point: Department of
them to be competent and resilient. Physical Education, 2019.