ABSTRACT
Effective climate-building steps mean altering the managerial and leadership habits of many of the colonels and generals. Therefore, it must be supported and watched over by the top team. Despite the enormous contemporary stresses on the institution, America's military continues to perform with remarkable competence and commitment, from Afghanistan to Iraq, and simultaneously at multiple danger spots in between. Crucial to leadership at the flag officer level is an understanding of the following: how to communicate a clear vision of an idealized future; how to build supportive, coordinated, internal operating systems; how to modernize methods for evaluating people and units; and how to reinforce traditional values through personal example. In relative terms, the US military as an institution is the best on earth. That special aura of selfless commitment and wonderful camaraderie unique to the brotherhood of arms still permeates most of the units.
