ABSTRACT
In 2007 I returned from a second Baghdad tour. Seen from there (if not from Basra) the Iraq campaign had taken a dramatically positive turn as a result of the US surge and the ‘awakenings’. I had played a modest but unique role, an experience that left an indelible mark. Scholars argue about whether ‘winning’ is a relevant concept in today’s unstructured conflicts: 2 I knew what ‘losing’ feels like, and I had seen that when ‘more of the same’ is patently unfit for purpose, innovative leaders can get a huge organisation, at pace, to ‘unlearn’ old, redundant, ideas. Leadership of this sort has a profound impact, particularly if firm top-down direction exploits rich bottom-up knowledge. Intelligent risk-taking based upon analysis and intuition; seizing the initiative to create unstoppable momentum – these were concepts I had been taught throughout my military career. Now for the first time (on such a grand scale) I was experiencing them and helping contribute to a quite remarkable change. Enthused by this, in my next job I was required to think about the changing character of warfare’s implications. Then, in a fascinating new three-star post as the first Commander of the Force Development and Training Command (FDT), I tried to use our deductions to help the Army in a practical way. In all, this was a period of five years to think, build consensus and act; continuity is important in matters of change.
