ABSTRACT
The Army's expert knowledge can be broadly categorized into four capacities: Military-Technical, Moral-Ethical, Political-Cultural, and Human Development. This chapter examines how generational differences help and hamper the human development capacity that the Army must have to socialize, train, educate, and develop the Army officer corps to be stewards of the profession. Three generations of current Army leaders coexist at any given moment, bringing with them different formative experiences and views on professionalism. The chapter presents short examinations of the key advances in the cultivation of Army professionalism during three interwar periods: post-World War I, post-Vietnam, and post-Gulf war. Dialog and discourse among the generations are the keys to shaping a cohesive professional ethos within the Army. A review of Army introspection during three key interwar periods highlights the necessity of education and intergenerational communication as the military reacts to an ever-changing landscape in this era of persistent conflict.
