HS315_WhisnantW6Assignment by Victoria Whisnant

Leadership Accomplishments/Failures

vkeane1 — 2023-11-19 16:07:35 UTC

Accomplishments:

He created the Army Industrial War College, (Gabel & Willbanks, 2012, p. 142).

John J. Pershing was the second person to be honored with the rank of "General of the Armies of the United States" (Editors, 2023).

He spent the time to be a great leader by mentoring both George Patton and George Marshall.

General Pershing reorganized and removed himself from direct operational command of American forces, which allowed him to delegate. Why giving up control is not easy, he did it.

Failures:

He allowed casualties because he could, (Gabel & Willbanks, 2012, p. 143).

vkeane1 — 2023-11-19 16:15:33 UTC

References

vkeane1 — 2023-11-19 16:28:10 UTC

Editor, N. Y. (1948, July 6). New York Times. Retrieved from New York Times: https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0913.html.

Editors, H. (2023, March 28). History. Retrieved from History: https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-i/john-j-pershing.

Gabel, C. P., & Willbanks, J. H. (2012). Great Commanders . Fort Leavenworth, Kansa: Combat Studies Institute Press.

Topic Introduction

vkeane1 — 2023-11-20 17:11:13 UTC

Who is Pershing and Why Should He Matter to Us Today?

Topic Background

vkeane1 — 2023-11-20 17:31:03 UTC

In the modern age, John J. Pershing was the first American General who exemplified the “great managerial commander” (Gabel & Willbanks, 2012, p. 125).

He commanded the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF). John J. Pershing was the second person to be honored with the rank of “General of the Armies of the United States” (Editors, 2023).

Leadership Attributes/Flaws

vkeane1 — 2023-11-20 18:02:56 UTC

Leadership Attributes

General Pershing showed adaptability by dividing his Army into two, (Gabel & Willbanks, 2012, p. 141)

Theodore Roosevelt said General Pershing showed courageous conduct in Cuba in his early career when he was a Captain, (Editor, 1948).

Leadership Flaws

General Pershing would not listen or ask other commanders who were with the troops for their suggestions, which led to a disaster of supplies.

Analysis: Why Studying the leader is important today

vkeane1 — 2023-11-20 19:54:59 UTC

Learning about past leaders is important because it can inspire, guide, motivate, and help others to become better.
By studying past military leaders, it may help future leaders to become inspired to emulate their courage in serving our nation.
Learning from the past will help future leaders not make the same mistakes as past leaders.

Final Conclusions

vkeane1 — 2023-11-20 20:51:24 UTC

John J. Pershing would not be considered a great commander, but I think he did earn the title of being a good commander. He displayed his adaptability and recognized he needed to delegate instead of continuing to be in the direct operational command.

He displayed accountability by establishing investigating boards to understand the American Army’s lessons from the war. This would help future commanders by showing them what worked and did not work in war.

For General Pershing to do this, he was admitting that there were flaws and they needed to be addressed.

One of his first post-war acts was to establish a series of investigating boards to capture the American Army’s hard-won lessons from the war. We use something similar today and we call them after-action reports.

General Pershing took the time to mentor upcoming leaders, such as George Patton and George Marshall. A good leader will help those who are coming in behind him to help make them a successful leader.