It’s time to talk about the Harding Project once again. The project is the Chief of Staff of the Army’s (CSA) effort to renew professional publications, strengthen the profession, and ultimately enhance the warfighting capability of the U.S. Army. Jake Larkowich, Deputy Commandant of the U.S. Army War College and associate editor for War Room, stepped into the studio to share a senior leader perspective. He joins Editor-in-Chief, JP Clark, to discuss the importance of putting words to your thoughts. Their conversation focuses on sharing experiences and opinions in writing at the senior leader level, where there is value for both junior officers and NCOs, as well as challenges and benefits to writing for one’s contemporaries.
Professional writing is a way to overcome the tyranny of distance and share those ideas outside of that closed circle that you exist in on a day-to-day basis.
The podcast episode JP references with Zach Griffiths and Zach Griffiths and Theo Lipsky can be found here. The article written by COL Larkowich and then COL Buzzard was titled What Should the Brigade Be Doing Right Now? Deconstructing the ‘Brigade Fight’.
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Jake Larkowich is a colonel in the U.S. Army and serves as the Deputy Commandant of the U.S. Army War College. In his immediate prior assignment, he served as the Director of the Center for Strategic Leadership within the College. Colonel Larkowich previously served as the Commander of the 188th Infantry Brigade in First Army Division East at Fort Stewart, Georgia, providing training and validation to Army National Guard and Reserve Component units across the Southeastern United States.
JP Clark is an associate professor of military strategy teaching in the Basic Strategic Art Program. He served in the army for twenty-six years as an armor officer and strategist. He holds a Ph.D. and M.A. in history from Duke University, an M.S.S. from the Army War College, and a B.S. in Russian and German from West Point. He is the author of Preparing for War: The Emergence of the Modern U.S. Army, 1815-1917 (Harvard, 2017). He is currently working on a history of U.S. military strategy in the Pacific from 1898 to 1941 that is under contract with the University Press of Kansas. He is the 3rd Editor-in-Chief of War Room. Follow him on Twitter @JPClark97.
The views expressed in this presentation are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect those of the U.S. Army War College, U.S. Army, or Department of Defense.
Photo Description: Chief of Staff of the Army, General Randy George, addresses the crowd at the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Root Hall at the U.S. Army War College, 25 October 2023.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of the U.S. Army War College flickr account.