STRATEGIC LEADER STAFF RIDE OF GETTYSBURG

The Strategic Leader Development Program is a 3-day seminar focused on senior leadership and teamwork. The U.S. Army War College is dedicated to the understanding, practice, and teaching of effective leadership. It has produced many of the nation’s premier strategic thinkers including General Dwight D. Eisenhower, General George S. Patton, General Richard Myers, and General Raymond Odierno. Now this same caliber of education and insight is available to select groups of business leaders through a strategic immersion experience. Facilitated by U.S. Army War College faculty and utilizing the same methods provided to current students, participants gain insight to the strategic options and challenges relevant to both the U.S. Military and today’s corporate environment.

The program can be customized to meet the specific needs of any group and includes a strategic leadership and decision-making lab on the Gettysburg Battlefield, which we call a staff ride. The concept of a “staff ride” originated in the Army in the 1880’s and was used to teach various aspects of tactics and leadership to aspiring staff officers. Visiting a Civil War battlefield (originally on horseback, thus the term “staff ride”) brought to life the importance of terrain, the interaction of battlefield commanders, tactics, leadership techniques, and command decisions. Also included are strategic topical seminars facilitated by the U.S. Army War College faculty and the participants’ interests.

This unique immersion program will take you from the barracks to the battlefield. A customized curriculum provides the framework for the most intellectually stimulating and relevant topics suited to your select group and your desired outcomes. Central to this extraordinary mind-expanding experience is a “staff ride” of the Gettysburg battle sites, long considered to be the turning point of the Civil War.

Using the battlefield as a learning laboratory, military historians and leadership specialists make the human dimensions come alive. By recognizing the strategic dilemmas facing leaders of the military and business, Gettysburg National Military Park becomes a tool for learning how to identify and address leadership challenges.

CEOs, COOs, Chief Administrative Officers, Executive VPs, Senior VPs and General Managers engage in curriculum such as crafting strategy, ethics, strategic planning, leading and managing change, strategic leader self-awareness, executive health and wellness, crisis action simulation exercise, developing strategic leaders, and more. The experience takes place on the Gettysburg Battlefield and at the historic Carlisle Barracks, home of the U.S. Army War College.

The ideal size of a Staff Ride group is 15 – 25, as this permits a more intimate discussion among the participants, the U.S. Army War College faculty, and the Commandant of the College. However, the College has had up to 90 guests in previous staff rides. Without exception, this program has been extremely well-received by individuals and other participating groups.

For further information, please contact Harry Leach at harry.leach@usawc.org.