George C. Marshall Seminar 22-24FEB16

The 2016 George C. Marshall (GCM) Seminar was held at the Command and General Staff College (CGSC) at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. CGSC is an Army graduate school that prepares field grade officers for staff and command positions and is extremely prestigious – it proved to be the perfect setting to foster the profound leadership lessons and strategic discussion that defined the GCM Seminar.
During the 3-day event, the top Cadets from ROTC and the USMA (West Point) convened to receive mentorship from senior Army leaders and to discuss three primary topics; Complexity in the World Today, Winning in a Complex World, and Force 2025 and Beyond.

In addition to the fantastic speakers, there were several panel discussions, including:

• International Liaison Panel with Officers from the Canadian, French, Brazilian, British, and US armies.
• Leadership Engagement Panel with several former GCM Award Winners ranging from Logistics to Infantry.

Cadets also participated in round table discussions in small groups that focused on discussion of the complexity of the world and how to win in a complex world. Discussions ranged from talk about the future operational environment to interoperability among foreign militaries.

Overall, the seminar was fantastic. The most significant sentiment that I took away from the experience is that the Army is truly a people business. Every single senior leader echoed this during their talks with us, albeit with their own unique experiences used to substantiate the claim. In addition to this lesson, I have roughly 10 pages of phenomenal leadership lessons that ring true both in military and civilian life, lessons that I am going to bring back to my ROTC Battalion and fellow Cadets.

To learn more about the award, please see http://www.marshallarmyrotc.org/history.html