Written by Lt. Gen. Richard A. Hack, USA (Ret.)
MLF 2011 Volume: 5 Issue: 10 (November/December)
Team of Teams
The history of the United States is predicated on the tradition of rugged individualism nested in a team concept. From its very beginnings, America’s story is one of individuals and teams. From our Constitution’s “We, the people…,” the banding together of 13 colonies, to our country today, our societal DNA drives individuals to gravitate toward teams and then to teams within teams—creating an overall Team of Teams.
The Team of Teams notion was reinforced on my first duty assignment in the Army as a maintenance platoon leader. I quickly learned that I was part of a maintenance team. My company and battalion supported a larger team called the 194th Armored Brigade. I realized there was synergy in having all the oars moving in the same direction … that sharing a common purpose and embracing the same goal motivated individual troopers to underwrite the platoon’s mission and contribute to the success of each team within the larger team. The simplicity of seeking the common good ensured complex missions were executed to high standards. I learned that the best teams are formed when individuals and units embrace the notion of a common good greater than self—the whole being greater than the sum of its parts. This is the foundation of teamwork, and by extension, the Team of Teams.
Reviewing support of our nation’s wars throughout history reveals there has always been a Team of Teams. Even through structural and doctrinal changes in how forces are supported, the cornerstone of that support is a trinity of three teams melded together into a Team of Teams— Support Soldiers, Government Civilians and Contractors—never before have all three teams been so closely aligned, intertwined and interdependent. Soldiers, government civilians and contractors form a Team of Teams that has overwhelmed today’s logistics battlefield challenges. Each plays an integral role in the successful support of our forces.
Support Soldier Team: Logistics warriors do our nation’s bidding in a myriad of units, from the strategic to tactical level, in both Joint and Army organizations, and their service spans from the factory to the foxhole. At all levels, this team focuses on enabling the warfighter to meet national defense objectives. Their ethos is to support the warfighter. They are battletested veterans, exhibiting maturity and professionalism beyond their years. The Support Soldier Team binds the Team of Teams trinity together providing technical and tactical depth and breadth.
Government Civilian Team: There are unprecedented numbers of Department of Defense civilians executing today’s logistics missions in organizations from the homeland to the front lines. They share the heavy lifting with our support troopers. So many of our DoD civilians are forward deployed today. For example, depot and arsenal personnel are in harm’s way; not episodically, but constantly and in great numbers. Other DoD civilians are executing missions in tactical operations centers, on staffs, administering contracts; it’s truly amazing what our government civilian team is currently executing. Nested in the Team of Teams, this Government Civilian Team provides the continuity and technical depth necessary to keep the mission operating smoothly.
Contractor Team: When the history of America’s efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan is written, it will include several chapters about the admirable contributions of the contractor team. Their performance comes as no surprise, as many are former military, instilled with the values that service members hold dear. Much like their teammates, the Contractor Team has endured the dangers of war, grieved for its fallen, and nurtured its wounded. On the battlefield today, this team provides logistics mass to otherwise austere support formations. In many ways, the Contractor Team provides brute force logistics muscle and sinew to the Team of Teams that aids in overwhelming the logistics challenges encountered supporting the warfighter.
Soldier, Government Civilian, and Contractor Teams—this Team of Teams is an essential force multiplier that executes complex missions superbly, allowing the ‘tip of the spear’ to perform at peak effectiveness. The scale and scope of this Team of Teams from the homeland to the battlefield is huge, and its impact on the warfighter and the war fight is profound; some might say miraculous. Like the proverbial duck on the pond—appearing to glide across the water but furiously paddling below the surface—this team literally moves things along, providing food, fuel, ammunition, materiel and services across the globe. The common goal is to support the force. The remarkable scale, speed and quality of support provided by the Team of Teams are enabling victory in today’s operations.
Our forefathers called upon the states, with its minutemen and militias, to provide for their “common defense,” establishing the notion of individuals nested in teams and teams nested within teams. Embedded in our heritage, the trinity of Soldier, Government Civilian, and Contractor Teams, which I first experienced as a lieutenant, is fundamental to supporting the current war fight—together these teams form the Team of Teams. ♦
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Lieutenant General Richard A. Hack, USA, retired from the Army in 2005 after 33 years of service culminating in his assignment as deputy commanding general of Army Materiel Command after serving in the Army. He now serves as operations vice president for Fluor's Government Group. |