Topic: Leadership
Command Characteristics
Men against Fire; the Problem of Battle Command in Future War, S.L.A. Marshall, Colonel, AUS, 1947
The characteristics which are required in the minor commander if he is to prove capable of preparing men for and leading them through the shock of combat with high credit may therefore be briefly described:
(1) Diligence in the care of men.
(2) Administration of all organizational affairs such as punishments and promotions according to a standard of resolute justice.
(3) Military bearing.
(4) A basic understanding of the simple fact that soldiers wish to think of themselves as soldiers and that all military information is nourishing to their spirits and their lives.
(5) Courage, creative intelligence, and physical fitness.
(6) Innate respect for the dignity of the position and the work of other men.