 But training soldiers in college is just contributing to the mess the world's already in. I want to become an officer as a byproduct. I also want to get a good education. And I think I've got both of them. The ability to help men and work with men is the thing about leadership that interests me. Trials and the tribulations that you live through trying to make the best of it. That you gain a real valuable experience in human relations. It's like losing years of your life. You have to be a leader in this life. You've just heard the thoughts of some young Americans looking toward their future and their role in the leadership of tomorrow. These young men, in basic training at Fort Dix, New Jersey, one of the US Army's large training centers, may also have in their ranks some of tomorrow's leaders. They are watching this man, who like themselves, has been in the Army only a short time. But he has already shown enough metal to be singled out as a man with leadership qualities and has been selected as a trainee leader. Right now, he's setting an example for the other man in his squad. If he can do it, they can do it. He's just as new at it as they are in the making. And how the United States Army provides dynamic leadership opportunities for the young men who serve their nation. Will you tell us a little about the Army's trainee leader program? We take the men as they come in from basic training from the reception center and we pick out the ones with the highest leadership qualities. And we give them responsibilities right off. What are some of the responsibilities of a trainee leader? Well, we have trainee squad leaders, trainee platoon sergeants, and a trainee field first sergeant. The important thing is he learns how to do responsibilities of handling men. Okay, fine. Thank you, sergeant. Well, how does it feel to have leadership responsibilities after being in the Army such a short time? Well, it feels pretty good to tell you the truth. I never thought I could do it. But you did do it, right? Yes, sir. Well, what would you say is the most important thing you get out of being a leader? Well, you get a sense of pride. You gain the respect of the men. You feel that you're really doing something. I feel also that the men gain a lot by having a fellow first and also enlisted help them show them how to do things. Fine, thanks. As never before, young Americans are rising to the challenge of leadership. Never before have so many young people been so determined to do their own individual thing, to strike out in new directions, to probe their own capabilities, and point the way for others in their generation to follow. They come from many different backgrounds. The great majority of them are bent on a genuine search for answers to today's problems. A very vocal minority pursue their search by disruption and often violence. But all share a restless search for meaning in a world of ferment. Whatever their directions, the young men of America also share a common responsibility to defend their country, a responsibility in which leadership is an integral part. As it has throughout history, leadership often emerges from controversy. The astronomer Galileo was attacked for his beliefs, which opposed the prevailing theories about the universe in his day. Some of the greatest leaders developed out of a climate of debate and dissent, but all were dedicated from their youth to constructive goals. Their call to leadership came out of an urgent need to build or preserve a wholesome society. Their actions came out of a crisis of belief. Young Americans in today's turbulent times are also in a crisis of belief. Where are their opportunities for constructive leadership to come from? What are some of the positive forces at work in our society that can lay the groundwork for the young leaders of our day? In communities throughout the country, focal points for the development of leadership traits in young people are religious institutions and community organizations, which offer meaningful programs of activities for various youth groups. Each other, we will walk hand in hand. We will walk each other, we will walk hand in hand. And together we'll spread the loose in our land and in our land. Young people can grow and develop an atmosphere of freedom and creativity in which the young people share not only in the decision-making process, which is of great importance, but also share in the responsibility. A basic aim is to encourage each individual in his search for identity and to do this in constructive manners that have deeply personal meaning. A lot of the shame, like the teachers, were against this underground newspaper. A lot of people were against this underground newspaper, like people throwing their views and ideas. You know, they actually took an interest in something. They showed that they had an interest in something. I don't think the people that persecute these people, that pray in this stuff, discussion groups such as these are encouraged among our young people in order to help them to crystallize their ideas. It's important that they be skilled in the decision-making process if they are to become responsible leaders of tomorrow. This is a very crucial age during which healthy patterns of behavior can be encouraged and developed as our young people grow into adulthood. It's always like you say that these people at least have enough guts to say what they believe. That's what they feel, that's what they should be able to do and not suffer for. Well, you're definitely wrong with doing that, but they don't have to use the language that they use. Well, that's how they're going to express it. I think that's the way they should do it. If someone can't spell it you in a head, you can say, oh, Mark, no. Yeah, but, you know, you can say the same thing without the language part. Respect for the people the language you use. No, when you're in pain, you don't have to much respect for anybody but you just share the lack of vocabulary. Just looking for attention and doing that to get through the whole thing. Before it wasn't maybe even that, and you just line away, turn it off. No, it's exactly the same thing. They're going to form a line that they can use to get their point of view. But I'm not sure I'll have to put it in. They can't speak too well, man. Maybe they have to line it up, people want to look into it more. They have more respect. From the vast and diverse pool of young men in the civilian community, the Army must draw its soldiers for the defense of our nation and its military commitments. Whether he comes from a climate of healthy inquiry, or whether he chooses to express himself in other ways, today's young man has wide opportunities within the United States Army to channel his energies into constructive leadership goals. His first chance in an Army leadership situation is the trainee leader program, where the men who show early signs of initiative and ability to lead are carefully screened for future assignment. How do you get Balacite Zero on a M16? Shoot at a 25 meter target, adjusting the windage and elevation to hit the center of the target. What, in your estimation, are the attributes of a good leader? Know the mission, know the condition of the man, be just, but tactic, and be tactical in his mission. Which is more important, the mission or the men? The mission. If you overheard one of your men talking, and he said that he was going AWOL, what would you do? I'd approach a man and see if I could help him myself, see what his problem was, if nothing I could do, I'd have to go to my immediate superior. If you were in charge of a platoon, and I'm in command to move out, one man failed to move, what would you do? The question is too broad for a specific answer. One of the jobs of a trainee leader is to act as kind of a tutor. We watch the men in our squad during training, spot the ones who need a little extra work, and get them aside whenever we get a chance. Maybe during chow out on the range. The barracks area during off-duty time is another good place. We can help some of the men put in a little extra work on their lessons if they need it. Gentlemen, as a leader you have the basic responsibility of being an instructor. You must then learn to speak clearly and persuasively when you're trying to get your men to learn something in order to be a good member. One of the essentials of leadership is the ability to speak effectively. The trainee leaders receive a course in methods of instruction. Each man getting a chance to make a sample presentation, which will then be critiqued by the other men and the instructor. But that the strike of the bullet must move to the right two spaces. In order to do this, you will move the windage drum four clicks in the direction of the arrow, bringing the strike of the bullet. So leadership army style starts right at the beginning. If he's with it as a trainee leader, if he digs the job and can get results, if he can help his sergeants build a unit into a team, the way up the leadership ladder is open. A man can help his climb to leadership by increasing his knowledge of army specialties. Following his basic training, he may take various classes in combat support activities, which may lead to supervisory positions. We start to inspect the steering system. We'll start from the top steering wheel, work right down through the linkage, and into the road wheels. The student who learns and can demonstrate clearly what he has learned is already well on his way to being a leader. We talk with the adjutant of the third basic training brigade at Fort Dix, who keeps track of the progress of the new soldiers. Lieutenant, what are some of the qualities the army command looks for in singling out potential leaders? Such things as a man's appearance, his manner of speaking, his educational background, his decisiveness, and perhaps most important, his willingness to accept responsibility. Does the army find that today's young man is more or less willing to accept responsibility than, say, in previous years? Generally, he's more willing. In today's army, there are many more younger men in decision making positions. He used to take a man several years to become a non-commissioned officer. Today, a man can achieve that rank in 16 to 18 months or sometimes even less. But the most significant thing about our army is the fact that a man can be doing a job before he attains the rank. Generally, the leaders in our army assume much more responsibility than the civilian leaders of the same age. This company commander has just turned 21. In age, he is very little older than the many commanders. That brings him close enough to them to understand their thinking, their sensitivities, their hangups. He also brings to his job a knowledge and an assurance way beyond his years. These men have been in the army in average of six months. They have taken a big step up the leadership ladder. They are students at one of the U.S. Army officer candidate schools. Average age? 22. Over 60% have college degrees. They will study and train for six months and come out as second lieutenants in the United States Army. Instructor, counselor, and friend to OCS candidates is tactical officer first lieutenant William Souser, age 25. As tech officer, he knows the candidates well from close daily observation. Lieutenant Souser, what are some of the elements involved in OCS leadership development? The training in the officer candidate regiment is based on the premise that leaders are made and not born. A man has to have certain basic qualities of leadership to begin with, but these are often latent. Many of the men never had an opportunity to show initiative or organizational ability. Our job is to guard these qualities out, show them how to use their talents both for their own advancement and for helping others. How do they take the officer training generally? Is it something they get the hang of very quickly? Do they basically like the idea of being in charge of other men? Yes, I think they do. Once they develop enough self-confidence to understand the degree of responsibility that goes with being a commissioned officer. Some OCS men are pretty hesitant at first. We do present them with a pretty heavy schedule of training and leadership problems. But they see others in the platoon doing the job and doing it well, and then they become willing to take up the challenge. Each officer candidate learns the fundamentals of his job. Before his training is over, he'll be able to give as well as follow instructions. Your platoon mission is to build a tool shed by the S-4 section by 1200 hours. Your tools and equipment are located there. Your lumber is by the S-3 section. Mr. Swanson, you've been designated platoon leader. Come forward and take charge of your platoon. Canada Vic, take three men for your design and lay out the building and level your footer. Canada Bollins? Private Bollins, this time I'd like you to explain to the court in your own words why you're absent without authority. I had family problems, sir. Private Bollins, you can choose a party leading on his absence to receive an urgent phone call. Well, I have chosen the grounds of offenses leading the witness. Okay, hold the question. That was a leading question, and it isn't objectionable as a leading question. However, since this is an extenuation of mitigation proceeding, we'll allow a little greater leeway in the question. But the defense camp will try to rephrase that question anyway. I'm your platoon leader, spear platoon sergeant of Donald 1st Squad Leader. Here's your mission. First platoon will move from the line of departure at Uniform Tango 1150-8600 with 1,500 hours. Practical field problems test the decision-making abilities of the officer candidate and hold their positions until 1,600 hours. Private Strahm, do you have 10 minutes to get your men to form and move out? Do you have any questions? Maybe I want you and Thornton to go down about 150 meters around that bend of the road and I want you to set up an observation post. Or do you go with him as a runner, and I can count your equipment, your water, your ammunition? Any questions? Okay. Move out. Though he must know and obey all the rules and regulations, he must also know how to apply them under swiftly changing circumstances. OCS leadership training emphasizes flexibility and judgment, as well as decisiveness. This is day triple six Romeo, wait one, over. Sir, patrol leader. Day triple four, this is day triple six. Over. Roger, acknowledge them and are secured. Out. Whatever army specialty he will be commissioned in, the officer candidate at the beginning of his training learns self-discipline and courtesy as the basis for all leadership. We talked about leadership with some of the candidates in the mess hall after they'd finished child. Now, candidate Mueller, as a candidate, are you allowed to question or debate anything, including rules and regulations? Yes, sir. Through counseling and evaluation, the candidate can determine and discuss problems with their tactical officers and determine how they are progressing in the program. And at the end of leadership problems, they can discuss the methods to use in order to solve the problems. Thank you. Candidate Ward, what is your opinion of the leadership program at OCS? Sir, the leadership program at the officer candidate regiment is what each individual candidate makes of it. The regiment presents the opportunity, but it remains for the individual to develop his potential. Thank you. Candidate Taylor, what's the caliber of your instructors? Sir, the caliber of the instructors here is quite high, due primarily to the fact that they are selected for recent graduates of the old program. Thank you. This is the University of Connecticut, one of the country's large institutions of higher learning. These students at the university are participants in ROTC, the Reserve Officers' Training Program. They receive limited instruction in various military subjects, including development of physical stamina and self-discipline. The ROTC program is specifically designed to give college men on campus training and experience in the art of organizing, motivating, and leading others. Most of the training consists of classroom presentations and discussions on subjects which have military application, but which also develop general leadership ability. The administrators of the ROTC program here emphasize the fact that the man in ROTC is a civilian and his relationship with his instructors is of a student professor nature. The ROTC program at this university, like most other colleges and universities throughout the country today, is a voluntary program. The students are in it because they want to. We try to show them the variety of jobs available to them in the military. Contrary to what many young men think, there are a large number of non-combat skills required for army operations. Perhaps the most important ability is managerial ability, the ability to organize and the ability to solve problems. A broad-based academic college background gives the young men an excellent foundation for preparing for a military career or a career in the civilian community. University students who are taking the ROTC program, as well as those who do not take the training, have very definite ideas on the subject. Officers pay is pretty good and the experience should help me later in business. The way I see it is, if you're going to get in anyway, you might as well travel first class. Peace is my bag. I don't believe in fighting. These guys that burned down our ROTC buildings are looking at this way. We're volunteering to do the fighting for them. ROTC is another tool of the military industrial conspiracy. They teach leadership. That's what I like about ROTC. With few exceptions, the top men in tomorrow's governmental, business, and professional activities will come from today's college students. They will be the men who have the ability, the will, and the opportunity to prepare for positions of leadership. They get this opportunity in ROTC. No picture of young American leaders would be complete without a look at the United States Military Academy at West Point, one of the country's most distinguished educational institutions. The point has been the subject of many motion pictures, books, feature stories, and other types of presentations. It has always had a kind of built-in integrity, an image of young leadership that has caught the imagination of Americans since its establishment in 1802. Among its almost 30,000 graduates, it lists such names as Dwight D. Eisenhower, Douglas MacArthur, John J. Pershing, Ulysses S. Grant, Robert E. Lee, and astronauts Mike Collins, Frank Borman, and Edwin Barzaldra. The primary purpose of the Academy is, of course, the training of future military leaders, West Point graduates like those in OCS and ROTC are commissioned as second lieutenants in the United States Army. What is not so well known is that West Point provides its students with a dynamic broad liberal education, considered in academic circles among the finest in the country. Classes are kept small, down to as few as 12 or 15 men, so that individual attention may be given to each student. Many of the courses are science-oriented, giving the cadets a broad technological knowledge with its wide applications for the civilian as well as the military environment. The sum total of all courses at West Point adds up to one goal, leadership. An important element in the development of this goal is the function of the Office of Military Psychology and Leadership. Colonel Buckley, as Director of the Office of Military Psychology and Leadership, what is your approach to leadership development within the confines of the U.S. Military Academy? I think of leadership development as a total process. It involves all the elements of the Military Academy program. You know, Vince, a young man comes to the point with a potential for leadership. We selected him because he's done relatively well in his academic subjects. He's demonstrated an adequate level of physical ability. He's a sound moral character, and he's highly motivated to succeed. In addition to that, very likely he's held a leadership position. He may have been president of his class, captain of an athletic team, or an officer in an extracurricular activity. Now with this potential for leadership, we see the process working in three major areas. The first of these areas I think is education. The second area in which the leadership development program works is skills. Professional skills, of course. Weapons, tactics, the management of resources, and so on. And equally as important, human relations skills. Now this involves the understanding of human behavior and of the processes involved in group behavior. The third and very important element in this process is attitude formulation. This is emphasized by the Academy's motto, duty, honor, country. With this background, we hope they go out with a good solid foundation on which they can continue to build. I don't say that they are polished leaders. They go out of here hopefully prepared to continue their leadership development throughout their military careers. For eight weeks during their second summer at West Point, Cadets get a workout at Camp Buckner, about seven miles from the Academy. Here they receive a varied program of training, emphasizing special military skills. This is the only portion of their four-year course that concentrates on the purely combat aspects of leadership. Ancient Rome referred to the ideal human condition as a sound mind in a sound body. These young men at West Point, leaders of tomorrow, are the embodiment of that ideal. They are trained for leadership positions, whether in the military or in civilian life. They are already shaping the society in which they will live. We have no assurance as to what that society will be like. What we do know is that it can be helped by education and character-building goals, which are the basis for Army leadership programs. Many of these men will remain in the service as dedicated career officers, with the knowledge and self-respect that comes from playing a guiding role in the defense of their nation. Others may return to civilian life, enriched by their experience here, better able to serve their community needs and benefit their own personal lives. One thing is certain. Never have so many young Americans had greater opportunities to move forward toward leadership in the service of their country.