Foreword

Colonel Richard T. Strickland, MSM, CD, M.A.
Commandant Canadian Army Command and Staff College

Professional knowledge is not something that is magically granted to army officers and non-commissioned officers (NCO) when they decide to join the profession of arms. Rather, it is something that is cultivated deliberately by all members of the profession and successively built upon and expanded as an individual progresses in rank and experience. This guide offers a primer on one method that can be used by units and formations to enhance the professional development of their people: the staff ride.

Examining the history, the ground and the context in which operations were conducted affords military professionals unique opportunities to learn from those who have gone before. Looking at how decisions were made, the types of information that were drawn upon and the various factors that were weighed before giving an order are all aspects of our operational experience that can transcend the events themselves. As such, staff rides are a powerful tool that can literally put us on the same terrain as operational and tactical commanders (and their people), forcing us to walk a mile in their shoes as we consider how, or indeed whether, we might have done things differently.

Importantly, conducting a staff ride calls for a degree of understanding of both the continuities and the differences that exist between the context of the time when operations were conducted and now. Being able to discern these two aspects of a context calls for a degree of critical thinking in our people that must be developed and harnessed. In addition, speaking publicly and defending an argument for or against a course of action, as well as decisions made when lives were at risk, demands a degree of confidence and articulateness that all military professionals would benefit from possessing.

Ultimately, military operations come down to decisions made by humans susceptible to fatigue, deprivation, deception, indecision and biases, all of which affect the quality of the decisions made. When we acknowledge the cost, in human and moral terms, of each of these potential lessons, it is not an overstatement to assert that each of us has a moral obligation to learn from the experiences of our predecessors. To disregard them would be folly.