A Vision of Success: General Petraeus and the City of Mosul Army doctrine reference publication (ADRP) 6-0 describes mission command as “the exercise of authority and direction by the commander using mission orders to enable disciplined initiative within the commander’s intent to empower agile and adaptive leaders in the conduct of unified land operations (2012).” One component of mission command is to visualize. To visualize is to create a mental picture of a process and a result. Major General (MG) David Petraeus’ leadership in Mosul serves as a shining example of mission command visualization. MG Petraeus commanded the 101st Airborne as they conducted wide area security in the northern portion of Iraq and the city of Mosul less than …show more content…
MG Petraeus higher command had given him an objective: to “set the conditions for the battle hand-off” (Lundburg, 2006). It was his responsibility to visualize what this would look like in Mosul. Lundburg describes three parts of MG Petraeus’ operational vision: a secure environment, basic life services restored, and a return to normalcy for the population. These parts had to fit within his strategic level vision of supporting the U.S. national interest (2006). To reach these goals, he had to visualize a course of …show more content…
He started with investing in the future of Iraq. This involved paying for services rendered so support was not hard to get. The critical part of deciding where and how to spend the money involved collaboration and leadership to resolve dispute. By meeting the needs of the population, MG Petraeus was investing in the future of Mosul. Conclusion The mission command component, visualization is undoubtedly critical to the success of any mission. Commanders must be able to visualize an end state and a course of action. They must be able to articulate their vision and collaborate with others in order to refine their vision and create shared understanding. This process builds trust and a common sense of purpose. General Petraeus visualized an end-state and a course of action to meet the objectives. He created a shared understanding of this vision resulting in early successes in the reconstruction of