Qualities of a warrior

Leadership is often a human attribute expanded beyond the normal qualities of courage, perseverance, endurance and the like. Which should have the inherent capacity to combine, sift and analyse the essentials of a given situation with some flair, intuition and maybe a bit of luck. The leader is consequently able to come to the right decision in a manner that may often transcend rationality and be at variance with the obvious solution. In the end it must be remembered that leadership is an art, not a science. It is a talent, which some people have and others do not.
To be a successful leader, a person’s professional knowledge and physical fitness must be superior to that of the men he leads. He must inculcate confidence in his subordinates who must trust him and his ability and consistency in decision-making. The officers and men in his command must have complete confidence in the belief that their leader has the ability, professional competence and determination to accomplish the task assigned to him in peace and during war with the minimum loss of lives. The outstanding commanders of the second world war seen in victory and defeat are a good study of the value of professional knowledge to a military leader
All officers whether in command of troops or in staff assignments must have the ability to pick up the essentials of a problem and the ability to find suitable and tactically feasible answers. The commanders must keep away from details, which correctly belong to the domain of the staff and should be left there. The commander must have time to think and plan ahead. In fact he should be concentrating on the next battle or the second phase of the present conflict.
Training and discipline are two essential responsibilities of the officers. They have to ensure that their subordinates are well trained and have a high standard of discipline. There should be no compromise in these two fields as they are absolutely essential for success in war. It was amply brought out during the second world war that units and regiments that were well trained, had good discipline and were ably led did well in combat, under the stress and strain of battle. They fained better in prisoner of war camps as well. Decision making is the most important function of an officer’s military career, greater attention should therefore be given to this aspect during peacetime. Army officers at every level of command are taking decisions concerning their responsibilities at all times, and they should certainly be encouraged to do so. As an officer is elevated in rank and responsibility however, the tendency to impinge on the field of responsibility and decision making authority, of the subordinate level is intense, but should be resisted. One of the attributes of a good military leader is to leave decision making at its appropriate

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