Core Competencies for an Army of Preparation

The U.S. Army's core competencies extend well be- yond sustained land combat. They adapt over time based on national strategy, changes in the opera- tional environment and advances in technology to provide fo- cus for capability and leader development. To be clear, the Army's core competencies are higher-level organizational de- scriptions that are distinct from tactical missions and tasks. The Army currently recognizes two core competencies and seven enabling competencies, but these must be refined as the Army transitions from a force of execution to one of preparation.

How the Army explains its contributions to joint and multinational forces is fundamental to how it prioritizes and develops capabilities, how combatant commanders decide to employ Army forces, and how national leaders perceive the rel- evance of the Army. The Army's role is often defined in terms of categories such as Title 10 requirements, strategic mission sets, warfighting functions and executive agent responsibilities. These areas, however, lack the operational framework that commanders can directly apply throughout the range of foun- dational activities, crisis operations and campaigns. Clearly identifying the Army's core competencies is the single most powerful expression of these contributions.

The idea of core competencies evolved from a manage- ment theory proposed in "The Core Competence of the Cor- poration," a 1990 Harvard Business Review article by C.K. Pra- halad and Gary Hamel. They describe core competencies as significant contributions of an organization that others find difficult to imitate. Core competencies are viewed as the col- lective knowledge and learning of an organization, which to- gether increase opportunities for new markets and provide value to the end user. Core competencies are not static. They can be lost if organizations cut internal investments in com- petencies or can become obsolete if organizations forgo de- veloping new competencies when the market demands them. As Rita Gunther McGrath wrote in the June 2013 book The End of Competitive Advantage, organizations must adapt their core competencies based on systematic innovation and the constant testing of their assumptions in order to remain successful. In light of these facts, it is beneficial to provide a perspective of the Army's ongoing analysis to adapt its core competencies.

The Evolution of Core Competencies

Historically, the Army has identified core competencies to define what it...