Command and General Staff College Foundation News Spring 2021 - 11

Leading and shaping
the future force in CGSS
by Lt. Col. James Cook
CGSS Director of Academic Operations
2021 continue
while simultaneously
balancing the challenges of life within a global pandemic.
Among many things, the rigor of the Command and General
Staff Officer's Course prepares U.S. and international
officers for uncertainty and risk, but it is altogether a
different challenge to educate and win in that same type
of environment. Our students, faculty, and staff have
risen to the challenge and continue to thrive during these
unprecedented times.
Our greatest opportunities to shape the future are often
revealed during challenging times, and the leadership at
Army University and the Combined Arms Center have
seized upon that occasion. The Command and General
Staff School (CGSS) has integrated multiple assessments
intended to help both the individual officer and the Army
implement more optimal career paths while also serving
as a guide for individual officer development. The Center
for the Army Profession and Leadership (CAPL) has
developed eight new assessments for CGSC students
under Project Athena. The CAPL describes Project Athena
as " an Army leader development program designed to
inform and motivate Soldiers to embrace personal and
professional development. Adding to the Army's culture of
assessments, Project Athena uses batteries of assessments
to increase a Soldiers self-awareness of leadership skills
and behaviors, cognitive abilities, and personal traits and
attributes. Assessment batteries are strategically selected
to compliment the leadership skills being developed at a
the cgsoc students of the class of

to run the academic gauntlet

Col. Scott Green
Director, CGSS

number of Army schools. For each assessment completed,
students receive a feedback report with their scores and
information about how to interpret their scores. "
Additionally, the Army Talent Management Task Force
(ATMTF), under the direction of the Army G1, has
developed a CGSC Student assessment that " measures
CGSC student's readiness and fit for specific jobs through
the use of validated Knowledge, Skills, and Behaviors
(KSBs) that will inform the Army Talent Alignment Process
(ATAP) and optimize talent alignment while serving as a
self-development tool that enhances Career Coaching. " This
academic year, students will take all of the assessments in
April. Subsequent classes will take them in August as part
of the integration process.
To further balance and foster talent throughout the
Army, CGSS has implemented and is now executing
the Tailorable, Talent-based Military Education Level
4 (TTBM4) program, which is focused on bringing the
right officers to Fort Leavenworth at the right time. It also
insures that a broader group of Army officers gets the Fort
Leavenworth experience. Army University gained approval
to begin Phase I for academic year 2022, which will usher
in two separate groups of 64 students throughout the year.
The first group will arrive this summer and execute the
Common Core course, and the second group will arrive
in the fall to execute the Advanced Operations Course. In
two years, these two groups will grow to 192 each and will
remain a foundational characteristic of CGSC for years to
come.

PHOTO BY DAN NEAL/ARMYU PUBLIC AFFAIRS

- continued on page 12

CGSOC Class
of 2021 students
work together on
a mission during
the Advanced
Operations Course
portion of their year
at CGSC.

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Command and General Staff College Foundation News Spring 2021

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