HUMAN RESOURCES SENIOR LEADERS COURSE 42A CONDUCT ESSENTIAL LEADERSHIP TRAINING FACILITATED ARTICLE Version 1.0 March 2018
U.S. ARMY SOLDIER SUPPORT INSTITUTE Noncommissioned Officer Academy Human Resources Senior Leaders Course Facilitating the Discussion Facilitators can orchestrate discussions using the following questions to help choreograph group discussion/class participation. The sequence of the questions builds logically from a taxonomy point of view, i.e., a lower level of learning/thinking to a higher level of learning/thinking, by moving from comprehension of the material to a synthetic or evaluative discussion of the material. Facilitators should ask open-ended questions and allow the students to respond. Facilitators should also ask questions that cause students to interact. A facilitator s goal should be ensuring that students do not participate in synthetic or evaluative discussion until confirming that the basic concepts and key points of the article are clarified and fully understood. Don t forget to be patient after posing a question and use silence to your advantage. Lastly, remember it s the facilitator s job to include everyone in the discussion. Adapted from The Miniature Guide to Critical Thinking: Concepts and Tools, Richard Paul and Linda Elder, Foundation of Critical Thinking, 2001. 1.The main purpose of this article is. (State as clearly as possible the author s purpose for writing the article.) 2. The Key question that the author is addressing is. (Figure out the key question in the mind of the author when s/he wrote the article.) 3.The most important information in this article is. (Figure out the facts, experiences, data the author is using to support his/her conclusions.) 4. The main inferences/conclusions in this article are. (Identify the key conclusions the author comes to and presents in the article.) 5.The key concept(s) we need to understand in this articles is (are). By these concepts the author means. (Figure out the most important ideas you would have to understand in order to understand the author s line of reasoning.) 6. The main assumptions(s) underlying the author s thinking is (are). (Figure out what the author is taking for granted [that might be questioned.) 7.a) If we take this line of reasoning seriously, the implications are. (What consequences are likely to follow if people take the author s line of reasoning seriously?) 2
THE ARCTIC REGION A ground-based interceptor missile is emplaced in July 2006 at the Missile Defense Complex, Fort Greely, Alaska. Alaska s location makes the state a critical component of the nation s ballistic missile defense system. (Photo courtesy of the U.S. Army) Why Alaska and the Arctic are Critical to the NationalSecurity ofthe United States Col. Michael J. Forsyth, U.S.Army Over the past fiveyears, Russia has moved aggressivelyto build its Arctic military capabilities, apparently in an effort to secure its claims and interests in the region. 1 Increasingly, human activity is occurring in the Arctic as the sea ice recedes and economic opportunity opens to nations via new shipping MILITARY REVIEW January-February 2018 113
lanes. Characteristically, in any geographical area, with the rise in human activity there is also the corresponding possibility that frictionwilloccur as people compete to exploit the natural resources and corresponding economic possibilities. Suchfriction and potentialconflict in the Arctic is highly likely at some point unless preparations are made to mitigate it. Alaska makes the United States an Arctic nation, and its location places the state and country at the center of this fast-evolving region. 2 Thus, Alaska is critical to the national security of the United States; however, we arenot, as a nation, keeping pace with the rapidly changing security situation in thearctic. Lagging here could also have an enormous impact on our economy. To change this dynamic, there are several things that the U.S. military can do to ensure the future security of the region. Alaska sgeostrategic Importance Alaskais the most strategic placeon earth, stated Brig. Gen. Billy Mitchell in testimony before Congress in 1935. 3 The reason for this bold statement is that Alaska is the closest U.S. location to the center of the Northern Hemisphere (see figure 1). The state is singularly closer to many national capitals in the hemisphere than most points in the lower forty-eight states. This makes Alaska the perfect power projection platform for the United States from a military standpoint. Further, because Alaska sits astride the Bering Strait chokepoint and the Great Circle Routes between North America and Asia as can be seen in figure2 (on page 115), it is criticalto our economic andnational security. 4 The air lanes and sealanes of the Great CircleRoutes are heavilytrafficked by shipping companies because (Graphic courtesy of North American Aerospace Defense Command[NORAD]; used in an Alaskan Command and Alaska NORAD Region command briefing. Alaska is close to the center of the hemisphere and Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson [ JBER] is uniquely positioned to project power. The distances depicted in nautical miles are to select world capitals from JBER.) Figure 1. The Northern Hemisphere from the Perspective of the North Pole they shorten the distance between the two continents, saving time and money for shippers. Consequently, the city of Anchorage and Alaska are at the center of existing commercial shipping lanes between East and West. Anchorage, at roughly the halfway point between the major commerce centers of North America and Asia, is an important hub for such international corporations as Federal Express and DHL. 5 Moreover, many nations such as China and Russia are routinely making use of these routes for their economic benefit. However, while Alaska is critical to intercontinental shipping now, emerging routes due to shrinking ice impediments could raise the state s economic stature to even greater heights. The retreat of ice coverage in the Arctic Ocean has opened up the potential for shipping along the Northern Sea Route and the fabled Northwest 114 January-February 2018 MILITARYREVIEW
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