Although FM 22-100 has proved its worth through the actions of its practitioners in Kuwait, Rwanda, Haiti and Bosnia, it has several areas that need improvement. While the vignettes and discussion of combat leadership dilemmas are both interesting and thought-provoking and should be retained in any revision, they do not reflect the gamut of challenges facing today's junior leaders. While developing moral, ethical and successful combat leaders is, and must remain, both the purpose and the end state of Army leadership doctrine, this doctrine must thoroughly address the peacetime development of combat leaders as well. Exceptional leaders, such as those cited in the 1990 FM 22-100, did not simply appear on battlefields. They developed as leaders over years of hard, unglamorous work as peacetime soldiers in preparation for a few critical moments in combat.
Character is a habit.
It is a moral quality which grows to maturity in peace and is not suddenly developed in war. The 1990 FM 22-100 lacks a set of guidelines and questions that junior leaders can use to assess themselves during routine, peacetime training. 3 Peacetime development of combat leadership. These observations reinforce the imperative to maximize leader training prior to conflict. The challenge of specificity.