The Army Trains a Skeptics Corps to Battle Groupthink

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Red Team thinking and methodology is not new to the Army.
Excellent commanders develop staffs with people who provide the Red Team function. At the senior staff levels, officers who graduated from the Command and General Staff College and/or the War College have both the background, the moral courage, and the professional values to provide this function. I know. I served in the Army for 23 years and saw it routinely.
In fact one of the best "red team" guys I knew was our Brigade S-2. He would fearlessly and doggedly challenge the thinking of the Brigade commander and the rest of the staff (I was the S-4; logistics).
If the Red Team function or program per se is going to work, it has to be provided as part of structure - not in spite of structure. The best way is to train staff officers to provide this function.
The Army's experiment with Organizatonal Effectivness (today known as Organizational Development) is a prime example. It was killed as stand-alone program or specialty. However, it survived when its functionality (including training programs to develop the associated skills and knowledge)were re-introduced or transplanted into the Army's Inspector General program. The IG program moved from a predominant compliance or "got cha" focus to one of development and/or assistance. Much the same has to heppen with the Red Team approach.
I agree with the comments of Peeter Gruner. One should note he is a non-commmissioned officer, one who has to provide leadership where "the rubber meets the road". He knows what its like to have some outsider nipping at the heels of a plan like some dog nipping at someone on roller blades.
There is such a thing as a "good idea cut-off point" - the point at which no matter how good an idea is, it creates more opportunity costs that real ROI. Again, integrating Red Team knowledge and functionality into existing staff structures - probably the S-2 (Intelligence) or the S-3 (Operations) is the best way to go. I could see a Red Team cell or iindividual as value added in so intergrated.

Ed "Drive On!" Hampton of FL 5:26PM August 03, 2008

when i was in 6th grade my teacher nicknamed me "yea but". this was his way to encourage and reward me to question the established information. it is never easy to see clearly through tradition and the things that have always worked before. sometimes iit takes a cold hard bastard, beacause it is cold hard bastard work.

of 6:44AM May 30, 2008

The problem with "internal auditors" is the same as you see with lawyers, doctors, and legislators policing themselves for malpractice and ethics offences. Those professionals will tell you they are the most qualified for the job, but they appear to be the least motivated to do the job.
Having National Guard officers rather than Regular Army officers for the Red Team probably does a lot to diminish the "old boy" connection which might reduce the intensity of their questioning "school solutions".
Still, regular reviews by people as bright and inquiring as the usual civilian grand jury might be even more effective.

Chuck Asfahl of TX 7:00PM May 21, 2008

As a resume' I submit a copy of a letter I sent to the SecDef upon his appointment:
21 December 2006
Honorable Robert Gates
Secretary of Defense
1000 Defense Pentagon
Washington, DC 20301
Honorable Secretary,
Suppose a Predator aircraft equipped with a hellfire missile detects Osama Bin walking in a crowded Bagdad market. Do you order the shot? Suppose a Predator aircraft equipped with a hellfire missile detects Osama Bin Laden walking in a crowded Chicago market. Do you order the shot? When the President declared the end of major hostilities in Iraq these questions became morally equivalent. If you don’t believe this or you surround yourself with advisors that don’t believe these questions are morally equivalent, the United States cannot contribute to the establishment of a successful Iraqi government.
Thank you in advance for picking advisors that understand the Iraqi people have reacted the same as we or any other group of people would react under the same circumstances.
TFM Capt
USAF

TFM of OH 3:59PM May 19, 2008

A good commander should solicit comments and counter-arguments at the early stages of planning, just so he gets the maximum breadth of input. Once he has based his decisions on all that input, it should no longer be questioned except possibly by very close and trusted advisers. That is the way any effective army has always worked. To train a 'red team' to continuously question commanders' decisions can be very counterproductive.

Peeter Gruner, SFC USA (Ret) of CA 2:25PM May 19, 2008

Good idea. Any organization needs someone (similar to internal auditors) who hold established thought and policy up to the light and verify if it really works.

T of FL 2:10PM May 16, 2008