Lessons unlearned

Abstract

The British Army’s capacity for internal reflection and rapid change has been sapped by an insular, conformist culture. While the US Army has undergone a marked period of transformation after a period of open critical appraisal, no exercise, analogous in size and scope, has taken place in the UK. Here, the author argues that this orthodoxy must be challenged and a new ethos of creative tension instilled in the military. © 2009 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.