Understanding and Fostering ‘Will to Fight’
“In war, the moral is to the physical as three is to one.” Two centuries ago, Napoleon highlighted the importance of individual and collective fighting spirit over arms and equipment. Today, it’s easy to discount the human element of warfare. Unmanned platforms and precision guided munitions can make war seem impersonal and automated. But even the most advanced weapons are useless in the hands of militaries that are unwilling or unable to employ them. As Patton said “Wars may be fought with weapons, but they are won by men.” With this in mind, it’s important to explore why individual and collective will to fight is important, what it’s comprised of, and how we, as leaders, can foster it within our formations.
Its Importance
When the Russian military commenced its rapid assault toward Kyiv, the United States watched anxiously hoping that the Ukrainians would fight. At the time, the 2021 collapse of the Western trained and equipped Afghan Defense Forces loomed large in American collective memory. Despite Russia’s overwhelming technological and materiel advantages, the Ukrainians halted their advance, driving them from Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Kherson. While Western support and Russian blunders certainly played a role, the Ukrainian soldier’s disposition to take up arms, carry on, and win made the difference. Ukraine reminded the world that wars aren’t won by arms alone, but by the grit of men and women.
Ukraine reminded the world that wars aren’t won by arms alone, but by the grit of men and women.
Americans should be intimately familiar with the role fighting spirit plays in military outcomes. Eisenhower characterized the war against Nazism as a “great crusade” to eliminate “tyranny over oppressed people.” This mantra fueled the rapid advance of Allied troops across Europe. Despite possessing technological superiority, soldiers in Vietnam struggled to connect with the cause. The campaign ended in withdrawal and the dramatic evacuation of Saigon. As military leaders, we should know that the intangible human element is decisive, the difficult part is understanding and fostering it.
A Framework
After the Islamic State nearly overran the Iraqi Security Forces in 2014, the US Army recognized the need for a deeper understanding of what comprises an individual’s disposition to fight. Rand explored the issue and established a helpful framework to describe contributing factors, characterizing them as Motivations, Capabilities, and Culture.
Rand explored the issue and established a helpful framework to describe contributing factors, characterizing them as Motivations, Capabilities, and Culture.
Of the three factors, Motivations have the greatest impact on individual will to fight. Motivations are a soldier’s raison d’etre and, mirroring Maslow’s Hierarchy, range from being as basic as food and shelter or abstract as self-fulfillment. Militaries appeal to individual motivators through a variety of ways, exemplified by the US Army’s offer to “be all you can be” or Wagner Group’s promise of criminal pardons for military service. Motivations are formed during adolescence and change depending on circumstances. When cornered, individuals are motivated to survive. This is reflected in the famous Sun Tzu adage “do not press a desperate foe too hard.”
The next largest contributing factor is Capabilities, which can be thought of in terms of quality and competence. Quality is the basic mental and physical traits of incoming recruits derived from education, societal influences, and physical fitness. Competence is the military education that results in skilled and lethal service members. Enforcing minimum eligibility requirements and engaging in tough and realistic training produces formations that are more likely to fight and persevere when called upon.
Unlike Motivations and Capabilities, Culture is wholly maintained at the organizational level. Positive cultures promote soldier-to-soldier bonding through shared experience and commitment to a common cause. Organizations with good cultures provide troops the expectation of support; that the unit will care for them, be competent, and risk their lives only when necessary. During the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the US adhered to the “Golden Hour” planning consideration, ensuring that critical medical facilities for troops were always less than an hour away. With this in mind, service members were more willing to risk harm to accomplish the mission.
A subset of Culture is espirit de corps, a French term that means group spirit. Espirit de corps is “when a soldier thinks his army is the best in the world, his regiment the best in the army, his company the best in the regiment, his squad the best in the company, and that he himself is the best blankety-blank soldier in the outfit.” Successful organizations encourage individuals to develop part of their identity in relation to the unit. This is an inconstant but highly influential force multiplier.
Fostering It
Will to fight isn’t static. It can be cultivated within formations by leveraging contributing factors. Leaders that understand individual motivations, hone soldier competency, and promote a positive organizational culture will have a force more disposed to fight.
Below are ten ways military leaders can foster will to fight within their formations. Employing these tried and true practices bolsters the likelihood that your formation will continue to fight, even when the going gets tough.
10 Ways
1. Don’t Overlook Class I – Individuals are motivated first and foremost by their basic needs. If you want your troops to win, keep their bellies full.
2. Help Troops “Be All They Can Be” – Whether it’s schools, badges, or awards, provide opportunities for meaningful military experiences and recognition that has an impact on personal identity. If individuals place value and pride in being a service member, they’re more likely to put their lives on the line for the organization’s cause.
3. Leverage Ideology – Shared ideals are a powerful motivator and individuals love to rally behind a cause. Unifying behind a shared ideology is a great way to ensure a formation will fight.
4. Adhere to the Standard – Whether it’s a physical fitness assessment or mental aptitude test, baseline standards increase the overall quality of the Force. Enforcing these standards provides a higher caliber fighting pool.
5. Engage in Tough and Realistic Training – To fight, individuals must have confidence in their abilities and equipment. If soldiers aren’t trained to succeed in modern war, they won’t be effective.
6. Share Experiences – Cohesion is formed through shared experiences. Deliberately incorporate these in your unit to promote bonding, comradery, and trust.
7. Be Competent – Soldiers fight harder if they trust in their leaderships’ ability to accomplish tasks and win. Incompetence is poisonous to morale.
8. Provide Support – Much like the “Golden Hour” in casualty evacuation, providing troops with the expectation of support bolsters willingness to fight.
9. Maintain Control – Whether leveraging coercion or persuasion, leaders must keep organizational control over their formations. Units with more discipline are more inclined to persevere.
10. Foster Espirit de Corps – Every unit cultivates their own mystique, although some do it better than others. A strong organizational identity can act as a force multiplier in combat.
Final Thoughts
Ashraf Ghani and Volodymr Zelensky – both Presidents were charged with leading their governments during times of crisis and the immediate lead-up to it. While Ghani fled Kabul as the Taliban closed in as leader of perhaps the most well equipped Afghan Army to date, Zelensky remained in Kyiv under Russian bombardment vastly outnumbered and gunned by the Russians. Today, the Afghan government is in exile, while Ukraine continues to resist. This final example is one of many that demonstrates the power that leadership can have on individual and collective will. The most important factor that informs national, organizational, and unit dispositions to fight are competent and capable leaders. If you want your formation to fight and persevere, be all that you can be, and attempt to imbue your organization with the will to fight.
Jake Conrad is an active duty Major currently serving in the Army Staff G-8.
Opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not represent those of the United States Army, the Department of Defense, or the United States Government.