Officers’ beliefs in how to lead

This research interprets and compares experiences of organizing military training and the beliefs in how to lead of seventy-two interviewed Ukrainian, U.S., and Swedish company commanders. The beliefs of company commanders´ in how to lead is an area unexplored by previous research.

The study finds that their core beliefs are similar regardless of nationality, which is new knowledge with relevance in the debates on strategic culture, military culture, and military profession. The argument of this interpretation is that the interviewees´ beliefs about leading are quite similar despite their nationally different contexts. This study argues for an understanding of ends, ways, and means in organizing training grounded in the beliefs of commanders who have seen and felt force re-generation.