Mentoring Perceptions in the Military

Abstract

Abstract : Currently, military organizations report that junior officers are expressing some dissatisfaction with formally developed mentoring relationships. In some agencies, senior officers are tasked with the responsibility for implementing mentoring relationships. This paper analyzes military mentoring programs using input from senior military officers who are attending U. S. Army War College (U.S. AWC) Class of 2002. The analysis attempts to discover the underlying problems that may be leading to ineffective mentoring relationships. The concepts of organizational diagnosis are the foundation of this analysis Porras' (1987) stream analysis method was used as a tool to identify and categorize problems. A second in-depth analysis was conducted by reviewing 64 papers written on the topic of Army Mentorship. At the request of COL Gregg Martin (US AWC Professor), the student body voluntarily submitted these essays for review. (The mentoring topic was chosen by the US AWC to test the writing skills of its American student body.) The paper will attempt to distinguish between symptoms and root causes and provides nine recommendations with implementation strategies for improvements.