Exploring Haiku in Military Leadership Training
In a recent leadership training program, military officers were given a unique challenge: to express the complexities of World War II’s Pacific Theater through the concise art of haiku poetry.
The initiative, aimed at field grade and warrant officers, sought to refine their communication skills in a novel way.
Originating from Japan, haiku comprises three lines that follow a strict 5-7-5 syllable count.
Traditionally, these poems celebrate the beauty of nature, making their use in military contexts—including discussions about strategies against Japan—a fascinating twist.
Allyson McNitt, an editor for several Army publications, provided insight into this unconventional educational method in her article for Military Review.
She shared her experiences of employing similar techniques with civilian audiences and suggested that the format could help military personnel clarify and simplify complex ideas.
The Challenge of Effective Communication
McNitt highlighted a common challenge among many service members: effective communication.
Recognizing the crucial role of clear expression in military leadership, the haiku exercise challenged officers to articulate sophisticated concepts succinctly.
This approach also aimed to encourage innovative thinking—an essential quality for successful strategists.
The exercise unfolded during the spring semester of 2023 at the School of Advanced Military Studies, situated at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
This program targets majors, lieutenant colonels, and select senior warrant officers preparing for higher-level planning roles, ultimately culminating in a master’s degree in military operations.
Participants not only crafted haikus but also brought their ideas to life using a variety of creative tools—colored pencils, dry-erase markers, and crayons—to sketch the foundational elements of American multi-domain operations in the Solomon Islands, utilizing both paper and whiteboards.
Insights from the Workshop
Initially, some students viewed the task as trivial.
However, the main goal was to demonstrate how crucial it is to distill complicated information into digestible pieces.
McNitt noticed that, as the officers engaged with the activity, its true worth emerged, particularly when they considered how to convey intricate military strategies within the haiku’s restrictions.
Marine Maj.
Joshua Chambers, one of the participants, noted that the exercise illuminated the potential for varied interpretations of a single idea.
He emphasized that participants found success by putting themselves in their peers’ shoes, which enhanced their communication skills.
Over the three-day workshop, students analyzed significant U.S. military strategies in the Pacific, studying crucial battles such as those in the Solomon Islands, the Battle of Guadalcanal, and the conquest of Rabaul in Papua New Guinea.
This exploration resonated with current U.S. military strategies focused on that region, offering rich material for poetic creativity.
Each student was given 20 minutes to outline what they thought were key elements of multi-domain operations.
This was followed by another 15 minutes where they reviewed their classmates’ visual models and composed haikus reflecting those interpretations.
The haikus produced were diverse, with some echoing the jargon typical of Pentagon documents.
While they elicited laughter, their complexity often left outsiders puzzled.
This blend of creativity and military discourse created a memorable learning experience.
Source: Taskandpurpose.com