Welcome back to Five Questions for a General, a production of the Modern War Institute at West Point. This series features specially selected cadet hosts who are given an incredible professional development opportunity—to sit down with senior military officers and ask carefully crafted questions about everything from leadership to their unique experiences while serving to their expectations about the future of war.
In this episode, Cadet Ryan Van Buskirk sits down with Major General Bernard Harrington and Command Sergeant Major Matthew Richter, the command team of the 7th Infantry Division, to discuss the division’s transformation into the Multi-Domain Command–Pacific and its evolving role in the Indo-Pacific theater. The conversation explores how the Army is integrating traditional ground combat formations with emerging capabilities in cyber, space, electronic warfare, long-range precision fires, and artificial intelligence to strengthen deterrence and enable joint force operations. Harrington explains how the division’s new structure positions it to serve as a covering force for the joint force, while addressing the significant challenges of protection, sustainment, and communications across the vast distances of the Pacific. Both leaders emphasize that despite rapid technological advances, the Army’s greatest strength remains its people, and that disciplined, physically fit, adaptable soldiers and cohesive teams are essential to success on the modern battlefield. They also discuss the importance of mission command, professional curiosity, trust, and empowering subordinates to innovate and learn from failure. Drawing on their own leadership experiences, Harrington and Richter offer advice to the next generation of Army leaders, stressing humility, mentorship, teamwork, and the importance of understanding the larger purpose behind every mission. Ultimately, they argue that technological superiority alone cannot guarantee victory; success depends on developing capable leaders and soldiers who can adapt, collaborate, and accomplish their missions in an increasingly complex and contested operational environment.
