Thank you for registering for the Staff Ride at Gettysburg. There are still some who have not yet registered, so please feel free to forward this email to your colleagues if you know they are scheduled to attend but have yet to register.
This is the first of a few updates we'll send with background information for your study. We are all in the Preparation Phase for this staff ride. We should all be reading and thinking about senior-level operational leadership. Each one of us will bring our entire life's experience to the Field Study Phase of the staff ride. Then we'll put it all together during the Integration Phase as we apply the lessons we've learned back at home station.
To get started, we've prepared an Introduction package to get you started in your preparation. A copy of this will be included in the participant guide which you'll receive at Gettysburg. So you don't need to print out the Introduction, just download it and read through it on-line. Senior operational leaders provide the linkage between the highest levels of organizational authority (what we call the "strategic level") and the folks on the ground who actually fight and win battles (what we call the "tactical level"). In 1863, it was important for operational leaders to understand the intent of the President and the Governors and the challenges faced by both their administrations and their constituents. It was also important for leaders to understand the capabilities of the organizations they led, and the challenges faced by their subordinates. Has any of that changed today? We'll talk about all that. See if you can relate to some of the correspondence included in the introduction. If you have any questions, please e-mail us. We look forward to sharing this experience with you! | 
