Talking and Listening to Build a Stronger Military: Cosmopolitan Communication as an Essential Skill of Military Leader Development

Abstract

The United States military is a highly respected national institution. Military personnel are called to
represent and defend American values and build American identity, but these ideas are not fixed. In
fact, the question of what it means to be “American,” is contested ground, and the experience of what
it means to be “American” varies based on race, gender, and many other categories of demographic
difference. In the wake of significant and growing political division and unrest, senior American military
leaders have called on the force to engage in hard conversations about these topics. However, without
a roadmap for guiding such largely subjective and often emotionally charged discussions, the results
could yield unintended consequences. This paper offers a theoretical and practical toolkit for engaging
in such conversations, drawing from the Coordinated Management of Meaning theory and its particular
application in Cosmopolitan Communication approaches and perspectives. The authors argue that
by engaging in this communicative work, military leaders can acquire necessary skills and insights to
potentially build a stronger, more inclusive and ultimately more effective military.