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, Brigadier General Matthew Ross, commander of Joint Interagency Task Force (JIATF) 401, joins host Cadet Zack Pelosky in the West Point Class of 1974 Recording Studio to discuss the rapidly evolving threat posed by unmanned aircraft systems and the challenge of building effective counterdrone capabilities across the joint and interagency community. General Ross reflects on how the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks shaped his decision to become an infantry officer and influenced a career spent confronting adaptive threats, before explaining how JIATF 401 brings together the military services and federal agencies to address the growing drone threat. He emphasizes the need for layered defenses that go beyond simply defeating individual drones to targeting the networks, launch sites, and operators behind them; discusses the increasing role of directed-energy systems; and draws lessons from the military’s experience adapting to the threat of improvised explosive devices. Throughout the conversation, General Ross returns to themes of rapid experimentation, prudent risk, shared understanding, organizational culture, and the importance of teaching future leaders not simply what to think, but how to think in an era when technology is changing faster than military institutions can predict. Ultimately, he defines JIATF 401’s measure of success as rapidly delivering state-of-the-art counterdrone capabilities, along with the training, authorities, and infrastructure necessary for warfighters to employ them effectively at home and abroad.

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 with host Cadet Olivia Hanson, retired Brigadier General Rebecca Halstead reflects on a remarkable Army career that began when her mother encouraged her to apply to West Point as the academy was first opening its doors to women. A member of the Class of 1981, Halstead discusses the challenges of being among West Point’s earliest female graduates, the perseverance that carried her through those experiences, and the lessons she later applied while leading soldiers from the company level through service as a commanding general in Iraq. She shares her belief that leaders must first lead themselves, explains why demanding high standards should never mean demeaning people, and describes her enduring STEADFAST leadership philosophy, built around values including discipline, accountability, teamwork, faith, family, and friends. Halstead also speaks candidly about the role faith has played throughout her life and leadership, including a powerful experience counseling a soldier grieving the death of a friend in combat. She closes with advice for cadets and young officers: Never stop learning, remain grateful and humble, develop others without worrying about whether they surpass you, be true to yourself, and measure your progress against the person you were yesterday rather than against everyone around you.

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, retired Major General Doug Crissman reflects on more than three decades of Army service and the leadership lessons that endured from West Point through combat, senior command, service alongside the British Army, and life after the uniform. In this conversation with host Cadet Orion van Buskirk, General Crissman argues that great leadership rests less on rank or authority than on authentic connection, competence, trust, and a willingness to keep learning. He discusses why mission command remains an aspirational goal that leaders must continually rebuild, why leader development should happen every day rather than during designated events, and how setbacks often provide more valuable lessons than successes. He also offers a candid look at retirement and purpose, describing his continuing work mentoring military and civilian leaders—and the grounding experience of simply being “Doug” while selling outdoor gear in his post-Army years. General Crissman's message for leaders at every stage is straightforward: focus on what matters, invest in people, learn continuously, and find the work and relationships that fill your tank.