1.17 U.S. Army Automated Command Climate Survey
Purpose
The U.S. Army Automated Command Climate Survey is a fully automated, self-contained survey program. It is designed to assist company (or equivalent-sized unit) commanders in assessing and developing action plans for sustaining and improving their units’ command climates. This instrument has been utilized within the military sector, specifically in the U.S. Army, to identify problems in a commander’s unit and help to develop solutions. Its focus is on fostering a positive and effective leadership environment.
Description
The Command Climate Survey was developed by a team of military personnel and experts specializing in leadership assessment and organizational climate analysis. It is a self-contained, stand-alone tool that commanders can administer, score, aggregate, and analyze to assess their units’ current climate. The program automatically encrypts the data to protect soldiers’ anonymity.
The Command Climate Survey consists of 24 basic questions and two comment questions, which address 20 command climate areas (officer leadership, NCO leadership, immediate supervisor, leader accessibility, leader concern for families, leader concern for single soldiers, unit cohesion, counseling, training, racist materials, sexually offensive materials, stress, training schedule, sponsorship, respect, unit readiness, morale, sexual harassment, discrimination, and reporting harassment/discrimination incidents). In addition, the unit commander can add up to ten optional unit-specific questions. Written comments are requested regarding unit strengths and areas most needing improvement.
The survey results may provide indicators of strengths and issues in a unit. Typical limitations of survey instruments may include response bias, limited scope in capturing gender differences, and challenges in interpreting qualitative comments.
Access
The tool is available by contacting the U. S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences. General questions mailbox: usarmy.pentagon.hqda-ari.mesg.ari@army.mil. Telephone: (703) 545-2339 (DSN: 865).
Reference
Reimer, D. J. (1998). Developing great leaders in turbulent times. Military Review, 281, 5–12.
Zaccaro, S. J., Klimoski, R. J., Boyce, L. A., Chandler, C., Banks, D., & Gade, P. A. (1999). Developing a tool kit for the assessment of army leadership processes and outcomes: Version 1.0 (ARI Research Note 99-35). U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences. https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/tr/pdf/ADA368448.pdf
