Military Leadership Lessons from Ukraine and Gaza

If you want to understand the future of warfare, stop binge-watching Tic-Tok kill cam drone footage and start watching the real world burn. Ukraine and Gaza are modern crucibles—two conflicts, different in politics and scale, but united by what they reveal about combat leadership in the 21st century.

These aren’t wars won by doctrine or PowerPoint. They’re led by soldiers—some regular, some irregular—facing an enemy in complex terrain, under constant surveillance, and often without clear lines of support. Out of this chaos, new lessons in leadership are emerging. Hard-earned. Bloody. And impossible to ignore.

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1. Decentralized Command Isn’t a Buzzword—It’s Survival

In Ukraine, units often operate with minimal direction from higher echelons. Small teams maneuver with autonomy, adapt without waiting for orders, and exploit initiative when it appears. Why? Because command posts are targeted, comms are jammed, and the front is always fluid.

Gaza tells a similar story. Hamas’ decentralized cells operate with pre-planned missions, redundant coordination paths, and local autonomy. The IDF responds with highly mobile, small-unit tactics designed to counteract embedded threats in densely populated areas.

In both cases, the age of the omnipresent commander is over. Leaders must train their people to lead without them. That starts with trust, hard rehearsals, and above all, a clear commander’s intent.

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2. Terrain Is No Longer Neutral—It’s Weaponized

Urban terrain isn’t just complex—it’s deliberately hostile. Gaza is one giant human shield. Ukraine’s towns are booby-trapped corridors watched by loitering drones. Every intersection is a potential kill zone. Every basement, a tunnel. Every window, a weapon.

Effective leaders train their troops not just to fight in cities—but to understand them. To sense patterns, avoid complacency, and treat every inch of space as contested. Leadership here means slowing down without losing momentum, enforcing discipline under stress, and knowing when to stop pressing forward and call a pause.

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3. Drones and Tech Don’t Replace Leadership—They Demand More of It

Drones have redefined the battlefield. ISR is everywhere. Units are under near-constant surveillance, and strikes can arrive seconds after detection. It’s tempting to think tech replaces the need for leadership.

Wrong.

Tech amplifies good leadership and punishes bad. The best leaders in Ukraine are constantly adapting—moving at night, concealing emissions, building redundant systems, rotating units aggressively, even improvising counter-drone nets out of chicken wire.

The same goes for IDF commanders integrating tech with ground ops in Gaza, linking drone feeds, targeting data, and maneuver in real time.

Adaptability and initiative matter more than ever. You don’t outgun the enemy—you outthink them.

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4. Morality, Messaging, and the Weight of Leadership

War in the age of instant media means every action is also a narrative. A single misfire becomes global scandal. Every civilian casualty is a weapon in the information war. Gaza proves this daily. Ukraine battles disinformation and Russian propaganda every step of the way.

“Moral injury” is a thing. Leaders today must own the moral complexity of their mission. They must train disciplined forces, make hard ethical calls, and navigate public scrutiny even under fire. The best ones don’t flinch—they lead through it.

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5. The Leader as Resilient Backbone

Finally, and maybe most importantly—leaders in both conflicts have to be the psychological anchor for their troops. Soldiers fight scared, sleep-deprived, cold, and hungry. They die beside each other. They get back up and do it again.

The best leaders? They keep morale high, tempers low, and discipline sharp. They don’t chase medals. They protect their people. They enforce standards. And when the shelling gets closer, they’re first in the trench, last out.

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The Takeaway for U.S. Leaders

We like to think we’ve mastered leadership. But watching Ukraine and Gaza reminds us—combat strips leadership down to the essentials:

• Trust your team.
• Communicate clearly.
• Adapt constantly.
• Enforce standards.
• Lead with presence, not position.

These lessons weren’t born in a conference room. They were forged in blood, dust, and fire. Leaders who want to be ready for the next fight would do well to pay attention.

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Scott Faith is a veteran of a half-dozen combat deployments and has served in several different Special Operations units over the course of his Army career. Scott’s writing focuses largely on veterans’ issues, but he is also a big proponent of Constitutional rights and has a deep interest in politics. He often allows other veterans who request anonymity to publish their work under his byline. Scott welcomes story ideas and feedback on his articles and can be reached at havokjournal@havokmedia.com. 

As the Voice of the Veteran Community, The Havok Journal seeks to publish a variety of perspectives on a number of sensitive subjects. Unless specifically noted otherwise, nothing we publish is an official point of view of The Havok Journal or any part of the U.S. government.