A survey of Fortune 500 executives reveals that 96 percent of them saw mentoring as an important influence in their professional development (Hagevik, 1998). In years past, when most senior Army officers spoke of success; they often made reference to an individual or individuals who spoke words of wisdom into their lives, shared experiences and lessons learned. Senior leaders refer to these individuals as mentors; people who, throughout their careers, have invested countless hours to both their personal and professional development. Unfortunately, somewhere along the way, this concept has been lost.
             Lieutenant Colonel Barbara Fast (1996) defines a mentor as an influential, experienced individual with whom you establish a personal relationship and who actively helps you reach your goals. While this definition seems quite simple, she asserts that the Army has enjoyed mixed success as it has struggled to define and formalize mentorship. As a Captain with almost six years in the Army, I agree that leaders have lost numerous opportunities to impart into the lives of subordinates. As a whole, the Army has not fully understood the definition of mentorship, and because it has not fully understood, the implementation of such a concept greatly differs from the original intent. Even more importantly, the practical application of mentorship is not deemed effective at the appropriate levels in the Army (Swengros, 2002).
             After being commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Army, I entered my first assignment as the only female officer and the only black officer assigned to my section. This was particularly challenging as I was the only junior officer (any officer in the rank of Second Lieutenant through Captain)(Thank you for not assuming your readers know this.), and I did not have the luxury of having superiors that extended the invitation to become part of the "in crowd." Although I had Soldiers to lead, I did not know what t...