Our NEW MILITARY will be well-armed with stacks of Diversity Grievance forms.
Fascinating history lesson, portending disaster.
I hope that Republican governors, who control their state’s National Guard, will offer a safe harbor to those officers who are blackballed by the Biden regime. While these position would be part time rather than full time active duty, they would still maintain currency and time in grade, and be available to return to active duty under a Republican administration.
The future does bode well for this nation.. The faint of heart better get out while they still can.... :(
Certainly, there will be some nepotism baked into the system: What Colonel or General is not going to look out for the career of his son that just received a commission as a Lieutenant? That said, the son will, by virtue of his parentage, have high expectations placed upon him.
Politicizing the military undermines this natural fabric of meritocracy. The Officer Corps, more so than many professions is tightly networked and self-policing. When the emphasis is placed on professionalism and competence, the system works well. Senior officers invest time mentoring and developing junior officers that display the most potential and those with poor reputations fall by the wayside. When the emphasis is placed on adherence to political principles, competence will be the first casualty, and senior officers will seek to retain those junior officers who may be inept at the war fighting arts, but most vigorously salute the party line.
While this leadership deficit is in and of itself a major problem, the real damage and rot will occur in the NCO ranks, as morale and motivation decline precipitously.
The military profession is by nature, one of altruism. As Chesterton said, "The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him." The left seems hell bent on eliminating, or at least re-educating service members who love the US's Constitutional principals, and the thoughts of what may fill that void are frightening to contemplate.
One of the most interesting articles on AT in a while. I love reading history and this was an area where my reading was remiss. It makes it easier to understand French military losses early in The Great War.
....and then, in the late 30s, it was the turn of the French press, who took bribes from the Nazis to undermine resistance to German Nazism.
How do you select the best Officers for promotion?
How do you determine, outside of actual combat, which Officers will perform best in combat?
And does good combat performance at a junior level predict good combat performance at a senior level?
The only way to select the best combat leaders is to keep Officers constantly in combat.
Hard to do.
My experience with the military showed me that promotion boards were a mess.
The amount of time they spent reviewing an Officer’s records was measured in minutes and even seconds.
This resulted in a focus on easily observed characteristics.
Height/weight.....physical fitness.....attention to detail on uniforms in official photos.
We have a generation of senior leaders who run fast and look good.