The arrogance of senior officers and senior NCOs can be deadly to their careers. I was on active duty for only 8 years, but I saw enough. Some of these men and women get so used to having their arses kissed on a daily basis, and it goes to their head.
There are a few that slip through the system, i.e. they're great staff officers that never should be put in a leadership position. I had one for a battery commander in Germany, a position he was ill-equipped for.
During an ARTEP, he encoded a mission's coordinates incorrectly, and the equally incompetent platoon leader didn't challenge the mission, proving again that the most dangerous weapon in the Army is a 2nd LT with a map.
As the acting XO, I interjected myself into the situation, taking 15 minutes to tell my platoon leaders and platoon sergeants exactly what their units would do the following day (I was the only officer who had successfully led multiple platoons through evaluations, and I knew what the evaluators looked for).
I made no friends with my exhortations...I was really angry at the lack of leadership I saw during the first two days, and my soldiers suffered for it.
Little did I know that the lead evaluator was standing outside our CP, and heard every last word I said. When I saw him, I thought "oh crap", but he had a big smile on his face and said, "LT, that was beautiful."
Yeah, we passed, but for my efforts I received the worst efficiency report of my career.
Apologies for going O/T.
Saving a superior from himself is always a dicey thing...says a lot about you the way you handled it. Of course, if they are worth their salt, you get a heartfelt “thank you”.
If they aren’t, you get a cold shoulder and a lousy fitness report.
Not at all: found your memories fascinating, since it mirrors some of my own experiences.
Sometimes we do a really lousy job of selecting our leaders.
Sometimes we get some really astonishingly stupid people into higher ranks - and I've know a bunch of them.
My favorite was a Lieutenant General who had a Stu-III (Top Secret capable) secure phone stolen from his official car because he was in bed with his Lance Corporal driver (female) - who was supposed to be watching the phone. He managed to retire quickly and was spared his well-deserved court-martial.
If it had been you or I, we would still be making big rocks into small rocks in Leavenworth.