Yeah, I’m sure you can trust the brass enough to bounce ideas off of ‘em.
Although the quote is attributed to the late Air Force Col. John Boyd, it certainly describes the Democrats in Congress.
We can but hope that Gates expands his idea outside of the Pentagon, embracing not just the great expertise of our military, but of veterans and helpful civilians as well.
There is no end to imagination, or the ability of the rare thinker to innovate a truly startling idea. Of course, the vast amount of suggestions are dross, but that is always the case.
Having a staff of inventive individuals whose purpose is to find the needle of brilliance in the haystack of suggestions needs just one criteria: “This looks interesting. I wonder if it could work?”
And with just such a simple sieve, anything they consider is worth serious evaluation. Nothing past this first level should be discarded unless it is physically impossible, and even then, sometimes an expert can find a way to make the impossible possible.
I know that I have come up with what I think are some brilliant ideas for current and future military operations, and even if one of them would make the cut, if it could save lives and treasure, it would be worth it.