Posted on 09/13/2010 8:42:06 AM PDT by Ready4Freddy
Last May, Defense Secretary Robert Gates traveled to the Eisenhower library in Abilene, Kans., and praised the 34th president for keeping the lid on defense spending during the 1950s. Eisenhower himself, Gates noted, “was a low-maintenance leader of simple tastes, modest demands, and small entourages—in stark contrast to what often happens at the upper levels of power in Washington and in other elite settings.”
Abilene is a long way from America’s centers of power, and Gates’s speeches shun headline-grabbing rhetoric, so what the defense secretary said did not get a lot of notice. But back in Washington, and at military commands around the world, four-star generals and admirals should have been paying attention. The word going around the Pentagon was that Gates was targeting the pampered lifestyles of the top brass. Asked about this by NEWSWEEK, Gates laughed. “As an old Soviet analyst, I read the speeches of their leaders very, very carefully,” he said. “And people should read my speeches very carefully.” He pointed to another speech, delivered in early August. “There is something in there about examining the rank structure and the phrase ‘and the accouterments that go with it.’ ”
Gates himself is an unflashy, unremarkable-looking man. He lives in one of three houses in a military enclave in Washington, residing there mostly alone because Becky, his wife of 43 years, prefers to stay at their house on the west coast of Washington state.
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Most evenings, he writes letters to the families of soldiers killed in Iraq or Afghanistan. The other two houses in the compound are occupied by four-star officers, and Gates has been known to raise an eyebrow at their platoons of personal staff rushing about.
(Excerpt) Read more at newsweek.com ...
Eishenhower gutted the armed forces in favor of tactical nukes. The country lost tons of very war hardened vets because of him. The man was scum.
A very good friend is a retired one-star who happens to be personal friends with Gates and his wife. He holds Gates in high regard.
LOL! Is Rutland in the United States?
I don’t know. Not that long ago in an airport terminal awaiting a flight, I saw a USAF BGEN alone, carrying his own bags, trying not to spill his coffee. Not very spoiled.
An interesting aside to this is found in Russia, which had and has a notoriously top-heavy military. President Putin decided to slash their numbers, mostly at the Russian equivalent of the Pentagon. It is an ongoing process.
However, while this was taking place, Medvedev and Putin decided they needed to attack Georgia, to regain South Ossetia. To do this, they ignored their “Pentagon”, and ordered a (relatively speaking) lowly base commander to conduct the attack—directly.
Wow. You don’t do that. Just about anywhere.
Imagine what would have happened had President W. Bush ordered the post commander of Fort Bliss, Texas, to attack Mexico. While no doubt, the command of Fort Bliss would be good to go, (along with the 1st Armored Division, and all those Cavalry, and would probably be in control of Mexico City by sundown), every toilet in the Pentagon would be filled to the brim.
There are many Brigadier General “clerk/typists” working in the Pentagon right now. And apparently more Lieutenant Generals and their equivalent grade of Admirals than you could shake a stick at. But pruning that tree is not going to be an easy task.
I don’t know. Not that long ago in an airport terminal awaiting a flight, I saw a USAF BGEN alone, carrying his own bags, trying not to spill his coffee. Not very spoiled.
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That’s the point. In todays military BG’s are middle management, at best. It’s the 3-stars and above that are top loaded and need something to do—seriously—so they micromanage and insist on perks and large entourages. Not all of them, but enough that Gates has it right.
I remember reading that at the height of WW II, when the US hasd almosy 11 million in uniform, the number of flag officers was half of what it is now, when the total number in uniform is what, 1.2 million?
I remember reading that at the height of WW II, when the US hasd almosy 11 million in uniform, the number of flag officers was half of what it is now, when the total number in uniform is what, 1.2 million?
BGEN in the USAF. Isn’t that like “Colonel, Upper-half”? (Just kidding)
A double Full Bird?
Air Force Brig General. Isn’t that equivalent to a combat Marine Corps Division Captain or maybe a desk-jockey Marine Corps Major?
JK!
That said, yes Ike was a humble man and we might be brass-heavy today, but we're not going to save a lot of money in the grand scheme of things by clamping down on the senior brass.
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