“He had a staff of “yes boss” synchophants who worshiped him - which is dangerous and wrong. I have seen flag officers who surround themselves with courtiers, and it is literally a lethal combination (lethal for the front line folks that is)”.
Exactly. I worked around some general officers, and their cadre of butt kissing yes men and women was insane. The down side of being a butt kissing officer is that if you hitch yourself to the stars, and if the stars go down, so do you in most cases.
In a way, it’s justice. If a general officer cannot tell the real from the adoration of “I am here for my career, and I will do or say anything to help that along”, then he or she is lost. I sort of know what those O-6 and below are thinking right now, and I have no sympathy for them or for McChrystal. The best officers were always and still those that understood the troops and acted accordingly.
Amen X 1,000. You truly “get it.” It’s refreshing to see such clear thinking about a special realm few Americans can imagine.
Yes men are poison to flag rank officers, but few can resist them when they are SO darn good at subtle sub-rosa flattery that is not even recognized as such.
It takes a sterner heart to deliberately put men under him who will respectfully disagree and say so.
What’s your take on 228?