From a wannabe
Posted on 06/26/2010 7:12:42 PM PDT by Saije
Since 2001, a dozen commanders have cycled through the top jobs in Iraq, Afghanistan and the U.S. Central Command, which oversees both wars. Three of those commanders -- including the recently dismissed Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal -- have been fired or resigned under pressure.
History has judged many others harshly, and only two, Gen. David H. Petraeus and Gen. Ray Odierno, are widely praised as having mastered the complex mixture of skills that running America's wars demands.
For the military, this record of mediocrity raises a vexing question: What is wrong with the system that produces top generals?***
Explanations for the shortage of good generals abound. Some young officers blame the Pentagon's insistence on sticking with its peacetime promotion policies. Military personnel rules prevent the top brass from reaching down into the ranks and plucking out high-performers who have proved themselves especially adept at counterinsurgency or have amassed significant knowledge about Afghanistan and Iraq. "In all previous wars, promotions were accelerated for officers who were effective," a senior Army official said.
Instead of speeding promotions, then-Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld slowed them down so that officers wouldn't cycle through complex jobs so quickly. As a result, there are many three-star generals with limited counterinsurgency experience and a large pool of colonels and one-stars who have done multiple tours of Iraq and Afghanistan. The lower-ranking officers are years away from even being considered for senior slots in the wars.
Other experts maintain the military must cast a wider net in its search for creative commanders who can balance the military and political demands of their job.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
From a wannabe
I lived through The Clinton Years in the military. We lost SO many mid-ranking officers (Captains, brand new Majors, etc.) and SO many Senior NCOs (E-7, 8 & even some lifer 9’s!) during those eight nightmarish years that it doesn’t surprise me in the LEAST that the same thing is happening all over again...but in spades due to our current INCOMPETENT CIC.
Of course, we won’t hear of it due to the media being in 0bama’s front pocket...check your sources; recruitment is down as is RETENTION, which is pretty much KEY to a strong military at any stage of the game.
Sadly, self-preservation is alive and well in todays military. And I don’t blame them one tiny BIT!
Political correctness has drained the pool. Who in their right mind is going to send people to certain death based on policies which don’t work and tie their hands. People who aren’t useful idiots don’t hang around to lose.
This is the reason FOR the current mediocrity IMHO.
McChrystal is either a moron or a collaborator or both. If he really voted for him then he is a total idiot or a stooge.
McChrystal is either a moron or a collaborator or both. If he really voted for him then he is a total idiot or a stooge.
You call this clown a good Gen? Hell in 73 in Korea he was a BN CO. Yes,a 3rd BDE 2nd ID BN CO forward. This dumb AA politician wannabe had done zip in RVN. He could not handle his own race rioting. The BDE S-3 SGM, an old SF type from White Star, put his race riot down.
Get the frickin’ Leftists the “H” out of power, defund the various Leftist departments, thus the Leftist bureaucracies, thus eliminating the Leftist influence that runs throughout government because of those Leftist packed bureaucracies, and watch how quickly we find our smaller, leaner Constitutional government gets things accomplished without the confusion, and without the embarrassment, and without the taxes.
No matter who is in office today, yesterday the Left is there to tell them what they can, or can’t do at so many levels making confusion the basic order of the day.
Too many bosses. Too much confusion. Get the Left the “H” out of power.
You can blame the United States Air Force for the US Military’s adoption of DOPMA(up or out for officers and High Year tenure for Enlisted)
You must’ve missed the tag, “from a wannabe” over the picture. He surely did make the distinction between a good General and a “wannabe” politically correct climber.
Im not sure what all your acronyms and references mean, but General Schwarzkopf kicked ass in the first Gulf war and Powell (GHWB included) shut him down before the job was complete.
Not in the enlisted ranks. Not in the slightest. In fact, it's exactly the opposite.
You nailed it.
I thought the military was for killing people.
Why would anyone want to kiss camel-jockey *ss for a living?
Fight the war, or bring them home.
What we lack is LEADERSHIP on SO many levels; and that’s something a new recruit cannot possibly bring to the military straight out of High School.
And THAT should be very disturbing to anyone on either side of the aisle.
Huh? This is exactly what happened and why Gen. McCrystal was appointed to where he was.... because he was that d*mn effective at getting the job done! There was very few more effective at tracking down and killing bad guys from a leadership role than Gen. McCrystal has been since 2002.
I would point directly at the new mandate emanating from the muslim marxist boy who would be king in the White House (and his administration).
ditto.
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