[basque69]

Grant was given the big command early in 1864 after a string of wins out West.Up to that Abe went through generals in the East the way my wife goes through a box of candy (Little Mac, Burnsides, the Hooker, Meade). I don't find Rummey's action terribly unusual Normal command arrangements in the field are to have a deputy for operations and a deputy for support. What's the big deal???

[xzins]

No big deal for me.

I know that at the operational level the deputy (S or O) does NOT tell the Cdr what to do or how to do. That's a great way to have a short walk into oblivion.

At the NCA level, though, all bets are off. I don't know how those folks live in that rarified air. For all I know, Rummie's pulling ALL the strings. I hope not, because, even if he's a good guy, he's not a battlefield expert.

Our worst wars have been those where politicos pulled operational strings. The absolutely should be deciding broad objectives, but they shouldn't be telling the experts how to suck individual eggs.