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It’s another sign, more alarming than most, that the U.S. military is losing its allure for a growing number of its most creative young officers. More than that, it’s a sign that one of the Army’s most farsighted reforms—a program that some senior officials regard as essential—may be on the verge of getting whacked.
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The prolonged and repeated tours in Iraq were among the reasons for the trend. This is not the case for Nagl. But he represents another problem that the all-volunteer military is facing—the growing influence of the modern soldier’s family. It’s not that more soldiers have families than was once the case; in fact, the numbers are about the same as they were 30 years ago. But it is the case that more men in the military are married to professional women. In the past, many, if not most, officers married women who had grown up in military families.
Why is the Army losing so many talented midlevel officers?
Maybe they finally figured out that their political masters think of them as just cannon fodder. GOUSA!
Or it could be that the stresses that non-military families are currently facing are now finally reaching out and hurting the military families.
Also, if you had read the article you would see that it has nothing to do with politics or being “cannon-fodder”. Grow up.
Grow up? Is that code for: Get with the program you damn dirty hippy? That isn’t going to happen.
Because gang members are in their unit threatening them.
#3 – That isn’t going to happen.
YEAH! Good for you!
#3 – Can you at least bathe? Clean hippies are much preferable to dirty ones.
I, of course, use Damn Dirty Hippy as a metaphor. I am a well groomed (for the most part) IT guy with *nix guru long hair but no beard (I can’t grow one, really).
“the U.S. military is losing its allure for a growing number of its most creative young officers”
Maybe it’s because most people who can think for themselves can see why not to fight in this war.
Allure..? I didn’t remember any army allure, I do remember a draft.
Kerry was right. By and large, the ARMY is for losers who don’t have the grit to make it on the outside.
NOT EVERYONE. Just the cannon fodder which is most of them. Same for Marines, Navy. Course, the USAF is mostly high tech guys that could make it anywhere but happen to like airplanes.
Same with cops. When they aren’t actually PROTECTING us from foreign attack, what is it again that is admirable in volunteering to go oversees to kill people who didn’t do anything to deserve it?
“what is it again that is admirable in volunteering to go oversees to kill people who didn’t do anything to deserve it?”
The sign on bonus.
#10 – I think you’re partially correct. Many people in the military especially the Army and Marines had nothing to look forward to before joining. I know this because I joined at 17 with nothing much else to look forward to.
When I got out at 21, I felt that I was improved and now work as a Linux Administrator making a decent living.
What is sad is that this article isn’t about some enlisted 11 bang bang getting out but officers. These guys went to college and have degrees, often a masters. They have connections, intelligence, and education. They don’t need the Army, the Army needs them.
It always struck me as screwy that officers could just resign. Even after just a few months of becoming 2nd Lt.s. I knew of one at the base I was stationed at that did this. But non-Coms are locked into their four to six year commitments. And yet it supposedly cost the military more to train the officers. Some, like pilots, just leave and go to work for the airlines, with millions of dollars worth of flight training going with them. And nothing stops them. About all I got trained to do was march a lot, and solder wires correctly. And that was sooooooo valuable, that I could just leave the service when I felt it was a bad deal. Which it was, because a civilian job paid twice what I was getting from Uncle Sam, after four years. It’s a about being canon fodder. And a warm body to fill boots, so that a budget can be assested to support X numbers of troops.
Officers not only cost more to train, they cost more to keep around. And if they didn’t have a resignation clause, they probably wouldn’t sign up in the first place. The elevated pay scale is meant to compensate guys with degrees, who would probably be making a good salary in some civilian job. Like doctor or engineer. The more they’re worth, the higher their initial rank is. Everything but “General” is up for grabs.
For the non-degreed, it takes years of climbing the latter of rank. For just a modest increase in the pay scale. And not until you’re at least a sargent (e-4) are you no longer treated like a toilet scrubbing grunt. Even if your day job is servicing a million dollar computer system. A skill I’d defy some fresh faced college kid, turned officer, to tackle on his first day.
#7 I want to be a *nix guru, too. I’m even teaching myself C, shell, and learning Linux while deployed in Iraq. However, I can’t grow my hair until I retire so I’m afraid the real *nix guru’s will laugh at me. What should I do?
Incidently, I’ve met LTC Nagl several times. He is brilliant and a great loss for the Army.