The Atlantic
Why are so many of the most talented officers now abandoning military life for the private sector? An exclusive survey of West Point graduates shows that it’s not just money. Increasingly, the military is creating a command structure that rewards conformism and ignores merit. As a result, it’s losing its vaunted ability to cultivate entrepreneurs in uniform.
Read the article.
Found by foobar.
And this comes as a surprise given the new interest in “Spiritual Fitness”? Shun the unbelievers!
@#1 Spiritual fitness evaluation have been much stronger in the past. Part of the problem is that many moral fundamentals of the past have been watered down (because they are not PC).
“risk-averse bureaucracy” summarizes the whole article. No risk taking. No offending any loudmouth group (LGBT, Atheists,… just to mention recent loudmouths). Next – no smoking in Military except if it is marijuana.
Sadly, men like Patton would never make it in todays Army. Some politically correct knee cap sucking officer would make sure of that. The military is going to hell in a handbasket.
Yea, they want conformism. Like agreeing that don’t ask don’t tell would have no effect on combat units. Women soldiers are just as capable as men.
What I take away from this article is that its not your value or competence its how long you have been here and whose a** you kiss. It is the same as in politics and non tech work. If society and company’s judged based on merit and performance our country would be a much better place. Of course this could be a case of reading in to it what you know.
A culture that rewards conformity rather than achievement (I know how that feels). Staff who criticise, challenge, charge at barriers, they create new frontiers. The Army can get away with it because they have no real competition.
It’s all about risk aversion. The over-reaction to “terrorism” is another example.
#4 We took your advice up until WW II when it finally dawned on us that getting caught with our pants down and getting the crap beat out of us was not a good thing to keep on doing. It was becoming to obvious that the next nation to knock us down might just stomp our butts into the ground using advanced weapons systems rather than giving us a chance to get back up.
Peace time military guys tend to be rigid thinkers who kiss butts and do favors for the higher ups. They are often not at all competent in combat. That is pretty much the state side military today.
You did miss the small point that many younger officers are now on their third, fourth or even fifth one year tour away from home. I’m sure that gets old after a while.
It also seems that the combat troops, who are only a very small percentage of the military, aren’t all that happy with doing away with don’t ask don’t tell. If they don’t re-enlist there is going to be some very interesting reorganization of the military.
I have my doubts about there being enough gender confused people who want to join the military to make up for the number of straight people who may not wish to share a fox hole with them.
I also can’t help but notice that as a group middle eastern Muslims seems to think the best thing to do with gender confused people is to kill them. Yes, in Indonesia things are different but we aren’t fighting in Indonesia.
We always have “the best army ever” and “the best military officers are leaving” is a constant complaint. AND we always need more funding, AND there are always NEW THREATS to protect against, while always fighting the last war.
The military and its surrounding issues are about as constant as the sun. – etc – Yes, another thread turned to global warming. Ha, ha.
Spoken like a bunch of people who aren’t Army officers. Good speculation though commentators.
“Increasingly”? It seems to me this was evident as far back as the 1970s, when I was in the service. Air Force and Navy pilots would log just enough flying time to qualify. And then leave the service for work at any major Airlines. And the service was powerless to stop them. Because apparently, after Vietnam, there was nothing contractual to keep them from leaving. UNLIKE the non-Com enlistee’s contract.
Does that make any real sense? The “cannon fodder” can’t leave, with their minimal cost training. But the officer-leaders can leave, with their very expensive schooling and command experience. Apparently, the services only value the troops’ warm bodies. Either as something to be sacrificed in some war. Or to justify the services huge annual budget. So many personnel, umpteen billions of dollars.
Even in the lowly ranks, merit and job skills were reward less than, tailoring one’s uniform to perfection, and BS the brass about sports. I kid you not. I could have gone from E-3 to E-4, six month early. If I stood before a review board, in a perfect (never used one) uniform, answered a bunch of questions about service history, and shot the breeze about various sports teams. Actually knowing my job, counted very little. It had the smallest percentage of consideration in rank advancement. The largest percentage was “Military Fitness”, which meant knowing the names and ranks of all the officers, who ever existed, and were important enough to be butt kissed. What that ever had to do with fighting a war, I never could learn. But that’s the sort of skill they valued most. I refused to debase my intellect and lower my standards. So I didn’t advanced in rank, any earlier.
I pity anyone having to serve under those who advanced more quickly in rank, just with these symbolic displays of conformity. While not actually knowing, what the h*ll to do.
You mean these idiots actually joined the military thinking they could be individuals! If they are that stupid then the military came out ahead on this deal.
What we have now is a “Professional Army” fighting for CORPORATIONS AROUND THE WORLD !!! Iran for Oil Contracts, Afgahnistan for a Pipeline, etc … So, “Duty, Honor, Country” has been replaced by “Mobil/Exxon, Boeing, and Halliburton” – PROFITS BEFORE DEMOCRACY !!! And the Plebes know it !!!
It’s a mix of ass kissing, politics, and unfortunately double standards in order to promote equal opportunity nowadays.
The good ones get fed up with playing the stupid games that come about due in most part by appeasing the LIBERAL politicians or liberal-minded.
11, An Actual Army Officer,
11, An Actual Army Officer,
You’ll get a lot of the liberals arm chair quarterbacking around here. They think they know everything about the military without ever having served. 🙂