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2008-08-05 Home Front: WoT
Army Promotions, WoT-style
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Posted by Glenmore 2008-08-05 16:07|| || Front Page|| [336094 views ]  Top

#1 Go read this article and check out the names and MOS of those selected!
Posted by Sherry">Sherry  2008-08-05 16:43||   2008-08-05 16:43|| Front Page Top

#2 Don't need to check COL McMaster - served with him when he was a cherry CPT CO of a cav troop in the 2ACR. Same stetson, same spurs. Good that they quit putting "check-list commandoes" and other political ass-kissers in, and started putting proven warriors in.
Posted by OldSpook 2008-08-05 17:02||   2008-08-05 17:02|| Front Page Top

#3 No shit, OS. We have had enough General Clarks for one century. Put some real soldiers in charge for once.
Posted by DarthVader 2008-08-05 17:17||   2008-08-05 17:17|| Front Page Top

#4 Different folks, different strokes. The needs of the military change to fit the circumstances.

There are times when the last thing you need are brilliant combat commanders, when you desperately need brilliant pencil-pushing logistics nerds who can materialize hundreds of thousands of ton of materiel halfway around the world in hours.

Other times, you need commanders who can play defense against a hostile congress, who can talk for hours or days and not say a damn thing while harpies tear at him. Who can quarterback a cocktail party to get billions of dollars in appropriations, strategic alliances with foreign generals, and other ugly trench warfare.

And even when you need good combat commanders, there are times you need unconventional experts and times you need conventional experts. Putting an elite commander in charge of draftees wastes everybody's time, as much as putting a by the book commander in charge of Special Forces.
Posted by Anonymoose 2008-08-05 17:23||   2008-08-05 17:23|| Front Page Top

#5 "The needs of the military change to fit the circumstances."

True, 'moose, but I can't think of any circumstances under which the military needs an ass-kisser.

Sure, generals have to deal with Congress, but anybody who has so little self-respect that they'll give a tongue-bath to a Congresscritter doesn't deserve to be promoted above dogcatcher.
Posted by Barbara Skolaut">Barbara Skolaut  2008-08-05 18:49|| http://ariellestjohndesigns.com/]">[http://ariellestjohndesigns.com/]  2008-08-05 18:49|| Front Page Top

#6 I tend to agree with Anonymoose. The problem has been a Cold War legacy of promoting almost exclusively the political schmoozers; you do need them, but when real bullets start flying, you had darn well better have some combat leadership available. Too many good men die needlessly while the system adjusts otherwise.
Posted by Glenmore">Glenmore  2008-08-05 18:51||   2008-08-05 18:51|| Front Page Top

#7 Oh, and for all the dissing Rumsfeld gets, this change from the Cold War/mega-weapons/political Armed Forces started with him. (The Army Air Corps dumped Billy Mitchell too.)
Posted by Glenmore">Glenmore  2008-08-05 19:02||   2008-08-05 19:02|| Front Page Top

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