December 29, 2007
Wrecking the army (cont'd)
In response to my moan about the wreckage that's been made of the military over the past four years, (based largely on Andrew Tilghman's reporting), a hawkish reader, formerly, following his family tradition, an Army E-6, writes: The sorry part is how soon into the war this was a 100% straight-line mentat- predictable computation. When I watched the Baghdad Museum...
December 18, 2007
"If you breathe, you make lieutenant colonel"
The army is so short of officers it now has to promote 98% of its captains to major. The folks who ought to be moving up the ranks of senior noncoms are being pushed through OCS. And 20% of the recruits get in only by waiving some of the enlistment standards. This is really, really, really bad news.
June 22, 2007
January 12, 2007
Department of "huh?"
Eugene Volokh can't see the difference between affirmative action, which seeks to increase the number of minorities in places where they are under-represented, and military recruitment selectively aimed at African-Americans, who are currently over-represented in the enlisted ranks.
July 14, 2006
The high cost
of scraping the bottom of the barrel
The Mahmudiya rapist/murderer had racked up three convictions by the age of 19. He only got into the Army because of a decision to loosen standards in order to meet recruiting targets. The Army took a long time to rebuild after Vietnam, but it won't take nearly as long to wreck it again.
April 09, 2006
True believers vs. foreign policy experts—the view from outside
From the latest Nouveau Parisien, a thorough and depressing account of how far the ideologues' takeover of the U.S. foreign policy establishment has gone.
September 21, 2005
More grade inflation: research funding reviews
Grade inflation in competition means that the low-scoring judge is the boss.
September 19, 2005
September 17, 2005
Military Meritocracy
When I was at the Kennedy School, I taught regularly in an executive program for Army Colonel/Navy Captain level DOD people, including civilians, from all services. Having no personal experience in the military, I was fascinated by the look this afforded into a distinct and proud society. I learned a couple of things that may be relevant to the earlier...
September 14, 2005
Careerism and politics in the military
Political bias and career competence aren't entirely incompatible. The big problem is groupthink.
September 13, 2005
Politics and professionalism in the modern military
Lucian Truscott thinks the officer corps is too politicized to remain professional.
September 12, 2005
Bureaucrats and tourists
You shouldn't have to appoint a general or an admiral to be sure you have someone honest and competent in a top job.
