“So the theme of your comments on this thread is that officers are stupid and the mothers of America need to know that. Thank you so much for your valuable contribution.”
No, have you ever considered a remedial reading course? You certainly seem to read things there I didn’t write.
I WROTE that most US officers are incompetent. That is NOT the same thing as stupid, not even close. The are incompetent because the system is set up that way, not thru any fault of their own. I think it was Ike that looked into changing the US Army to the same sort of staff system used by the Krauts when he was Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army. WW2 caused a LOT of changes in the US Military, War Department gone, DoD in, AAC gone USAF in, etc. One of the changes looked at was creation of a general staff system like the Germans had. Congress shot it down, according to Corson and Weigley. The LAST thing any American politician wants is a Military genius.
Despite that, America has produced several.
Lee, Mahan and McArthur foremost among them.
Lee was the heart and soul of a civil war, McArthur almost started one. Mahan was a naval person and it’s very rare for naval types to become tyrants. IIRC, there was one during the Roman empire, but I wouldn’t bet on that.
So the founding fathers and the politicians that followed them might be on to something.
I would never call anyone stupid for NOT being a genius. After all, being no genius, I could fit my peg in that hole. Talent can, genius MUST.
I seriously doubt that any mothers of the type I assume you are referring to frequent this blog. I could be wrong but if I am, I hope they read what I wrote and not what you think I wrote.
There is a simple and cost effective way to improve the officers corp of America. Rotate the future officers among the trade schools. For example; first year at West Point, second at Annapolis, third at Colorado Springs, then back to West point to graduate. This would round out the future officers and since the core at all the trade schools is about the same, it would get them thinking purple at an early age. Plus it would expand their contacts among the other branches. Right now the “Joint Tour” is a marginal waste of time.
This will never happen, due to the cherished fear America has of tyrants. The best way to avoid a military coup is to not have any military types capable of leading it.
