Ladder Ranks

[Grumbler]

In the States, making Flag rank is a Political process. Military skill is irrelevent. The Pols just assume that all O-5's are created equal.
That is the major reason why the US Military has produced so few notable flag officers, and so many incompetent ones.:hissy:

Four years of sustained ground combat will alter that fact. Any peace time force will become burdened with political appointees, but combat has a way of making the cream rise to the surface. I suspect that the crop of senior officers that command a decade from now will be a very talented and pragmatic group.

Paul

I agree, unless the Islamists win, in which case they will be dead and buried.

"There is nothing inevitable about military victory, even for forces of apparently overwhelming strength. The Greeks at Marathon, Alexander against the Persian Empire, the success of the colonists against the British in the American Revolution, Napoleon over the Austrians in Italy... all offer dramatic evidence to the contrary. In the absence of inspired military leadership... the more powerful side wears down the weaker."
- Bevin Alexander

The US Army has always preached manuver warfare, but practiced attritional warfare. Considering our enemy out numbers us by about 4 to 1, and the political unwillingness to inflict casualties attrition might not be the correct game plan for this war. Time will tell if Hack was correct or not. Fortunatly, so far their 'generals' have been worse then ours. It should would make me feel more comfortable if the US produces a military genuis about now. Although anything beyond the ones we have now, who are barely competent, would be nice.
In 20 years the RPV technology will be available for ground units, which will go a long ways toward addressing the numbers issue and political reluctance to give and take casualties.:smg: