"Wehrmacht penis envy"

[Jim von Krieg]

I enjoyed the article, because it made me think... but I can't say I completely agree with the author...

He seems to be saying, he prefers less professionalism... He says nothing of the Civil War themes that are prevalent throughout the US military... I think the Civil War theme is more prevalent in the US Military than a fascination with Germans... but that is just my experience...

There are some good points and some I think are wildly off the mark... At one point as I read this, I got the feeling the US Military was turning in the US on their uniforms for a little SS symbol. Personally, I don't see that happening. I think his Nazi fascination theme is wildly overdone...

IMO US military fascination with the concepts of Auftragstaktik and Clausewitz are about processes and tactical benefits for leaders to be empowered at the lowest level with the Commander's Intent and the authority to take action. He even shoots his own argument in the foot when he says the typical US Officer knows little about Clausewitz... Which is it, fascinated with the Germans or vaguely aware of them?

As for his pulling the US political leaders (Bush, Cheney, etc..) as thinking themselves as the new practitioners of Blitzkrieg to make a point, I had to burst out laughing... that was just plain absurd...

I'll speak Army because I know Army. This article made me think of a conversation I had with my former company commander not too long ago. I had to explain to him Jomini, Clausewitz, and their theories because he had never heard of them. There was very little fascination with German techniques. I think that is fairly typical in the Army.

At the moment, there is a shift in Army thinking which reflects counter-insurgency themes over conventional force on force themes. This has only been accelerating since 2004.

Regards,

Jim