When we believe that we can pick general level talent when someone is a Lt, and then ignore all the red flags in subsequent years, we have a problem. Too many senior leaders decide who is going to be their guy/gal, and because of their ego, allow bad behavior to go unchallenged. I came in, in 1994, and retired in 2014. I saw it for the entirety of those 20 years. And nothing I have seen since I retired has dissuaded me that it has changed.
I served in the U.S. Air Force from 1968 to 1975 and the U.S. Air Force Reserve from 1975 to 1978. One of the many things I look back on was that I was privileged to have served with several (actually quite a few) WWII vets who were at the end of their careers. I got the good out of them before they walked out the door. They were a different breed of men. They were a different breed of leader.
After the Air Force I worked for a Fortune 10 corporation. One of the most admired companies in the world. Admired for products, financial management, operations, technology and... Leadership. We had excellent leadership and Management. Our senior leaders were like the WWII era leaders I knew in the Air Force. They were a different breed of people. A different breed of leader and manager.
After retiring from that company I worked (Sr. VP) for a small defense contractor advising senior Air Force leaders both military and civilians. After a 33 years absence I was back in the Air Force! Working with 'Stars' and SESs and GS15s. For nearly five years. For five days a week and sometimes weekends. And everyday when I left to go home (or my hotel), as I drove off base... my thought was that all of these people need to be fired!
It's interesting to re-immerse after being away. I'm feeling a little of that myself. I spent 8 years up to my neck in a private sector leadership role. When I turned my attention back to the USAF, the realities stuck out ever more starkly than before.
Much to agree with in this. Much to disagree with as well, mostly because it’s written by someone who is ill versed in the subject he is opining about.
We all must choose whether we'd prefer the right ideas from someone we consider unqualified or the wrong ideas advanced by someone using their qualification to give those ideas undeserved oxygen.
It's a logical fallacy to attack the credibility of the messenger vs considering the message.
But it's a practical fallacy for me to believe I can convince someone who has already made a judgement to change that judgement.
Thanks for reading and commenting. Genuinely, I appreciate it even if we vaguely disagree.
“What we should notice is a pile of generals, stacked like cord wood, laying in the ditch, their careers ended after their vehement, vocal, public, persistent protest against a funding level leaving the nation’s defense compromised. We don’t notice that.”
I crave leadership like this. But our senior officer development pipeline intentionally culls the herd from this kind of backbone…which is why it’s 20 years for me and no more.
I only worked on the Air Staff for three years but this was my sense of the top level as well. Unfortunately, the next admin is already centralizing decision making even more than it was before. The budget/uniform focused GOFOs are going to absolutely thrive for the next four years.
Steven Kwast and Craig Wills single-handedly destroyed our UPT program and set us up to become a 3rd rate Air Force for decades to come. I’d love to see you do a deep dive on that story. (I was a UPT IP at Columbus at the height of their bullshit).
Unfortunately, there is no one less mentally, professionally or morally equipped to fix the services than Hegseth. “Reforms” will not be made to create a better force but better political commissars. Pretending like Hegseth and crew are good-faith actors is as blind and empty as morale being “pretty darn good”
Agree. Served in the Air Force for four years and then interservice transferred to the USN. Flag leadership is weak all across the services. Agree with you on Goldwater-Nichols. Needs reform as with Flag promotion boards. I do miss the days of Fogleman and Cunningham (12th Air Force).
These people think themselves Kings, and the Kings' courts they build for themselves have no jesters in them. Nobody tells them "no, this is a bad idea." They're surrounded entirely by yes-men that know if they just keep saying yes, they might have a chance of being a King themselves one day.
And you can see it on them, the way they love how they're treated like celebrities everywhere they go. They have Colonels building them schedules and taking their calls and Majors and Master Sergeants fetching their coffee and cars. They love the reserved parking spots at the Commissary with a star on the sign. The only GOs I know that I trust are the ones that hate the spotlights, the dog-and-pony shows, the attendants. And unfortunately it feels like the good ones rarely make it past one or two stars because they don't like the game.
All four branches need a major house cleaning at the Flag officer level, (fire them all) then head into the 05/06 level and clean out the snivelers and acolytes of the current Flag Officers. Goldwater Nichols has to be put back on the table it has led to “joint” hand holding, milk and cookies, and nap time for officers. We have a Navy that doesn’t float, a Marine Corps that says what it won’t do and an Army that who knows what it does. Fulda Gap? Hell this current bunch of Flag misfits can’t find their backsides in a dark closet with a high powered flashlight. Great post! PS you no doubt will hear Mr. Hegseth is not qualified, no gravitas, let’s look at some guys that supposedly had gravitas, Robert “we’re winning” McNamara (forget he was boss at Ford when they rolled out the Edsel) Dr. Harold Brown, a genius, one of the Kennedy whiz kids, good ole Donald “knowns and unknowns Don” Rumsfeld, if at first you don’t succeed come back for seconds. How about Les Aspin? Dick Cheney anyone? Bill Cohen! Robert Gates! “We’re winning in Afghanistan!”. If we look at the political hacks and whiz kids that have tried to run the puzzle palace for the last 70 years one thing stands out. They can’t. The inmates run the asylum and until the culture is turned on its head or we get soundly beaten in a clear peer foe fight it is unlikely to change. So let’s give the “kid” with no experience and no gravitas a try, we have nothing to lose at this stage, well except a bunch four stars that can’t carry their own coffee cup.
1- General Staff, not improved Joint Chiefs of Staff. A General Staff subordinates Space Force, Air Force, Fires Force, Sea Force, and Land Force to unified command under a Chief of Staff of The General Staff under SecDef and POTUS.
2- US is a Tier II military and political power at best, steadily trending towards Tier III, where UK and EU already are. Russia is generations ahead of US in both dimensions, China in one and soon in both.
3- What's missing is a rational, realistic US Grand National Strategic Objective and US Armed Force TOEs consistent with it.
Well that may be, though Rex Tillerson damn near ran XOM into the ground, and headed to the State Department, and he was supposedly “qualified” to run Exxon; the active duty military now have a new boss in their chain of command on the way to POTUS. Last time this old Marine checked it was now a time for coming to a very complete position of attention, acknowledging understanding and compliance, taking one step the rear, executing an about face and then willingly, cheerfully and obediently carrying out the orders of the day, whilst marching smartly out the hatch into the new day. Marines don’t salute indoors unless under arms, thus no rendering of the hand salute. The time for opinions has ended. There is a new Boss in charge of the puzzle palace. Everyone better get in line behind the new boss and do so smartly.
Absolutely not how a marine (or any service ever) should respond. We do not sign over our morals, core principles, or oath of office to new leadership - that’s CCP/Wehmracht thinking. “The time for opinions has ended” - that’s is the most amoral and dumb thing I’ve heard in a long while.
Alignment of the foreign and domestic policies with military structure, a novel concept…you’re on point with 1,2 and 3. Never thought of the General Staff organization, Bruce Gudmundsson has several perhaps many posts on the various general staff organizations in other countries over time. They can be effective.
When we believe that we can pick general level talent when someone is a Lt, and then ignore all the red flags in subsequent years, we have a problem. Too many senior leaders decide who is going to be their guy/gal, and because of their ego, allow bad behavior to go unchallenged. I came in, in 1994, and retired in 2014. I saw it for the entirety of those 20 years. And nothing I have seen since I retired has dissuaded me that it has changed.
Agree!
I served in the U.S. Air Force from 1968 to 1975 and the U.S. Air Force Reserve from 1975 to 1978. One of the many things I look back on was that I was privileged to have served with several (actually quite a few) WWII vets who were at the end of their careers. I got the good out of them before they walked out the door. They were a different breed of men. They were a different breed of leader.
After the Air Force I worked for a Fortune 10 corporation. One of the most admired companies in the world. Admired for products, financial management, operations, technology and... Leadership. We had excellent leadership and Management. Our senior leaders were like the WWII era leaders I knew in the Air Force. They were a different breed of people. A different breed of leader and manager.
After retiring from that company I worked (Sr. VP) for a small defense contractor advising senior Air Force leaders both military and civilians. After a 33 years absence I was back in the Air Force! Working with 'Stars' and SESs and GS15s. For nearly five years. For five days a week and sometimes weekends. And everyday when I left to go home (or my hotel), as I drove off base... my thought was that all of these people need to be fired!
It's interesting to re-immerse after being away. I'm feeling a little of that myself. I spent 8 years up to my neck in a private sector leadership role. When I turned my attention back to the USAF, the realities stuck out ever more starkly than before.
Thanks for engaging Ron.
Much to agree with in this. Much to disagree with as well, mostly because it’s written by someone who is ill versed in the subject he is opining about.
We all must choose whether we'd prefer the right ideas from someone we consider unqualified or the wrong ideas advanced by someone using their qualification to give those ideas undeserved oxygen.
It's a logical fallacy to attack the credibility of the messenger vs considering the message.
But it's a practical fallacy for me to believe I can convince someone who has already made a judgement to change that judgement.
Thanks for reading and commenting. Genuinely, I appreciate it even if we vaguely disagree.
Admirable response.
“What we should notice is a pile of generals, stacked like cord wood, laying in the ditch, their careers ended after their vehement, vocal, public, persistent protest against a funding level leaving the nation’s defense compromised. We don’t notice that.”
I crave leadership like this. But our senior officer development pipeline intentionally culls the herd from this kind of backbone…which is why it’s 20 years for me and no more.
I only worked on the Air Staff for three years but this was my sense of the top level as well. Unfortunately, the next admin is already centralizing decision making even more than it was before. The budget/uniform focused GOFOs are going to absolutely thrive for the next four years.
Steven Kwast and Craig Wills single-handedly destroyed our UPT program and set us up to become a 3rd rate Air Force for decades to come. I’d love to see you do a deep dive on that story. (I was a UPT IP at Columbus at the height of their bullshit).
It seems like the Air Force has the same basic problem as the Navy. Must be something in the DC water supply.
Unfortunately, there is no one less mentally, professionally or morally equipped to fix the services than Hegseth. “Reforms” will not be made to create a better force but better political commissars. Pretending like Hegseth and crew are good-faith actors is as blind and empty as morale being “pretty darn good”
Well written, good sir
Agree. Served in the Air Force for four years and then interservice transferred to the USN. Flag leadership is weak all across the services. Agree with you on Goldwater-Nichols. Needs reform as with Flag promotion boards. I do miss the days of Fogleman and Cunningham (12th Air Force).
These people think themselves Kings, and the Kings' courts they build for themselves have no jesters in them. Nobody tells them "no, this is a bad idea." They're surrounded entirely by yes-men that know if they just keep saying yes, they might have a chance of being a King themselves one day.
And you can see it on them, the way they love how they're treated like celebrities everywhere they go. They have Colonels building them schedules and taking their calls and Majors and Master Sergeants fetching their coffee and cars. They love the reserved parking spots at the Commissary with a star on the sign. The only GOs I know that I trust are the ones that hate the spotlights, the dog-and-pony shows, the attendants. And unfortunately it feels like the good ones rarely make it past one or two stars because they don't like the game.
Excellent article and spot on, as a retired fighter Crew Chief (81-01), I agree completely.
Wait a couple days and you’ll get them
“Our generals are doing the same thing. They are military version of Nickelback.”
vicious
FWIW, I'd like to offer an expansion of the subject, to US mil from USAF, and from US mil to US grand national strategic objective:
https://therevdavidrgraham.substack.com/p/we-are-not
All four branches need a major house cleaning at the Flag officer level, (fire them all) then head into the 05/06 level and clean out the snivelers and acolytes of the current Flag Officers. Goldwater Nichols has to be put back on the table it has led to “joint” hand holding, milk and cookies, and nap time for officers. We have a Navy that doesn’t float, a Marine Corps that says what it won’t do and an Army that who knows what it does. Fulda Gap? Hell this current bunch of Flag misfits can’t find their backsides in a dark closet with a high powered flashlight. Great post! PS you no doubt will hear Mr. Hegseth is not qualified, no gravitas, let’s look at some guys that supposedly had gravitas, Robert “we’re winning” McNamara (forget he was boss at Ford when they rolled out the Edsel) Dr. Harold Brown, a genius, one of the Kennedy whiz kids, good ole Donald “knowns and unknowns Don” Rumsfeld, if at first you don’t succeed come back for seconds. How about Les Aspin? Dick Cheney anyone? Bill Cohen! Robert Gates! “We’re winning in Afghanistan!”. If we look at the political hacks and whiz kids that have tried to run the puzzle palace for the last 70 years one thing stands out. They can’t. The inmates run the asylum and until the culture is turned on its head or we get soundly beaten in a clear peer foe fight it is unlikely to change. So let’s give the “kid” with no experience and no gravitas a try, we have nothing to lose at this stage, well except a bunch four stars that can’t carry their own coffee cup.
1- General Staff, not improved Joint Chiefs of Staff. A General Staff subordinates Space Force, Air Force, Fires Force, Sea Force, and Land Force to unified command under a Chief of Staff of The General Staff under SecDef and POTUS.
2- US is a Tier II military and political power at best, steadily trending towards Tier III, where UK and EU already are. Russia is generations ahead of US in both dimensions, China in one and soon in both.
3- What's missing is a rational, realistic US Grand National Strategic Objective and US Armed Force TOEs consistent with it.
There are tens of thousand of CGO/FGOs in AD all more qualified than Hegseth. He’s less qualified mentally or professionally than any O in my unit.
You’re talking about putting a gas station attendant in charge of Exxon-Mobil …if they also had nukes.
Well that may be, though Rex Tillerson damn near ran XOM into the ground, and headed to the State Department, and he was supposedly “qualified” to run Exxon; the active duty military now have a new boss in their chain of command on the way to POTUS. Last time this old Marine checked it was now a time for coming to a very complete position of attention, acknowledging understanding and compliance, taking one step the rear, executing an about face and then willingly, cheerfully and obediently carrying out the orders of the day, whilst marching smartly out the hatch into the new day. Marines don’t salute indoors unless under arms, thus no rendering of the hand salute. The time for opinions has ended. There is a new Boss in charge of the puzzle palace. Everyone better get in line behind the new boss and do so smartly.
Absolutely not how a marine (or any service ever) should respond. We do not sign over our morals, core principles, or oath of office to new leadership - that’s CCP/Wehmracht thinking. “The time for opinions has ended” - that’s is the most amoral and dumb thing I’ve heard in a long while.
Alignment of the foreign and domestic policies with military structure, a novel concept…you’re on point with 1,2 and 3. Never thought of the General Staff organization, Bruce Gudmundsson has several perhaps many posts on the various general staff organizations in other countries over time. They can be effective.