Worthy Analysis and Writing from Lt. Colonel Daniel L. Davis — “Purge the Generals”

28 August 2013

In our prevalently brainless culture — a sound piece of thought, intelligently delivered, should stand out

Daniel L. Davis, Purge the Generals, Armed Forces Journal (August 2013)

But — because accurate self-reflection is not an American cultural trait, Lt. Colonel Davis’ call for rewarding competent direction and management, within our military, has probably fallen on deaf ears.

What Lt. Colonel Davis said

Here is his superbly delivered lead paragraph — split and reformatted for easier online readability:

The U.S. Army’s generals, as a group, have lost the ability to effectively function at the high level required of those upon whom we place the responsibility for safeguarding our nation.

Over the past 20 years, our senior leaders have amassed a record of failure in major organizational, acquisition and strategic efforts.

These failures have been accompanied by the hallmarks of an organization unable and unwilling to fix itself:

aggressive resistance to the reporting of problems,

suppression of failed test results,

public declarations of success where none was justified,

and the absence of accountability.

Would that the rest of America’s unending supply of blatherers could write (or speak) so concisely on point.

A relevant aside about writing and thinking — springboarded from Davis’ first paragraph

The way we write mirrors the way we think.

If I have no idea at all what your point is — gathered from the confines of your first paragraph — I tentatively classify you as an incompetent communicator and time-waster.

If, by the end of your essay, I still have little idea what the parameters of your thesis are (or were) — I more firmly categorize you as a sloppy thinker, among many such. And I will probably not waste much time on anything else you have to say in the future.

Why?

Life is too short to tolerate the lazy stupidity that increasingly characterizes American culture.

How this comment about writing and thinking relates to Lt. Col. Davis’s criticisms of military leadership

From a management perspective, would you rather employ:

(a) people who understand how precious time and understanding are

(b) the masses of self-entitled and analytically lazy folk that humanity so easily delivers up?

This question is at the core of Davis’ leadership analysis.

Substantive specifics

Writes Davis:

Over the past two decades, Army generals have consistently insisted that various acquisition, organizational and even combat efforts were on course despite substantial and frequent expert testimony to the contrary.

They rejected alternative courses of action that independent analysis suggested might have produced superior results, and reaped failure after expensive failure.

Failures include:

(1) Terminated weapons development — because the programs eventually cost too much or the weapons did not work

RAH-66 Comanche armed reconnaissance helicopter

XM2001 Crusader mobile cannon

Future Combat Systems

Ground Combat Vehicle program

Joint Tactical Radio System

(2) Obtuse management strategies

Advanced Warfighter Experiment

and

eliminating, then having to replace, one of three maneuver battalions

(3) Strategic misperceptions, lying, and cover up

false claims of strategic success in Afghanistan, followed by refusal to release statistics that reveal the failure

and

a current (seemingly exclusive) concentration on small unit counter-insurgency, while China is overtly training and equipping for large-scale conventional warfare

What this boils down to

Says Davis:

Given[:]

the increasing conventional capability of our potential adversaries,

the rising possibility of a chaotic future operating environment,

the growing likelihood of an extended period of constrained budgets,

and

the statements made by our senior leaders that our Army will become smaller and less capable in the coming years,

a substantive change in the composition and culture of the senior leaders must be undertaken.

The moral? — Sub-mediocrities and attention-hogging narcissists, in leadership positions, get the rest of us into trouble

A nation led by incompetents will not survive in the long run. A nation led by liars has no conception of the realities with which it must deal.

Witness yesterday’s point about our Commander in Chief’s inability to think critically, even within his self-prescribed “what to do about Syria” parameters.

Lt. Colonel Davis’ Armed Forces Journal article is worth reading.

PeteFree.com

Worthy Analysis and Writing from Lt. Colonel Daniel L. Davis — “Purge the Generals”