One consistent theme in e-mails and letters from NCOs and junior officers is their opinion that the quality of leadership has declined greatly over the last 10 or so years. In particular, they complain that senior leaders appear more concerned with furthering their own careers and lining up post-retirement employment than with fighting for the resources their troops need to train and be effective. Of course, even a quick glance through military history finds that this is a common complaint, especially in peacetime. Are we in fact seeing an unusual crisis in leadership? If so, what will happen if it continues, and what are the solutions?
Chief of Staff's Leadership Survey (Also 103 KB Adobe Acrobat .pdf file) Sixteen of the sixty-four surveys of students at the U.S. Army's Command and Staff College. As Tom Ricks wrote in the Washington Post (April 17, 2000): "'Young officers are getting out because they fell out of touch with leadership,' the Fort Leavenworth study concludes. 'Many believe there needs to be a clean sweep of a senior leadership as hierarchical as the military."
"The Revolution in Human Affairs: Changing the Culture for the 21st Century," by MAJ Donald E. Vandergriff, USA. Recently, one of the most talked-about presentations in Washington. If we don't restore the warrior culture, then the other "revolutions" in military affairs are merely ways to spend money. Why our current culture isn't doing the job, how it got this way, and what it's going to take to fix it.
Grand Strategy, a brief introduction by the editor of Defense and the National Interest.
The Lewis Report: "Time to Regenerate: A GenX Response to Dr. Wong's Monograph" In this response to a recent report by Dr Leonard Wong of the Army's Strategic Studies Institute, former Ranger Officer Mark Lewis gives the views of the Generation Xers themselves: Junior officers are leaving in alarming numbers because they no longer feel they can accomplish what they came into the Army to do. These "job satisfaction" issues indicate deep cultural problems that cannot be solved by perqs at the margin, like more pay, extra time off, or the right to e-mail superiors. [See also Mark Lewis's update as part of Comment 426 (631 KB PDF file.)]
DCSPER (LTG Maude) Report, 19 Oct 2000. Documents retention rate problems, esp. among company grade officers, and the unprecedented numbers of COLs and LTCs declining command billets (a necessary "ticket" for higher rank.)
"Army Professionalism, The Military Ethic, and Officership in the 21st Century," By Professor Don Snider, Major John Nagl, and Major Tony Pfaff of the US Military Academy at West Point. Occasionally veers into the academic, but don't be put off. This paper raises pertinent questions about how the political imperative for force protection ("minimize/ eliminate causalities") may erode military professionalism ("accomplish the mission"). Bombing from high altitude may result in fewer planes shot down, but when is that a fair trade-off for higher civilian casualties?
Cohesion, by Dr. Jonathan Shay. The author of Achilles in Vietnam explores "cohesion," the role it plays in combat performance, and how it differs from esprit d'corps. With proper training, most any group can be molded into a cohesive unit and good leadership can avoid conflicts between unit cohesion and overall force effectiveness. (389 KB MS Word document on Belisarius.com.)
About the Comments (Full text of the references are available on Infowar)
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Lewis Report: Why Stopping the Exodus of Junior Officers is Important, September 7, 2001
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The View From Mount Olympus Seen from the Cheap Seats, June 12, 2001
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A Critique of Pure Superstition: The Question of What Revolution in Military Affairs, April 6, 2001
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Comment #397 Error Correction, December 14, 2000
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The Revolution in Recruiting Affairs, December 7, 2000
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The Lewis Report: "Time to Regenerate: A GenX Response to Dr. Wong's Monograph" November 27, 2000
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The Lewis Commentary: Why The Beret May Be a Good Thing, November 15, 2000
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Women in the Military - a 3rd Call for Common Sense, August 10, 2000
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Women in the Military - 2 Calls for Common Sense, August 8, 2000
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Proliferation of Bronze Stars Raises Question of Martial Values in a 21st Century, June 8, 2000
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The All Mercenary Army - Unintended Consequences of Enlistment Bonuses, May 24, 2000
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Hooray for the Pentagon!!! May 16, 2000
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PowerPoint Dependency in the Post Information Era and the Question of Why are Captains Leaving the Army? April 27, 2000
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Trust, Mistrust and the Crisis in Leadership, February 5, 2000
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Why are Junior Officers Leaving the Navy? The Question of Leadership (Again !!!!), January 31, 2000
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Why are Captains Leaving the Army? A Question of Leadership, January 29, 2000
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The Specter Haunting Perfumed Princes of Versailles on the Potomac (II), December 7, 1999
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The Specter Haunting Perfumed Princes of Versailles on the Potomac, December 7, 1999
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The Question of Values, November 13, 1999
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Will an Across-the-Board Pay Raise Stop the Personnel Exodus? (II), October 1, 1999
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Drill Sergeants vs. Hollywood (VII) A Master Sergeant at Ft Sill Sounds Off, August 23, 1999
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Drill Sergeants vs. Hollywood (VI) More Professionalism or Patton's Mob, August 23, 1999
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Drill Sergeants vs. Hollywood (V) Professionalism or Patton's Mob, August 21, 1999
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Drill Sergeants vs. Hollywood (IV) CAPT XXXXX & CMDR YYY Respond, August 21, 1999
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Drill Sergeants vs. Hollywood (II) a Staff Sergeant Responds, August 20, 1999
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Drill Sergeants vs. Hollywood The Army Trips Out on Electronic Acid, August 19, 1999
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Fragging Soldierly Values (Why the Best and Brightest are Leaving the Military A Repost), August 1, 1999
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Why Are the Best and Brightest Leaving the Military?, July 31, 1999
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Task Force Hawk Mud Soldier Laments Being Stuck in Albanian Muck, June 2, 1999
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Toys vs. Boys Revisited - Pentagon Forgets to Put People in Armed Forces Day Poster for 4th Year in Row!!!!!! May 14, 1999
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Email Uber Alles DoD Authorization Bill Reimburses Troops for Losses of Pre-Paid Travel Expenses, May 14, 1999
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Judge Advocate Tells Troops to Foot the Bill for Losses of Pre-Paid Travel Expenses if they are Recalled from Leave Because of Kosovo Emergency, April 7, 1999
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Versailles-on-the-Potomac Begins the Blame Game as Courtiers Position Themselves for Future Budget Battles in Congress, April 2, 1999
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What Makes a Good Soldier Want to Join and Stay In the Military? Cosmetics & Self Interest & or & Leadership & Idealism, February 20, 1999
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An NCO's Opinion of the Retention and Leadership, February 17, 1999
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Why the Rush to Throw Money at Retention & Recruiting Problems Will Not Fix the Personnel Crisis, February 17, 1999
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Be All You Can Be -- The Navy Steps Up to the Army's Challenge, February 8, 1999
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EMAIL COMMON SENSE: Launch the Generals but Leash the Coondogs, January 11,1999
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Leadership (VII) - A Marine's View of Officer Bloat and its Deleterious Effect on Unit Cohesion, November 6, 1998
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Leadership (VI) - A British Officer Helps Helps the Cretans to Understand Themselves, November 6, 1998
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Leadership (V) - Unit Cohesion and Why Personnel Rotation Policies Hurt the Army's Readiness for Combat, November 5, 1998
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Leadership (IV) - A Master Sergeant Sounds Off, November 4, 1998
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Leadership (III) -- Is It Simply a Question of Restoring the Warrior Spirit or Are There Deeper Problems?
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Leadership (II) -- Is It Simply a Question of Restoring the Warrior Spirit or Are There Deeper Problems? November 4, 1998
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Is It Simply a Question of Restoring the Warrior Spirit or Are There Deeper Problems? November 2, 1998
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AF Readiness - A Non-Rated Lieutenant's View of the Retention Problem, September 28, 1998
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AF Readiness - Plummeting Pilot Retention Sets Stage for Crash-- A Cry From the Field, September 27, 1998
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