Poster-boy losers: David Hackworth whacks military's inexperienced 'Perfumed Princes'

WorldNetDaily.com ^ | Wednesday, March 27, 2002 | Col. David Hackworth

[JohnHuang2]

Wednesday, March 27, 2002

Quote of the Day by mille99 0/327/02

[JohnHuang2]

Col. David Hackworth ping...

[My Identity]

OOOH! Somebody has Hackworth's dander up! One can only hope the mainstream media reads him and learns.

[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

David Hackworth whacks military's inexperienced 'Perfumed Princes'

Good. I've read an article or two where Bill Gertz of the Washington Times talks about China's "princelings" in their military. A princeling is a politically-connected military officer that is on the promotion fast-track, receives a paycheck that is normally for somebody 3 or 4 paygrades higher, is utterly clueless about military matters, and can do know wrong.

The U.S. military has its own share of princelings and it is disgusting. And, their utter fear of sexual discrimination accusations has caused the military to promote female officers that are blindingly incompetent into command billets. In today's military, it is automatically sexual discrimination if a woman is passed over for promotion.

[cascademountaineer]

Link to Hack online archived columns.

[GeronL]

heheh

[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

OOOH! Somebody has Hackworth's dander up!

It must be a few people like this guy:

But when Perfumed Princes like Maj. Gen. Franklin Hagenbeck – with his M.S. degree in exercise physiology (but no combat experience) and Pentagon punches such as director for politico-military affairs for global and multilateral issues (I kid you not) under his shiny general's belt – took over the fighting with the conventional, non-mountain-trained 10th Division, our Army came away with that Vietnam Heartbreak Ridge look: high body count without many bodies and too many friendly casualties.

[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

I've seen him on FoxNews within the last 2 weeks.

[Rokke]

Actually, I think a lot of today's generals were raised during the Viet Nam era fighting exactly the guerrilla war Hackworth says they don't know how to fight. I definitely agree that there is WAY too much emphasis in our military on stupid, candy-assed professional military education programs, but Hackworth also needs to remember that the era of bayonet charges is over. The outstanding performance of our special forces troops is a credit to their training, and to the foresight of military leaders that made sure those programs are/were in place. As this war continues, the perfumed princes who rose to their positions by punching the right tickets, will fall to the wayside, replaced by true leaders and warriors. Just like they always have at the start of every one of our major conflicts.

[Righty1]

I heard him unload on FOX, I haven't seen him since. Hagenbeck is Rambo compared to General Franks. God that guy is so afraid to utter a word that Rummy or Neville Powell won't like that he is constipated!

[SamAdams76]

Very true. General Patton would be court-martialed down to private in today's Army. He's just not a politically-correct kind of guy. But you don't need to be politically correct to win a war. In fact, in wartime, being politically correct can be a large liability.

When I was in the Marines, now some 15-20 years ago, I saw the system reward the "squared-away" buttkissers who worried more about polishing their brass and shining their shoes instead of excelling in the field, while the real leaders often got their careers sidetracked or even ruined over some slight infraction or offense.

I remember when Marines would be put up for meritorious promotions. Young privates first class or lance corporals would be put up for advanced promotion by their sergeants for outstanding work in the field. But invariably, the promotions would go to some clerk who worked inside, kept his uniform neatly pressed and knew all the answers to those nerdy questions that were always posed by the promotions board (made up of lieutenants and captains). Such as "What are the seven steps of treating a puncture wound?"

The Marines who worked out in the field would know exactly what to do and it wouldn't take the goofy seven steps outlined in the manual. But the admin dweeb typing up supply orders in an air-conditioned Quonset hut all day has time to study the manual and learn the "book" way of how to do things. But put a bleeding Marine in front of him and he'd probably panic and start rifling through drawers looking for a tourniquet while a field Marine was making a tourniquet on the spot by ripping his shirt.

[My Identity]

Exactly. But I didn't wan't to mention the name. From early press reports:

Some senior Pentagon officials expressed irritation that the commander of operation in Shah-i-Kot, Maj. Gen. Franklin L. Hagenbeck, spoke so explicitly about Al Qaeda deaths in the campaign's opening days.

"Our estimation is that in the last 24-48 hours, the number of enemy that we fought over time is somewhere in the neighborhood of 600 to 700 enemies," General Hagenbeck, commander of the 10th Mountain Division, said on March 6. "Conservatively speaking right now, I'm convinced from the evidence that I have seen that we have killed at least half of those enemy forces."

Military commanders say that unlike in Vietnam, they are not using the closely held figures to measure their battlefield achievements. Instead, the estimates of enemy dead are used to help plan operations.

[stumpy]

As long as "grunts" are on the ground, the day of the bayonet charge is NOT gone. As for the training of the special forces personnel, that goes with the job. While attending Infrantry Training Regiment, Camp Pendelton Ca. in September of 1965 there was a large sign that said, "THE MORE YOU SWEAT IN PEACE, THE LESS YOU BLEED IN WAR".

[agincourt1415]

Col. Hackworth is right on, except for the unfortunate reference to General U.S. Grant, an aggressive but poor General, who lost more troops to causalties in the last three months of the Civil War than the entire number of Confederate Troops under command of General Robert E. Lee.

[Always A Marine]

Hackworth also needs to remember that the era of bayonet charges is over. The outstanding performance of our special forces troops is a credit to their training, and to the foresight of military leaders...

Hack praises the performance of well-trained, well-led SF forces. It's the regulars, specifically 10th Mountain Division units which he accuses of screwing the pooch. And as for your assertion that "the era of bayonet charges is over," take it from one who knows: when the fighting gets close and desperate, you are back in the Stone Age. Bayonets, knives, fists and thumbs might be all you have, so you damned well better have the guts and skill to use them.

As this war continues, the perfumed princes... will fall to the wayside, replaced by true leaders and warriors. Just like they always have at the start of every one of our major conflicts.

I agree with you on this point. However, as you state, this painful process only plays out in major and protracted conflicts. The lambs can hide out while the lions fight the short wars. And they get a lot of people killed at the start...

[jamaly]

OOOH! Somebody has Hackworth's dander up! One can only hope the mainstream media reads him and learns.

To heck with the media. We better hope President Bush reads him and retires some of those perfumed princes.

[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

Check out the bio of Hill AFB's Vice Commander.

She's been in the military since 1975 and is as battle-hardened as a sack of wet mush. Her list of Pentagon staff jobs sure is impressive! I'll bet the citation for her Legion of Merit medal is real impressive, too. Probably got it at the Pentagon for shining some General's shoes, cleaning his office, and keeping his paperwork organized above and beyond the call of duty.

That's today's military. If you're a good office b**ch, you can move right up that ladder!

[Rokke]

Well, I'm not an infantry soldier, but in my line of work if you close with an aware enemy to engage in "hand-to-hand" combat, you've screwed up. Is there ever a time in ground combat, where a bayonet charge is the best option? We have the technology and means to kill people at range. What we don't have, is the political strength to use all the weapons at our disposal to do it.