[JohnHuang2]

Wednesday, March 27, 2002

Quote of the Day by mille99 0/327/02

[JohnHuang2]

Col. David Hackworth ping...

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[Travis McGee]

BTTT

[RLK]

Hack is a national resource.

[texlok]

I had a Battery commander when I was in the Army that reminds me of this...he was much more concerned with his career than anybody under him...I think if we saw him once every few weeks, that was seeing him a lot. We all grumbled about how we hated it when our commanders came around, but...at least the ones who actually came around often cared about us and their craft. We all had the feeling that had we ever gone into combat, he would be far in the back.

[Deadeye Division]

Hack's new book will be in stores 2 May. A couple of draft chapters are posted on his Web site.

[TADSLOS]

Spot on. Ticket punching and career maneuvering has evolved into a science and institutionalized within the Army, at least. It has also reached the senior NCO corps. There are damned few warrior Generals left and they're getting more rare every day.

[Harrison Bergeron]

Hack really had a following around here with all of his anti-Clinton rants. But now that we're 16 months into a pro-military republican administration with pay raises for everyone and a righteous war in progress, we're learning that he just doesn't have anything good to say about anybody or anything.

[Countyline]

Hack calls them as he sees them.
Thank God for men of good intentions and the courage to bravery

[windcliff]

fyi