[Terabitten]

Sounds like some folks have been reading LTC Yingling’s essay.

[Tennessean4Bush]

Is Petraeus going to follow the footsteps of Eisenhower?

[HuntsvilleTxVeteran]

This should be a good thing as he will go more on ability instead of political C2COS.

[MNJohnnie]

Excellent!

[magellan]

The whole article is a very insightful read of some of the Army’s current leadership problems.

[txzman]

And one can only imagine the careers that are now headed down the toilet with a real soldier at the table picking the new generation of leaders. You can almost here the “oh shit”’s now.

[XtreMarine]

I am a Marine. Having worked for him, seen first hand how he does business, you can count on some of his loyal supporters getting thier star. Any West Point graduates with a good record will be even money. Anyone that has worked for him in the past, good to go...

[Lancey Howard]

I think this could be a good thing.
Now if we could only get him to select a Secretary of the Navy with an ounce of integrity.....

[StAthanasiustheGreat]

My bets, COL McMasters finally gets his star. I also think COL Shields, formerly my commander in the 172 SBCT, gets his first star.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks T4B.

The Army has summoned the top U.S. commander in Iraq back to Washington to preside over a board that will pick some of the next generation of Army leaders, an unusual decision that officials say represents a vote of confidence in Gen. David H. Petraeus's conduct of the war, as well as the Army counterinsurgency doctrine he helped rewrite.

I hope they keep some of the old school around, for the early phases of a war, when a legitimate enemy army has to be knocked apart in a hurry.

[quadrant]

Its positive that the Army is taking this step, but if the change is confined to selecting which O-6’s will make O-7, the change is cosmetic.
A friend of mind who retired as an O-7 told me that a Brigadier was similar to a pledge in fraternity - in but not really a member. And a Major General was similar to a pledge who had just been inducted into the frat: a member now but uncertain and cautious because senior brothers were far more influential.
Anyone who has studied the military (especially the Army) knows the big and most important jump is from two to three stars. The critical decisions are made by Lt Gen’s and above. Also, as I understand it, no formal promotions boards exist for the jump from Major General to Lt General. A small group of senior officers meet informally to decide who will get a third star.
Will the Army (and the other services) change this critical step? Unlikely. Those at the top have too much invested in the system to surrender control.

[dixiechick2000]

This is awesome!

Ya’ know...if things keep going this way WRT the war,
Bush will walk out of office a hero.

Too bad it took so long to get the right man in place.
However, it often does take a while for that.

I spoke with one of America’s finest during my last trip.
He’s excited about the new command there.
However, he was duly cautious, too.
It’s his third tour, and he was heading back.

BTW, he was Navy on loan to the Marines.
Seems like we have an exchange program going on.

I’m glad Navy is as involved as they are.