Executive power to nominate General Officers
Forgive me for what might sound like a nutty question to the professional officers here, but I know very little about the promotion path of officers.
It's my understanding that Title 10, United States Code requires General Officers to be nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate. And that the President makes his nominations based upon recommendations from the services.
So, could the President nominate an officer over that officer's superiors? Is it possible for an officer to jump several ranks?
For an extreme example: if he was interested in "shake-up," could the President ignore service recommendations and nominate a Colonel or a Brigadier for Chief of Staff or a Regional CINC?
Has anything that radical ever been done historically and been confirmed?
Dave spotted one, there have been others.
Haig got rapidly moved up from a LTC Bn Cdr in Viet Nam in 1967 -- where he seems to have really earned a DSC -- to the Deputy NSA as a three button and then a four star and Vice Chief of Staff of the Army in 1973. He then served as Nixon's last WH Chief of Staff in late 73 and got moved from there to SACEUR to get him out of DC in 74, after Watergate. He moved up over others as a one and a three star due to a long lasting MacArthur influence and later Kissinger influence.
Shy Meyer was a below the zone selectee for most of his later ranks but the only time he really got pulled up over others was when Carter tabbed him for Chief of Staff in Jun 79. He had been a LTG and was the DCSOPS at DA and Carter pulled him up over, IIRC, 12 or 13 others more senior to be the CofS/A. Good choice by Carter, incidentally. Meyer was no more political than any at that grade -- probably less so then most. He was just good. He fixed a lot of things, tried to fix the personnel system but the bureaucracy just waited him out...
There have been a lot of others -- many during WW II, few since then. Congress doesn't like it. They like their seniority system and don't think seniority is to be trifled with.
Unfortunately.
The guy Old Eagle mentions I knew when I served in DC. He thought I was evil because I flanked him on a couple of things. He was right. ;)
He later took over a good Bn and screwed it up. Haig was fairly good, so was Powell. Meyer was real good. This guy wasn't IMO..
A friend who was a Major at the time and whose
Father was a retired COL, Grandfather a retired two Star, told me both had advised him when he headed off for IOBC; "Be good, really good -- but don't be too good or your contemporaries will kill you on the way up."
It's a very competitive system...
Maybe too much so.
It has always been that way
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Ken White
Father was a retired COL, Grandfather a retired two Star, told me both had advised him when he headed off for IOBC; "Be good, really good -- but don't be too good or your contemporaries will kill you on the way up."
It's a very competitive system...
Maybe too much so.
I recently read a biography of Presidnet Eisenhower that stated that during his pre-World War II military career he purposefully tried to appear less intelligent then he was to avoid making other officers feel threatened.
The most famous case of which I'm aware is
Pershing
Quote:
Returning home in 1903, as a 43-year old captain, Pershing was assigned to the Southwest Army Division. In 1905, President Theodore Roosevelt mentioned Pershing during remarks to Congress about the army's promotion system. He argued that it should be possible to reward an able officer's service through promotion. These remarks were ignored by the establishment and Roosevelt, who could only nominate officers for general rank, was unable to promote Pershing. In the meantime, Pershing attended the Army War College and served as an observer during the Russo-Japanese War.
In September 1906, Roosevelt shocked the army by promoting five junior officers, Pershing included, directly to brigadier general. Jumping over 800 senior officers, Pershing was accused of having his father-in-law pull political strings in his favor.
Tracks with what I know and heard, John
Quote:
Originally Posted by
John T. Fishel
... Meyer reacted by saying "i'm not ready!"
However, that did not stop him from shortly afterward while still the DCSOPS sending a TWX to four star Don Starry, CG TRADOC telling TRADOC to do something Starry was known to oppose with a back channel ending with "the CofS Designee." :D