"Standards of Excellence"

[Ulenspiegel]

A very good dissertation on the structure, selection, training and expansion of the German officer corps is:

Autor: Richhardt, Dirk
Titel: Auswahl und Ausbildung junger Offiziere 1930-1945
Titel (eng): Selection and trainig of young officers 1930-1945
Erscheinungsjahr: 2002
Fachbereich: Fachbereich Geschichte und Kulturwissenschaften, Philipps-Universität Marburg
Institut: Geschichte und Kulturwissenschaften
Format: Portable Document Format (PDF 2.2M)
URL: http://archiv.ub.uni-marburg.de/diss/z2005/0100/
URN: urn:nbn:de:hebis:04-z2005-01003
DDC-Sachgruppe: 943 Geschichte Deutschlands

This publication (only in German) gives a lot of hard numbers and describes in detail the dramatic chages of the officer training after 1941 due to the high losses at the ostfront. The combination with Muth's "Command Culture" and parts of Crevelt's "Fighting Power" gives a quite complete picture for the Greman side.

[bumperplate]

I sat through an IPR today where people talked about the CG going ballistic about "dog & pony" show type of stuff. Then I come home, read this thread and I have to just laugh.

The system is not going to change. It is what it is.

I wonder if there are any units that don't get distracted by the superfluous, garrison, limp-wristed crap.

[120mm]

Funny thing happened today to me, as well.

Was sitting through one of our twice a day production meetings (twice a day? WTF???) and someone mentioned the "80% solution".

"80%, I said... don't you mean 70% solution?" I mean, the basis for the phrase was that 70% was "passing".

But, no, some mouth breathing moron decided that if 70% was good, then 80% is better, so now we need to make sure our product meets the 80% solution, because it is better.

Of course, that doesn't stop the idiots at the top from taking several MONTHS to get an intel product out the door. MONTHS!!!! All in the moronic, risk averse attempt to get product "perfect".

80% solution my *ss....

[ganulv]

Was sitting through one of our twice a day production meetings (twice a day? WTF???) and someone mentioned the "80% solution".

"80%, I said... don't you mean 70% solution?" I mean, the basis for the phrase was that 70% was "passing".

But, no, some mouth breathing moron decided that if 70% was good, then 80% is better, so now we need to make sure our product meets the 80% solution, because it is better.

Sounds like someone may have been indulging in the seven-per-cent solution.

[Fuchs]

Having a clogged nose right now...what is so evil about mouth breathing?!?

There's some kind of political committee report on the Kundus bombing event in the German news now. It strikes me how self-evident it appears to be for everyone involved that an officer who makes one mistake has to be fired and isn't acceptable for further service.

The zero failure tolerance has set in and I didn't see it coming.

Shouldn't it be self-evident that learning from mistakes, not mistakes themselves is critical? We are all fallible human beings, after all!

[JMA]

Having a clogged nose right now...what is so evil about mouth breathing?!?

There's some kind of political committee report on the Kundus bombing event in the German news now. It strikes me how self-evident it appears to be for everyone involved that an officer who makes one mistake has to be fired and isn't acceptable for further service.

The zero failure tolerance has set in and I didn't see it coming.

Shouldn't it be self-evident that learning from mistakes, not mistakes themselves is critical? We are all fallible human beings, after all!

Reminds me of the Theodore Rooseveldt quote:

Excerpt from the speech "Citizenship In A Republic", delivered at the Sorbonne, in Paris, France on 23 April, 1910

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.

However, there is a line that needs to be drawn between an honest error and the result of incompetence.

[120mm]

Having a clogged nose right now...what is so evil about mouth breathing?!?

There's some kind of political committee report on the Kundus bombing event in the German news now. It strikes me how self-evident it appears to be for everyone involved that an officer who makes one mistake has to be fired and isn't acceptable for further service.

The zero failure tolerance has set in and I didn't see it coming.

Shouldn't it be self-evident that learning from mistakes, not mistakes themselves is critical? We are all fallible human beings, after all!

Zero tolerance? Frankly, I'd like to see the entire officer staff of RC-N relieved and reduced to begging on the streets.

The "fail" is strong with that group of bozos.

The hard part will be finding just one to fire.

[Pete]

I'm on both sides of this issue. At times "eyewash" is a way of putting a bit of snap and pop into a complacent unit. A bit of of it it isn't a bad thing if it causes guys to pay more attention to detail. There is a cross-over point though when too much if it is counter-productive and a waste of effort on non-productive things.

A certain amount of feeling sharp is a good thing. I never felt better than in '77 when we had starched cotton fatigues with highly shined jump-boots. The feel-good-factor went way down when the perma-press uniform came out, and fell even lower when the no-press BDUs were introduced. There was no feeling sharp any more.

[bumperplate]

I decided the Army should never again press/starch uniforms when, one day, I went to the motorpool and found myself reluctant to get under vehicles or take a knee to inspect them, do pmcs etc - all out of concern for damaging the long hard work I'd done to make myself look sharp. The alternative was to change uniforms when going to the motorpool. Even putting coveralls over top wasn't going to stop wrinkles, creases, etc.

Anyway, it was at that point I decided that starch, pressing, and any form of looking pretty was now a nogo in my book.

I do agree there is some pride to be had in feeling sharp. However, it's never as strong as the feeling as when your unit completes a very difficult training event, or performs well in combat, etc.

Also, to be honest, I've felt more pride in being an arms room officer for instance, and seeing my SPC armorer and I produce a flawless SOP, or go through an inspection with excellent results - not because it then briefed well, but because I knew damn well that he and I both knew what we were doing and that I could trust with him any and everything related to that arms room. Did more for cohesion, esprit de corps, and so forth than any bull#### unit run could have done. Bonding and pride comes from working together to accomplish meaningful things. That stuff is durable. A unit run makes you feel good until you hit the door at the DFAC, and then it's over.

What we have these days is a bunch of commanders that go from one fleeting moment of 'feeling sharp' to another, one PowerPoint masterpiece to another. And they never actually go out there and just accomplish a mission, build a team, lead Soldiers, or anything else that has true, durable meaning.

[Entropy]

Funny thing happened today to me, as well.

Was sitting through one of our twice a day production meetings (twice a day? WTF???) and someone mentioned the "80% solution".

"80%, I said... don't you mean 70% solution?" I mean, the basis for the phrase was that 70% was "passing".

But, no, some mouth breathing moron decided that if 70% was good, then 80% is better, so now we need to make sure our product meets the 80% solution, because it is better.

Of course, that doesn't stop the idiots at the top from taking several MONTHS to get an intel product out the door. MONTHS!!!! All in the moronic, risk averse attempt to get product "perfect".

80% solution my *ss....

Unfortunately that's long been SOP at HHQ and theater intel shops.