Originally Posted by
Granite_State
Sir,
Agree with you on this, but I think it's a lot more far-reaching than that. Despite our officer corps being far too large, we do a horrible job retaining and managing talent (the Marine Corps doesn't even track retention of top performers, at least at the JO level, and I suspect the Army is the same way). Our personnel system is BROKEN. In a lot of ways it's a wonder we get the caliber of guys we do.
You don't have to buy the 4th Generation War pseudo-history to see that we have probably lost two wars. Most of that blame may rest at the feet of the politicians and unclear/unrealistic objectives, but the military has to shoulder some of the responsibility. PPE-laden "KLE patrols" don't indicate that we really "get" COIN, and I agree with you that much of our adaptation has been for the worst.
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