Quote Originally Posted by carl View Post
former_0302:

This is the stuff of nightmares. It is third world army meets PC monster and they spawn something that will always be beaten. He just said that fighting proficiency is not as important as whatever characteristic is fashionable this week.

But that isn't the worst thing, at least for right now. The worst thing is the window into the mind of a 3 star this comment provides, a three star, supposedly one of the best the Army has. So the best the Army has doesn't acknowledge the importance of being good at fighting, subordinates it to political fashion and can't see what the result would be, or doesn't care.

Lind commented about the moral collapse of the officer corps. Well that 3-star's words validates fully Lind's view at least as far as the multi-stars go. The problem is officers lower down whose morals haven't collapsed yet won't be able to counteract the disastrous effects the multi-stars will have on the military.

Out of curiosity, what was the setup like when he spoke? Did he wander about talking to small groups? Was it a big auditorium? Were questions taken? Were honest questions taken or was it understood that certain things won't be asked? That kind of thing.
It was a large auditorium, and he did take questions. That was only one of the comments at which I looked in askance. Another was his assertion that, among his peers, that getting females integrated into all units (combat arms included) is unquestionably the right move, and that the biggest problem facing the Marine Corps right now is sexual assault.

He did take honest questions, and some were willing to ask rather difficult ones. I would not have characterized his responses to those questions as particularly substantive, however.