Quote Originally Posted by William F. Owen View Post
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a. On the subject of the thread, Do we need to adjust principles of war, if they are of dubious merit, - eg: Do they help make soldiers better at what they do? I submit that Leonhard's method of arguments is extremely useful, or rather I find it so, because I now understand things that I previously did not.
Who determines the merit? If they are to be adjusted, who determines to what and in what way? A committee....

Now that IS scary.

b. Military Theory lacks a common set of definitions comparative to other fields of study. I submit that this is extremely problematic. This is not just my opinion. It is a real bone of contention in the UK. I have many examples. Israeli military theory is similarly hamstrung due to the translation issue.
We can agree on the first sentence, we can agree it can pose problems (particularly in coalition operations -- though that is easing. Slowly but soldiers tend to be conservative...). We can disagree that it is a significant problem -- other than for those who wish to study and conduct academic discourse on the topics; the folks actually doing the job make it work.

However, certainly the fact that I contend you're -- as I said semi jokingly earlier -- proposing a solution in search of a problem should be no deterrent to your thesis. I do suspect, however, that getting the rather fractious and arrogant Israeli, UK and US military types to agree on common terminology will be rather like herding cats. Though probably not as much fun...

That's without including any other nations.

c. I believe that there should be a sound academic grounding to the profession of arms. It would save us considerable pain and pay off in the long run. I am not suggesting NCOs read Sun-Tzu. Education needs to be appropriate.
I agree but I suspect our definitions of "sound academic" would differ; I'd also suggest that NCOs should read Sun Tzu -- and that even Privates should have some rudimentary knowledge of the departed Chinese gentleman and several other theorists.

I don't really care which theorists as long as there are several. Been my observation that competing dogmas lead people to pick and choose from them to find a path that works for the them at the time..

That, I think, is a good thing

PS - Rigor was plain lazy typo. No excuses!
Not a problem, as I said, just a minor, joking item. Your PS emphasizes my points -- in a pinch or a hurry, we all often revert to our cultural background and omit the nuances; and the difference in form does not really detract from understanding at all...

Still, best of luck with your quest.