Ken,

Great post.

Thus, Officers want NCOs to be competent just not as competent as they are.
That single sentence is where all the cultural devils play. Indeed it is in defining competence and what levels of competence are acceptable, much less sought after. I agree that 100 years ago our NCOs were a different sort (then I met Stan and was transported back in time). That is not to say the debate on NCOs and NCO duties has been completely resolved in our own military. The dumbest officer I ever met in Africa was the one who told Stan after I departed Zaire that he was going back behind a desk "where he as an NCO belonged." I can confidently say that the best units we see here are the ones that make best use of their NCOs. But I cannot say that for every unit.

And therein lies the rub with General Scales premise that somehow it will be up to the Iraqi NCOs to determine success in Iraq. If we end up with 30 years, maybe so. Remember however that the British influence in Egypt was much longer. Frankly I hope that we our greatest influence has been on the leaders the Iraqis can identify as charismatic because ultimately they will as a culture select charisma over competency.

best

Tom