Let's Vote

[Xenophon]

I agree completely with point 1 in your post, Bill Moore. But be careful about comparing the strategic corporal to the Starship Troopers of science fiction. Remember, submarines and airplanes were science fiction not that long ago.

Also, I think the "dumbing down" of kids has less to do with computers and video games than with the education system that acts much the same as the military. Conformity is the key, and nowhere are students encouraged to seek out knowledge that they want just for the sake of learning. I have far more academic reading since graduating college than I have ever done before, just for the fact that I have the time and freedom to read what I want to learn instead of getting tired old classic novels and worthless algebraic formulas down my throat.

[zenpundit]

"...instead of getting tired old classic novels and worthless algebraic formulas down my throat."

Oh, I don't know. Dostoyevskii's The Possessed looks pretty relevant these days.

[Xenophon]

And certainly it is. If only that had been assigned reading. Instead we get crap like Ragged Dick and Flowers for Algernon. Middle school level books at the max, being taught in college. You should see the crap high schoolers are forced to waste their time on now.

[zenpundit]

"Instead we get crap like Ragged Dick..."

Resisting.....joke...too.....easy....

I agree, totally inappropriate for the college level. Or even serious H.S. courses in the honors or A.P. vein. I imagine these books are kept on reading lists because so many students have reading and critical thinking skills years behind their chronological age. A H.S. in an affluent area will have juniors reading Paradise Lost and Moby Dick while schools in an impoverished area - well - nothing comparable.

OTOH I retain a certain fondness for Flowers For Algernon - a good way to have younger students contemplate the nature of intelligence, perception, moral reasoning and so on.

[RTK]

OTOH I retain a certain fondness for Flowers For Algernon - a good way to have younger students contemplate the nature of intelligence, perception, moral reasoning and so on.

How about A Message to Garcia as an example of the strategic lieutenant 100 years ago. That's what we're looking for in our junior soldiers now. And, believe it or not, we're seeing a lot of them.

[CR6]

How about A Message to Garcia as an example of the strategic lieutenant 100 years ago. That's what we're looking for in our junior soldiers now. And, believe it or not, we're seeing a lot of them.

I'm not sure if A Message to Garcia teaches young leaders the right lessons. Especially if they are going to be directing tactical operations with strategic consequences, leaders need to know it's okay to ask questions, know the environment in which they are operating and gain an appreciation for the enemy situation before executing. MtG just sends the message to take the initiative blindly, without knowing what you are getting into.

[RTK]

I'm not sure if A Message to Garcia teaches young leaders the right lessons. Especially if they are going to be directing tactical operations with strategic consequences, leaders need to know it's okay to ask questions, know the environment in which they are operating and gain an appreciation for the enemy situation before executing. MtG just sends the message to take the initiative blindly, without knowing what you are getting into.

I see where you're coming from on this, but I'm going to stand my ground for the following reason.

Obviously the story was written in a very different era with much different circumstances. The important points I'd like to highlight are the fact that the young lieutenant was selected due to his abilities. His leadership trusted him to get the message to Garcia. We all have the "go-to" specialist in our organizations that we call upon when it comes down to it. I'm not just talking about the orderly room either.

Perhaps it's dawning on me that my experience is perilously different from others. I had young E5s and senior corporals in charge of towns and individual AOs within my troop AO. There were certain areas I just didn't need to go to often since they had the handle on it. They had the relationships with the local leadership. They interacted with the muktar, imam, mayor, and police everyday. They made progress. I resourced them with what they needed for success. I didn't have to get involved because they were innovative junior leaders who took a commander's intent, key tasks, and end state and ran with it. Picking out the ones that understand 2nd and 3rd order effects helps too.

In that respect, I would submit that the impact of second and third order effects is much more understood at the smaller tactical level than it is at higher levels. Strategic implications oftentimes circle back around and hit a unit in the throat tactically. For this reason, many junior leaders are cognizant and sensitive to the fact that Newton's Law of Motion has real consequences in the COIN environment and that the reaction usually has dynamic and real impacts on their day to day operations.

In the context of MTG, the young LT fulfilled the desired endstate, which is really all I was attempting to highlight.