Quote Originally Posted by Bob's World View Post
...In fact, we have a great army. From the ingenuity and initiative inherent in each American Soldier, to the very best training, equipment and leadership we can provide. Building a good army is not the issue.
Define great...

I do not agree -- we do have the potential to be great but that potential is NOT met due to the fact that we don't provide even adequate initial entry training; that our equipment issue is overly influenced by the defense industry, Congress and the media and that our leadership is not the best we can provide -- it is the best that a semi-meritocratic system hobbled by an inefficient and ineffective personnel system which is required to provide an excessively 'fair' shot for all at higher rank and which can only reward competence by promotion in such rank.

As far as our great training goes, that's funny. It is adequate, no question but it overemphasizes cost reduction, metrics and ease of execution (particularly in the institutions) at the cost of true competence. RTK has well addressed many training issues above in his great post.
My point is that we really need to sort out what the mission is prior to changing the army to simply do what we are currently asking it to do more effectively.
That I do agree with -- I also doubt it will ever happen for three reasons; The world is infinitely variable and rapid, unpredictable shifts can and do occur, Politicians object strenuously to being tied into positions and we have developed an elephantine bureaucracy that will bicker about changes until they're too late. Thus we are confronted with the fact that the US Army must be multi-spectrum capable -- and that it is not today due to training inadequacies, a deficient personnel system and an inflexible bureaucracy.
...And while policy may be able to change quickly, the US national security apparatus, with a few minor mods over the years, is based upon the world as it existed emerging from WWII.
Also agree -- and it's past time that needs to be corrected. The Armed Forces cannot change many aspects of that problem but they have also taken too few steps to change much they could change.
...Meanwhile we soldiers will keep doing what good soldiers do, and that is our very best; whenever and where ever we are directed to go.
That is true and some issues are beyond DoD control but it does not excuse the 'system' for not trying to better itself to the extent it is able...

Having said that, as Rob says:
"I believe we are capable of doing what we are called on to do with some relatively painless changes once we recognize there is no real threat to our core values, however that requires we not create threats where there should be none."