Military Staff

[Cavguy]

wm,

Believe it or not, I'm very interested in the staff system and staff work. My particular interest is in campaign planning. Of course, I haven't actually done it yet so I'm still an idealist. My dad always told me the Army took the fun out of flying -- I can only imagine the horrors of Army staff work. I'll probably focus on the system of the Prussian Kingdom and the German Empire where staff work seemed to be held in extremely high regard, and some chiefs of staff having more prominence than the commander they were meant to support. Is it because of command culture, American culture in general, the structure/assumed purpose/resources of Army staff that results in a completely reverse staff experience for American officers? Or something else entirely?

Other subjects related to my grade/MOS, such as targetting, culture in COIN, and so on seem either saturated with views already, near full development, or don't pass the 'so what' test IMO.

"Let me tell you about the benefits of being on a staff..."
"This should be a short conversation."
LtCol to Lt Col (EUCOM)

"Cheese-dickery abounds at this Command." LtCol (EUCOM)

Make no mistake, the planners on the German General Staff were miserable too. I'm sure von Moltke's S3 Plans was a miserable bastard. Of course, he was German, and thus enjoyed his misery.

Staff is rarely fun but occasionally rewarding, especially when you support the line well. I had a blast as an S4, but mainly because my XO and CO underwrote my shenanigans to support our BN. S3 Ops was also rewarding because I knew I was supporting the line.

That said, what would be the difference, in your mind, between supporting the "mission" and the "commander"? Why is this currently a problem? Would staff acting to support the "mission" actually cause more problems because it de-syncs the commander's intent? Staffs already tend to go wild on their pet projects, overwhelming subordinate commander's with good ideas that if not properly held in check by the XO/CO cause havoc on the line.

Also, consider this thread of wisdom.