Quote Originally Posted by Ken White View Post
That trend migrated down to Bn level after 1969 when the third and fourth string LTCs got in country and found they had no CPTs and few senior NCOs but a bunch of 2LTs and SGTs (NCOC Grads, six months of service...) who would do anything you asked but who knew little and thus almost had to be micromanaged -- thus a generation of Generals learned to over micromanage everything. They made it a way of life...
Ken,

Never thought I'd say this, but the cycle is there and now I'm potentially part of the problem ...

Cav Squadron XO life is great, but different than when I last was in a troop unit - we could count on 3-5 Captain's Course graduates in the staff, now we're lucky to have one. For you non-army types, they teach staff work at the Captain's course, which makes having a good density of grads a multiplier. So I find myself having to explain/teach a lot of basic things (staff skills) to the motivated but untrained 1LTs that comprise a good deal of the staff. No crisis but certainly slows things down.

I can see where some might choose/be forced to micromanage IOT ensure success. Fortunately I have enough time to teach what I need before we deploy, and they're a sharp bunch. Makes the learning curve steeper though.