Studying a Wrist Watch: the U.S. Military and COIN

[Rob Thornton]

From Ski,

To be a bit cynical, it doesn't matter because at the JO level everyone is getting promoted. To be a bit more idealistic - the BCT Commander should have the authority to promote officers from 2LT to 1LT and from 1LT to CPT. This gives him the flexibility to assign his personnel the way he wants to instead of relying on HRC to keep the flow and ebb consistent. And the only way to do this is to institute a Regimental system where officers grow up to the rank of Major.

Yep, the numbers are - well, got a pulse? And by now most of the AD Army has seen the email from HRC on the shortage %s. I would say that given the requirements - some of the Goldwater Nichols stuff and some of the new Joint, etc. - we could wind up creating new problems - who gets let go and who gets traded to the minors (perceived).

I'd also say that we often place square pegs in round holes outside of the BCT, and because of the impact these positions have, they are often critical enablers (or we could say lubricant) to making things work smoothly - i.e., its not all command, or even MTO&E staff. We have guys filling roles that are even outside the "green suit" environment - because we are the only ones who can or will.

also from Ski,

I'd say the first issue is identifying the talent, identify what their motivations are, and then reward them with jobs with more responsibility or additional schools, etc...but at the end of the day, a lot (if not most) people are going to be ragged out after a 3rd or 4th tour, especially if they are married. What if you have a company commander who is a flat out stud, but he's on his third tour in four years, and his request is go teach ROTC for two years back in CONUS someplace?

As much fun as command is, and as important as the responsibility of a command is, it may not be the best place to place all your talent, all of the time - there is plenty of good use outside of command for talented folks along with the opportunity for them to make a large impact. I'd also say that if you want to grow generals capable of "doing only what generals can do" in today's challenges, then you are going to have to expose them to things outside of command, and give them a chance to reflect and internalize what they learned. Take ROTC for example and consider the returns you get from that investment by placing a talented individual in a position to influence future leaders - its exponential. We have to sell our "influencers / mentors/ Senior Raters" that it is often in the best interest of both the individual and the big Army to consider these other jobs / opportunities - the path should not necessarilly be CMD / CTC OC / Resident ILE / S3 /XO / BDE S3 / BN CDR / BDE DCG / War College / BDE CDR. We limit / restrict ourselves then reap what we sew. There is strength and opportunity in diversity.All Ops and no "other" can make Jack a dull blade.

Consider ACS in a mostly civilian institution where we bring some ideas in from outside the pack. It gets backto investing in people. Lots of options here - but ideally you have a good bench, eqally talented to rotate through so we don't burn out and we don't compromise.

I guess what I'm saying is we'd have to consider decentralizing promotions further then just a regimental system, while ensuring that folks are not getting promoted just because they are great guys or gals, or the boss is a softie - it means a system with checks and balances that keep pace with what we really need and want out of leaders, minimizes and discourages abuse, and consistently places round pegs in round holes. While I've seen BN and BDE CDRs who can get it right most of the time (some times you just have to play the hand your dealt), I believe that higher then the BDE HR is largely a matter of luck of the draw because its like a mixture of the card games "go fish" and "war".

The first step I'd say is deciding in a communicable description that minimizes subjectivity about what type of leaders we are trying to develop. To do that I think we have to decide what types are required to win this long war. After we do that we can proceed with what its going to take to recruit and retain them, and how we take bias and nepotism (unintentional or intentional) out of the equation.