Soldiers are not diplomats. Soldiers do fight and kill their way to operational success and/or gain that success by being capable or threatening to do so.Your nation needs you to be a diplomat as well as a warrior, because we can’t kill or capture our way to success in this fight; victory comes from building local institutions that can stand on their own. But your nation also needs you to tell us what you need to fight your fight better, to build an Army that is truly a learning institution able to defeat adaptive insurgent enemies.
Soldiers can make the field safe for real diplomats/doctors/builders/etc to operate. In extremis, they may have to pick up the ball, but that should never be the default setting. The test is saving life, not building Schools.
Victory does not from building local institutions. If it did, show me a majority of successes against Insurgents that came from that. Victory comes from breaking the will of the insurgency by subjecting it to military force. Non-military force may also required, but that is done by non-military agencies.
If someone wants the US Army to become a learning institution, then why not start with precisely understanding the utility and limit of the military instrument. Other wise the the US will become "School builders with guns" and cease being any good as an army.
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