Originally Posted by
SSG Rock
Shinsecki was dragged in front of the Senate Armed Services Comittee and the issue of troop deployment numbers was an ambush job on him by Levin.
As for the black beret issue, I remember it well. I had to wear one for about a year before I retired and I hated it. The Rangers loved that beret because it set them apart. As I loved my BDU cap, because every Army in Europe wears a beret, my BDU cap set me apart. I remember vividly being dismayed by the black beret going Army wide, but do you know what dismayed me even more? The unprofessional, disrespectful and frankly, childish reaction I witnessed among leaders of the rank and file. When I expected our line leaders to set the example and tell their junior Soldiers that they had just received an order from an officer to shut up and deal with it, what I heard was griping, bitching and moaning from those leaders, often in front of their troops, blatant disrespect right out in the open, the same type of behavior they had probably hammerd their troops for in the past. Now, I ask you, which behavior is more destructive to the chain of command? I understand the anger of the Rangers, I do, but I thought the reaction was an over-reaction. I know the Rangers wore their black berets with distinction and it had become an intrigal part of their history but still, when the Chief of Staff of the Army gives you an order, there is only one thing to do, and you do it with professionalism whether you like it or not, right?
Just as none of us would like our legacy to be disproportionally influenced by our mistakes or bad calls, I would urge everyone here to take the high road and recognize that although it was a major gaff it wasn't the end of the Rangers, or the Army.
Unless you have been in the boots of a General Officer in command, or serving on Capital Hill, I think it is pretty difficult for those of us who never served on a GO staff to imagine the schedule a general keeps, the dedication it takes. General Shinsecki was a product of the Army that he grew up in, and maybe he didn't mesh as well as he could have with the post Vietnam Soldier. But, he did dedicate the best years of his life to the Army, for what it's worth I thought he did it honorably.
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