As much as I believe General Mattis is on the right track, I also believe the current personnel system cannot produce many officers, much less Generals, who have those traits.

If the personnel system, including the 20 year retirement mark, can be successfully reformed so one is not constrained by "key developmental" tours, "three R" tours and time specific command time, then perhaps more of the leaders General Mattis wants can emerge from the system.

We're products of the system, which has consistently focused on producing subject matter experts within a very narrow field (branch/functional area). The general education of an officer should begin well before commissioning. I've said here in the past that history should be a mandatory minor for all Army officers because you need to understand the past in order to understand why the present looks the way it does. When people do not understand the past, you get situations such as "well, the Baathists are gone, Saddam is hiding, now what the hell do we do..."

In fact, critical thinking must be done well before the committment of forces..some dudes named Clausewitz and Sun Tzu had some sort of writings on these subjects...understand the nature of the war you are about to embark on, know yourself and your enemy and you'll be victorious in a thousand battles.

The Army trains people very well, it does not educate people very well, nor does it really foster a spirit of intellectualism except in very select groups. This must change if Mattis' goal is ever to be reached (and I believe it's a worthy vision).