Of "Intellectual and Moral" Failures

[Old Eagle]

I always enjoyed reading General wass de Czege's commentaries in the past and relish his most recent contribution.

There are many entry points for discussion here. The inversion of the combat experience pyramid is fascinating and may or may not be relavent. Truly talented senior officers will recognize pertinent experience for what it is and integrate lessons learned as appropriate.

My experience with the O-6 level behavior is exactly opposite that of General wdC. Once colonels get vested for O-6 retirement and have no hope of promotion, they can be exceptionally innovative because the bureaucratic impetus to "toe the line" has been removed. They can then serve as the "counterculture to the conventional wisdom" of the senior leadership.

[Tom Odom]

I always enjoyed reading General wass de Czege's commentaries in the past and relish his most recent contribution.

There are many entry points for discussion here. The inversion of the combat experience pyramid is fascinating and may or may not be relavent. Truly talented senior officers will recognize pertinent experience for what it is and integrate lessons learned as appropriate.

My experience with the O-6 level behavior is exactly opposite that of General wdC. Once colonels get vested for O-6 retirement and have no hope of promotion, they can be exceptionally innovative because the bureaucratic impetus to "toe the line" has been removed. They can then serve as the "counterculture to the conventional wisdom" of the senior leadership.

I would agree with you. In fact I had a conversation about that very subject with then BG Bob Scales and the roles of the O-6 unleashed. Several years later I became an O-5 unleashed and it was a liberating experience. all of that aside, I think in General wass de Czega's case he was referring to the Leavenworth environment, a different world unto itself.
best,
Tom

[Steve Blair]

I would agree with you. In fact I had a conversation about that very subject with then BG Bob Scales and the roles of the O-6 unleashed. Several years later I became an O-5 unleashed and it was a liberating experience. all of that aside, I think in General wass de Czega's case he was referring to the Leavenworth environment, a different world unto itself.
best,
Tom

I got the impression that he was talking about O-6s who still nurtured hope of jumping to O-7.

I've seen the same thing working with the AF. Once an O-5 is taken out of the O-6 pool (we see O-5s here more than O-6s), they really tend to shake things up and come up with some very innovative ideas. Of course, those aren't always received well at higher levels, but it is fun to watch.