Can any of these leaders at the TRADOC conference think of some bold and innovative change made (or permitted) at the company/battery/troop level or below?

I just read an old SWJ article, COIN Perspectives From On Point: Lessons Learned in Iraq by Sergeant Michael Hanson. He points out...
"Many enlisted Marines and NCO's will agree that the Marine Corps gives a lot of lip service to small unit leadership and initiative but in the reality of operations we keep these small unit leaders on a tight leash."
That goes for the Army, too.

We talk a good game about delegating responsibility, decentralizing decision-making, empowering small unit leaders, and so on. We codify it in our doctrine and claim to practice it. Do we? Are are we still keeping our small unit leaders on a tight leash because we fear casualties and we fear that one or two rogues will do something rash and create a PR disaster?