Quote Originally Posted by 120mm View Post
There is an additional complication:

A significant number of the "no-nonsense" guys are actually idiots who do not understand that being a senior officer is a nuanced, political job. They are noted by being tall or extremely short and engaging in shouting loudly until they get their way. And "their way" is usually a pretty crappy way of doing things. And they usually get away with their failures by shouting loudly and denigrating others as "pogues" and "fobbits".

I am currently infested with a couple of O-6s who fit this bill. And are actually more harmful than the so-called "careerists".

BTW, anyone who hits O-6 or E-8 is automatically a "careerist". There are no innocents here, and to pretend otherwise is either naive or deceptive.
You bring up an excellent point. Anyone that's spent five or more years in the military can see that there are nuances to senior officer ranks. I don't think any of us would deny that or state that the ability to operate in such an arena should be discounted. I think the problem is that around E8 and around O5, there seems to be a line drawn, whereby only those with the ability to function in that nuanced world are looked at as having promotion potential. That really draws down the pool of "applicants" to step into BCT and higher positions - at least, that's how I view it.

The problem is the following: there's no need for anyone E8 and below or MG and below to really live in such a nuanced world. They need to still be getting their boots dirty on a regular basis. Let the LTG and above take those regular flights to DC and elsewhere, and let them be the bridge between the "no-nonsense" guys and the "nuanced" guys. But, those GOs like their staffs, and they like them to be populated by like-minded individuals, hence the need to be nuanced and worldly come into sharper focus, further down the chain.

If we devote less of the chain to that nuanced and political environment, we'll assuredly see less of that influence down below, where we don't need it.

As others have pointed out, the up-or-out system is one of the root causes for this. It keeps us focused on the next promotion and the next job and the next OER. It takes away a lot of focus from the present, and from truly achieving any degree of excellence in our training or performing.