Army Officer Accuses Generals of 'Intellectual and Moral Failures'

[Shek]

I presume Yingling will be talking to Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi who should be most receptive to him, and I'm not being sarcastic here either, just bitter.

Should we be concerned about what members of Congress may or may not do?

As a profession, who by definition should be a self-policing body, I think we shouldn't focus too much on what others may or may not do, and instead, concentrate on cleaning our own house. It is nearly four years since signs surfaced that maybe we were being handicapped by some of our own generalship in Iraq. If we had more of an ability for tough, but respectful discourse within the profession, where company and/or field grade officers could offer criticism of decisions made at the GO level, then maybe we might not be at this point where we're concerned about what members of Congress may or may not do.

I think that it is important to note that this piece was published in one of our professional journals, and so my kudos to LTC Yingling for submitting it, and to AFJ for printing it. This wasn't a bitter pill "leaked" to a newspaper for publishing.

[milesce]

...was published in one of our professional journals, and so my kudos to LTC Yingling for submitting it, and to AFJ for printing it. This wasn't a bitter pill "leaked" to a newspaper for publishing.

This is a big deal. There are several generals out there who've been very critical of current leadership. But they all waited to get their retirement papers in hand before they went public. Obviously I'm not privy to what goes on inside the Pentagon, but on the face of it a LTC has a whole lot more to lose at that stage in his career than a division commander about to retire. He could have chosen to do exactly what you are suggesting -- sat down with some reporter on an "off-the-record" basis and given his criticism anonymously. Then it would be worth little more than the ongoing partisan bickering in DC.

As it is, there's no way it can't be taken seriously.

LTC Yingling should be commended for putting his reputation and professional future on the line. That's geniune leadership.

[Steve Blair]

LTC Yingling should be commended for putting his reputation and professional future on the line. That's geniune leadership.

Agree completely. The points he's making about the personnel system have been made before by at least one officer. But that doesn't detract from the value or the courage it took for him to submit that article.

And again, kudos to AFJ for running it. Seems like they're going back to their roots, and that is a good thing.

[selil]

Why do I feel these bemusing rumblings of hackworth on 60 minutes so many years ago?