It's the Generals fault...

V8Mikie · Post by **V8Mikie** » Sun Apr 29, 2007 11:30 pm

http://www.armedforcesjournal.com/2007/05/2635198

Good read. Long, but worth it.

stimpy · Post by **stimpy** » Mon Apr 30, 2007 1:20 am

Cliff notes?

Fastback86 · Post by **Fastback86** » Mon Apr 30, 2007 2:09 am

We're failing in Iraq because our Generals dropped the ball and did not properly prepare the troops and the government whom they answer to because they assumed that this war would be just like the Gulf War and didn't expect, plan for, or know what to do with an insurgency.

The Dark Side of Will · Mon Apr 30, 2007 7:50 am

Very well written. A veritable conucopia of book to add to a professional military reading list.

One thing he doesn't touch is the mandate that the generals receive from the civilian government. A major thrust of his argument seems to be that in adequately appraising civilian leadership of the nature of the coming conflict, a general would naturally receive an appropriate mandate or commitment of resources to deal properly with that conflict, but the author does not address what to do when that mandate is not forthcoming, even in the face of appropriate communication of the circumstances of the conflict.

whipped · Post by **whipped** » Mon Apr 30, 2007 9:04 am

ARMY LT. COL. PAUL YINGLING is deputy commander, 3rd Armored Calvary Regiment. He has served two tours in Iraq, another in Bosnia and a fourth in Operation Desert Storm. He holds a master's degree in political science from the University of Chicago. The views expressed here are the author's and do not necessarily reflect those of the Army or the Defense Department.

Yeah right. Still going to get reamed.

V8Mikie · Post by **V8Mikie** » Tue May 01, 2007 1:15 pm

whipped wrote:
ARMY LT. COL. PAUL YINGLING is deputy commander, 3rd Armored Calvary Regiment. He has served two tours in Iraq, another in Bosnia and a fourth in Operation Desert Storm. He holds a master's degree in political science from the University of Chicago. The views expressed here are the author's and do not necessarily reflect those of the Army or the Defense Department.
Yeah right. Still going to get reamed.

I would venture to say its safe to assume Col Yingling is about ready to retire anyway and has little to lose. Worse case scenario he is forced to retire and like I said, he is probably ready to do that anyway.

The Dark Side of Will · Tue May 01, 2007 6:01 pm

O-4's and O-5's who have been passed over for promotion are more powerful than admirals and generals because they can say ALMOST ANYTHING THEY WANT and suffer no serious consequences.

However, my hat's off to the guy if he hasn't been passed over for promotion yet. His career just came to a screeching halt. It takes guts to say what's right when it could cost you the difference between O-5 retirement and O-6 retirement. That's a chunk of change over 30-40 years.

Of course he *IS* lecturing generals about moral courage, so he'd better set the example.