29 March 2024, 07:00:50 *

Login with username, password and session length
Welcome to War and Tactics!    War and Tactics Forum is currently undergoing some modifications that might disable features you are used to. This is unabvoidable as we have to update the forum engine to a new structure that is incompatible with many of the features we had used so far. The good news: WaT will be more secure and stable, and most of the features we uninstalled will be a natural part of the new structure anyway. For the rest we will be looking for solutions. (APR 23, 2018)
   
  Home   Forum   Help ! Forum Rules ! Search Calendar Donations Login Register Chat  
Pages: [1]   Go Down
  Print  
Share this topic on Del.icio.usShare this topic on DiggShare this topic on FacebookShare this topic on GoogleShare this topic on MySpaceShare this topic on RedditShare this topic on StumbleUponShare this topic on TechnoratiShare this topic on TwitterShare this topic on Yahoo
Author Topic: Leadership  (Read 3761 times)
FACman
WaT Supporter

*

Offline Offline

United States

Location: Ar-kansas
Posts: 819




View Profile
« on: 20 December 2009, 16:28:44 »
ReplyReply

I found this today and thought it quite provoking. I feel the writer may be on to something as we head down this road  in Afghanistan. During my 8 years in the Army National Guard, I had one Co. commander that I would follow through the gates of Hell itself, because he exhibited the traits expounded upon in this article.

read the complete article: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/20/opinion/20moyar.html?_r=1

Quote
An Officer and a Creative Man
By MARK MOYAR
Published: December 19, 2009

AS President Obama and his advisers planned their new approach to the Afghan war, the quality of Afghanistan’s security forces received unprecedented scrutiny, and rightly so. Far less attention, however, has been paid to the quality of American troops there. Of course, American forces don’t demand bribes from civilians at gunpoint or go absent for days, as Afghans have often done. But they face serious issues of their own, demanding prompt action.

The American corporals and privates who traverse the Afghan countryside today are not at issue. They risk life and limb every day, with little self-pity. Despite the strains of successive combat deployments, they keep re-enlisting at high rates.

Logged

"You can call me by my first name...Sarge."
Jilly
Poster

***

Offline Offline

Canada

Location: Canada
Posts: 662


View Profile WWW
« Reply #1 on: 20 December 2009, 20:45:26 »
ReplyReply

Interesting article.  I live in an area where many Canadians have in listed in the Military,  probably more than any other area of Canada.  We have a large military base around 40-50 mins drive from here.  Infact one of my sons best friends from High School is serving in Afghanistan right now.

They too,  like the American soldiers risk life and limb every day,  we've had out number of casualties here too.  And it's the same,  there is still no shortage of  young soldiers wanting to go Afghanistan.
Logged

Jilly
Poster

***

Offline Offline

Canada

Location: Canada
Posts: 662


View Profile WWW
« Reply #2 on: 20 December 2009, 23:09:30 »
ReplyReply

Maybe I'm a bit off topic here. 
Logged

MontyB
WaT Supporter

*

Offline Offline

New Zealand

Location: New Zealand
Posts: 1005




View Profile
« Reply #3 on: 27 February 2010, 23:54:33 »
ReplyReply

I am not sure I find this unusual given that we live in a high speed world, wars until the early 1900s were largely fought in a bubble and were usually almost over before new ever reached home so casualty figures and mortality rates were never really considered by military leaders and politicians because by the time they found out there was nothing that could be done about it.

But since the advent of film and telegraph wars have become real time events and as such casualty rates mean votes so this information does not surprise me.

Whether it is a good or a bad trend I cant really say, no one wants a repeat of the trench slaughter of WW1 and people are less likely to allow another holocaust if that information can longer be hidden however it makes fighting a war much more difficult at front line levels.

And if that explanation is not enough I will invoke the Peter Principle is the principle that "In a Hierarchy Every Employee Tends to Rise to His Level of Incompetence."

Smiley
Logged

We are more often treacherous through weakness than through calculation. ~Francois De La Rochefoucauld
the_13th_redneck
Sergeant Major
**

Offline Offline

Korea, Republic of

Location: on someone else's beach
Posts: 264




View Profile WWW
« Reply #4 on: 24 March 2010, 16:40:18 »
ReplyReply

If you're looking up leadership, don't forget to include "narcissism" as one of the key words.
Logged

Pages: [1]   Go Up
  Print  
 
Jump to:  

Unique Hits: 44166802 | Sitemap
Powered by MySQL Powered by PHP Powered by SMF 1.1.16 | SMF © 2011, Simple Machines
TinyPortal v0.9.8 © Bloc
Valid XHTML 1.0! Valid CSS!


Google visited last this page 13 August 2019, 11:31:30