Posted on Oct 26, 2015
4 Ways To Fix The Military: Do you agree?
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From ForeignPolicy.com:
In the other congressional hearing yesterday, my friend Eliot Cohen of Johns Hopkins offered four suggestions for improving our armed forces:
— Stop churning out vapid strategy documents like the QDR.
— Study re-mobilization
— Renew professional military education. “To do that, measures would have to be taken that would be anathema to personnel systems today: competitive application to attend a school, rather an assignment to do so as a kind of reward; extremely small class sizes; no foreign presence, or only that of our closest allies; work on projects that are directly relevant to existing war planning problems.”
— And my favorite: “remake our system for selecting and promoting general officers. Nothing, but nothing is more important than senior leadership – the creative leaders like Arleigh Burke or Bernard Schriever in the early Cold War. Our problem is that our promotion systems, in part because of the natural tendency of bureaucracies to replicate themselves, and in part because of the wickets (including joint service) all have to pass through, is making it hard to reach deep and promote exceptional talent to the very top.”
http://foreignpolicy.com/2015/10/23/4-suggestions-for-fixing-the-u-s-military/
In the other congressional hearing yesterday, my friend Eliot Cohen of Johns Hopkins offered four suggestions for improving our armed forces:
— Stop churning out vapid strategy documents like the QDR.
— Study re-mobilization
— Renew professional military education. “To do that, measures would have to be taken that would be anathema to personnel systems today: competitive application to attend a school, rather an assignment to do so as a kind of reward; extremely small class sizes; no foreign presence, or only that of our closest allies; work on projects that are directly relevant to existing war planning problems.”
— And my favorite: “remake our system for selecting and promoting general officers. Nothing, but nothing is more important than senior leadership – the creative leaders like Arleigh Burke or Bernard Schriever in the early Cold War. Our problem is that our promotion systems, in part because of the natural tendency of bureaucracies to replicate themselves, and in part because of the wickets (including joint service) all have to pass through, is making it hard to reach deep and promote exceptional talent to the very top.”
http://foreignpolicy.com/2015/10/23/4-suggestions-for-fixing-the-u-s-military/
Posted in these groups: 
Leadership
Leadership Development
Leadership Leadership Development
Posted 9 y ago
Responses: 11
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Wow only 4 things, impressive. No matter what system you have in place for Professional military education is it difficult to even get seats as a reservist because there is 'no money'. True there is nothing more important than senior leadership however it is the path you take to get there. There is not enough development of junior leaders and that includes noncommissioned as well as commissioned. Why not focus on the TOTAL promotion system rather than GO. My suggestion would be to start the troops on the ground....then move up. One of the issues I always felt was present was lack of role modeling and mentoring......but what do I know....I'm retired!!! Don't beat me up with a thumbs down!!
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I'm sure those suggestions wouldn't hurt, but I wouldn't necessarily put them on the top of my list of suggestions. They also seem geared towards officer development, which doesn't always make a difference on the enlisted side.
Also, why is a friend from Johns Hopkins a relevant source on suggestions for changes in the armed forces? Does he have a military background, because that seems like relevant information for this article.
Also, why is a friend from Johns Hopkins a relevant source on suggestions for changes in the armed forces? Does he have a military background, because that seems like relevant information for this article.
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SGT James Elphick
Eliot A. Cohen is Robert E. Osgood Professor of Strategic Studies at Johns Hopkins
SAIS. In addition to having taught at Harvard University and the Naval War College,
he has served in various government positions including as Counselor of the
Department of State, 2007-2009. His books include Supreme Command (2003) and
Conquered into Liberty (2011); The Big Stick, a study of military power and American
foreign policy will appear in 2016.
SAIS. In addition to having taught at Harvard University and the Naval War College,
he has served in various government positions including as Counselor of the
Department of State, 2007-2009. His books include Supreme Command (2003) and
Conquered into Liberty (2011); The Big Stick, a study of military power and American
foreign policy will appear in 2016.
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I am open to suggestions for improvement, but i reject the idea that the military is broken and must be fixed. Joint assignments are a good "hoop" for senior officers. We already have SAMS course for a select few. Education of a broad base is necessary to build a skilled profession. Documents like the QDR are the foundation of future plans and provide a focus for the huge organization.
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