Could a chief executive officer walk in and be general officers in the military tomorrow.

LCDR Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 20 May 2015 14:15:13 -0400

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/on-leadership/wp/2015/05/15/gen-stanley-mcchrystal-on-shaking-up-the-military/

Stanley McChrystal on how to shake up the military

The former top commander has some bold ideas for how the military could better attract, keep and let go those who serve.

Response by LCDR Private RallyPoint Member made May 20 at 2015 2:16 PM

LCDR Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 20 May 2015 14:16:19 -0400

I think he oversimplifies the operational requirements of a senior military leader. Really would you want the CEO of Rackspace to be running JSOC?

Response by SCPO David Lockwood made May 20 at 2015 2:17 PM

SCPO David Lockwood — Wed, 20 May 2015 14:17:57 -0400

I don't believe they could. They would lack the strategic background I would think is required to do the job.

Response by GySgt Wayne A. Ekblad made May 20 at 2015 2:19 PM

GySgt Wayne A. Ekblad — Wed, 20 May 2015 14:19:10 -0400

Taken from the article: "And not only could CEOs jump right in as high-ranking officers, says retired Gen. Stanley McChrystal, but he adds that the military would be much better for it."

Frankly, I am going to have to go with the General --- if he thinks they could, who the hell am I to argue?

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made May 20 at 2015 2:23 PM

MAJ Ken Landgren — Wed, 20 May 2015 14:23:31 -0400

A general officer has to be a deep thinker, in military matters.

Response by SGT Jeremiah B. made May 20 at 2015 2:26 PM

SGT Jeremiah B. — Wed, 20 May 2015 14:26:18 -0400

I get what he's saying and if it was a purely administrative position, I'd agree. The skill set is similar. I just don't think a CEO could conduct a war without decades of tactical and strategic combat training.

Response by COL Jean (John) F. B. made May 20 at 2015 2:28 PM

COL Jean (John) F. B. — Wed, 20 May 2015 14:28:34 -0400

Although I voted "No", I will qualify that vote by saying I would vote "yes" if the subject CEO had prior military service as a senior officer. If the subject CEO had no military service at a high level, I do not think he/she would be successful as a GO.

Too many people fail to see the uniqueness of the military. CEOs and GOs are not interchangeable skills. I do, however, think that most GOs could easily walk into commercial companies and be effective CEOs.

Response by COL Mikel J. Burroughs made May 20 at 2015 2:34 PM

COL Mikel J. Burroughs — Wed, 20 May 2015 14:34:45 -0400

I believe it is just the opposite. I believe that the experience that a General Officer receives can and has made them great candidates for CEO positions in the civilian world after retirement. I think the process going the other way would be more difficult due to the culture and values we hold to be true in the military. I think they would have to spend some time really understanding the politics and dynamics of the military before they could operate efficiently as a General Officer. I have held two positions as President of companies and CEO of my own company and the lessons learned in my military career were invaluable to my day-to-day operations in my civilian career and visa versa. I learned to overlap both worlds and careers bringing concepts, ideas, transition management techniques, and fundamental operations to both.

Response by Maj Chris Nelson made May 20 at 2015 2:40 PM

Maj Chris Nelson — Wed, 20 May 2015 14:40:56 -0400

I would say NO. The Air Force has already tried to "commercialize" and operate as a civilian cooperation. There are a couple of huge flaws with this thought process: 1. We make no products. 2. we are NOT a 'for profit' organization. 3. our entire focus is to protect our nations assets abroad.
A civilian CEO (first, it would need to be a MAJOR corporation and not a small one with a couple hundred people) is all about bottom dollar.... Cost analysis, product analysis, markets, trends.... They would have no clue about how to manage a battlefield for 1 service...forget about joint U.S. services or Joint International services. There is no true cost analysis, product analysis, market trends, etc to weigh in on during a conflict. Destroy the enemy while loosing as few of your own assets (people and equipment) as possible. The CEO could probably bring some great ideas to the military, but actually taking over the show...NOPE!

Response by SGT David T. made May 20 at 2015 2:46 PM

SGT David T. — Wed, 20 May 2015 14:46:23 -0400

It depends on their role. In the operational side, I would be against it, but on the business side it could possibly work. However, the chances of luring a CEO to the military are pretty low due to the pay cut.

Response by SPC Robert Treat made May 20 at 2015 3:26 PM

SPC Robert Treat — Wed, 20 May 2015 15:26:53 -0400

Not without the training

Response by SGT Craig Northacker made May 20 at 2015 3:35 PM

SGT Craig Northacker — Wed, 20 May 2015 15:35:07 -0400

No real comprehension for what capabilities of our military can do - and limitations. As a staff officer they might possibly have some excellent observations, but not in leadership.

Response by SrA Edward Vong made May 20 at 2015 3:43 PM

SrA Edward Vong — Wed, 20 May 2015 15:43:32 -0400

It really depends on the what type of military job the CEO would fill. If we're talking combat strategy and implementation probably not.

Response by Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS made May 20 at 2015 5:23 PM

Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS — Wed, 20 May 2015 17:23:07 -0400

Maybe.

On some matters, absolutely, on others not a chance in hell.

As an example, take the CEO of Disney, and put him in charge of the "MWR" program as a General Officer. I have zero doubt he would be successful, and excel. If we're talking about a warfighting program, they don't have the requisite background... however.. many of our Generals don't have comparable backgrounds in Communications, Logistics, Supply (yes, they're different), Administration, and several other fields.

There are dozens if not hundreds of CEOs we could use at the "general officer level" or Direct Commission them, much like we do with the Surgeon General of the United State (Vice Admiral in the PHS).

Response by SGT Richard H. made May 20 at 2015 11:17 PM

SGT Richard H. — Wed, 20 May 2015 23:17:32 -0400

No. General, more than any other chief executive job, requires years of knowledge of just what it is you're managing.

Response by MSgt Neil Greenfield made Oct 27 at 2017 1:12 PM

MSgt Neil Greenfield — Fri, 27 Oct 2017 13:12:41 -0400

I actually think that depending upon the role, yes, it might be possible. During WWII, there are examples of individuals with certain specialties coming in and being commissioned at the higher ranks. William Donovan, head of the OSS in WWII, was brought in as a Colonel, although he did hold that rank in WWI. John Ford, the movie director, was brought in as a Navy Commander and rose to the rank of Rear Admiral. Like everything else, if there's a need and the individual has the right talents, anything's possible. I would qualify all of this as saying that if there was a national emergency, such as WWIII starting, people would start coming in and being appointed at all sorts of ranks. According to Wikipedia, regarding the use of Brevet and Frocking appointments:
"The U.S. National Guard, which depends on the governor of a state to concede its commissions in the Army National Guard and Air National Guard, may still confer brevets. Many states maintain a clause permitting the governor to confer any rank in its defense forces, including the militia and National Guards. Some states provide that the sitting governor may confer any rank, but this appointment is considered valid only for the duration of the governor's own term in office."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brevet_(military)#Modern_usage