With so much training and education on leadership in the Military, why are leaders failing to demonstrate solid leadership?

Generals and admirals constitute a good ole boy system.

Because all the training is based mostly on theory with mixed results on real application. So what caused all the breakage? Humans. We are flawed. We can do some things well and many more poorly or not at all. So why I say theory? People look at those who are successful and observe what they are doing. Then they come up with a theory that if you do these 7 things (Covey) or whatever, you'll magically create a better world and people will put you on a pedestal. People mostly fail at it because it isn't in their nature.

So you have lots of seniors who have tinkered but never were full up round leaders who see there's a problem but have no idea how to deal with it. I was glad when I retired because the level of crappership was overtaking leadership so much, it was getting tougher to be effective when the system keeps adding drag.

So why the decline in leadership? There's less courage going around to do the right thing ALWAYS and take care of your people ALWAYS. We've also had great "leaders" who were tyrants that nobody had the chops to take down. You need a few of them in the right time and place. Patton, Rickover, to name a couple. They destroyed a number of people and careers due to their blast perimeter. Society is too focused on inclusiveness and everyone must be successful vs. cherry picking. Don't expect to see that kind of breed again any time soon.

I'll take one more shot that some members here won't like. I'm a systems guy and see there is limited resource stuff to bring good leaders along; and the peanut butter gets spread too thin. If anyone who has been to some serious leadership training and didn't wonder why say half or whatever there shouldn't have been there, then you haven't been a shrewd observer and possibly part of the half that should have not been there.

The human aspect! Some people get power and have no clue how to handle it while others are great leaders naturally.