Should The U.S. Military Remain Quiet (In Public) On The Syria Debate?

President Barack Obama, left, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, stand for the national anthem during a remembrance ceremony for victims of the 9/11 attacks on the Pentagon at the Pentagon Memorial, Sept. 11, 2013. The three leaders joined family members of those killed in the terrorist attack for the private ceremony. DOD photo by Erin A. Kirk-Cuomo

It Isn't The Military's Place To Weigh In On The Syria Debate -- James Joyner, The Atlantic

Far too many servicemembers have made their opinions public -- a violation of both ethics and the fundamental principle that in the U.S., civilians make policy.

America's generals and admirals, junior officers, and enlisted people overwhelmingly oppose military intervention in Syria. We should not know that.

Two weeks ago, Robert Scales, a retired Army two-star and former commandant of the Army War College, took to the op-ed pages of the Washington Post, writing that "after personal exchanges with dozens of active and retired soldiers in recent days," he could confidently assert that " the overwhelming opinion of serving professionals" was vehemently against strikes. And that, "They are embarrassed to be associated with the amateurism of the Obama administration’s attempts to craft a plan that makes strategic sense. None of the White House staff has any experience in war or understands it." Further, "They are repelled by the hypocrisy of a media blitz that warns against the return of Hitlerism but privately acknowledges that the motive for risking American lives is our 'responsibility to protect' the world’s innocents." Not only that: "They are outraged by the fact that what may happen is an act of war and a willingness to risk American lives to make up for a slip of the tongue about 'red lines.'"

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My Comment: Throughout history America's generals, admirals, junior officers, and enlisted men/women have always had strong opinions. And while they may not make their opinions public because of the tradition that it is civilians who dictate policy and not service members .... they certainly do make their opinions known privately, and it is these private discussions that inevitably end up public. But in today's world .... throw in the internet/social media/and 24/7 world news coverage .... a top general's private remarks .... if caught by a smart phone camera .... can become known globally within an hour. Case in point .... General McChrystal's aides disparaging President Obama and his administration with a Rolling Stone contributor that quickly resulted in General McChrystal's dismissal.

Yup .... the old rules no longer apply .... U.S. military culture has changed and is changing .... the importance of keeping secrets is diminishing with each passing year .... couple this with the fact that U.S. servicemembers are not zombies .... they do have opinions .... and while many will keep their opinions to themselves, many of them will still make their views and opinions public via through social media.

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Fire All The Generals

U.S. Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno talks with U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Paul J. LaCamera, commanding general for Regional Command South, on Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, Aug. 7, 2013. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Ashley Bell

How To Fix The Army: Sack All The Generals -- Allen McDuffee, Danger Room

Lt. Col. Daniel L. Davis doesn’t have faith in Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno.

Or the rest of the U.S. Army’s generals, for that matter.

Writing in the August issues of The Armed Forces Journal (“Purge the generals“), Davis argues that it’s high time to sack the Army’s senior leaders for what he sees as an institutionalized epidemic of astonishing failures that not only go unreported, but are typically rewarded. All of it, he says, is creating a self-perpetuating culture of abysmal performance that won’t go away until the generals do.

“Over that past 20 years, our senior leaders have amassed a record of failure in major organizational, acquisition and strategic efforts,” Davis writes. “These failures have been accompanied by the hallmarks of an organization unable and unwilling to fix itself: aggressive resistance to the reporting of problems, suppression of failed test results, public declaration of success where none was justified, and the absence of accountability.”

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My Comment: Should we fire the politicians first?

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