This kind of crap really throws sand in my gears:
The US Army’s declining warfighting lethality is not a mystery—it’s a direct consequence of a feudal promotion system that rewards bureaucratic survival over bold leadership, misaligning senior-level priorities with the core mission of closing with and destroying the enemy. This patronage-based structure, decoupled from lethality metrics, incentivizes risk aversion and ethical compromises, eroding the force’s combat edge even as technology advances. We’ve invested billions in cutting-edge gear—Next-Gen Squad Weapons, advanced optics, and precision munitions—yet lethality is tanking. Fewer hits at Combat Training Centers (CTCs), slower quals, and dismal first-run crew scores tell the story. The root? Not tech.
Organizations host two groups—mission-dedicated (Type 1: warfighters) and bureaucracy-dedicated (Type 2: careerists). “The second group will gain and keep control,” Jerry Pournelle asserts, crafting rules that prioritize self-preservation over goals. In the Army, Type 2s dominate, sidelining Type 1s who champion core principles like honest readiness. They lose their “seat at the cool kids’ table,” as the system favors patrons over performance.
And:
Promotions rely on feudal patronage—loyalty to superiors, not lethality. As one analysis puts it, it’s a “bargain and sale” dynamic, decoupled from warfighting. Resources improve, but lethality drops because rewards measure compliance, not kills. We’ve optimized for career survival, not victory.
Read the whole thing if you need to have your good mood spoiled.
SecWar Pete Hegseth needs to get on top of this bullshit, and quickly.
I hope the momentum of reform continues after 2028. There is far too much rot throughout our government that must be removed.
“The second group will gain and keep control,” Jerry Pournelle asserts, crafting rules that prioritize self-preservation over goals.
What’s wrong with everything in one statement.
This is a result of the feminization of our culture and institutions.
My father’s generation leaders firebombed and nuked cities to win the war as quickly as possible.
This generation of leaders refuses to drop a bomb because it might hurt a goat. Their wars never end.
There’s more opportunity for promotion if the wars continue. How long did Eisenhower and Patton go without a promotion between the wars?
And Lloyd Fredendall got promoted to General in that same period, which proves the other half of the argument.
Effective militaries kill people and break things, ineffective ones have generals with layers upon layers of medals on their chests. Looking at you China.
“…layers upon layers of medals on their chests.”
Or North Korean generals. Their medals run down their legs.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPSSVzjPZm6yeTiMSwvabFSvEb-_iSVLKKFcblCD-tmBte1fBky2_0FvIYEbXFPqjWtAfCYB146eNTkFWxhkwmUmnlwfFnYjJRa_J0qop5G4tJWa8rxTE-IgW_0GRjwqkf_zxSc7snRYs/s1600/North+Korea+officers+decorated+heavily+in+medals.jpg
Gotta wonder if there isn’t a bit of Photoshop going on there. Still, you could likely take out their senior command with a strong enough magnet.
It has ALWAYS been so. That’s the nature of bureaucracies, and the military is nothing if not a really large bureaucracy. And every time the US goes to war, it takes a while to spin up real warfighting; the military has to peel off the bureaucratic rot first.
And it’s not just here; it’s in every military, everywhere, what’s not actually in combat.
It’s not just the military’s, it’s the entire gov’t.
At least 80% can be removed with no diff to the outcome, except, betterment for the citizenry.
Spectacular waste.
Yup. 80% may be high, but the sentiment is exactly right.