Tom Ricks: U.S. Military Leadership In Decline

01:39 What do you think the Petraeus story tells us?
05:24 Are there heroes anymore?
10:42 Do generals today get fired for combat ineffectiveness?
14:03 For which reasons should a general be fired?
16:24 Looking back over the last ten years, do you think a different approach to dealing with bad leadership would have resulted in different outcomes or a faster exit from a Iraq or a better position in Afghanistan?
19:58 Where should the line of accountability exist between generals and civilian leaders who order the generals?
25:28 On Afghanistan, the "war of inattention" and "casual arrogance."
27:46 The peril of a ground war in Afghanistan.
30:40 What feedback have you gotten from the generals of the last decade?
Audience Q&A
31:37 Why was Gen. Schwarzkopf considered such an excellent general?
36:02 Can the military fight insurgents?
40:07 You said the wisdom is not to fire a general unless you have a better one in mind? How do you ensure this?
41:38 Isn't this the best educated force? What does that tell us?
48:15 What is your opinion of universal public service versus an all-volunteer force?
hillcenterdc.org Foreign Policy editor Susan B. Glasser interviews Thomas E. Ricks, author of THE GENERALS: American Military Command from World War II to Today
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Thomas E. Ricks discusses his new book in conversation with Foreign Policy editor-in-chief Susan Glasser. A book signing will follow the conversation. Books will be available for purchase.
From the bestselling author of FIASCO and THE GAMBLE comes an epic history of the decline of American military leadership from WW II to Iraq. History has been kinder to the American generals of World War II -- Marshall, Eisenhower, Patton, and Bradley -- than to the generals of the wars that followed. Is this merely nostalgia?
In THE GENERALS, Thomas E. Ricks answers the question definitively: No, it is not, in no small part because of a widening gulf between performance and accountability. Ricks has made a close study of America's military leaders for three decades and in his hands this story resounds with larger meaning: about the transmission of values, about strategic thinking, about the difference between an organization that learns and one that fails. This is military history of the highest order.
Ricks is a fellow at the Center for New American Security and a contributing editor to Foreign Policy, the magazine of global politics. Ricks covered the U.S. military for The Washington Post from 2000 to 2008.
Prior to becoming editor-in-chief of Foreign Policy, Susan Glasser spent four years as co-chief of The Washington Post's Moscow bureau and covered the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq in the immediate aftermath of 9/11. Glasser previously worked for eight years at the Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call, where she rose to be the top editor. With her husband, New York Times White House correspondent Peter Baker, she is the author of Kremlin Rising: Vladimir Putin's Russia and the End of Revolution.
Hill Center at the Old Naval Hospital on Capitol Hill is a vibrant home for culture, education and city life on Capitol Hill.
Visit our site and Join our mailing list to stay current with news and events at Hill Center.

[@seanstreb2775]

Oh this has aged beautifully

[@JoeDirte157]

Agreed

[@Falcrist]

I would say the problem in Afghanistan is notably different from Iraq. In this case the government we left behind bolted immediately in no small part because of a peace agreement between the US and the Taliban. After that the Afghan army basically just walked away. It takes strong military leadership AND strong political leadership to win such a conflict. We never had either.

[@lifeindetale]

I heard from a US service member there were a lot of issues with the Afghan army that weren't being brought to attention. Between Afghan commando interpreter and US security.. things were being mandated

[@tormagnus6774]

@@Falcrist that's not entirely accurate. The Afghan army suffered over 50000 casualties between 2014 and 2021. That's not the signs of an army afraid to fight. The army however, always had an Achilles heel. They needed us to support their logistics and maintenence. That has always been the case. When we pulled our support in May, that included all the contractors supporting their army. Their logistical system quickly collapsed and with it, their will to fight. Seeing as how they could no longer fix their equipment, get ammo or fight the way we trained them to fight, it's hard to blame them. Don't blame the Afghan army for what happened. Blame the US government. We stabbed them in the back just as we did south Vietnam.

[@Falcrist]

@@tormagnus6774 It's not just that the US left. Afghani leadership fled as well.

[@aaron5347]

Tom Ricks makes some very cogent and insightful points about how the modern Army general can’t win wars. IMO, what he misses is part of the flaws in the bureaucratic system that produces these generals. He hits part of it with the constant rotation of commanders, and the lack of firing, which is true but incomplete. The missing part is that generals deal in the institutional currencies of micromanagement, of knowing trivial facts that other generals don’t that can be reported in meetings with generals, and furious non-stop busy work creating initiatives and activity that have no long term value. There are way more generals than we need, and so instead of solving strategic problems they make meaningless work for everyone. No detail is too small for a general to send an email query to his/her staff on over the weekend. When a leaders mind is busy micromanaging and keeping up a furious pace of activity, they aren’t actually THINKING.

[@tegbolddos]

Great points. But a truly great general (of which there have been zero [ZERO] in the last 25+ years) would never allow himself (yes I said and mean HIM) to be drug down into the rabbit hole of micromanaging or drivel/ minutia.

[@robertortiz-wilson1588]

@@tegbolddos good point.

[@thodan467]

@The Wraith Alexander the great and Dschnghis Khan weren´t military leaders

[@jamesstorey2476]

Retired Marine Corps LtCol here, and like many retired "05s", while I did not make 06, I saw how the 06 and Flag ranks operated. Now twenty years on, I see it for what it is, and it's not a pretty picture.

[@mikerogers582]

@@thodan467 You need to read a little more history, they were both generals leading their respective armies, deeply concerned with the day to day conduct of their wars. You comment is just plain dumb.

[@nathancochran4694]

Boy this aged like fine wine.

[@robertortiz-wilson1588]

So many should be fired...

[@dakkahead517]

His book is excellent. Would love to have seen it extended to today.

[@roderickcampbell2105]

Nathan, for me I see echoes of Hitler and Guderian. Guderian, a brilliant tactician, and Hitler, a civilian (with a military background obviously) who is fundamentally a strategist. I guess you don't find folks like Ike, or Marshall, under every stone. The tacticians need support and guidance.

[@jaimelaureano6649]

... Glad he mentioned Gen. Tommy Franks. If there was a glaring "red flare" regarding the Iraq War, it was Gen. Franks decided to "retire" when U.S. troops FIRST ARRIVED in Baghdad, (also when CIA Director George Tenet decided to "Retire" when the Iraq War began).

[@mrnic3058]

I really like how Tom is able to make all of this very simple and get his point across very effectively even for something as complex as the situation in Iraq

[@SnakeLee1]

Not sure if that's a good thing

[@edmundcharles5278]

A good point made was, "education does not equate to innate intelligence!" Also the lack of lifelong professional military reading is rampant across all the military Services.

[@gunthervonhoffman6453]

Like in the rest of American society, there is strong anti-intellectual culture in the military. Admiral Zumwalt got into an argument with Henry Kissinger and at the end of the argument, Kissinger stated that anything he hates is dealing with an intellectual military person.

[@batman421]

AMEN!! I served 21 years in the US Military, eight of those as a Senior Non Commissioned Officer. In all those years, I can only identify 4 Officers I had full respect for. The others were indecisive, more concerned about their upward mobility, less concerned about the welfare and preparedness of their enlisted men. Officers eat last meant absolutely nothing to them. I have been retired for over 20 years and grieve for the men and women that are getting such poor leadership when engaged in their duties.

[@robertgraham3576]

Right on, as a retired U.S. Army civil servant + combat veteran (VN) + Resident Engineer for the V.A. + Coast Guard - Safety and Occupation Health Specialist - I can say - the current U.S. Army is in a state of failure from the top up - Captains and below are tops - their mission is number one, above that; their more concerned about their next promotion - back in WW2 a LTC had a lot of people under him - today when you have three men in the men's room - you have to determine who's going to be Colonel - 50% of officers is in a need of being RIF out of service - Indeed it is necessary!

[@dalejr183]

Thank you for your service! your exactly an example of the comment I posted above before I read yours. I had the most respect for the experienced Senior NCO's I became an NCO before my term was up but got out after seeing the politics. Ill repeat my post for u- I served in the Navy 98-02 and towards the end of my term the Micromanagement in my squadron became so ridiculous it turned into a cluster ---- leading too mass confusion and chaos. I respect the rank system but I always hated when a 24 year old officer would disrespect a 46 year old NCO with 20 years of experience over something the officer 'wasn't knowledgeable about which made him angry when the NCO respectfully educated him. Reply

[@rayman1611]

I agree. I joined the Marines in 1966. Did a tour in Vietnam. Saw a lot of combat. Lost several close friends there then. Left the Corps proud to have served with my fellow Marines, but, I really had no respect for the unit leadership. Some of our Officers had 3 month tours and it was FUBAR all way. Got out in 69 and got an education. Went into the Army in 1980, did the Desert Storm thing. Can’t say anything either way there. Jump ahead to 2002, March, I’m in Afghanistan. Serious Problem with mission definition. Went back in 2004 same crap, same war. Retired in 2007 as Colonel. We do really need to fix cause it is seriously failed. Could it be a problem that starts in the military academies? Perhaps the educators have an agenda?

[@davidoltmans2725]

I had 10.5 years in the Army back in the ‘70’s and I couldn’t think of a more incompetent bunch of officers. I was a captain when I left because I could not see any future in putting my life into the hands of such people let alone the screwed up political mentality of those years and even now. I counseled my two sons to avoid the military option, for the same reason. None of the wars the have fought have “stabilized’ anything. Every time I read about the wars we’ve been in since then, I smile about my decision to leave.

[@majoroz4876]

Nine years enlisted........thirteen commissioned.......2 1/2 in Peace Corps 14 years after retirement. I actively DISCOURAGE today's kids from going into the military. They have NO leadership....and, recently, trendy social k-rap has destroyed most of unit cohesiveness and reward for competence.

[@patriciafarrow9586]

Many generals look forward to obtaining 7-figure salaries in private industry, as the primary mission!

[@rayman1611]

The general’s new clothes. I was a Marine in Vietnam. One night we were attacked by a large NVA force. Many Marines and many more NVA soldiers died. Many Marines wounded. The Marine wounded and KIAs were lifted out when morning came. We were ordered to leave the NVA bodies in place. Because General Westmoreland wanted to chopper into the LZ. The weather was in the 100s. Westmoreland flew over late in the afternoon but the smell was so bad that he chose to just hover for a few minutes.

[@richardherberthenkle2817]

Thomas Ricks concerns are something I have heard from Lieutenants, Captains, Majors, and Lieutenant Colonels. I am amazed at how many US Army Captains have confided these same concerns to me about Generals as Thomas Ricks has adequately mentioned in this talk and several others.

[@swimant0]

I would like to know his thoughts on the Afghanistan debacle happening now.

[@lewjames6688]

@Indispensable Strait Bah. What "nuke drop"? After watching his second video I can't say we're dealing with somebody who's elevator goes all the way to the top...

[@lewjames6688]

@Indispensable Strait 0311 USMC mid 70's. SFMF. Can't get much more basic than that...

[@jimluebke3869]

You can see HR McMaster's take over at The Hoover Institution's channel.

[@daniedarlingricketts4943]

@Indispensable Strait Plus the emotional cost if losing men at the last minute. While in combat you bury emotion to so the job. The enotions come out when you are away from combat days, years later.

[@lawsonbrady2586]

look at his twitter this are leftest loon has nothing to say about it. i just started listening to his stuff from years ago in the past few months he has gone off the deep end

[@maccoleman5531]

I spent thirty years, twenty-eight days in the US Air Force. I spent 22 years overseas, eight and one half of those years deployed somewhere besides home. I have lived in eleven countries, and I have been shot at enough to be able to spend time with Army retirees for early morning breakfasts at the local McDonalds. I have great admiration for senior officers who have the moral courage to tell the truth and to adapt to circumstances in order to enable his troops to succeed in combat. With senior officers, the moral courage to do the right thing at the right time for the right reasons is far more important--and far more difficult to display--than any physical courage. That said, there are a few people with whom i have served who, if they called right now, I would drop anything I am doing and go to them. And, some are senior officers and some are enlisted men and women. It is their moral courage that I must respond to. I owe them my physical and professional life. I wish there were more of them; alas, they are few in number.

[@TheDavidlloydjones]

Hill Center, that is one *fine* introductory caption. How I wish it might become a model for everybody posting their stuff to KZbin. Well done and thank you!

[@thecellulontriptometer4166]

This is particularly telling now 3 years later. But I don't think it is merely a change in what Generals are like, in many ways in the US military we have gone backwards in time to a time when senior officers were not a small group of the elite best officers with 1 out of a hundred making it to the General Officer level. The army of today is an eighth the size of WWIIs army, but we have more than 3 times as many generals. And the pay scale as a comparison of average income level nationwide is much greater. Today, General Officers are effectively given positions in the same way militaries did in the time of European Empires when the jobs were given out based on who you knew. We have gone way back in time to a time before professional officership, and the result is not that surprising.

[@richardherberthenkle2817]

I think your assessment of the excessive number of general officers is quite correct. The drift into a corporatocracy of very high paid general officers apart from the rest of the troops needs to be a greater concern. I have considered that once reaching the O-6 Colonel level or O-7 One star level, that no further pay raises should be given. The draw then to higher general officer positions would be based more upon desire and merit to serve and fewer would stay in with other careerist concerns which are money driven. It is a thought I have had. Once reaching the 1 Star level, pay should be capped. Additional savings should be passed on to lower ranking soldiers as increased pay. If it were up to me, pay would be capped once a person reaches the O-6 Colonel level with no pay advancement for General Officer status.

[@zachbornstein4288]

@@richardherberthenkle2817 I see where you're coming from, but I actually think we should do the opposite. Pay the generals ridiculous salaries, but make sure there are never a disproportionate number of them relative to the rest of the military. IMO if there were no pay raise for becoming a general we would lose serious talent to the private sector and the revolving door between defense contractors and the military would spin that much faster.

[@gunthervonhoffman6453]

@@richardherberthenkle2817 I agreed about the pay scale of the generals; however, it should be some pay raise for them when they make general/admiral; however, their basic pay scale is the same no matter what their general/admiral rank is. Until the mid to late 1950s, the pay scale for major general up to four-star general and those of the Navy admirals was the same no matter what rank you held. It wasn't until the mid to late 50, that the pay scale slowly but surely, became wider between the various grades of generals and the admirals. It's kind of like Star Trek the Next Generation, where the Star Fleet people don't get a salary no matter what their rank is because all their needs are being taken care of as Captain Picard told the Afro-American lady in the movie Star Trek, the First Contact.

[@gunthervonhoffman6453]

@@zachbornstein4288 We should cut out the revolving door policy for both civilian and military people including Congress. As Ross Perot stated when he ran for president, these people need to leave Washinton D. C. and go out and get a job like the rest of America has to do. Whatever happened to do something larger for yourself and doing the job because you enjoy doing it not for the financial rewards, the power, status, and perks of the job? We need more people like Auda Abu Tayi from the movie Lawrence of Arabia in both the private and public sectors.

[@siamlawma]

i bought this book last week. as a military/history buff, it is one of the best book i;ve read. i also found out how General Marshall was doing a good job in WW2 from Washington DC and also how the Marines were doing a better than the Army in Nam

[@edmundcharles5278]

MacArthur stood up to FDR over the adoption of the new M1 Grand rifle for the US military and even used a personal slur against FDR if the M1 rifle was not adopted. FDR was enough of a man to respect MacArthur and the M1 rifle was adopted, shortly thereafter MacArthur retired and became a Field Marshal in the Phillippine military! The rest is history.

[@robertortiz-wilson1588]

Indeed. An excellent example of a general doing his job!

[@user-hw9ez3fg9u]

Aside from the way generals and officership as a whole has become ineffective, you can’t expect them to be able to win a war that was never supposed to be won. The mission was faulty before they even got there,and winning hearts and minds won’t work if that’s the case.

[@diggocombs4548]

I 100% agree. When I saw the military was ran the way it is back in 09, I gave up trying to advance in that career.

[@kdnofyudbn5918]

This video has ages really well.

[@kevinmoraghan2088]

The problem with Patraeus is not what he did, what would he have done to a subordinate who did the same? A somewhat typical attitude of do what I say, not what I do. And, for your information he violated the UCMJ which is breaking the law.

[@devinpoissenot3184]

Had an NCO demoted for having affair outside his marriage, with whom he was physically separated for 6 months already, and recently an E-9 who was reassigned for impregnating his driver. Its very disheartening to see from the bottom.

[@wesking2973]

Lower zipper failure was highly frowned upon by my Battalion Commander (US Army Engineer) in Germany. Petraeus embarrassed himself. He's human, but there has to be a consequence. And there was...although he's been restored somewhat. Making enough $$$ doing whatever he does.

[@gunthervonhoffman6453]

That's right. Different spanks for different ranks.

[@thodan467]

can someobe please explain me why that should by the armys business?

[@ppwalk05]

@@thodan467 Conduct unbecoming of an officer. Officers are leaders and need to set an example. When you join the military, especially as an officer, you are waiving certain rights/privileges away. Also he had an affair with a reporter embedded with him who he allowed unauthorized access to secret documents. It does not take much imagination to see the various security risks in allowing your top brass to engage in affairs.

[@colinlewis52]

Why the writers never questioned US special forces why we loss Politic

[@gregpruitt1647]

I would love to know this gentlemen’s thoughts on how the go along to get along ethic of our current officers, flag level and lower, would fair in a shooting conflict with an adversary like China.

[@gradeyundery4939]

he is part of the system. he does not want to stop the war and the corruption. he analyzes the system and wants to improve the military effectiveness.

[@Mark-pe2sh]

Flag level is where the failure is and has been. The general officers corps in the U.S. has kept their jobs, careers, benefits, and pensions will gutting the enlisted ranks of this country for decades. Enlisted ranks get Rif'd, but generals still keep positions and perks. I don't believe China would risk a war with the U.S.. They might risk war with Taiwan though understanding that we probably won't come to their aid.

[@edmundcharles5278]

Given the events happening in Afghanistan circa August 29, 2021, every Service College and Senior Service School and War College drastically needs to have its entire curriculum radically re-designed! The wars of Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan - have clearly failed to be absorbed by the national military establishment!

[@MattDW45]

I pray they learn the right lessons. I used to think these folks knew their Sun Tzu; clearly the decision makers weren’t applying it.

[@EntertaningAmerica]

The establishment and senior leadership refuses to believe that we LOST. No no.. it was the draftees, it was the politicians, it was the guerrilla tactics, "the enemy doesn't fight fair on our level.." well duh. These people aren't stupid and saw what happened to Saddam's Army in 1991. Not even the Russians or Chinese would fight us "fairly". I'm a junior officer and most of my senior leaders are borderline incompetent or idiots. They are great with Army buzzwords, looking good on paper, but obviously lack sophistication or independent thought. Hell my BDE commander made a point out of how he doesn't read and how his run time is great leadership... these guys are gonna get us killed, all we can hope for is that the Air Force doesn't lose air superiority or we're really fucked.

[@gunthervonhoffman6453]

@@EntertaningAmerica Well, then the American military better learn from the Germans, the North Koreans, the Communist Chinese army, and the North Vietnamese army about how to fight without any kind of air superiority.

[@timblack6422]

Wow.. this has aged incredibly well!

[@Moonbeamblue]

20:41 - "A modern version of the 'stab in the back' ". 22:30 - "Good civil-military discourse is [...] probably one of the few leading indicators of how well a war is gonna go." 24:01 - "Saddam Hussein believed he'd won." 26:22 - "A war of inattention, [and] of casual arrogance; to think that we could go in and sort of fight a war with our left hand, without really paying much attention to it." 27:35 - "If you put eleven commanders in eleven years, what you're doing is making each of your commanders the patsy, because Afghanistan is not a place you figure out in twelve months. Even if you did, you're leaving after twelve months." 32:18 - Collapse of generalship; confusing tactical leadership with strategic leadership. 34:30 - "We really have a lot of generals who aren't generals these days. It's like a military without a head. [...] We have a lot generals who are trained, but not educated." 36:57 - "Counterinsurgency sounds like a big fancy word, that you need to speak french to understand. It's not. [...] Counterinsurgency in a nutshell: Don't create enemies." 39:08 - "Our troops were so tactically effective, that it enabled our strategic leaders to dither for years and years, because [...] we never really had losses [...] as we had in the Vietnam War." 39:48 - "Good tactics can't fix bad strategy, but they can also enable bad strategy to kind of dither along. Good strategy [...] will fix bad tactics." 42:10 - "The difference between training and education: Training prepares you for the known, education for the unknown." 44:20 - "Everybody in the army basically gets a Leavenworth education now. No one fails. It's 'Lake Wobegon' - everybody is above average." 47:34 - "You don't want a Chief of Staff who hates and loaths Washington. You want a Chief of Staff who understands: This is where the nation's business is done. And, that when Congress asks you a question, they're not messing in *_your_* business, you're messing in *_their_* business. Congress and the executive *_own_* the military *_in_* *_the_* *_name_* *_of_* *_the_* *_people_* ." 51:40 - "I think skin in the game would make a big difference, and also, *_I_* *_think_* *_it's_* *_morally_* *_reckless_* *_of_* *_this_* *_country_* *_to_* *_fight_* *_wars_* , *_without paying_* *_attention_* *_to_* *_them_* . "

[@Griede26]

thankyou for constructive content.

[@SouthBaySteelers]

Who, if anyone, will be held accountable for Afghanistan? It’d be great if this lecture was updated.

[@GabrielNicho]

Dude, the US couldn't win in Afghanistan, to win you would have to destroy their way of horrible medieval life, put the taliban to the sword. It was always impossible to build a democracy there, if that was the "win" and the strategic objective. The actual battles were won at the time of invasion, easily by special forces.

[@thodan467]

@@GabrielNicho Battles won that don´t help win the war count for nothing, you could win to defeat in this way

[@GabrielNicho]

@@thodan467 That's my point. But if we look at the invasion itself, and those battles, that was over pretty quickly. The grind started when politicians decided the US should stay.

[@thodan467]

@@GabrielNicho No, the grind stared when politicians didn´t prepare for what doing after the conquest

[@GabrielNicho]

@@thodan467 How is that different from what I just wrote?

[@Jupiterxice]

This guy needs to giving a lecture to DC right now

[@lennykoss8777]

"Pessimists and sycophants need not apply" 💗🌈💗🌈💗🌈💗🌈💗

[@asmodeus0454]

Conforming to the conditions of ticket-punching careerism rather initiative, professional zeal, and practical effectiveness seems to be an endemic problem in the officer corps of the U.S. Army at least and possibly the other U.S. armed forces as well.

[@kardy12]

Excellent interview. And I wholly agree on the point about the draft - if military service wasn’t largely confined to a small minority (disproportionately drawn from lower income groups), the people would hold their politicians to greater account over the forever wars they have sought to fight over the last 30 year or so. There’s nothing the neocons would fear more than a draft being reinstated.

[@kenboe3019]

Very interesting but no mention of war being for the military contractors and defense industry, or the jobs officers get in those industries.

[@georgebeckydragan6389]

The last General with true honor and integrity was Marine Corps General Peter Pace. He was also the also the last USMC General with the courage to stand up to the politically correct bullsh*t that has infected the bloodstreams of every other career-climbing G.O and Flag Officer.

[@mikeoveli1028]

Dragan Tell me what a general does to get the title of politically correct?

[@akulkis]

Since "The Gulf War" of 1990-91 was never ended with the peace treaty, only a cease fire, that means that the 2003 invasion, contrary to critics' claims, was merely resumption of high tempo combat operations in a war which was still ongoing.

[@tonylittle8634]

All these fine books written about our generals and the decline of our military. I’ve yet to see anyone address the issue of the senior enlisted. That being the issue of what E8-E9 paygrades that were initiated in the 50’s, as well the implementation of high year tenure of the mid 80’s. Once upon a time it was common for a SGTMJ to physically tighten up a young officer. No one seems to see the significance of the senior enlisted over the molding years of officers before they become field/flag grade.

[@jayfelsberg1931]

33:40 Dear me, that sounds like a quote I read once about the German Heer in WWII: If you win all the firefights you win the war. Not sure if it is a valid quote, but.....well? The Germans were in a strategic black hole in WWII. They spent the years between the world wars becoming excellent technicians (except for logistics, mind you), but for whatever reason had no idea what to do with it it in the long run. Keep in mind they had just lost a war... Heinz Guderian is, admittedly, not the most honest source for WWII, but I understand that the following happened. The breakthrough was done in France, and Hitler arrived for a briefing. The generals described the breakthrough and the current situation. Hitler asked, "So what will we do next?" Guderian said, that was the first time anyone had asked that question. Not a good sign when Hitler asks that question. Kinda starting to sound familiar....

[@gunthervonhoffman6453]

Well, Clifford Clark, Secretary of Defense, during the Vietnam War, asks his generals what was the plan to win the war, and the only answer they gave was if they killed enough enemy soldiers, Hanoi would quit fighting. Clark at that point turned against the war after hearing that statement.

[@thodan467]

The strategic thinking was not very developed in Prussia and Germany for a very simple reason. If it would be needed the situation would be dire, both states ´d never the ressources to fight a strategic war with reasonable chances of success. Then the strategic guidance from the Gröfaz and the High Command was sorely missing. What should division commanders do then?

[@jayfelsberg1931]

@@gunthervonhoffman6453 Dear Lord....you realize that is no different than Haig;s tactics in 1916-17 against the Germans? "Well, we are taking losses, but the Boche are running out of troops." Except they were NOT running out of troops. As John Mosier details in "The Myth of the Great War," based on actual, official German casualty lists, they were losing WAY fewer troops than the Allies (especially the British) estimated. . They were able to come up with a half-million troops to knock Romania out of the war, and shortly thereafter Russia. They and the Austrians came up with armies to effectively knock Italy out of the war. And that was the same problem in Vietnam. The belief that the North Vietnamese would have to end the way because of casualties was total BS. Did they suffer heavy casualties? Certainly. Was US firepower dangerous. Indeed. But it was a North Vietnamese tank that captured the presidential palace in Saigon, not a South Vietnamese tank that captured the presidential palace in Hanoi. And now we have Afghanistan......

[@gunthervonhoffman6453]

@@jayfelsberg1931 Yes and No about Italy being knocked out of the war. If they were really knocked out of the war, the Italian government would have sued for peace and withdrew from the war. If it wasn't for changes in the Italian military top leadership and Allied military assistance, Italy would have quit the war. Overwhelmingly, American wars have always been a war of attrition of wearing down the enemy in order to defeat them with some exceptions. Geronimo had very few men; however, the US army couldn't seem to track him down and engage him in a pitched battle in order to beat him. It took 3 wars to beat the Seminole Indians and the Second Seminole War was the longest one that lasted 7 years. The British always greatly outnumber the Germans in the air and on the ground during the North Africa campaign while interdicting the Axis air and naval supply lines to Rommel; however, the Germans still manage to keep on fighting and in many cases, inflicted more casualties on the British even at El Alamein. Unlike the earlier Union generals who retreated after getting beaten by Robert E. Lee, US Grant just kept moving forward and worn down the Confederate Army in the East even though he was taking heavy casualties. Yes, the North Vietnamese were willing to take casualties; however, they were totally committed to freeing their entire country including South Vietnam. After the war, one American officer told a North Vietnamese official how the US was killing 10 NVA for every American dead, and the official stated that it didn't matter since they were going to win the war.

[@alstahl8574]

Spot on. Reflection of our political leadership in decline. We are led by politicians who do as I say not as I do! Headed for failure. Nobody takes responsibility for their mistakes anymore....

[@johnheigis83]

Outstanding! Thanks. However, you should see this, from the bottom up. For instance, an E3, with no power, holding down the job of an E7, managing armories, without equal pay, while repeatedly taking the blame, for the dereliction-of-duty of "superiors!"

[@devinpoissenot3184]

I am an E3 medic doing COVID response in Korea, and i can attest to this. Very much a "leave you alone without assistance until you fail, then point out every inconsistency we can find, and say how much we do for you" attitude from senior personnel.

[@gunthervonhoffman6453]

@@devinpoissenot3184 That is for sure. They leave you out to dry and all this talk they fed to you about being a band of brothers, unit cohesion, comradeship, and esprit de corps was a bunch of garbage. It is one of many reasons why the military lost in Vietnam.

[@Comm0ut]

ROGER THAT! It even happens in the Air Force (which is generally rather professional and pleasant to work in). My Armybros always had it worse and got the shite end of the stick. Thanks for what you do from someone who knows.

[@1982nsu]

27:48 Who would have thought that the Afghan war would last nearly 20 years and end with the Taliban in control of everything, punctuated by the mass murder of 13 marines as we fled and abandoned hundreds of Americans behind enemy lines. Too sad for words.

[@quarreneverett4767]

they speak fellow as I, i think i might have met tom once, he seems so familiar seems like a cool dude

[@anastasiosgkotzamanis5277]

Like a great Sicilian once said "the biggest blunder is to get involved in a land war in Asia."

[@kafon6368]

Nobody knows who is the original author of that quote.

[@Josep_Hernandez_Lujan]

@@kafon6368 Vizzini?

[@christophermills9289]

I've actually read this book and recommend it.

[@paladinbob1236]

excellent talk with some very revelant points on the american army leadership and perhaps public service :)

[@pjdiver3]

I left the Army as a CPT, so not as high up as Tom may have his sights on...but to fire someone is hard. And unfortunately, I met a LOT of officers and NCOs who would rather just let poor leadership slide and let someone else deal with it instead of taking the hard step to get rid of them.

[@gunthervonhoffman6453]

These same officers and NCOs would also deal with problems that occurred on their bases and hope that they would not blow up in their faces by the time they were ready to go to their next assignment.

[@cthoadmin7458]

It’s unreasonable to expect militaries to build nations. Militaries are designed to do the maximum possible damage to an enemy.

[@aarondetinne8128]

I disagree with the first part of your comment but agree the 2nd is a reality. Its not unreasonable nor is it unprecedented in history. The US military has a long history of nation building from the Phillipines, Germany, Japan, and countless other examples. The problem is that we seperate the civil administration of conflict areas from military success... Paul Brenner should never had carte blanche to over rule the military in anything but he did. The point was made that Gen. Petreus called out Brenner for fueling the insurgency by worsening economic conditions... nothing came of it. Brenner fueled the insurgency and the US military fought it. We need to return to expecting our Generals to be able to handle every task that is necessary for military success to civil administration of conflict zones and they need to be given the authority to accomplish that.

[@lindencamelback2305]

Interesting how these principles work in many areas such as business and football or life in general.

[@SkylersRants]

I was with you until you spoke well of Colin Powell. He was nakedly ambitious and political from his earliest days, and the antithesis of everything else you are calling for.

[@unknowable2432]

He ignores that time Powell sat at the UN and lied through his teeth about WMDs in Iraq.

[@edmundcharles5278]

There are tactical, operational and strategic levels of land operations of warfare and very few military personnel possess the traits to be excellent at all three levels! Thus the progress our challenges and failures in Afghanistan & Iraq.

[@TheLoyalOfficer]

More relevant now than ever.

[@BillOtinger]

I had PRIVATES that were SMARTER than Today's GENERALS

[@damien4401]

Watching this in 2023... the relevance is crazy

[@leejohnson2004]

He might have been talking about electricians at 13:44

[@331SVTCobra]

"Thank you for having I here" .... no "Thank you for having Tom and I here" ... no "Thank you for having me here" ... yes! "Thank you for having Tom and me here" ... yes. People, get this straight. A person looks less intelligent when they can't get the subject/object thing straightened out.

[@tomusmc1993]

I'll go further. There are very very few people who have a hand on, or are close to levers of power, that are educated, committed (to something other than themselves) , can critically think and have the courage to speak it.

[@stevenm3823]

I'm an Army veteran, 1993-2008, served in Germany, Korea, Ft Sill, OK, Ft. Hood, TX and had deployments to Albania/Kosovo in 1999 and Iraq from 2004-2005 and what I saw in all of those units were officers much more concerned about their next promotion and sucking up to the commander as compared to caring about their soldiers....the "West Point Protection Society" was alive and well in the units I served in....NCOs would get slammed for any mistake or misconduct no matter how slight but if an officer did the same thing he got off scott free and of course was promoted on schedule....I only worked with a couple of officers who wanted to be in the motorpool working with the soldiers and/or being with the soldiers out in the field and training with them...those type of officers didn't last long and quickly disappeared...to be replaced by ones who never left the training room, spending all of their time in front of the computer, either being the commander's bitch or typing up "training schedules" they had zero desire to be part of.....and it really pissed us off in Iraq to see those "FOB Rat" officers who spent 99.9% of their time on the base who decided to go out on one patrol during the last days of our deployment just so they can afterward put themselves in for a Combat Action Badge even though no combat occurred while they were out there, then we had the same type officers who put themselves in for a CAB just because an insurgent fired mortar or rocket landed 300 yards from their office....they sure got the promotion points racked up during the deployment while taking near zero risk to life and limb....and it still goes on today.

[@edwardwong654]

He has a very pleasant and easy to listen to style. His thoughts and analysis seem to be spot on but this is not my area.

[@clydecessna737]

Gen. Westmorland was rewarded for the Vietnam debacle by being promoted Chief of Staff.

[@jamesstorey2476]

A political move for a politician (Westmorland).

[@TheDailyReviewBlog1975USA]

#TomRicks a great reporter and expert on the #AmericanMilitary

[@buddy3852]

Looks like I need to buy some books

[@Griede26]

dont figure out Afghanistan in 12 months... your leaving in 12 months.... yea and compound that with replacement units throwing away any and all notes passed on by the unit leaving out about everything they learned about the surrounding area. and thats just squad/ platoon/ company level...

[@paxluporum4447]

The unit that replaced mine thought they understood Afghanistan because many of them had deployed to Iraq a couple times. They paid dearly for it.

[@garykubodera9528]

I like this guy ans what he is saying..a disabled US Army Veteran...

[@Pan_Z]

11:06 "The message people will take away is you can be mediocre as long as you keep your pants on. Personal behaviours will be monitored and have great consequences. But public execution of your duties --we won't measure or hold you accountable on, partly because as a system we don't know how to do that anymore." A trend representative of US political institutions as a whole. Competency takes a backseat to maintaining a good public image.

[@tigertiger1699]

Shame!, I’m not Americanor military..., but have learnt a lot of the history of the worlds conflicts... (still learning).. & I listen to this and I just feel so sadly/ even grieving for the “US Soldier/ Sailor”.... 53 years.., I have watch so much American blood spilt, some in amazing eats of selflessness that have brought peace.., but just so so much of it wasted..., man it’s hard to listen to the truth this man speaks... 🌹🙏🇺🇸🇳🇿

[@grrrlbreaker]

This rot begins under Carter; when the operation (Operation Desert One) to rescue the hostages was such an abject failure due to staff and command failures to plan. Afterwards, the officer in charge, General Starry, was promoted and given a prestigious command.

[@roderickcampbell2105]

Hello Stewart. I know what you mean, but do you really think it started with Carter? What about Westie in Vietnam? Wasn't that the same sort of thing? The rot was there already. I have nothing against Westerland per se. Vietnam was a strategic failure beyond the kin of generals.

[@OSTARAEB4]

Dear Daddy Stewart, yes, I remember that vividly the burnt rotor blades and silhouettes of the helicopters in the sand. The defense forces were a shambles then as they generally are during a Democrat Administration. They always tend to neglect defense needs.

[@dexstewart2450]

Nothing to do with the USA overthrowing the elected government in Iran in 1953...always the victims...

[@OSTARAEB4]

@@dexstewart2450 and Britain too. Yes, Mossadegh in '53!

[@guyblade]

27:50 "...[I]f you asked anyone if we'd still be in Afghanistan 11, 12 years later there's no one". And then we stayed in Afghanistan for another ~8 years.

[@182franc]

Court Marshal, please ?

[@nutsackmania]

I like this interviewer

[@marilyndargis6758]

My marine son fought on Iraq ...refuses to discuss the events there and we talk about everything m

[@colinlewis52]

When I saw how the politian refuse the request of the Generals for their mission and send the troops to suside missions

[@thodan467]

Some people forget that the military can never expect or demand to get all their wishes fulfilled

[@DJF1985]

I think one must look at the micro management of the military and all of our wars since WW 2 by our political leadership. Look at the general latitude given Nimitz, MacArthur, Eisenhower by the political leadership. In addition, we don’t have decisive victories anymore due to ridiculous ROE. and political indecision.I know this discussion is much more complex.

[@sjoormen1]

bollocks. WW2 was ideological war, it could be reffered as good vs evil, though for the us as major profiteer I don't know, maybe not. Brits did loose empire because of it. Still it could be justified as one even for US. Every other war since was for racket. Yes, even in Soviet era.

[@Cybernaut551]

He's right, you know.

[@davidmurphy8364]

He's incentives for the reintroduction of selective service are fascinating. Proper old School Rome stuff, take care of the state and the state will take care of you.

[@182franc]

Firing squads for Secretary of Defense, General Milley and head of CIA and Secretary of State ( little guy with squeaky voice )

[@roadtomanitoba9753]

Just for reference, Soviet fought enemy armed with fuckload of MANPADs, they couldn`t land the transport plane in Bagram without some remarkable aerobatics involved.

[@coachhannah2403]

Think about it. When has American military had good leadership?

[@gunthervonhoffman6453]

The top senior NCO leadership is no better than the generals. Many of them play politics to get to the top and let their rank go to their heads. You had a scandal some years ago, where it was discovered that the Chief Pretty Officer promotion board was fixed. One of the Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy had to crack down on his fellow chief pretty officers because many of them thought that just because they were chief pretty officers, they could do anything they wanted and get away with it and the people underneath their command couldn't do a thing about it. Another Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy had to leave because he had created a toxic atmosphere among his enlisted staff. He acted like he was an admiral because he wanted certain things like his own private military jet, his own private military car with a chauffeur, wanted people to pick up his laundry, etc. His staff would point out why he couldn't have these things or do things that violated federal law and military regulations and he would lose his temper and chew out his staff. His staff also stated that he wasn't a thinker and sat on his butt and did do anything. In the movie Invisible War about systematic rape in the military, many rape victims had complained to their officers and NCOs about them being raped, but the officers and NCOs either didn't do a thing about it or they kicked the rape victims out of the military. Some of the rapists were the rape victims' immediate superiors which didn't help out the victims. Wouldn't be surprised if some of the rapists are generals/or top-ranking sergeants/petty officers. The Military Religious Freedom Foundation had to go after NCOs who violated the separation of church and state. If there are too many generals, then you can say that about having too many top NCOs/Chief Petty Officers. Billy Mitchel and Claire Chennault were truth-tellers; however, both were forced to leave the service. It took a war to validate Claire Chenault's fighter plane theories. The military never cultivates let alone encourages truth-tellers and moral courage. If they had the moral courage and were truth-tellers a long, long, long time ago, we would have either won the war in Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan earlier or would have not gone into those countries in the first place, or would have gotten out a lot earlier plus the generals would have resigned en masse to voice their opposition in going to war in those countries in the first place. Finally, in the military, the moment you go to the military academies, go to basic training as an enlisted person, go to ROTC at a college, or one of the many military academies across the USA, one of the first things they drill into your head is: 1) who told you to think? ; 2) you are not paid to think, and 3) your drill instructor/older cadet tells you that from now on he/she will do the thinking for you. That's is why you don't have officers, NCOs, and enlisted personnel who show no initiative or original thinking because they were not allowed to do so right from the start. The things that Scott stated about the generals can be said for CEOs. The CEOs are incapable of making products and services without killing or injuring people. They don't care about what they do to society or to their companies, expect the public to subsidize their losses while they keep all the money and wage a ruthless, relentless war against good government, against workers, against unions, and against corporate whistleblowers.

[@johnzeszut3170]

What do generals do but give each other medals? A lot of first class officers who are swimming against the flow. It used to be the motto "Get your ticket punched and move on.".

[@jamesstorey2476]

Ticket punching is still the game plan...

[@alistairs8495]

Prescient

[@Stormgebieder]

28:20 good piece of advice. After all these years general Gromov was proven more than right.

[@tigertiger1699]

The US (all of us other nations) owe it to our serving military to get this shit right.... we can’t waste them!

[@glasssteagall3400]

34:17

[@mactek6033]

Geneva Conventions vs Total War. If you are a weak combatant, you like it when the other guy follows the Geneva Conventions. If you are a strong combatant, the Geneva Conventions is why you can't crush your enemy to force their unconditional surrender.

[@ColonelAckerson117]

29:00 That is just so true. To this day no foreign military has even put in a formal request for information of the Soviet military campaign in Afghanistan. Just think about it. In the early 2000s relationships between Esat and West were kinda okish. You could have just asked them about shit like this. But this is typical western arrogance, why ask the russians, they lost... Duhh, bet they lost for a reason. 1st part of this could be BS, iI have no way to research this. Got it from an Interview with a well reputed german journalist who covered stuff like this very well.

[@harrykuheim6107]

Ummm. the Commander in Cheif was an EX Community Organizer in 2012...

[@bobdanley2438]

Retired with twenty-two years. Would I recommend young people to join today? No. Leadership at the top is abysmal and doesn't give a shit about Private Rudy.

[@nanorider426]

George Marshall was a hero here in Europe in the past. Now only for people who know their history. He kind of kick-started Europe's economy after WWII. The Marshall plan is taught in school - if the school tells it's pupils of the Cold War. If Marshall didn't become Secretary of State in the USA Europe's future would be quite darker. Edit: In Denmark we have just what Tom Ricks said about the draft: We have a draft, but it's a lottery to get in.

[@nicholaspagano8438]

DUTY, HONOR, COUNTRY! Not anymore! "Friend or Foe, pass the dough".

[@nonii8526]

27:40 more like 20 years later…

[@edmundcharles5278]

Essentially and in short, the author is trying to state in a long -winded fashion that character and personality do matter for military (and corporate, political and religious professions) success! You can't fake characters personality for any appreciable period of time.

[@182franc]

What General gave away Bagram Airbase before anyone left ? Hahahaha !

[@timothykelly5588]

General Disregard

[@Mark-pe2sh]

"or, he would have to lie and he didn't want to do either." On the contrary, Patraeus had no problem lying when he was cheating on his wife. I wouldn't have cared what he did, but his bad decisions had impacts beyond his zipper.

[@patriciafarrow9586]

You need to just look at the generals assigned to AFghanistan over the past 20 years!

[@182franc]

Hehehe … Secretary of Defense Austin ? Hahahaha ! ‘ Nope, we can’t do that ! ‘ Hahahaha !

[@DaveyCrockett001]

this guy: Quotes the title me: ya think

[@yachticus]

its funny now in 2021 - how prescient this speech has become. The knobbling of your flag(star) officers (Generals) is probably more of a reflection of the process of their selection. The kneecapping of General Petreaus was politically inspired, have a look at the key players that have now come to light- All sycophants to the left. you good folks in America are in real trouble - not only with your generals being political appointees - but in the broader society - its rather alarming to see the wheels fall off so quickly.

[@travisd7888]

its simply because like the catholic church, it's run by men who like to get cornholed by other men and society rewards them for it; basically a moral decline when you have a man who likes unicorns trying to train a man to kill and not want to be a woman. frikin sad America has become....

[@marymother1090]

Generals making more uniform changes in 20 years and were flush with free money bought a bunch of toys. What war?

[@ryanenglish8047]

This speech is more timely than ever with the collapse of Afghanistan and woke generals like Milley who like CRT

[@Tadicuslegion78]

You could write a whole second volume just on 2001-2021 and how the generals broke into 4 factions: The Woke, The MAGA, the corporatists, and smallest of all, successful

[@admashburn2543]

@@Tadicuslegion78 Yes, you could.

[@dth999]

Fascinating . . . treating Iraqi POWS better then American prisoners.

[@brandoYT]

No success even possible - no reason to go every reason to just leave. Only goal was to make money - no other goal.

[@xchen3079]

It is completely nonsense to say Patton was only good at chasing. The first battle Patton fought in Africa was not chasing; Sicily was not chasing, Normandy was not chasing, Bulge was not chasing. All they were breakthrough. Actually, without Patton, Eisenhower and Bradley could not had won a single campaign!