The down side of Totalitarian Rule in the military.

 

The down side of Totalitarian Rule of the military ----and what has made US Solders, Sailors and Airmen so effective in the past.

 

Originally.......This thought was originally sparked  at cblaake6's place linking to this article on Free Patriot. The article lists military officers relived of their commands and simply asks the question is this a purge or not.  I will let others decide if the ever growing list of Command firings is insidious, but my gut tells me the numbers are high...... for whatever reason. I have no idea myself, and can't speak to the if the numbers are high, low or average.  

One take on things is well stated at  In From the Cold who right now has a fine write-up on  The Air Force's nuclear troubles.  This article cites recent problems within The Air Forces "Bucket of Sunshine" Missile community and, I think rightfully so, blame poor leadership. 

What the real causes are, and if someone is in a place that knows, he probably not be able to reveal it.  (Need to find some real reporting on this)

 

  But back to Totalitarian Leaderships effect in a military.

 

Hypothetically,  what if we are seeing a purge of the leadership ranks for the purpose of totalitarian/ dictatorial rule?  What would we end up with? We have seen it in the past and Hitler, Stalin, and Pol Pot come to the top of my mind.  This leadership, first and foremost requires absolute loyalty to the dictator at all costs.  All other attributes are sacrificed at the expense of following orders, doctrine, and the chain of command.  Additionally one can not be "Too Smart", "See the big picture" or be innovative.  These traits do not play well with the totalitarian leadership.  Thinking for yourself is definitely a no-no. (Just Ask Erwin Rommel how being smart etc. worked out.)

 

The results, from a military leadership stand point, is ineffectiveness. A good illustration is the 12th and 21st SS Panzer Divisions  action  inaction, during the Normandy invasion. Though highly motivated,  loyal troops, with the best equipment, and closest to the invasion, they failed their basic mission because they waited for orders from Hitler to act.  Fear of the Command was greater than anything else.  The Totalitarian rule destroyed initiative. It destroyed innovation.  It destroyed thinking.
 

Contrast this with the opposite, Admiral Spruance ordering immediate launching of aircraft to attack the Japanese fleet at the start of the Battle of Midway.  He made a judgment call, based on his own intellect and initiative, with out fear of reprisal.  Days prior Nimitz broke regulation and procedure also to get the crippled Yorktown out of dry-dock and into the fight ASAP. Other innovations during this fight such as night launch and recovery of US aircraft from the Enterprise,  and the  launching Fighter and Attack aircraft near or beyond their range limits took place. (All risky never done before)  Result, the tide of the war was turned.   Our military leaders were trusted to and able (allowed) to think!

Fast forward to today.....  Is our military trusted to do its job?  Why are their lawyers on the battlefield?  Are our military leaders allowed to think and be innovative without fear?  Is anyone allowed to act quickly without orders?  I wonder who has the balls anymore to say "Nutz!" be to the enemy or ......, whatever.  Long story short, free men of free will, be it in the military, business, or otherwise are innovative, creative, and dare I say can be heroic, and the subjugated can never be any of these. 
 

(BTW: I doubt Lemay gave a shit about political correctness back in the day!)