It’s hard to trust the military when top brass look stupid.
In 1971, Charles M. Fair (bio here) wrote a book, “From the Jaws of Victory, A History of the Character, Causes, and Consequences of Military Stupidity, from Crassus to Johnson and Westmoreland,” whose title aptly describes its theme (get a copy here).
Among the subjects covered are the World War 1 generals of both sides who violated Einstein’s maxim, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results,” by repeatedly and fruitlessly throwing infantry against barbed wire and machineguns, decimating an entire generation of men in the process.
During the Vietnam War, I enlisted for Officer Candidate School, but soured on becoming an Army officer after hearing a major give a pep talk that included, “I’m glad this war happened, because it gives me a chance to use my professional skills.” (And, unstated, get promotions.) I don’t recall his name or know what happened to him; I surmise he either ended up face down in a rice paddy, or behind a desk in the Pentagon pushing unimportant paperwork.
More recently, this seventh-grade civics dropout was an Army colonel; and Mike Flynn, the Trump ally who pushed for a military coup in the U.S. after the 2020 election, was a four-star general. Don Bolduc, a U.S. Senate candidate who fell for an internet hoax about litter boxes in schools, was a brigadier general. There are many other examples, e.g. the cheating admiral who used the White House as a motel. How do such stupid people get promoted to high rank?
Despite bad eggs in the officer ranks, and numerous historical examples of military stupidity, I believe we have a competent and well-run military capable of carrying out difficult and complex missions, because they do it all the time (from Coast Guard rescues in Arctic waters to nuclear submarine patrols). However, anyone who’s served in the military knows it’s the sergeants and chief petty officers who make things work as they’re supposed to. (“What are you doing with my wrench?”)
Wars are a crapshoot. Studying history brings one to the realization that winning a major war depends on luck as much as anything else. As David Lloyd George, (British prime minister 1916-1922) wrote,
“All nations alike enter into a war with equal confidence in ultimate victory …. Defeat is always a surprise to the vanquished. Elements they had not realized … and finally that play of chance and fate which no genius can forecast or control, all make the issue of a war as doubtful as that of a serious disease.”
As Germany learned in the world wars, the U.S. in Vietnam, Russia in Afghanistan, Argentina in the Falklands, Putin is learning in Ukraine, etc. In addition, gambling on a military “solution” to a foreign relations problem can have disastrous consequences.
(During the Cuban missile crisis, the U.S. didn’t know about the tactical nuclear missiles in Cuba, and the airstrikes the military chiefs were pushing for wouldn’t have taken them out; having been placed under control of local tactical commanders, they would’ve been used against any U.S. invasion force.)
I support our military. We need a strong and well-prepared military to deter adversaries and protect our country in a continually dangerous world. I’m pretty comfortable with trusting our military leaders to run their organizations and conduct the missions assigned to them.
But I’ve too often seen that G.I. Joe sucks at civilian governance. Many of our political leaders have military experience, but that’s different. That’s useful for understanding defense issues, and in my view enhances their qualifications for civilian office. But it’s not enough to them the broader perspective needed to be a political leader in a democratic society.
Military organizations necessarily operate with a top-down command structure, but civilian politics is the opposite. Politicians have to be listeners and negotiators, not commanders. That explains why so many of them are lawyers. Governing requires different skills than military leadership. It also deals with a much wider range of issues, of deeper complexity.
Before all this happened, I may have wanted Gen. Mike Flynn’s technical advice on logistics in the White House situation room during a crisis that might require a military response. But knowing what I do now, I wouldn’t put him in charge of the National Guard troops protecting the U.S. Capitol from a violent insurrection, given his antagonism toward our democratic system. Maybe you can trust these people to carry out strictly military tasks, but things fall apart when they enter civilian politics.
The reason why is obvious. The problem with military careerists going into politics is they’ve been isolated from civilian society and don’t understand how things work outside the military. Flynn either doesn’t understand or doesn’t respect our right to elect our civilian leadership without military interference. I don’t want to live in a Myanmar or banana republic. I view Flynn as a traitor to America’s democratic ideals. He wasn’t necessarily a bad general, but his foray into politics destroyed his reputation.
I have similar problems with Doug Mastriano. I don’t want to live in a state whose governor doesn’t believe in separation of church and state, nor have his religious beliefs forced upon my kids in public schools. His public remarks also made clear he can’t be trusted to appoint the people who manage Pennsylvania’s elections.
As for Don Bolduc, he apparently performed well leading Special Forces operations in Afghanistan, but anyone who insists schools are making kids use litter boxes is either a hate-filled homophobe, or too stupid and gullible to be a U.S. senator. Bolduc also is an election denier who called Biden an illegitimate president, and that’s dangerous because it undermines our elections and encourages political violence.
These people, generally speaking, aren’t a problem when they stick to what they know within their field of military expertise, and their political incompetence doesn’t mean our military is in trouble. In some of these cases, I’m willing to allow as how it’s more a Peter Principle case than across-the-board stupidity. But there should be no place for them in civilian government.