The Siren’s Call: Flaws of Efficiency
Jake Alleman
February 28, 2020
In Greek mythology, the sirens were creatures with an enchanting voice whose song would trap the minds of sailors who heard it, leading them to their doom on the rocky coast of the sirens’ islands. Only two heroes passed the sirens without incident — Odysseus by having his crew physically restrain him while blocking their own ears and Orpheus by drowning out their song with one of greater power.
The lure of mission support efficiency — cutting resource usage by combining multiple support missions into single units — to address increased operational requirements is the Air Force’s siren song. Following it without addressing underlying issues, like under-resourced resiliency efforts and a force stretched to the breaking point, is a short-term solution likely to end in a disaster. It’s dangerous to assume that necessary resources and manning will appear before the problems become critical. Instead the Air Force should treat current budget levels as the best-case scenario.
https://warontherocks.com/2020/02/the-sirens-call-flaws-of-efficiency/
