America Needs Leaders With Fresh Eyes
COMMENTARY
By Stuart Scheller August 14, 2022
Americans searching for leaders will find hope in a new generation of veterans shaped by service during the Global War on Terror (GWOT). Those who led, bled, and carried dead in America’s foreign wars understand what’s best about this nation and how to preserve it. I served in combat commands in Iraq and Afghanistan, and I have no doubt that America will find its future leaders among the talented young officers with whom I served.
Military service over the last two decades can do a lot to prepare someone for action in the public arena. But former service members must break free of the servile mindset pervading the U.S. military if they are to rise to the leadership challenges facing America. To advance in today’s military, asking questions, calling out problems, or being anything other than a yes-man is frowned upon, even outright punished. Loyalty to “the system” is valued above warfighting skill, leadership, and critical thinking.
And yet, look at the record of this “system” since World War II: failure to accomplish political objectives in Vietnam, Beirut, Kosovo, Somalia, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, and Syria. Even worse, government has depleted economic, diplomatic, and information resources in pursuit of what turned out to be failed objectives. All the while, top generals have insulated themselves from accountability by deflecting blame toward politicians, adjacent foreign diplomacy departments, and junior service members.
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