https://taskandpurpose.com/opinion/critical-military-theory/
As the youths say these days- this article is fire
As the youths say these days- this article is fire
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Many Americans, particularly our most senior politicians and military leaders, seem to have developed a form of dementia when it comes to warfare. The result is confusion or denial about the essential ingredients of a competent military force, and the costs of major power conflict. The memory loss is largely irrespective of political bent because all too many are seduced by a Hollywood infused sense of antiseptic warfare and push-button solutions, while forgotten are the one million casualties of the Battle of the Somme in World War I, or the almost two million in the Battle of Stalingrad in World War II.
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The condition is exacerbated and enabled when the most senior military leaders those who ought to know better defer to the idealistic judgments of those whose credentials are either nonexistent or formed entirely by ideology.
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The U.S. military has two main purposes to deter our enemies from engaging us in warfare, and if that fails, to defeat them in combat. Deterrence is only possible if the opposing force believes it will be defeated. Respect is not good enough; fear and certainty are required.
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To be true to its purpose, the U.S. military cannot be a mirror image of the society it serves. Values that are admirable in civilian society sensitivity, individuality, compassion, and tolerance for the less capable are often antithetical to the traits that deter a potential enemy and win the wars that must be fought: Conformity, discipline, unity.
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There is only one overriding standard for military capability: lethality. Those officeholders who dilute this core truth with civil society's often appropriate priorities (diversity, gender focus, etc.) undermine the military's chances of success in combat.
Combat is the harshest meritocracy that exists, and nothing but ruthless adherence to this principle contributes to deterrence and combat effectiveness.
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A military force's greatest strengths are cohesion and discipline. Individuality or group identity is corrosive and a centrifugal force.
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So what's the problem? The problem today is one of both priorities and standards. We signal a dangerous shift in priorities (as just one example) when global warming, not preparedness to defeat aggressive global competitors, is considered the greatest problem for the Department of Defense and headquarters and rank inflation blossom out of control to the point that the support element greatly diminishes the ground combat element that wins wars. A problem of standards when every Service and the Special Operations community dilute requirements based purely on merit in favor of predetermined outcomes to favor social engineering goals, and when new training requirements crowd out expectations and measurements of combat performance.