"Moms for Liberty - Johnson County, KS reposted
Cynical Publius@CynicalPublius"

"There is an Army saying you hear dozens of times when you make full colonel: "Congratulations, that's the last promotion you will ever make based solely on merit."

The idea behind that saying is that when it comes time to compete for a 1-star promotion, you need a sponsor, and having a sponsor who sits on the promotion board matters, greatly.

That's how we get politicized generals who support racist, anti-American nonsense like DEI.

This is a great, great step in replacing politics with merit at our senior ranks.

This is what a revolution in military personnel affairs looks like."

https://x.com/SecWar/status/2102382410600182000

About time!!

Yep, my dad was an 06 for 17 years. Known for saying what was on his mind, or as he put it “saying shit if you had a mouth full. Our neighbor, also a long time 06 said he and my dad would have never made it through charm school.

Great. I saw too many assholes promoted into the GO ranks.

I saw a General cry during an all call. She's gone now, but when someone asked if there were going to be layoffs due to DOGE, she cried and I don't know, she may or not have been great at her job, but Generals should not cry in my opinion. I think they should present confidence at all time.

The crux is who comprises the promotion boards.
SECWAR has cleaned house of a number of Generals who made some dubious war-time decisions but, rotated home and all was forgotten for successive promotions. Chickens coming home to roost time

quote:

Originally posted by BOATTRASH1:
Yep, my dad was an 06 for 17 years. Known for saying what was on his mind, or as he put it “saying shit if you had a mouth full. Our neighbor, also a long time 06 said he and my dad would have never made it through charm school.

Personally I was never eligible for flag — and always knew this — having not acquired the requisite joint designation in my career… I mean “joint” is just a five letter word for Army procedures and NOBODY needs to be encumbered with that crap…Nevertheless, in my senior assignments I had the absolute privilege to work directly for some of the very finest Admiralty and Fleet Commanders since WWII — across most warfare disciplines — namely Surface, Aviation, & Submarine.

That being said, having retired as an 06 at 31 years and privileged to do so as a Commodore, I look fondly back at my time as a Captain — Seasoned enough to be accountable but also aware of the enormity and complexity of the job while possessing the latitude to seek out the security of senior Fleet leadership during those inevitable but critical times of uncertainty when my own experiences or instincts hit the rudder stops.

In my now tarnished memories, LT (O3) and CAPT (O6) were the best ranks for me! I will also add I absolutely loved being assigned to OCONUS, (deployed) Fleet Staffs. Some say “being in command” is the best…I honestly found it incredibly rewarding but also very challenging during the occasions I was privileged with command. Quite frankly, I don’t think I “had the gift” others did and my last go at it was extremely challenging both professionally (due to the demanding geopolitical situation) and on the home front attempting to retire while in command and deployed…and although I did have a band at my Change Of Command/Retirement, my old man might have said, I most assuredly found my “Peter Principle…”

I loved my mission, the challenge of employing assigned weapon systems to meet tasking, and my Sailors…but NOT their problems and the nuances of balancing social and political dynamics. Notwithstanding, not being designated “Joint”, the writing was on the bulkhead and I absolutely believe the selection process worked as it should in my case.

God bless those who are selected to serve our nation at the higher levels of leadership. I watched with great respect the sacrifice, dedication, and aplomb they brought to our profession. As alluded to, however, make no mistake - it was not all rainbows and skittle $hitting unicorns for them or their families in their advancements into the Flag Wardroom.

Godspeed and Good Hunting, Always

A friend of my finally made Brigadier GEN a few years back. I asked him why it took him so long to reach 07 and he said he needed some time to learn to keep his mouth shut and attend more events.

Reminds me of the DEI Chairman of the Joint Chiefs in "Mars Attacks," on the phone with his wife.

"But didn't I always tell you, honey, if I just stayed in place and never spoke up, good things are bound to happen!"

My dad retired as a Major. He said that there was zero chance of getting promoted after he inadvertantly offended a Generals wife