STEVE PIECZENIK TALKS

Four Star Marine General  James. F. Amos Forces the Retirement of Two Marine Corps Generals for Fatal Security Breaches! 

Finally the US Military is acting in a time-honored tradition Of firing subordinates who have performed less than par.

  Now it’s time for the civilians in the USG to act accordingly—with accountability.

  The  NY Times article written by Thom Shanker (posted earlier)  describes an incident that as a former military officer,  I have long awaited---the firing of incompetent senior military officers.    As a longtime fan of General George Marshall,   the brilliant strategist and tactician that oversaw the development and implementation of two major theaters of war –Japan and Europe,   I learned one lesson—immediately fire the ‘dead wood’ and promote those who have hidden potentials.

  Marshall appointed a 56 year old Lieutenant Colonel that had never been in war as the Supreme Allied Commander for the invasions of North Africa,  Sicily and France. 

  His name was Eisenhower.

  Surprised?

Marshall had fired over 600 hundred Senior Military officers before he picked  Eisenhower,  Patton,  Bradley,  Ridgway,  Doolittle,  Arnold,  Nimitz and the rest of the heroes of WWII.   In a similarly innovative move,  General James F. Amos,  the Marine Corps Commandant,  enacted an UNPRECEDENTED ACTION in the modern marine corps history.    He literally FIRED Major General Charles M. Gurganus,  formerly NATO’s regional commander in southwestern Afghanistan,  and Major General Gregg A. Sturdevant,  the former commander of the Third Marine Aircraft Wing forces assigned to Afghanistan.

The specific details of the combat situations can be read in the article.

  As for me,   the most important part of Gen. Amos’s action was a very clear delineation of what was and was not required of these wanting commanders.   And Amos was not coy about his reasons for firing them.

  Here is what he said:

“General Amos in his review,  wrote that every commander is ‘forced to balance the ever-present and continuing mission of force-projection against force-protection requirements’. 

In simple english, Amos said:  "Do your job! Or else!"

Despite the constant carping of General Gurganus who asked for more forces and was often turned down, "in the end,  I believe he [Gurganus] COULD AND SHOULD have DONE MORE".

  WOW !!
  For a professional like me,   those are wonderful words to hear.

  In fact,   I have not heard those words in decades,  either in medicine,  psychiatry,  business,  intelligence,  publishing, or any other field of endeavor in which I might have participated.    The medical field that was once the province of the caring physician and the clinician has transformed into a money machine for the greedy and inept ‘glorified technicians’ who basically read ‘lab reports’ and call themselves ‘doctors’.    Psychiatry has become the province of Big Pharma in collusion with academia,   NIMH and psychiatric residency programs training the novitiates to pass out antiquated anti-psychotic and anti-depression  pills like a Pez Dispenser with unintended consequences.

American business has become an endeavor of cronyism,  elaborate business plans that have no correspondence to reality or fiscal discipline.    Publishing has entered into the twilight of it’s existence as the NY Times Book Review section declares another female inept writer as the ‘newest,  finest writer’ since  the antiquated, “Medieval Nun’s Masturbatory Confessions On Mount Herman”. 

In effect, we have become a civil society lacking in accountability,   personal responsibility or pride in our work/profession.

So thank you General James F. Amos,  Marine Corps Commandant,  for bringing me back some hope,  that once again, we have a military which will hold it’s own accountable--- for life and limb.   You set a very good example for others to follow.

OORAH!!