As I listened to Bush's latest re-hashed talking points speech about the War on Terra, I began to wonder what qualities, if any, he learned from his time as a Lieutenant in the Texas Air National Guard.
Some background: I come from a military family. I spent five years as a Naval Officer from 1990-1995. My father was career Navy for 30 years, and both of my grandfathers and my step-grandfather were all military officers who fought in WW1 and WW2. We can trace military descendents down through the Revolutionary War, fighting as Hessian mercenaries for the British. So you could say that it's in my blood...
Through this exposure to the military, I learned a lot of things about leadership. I would expect that most military officers know them, so I'll see how our President stacks up:
Rule #1: You can delegate authority, but not responsibility.
The premise of this rule is that a leader is always responsible for the actions of his unit. A leader can appoint subordinates to make decisions in his absence, but those appointees are extensions of his judgment, therefore the leader must bear responsibility for their actions. An example would be when a Navy ship collides with another ship- even if the Captain is not giving the navigation orders at the time of the collision, he is held responsible because he decided to appoint the officer of the deck and conning officer who made the decisions that led to the collision.
How Bush stacks up: Not good. Not good at all. Throughout his presidency we see a pattern of irresponsibily of office and of his cabinet members, whether they are misusing intelligence, lying to the public, leaking classified data, contributing to corporate graft, or failing to respond to natural disasters. Bush is unable to take responsibility for his failings.
Rule #2: Lead by example
Do not give an order that you would not follow yourself. Your unit is made up of eager men and women who put their trust in you to make sound decisions that will accomplish objectives without undue risk or hardship. A good officer doesn't order his men to do a 10 mile march and then drive alongside in a jeep; he is on the ground with them the whole way.
How Bush measures up: Again, not so hot here. Sending 2000 of our country's finest resources to die in a war when you dodged out of your Viet Nam service by dodging out of your Texas Air National Guard duty is not leading by example. Donning a carpentry belt and pretending to rebuild a home destroyed in Katrina while rescinding Davis-Bacon is not leading by example.
Rule #3: You will only succeed if you have a great supporting cast
This is a simple rule that young officers learn early on. A military unit in the field is really run by the non-commissioned officers- the sergeants and chief petty officers. These are the career military men who have risen through the ranks and know how the system really works. They've seen it all by living it, whereas officers have learned about it in classes and books. As such, Non-coms are also responsible for training the new officers in the ways of the world. Young officers out of the service academies or ROTC succeed by earning the trust of that non-com. They do this by managing upwards- such as making sure that his unit is receiving the right equipment, is kept in communication about what is going on and is given the right orders to succeed in its mission.
How Bush fares: Again, not so hot. The appointment of cronies and sychophants in the place of career diplomats and qualified public servants shows that Bush has no respect for merit, and is a dangerous signal that he is out of touch with what is really occurring on the ground. That's why he thought Brownie was doing a "heckuva job".
Rule #4: You learn a lot by just walking around
A good officer is constantly reviewing things going on in his command from the ground level. By talking to the troops, and officer can learn their motivations and their concerns. By watching his unit conduct exercises, the officer finds out what they do well and what they need to train in.
Bush's take: He doesn't walk around. In fact, he doesn't appear in public at all unless it's in a controlled environment with loyalist attendees and a script. And he doesn't read the news, it is presented to him by his loyal advisors (see #3 above)
Rule #5: Take care of your people and they will take care of you
Your team of military men and women are your greatest asset- not your ships and tanks and planes. They sacrifice a lot to do their jobs- they don't earn much, they are frequently away from their families, they work in stressful jobs, often with little sleep or downtime. They will go to great lengths under these circumstances because they are professional, patriotic and genuinely good people. A good officer will remember his people and make sure that they are acknowledged for their work through awards, promotion, time off, and public recognition. Success here means that the unit will watch the officer's back.
Bush: Well if we look at the plight of the military under our President, we see the opposite: placed in a police action with inadequate numbers, no body armor, and a reduction in VA benefits. But he gave Medals of Freedom to those who had failed, like George Tenet, thereby turning awards into farce. Way to go, Georgie.
Rule #6: You need to be able to make good decisions and you need to be flexible about them.
As the leader of a team of people, it is expected that you take all of the information that you can get and make the best decision possible to accomplish your mission with the least risk. Sometimes, you don't have time to react, so you make a quick decision. Sometimes, you have the luxury of planning and intelligence assessment, and can take time to make a good call. But no decision is final- the field is fluid and you need to be able to react, even if it means countering a previous order. For example, if you commit your troops to an area that suddenly erupts in an ambush, you need to react to get them out of there safely.
Our president: Well he doesn't make decisions well, and then when he does, he sticks to them come what may. We've seen it on Iraq, on his Social Security crusade, and on Bolton and Miers nominations. It makes me wonder how he could pilot a plane without crashing into a mountain.
Rule #7: The Chain of Command is inviolable
[Updated] Related to Rule #1, all organizations operate under a command hierarchy called the Chain of Command. The Chain of Command is the line of authority and responsibility along which orders are passed. The Company Commander will issue an order to the Platoon Commander, who then issues the order to the Platoon Sergeant, who then issues it to the troops. The structure is the basis upon which the military functions, as it clearly defines the roles of each member of the leadership team. It also ensures accountability- soldiers act from orders up the chain and their actions are the responsibility of their commanding officer.
Bush says: The Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal showed that the Chain of Command means little to this administration. Instead of punishing those who issued the orders, the scandal was swept under the rug by going after the troops on the ground (see taking care of your troops, above). Also, during the run-up to the Iraq War, Cheney circumvented the established chain of command in the intelligence community to stovepipe information that would justify the war.
There are many more leadership maxims, but this is running long, so I'll close it up. What we have in our White House is a man:
- who is unable to take responsibility
- who leads from the back
- who surrounds himself with unqualified cronies
- who is out of touch with his people
- who doesn't care for his people
- who shows poor judgment in decision making and
- who doesn't believe in the Chain of Command
There's no way Bush served any time as a military officer without learning any of these qualities, therefore, he didn't truly serve!