I’m currently suffering through SEJPME II distance courses to improve my chances at making Senior despite not being in any sort of joint billet. Yes, Joint has become a problem out of control. I heard from a well connected PAO a few years back that part of getting rid of rates was because the other services didn’t like it. Is that a mindset we should strive for, to level and lose our sense of self to some monolithic organization?
And fortunately that effort to get rid of rates...on an entirely ridiculous pretext...was immediately shitcanned.
And it's not like the USN is the only one. The USAF (and almost certainly the Space Force by inheritance) essentially has a rate system in their "wings" badges. There are "wings" for various groups of AFSCs (MOSes to you others) in the USAF, the majority of which don't even get off the ground. And while they do have some technical requirements to earn, it's largely just time in service. But everyone wears some sort of wings once past basic job qualifications. (At least based on my 2nd hand understanding - if there's a Zoomie out there, please correct me if I'm wrong.)
So what's the difference if you wear your rate on your sleeve or on your chest?
It is good that each service have some uniqueness they can take pride in. The last thing we want is to do the Canadian 'rifleman green' nonsense. (Though the USN and USAF's fixation on camouflage is puzzling, it's more a fashion statement than a operational advantage.)
Having worked with Ace, I am sure he would have some acrid opinions of Hegseth and Trump, but he would also find common ground and work with both to make things better (the best they can be). Because they, in the main, have the same goals. People criticize Hegseth's style (much on reputation, based on the past i.e. Grant) and malign him for saying things like "warfighter" too much. If I heard Ace say warfighter once I heard it a million times - he wanted people to lean forward, be ready to fight, and know that warfighting WAS their job in the service.
So I think he would be right at the front, not giving up his views, but fighting to work WITH this group because they want the same results.
Four decades ago, Edward Luttwak's "The Pentagon and the Art of War" described how dysfunctional we were. It certainly didn't improve with the passing years. His analysis of the system still holds true. Not all of his recommendations are still valid (he was writing for the Cold War). Still an insightful read.
I’ve been involved with the Navy League from 15 years. They used to put out an annual book about the Sea Services that included every Flag from 1 Star to 4 Stars.
Yesterday I counted just over 200 from 1-4 with 285 ships.
I remember (I believe) a column years ago from Sal that suggested many commands that had a Flag in charge (with associated staff) could likely be covered by an 06 instead.
Is this where SECDEF is headed? I’m not a Navy veteran, but have son (PO3) and daughter (PO1) and her fiancé (ENC) serving and most of their immediate contact maxes out at the 06 level.
This is unquestionably great news, for which we have been waiting decades to happen. That said, someone senior in the DOD, other than a GOFO, better keep score of the reductions, with a fine-toothed comb. If not, look for the GOFO community to cut positions that haven't been filled for years or use other nefarious means to minimize the impact to their rule.
And Sal, great comment on the fleet lieutenant that wants to make flag being the last person that you actually want to make flag. That's a 100% truism there...no exceptions.
I am not a veteran myself, but some number of my former managers have been graduates of the nuclear navy, both as officers and as senior enlisted.
I asked one of these managers, someone who was a former CO of the USS California, and who had retired as a Captain in the late 1990's, why he hadn't pursued the flag rank career path.
His reply was that he preferred to be close to where the real action and the real things were happening, and that real things weren't to be found in most of the work that flag ranks do.
Well about time. The herd needs to be culled. Let O6s do what they used to be entrusted with. Flags should basically command. Not be a division head on a staff. And more...
On the other hand, we need more 1-stars to replace force retiring O-6s. Case in point are the public shipyards. The CAPT CO's aren't running the show. The SES ED's are and they are protected. Same with the SYSCOM CENTERS (i.e. NIWC). If it's a military command, the senior person at the command should be the CO and not a civilian. (noted, all the SYSCOMS need to be gutted and re-org'ed)
I totally agree with scrubbing the O-6 cadre. If you're not selected for Major Command, you should be thanked for your service and be retired. Of the staffs I've been on, there were superfluous O-6s on their twilight tours getting their HIGH 3 waiting to get that fat GS15 or contractor gig.
Hegseth has a massive bullseye on his back, in the one town in America where backstabbing is an art form. I pray his boss gives him carte blanch to do whatever he sees fit. No other SecDef in the last forty years has even tried to fix the myriad of problems Hegseth inherited.
Old Salt: "Hegseth has a massive bullseye on his back, in the one town in America where backstabbing is an art form. I pray his boss gives him carte blanch to do whatever he sees fit. No other SecDef in the last forty years has even tried to fix the myriad of problems Hegseth inherited."
Based on what I've seen happening in the last 100 days, I have to guess that a broad-scope general plan of action for the military is in place, one which had been under development for two years or more before the 2024 election.
My speculation is that at this point in his tenure as SECDEF, Hegseth's number one assigned priority is to return the warrior ethos to the American military and to put a quick end to the sexual and cultural freak show the American military had become under Joe Biden.
Assuming a general plan of action is in place, other programmatic and organizational changes for DoD are now in progress, ones which won't be as visible to the general public as are the warrior ethos objectives.
Technologists and technocrats will either remake themselves into warrior-ethos technologists and warrior-ethos technocrats, or else they will be sent out the door.
As we might expect, a well-funded and well-coordinated counter-revolution is now operative inside the deep administrative state with the goal of stopping the Trump 2.0 revolution in its tracks.
That counter-revolution has come with an express threat from the senior Democratic Party leadership of severe retribution and even prosecutions for anyone and everyone who cooperates with, or who actively supports, the Trump 2.0 agenda while he is in office.
They are taking names. And it's not just Trump's political appointees who will be subject to criminal prosecution. Once they return to power in the DC Swamp, anyone and everyone who supports Donald Trump and his agenda will be on their list.
And so if the anti-Trump counter-revolutionaries have their way, those inside DoD and inside every other federal department and government agency who decide to work with Donald Trump and his 2.0 agenda will be paying a big price for that decision once he is gone.
Why hasn’t Pete sacked the five academy superintendents? I thing that would send a more powerful signal especially to the junior officers than the sacking the CJCS and the CNO.
I think the Armed Forces Committee(totally WOKE - enforced by Dem’s against superbly WEAK Republicans) keeps blocking Trump’s appointments for Hegseth’s “Task Force”. Matthew Lohmeier’s confirmation hearing was a JOKE-where he was clearly TOO qualified(too intelligent) to even consider the hateful questions spewed by Hirono/Ducksworth/Blumenthal. The woke crew on this committee will make certain Hegseth won’t get his A-Team to effectively go after the Academies and the Flag Officers that need to go. This creates a massive delay in what he gets done as a solo act!
I’m currently suffering through SEJPME II distance courses to improve my chances at making Senior despite not being in any sort of joint billet. Yes, Joint has become a problem out of control. I heard from a well connected PAO a few years back that part of getting rid of rates was because the other services didn’t like it. Is that a mindset we should strive for, to level and lose our sense of self to some monolithic organization?
And fortunately that effort to get rid of rates...on an entirely ridiculous pretext...was immediately shitcanned.
And it's not like the USN is the only one. The USAF (and almost certainly the Space Force by inheritance) essentially has a rate system in their "wings" badges. There are "wings" for various groups of AFSCs (MOSes to you others) in the USAF, the majority of which don't even get off the ground. And while they do have some technical requirements to earn, it's largely just time in service. But everyone wears some sort of wings once past basic job qualifications. (At least based on my 2nd hand understanding - if there's a Zoomie out there, please correct me if I'm wrong.)
So what's the difference if you wear your rate on your sleeve or on your chest?
It is good that each service have some uniqueness they can take pride in. The last thing we want is to do the Canadian 'rifleman green' nonsense. (Though the USN and USAF's fixation on camouflage is puzzling, it's more a fashion statement than a operational advantage.)
At least the USAF camo wear has mostly been the Army’s pattern, and thus cheap!
Good luck. Then you will find yourself on the joint staff having where you will be ranked against five or six other outstanding officers.
This USN's loss of its identity as a "Navy" is an acute problem that many don't see...
I guess because they are immersed in the "Joint" system that is the problem, because thats the only path for promotion.
It would be ideal to undo "unification" and do away with the DoD.
BZ, CDR Salamander, BZ!
Having worked with Ace, I am sure he would have some acrid opinions of Hegseth and Trump, but he would also find common ground and work with both to make things better (the best they can be). Because they, in the main, have the same goals. People criticize Hegseth's style (much on reputation, based on the past i.e. Grant) and malign him for saying things like "warfighter" too much. If I heard Ace say warfighter once I heard it a million times - he wanted people to lean forward, be ready to fight, and know that warfighting WAS their job in the service.
So I think he would be right at the front, not giving up his views, but fighting to work WITH this group because they want the same results.
Four decades ago, Edward Luttwak's "The Pentagon and the Art of War" described how dysfunctional we were. It certainly didn't improve with the passing years. His analysis of the system still holds true. Not all of his recommendations are still valid (he was writing for the Cold War). Still an insightful read.
I have been advocating something similar since my first major article appeared in Armor Magazine in March-April 1997 “Creating the OffIcer Corps of the Future to Execute Force XXI Blitzkrieg” for a large reduction of the officer corps, among many other reforms. See original here, https://www.moore.army.mil/armor/earmor/content/issues/1997/MAR_APR/ArmorMarchApril1997web.pdf
Also see my officer bloat study I conducted for ARCIC Forward in 2010, which DOGE has a copy, https://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/officer-manning-armies-of-the-past/151191083
I’ve been involved with the Navy League from 15 years. They used to put out an annual book about the Sea Services that included every Flag from 1 Star to 4 Stars.
Yesterday I counted just over 200 from 1-4 with 285 ships.
I remember (I believe) a column years ago from Sal that suggested many commands that had a Flag in charge (with associated staff) could likely be covered by an 06 instead.
Is this where SECDEF is headed? I’m not a Navy veteran, but have son (PO3) and daughter (PO1) and her fiancé (ENC) serving and most of their immediate contact maxes out at the 06 level.
Admiral Kirby was a PAO. I wonder how he made admiral or why that community evens needs an admiral.
Pete also needs to look at why there are so many SES types. GS 15 isn’t high enough?
[Snaps lighter shut, smiles a Joker smile.]
A Zippo, with crossed cannon, of course.
Naturally.
This is unquestionably great news, for which we have been waiting decades to happen. That said, someone senior in the DOD, other than a GOFO, better keep score of the reductions, with a fine-toothed comb. If not, look for the GOFO community to cut positions that haven't been filled for years or use other nefarious means to minimize the impact to their rule.
And Sal, great comment on the fleet lieutenant that wants to make flag being the last person that you actually want to make flag. That's a 100% truism there...no exceptions.
I am not a veteran myself, but some number of my former managers have been graduates of the nuclear navy, both as officers and as senior enlisted.
I asked one of these managers, someone who was a former CO of the USS California, and who had retired as a Captain in the late 1990's, why he hadn't pursued the flag rank career path.
His reply was that he preferred to be close to where the real action and the real things were happening, and that real things weren't to be found in most of the work that flag ranks do.
Did he make new, or more passionate (doubling down) enemies in the 5 sided building?
No face shield. No catheter. What's not to like?
Well about time. The herd needs to be culled. Let O6s do what they used to be entrusted with. Flags should basically command. Not be a division head on a staff. And more...
That's encouraging.
On the other hand, we need more 1-stars to replace force retiring O-6s. Case in point are the public shipyards. The CAPT CO's aren't running the show. The SES ED's are and they are protected. Same with the SYSCOM CENTERS (i.e. NIWC). If it's a military command, the senior person at the command should be the CO and not a civilian. (noted, all the SYSCOMS need to be gutted and re-org'ed)
I totally agree with scrubbing the O-6 cadre. If you're not selected for Major Command, you should be thanked for your service and be retired. Of the staffs I've been on, there were superfluous O-6s on their twilight tours getting their HIGH 3 waiting to get that fat GS15 or contractor gig.
Hegseth has a massive bullseye on his back, in the one town in America where backstabbing is an art form. I pray his boss gives him carte blanch to do whatever he sees fit. No other SecDef in the last forty years has even tried to fix the myriad of problems Hegseth inherited.
Old Salt: "Hegseth has a massive bullseye on his back, in the one town in America where backstabbing is an art form. I pray his boss gives him carte blanch to do whatever he sees fit. No other SecDef in the last forty years has even tried to fix the myriad of problems Hegseth inherited."
Based on what I've seen happening in the last 100 days, I have to guess that a broad-scope general plan of action for the military is in place, one which had been under development for two years or more before the 2024 election.
My speculation is that at this point in his tenure as SECDEF, Hegseth's number one assigned priority is to return the warrior ethos to the American military and to put a quick end to the sexual and cultural freak show the American military had become under Joe Biden.
Assuming a general plan of action is in place, other programmatic and organizational changes for DoD are now in progress, ones which won't be as visible to the general public as are the warrior ethos objectives.
Technologists and technocrats will either remake themselves into warrior-ethos technologists and warrior-ethos technocrats, or else they will be sent out the door.
As we might expect, a well-funded and well-coordinated counter-revolution is now operative inside the deep administrative state with the goal of stopping the Trump 2.0 revolution in its tracks.
That counter-revolution has come with an express threat from the senior Democratic Party leadership of severe retribution and even prosecutions for anyone and everyone who cooperates with, or who actively supports, the Trump 2.0 agenda while he is in office.
They are taking names. And it's not just Trump's political appointees who will be subject to criminal prosecution. Once they return to power in the DC Swamp, anyone and everyone who supports Donald Trump and his agenda will be on their list.
And so if the anti-Trump counter-revolutionaries have their way, those inside DoD and inside every other federal department and government agency who decide to work with Donald Trump and his 2.0 agenda will be paying a big price for that decision once he is gone.
Why hasn’t Pete sacked the five academy superintendents? I thing that would send a more powerful signal especially to the junior officers than the sacking the CJCS and the CNO.
He can only sack three. The other two belong to different cabinet members.
He can signal chat with Kristi and Sean Duffy!
Kristi's too busy cosplaying to answer the phone.
All of them should be closed. Establish courses similar to the way Brits do things, or replace them entirely with ROTC and OCS.
I think the Armed Forces Committee(totally WOKE - enforced by Dem’s against superbly WEAK Republicans) keeps blocking Trump’s appointments for Hegseth’s “Task Force”. Matthew Lohmeier’s confirmation hearing was a JOKE-where he was clearly TOO qualified(too intelligent) to even consider the hateful questions spewed by Hirono/Ducksworth/Blumenthal. The woke crew on this committee will make certain Hegseth won’t get his A-Team to effectively go after the Academies and the Flag Officers that need to go. This creates a massive delay in what he gets done as a solo act!
Ironic given Blumenthal’s blatant lies about his service in Vietnam. But he’s a Democrat so it’s no big deal.
“More, faster.”
yes, please! maintain the initiative. finish.