Change of VCDS, with messages to government and to CAF

[daftandbarmy]

Unfortunately:

A speech like that given by a general or flag officer on the way in, would ensure that he/she finds himself/herself extremely quickly on the way out.

#8 & #14

Colonel Glover Johns
Basic Philosophy of Soldiering


1. Strive to do small things well.

2. Be a doer and a self-starter-aggressiveness and initiative are two most admired qualities in a leader-but you must also put your feet up and THINK.

3. Strive for self-improvement through constant self-evaluation.

4. Never be satisfied. Ask of any project, How can it be done better?

5. Don't over-inspect or over-supervise. Allow your leaders to make mistakes in training, so they can profit from the errors and not make them in combat.

6. Keep the troops informed; telling them "what, how, and why" builds their confidence.

7. The harder the training, the more troops will brag.

8. Enthusiasm, fairness, and moral and physical courage - four of the most important aspects of leadership.

9. Showmanship-a vital technique of leadership.

10. The ability to speak and write well-two essential tools of leadership.

11. There is a salient difference between profanity and obscenity; while a leader employs profanity (tempered with discretion), he never uses obscenities.

12. Have consideration for others.

13. Yelling detracts from your dignity; take men aside to counsel them.

14. Understand and use judgement; know when to stop fighting for something you believe is right. Discuss and argue your point of view until a decision is made, and then support the decision wholeheartedly.

15. Stay ahead of your boss.

 

[Jarnhamar]

Unfortunately:

A speech like that given by a general or flag officer on the way in, would ensure that he/she finds himself/herself extremely quickly on the way out.

Oh without a doubt you're right.
It's not lost on me that it's easy for me to sit here and gamble with someone elses career and paycheck.  Still when I read about retiring generals (or any service member really) spending 20 or 30 years in uniform and blasting the system when they're wrapping up I can't help but think "so what".  It sounds bold but it's not going to change a thing. We need those people on the way in to speak up and start changing things  20 years before the goodbye speech. Know what I mean?

 

[McG]

There are a lot of things that senior leaders do to fix or improve the system that we do not see.  If those senior leaders made practice of burning all bridges going into jobs, they would never get a chance to do all the good things that we never directly see.