Military Philosophy

[Sukerkin]

I found this posted up on Facepalm by one of our long-time members here, Andy Moynihan:

http://pundita.blogspot.co.uk/2008/09/colonel-john-boyd-and-revolution-within.html

It's an interesting parallel to draw between the 'empty hand' martial arts and the decidedly 'filled hand' combative arms of the military.

I do think the writer of the article has a point that there has to be a revision in strategic thought if there is to be any progress in the current overseas operations of the American military machine.

 

[Tgace]

A write up on OODA I wrote in 2008:

http://tgace.com/2008/11/05/ooda/

 

[Sukerkin]

That's good work there, TG :tup:

 

[arnisador]

What's Facepalm?

 

[Sukerkin]

:chuckles: It's what I somewhat derogatorily call Facebook .

 

[arnisador]

Heh...OK, agreed then!

 

[DennisBreene]

John Boyd may have been the ultimate "inside the beltway iconoclast". I've just tried to find his biography floating around in my book shelves (unsuccessfully). As I recall, his ultimate strength was an unwavering adherence to detailed and unbiased analysis. Combined with his prodigious intellect, he offered such well supported arguments that his superiors became wary of ignoring him while often wishing he would quietly go away (he didn't do anything quietly). When I was in the Navy, I got the impression that junior officers often proffered the conclusions they thought their seniors wanted to hear. Not unsurprisingly, when the junior officer was the supposed expert, the seniors were inclined to accept such expert advice. A highly structured, top down, system of authority is at risk when sycophantic junior personnel don't stand on their conclusions. The decisions of senior grade officers become weighted toward what they expect to hear and they act on those expectations rather than the facts. Where I saw leaders who encouraged open debate and honest well supported objectivity, the resulting decisions seemed more likely to respond to real world scenarios with reasonable strategies. It takes leadership by those who are self confident and open-minded to provide for reasoned strategic planning.