Karpinski.

This is coolbert:

Within the military, as I have said before, leadership is always seen as being the key to success. Units led by capable officers, LEADING, are successful. Units led by incompetents are usually NOT successful.

Accordingly, the U.S. military DOES promote good leadership, trains leaders, spots and grooms from an early stage young talented officers, and DOES desire the best leadership at all levels of command.

And generally, is successful with this approach. The U.S., military DOES have an excellent officer corps.

Persons of integrity who LEAD.

Occasionally, however, you will sometimes scratch your head and wonder what in the world is going on with U.S. military leadership.

Two recent examples bear this out.

Brigadier General [BG] Karpinski is a case in point.

Commander of the U.S. Army military police brigade in Iraq. It was from this brigade that the troops guarding the now infamous Abu Ghraib prison came from.

When misbehavior of the prison guards at Abu Ghraib became known to the whole world, the reaction of BG Karpinski was lacking. Sadly so. She made excuses for her lack of leadership. Said SHE could not be held responsible for the actions of her very lowly subordinates. It sounded as if she whined and refused to accept almost any responsibility at all. It WAS a poor performance on her part. This is how it appeared to me.

But that is not ALL!

It seems that even before the latest war and deployment to Iraq of Army military police reservists, BG Karpinski was caught shoplifting a bottle of perfume from the post exchange [PX] at McDill AFB. Now, lets get this straight. THE COMMANDER OF THE TROOPS [MP'S] THAT WOULD BE RESPONSIBLE FOR CATCHING THIEVES IS HERSELF ACCUSED OF BEING A THIEF!!! IT WOULD SEEM THAT THE PERSON WHO IS SUPPOSED TO BE OF THE HIGHEST INTEGRITY IS VERY MUCH LACKING IN THAT AREA. AND A GENERAL OFFICER TOO!!!

And it cannot be said that the normal excuses apply here. Money could NOT have been a factor. General officers are generally paid pretty well. And that bottle of perfume COULD NOT have cost THAT MUCH!!

[personal comment. General officers in the U.S. Army are in a league of their own. They are said to possess skills and abilities AND leadership of such a nature that they are retained on the rolls of the Army for their entire life, until they die. NO matter what age they are.]

[In my opinion BG Karpinski stole that bottle of perfume for the sheer thrill of doing so. She did not need it and may have not even used it. It was just to be able to steal and get away with it that was a "rush" for her. My opinion!!]

In the aftermath of Abu Ghraib, BG Karpinski was demoted to the rank of Colonel. Fitting punishment. Perhaps NOT harsh enough!!

A second incident indicative of leadership deficiency occurred recently at the Air Force Academy.

It seems the Academy has had more than it's share of scandal over the years. Some cheating scandals, some sexual harassment scandals, and now controversy over what is suggested to be "excessive religiosity" on the part of "evangelical Christian" cadets. Creating a somewhat unwelcome atmosphere for some cadets [non-evangelical Christians].

The current tense controversy-laden atmosphere at the Academy was only further exacerbated by the actions recently of the NUMBER ONE CADET from the most recent graduating class. A cadet, now presumably an officer, who graduated JUST this JUNE!! It seems that this cadet, just a few days before graduation, sent a blanket e-mail to thousands of other cadets, in violation of Academy rules. An e-mail that carried a message that was clearly evangelical in nature!!

There are several troubling aspects to this incident!!

This cadet, the NUMBER ONE graduating cadet in his class, HAD to know that what he was doing was GOING to raise hackles. An investigation into the allegations of excessive religiosity creating an unwelcome atmosphere at the Academy was taking place at the exact time this cadet did what he did!!

And this cadet HAD to have known at the time he did what he did, that sending out a blanket e-mail to THOUSANDS of cadets as he did WAS a violation of Academy policy. [you could send out posts of a personal nature to at the most a few dozen cadets, if it was germane to Academy affairs, but NOT to thousands at a time]

What this cadet did was EGREGIOUS in the extreme, and HE HAD to have known it at the time. And this from again, the NUMBER ONE graduating cadet in his class. It is almost as if - - NO, it IS as if this cadet is thumbing his nose at, AND rubbing his thumb in the eye of Academy policy and the investigation, and doing so as a sign of his contempt.

This cadet falls into the same category as DID Wesley Clark at West Point forty years ago. A cadet who will be groomed for high position in the Air Force, and groomed thusly so from the earliest point in his career.

And yet, we see in this cadet, now an officer and a gentleman, the type of behavior that is indicative of a LACK of leadership. Indeed, a behavior that is indicative of a person who sorely LACKS in leadership, and has DEMONSTRATED A LACK OF INTEGRITY THAT IS NOW AND FOR THE FUTURE WORRISOME!!

Personal comment:

My own perception is that this is a cadet who thinks and believes that he is walking on water. IS ABOVE the rest and is not subject to policies and regulations and LAW that pertains to the rest of us!! This is NOT SO! I also think that this situation is somewhat analogous to when you were a small child and your parents specifically told you NOT to do something, whatever that something was. If you then were disobedient and did the thing you were told not to do, at that point, it is not so much as what you did that was wrong, but that you were disobedient to specific admonitions that is the problem!! Demonstrates a MUCH MORE SERIOUS INDISCRETION!!]

coolbert.