View Full Version : Outgoing Sgt. Maj. of the Army calls for return to basics
BMT (RIP)
12-10-2014, 10:56
http://www.stripes.com/news/outgoing-sgt-maj-of-the-army-calls-for-return-to-basics-1.318406
:munchin
BMT
The Reaper
12-10-2014, 11:18
But Chandler argued that major conventional operations need to remain the baseline capability for the Army.
“We’ve got to train for the most difficult thing there is to do, which is really decisive action: major high-end conflict, tanks, Bradleys, all that stuff,” he said. “If we can do that, then anything else can be done relatively easily. We should be training for major conflict, which is the worst-case scenario. And then if we need to do something like COIN here in Afghanistan, we can do that.”
I guess the past 13 years were just a dream, and can never happen again.
Some folks just don't get it.
Back to the Fulda Gap, eh, SMA? No reality check for him.
Mama always said if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything, so...
Goodbye, Sergeant Major.
TR
Mods, if this question isn't appropriate, please delete. I did the Google search and didn't come up with anything.
I've seen multiple posts where people complain about things the current SMA says. How much authority/clout does any SMA have, especially to deliver on comments about strategic direction like in the link above?
I thought the SMA had some influence when it came to things related to enlisted welfare, but not anything related to strategic direction. Is that off base?
My own really limited experience as a junior enlisted guy 40 yrs ago was the most powerful Sergeant Major in the Army was my Battalion Sergeant Major (where ever I was stationed). Now there was an E-9 that could make your life hell.
Again, apologies if it's an inappropriate question.
Scimitar
12-10-2014, 13:18
"the U.S. Army needs to get back to training for major conventional warfare", the Army’s outgoing top enlisted leader said on Tuesday.
"We’ve got to train for the most difficult thing there is to do, which is really decisive action: major high-end conflict, tanks, Bradleys, all that stuff,” he said. “If we can do that, then anything else can be done relatively easily.
wow...really. Hammer...nails...kinda thing, I guess. I mean you've got to give it to him, he is 100% a tanker, and what else is a tanker good for. ;)
Seriously though, he has a point, conventional warfare is the stock trade, but, unless the quotes where truncated, he sure didn't communicate that well. So conventional warfare is harder than UW....
S
One only needs to look at the MOS he grew up in to see where his comfort zone is...
If you look at ADP 3.0 (Unified Land Operations) and the Army's two stated "core competencies" in the same ADP, CAM/WAS (Combined Arms Maneuver/Wide Area Security) as well as the CAM/WAS scenarios which form the foundation for training at the NTC, then you know that SMA Chandler is not alone in this line of thinking in the "hallowed halls" of the five-sided puzzle palace...
Oh, and ลาก่อน and 안녕히가세요 to SMA Chandler...
blacksmoke
12-11-2014, 10:17
Whatever we do make sure time and money isn't spent on language and cultural training. We can hire terps to do our communicating for us, and a few power point slides telling us not to touch arab women or show the soles of our feet will suffice, oh and weapons training, no need for too much of that.
Javadrinker
12-11-2014, 11:00
I can assure you that not all tankers think or feel the same way as the SMA, and probably many currently IF they had done any research at all.
Before I retired I was in a Intel Course from Fort Huachuca. The big push from them was gone is COIN and back to Soviet era Conventional tank battles. So I asked is Fort Huachuca going to update the 101-whatever series? Only the Contractors knew what I was talking about since they were the only ones over the age of 40 in the room.
This SMA was an clown and will be leaving as one. Goodbye, let the door hit you in your 4th point SMA.
Peregrino
12-15-2014, 11:48
******* This SMA was an clown and will be leaving as one. Goodbye, let the door hit you in your 4th point SMA.
He's a Tanker - not even Leg Infantry - he needs a swift kick on the way out just so he'll know what you're referring to.
Think it's almost a disservice to call him a tanker, seems like he spent most of his career riding a desk not a tank, then moving on to the Sergeant Major's Academy.
He's a Tanker - not even Leg Infantry - he needs a swift kick on the way out just so he'll know what you're referring to.
ROTF.. I forgot that he is a Tanker
definition of 'tanker'...
...one who 'tanks'
Yep, in that case it would be correct to say he 'tanked'
English is such a silly language
Scimitar
12-16-2014, 00:32
From my experience, a persons 'failure' can have as much to do with the people who hired (read promoted) said person, as much as it does with the person themselves.
What is the 'board' process for SMA?
Who was on said board?
Who didn't they choose?
Is the SMA position a "point and let him fly" position, or does it have real autonomy?
I wonder if SMA Chandler was chosen for a reason...I suspect he achieved the exact mission he was promoted to achieve.
S