Quote:
After Vietnam, the United States abandoned its citizen army tradition, oblivious to the consequences. In its place, it opted for what the Founders once called a "standing army" -- a force consisting of long-serving career professionals.
For a time, the creation of this so-called all-volunteer force, only tenuously linked to American society....
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Actually, I find this guy to be out of touch. The soldiers going to battle are a mixture of "the standing army" and the National Guard and Reserves. These guys and gals are better trained and motivated than any army in two generations. The populace has a direct link to the war effort. Few people don't know someone who has a family member who has served there or will.
This isn't about the professionalism of the volunteer force, it's about a hotshot JSOC guy who doesn't think much of anyone who hasn't come out of JSOC. They don't like the rest of the military. As a matter of fact, they don't particularly think much of anything outside their gates. As one friend of mine told me, agreeing with what I'd said previously in that conversation "Yeah, those bastards are thick as thieves. They'll lie to your face, even when you're on the same side."
There are problems in the force. There have been too many deployments that have been wasted by both political stripes. We should have been out of there already, but that's going to come, win or lose. The force is tired. I've heard folks whom I respect say that there's going to be a breaking point somewhere. But to say that the force is disconnected from the populace just doesn't hold water for me.
McC wasn't connected to the populace, nor was he particularly tied to big army. He was a bomb waiting to go off IMO.