Transitions

One of the things about being a part of a transitory organization like the military is everyone is either coming, or going.  They are just arriving and getting brought up to speed, or they are on the verge of leaving and transitioning to that next job.

By its very nature the military cannot be efficient and take full advantage of the human talent that is its core asset.  This is not necessarily bad as it means the organization has flexibility and its members learn to operate in uncertainty (a key element in conflict) and are able to adapt when necessary.  It is one of the key differences between the US Armed Forces and many of the militaries we must be prepared to fight. 

During the cold war, when the principle concern was the Soviet and Warsaw Pact countries they had a very regimented force, whose command and control was centralized.  This was the type of force the Iraqi’s had when we engaged it in Desert Storm.  That was why we spent the first couple of months bombing the command and control centers of Iraq before we let loose the ground forces.  Our leadership understood that if you could separate their centralized leadership from the main force we could sweep up the assembled parts much easier than if you had to engage a combined arms team.  That is, to a large part, why the ground war took 100 hours.

We are, in my job, in a time of transition where several of the Generals are leaving to be replaced by others who will have to learn their jobs while they attempt to lead the organization.   That uncertainty is creating stress for those who will remain behind and realize they will have to adapt their styles and approaches to the next leader.

As I look out at those that are coming into our little organization I am reminded of the Peter Principle, postulated by Dr. Laurence J. Peter and Raymond Hull in their 1969 book of the same name.  Simply put the principle states “in a hierarch every employee tends to rise to his level of incompetence,” a position where they cannot work competently.  I have long believed the military takes this a step further based on our promotion system and people actually end up two levels above their last competent position.  I wonder if the transition will reinforce this belief or prove it wrong?