Army major stripped of Silver Star

"... if the Army truly does believe that Golsteyn violated the Uniform Code of Military Justice, then they should charge him with a crime. If they can’t do that, then we must conclude that insufficient evidence of a crime exists, in which case Secretary McHugh should give him the Distinguished Service Cross he deserves.

Congressman Hunter pointed out in his article that a recent survey conducted by the Military Timesrevealed only 27 percent of the military felt that their leaders were looking out for the best interests of the troops. Golsteyn’s situation illustrates why this is the case, and is of a piece with the case of Will Swenson, whose Medal of Honor package was “lost” after he bitterly criticized his chain of command over the ROEs, or of Jim Gant, one of the most successful special operators of the last decade, who was nonetheless drummed out of the Army after running afoul of his superiors.

Golsteyn, Swenson, Gant, and others like them are led by men who interrupt their political intrigues and email flirtations with wealthy socialites only to crucify the troops actually doing the fighting when, for whatever reason, they become politically inconvenient—preferably, as with Golsteyn, in a manner that allows for no response or appeal.  Freebeacon

------------------------

The US military is now ruled by men and women who have the mentality and character of "big box" chain store managers at your local mall.  

The number of them who are selfless servants of the Republic is small.  We used to have general officers who were real soldiers.  What happened?  Careerism and mirror imaging in promotions happened. There are a few good ones around.  LTG McMaster is an example but he was passed over for BG at least once and was finally promoted because wise people in the civilian world intervened at the White House.  What was his "crime?"  He argued with the top brass over strategy in the Iraq War.  This was after he had commanded an armored cavalry regiment with great distinction at Tel Afar.  He may not remember this now.  

We have fallen a very long way from the days when George Marshall fired generals by the dozen if they tried to avoid hard duty.  Marshall was also in the habit of giving GIs a ride in his staff car on the way to the Pentagon from his quarters at Ft. Myer.   And then there was Ridgeway who was standing by the side of the road  one day in Korea when a passing heavily burdened infantry soldier  called out to his comrades to ask if any of them would tie his boot lace.  This four star general knelt in the mud to do the job.

We have fallen a long way.  pl  

http://freebeacon.com/national-security/afghanistan-war-hero-stripped-of-silver-star/

 

 

Comments

[AEL]

Col:
With respect, I have known a few (Canadian) generals who have the same careerist illness and I have known a couple store managers. I don't think you are being fair to the managers.

Maybe because the store managers don't really expect to have a career after their career. (at least for the ones I knew).

[Lars]

I don't understand why the Armed Forces are using the Red Army management manual to reach their objectives. We already know it is a path to failure.

I am sure the blame can be spread both wide and deep, but that will not solve the problem. Gen. Eisenhower once said that if you have a difficult problem that is hard to solve, just expand it. I take that to mean that we bring back the draft. That will certainly expand it, including the people affected by political decisions and lessen the reliance on flow charts.

[turcopolier]

AEL

I don't think it has anything to do with a "career after their career." IMO it is just a matter of narcissistic self service. pl

[The Twisted Genius]

This wasn't a Ridgeway moment, but it was as close as I got to one. I was troop commander for one C-130 enroute to the Big Island for our annual month of training. We carried all our gear for a month in the field including all our weapons that included our 90mm recoiless rifles and the company 50 cal. It was quite a load for our 28 man rifle platoon. The new battalion commander, Crazy Harry Baccus, was part of our chalk. After calling the final manifest, I instructed everyone to load the C-130. LTC Baccus asked if there was anything he can do to help. I told him he could grab the front of the 50 cal barrel. He cheerfully did so as we walked up the ramp with our rucksacks, duffel bags and that 50 cal barrel between us. It was a simple, but meaningful gesture.

[The Twisted Genius]

I read about Major Golsteyn just yesterday. This whole thing stinks to high heaven. To strip a man of his Silver Star and his long tab is awfully peculiar. Unless the circumstances of the events leading to his being awarded the Silver Star have changed dramatically, I don't see why that would be done. If that was the case, whoever wrote up the recommendation and attested to the events lied and would be facing courts martial. If Golysteyn committed some crime, then charge him. Stripping him of his SF tab is also bogus. Being reassigned to another unit and branch is something I can understand if warranted by behavior. Taking his tab is just petty bullshit. These generals must be scared shitless by men by Gant and Golsteyn to resort to such spineless tactics.

[William R. Cumming]

Janine Wedel in her new book "Accountability" gives some analysis of Flag Ranks second careers.

While on active duty in SASCOM in late 60's I underwent an inspection in a unit by General Polk then EUCOM CO! I was assigned NAICO duties and he got into a discussion with me about those duties and a real world incident in another unit. Looking directly into my eyes and me at his he asked me who was responsible for incidents/accidents? I told him that full accountability goes all the way to the top. He then said to me "RIGHT ANSWER, SON"! He was the only 4 Star I met while on 2 years, 10 months, 7 days and 4 hours of Active Duty.

[TWit]

Sir, I would just add for the readers that the grip of these careerists extends far beyond dramatic cases like those of Golsteyn, Swenson, and Gant. One friend/colleague (a Navy O-5 and SEAL) summed up the problem as that in each 2-3 year assignment, combat or non-combat apparently, an officer has to demonstrate that he has "made an impact" if he wants to get promoted and stay in. What that "impact" is is mostly irrelevant. One rarely gets any points for doing your job well, contributing to the stated mission, improving unit cohesion and effectiveness, or - heaven forbid - preventing other people from making errors and failures. What counts is avoiding embarrassment and making one's superiors look good. Even this is not a guarantee of success, as more times than not the superior will simply take credit for what his junior has done and then throw him under the bus. Ultimately, promotion and success as an officer seems to be mostly about getting in with an 'in' crowd and serving the interests of that crowd. The nature of these crowds varies: some are openly ideological and look for fellow travellers, others are completely superficial and want only their egos stroked (like one O-6 I knew who drove a $130,000 car and whose eyes would glaze over whenever anyone would talk about anything other than her greatness), while others are less brazen but still always choose their personal interests over mission success or subordinate well-being whenever they conflict. It's a big mess. And I was just a civilian observing from the outside.

Your metaphor of big box store managers resonates. In many cases the junior high lunch table or the movie "Heathers" are also apt, except the "mean girls" never get their comeuppance.

[confusedponderer]

Ah, I remember being a confused and at that moment rather angry young Funker during basic training in Military Hospital where they plastered my foot after I tripped during running and tore a ligament.

I had called base. The driver on duty didn't want to come to pick me up, had more important things to do, I presume. Since I was taken there right from sports, I had no money with me to get a cab. Walking was out of the question. So for the moment I was stranded.

Along came an unknown Lieutenant from some other unit who had noticed my predicament and inquired. I told him my story. He called the driver on duty and folded him so neatly that within ten minutes I had my ride back to base. No Ridgeway moment either, but the man restored a degree of trust in officerdom that afternoon.

[MRW]

Hack's "perfumed princes."

[walrus]

God help the U.S. Army with leaders as described by Col. Lang when it runs up against an enemy other than the poorly armed and trained peasants it is now used to fighting.

[Hank Foresman]

Interesting topic and one I have been reflecting on for a few days. Before I comment on the specifics of this travesty, let me share a Ridgeway moment that recently occurred with the Committee; and an anecdote from a recent experience with a young Lieutenant.
First the Ridgeway moment, in one of the many Defense related emails I receive there was a story over at Military Times by an recently retired USAF Brigadier General talking about exceptional leaders, specifically General Joe Dunford, Commandant of the United States Marine Corps. Follow the link (http://www.militarytimes.com/story/opinion/2015/02/09/john-michel-joseph-dunford-exceptional-leaders-commentary/23115849/) read the story, look at the pictures of the Commandant executing his Combat Physical Fitness test. Ridgeway style leadership by example.
Now for the anecdote; today I had an email from an acquaintance of mine who is the Adjutant for an Cavalry Squadron in the 1st Armored Division. He was talking about executing his first “RFC.” As I was not familiar with this abbreviation I asked him what it stood for. He responded that in meant, “relief for cause.” He went on to add that the Lieutenant who was relieved was called in from paternity leave (another new things!) to be given his “RFC” paperwork. Reducing relieving someone to an abbreviation is endemic of the leadership problems in the Army; moreover unless there was some reason related to breaches of military justice, I am not sure calling someone in off of any type of leave to “relieve them for cause” is justified.
As for Major Golsteyn I am not sure who he upset, but clearly they are not happy with him. I suspect he is being punished for daring to speak up about what he perceived were the problems in Afghanistan. He would not have been the first person given an award for heroism and reprimanded for the same actions. When in ROTC we had an NCO who had a Bronze Star with V Device and who almost received an Article 15 for the same action. . .pouring motor oil into the hydraulic reservoir of a tank in order to use it to turn back an attack of the Viet Cong; luckily the Brigade Commander overruled the Battalion Commander stupidity.
Recently in the Army Times there was an article that said the outgoing Sergeant Major of the Army, Chandler, had pushed for stripping soldiers of Badges and Tabs for conduct which occurred after receiving their Badge or Tabs. Clearly Major Golsteyn is the first to receive such ex post facto punishment.
The Army has a real leadership crisis starting at the top. I understand why the troops don’t trust their leaders, for they feel like they will be tossed under the bus.

[confusedponderer]

"the outgoing Sergeant Major of the Army, Chandler, had pushed for stripping soldiers of Badges and Tabs for conduct which occurred after receiving their Badge or Tabs."

Well, nobody who has seen it could ever forget Chaplin ripping off decorations from Field Marshal Hering's chest. Perhaps it was this that inspired Chandler?

Questions of morale aside, it certainly is one way to rid the American soldier of his fruit salad. I heard they get bands and ribbons and stuff for turning up in time these days.

Just compare Marshal's chest with General Keane's.

http://www.scppartners.com/images/team/Keane%20Blur.jpg

Marshal comes up at least one square foot and half a chest short as far as decorations, ribbons and stuff are conderned, which means ... well, obviously, that Keane is the far better soldier.

Had Keane served a month longer he might have perhaps beaten Breshnev in terms of chest coverage.

https://img1.etsystatic.com/012/1/7050316/il_340x270.441917111_9iz9.jpg

*irony alert*

[Fred]

This is the leadership Obama learned at Harvard? Perhaps McHugh thinks Americans shouldn't write their congressman? I hope Congressman Hunter gets the Army Secretary under oath soon and grills him like he deserves. Impeachment of a cabinet office might get some attention and is probably well deserved by more than one.

[BabelFish]

All I wanted as an enlisted sailor was to be led by competent officers, who could guide, correct and teach. I was fortunate to have several of those and an excellent E-6 petty officer enlisted leader for my last two years. These folks all helped me grow into what I hope is a good man.

[John Minnerath]

It's hard to find good men in a world of sheeple.
Taught from infancy to run or hide in the face of danger, that it's everyone else's fault; what can we expect.

[confusedponderer]

I let come Marshall up one l short, for which I apologise.

[Laura Wilson]

Twisted…and good for you for taking him up on his offer. I'm sure the rest of your platoon was grateful.

[Carl O.]

Every few weeks, it seems, there's a story about the Navy firing a ship skipper or chief petty officer for poor performance or bad behavior. This might suggest that the Navy has better leadership, but then Defense News reported, yesterday, that up to 3 dozen admirals are caught up in the Fat Leonard bribery scandal, that is, under investigation, including two in Naval Intelligence who had their security clearances revoked. So, maybe not.

[Thomas]

"I don't understand why the Armed Forces are using the Red Army management manual to reach their objectives."

Well, when the Idol of the civilians in charge is Leon Trotsky, then his philosophy will stream down hill.

[SteveG]

WRC

Two yrs 10 months 7days of active duty!!
LOL. I beat you by approx 30 days only
due to the fact my senator at the time
Walter, soon to be VP, Mondale put in
the "good word" to the bn CO. I was ten days
over an early out to attend school.
It seems the corporate mentality has seeped
into the officer corps to an even greater
degree than during our era, 67-70.

[The Moar You Know]

I am not at all happy to see that the MBA culture has now finally infected the military.

You can looks forward to all kinds of stupid, counterproductive disciplinary practices, and the elimination of competency in favor of those who are self-serving and proficient at taking advantage of weaknesses in systems.

Worst part is, like most of the other MBAs who are now running the country, when the SHTF they won't be able to do the only thing we hired them to do in the first place - fight.

[scott s.]

TWit: I suppose we would rather promote those who make an impact, rather than those who make no impact, don't you think? At least on the Navy side, I was never a fan of the "flow point" system, which results in an officer having exactly one selection board opportunity (look) for promotion. Because of that timing is extremely important. The fitness report system is somewhat haphazard, as the timing involves a bit of luck (there are submissions by date, but also on transfer of officer and transfer of commanding officer). Most fitness reports read pretty much identically -- there might be 2% water-walkers and 2% bilge dwellers but the remaining 96% pretty much identical. So the breakout tends to be in the "ranking among peer" number (ordinal ranking of all officers in that grade being reported on at the same time). Because of the timing factor the great majority of reports will end up as "1 of 1". So the selection board will always focus on those reports where the officer is ranked. Everyone understands this so it is possible to game the system. There used to be a saying "the surface navy eats its young" based on the idea that the surface line didn't do a good job of gaming.

[tv]

The military started turning officers into managers and along the way fell in love with what it thought was corporate culture.
This is the result.
Corporate political weasels with a chest full of medals writing teen age boy-like emails.
People do NOT put their lives on the line for corporations or managers.

[Neil R]

WRC:

"While on active duty in SASCOM in late 60's I underwent an inspection in a unit by General Polk then EUCOM CO! I was assigned NAICO duties and he got into a discussion with me about those duties and a real world incident in another unit. Looking directly into my eyes and me at his he asked me who was responsible for incidents/accidents? I told him that full accountability goes all the way to the top. He then said to me 'RIGHT ANSWER, SON!'"

Gen. Polk was one of Patton's proteges. He commanded the 3rd Cavalry Group when he was 32 years old. When Gen. Walker took command of the EUSA in 1948, he had requested Polk to be his G-3. Almond poached him and put him on Willoughby's staff. Since no good deed went unpunished at FECOM in those years, Almond took Polk as his G-2 and proceeded to make mockery of American generalship in Korea. When Gen. Van Fleet took over the EUSA for Ridgway, he rescued Polk and made him his G-2 prior to the Chinese Spring Offensive. In Van Fleet, Polk had a commander who actually trusted his G-2's judgment. The tactical analysis Polk had put together in November 1950 after the first contact with Chincom forces (Onjong-Unsan-Sudong) was very accurate. It formed the basis of UN tactics for the rest of the war.

[turcopolier]

Neil R

"Almond poached him and put him on Willoughby's staff. Since no good deed went unpunished at FECOM in those years, Almond took Polk as his G-2 and proceeded to make mockery of American generalship in Korea." That's pretty tough on Ned Almond. Care to give us a bill of particulars? He commanded the 92nd Division poorly? His separate corps was crushed by the Chinese in the winter of 1950-51? Child molester? What? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Almond I see two DSCs, two Silver Stars and a BS with V. How did that happen? pl