[February 15, 2025] This is a headline that scares military officers more than a bad efficiency rating, violent combat, or a honey pot on the side. There’s nothing like being told you don’t meet the intellectual or moral standard of our military, and seeing the threat of being fired. But, in 1939, U.S. Army Chief of Staff George C. Marshall began a purge of senior military officers he believed were unfit for their jobs. We have a similar situation today.
In those days, officer promotions were based on seniority, with vacancies occurring only through retirement. Officers could be stuck at their rank for decades. There were many who approved of this seniority system, rejecting what we believe In today: a merit-based system. Believe it when I say a similar system of seniority exists and the result is we get anti-American generals like Mark Milley and others pushing neo-Marxist, woke ideology.
Marshall’s opportunity to act quickly on these senior “dead wood” officers occurred when the Second Supplemental Appropriation Act of 1940 was passed. The act provided for the elimination of the seniority-only criteria for promotions. Marshall had kept tabs on good officers and he used this Act to promote deserving officers. We need to do this today.
He established a “plucking board” composed of six retired officers. Their task was to review efficiency ratings of older officers who could not withstand the rigors of combat. The board was told to ignore past, peacetime records, as these were irrelevant when it came to the demands of combat leadership. “Critical times are upon us,” he warned. Only “today’s performance” mattered. Yes!
In April of 1941, Marshall testified about his rapid mobilization program of the Army before a Senate oversight committee. “If leadership depends purely on seniority, you are defeated before you start.” You give a good leader very little and he will succeed; you give mediocrity a great deal and they will fail.
Marshall’s plan worked. He instinctively knew that seniority systems don’t work in combat when frontline leaders are desperately needed. Calling this the existing old-boy network is an understatement. Pick warfighters for senior leaders not old, out-of-touch, fearful bureaucrats like the U.S. military has now.
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Please read my books:
This purge – a term drought with emotional significance – should go deep and hard to rid the US military of the soft soldiers who only leech off the system. Like any organization, there are many who can lose their jobs and everyone remaining will be better off.
Good news for America. Too bad that Canada is having a knee-jerk reaction to Trump and powering down on their WOKE ideology. It will destroy Canada. My heart goes out to them.
Plus others in the West, especially in Europe, except for Poland and a couple of others in Eastern Europe. They’ve not been accepted long enough to have drank the cool aid.
MAGA. It’s time after all the aircraft and navy vessel crashes, woke generals & admirals, and teaching our troops to have themselves to crush this DEI, Marxist crap that’s been rammed down our throats for four years to be DELETED PERMANENTLY. Let Donald Trump do his job and destroy the Deep State, which we now see is funding kickbacks to Democrat Party members. The list of corrupt officials goes deep and the past President Joe Biden was the TOP CORRUPT official in our nation. The fact he was able to do this for so long is mindboggling. Destroy the Deep State!
— and he hits a homerun. Trump best start firing Generals and Admirals NOW. Don’t forget those weenie Admirals.
I know from experience that the Army got themselves into this situation by becoming more “compassionate.” Let me be blunt: compassion on the battlefield KILLS. There is no other way to other way to say it. If you have a personality that tends to compassion, like most women do, then there is no place in the Army or Marines for you. Maybe the Navy or AF. But don’t go around saying you just read a misogynist post by some knuckle-dragging moron. I’m there. I see it every day. Just a thought. But we do need STRONG leaders, not compassionate weaklings.
Ed, well said. A little strong but still well said.
I think most of us agree, at those who are honest with themselves. If you’ve ever worked in a female work environment, whether you are a man or a woman (sorry but there are only two genders) then you know from your real life experiences that women don’t make good leaders at a high level. They just don’t.
There are alot of senior military men who need to be purged. The women in senior military leader positions all need to be fired immediately .. too much emotion in their decision making. I know, I’ve seen female generals work and what they can do and can’t do, doesn’t work in the US military. Maybe on a science fiction movie, but not in real life.
❤ not loving those women, are we ❤
😁 Great man. 😁
When President Franklin Roosevelt chose Marshall as Army Chief of Staff, he bypassed thirty-three more senior generals. And while imdont think Roosevelt was a great president, despite leftists going Gaga over him, he did make the right choice in Marshall.
“Marshall’s plan worked. He instinctively knew that seniority systems don’t work in combat when frontline leaders are desperately needed. Calling this the existing old-boy network is an understatement. Pick warfighters for senior leaders not old, out-of-touch, fearful bureaucrats like the U.S. military has now.” — Gen. Doug Satterfield. Thank you, sir for your insights on this topic. Folks are too hung up on the word “purge” and liken it to like the Soviet purges when they got rid of anyone not ideologically pure. That’s not the case in America, even though Mark Milley needed to be fired because he was a Marxist Commie and anti-American. Bring him back on active duty, try him for treason and bust him down to private.
I agree “Jelly.” “Purge” is looked upon as a word associated with dastardly deeds and that is not the case here. Maybe another word would be better. I don’t know, but it is certainly an attention grabbing word.
You stole my thunder with your comment, Lady Hawk. Let’s not get hung up on certain words, people, or stuff.
Gen. Marshall, my favorite pre-WWII general and great man.
Yeah, me too but the reason was that he was one smart dude and set the US army straight. Otherwise, we might had done much worse in World War 2. Just me thinking out loud. 👍