The Civil-Military Relationship
In the article “The Silent Crisis,” the author identifies several flaws that he perceives in the relationship between the civilian population of the United States, the civilian government of the United States, and the uniformed services of the United States. I read this article in the context of today’s military and political climate. While written a decade ago, it would not be difficult to find individuals that feel its content is equally applicable today. The author sets the prompt for the article: is the relationship between the military and civil society sound (Foster, 2007)? I agree that there is room for improvement, but does that burden lie solely upon the military as the article suggests?
The article …show more content…
Consider the following (Foster, 2007):
• Is the military strategically effective?
• Do the military leaders provide strategically sound advice to civilian authorities?
• Are the civilian executive and legislative bodies strategically competent?
• Is the civilian populous civically engaged and strategically aware?
I believe there is a breakdown in this chain of strategy, and it likely isn’t a single failure point. The military is as strategically effective as it is charged to be by the civilian government. Elected officials fear the retribution of the electorate and become “yes men” to appease the masses. The civilian population is not well-informed enough about national policy and strategic value as they get their information through either the sieve of the main media outlets or ideologically canalizing social media. It is the civilian authorities’ role at all levels to explain the relevant information with pros and cons. If they can do that, then they could accept the strategically effective advice of the military rather than silence those that bring bad news. Only then is the ideal long-term whole of government strategy …show more content…
I have found that our generation of aspiring leaders understand the problems we face as a nation. They also understand that it is a problem that we must solve as a nation. The military cannot do it on its own, by edict of our Constitution. The private sector is under siege by adversaries by which only the military is lawfully able to engage. The traditional military logistics are no match for the pace of technology in the private sector.
These passions provide us the opportunity to work together; to possibly seek elected office or inform those that do and to unite industry with government initiatives for a common purpose. It is our immediate role to provide information and advice about the tactical level that is actionable at the operational and strategic level. It is our responsibility to educate our leaders and our subordinates about the implications of the courses of action before us; acting as a translator of technical to actionable when
In the article “The Silent Crisis,” the author identifies several flaws that he perceives in the relationship between the civilian population of the United States, the civilian government of the United States, and the uniformed services of the United States. I read this article in the context of today’s military and political climate. While written a decade ago, it would not be difficult to find individuals that feel its content is equally applicable today. The author sets the prompt for the article: is the relationship between the military and civil society sound (Foster, 2007)? I agree that there is room for improvement, but does that burden lie solely upon the military as the article suggests?
The article …show more content…
Consider the following (Foster, 2007):
• Is the military strategically effective?
• Do the military leaders provide strategically sound advice to civilian authorities?
• Are the civilian executive and legislative bodies strategically competent?
• Is the civilian populous civically engaged and strategically aware?
I believe there is a breakdown in this chain of strategy, and it likely isn’t a single failure point. The military is as strategically effective as it is charged to be by the civilian government. Elected officials fear the retribution of the electorate and become “yes men” to appease the masses. The civilian population is not well-informed enough about national policy and strategic value as they get their information through either the sieve of the main media outlets or ideologically canalizing social media. It is the civilian authorities’ role at all levels to explain the relevant information with pros and cons. If they can do that, then they could accept the strategically effective advice of the military rather than silence those that bring bad news. Only then is the ideal long-term whole of government strategy …show more content…
I have found that our generation of aspiring leaders understand the problems we face as a nation. They also understand that it is a problem that we must solve as a nation. The military cannot do it on its own, by edict of our Constitution. The private sector is under siege by adversaries by which only the military is lawfully able to engage. The traditional military logistics are no match for the pace of technology in the private sector.
These passions provide us the opportunity to work together; to possibly seek elected office or inform those that do and to unite industry with government initiatives for a common purpose. It is our immediate role to provide information and advice about the tactical level that is actionable at the operational and strategic level. It is our responsibility to educate our leaders and our subordinates about the implications of the courses of action before us; acting as a translator of technical to actionable when