Posted 11/16/2009

UNSTABLE BRASS - ARE THEY ALL NUTS?

Major Nidal Malik Hasan's killing rampage at Fort Hood has set off a huge debate among us.

Those on the left wish to ignore the incident and preserve political correctness.

Those on the right want to kill off political correctness, which is blamed for the tragic incident.

But there is something everyone is missing.

The real problem with Hasan was not his Muslim leanings, but his clearly documented instability and incompetence.

He is another Captain Queeg, the fellow in The Caine Mutiny who became unstable and incapable of commanding a ship. Yet when his subordinate relieved him of duty, the military did its best to protect Queeg and to court-martial the officer who relieved him and probably saved the ship.

The military has a long history of promoting and protecting incompetent and unstable officers. It's a kiss-ass, kick-ass system which reward those who curry the proper amount of favor with the boss. They get false-high efficiency ratings and future promotions.

Major Hasan was promoted at Walter Reed Army Hospital, even though he received unsatisfactory efficiency ratings. What the Army ought to be investigating is, who was his religious leader? Who did he suck up to? What superior officer overrode the efficiency report and promoted a clearly unfit man?

One retired military man said the Army is understaffed for majors. To get more majors, the Army lowered its standards. He went on to say that the Army is short of psychiatrists and probably lowered its standards even further.

There have been unstable military leaders who were brilliant. General George Patton, who commanded the third army in Europe in World War II, believed he had been reincarnated. He was so far over the top that he believed he had fought in wars which had occurred centuries earlier. But because he was a brilliant tank commander, General Eisenhower kept him in command despite much opposition. But when Patton expressed a desire to attack the Soviets and continue the war beyond 1945, Eisenhower, having had enough, fired him.

Before his famed march to Atlanta, General Sherman had exhibited mental problems. He clearly could have been relieved of duty early in the Civil War. But he proved to be a smart fighting general among the lackluster generals who had so bedeviled President Lincoln. To his credit, Sherman recognized his problem and refused to run for President, even though he was rabidly sought after by Northern politicians.

But Sherman and Patton were able to eclipse their mental problems in the heat of war by showing incredible competence.

But Hasan?

There was no such excuse for covering up his instability. He was "incapable," according to his fitness report. He should have been shoved aside to retire as a captain in some job from which he could do no harm.

As the Hasan controversy rages, we should look at another current example, that of former astronaut Lisa Nowak, who found herself in a love triangle involving a male astronaut and a female Army captain. Pressures of the romance destabilized Nowak, who armed herself and drove all night to accost and attempt to kidnap the offending captain. The captain got away, suffering only pepper spray damage and a huge fright.

How did the USA react to this near tragedy fueled by emotional instability and disastrous judgment? NASA kicked both astronauts out of the program. The civilian criminal court sentenced Nowak to two days time served and one year's probation. And the military? Lisa Nowak is still serving as a naval captain.

Wow! How would you like to be within 100 feet of Captain Lisa Nowak if she were carrying a Glock in her purse?

And how can the Navy continue the career of a woman who is too unstable to be entrusted with the rank of Captain – which is the grade just below Admiral?

In the outstanding WWII documentary Band of Brothers, there were officers who were incompetent. There were officers who were unstable. But there were only two who were both unstable and incompetent. One was shunted off to training duties before he could do any harm. The second was relieved of command in an action which saw several unnecessary casualties.

But even in Band of Brothers, the military's tendency to protect incompetence showed through. The officer who was shunted out of troop command was done in only after all the unit's sergeants refused to go into combat under his command. The senior officer refused to recognize the obvious incompetence and instability of the officer until confronted by a strike in the ranks.

Having served a two-year hitch in the Army, I have seen my share of incompetent officers. I have seen a few unstable officers. I have seen my share of hopelessly alcoholic officers. But fortunately, I saw very few who were both unstable and incompetent.

The military has a serious problem. The kick-ass, kiss-ass management style leads to the promotion and protection of too many who are unfit for command – or even for staff performance.

His Muslim religion may have been the straw that broke Major Hasan's back, but that camel's back had been seriously overloaded for a long time.

The Army must root out those who are straining to carry big loads on weak backs.

If not, the expression "going postal" will give way to "going Army."

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