Military Review English Edition January-February 2017 | Page 15

AGAINST BUREAUCRACY factors that contributed to the ongoing poor performance of the project .” So , factors are responsible , but not people . And , the word “ responsible ” appears in the report as a descriptive word in reference to legal or bureaucratic responsibility . The word responsible is never used in a normative or moral sense .
Materially unrevealing and inscrutable , this report was accepted by the bureaucracy as an explanation . But the report is not enlightening , not a proper account of reasons why the Seasprite project failed . Gnomic phrasing , such as “ the failure of the project to provide the required capability ,” skirts around the fact that the project was an unequivocal catastrophe . 22 The project is described as “ canceled ,” not “ failed .” 23
Evading moral ideas by euphemism , the Seasprite report , and the others like it , speaks in the voice of a bureaucracy preserving its modus operandi and senior cadre . Lacking any sense of right and wrong , the report reveals a critical insolvency and demonstrates the need for institutional reform . On what basis , then , can soldiers be expected to face grave psychological and physical dangers , when the big fish cannot face the truth ?
In the words of Adm . R . C . Moffitt ’ s Review of Submarine Workforce Sustainability , there is a “ crisis of leadership ” and a feckless “ benign acceptance of the status quo [ among ] more senior rank groups .” 24 Describing the “ poor leadership ,” of people “ in positions of power ,” Moffitt recalls the tone and accent of Lord Peter Levene ’ s 2011 review of the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence . 25 Investigating the senescence of British military bureaucracy , Levene makes official shortcomings explicit . In categorical style , Levene criticizes a “ culture of consensual , committee-based decision-making ,” and an institutionalized failure to hold people to account . 26 Notably , he identifies an overinflated senior cadre , a pervasive “ inability to take tough , timely decisions ,” and an insidious “ conspiracy of optimism .” 27
The Western Military Hypocrisy
No military ought to expect soldiers to face danger while bureaucrats sit in pleasant chairs , unwilling to face facts . But , this is precisely the nature of the Western military hypocrisy .
When some people write shrewd reports to disguise real reasons and other people accept those reports as a knowing gloss-over , which diminishes or disguises the gravity of events , then no people seem to have the self-respect and courage to stand for truth and right . Confronted by an adversary , motivated by the most repellent ideology to commit acts of abhorrent viciousness , such a failure of the Western military bureaucracy is deeply concerning .
Speaking to these ideas , Norman Dixon observed in his seminal work On the Psychology of Military Incompetence how military officers regularly slough off all sense of moral awareness . Dixon ’ s concern was that officers , convinced of their own superiority , lose all feeling for the moral basis upon which they exercise command . 28 Similarly , on the account of this paper , military leaders , habituated to bureaucratic hokum , lose touch with ideals that will inspire soldiers to act decisively with a mind to translating high ideals into practice .
Conclusion
The military must wean itself from the heroin of bureaucracy . Writing should be judged by clarity and power , not by margins and tabulations . Speaking should be frank and courteous , not phobic and weakkneed . Action should be purposeful .
Medal of Honor recipient Vice Adm . James Stockdale illustrates this idea powerfully . As president of the U . S . Naval War College , Stockdale argued against the overprominence of legalistic and bureaucratic thinking . Arguing against officers ’ ticket punching ( focusing on ) organizational efficiency at the expense of honor , Stockdale observed , In the Naval Service we have no place for amoral gnomes lost in narrow orbits ; we need to keep our gaze fixed on the high-minded principles standing above the law . …
Today ’ s ranks are filled with officers who have been weaned on slogans and fads of the sort preached in the better business schools of the country . That is to say that rational managerial concepts will cure all evils . … We must regain our bearings . …
Regardless of the fairness of our judicial system , it must not be allowed to take the place of moral obligation to ourselves , to our Service , to our country . Each man must bring himself to some stage of ethical resolution . 29
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