Thomas Ricks' latest work The Generals follows his previous works "Fiasco" and "The Gamble". Both prior publications set the stage for this current work. Ricks poses this central question - why do senior ranking Army officers never face relief for unsatisfactory performance? Ricks then starts a long and complex study of senior Army officers begining with the ascent of General George C. Marshall as Chief of Staff in 1939. Ricks is intimately familiar with today's military forces and possess a depth of institutional knowledge that very few current journalists possess. (Robert Kaplan is probably the sole exception.) Ricks, a journalist by training and not a professional historian, has superb writing and analytical skills. This 550+ page tome a fast read. I was able to blaze through all 550+ pages in three nights because of Ricks fast-paced and fluid writing style. Ricks is, without doubt, a proficient and interesting professional writer.
Ricks begins to answer his own rhetorical question by an in-depth study of the character and composition of the legendary George C. Marshall. The Generals then flows in a fast-paced manner from WWII to Korea where, he states, the seeds of the Army's near destruction in Vietnam were sown by an officer management system that modeled itself on 'corporate America.' Then Ricks turns to the mid-1950's 'Pentomic Division' and later to the 'flexible response' of the early Kennedy administration. From that point on, the institutional mis-management of the U.S. Army by the Johnson administration is fully exposed. (H.R. McMaster's "Dereliction of Duty" is frequently cited by Ricks as the best work on that subject, and I would tend to agree. However, after reading Sorley's biography of General Harold K. Johnson - "Honorable Warrior" - Johnson was the U.S. Army Chief of Staff 1964-1968 - it may be that McMaster's somewhat harsh criticism of General Johnson is misplaced. It might also be noted that McMaster wrote his well-known publication as a major; now he is a major general. His criticism of senior level staff officers in "Dereliction of Duty" may reflect the brash assessment of mid-grade officer not facing the stress and strain of senior command as was Harold Johnson in 1964-68.)
In Ricks assessment, no current or recent past general grade officer measures up to the person of George C. Marshall. That is frequent refrain throughout the book. Whether that assessment is accurate or not is debatable. I can speak with some small degree of authority as a product of the post-Vietnam Army that conformity and close-minded submission to the commander's higher intent was expected of all officers of that era. One "bad" officer efficiency report (being rated as "meets standards" was enough) was sufficient in itself to end one's career. Ricks is openly contemptuous of General Tommy Franks. Although I do not know General Franks, I expect that Franks was a product of the post-Vietnam era where conformity and leading the cheer for the current commander was the pathway to success.
Ricks is openly critical of the lack of honest, open thinking in mid to upper grade Army officers. The fact is that 'non-conformity' is generally a career killer. Let's posit that you are a mid-grade major approaching next year's promotion board. When in any promotion cycle only one out of three lieutenant colonels will be advanced to colonel and only one out of five colonels advance to brigadier general, then the mathematical chances of success - general officer rank - is only one in fifteen for the newly promoted lieutenant colonel. It makes one cautious about advocating a course of action that does not fit the current commander's scheme of operations. Ricks suggests toward the end of the book that a "probationary" work period be instituted for all command positions from platoon leader through four star level. If the commander proves unsatisfactory, then relieve that person for cause and find that individual a staff or installation position where his or her skills can be utilized. General George C. Marshall had the luxuary of doing just that because the training base requirements and the communications zone of WWII required a large number of non-combatant general grade officers; today's Army does not have that same TO&E. If anything, in the next go-around of force reductions, there will be fewer general rank positions open for any individual.
I found Thomas Ricks newest work The Generals to be a fascinating, well-written and well-researched book. It has a sort of cross-over effect between military history, operational art, institutional management, and geo-strategic analysis. A really excellent publication and a valuable addition to the library!
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Top reviews from other countries
- Timothy BatesReviewed in the United Kingdom on September 21, 2019
Generals you get are a result of the generals you fire, or fail to fire when they fail
- Kindle CustomerReviewed in Japan on November 29, 2022
In desperate need of a second edition.
