Meanwhile I am reading this, which is excellent so far. (Reviewed here.)

You would think, however the conundrum for military organizations is that they need a doctrine and training in order for a large body of men to carry off difficult, coordinated, operations under the fire and chaos of combat, but adoption of training and doctrine by a hierarchical and bureaucratic organizaton tends to ensure it is carried out inflexibly and by rote. What is needed is active thinking and adaptive response in real time by commanders who understand doctrinal ideas but think creatively.

Partly this is the legacy of Jomini and the much earlier 1GW/parade ground drill of Europe’s military revolution launched by Gustavus Adolphus that created modern combined arms and infantry eqipped with firearms. While the King of Sweden was a creative general, it evolved into a mechanistic approach to warfare. And originally it made good sense, maximizing the effect in battle of very expensively equipped troops by exquisitely drilling them to repeatedly deliver murderous fire in perfect unison, no matter what happened. Unfortunately, the drill mentality got way out of hand in both the Prussian and Russian armies. One of my professors, in referring to the obsession that many 18th and 19th C. European officers and monarchs had with ceremonial drill, called it “paradomania”.

Isn’t doing what will probably have a beneficial outcome the right course of action? You know – because it’s probably beneficial? I suppose I will have to read the book to see, and perhaps it’s all about options rather than black-and-white-right-and-wrong….

Stop with the book posts! Must. Read. Books. Already. Bought!

:)