SECDEF - Dissent Can Be a Sign of Health in an Organization

[mikeylikey]

As soon as the Pacific Fleet gets smaller China will be all over Formosa like a fat kid on cake.

  I love CAKE!

[JohnKachenmeister]

I love fat kids!     

[ColonelJack]

I am a fat kid!

Jack

[mikeylikey]

I love fat kids who love cake!

[SAR-EMT1]

My point is: the only main reason China hasnt invaded is because of PACFLT specificallly the Kitty Hawk Group in Japan and the routine berthing of SSNs SSBNs and DDGs in Tipei Harbor > spelling? < and patrolling through the Strait of Tiawan.

-- How many others know that China has roughly 500 landing craft positioned for an invasion at any given time?

While many folks think its a matter of economics for China, I personally still think that it still revolves around the National Museum.


--- done with off topic musings

[SAR-EMT1]

Back to topic...

Im surprised that CAP didnt get the same speech at the last National Confrence/ Board Meeting.

[MIKE]

If topics continue to drift... the locking will in turn, continue.

[mikeylikey]

So is it any wonder that the secretary gives this speech to up and coming junior Officers?  Seems like someone or something is trying to change the culture of the military.  (or am I reading into it too much)

[DNall]

I love fat kids who love cake!

Amazing coincidence! So did my Drill Sgt. 

Back to topic...

Im surprised that CAP didnt get the same speech at the last National Confrence/ Board Meeting.

As I said, I really don't think this applies to CAP, not in the sense the Secretary meant it toward the services anyway. I think the fundamental problems with CAP are within our poorly designed structure & accountability chain. To a slightly lesser degree in our personnel development process.

There are technological issues that face CAP, but they aren't being addressed due to the nature of CAP itself, not due close-mindedness.

If topics continue to drift... the locking will in turn, continue.

Respectfully, chill out. The topic is covering BOTH the bearing of SecDef comments on the services at large, as well as any relation to CAP. In order to even comment on how they apply to CAP, one must first understand how they were meant in context to the services. All the discussion has been on topic to that point.

[ADCAPer]

If topics continue to drift... the locking will in turn, continue.

As I said earlier, this thread has been off-topic since it began.

For those of you that obviously didn't bother to read the entire transcript, the Secretary of Defense's speech, including the speech he referenced at Maxwell and made at West Point later that day, was about leadership. The point he was making concerning dissent was in an answer to a question, and in his answer he referred back to his illustration of Colonel John Boyd.

The other examples that Secretary Gates cited in his speech were to illustrate to a group of young new officers that they;

1) Need to recognize that the time will come where they will have to decide if they are going to compromise their principals to further their career, or if they will do what is right instead; and

2) To show them that they need to be prepared to protect the people that will work for them, especially the people who are capable of thinking outside the box. Because while these type of people may be difficult to work with, and while they may show signs of dissent, it doesn't mean they are not valuable to the organization.

[DNall]

And the voice of that dissent that hasn't been listed to is.... what we've been talking about.