The case of one superstar colonel doesn’t prove anything about the Marines. But the larger pattern is worrisome.
Category: Bureaucracy
War on The Rocks August 26, 2015 In an iconic installment of “Calvin & Hobbes,” the beloved comic strip by Bill Watterson, little Calvin and his stuffed tiger Hobbes are playing baseball. Calvin gets a hit and rounds the bases to home, but Hobbes cries foul. “You didn’t touch all the bases!” he tells Calvin. Calvin protests…
The Hill June 24, 2014 The revelation that some 65 percent of executives at the embattled Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) received performance bonuses last year did something rare these days in our nation’s capital: It unified congressional Republicans and Democrats. In a hearing Friday, it was revealed that all 470 of the VA’s senior executives were…
The National Interest October 22, 2013 With the government back in business, it’s worth reflecting on the toll the sixteen-day shutdown inflicted on the nation’s defense. While most of the media attention went to relative trivialities like service-academy sports and the closure of war memorials, we wasted enormous resources that could otherwise have gone toward…
Defense One September 26, 2013 Despite being in its thirteenth year of combat in Afghanistan and facing threats to its budget on the home front, the United States Army is focusing its energy on a more longstanding menace: soldiers whose appearance drives sergeants major crazy. The vagaries of recruiting during wartime forced Uncle Sam to turn a…