The US military is ranked as the most complete and successful force in the entire globe today. The success has not only been achieved because of great funding, weaponry, and large force but also due to the existence of an exemplary leadership style in the force. However, in the recent past, the military has been bombarded by leadership issues that have posed serious threats to the future of military success. The weakening leadership is such a serious problem for a force that wants to be victorious in all its endeavors. In this context, leadership entails all actions of assembling resources to work together and makes things happen that would otherwise not have happened or to prevent things to happen that would ordinarily happen. The nature of leadership an organization practices determines its future. The ongoing personnel bureaucracy in the pentagon is not commendable as far as the military leadership is concerned. It has been slammed for mismanaging great leaders and denying fresh talents the opportunities to prove their abilities. Besides, it is destroying the human capital invested in the troops as well as killing talents.
Over the years, various administrations that have manned the United States have tried to correct the mess that is said to be real and overgrown in the Pentagon where bureaucratic leadership in the military is dominant (Forsling, 2017). The Pentagon, instead of streamlining the military functions and duties in the most acceptable manner, it has acted at its best to cover up for talent mismanagement. A section of top officials in the military leadership says that the current leadership in the force if it is not revolutionized, it will create a useless force unable to combatant and win simple military tests and duties (Reed, 2015). Investigatory reports show that the military is yet to become a fully professional organization because of bad leadership (Kane, 2012). It has one foot in the professional dimensions and the other one in the coercive past. The top leaders have failed to give the young men and women in the force an opportunity to become who they want to be in their military duties and capacity.
In the US military, commanders’ trust is at its minimum (Kane, 2012). Despite the fact that commanders are leadership engines at the lower levels of the forces, they have been left out when it comes to important military functions. For example, they do not have the hiring power. No commander can perform the hiring duty because the bureaucratic leadership that exists in the entire military structure. If the commanders were given the power to hire, they would be in a position to select their own men and women to help them in role accomplishment (Kane, 2012). In addition, they will be in a position to support and develop young talents in the force. The current leadership has centralized every aspect of leadership and military management thereby denying the able talents the opportunities to climb up the leadership ranks (Reed, 2015). Most junior officers do not have the liberty to apply for any position within the force even if they have the required qualifications.
Further, the current leadership has been slammed for the lack of honesty, especially in performance evaluations (Kane, 2011). Severally, the US military top management has been criticized for lack of moral courage and for eroding the integrity of the system (Forsling, 2017). A better force needs to appreciate the use of forced ranking across the entire system. The selection of the best performers has not been fair (Reed, 2015). The promotion and ranking of officers go to people who do not deserve recognition and honor. The fresh talents normally miss the opportunity to climb up the ranks because the veteran officers have corrupted the system to operate to their advantage. The promotion system is biased and operates at the far end of the spectrum. The promotion is no longer based on merit but seniority (Kane, 2012). This is a problem that rules out young talents out of the promotion circle. The military force needs to adopt a nonpartisan evaluation system where best leaders are recognized and appreciated deservedly.
Another problem that has affected the military too much is allowing former officers to exit and renter, re-exit and reenter in the system as much as they want. This is a serious problem especially when it comes to nurturing of the young talents in the force (Forsling, 2017). Because of bad leadership, the young minds are denied the opportunity to showcase their talents and abilities because now and then a section of retirees must be allowed back into the system (Reed, 2015). What the force is doing is constraining the skills of fresh thinking at the expense of aging brain.
Overall, the US military needs to correct its leadership structure if it has to remain as the most successful force in the world. The best leadership style is that which give every person the power and opportunity to work without discrimination. Good leadership is the mother of success. Therefore, it is high time that the bureaucracy that has dominated the military leadership is axed once and for all. The top officials need to appreciate the growing and supporting the fresh and young talents is the most important thing to do rather than denying them a chance and recalling the retired minds.
- Forsling, C. (2017). The Military has a Toxic Leadership Problem.
- Kane, T. (2011). Why Our Best Officers Are Leaving? The Atlantic.
- Kane, T. (2012). Bleeding Talent: How the US Military Mismanages Great Leaders and Why It’s Time for a Revolution.
- Reed, G. E. (2015). Tarnished: Toxic leadership in the U.S. military. Potomac Books, Nebraska Press.