Crispin Burke: What Can Ike and Lawrence of Arabia Teach Us about Army Personnel Policy?
[The author is an observer/controller at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Hohenfels, Germany.]
A recent Atlantic article by Tim Kane spotlights several top-performing officers who lament the military's "peacetime" personnel system, which promotes officers along a generic timeline. Many point to the promotion policies during the two World Wars, when innovative officers enjoyed meteoric advancement through the ranks. Anecdotes from the private sector and even the State Department suggest that many large, successful organizations promote leaders on a merit-based system, much as the US Army did during the World Wars.
Nevertheless, every personnel system -- be it military, government, or private-sector -- is fraught with pitfalls and unintended consequences. Far from establishing a Darwinian "survival of the fittest" organization, a so-called "merit-based" system might easily give rise to nepotism, sycophantism, and ultimately, organizational entropy.
Thus, the promotion policies of the World Wars must be viewed in their unique historical context. We will examine some of these policies through two case studies from the World Wars: Britain's T.E. Lawrence and America's Dwight D. Eisenhower.
T.E. Lawrence, known to the world as Lawrence of Arabia, joined the British Army in 1914 as a second lieutenant, attaining the rank of lieutenant colonel by the War's end. Prior to the War, Lawrence became an expert in the Middle East, the result of archaeological expeditions and topographical work throughout the region. Lawrence was therefore posted to the Arab Bureau in Cairo, where his meticulous map-making, his knowledge of Arabic, and his work on The Arab Bulletin were invaluable. Nevertheless, Lawrence grew bored of office routine, and, along with other officers within the Arab Bureau, pleaded with General Sir Archibald Murray to support the revolt of the Arab tribes against the Turks. When their efforts proved fruitless, Lawrence took it upon himself to organize a number of military expeditions throughout the Hejaz -- to Rabegh, Wejh, and eventually, to Aqaba....
Read entire article at Foreign Policy
A recent Atlantic article by Tim Kane spotlights several top-performing officers who lament the military's "peacetime" personnel system, which promotes officers along a generic timeline. Many point to the promotion policies during the two World Wars, when innovative officers enjoyed meteoric advancement through the ranks. Anecdotes from the private sector and even the State Department suggest that many large, successful organizations promote leaders on a merit-based system, much as the US Army did during the World Wars.
Nevertheless, every personnel system -- be it military, government, or private-sector -- is fraught with pitfalls and unintended consequences. Far from establishing a Darwinian "survival of the fittest" organization, a so-called "merit-based" system might easily give rise to nepotism, sycophantism, and ultimately, organizational entropy.
Thus, the promotion policies of the World Wars must be viewed in their unique historical context. We will examine some of these policies through two case studies from the World Wars: Britain's T.E. Lawrence and America's Dwight D. Eisenhower.
T.E. Lawrence, known to the world as Lawrence of Arabia, joined the British Army in 1914 as a second lieutenant, attaining the rank of lieutenant colonel by the War's end. Prior to the War, Lawrence became an expert in the Middle East, the result of archaeological expeditions and topographical work throughout the region. Lawrence was therefore posted to the Arab Bureau in Cairo, where his meticulous map-making, his knowledge of Arabic, and his work on The Arab Bulletin were invaluable. Nevertheless, Lawrence grew bored of office routine, and, along with other officers within the Arab Bureau, pleaded with General Sir Archibald Murray to support the revolt of the Arab tribes against the Turks. When their efforts proved fruitless, Lawrence took it upon himself to organize a number of military expeditions throughout the Hejaz -- to Rabegh, Wejh, and eventually, to Aqaba....