Many in the Army sense trouble at the top. They see distrust within the officer corps, a blind ambition to win promotion, too little attention to the welfare of subordinates, too many ethical transgressions.
These are among findings of an internal Army report that suggests the largest branch of the American military suffers leadership doubts - little known outside the Army - stemming from the trauma of post-Cold War reduction in military man-power.In a remarkable show of candor, Gen. Dennis J. Reimer, the Army's top officer, highlighted the main points of the study, known as a "command climate assessment," in an article he wrote for a recent edition of "Military Review." The review is published by the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College.
Reimer wrote of his anxiety over indications of leadership lapses, which he called "an unfortunate side effect of the turmoil created by the downsizing of our Army" from a peak of almost 800,000 soldiers during the 1991 Persian Gulf War to about 500,000. One effect of the cuts has been to intensify competition for promotion within a shrinking officer corps.
Criticisms cited in the report are not aimed at Reimer. They pertain to Army leaders in the broadest sense, from noncommissioned officers to top commanders.
The Army refused an Associated Press request to see the study, which is not classified, and Reimer would not be interviewed on the subject. A brief summary of the report was provided to the AP, and Reimer had his deputy for personnel issues, Lt. Gen. Theodore G. Stroup Jr., answer questions about it.
Stroup painted a bright picture. He said that while the top Army brass are taking new steps to "refocus on the values" that form the foundation of successful Army leadership, this is not in response to any sort of crisis of conscience.
"The Army's values system, the Army's ethics system . . . is not broken," Stroup said.
In an article he wrote to accompany Reimer's in "Military Review," Stroup was less sanguine.
"Something has happened to our Army, and it is time we addressed that fact head-on," Stroup wrote. He referred to "anecdotal accounts" of stifled initiative, lack of trust of subordinates and a culture that overemphasizes perfection.
"The Army has always received such criticisms, but perhaps this time the accusations are more on target," Stroup wrote.
The Army report, prepared by an in-house research organization, focuses on sensitive issues that bear not only on key intangibles such as morale, discipline, initiative and willingness to take risks but also on the Army's readiness for combat.
The findings were not all negative. Most soldiers expressed admiration for their leaders and said they were satisfied with Army life, although many worry that as the service shrinks further their quality of life will worsen.