The other day, my wife asked me what the chain of command is? I thought that every person understood that. I was wrong. I served in the military for four years, so it was a given for me.
There is no gray area in the military. If you want to advance and get along, you follow the chain of command. The chief executive officer of the military is the president. Right or wrong, he (or she) has the final decision, and the generals or admirals follow his decisions.
Retired military people make great managers in any company. They can put personal feelings aside and follow directions. If the company has a white table and the top executive says “It is black,” the managers must say it is black, and if any person along the chain of command says it is white, they can forget any promotions.
A good example was Gen. Colin Powell being sent to the United Nations to garner support for the Iraq invasion. I hope every person understands what Powell said were mostly lies, and now Powell says he should never have done that.
Yes, one must respect a general with medals pinned to his chest, but we must remember he is just a puppet to the president. Gen. David Petraeus will do and say whatever the president orders. If not, the president will say, “You’re doing a good job,” and a few weeks later… “So long.”
Peter Hart, Auburn
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