The Runaway General?!!!

People screamed for the head of the US Forces in Afghanistan this past week and I guess they got their wish. The news reported that he was bad mouthing the President and undermining his authority. His staff was out of control with no respect to civilian authority. All of this based off and article in Rolling Stone magazine. So let’s take a look back at all these accusations that led to the dismissal of General McChrystal.

Without first speaking with the President, when asked what it would take to win the war in Afghanistan, GEN McChyrstal responded with 40,000 more troops in the region because he was asked a direct question and he gave a direct answer. I think he had a good idea of what he needed since he's been in the fight since the start of this war against terrorism. I'm just saying. I guess a precedence has been set amongst the leaders of the military, you don't know what you need until you speak with the boss first. Let’s put that in perspective of someone who has no clue about how the military operates. We're nothing more than a big corporation. So let’s say you're in a company making widgets. Your CEO keeps making cutbacks that make it difficult to make these widgets. He's basing these cutbacks on input from personnel who have no clue on how to make these widgets and their assessment. These guys are smart on saving money but have no clue how to make these widgets. A reporter walks in and asks you, are you having difficulties making these widgets? How would you, as a employee of this company, answer this question? Hmmmm....well let me guess...you would keep your mouth shut because you're not going to put your job in jeopardy? I don't think so. You're going to say without question, in order for me to complete these widgets in complete satisfactory form; I'm going to need (blank). So how did he question anyone? Moral to this.....stop listening to the news anchor. Unless you've been there, don't throw stones and put your pride aside for once.

On another occasion, he was asked about the Vice Presidents policy for actions taken in Afghanistan and would he support. His response was given this information I would not support. Sorry to disappoint you all but that’s just like asking you about supporting your fellow co-worker about making widgets. If it doesn't make since, of course you would answer no I wouldn't support. He's the Vice President you're screaming. Sorry folks. He is not in the chain of command for the military unless the President goes down. He's just another co-worker. Here's some research you should think about doing and it's really based around a simple point. Basically this, can someone who has never done your job tell you how to do your job?

The Pat Tillman saga, I hate to say this, will always be the black mark. What if someone who served with him came and told you he was the worst Soldier ever? Not trying to put a black mark on him or anything but just saying. What if his celebrity status got him where he was and not his true skills? Has anyone ever thought about what it takes to be apart of an elite unit? This takes years and years of training. What’s the line here? Hell I don't know and you don't know either. It's all speculation of what happened. Only the Soldiers on the ground know. Let's just say he was not all that elite, would you want to be the Soldier who marred a great athlete's career and death? I'm going to say this. I don't know what happened or how he was as a Soldier. I never served with him. He did something I know 99.9% of professional athlete’s would not do....RAISE HIS RIGHT HAND and vowed to serve this great nation. He sacrificed money and fame to join side by side with his fellow Soldiers in Operation Enduring freedom. That’s what will be embedded in my mind.

Lastly, his staff speaks out. You're setting in the break room of the widget factory and your section boss isn't there to oversee what you're talking about. He's let you speak your mind before and he understands that making widgets can have its tough days. So you start talking and the reporter starts writing. Next thing you know, your section boss has been called to the CEO office and fired. Remember folks, that’s the precedence. Real time now folks. You work for a General who only sleeps 4 hours a night at most. He is constantly going out on patrol with Soldiers who are serving in theater. He has seen men die and so have you. Maybe you refuse to understand that when those deaths are needless and could’ve been avoided by a simple policy change, you tend to get a little pissed at the bosses who could've approved such changes. The armed services didn't request to be there, they were told to be there. Now you're back in the widget factory with an inability to do your job. What can you do? Well, you can quit and find another job. Not the Armed Services. You just can't quit. Didn't know that did you. Once your name is signed to that contract, you are held there until said contract is complete. Where you go is all up to the big machine that indicates where you are needed.

So who is General McChrystal? I don't know and guess what, neither do you. What I do know is this. I will not assume anything unless I am there to hear it. It's one thing that I've learned in my military career when trying to decide the fate of a Soldier when it is nothing more than a he said she said case (so to speak), there are two sides to every story. Failure to hear each side would seriously flaw your decision. I applaud the President for waiting to make a decision. He called the General to his office to hear him personally before he made his decision. Do I agree with it? Here's my answer. A Soldier kneeling down by an abandoned vehicle on a deserted road in Afghanistan is startled by a tall lanky man who kneels beside him. Politely he asks the man who is in the same uniform but unrecognizable as a member of his team, "Who the fuck are you?" The tall lanky man replies, "I'm fucking General McChystal" He understands the fight because he would not hesitate to go down there. He knows men and women who are involved in this war are under a lot of battle stress and speaking out is a form of relief to get through the day. He reaches down in the dirt with the lowest man in the military to understand AND know that every decision he makes is the right one. He takes the wrong decision to heart. For all this, he is respected by everyone who has served along side him. It is not normal for a 4 Star General to be this way. Their character is more political and reserved. Not General McChrystal because he was loved by all that served with him. So what would I've done if in the President's shoes? Don't know because I'm not privied to the information the President has to make such a decision so why should you say the General need's to go? On a personal note, I woulsay he made the worng decision but you shouldn't make decisions based off personal feelings. That's leadership 101. Thanks for visiting Stretch's corner. These are just my thoughts.