Note that I said there are times and places for explanations.
But read what you want, the units I was in were damn good
and I will fight with them and lead them again any day of the week.


"ArtKramr" wrote in message
...
Subject: An Officer.......
From: "The CO"
Date: 2/23/04 6:30 PM Pacific Standard Time
Message-id:


"Rick Folkers" wrote in message
news:AKx_b.1212$Ri6.512@lakeread04...
Art, that is just BS. There are times and ways to complain. And
there
are times and ways to explain to subordinates. Anybody who thinks
they are above explanations was a sorry excuse for an officer. That
was
what I used to call an "Imperial Officer", one who was more aware of
the
privileges of being an officer than of the responsibilities.

There are several styles of leadership, and the style Art was taught was
identified at OCS as 'Autocratic'.

We were also taught that a good officer should be able to adapt his
leadership style
to the circumstances he was in. There are times when it *is* very
necessary to be autocratic
and there are times when its better to be rather less so. A good
officer should be able to alter
his style according to need without comprising his integrity, authority
or effectiveness.

Times change and so do the philosphies of leadership. It's worth noting
that the autocratic type of
officer historically came about when the OR's were uneducated and mostly
illiterate, ie dumb grunts.
(I'm not talking recent history here).

Consequently leaderships styles have had to become both more flexible
and less autocratic, as we
are dealing with rankers that are far better educated than many officers
were a hundred years ago.
It hard to drive such people, but they can be *led*.

The CO



Here are some more caveats from my training. When you issue and order to a
subordinate there are only three answers allowed. They a
1. YES SIR
2. NO SIR
3. NO EXCUSE SIR

But when you are issued an order from a superior officer there are three
answers allowed. They a
1.YES SIR
2. NO SIR
3. NO EXCUSE SIR

Remember that I wasn't in the Air Force. I was in the Army Air Corps,
emphasis
on ARMY and went through a full schedule of combat infantry training as
well as
flight school and as an officer as well.. Good thing too because during
the
Battle of the Bulge we were all issued M-1 Carbines and thrown into the
line
along with the XXX Corps. And I never ever heard any long discussions
involving diverse opinions on what we should do. Orders were issued and
were
followed without question. We knew what we should do and we did it. And
remember we won that war so maybe we knew something back then that the
military
has forgotten since.




Arthur Kramer
344th BG 494th BS
England, France, Belgium, Holland, Germany
Visit my WW II B-26 website at:
http://www.coastcomp.com/artkramer