McChrystal Has Some 'Splainin' to Do....

[PanaEng]

The general and his entourage forget the first two rules of relations with the media:

a. a journalist is not your friend; and

b. never say anything to a journalist you wouldn't want to see in the 24-hour news cycle.

I tend to think he is a lot smarter than that; or that his entourage did it on purpose.
The general is an animal: he survives on 4 hrs sleep, works 16+ hrs a day,  eats one meal a day and runs 7 miles a day...  and expects his staff to do likewise.
You can only keep that up for some time before something breaks.
(just anecdotal information ;-)  )

 

[57Chevy]

he survives on 4 hrs sleep, works 16+ hrs a day,  eats one meal a day and runs 7 miles a day... 

sounds like a soldier to me ;D
Airborne!!! Hooah!!! :mg:

 

[vonGarvin]

he survives on 4 hrs sleep, works 16+ hrs a day,  eats one meal a day and runs 7 miles a day... 

Sounds like an idiot to me:

Someone who only gets about four hours of sleep a day may experience mood swings or a general change in their emotions do to the fluctuation of hormones

Not getting enough sleep leads to further complications since they tend to become compounded.  Just loosing a few hours of sleep a night is the equivalent of drinking 2-3 alcoholic beverages.  the mental deterioration experienced with sleep deprivation can make it dangerous to operate a motor vehicle, perform normal daily tasks, or can lead to communication issues, since thoughts lack focus.

From here

Soldiers require seven to eight hours of sleep a night to maintain the necessary level of mental alertness vital in today's current environment. More importantly, the Soldierly attitude of trying to power through cannot offset the detrimental, and potentially fatal, effects of inadequate sleep.

This, from here

 

[daftandbarmy]

sounds like a soldier to me ;D
Airborne!!! Hooah!!! :mg:

Three words that proves he's not Airborne:

Does not drink

Send him back to the Yoga club where they found him ....

 

[57Chevy]

Oh....but he was "airborne":

His initial assignment was to C Company, 1st Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, serving as weapons platoon leader from November 1976 to February 1978, as rifle platoon leader from February 1978 to July 1978, and as executive officer from July 1978 to November 1978.
Read more: 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanley_A._McChrystal

 

[1feral1]

All of this is a distraction from the other news in Afghanistan - namely the US has been paying off the taliban to allow convoys to pass.

Ha, here the now former Rudd government gave the TB $25,000,000 AUD to drop their AKs, and to buy their hearts and minds. http://www.4bc.com.au/blogs/michael-smith-blog/paying-the-taliban-your-money/20100129-n39j.html

Go figure.

Cheers,

Wes

 

[The Bread Guy]

Send him back to the Yoga club where they found him ....

Tough room, tough room...

 

[57Chevy]

A must read in my opinion.
          ______________________________________________________
Military official disputes Rolling Stone article:

Washington (CNN) -- In the Rolling Stone article that got him fired, Gen. Stanley McChrystal says of the aides who surround him "I'd die for them. And they'd die for me." But the military men around McChrystal are now silent.

Not one of those anonymously quoted has come forward, according to a source close to the general. No one has acknowledged they told Rolling Stone McChrystal thought President Barack Obama looked "uncomfortable and intimidated" in his first meeting with military brass or that the general was personally "disappointed" after a meeting with the commander-in-chief.

It's no surprise he never claimed he was misquoted, several military sources who personally know McChrystal told CNN. They say, despite his fatal mistake in judgment, it is in his character to take sole responsibility for the inappropriate statements and command atmosphere.

(article continues)
Read more:
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/US/06/25/mcchrystal.interview/index.html?fbid=X-q7GDAv616

            (Reproduced under the Fair Dealings provisions of the Copyright Act)

 

[SeanNewman]

What an awesome leader.

Not only was he doing what was necessary to win in the most complex campaign we've ever faced, but he also took responsibility for what some of his staff said.

I've had leaders who were the opposite and blamed their staff publicly when things went wrong.

I don't like that he took Burger King away, but I would follow a leader like McChrystal over the top of any trench.

 

[Jammer]

I don't think it's so much an issue about his skills as a soldier, but more about how he mocked (or permitted the environment), POTUS and the Executive Branch.
It must be remembered that he was already called on the carpet about comments made publicly about policy.
The POTUS is the Commander in Chief, period. It was insubordination of the highest order from a Combatant Commander and as much as he is regarded (in some circles) as an expert on COIN his actions were seen as a breakdown in the CoC.

I don't think Stan McChrystal will be on the unemployment lines anytime soon.

 

[SeanNewman]

...but more about how he mocked (or permitted the environment), POTUS and the Executive Branch...

That's what's being discussed though.  I have not yet read the full article, but those who have are stating that a lot of the critical comments were not even quotes from McCrystal but his staff quoted anonymously.

Agreed that if he was bad-mouthing the POTUS it would be improper, but it may not have been him.  What I was posting above is that if he never said those things but his staff did, look at how great of a leader he is by taking the bullet for his staff instead of blaming them.

 

[Jammer]

Have a good read.
He didn't take a bullet for anyone. He is responsible for the actions of his staff.
While not all comments are attributed to him, he allowed, and even encouraged the environment to flourish.
Taking responsibility for the failings of you subordinates is not great leadership...it's what we as leaders should do naturally at all levels. 
One former CDS springs to mind (Jean/John Boyle) as Canada' example of poor leadership at a command level.

 

[The Bread Guy]

I have not yet read the full article ....

Enjoy!
http://bit.ly/rs-mcchrystal

 

[SeanNewman]

Thanks for the link.

And as I had heard, a lot of the quotes are: a top advisor to the general states that "...

Although I did get a snicker out of the "I Suck At Fighting" acronym from the OEF crowd.

 

[57Chevy]

Here's a couple of interesting little tads on that little reporter. Gives you an idea of what kind of guy
he is, and what he was really after.
          ______________________________________________________

Michael Hastings is a porn-loving, leftist agitator:

“The dance with staffers is a perilous one. You’re probably not going to get much, if any, one-on-one time with the candidate, which means your sources of information are the people who work for him. So you pretend to be friendly and nonthreatening, and over time you “build trust,” which everybody involved knows is an illusion. If the time comes, if your editor calls for it, you’re supposed to f*** them over”- Michael Hastings

Read more:
http://www.holeinthehull.com/2010/06/michael-hastings-is-a-porn-loving-leftist-agitator.html
          ______________________________________________________________
Also...BREAKING: Hastings Enjoys Pornography, is Good Writer

FAILURE TO GOOGLE: A quick search would have showed McChrystal that caution was warranted around the irreverent reporter, Michael Hastings, a former Iraq correspondent for Newsweek. Starting when he was 25, Hastings spent two years reporting in Iraq as Newsweek’s youngest-ever war correspondent. He wrote four cover stories for Newsweek International, and published a memoir, ‘I Lost My Love in Baghdad.’ Covering the presidential campaign for GQ in 2008, Hastings wrote in ‘Hack: Confessions of a Presidential Campaign Reporter’: ‘There was no small amount of hypocrisy when it came to journalists discussing the sex lives of the people they cover, since fidelity wasn’t exactly a prized virtue among reporters on the campaign trail. For my part, I watched a lot of porn. … It occurred to me … that [enjoying pornography] in a hotel room was not unlike the larger experience of campaign reporting.’

Read more:
http://www.cjr.org/the_kicker/breaking_hastings_enjoys_porno.php

          (Reproduced under the Fair Dealings provisions of the Copyright Act)

 

[vonGarvin]

I would follow a leader like McChrystal over the top of any trench.

McChrystal jumped the shark on this one.  He did to himself what the Taliban couldn't. 

 

[PPCLI Guy]

Here's a couple of interesting little tads on that little reporter. Gives you an idea of what kind of guy
he is, and what he was really after.
          ______________________________________________________

Michael Hastings is a porn-loving, leftist agitator:

None of which excuses the actions of Gen McC or those of his staff.

 

[OldSolduer]

McChrystal jumped the shark on this one.  He did to himself what the Taliban couldn't.

How true.

And as for the reporter who broke this story, maybe he is left wing and likes porn, but that is irrelevant at this point.

Gen McC and his staff should or ought to have known that "off the record" remarks often find their way into the story.

 

[Jammer]

Nothing is off the record.

 

[daftandbarmy]

Enjoy!
http://bit.ly/rs-mcchrystal

I've only read the first few paragraphs but am pretty sure that Obama did the right thing. I'd expect that behaviour from ... well... nobody... in the army let alone the top General in Afghanistan.

OK, maybe me in 1985-ish, but not a Mega-General in 2010!

Now where the heck is that 'falling on your own sword' emoticon thingy?