Andrew Exum at Abu Muquwama discussed another military absurdity.
Money quote(s):
"(H)e had cancelled a presentation he was scheduled to give at the British International Studies Association conference in Edinburgh, Scotland because EUCOM regulations stipulate he must first ... wait for it ... go through SERE training before traveling to western Europe."
CAA has been to Edinburgh himself, after much personal preparation.
Said preparation did not include any survival, evasion, resistance, or escape components.
"Although the SERE training in question is not the hellish full two-week course but rather the one-day course, this is absurd nonetheless. Just yesterday, I met with a collection of junior U.S. Army officers, and we all agreed that U.S. military personnel -- and officers in particular, because they are often de facto ambassadors for the United States -- were better at their jobs if they had traveled widely or, even better, had lived abroad. But it can be a nightmare for U.S. military personnel to travel internationally, such have we elevated force protection to ridiculous importance."
The purpose, in any organization, of a manager or higher executive functionary is to:
a.) Set policy; and
b.) Make exceptions to policy as needed.
Someone is failing at one, or both, of these functions.
"(I)f we are willing to send young men and women to fight and die in Helmand Province, we should go out of our way to be accomodating when U.S. military personnel want to broaden their experiences by traveling to countries with which we are not at war." (Emphasis in original text. - CAA.)
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