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Post by quincannon on Mar 25, 2017 19:26:36 GMT
That's why there was a USS O'Callahan, and no USS Gerhes.
That's why there was a USS McClusky, and no USS Ring.
The Navy knows, and has a long memory.
I was waiting for you to finish this, and I cheated a bit in prompting you Dave, concerning the controversy about Gerhes. Now if you must know why he was promoted to Rear Admiral and shown the door, it was because in the eyes of the public Gerhes brought his ship home. You could not very well court martial a "hero" for conduct unbecoming and still have Franklin being the 1945 poster child for fighting spirit can you?
The Army, the Navy, in fact all the services are like the Catholic Church. The first rule is - Do no harm to the institution.
Does not seem right, or fair, or just, or even the cowboy way, but it is what it is, and you do not betray it.
You see the same thing at play concerning LBH. That quote from Miles that Captain Shit For Brains likes to quote - "I will not kick a dead lion", is one such. CSFB thinks that this is Miles agreeing with Custer's conduct of the battle. The reality is that it was Miles obeying the Iron Law - Do no harm to the institution.
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Post by deadwoodgultch on Mar 26, 2017 10:36:36 GMT
Besides, Miles saw competition for stars on the shoulder bite the dust, he could afford to be magnanimous. Lest we forget Miles did not get his star until December 1880. Miles also married well, The niece of W.T. Sherman and John Sherman, this probably worked as well for him as did Custer's friendship with Sheridan.
"The more I see of movement here (Little Big Horn Battlefield), the more I have admiration for Custer, and I am satisfied his like will not be found very soon again.” Could he(Miles) have been saying that, let's hope we don't see the likes of him again!
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Post by yanmacca on Mar 26, 2017 12:02:56 GMT
When I see posts from other military men on these sites mentioning about Custer being a good captain but a lousy colonel, it reminds me of an old General in the British army called Redvers Buller, he was courageous and even won the VC, but as he progressed through the ranks he seemed to be out of his depth and known in the officers mess as “an admirable captain, an adequate major, a barely satisfactory colonel and a disastrous general.
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Post by quincannon on Mar 26, 2017 14:40:00 GMT
If you want to know what makes a good officer I suggest that you do two things.
1) Read "The Defense of Duffers Drift" by Swinton. His character learns from his mistakes, and keeps on trying until he gets it right.
2) A good officer always remembers that he got to where he is on the backs of other men, and never forgets his obligation to those who serve him, by serving them.
There is no magic about all this. The same thing applies in any walk of life. A good clerk does not always make a good supervisor. A good salesman is not necessarily a good sales manager. A good mechanic does not necessarily have what it takes to run a profitable garage. A good staff officer sometimes sucks as a commander. And most importantly a good father must first love his children before he oversees their growth.
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