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Chapter 100[]
Can you tell me where can we start over?[]
Coventry Military Academy
Coventry, Lyran Commonwealth
3070
"...it's not the amount of resources." Elizabeth was explaining. "In the twentieth century, our existing technologies would have been enough for that era to see this era as virtually post-scarcity. We all know that's not the case."
The group of junior LCAF officers politely laughed at her implied joke.
"The problem is resource allocation." she stated firmly. "There is literally no reason why people were raiding for water in the first part of this century, except that they did not understand what resources they had, or how to manage them. As officers preparing to transition from the lower grades to the Field grades, you're going to be presented with situations-some of them are opportunities, some of them are...not...opportunities."
She crossed her arms, "First rule: if you can't afford to lose an asset, you can't afford to use it. This is considered to be a basic principle in the concept of economy of force or risk management. In the field, it's the principle that dictates how many casualties are acceptable losses-and no, don't give me that line about 'no losses are acceptable', because that's a trap that will freeze you in indecision, thus losing more of your men to the enemy. While at the same hook, over committing forces can deprive you of opportunities or inflict losses you can't sustain."
She tapped a desk with her cane, "SUSTAIN. Its kind of a naughty word in some circles, but it's important to keep in mind, a force that is paralyzed by indecision. A force that has taken losses that it can not recover from, both are equally useless to the nation."
She brought up a slide with a gesture.
"Good officers can make bad decisions. BAD officers don't make decisions. They let the enemy or the environment make their decisions for them, usually at the cost of lives and mission objectives. By managing your resources and understanding the risk principle, you can afford to make bad decisions and still salvage some sustainable ability. Letting the enemy or the environment make your choices for you, you get to make no decisions-but you end up accountable and responsible for the disaster that paralysis causes....and it does cause disaster. some of you come from good, corporate families, you must know someone in your firm that is a poor manager, ja?"
This got knowing looks.
"Indeed. War is a business and business is war. The profits come from taking objectives for less cost than they're worth, but it requires swift and decisive action, ja? ja." she folded her hands, "and it requires that action be within acceptable risks. if you can not afford to make the bet, don't take the gamble, but that doesn't mean don't gamble, it means control the bet, control the gamble, use every means you can, to find, make, create or invent a means to slant those odds so that your combat comes at a profit, instead of a loss."
"This brings us to the value of intelligence. That is, to knowledge of your competitors...or your enemy's...strengths, weaknesses and priorities. A victory can be won without fighting, if you achieve leverage over your foes, while you can be defeated even when you are a better fighter than your foe, provided he makes better use of his resources, than you have-if he has found that leverage to slant the battle in his favor. As officers, you will have to learn to make use of your resources. One of the best resources you have, are the veteran NCO's under your command. I am not speaking so much about the ones with lots of time in storage depots or easy garrisons, but instead, of the ones with lots of NJP's on their record and a file filled with words like 'Classified' and 'need to know' or simply a list of battles and units served in. These are vital instruments, 'key players'. Listen to your key players, solicit their input when devising your strategies, and you will be far more likely to win the battle before engaging in it."
"As you graduate, focus your minds on this simple fact: An education in a classroom is no replacement for experience in the field. A large part of my own success is finding the experts and asking for advice, then listening to it. Remember boys, I organized a civil war before it was cool. I did not do that on my own."
"My final suggestion to this class of young officers, as you graduate is this: You can accept honors and awards or you can be the one handing them out. The first is a position of subordination, the second is a position of dominance and leadership. The Leader recommends others for awards, promotes the accomplishments of his subordinates, cultivates their loyalty and delivers rewards, the follower accepts rewards from others first. Be Leaders. Thank you for your time."
She stepped down from the podium, and walked off the stage, and back to the dressing rooms.
"That was...surprising." General Steiner said.
"Shouldn't be. They weren't listening." Elizabeth stated, adding, "They never do, not really. Just giving pep-talks to the next wave of meat for the grinder. Why in hell was I invited to this thing?"
"All my best officers are waging the war, Liz." he told her, "You're at least infamous, and you're available."
"Well, hope it works, then." Liz commented
Overview: War College programs
One of the reforms under Adam Steiner's tenure was the implementation of 'War College' supplementary education projects inside the LCAF. This was based on many inputs, not the least of which was the dearth of skilled and capable leaders remaining inside the LAAF after Katherine Steiner-Davion's purges in the 3050s, the implementation included 'back to school' tours for officers translating from Junior officer to Field Grade, and again from Field Grade to Flag.
Because many units can't afford to 'shed' officers from front line roles, distance learning and recorded 'study materials' were compiled and distributed to commands and a robust officer rotation project was put into play for units on stand-downs to develop their officer-level personnel, while a project to provide 'Blue to Gold' enlisted to officer continuing education was also implemented force-wide.
The disruption this caused was minor, mostly interfering with extracurricular activities and adding structure to on base social life. As a sweetener for the deal, an arrangement was made with Clan Wolf-in-Exile and Jade Falcon to provide Solahma as war college instructors at the junior (O1-O4) to Field transitions, and from Field (O4 to O6) to Flag (O-7 or higher) for the tactical program.
For the Logistics programs, retired mercenaries and successful businessmen were recruited to provide lectures on resource management, supply and inventory, and risk assessments at all levels. It Adam's hope being to start reversing the regrettable reputation of Lyran officers for being, for want of a better term, incompetent nincompoops.
Acting on advice from his advisors, Adam also implemented a more aggressive officer review system specifically separating the reviewer from the reviewed on a personal level when determining promotions. These teams are based on both Clan practice, and Kowloon's Militia practices. Of unattached personnel whose only job is to ferret out undertrained, poorly trained, or poorly motivated officers for removal from active commands. These in turn would be vetted further to determine if they can be 'salvaged' in another role before being outright dismissed if they can not be.
This is all tough enough to do in peacetime, but the realm is currently at war. The programs immediate impact isn't measurable into the early 3070s, but as more control of the battlefields is achieved and more units 'raised up' with Die Methode der Ausbildung und des Betriebs come on-line, the successes began mounting. By 3072, a professional class of Soldiers has begun to form within the LCAF, and Soziale Generäle are beginning to lose their place in the LCAF's rank structure, in part due to the rotation of officers from front line assignments to 'education and recovery' in back-line positions and posts, feeding in a practical sense of what is needed at the sharp end to a spear shaft that has long been more the province of influential military contractors and wealthy socialites. (said socialites often find the rotation out to the front lines to be jarring, shocking, or fatal, depending on whether they prepared themselves for the experience of being thrown into the meat grinder with shock based forces like the 171st Kowloon Volunteers, Winter Expeditionary Militia, or Inarcs Borderers.)
There's a bit of darwinian selection that occurs as well. Stupid doesn't live long in the face of an enemy trying to kill you.