Originally Posted by
racedo
The idea that you want intellectuals as privates in uniform has never been true, nor ever likely to be. The person sought is one who can be trained to follow orders.
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This this really doesn't capture the essence of today's situation. Perhaps once it was true. However, in a world of mission command (well applied or not), great reliance is placed on individuals, frequently down to the lowest level, to apply thought to seize initiative and to create and exploit opportunities. This is not merely to follow orders, but is much more to pursue intent. This requires a considerable degree of understanding, achieved through very rigorous individual training and education, and collective training. All of these, to some extent, compensate for the poor effect of the education system on many of the people the Services employ. Arguably, if the education system worked a little better, we could spend less time and money on the training we have to and more on the training we'd like to.
I think too, that intellectuals and following orders are not mutually exclusive. I acknowledge that in your (probable) pursuit of a pithy point, you have allowed that inference even if it was (probably) not what you intended.