Originally Posted by
Rheinstorff
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.
Last year at school, master addressed class,"You will be getting your call up papers soon, when you go in you will be recognised as officer material and some of the others will give you a hard time. Once you get through that, life will be much easier.". As a very shy and not very confident youngster, this did not encourage me. However, shortly after the government scrapped National Service, so I never went through the experience. Don't know if being a natural good shot would have made any difference! A lot of us wanted to be Spitfire pilots, though the machines were obsolete by then. The power of wartime reporting.