tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-386077914312449748.post1294269806243024352..comments2024-03-27T20:37:08.065+01:00Comments on Defence and Freedom: Let's assume...Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-386077914312449748.post-86536787303889139552011-12-16T21:50:40.421+01:002011-12-16T21:50:40.421+01:00What about playing fields for old and new officers...What about playing fields for old and new officers where they can test concepts and ideas. The next step in wargaming could be to create fictional machines and test them (run them under best and worst estimate of capabilities). This would be fun, keep soldiers occupied and open the way for discussion. Yes, discussion, create some forums where people can discuss their new ideas. Essentially it would be creating a big workshop of different game-moding factions and some of the ideas are going to get traction through conviction of numbers of soldiers. Asking officers and generals tends to overlook that there are a lot more capable people in every military who have a valid point of view (because they risk their own skin, not just a promotion). So, I would introduce some military democracy to the procurements by the armed forces.<br /><br />Btw why was Luftmechanisierung not carried out with much cheaper aircrafts such as autogyros currently used in the Schiebel Camcopter S-100?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-386077914312449748.post-47089337967435321572011-12-06T22:25:53.613+01:002011-12-06T22:25:53.613+01:00You don't like Think Tanks? Well, at least you...You don't like Think Tanks? Well, at least you get a certain spectrum of opinions. Better than Generals, retired or not. And it's not like they will say anything out of line anyway. (Not that a lot of think tanks would). National security and the national interest are way too important to leave them to the professionals. Huge weakness of our political system: THe disconnect between "We, the People", the political caste, and the military caste, (and the economic caste, and the technical caste, and ...). Then of course it's not like as if the informed and mature citizen is a goal of this system.<br /><br />Agree with "teo".Distillernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-386077914312449748.post-16637919689813888872011-12-04T13:04:44.822+01:002011-12-04T13:04:44.822+01:00divide the german military budget equaly amongst t...divide the german military budget equaly amongst the populace.<br />Let people with different ideas explain why the public should give it back,trtnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-386077914312449748.post-5423484067907582762011-12-02T11:50:00.917+01:002011-12-02T11:50:00.917+01:00The problem is identical in every other social end...The problem is identical in every other social endeavour. The right people to understand and react through reforms to a change in the social/technical enviroment are not the ones who usually survive and advance in political/corporate medium.Different type of skills and personality are needed.<br />You use extremly logical and rational arguments, but they are rather useless in political and - in a smaller measure - coporate enviroment.<br />Of course in time of crisis society changes rapidly and the ones who adapt and survive make great personnel adjustments by changing large parts of the management class - be it military ,political in executive positions or economic.<br />Also it is extremly difficult to identify the right ideas. A very recent example is the " Jeune École" which changed the french navy some 100 years ago. Results were dissapointing at the time. Their ideas proved valid with the advent of the guided missiles many decades after, but their mission to reform and strenghten the french navy proved a failure.<br />So until a crisis hits - a military one for our discution - nothing notable will happen (Sociological factors at work )and in the end nobody knows what should happen in order to strenghten the armed forces ( technological facts).<br />This is the normal social behaviour. Always has been.<br />The most interesting example I think is the period before the first world war.<br />All sides were extremly militarized societies and devoted enormous resorces for their military/industrial structures. Huge numbers of very smart people were involved, the future of the world and national survical were at stake. And yet all sides were completly wrong.Everyone of them. Their assumptions were wrong, their aproach regarding the difficulties ahead were wrong, nobody had a clue about what was usefull and efficent and what was not. Even the technological approach was completly wrong. In 1918 completly different equipments were considered vital then in 1914( trying to underline an idea, of course its debatable about battleships and so on but these are deatails I think).teonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-386077914312449748.post-55826491785114240312011-12-02T05:51:08.911+01:002011-12-02T05:51:08.911+01:00You'd shaked them up well and have them runnin...You'd shaked them up well and have them running like a fine tuned machine as minister of defence, i was only being sarcastic to the extent that it would be hard for you to get to be a minister, but not at all sarcastic on your ablity to run the german military well, assuming people higher up didn't get in your way.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-386077914312449748.post-20611384554932630632011-12-01T18:35:22.734+01:002011-12-01T18:35:22.734+01:00I've got a feeling that he was sarcastic. ;)
...I've got a feeling that he was sarcastic. ;)<br /><br />Rising, surviving and achieving in politics requires a different skill set than mine. Sadly, I don't know anyone with the right qualification for that job.<br /><br />I've been in contact with another federal German ministry as part of projects (including meetings and small conferences in it) and my conclusion was that it should be completely razed in order to save taxpayer money...S Ohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03359796414832859686noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-386077914312449748.post-63663490512085149762011-12-01T18:02:16.390+01:002011-12-01T18:02:16.390+01:00Seconding what Anon said. I think that, unfortunat...Seconding what Anon said. I think that, unfortunately, the only way to successfully reform the military is to pick a capable man and give him enough power to implement his vision.APnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-386077914312449748.post-8399323165694987342011-12-01T16:35:58.251+01:002011-12-01T16:35:58.251+01:00Such a journal would, ah, struggle for any viable ...Such a journal would, ah, struggle for any viable audience, however desirable it is (also for information I suspect, but thats a much lesser problem)Die alte Aechzenerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18294141940637952687noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-386077914312449748.post-70738040229135695542011-11-30T22:30:43.973+01:002011-11-30T22:30:43.973+01:00I nominate Sven Ortmann to be German minister of d...I nominate Sven Ortmann to be German minister of defence.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com