The Generals: American Military Command from WWII to Today

Clements Director and Strauss Distinguished Scholar Dr. William Inboden, who noted that Rick’s works are a “must read” for those interested in national defense and security studies, introduced Ricks.

Ricks discussed the issues the Army is currently facing, including the challenges inherent in addressing new kinds of transnational threats and evolutions in warfare and technology. In particular, Ricks pointed out that bureaucracies like the Army dislike innovation, struggle with change, and are more adept at addressing the task they have been built for rather than the task at hand. According to Ricks, the Army used to be a learning organization, but failed to continue this tradition after Vietnam largely because of a failure to reform its generals.

To deal with these challenges, Ricks argued that the past contains lessons for how to improve the present. Ricks pointed to the example set by General George Marshall as particularly instructive. General Marshall put in place a system that rewarded success and punished failure, and ultimately held its personnel accountable. Accountability is key, according to Ricks, as it leads to adaptability.

Ricks argued that the Army needs more responsible generals with qualities like those possessed by Marshall. According to Ricks, generals need to enforce mental as well as physical standards, care more about their soldiers than their careers, and be willing to speak truth to power. Ultimately, Ricks argued that the best way to support our troops is to hold their leaders accountable.

Thomas E. Ricks was The Washington Post’s special military correspondent and a member of two Pulitzer Prize–winning teams for national reporting. In addition, he is a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security and a contributing editor at Foreign Policy magazine. He is the author of The Gamble, Fiasco, Making the Corps, A Soldier’s Duty, and his most recent book, The Generals. Ricks lives in Washington, D.C.