TEAR DOWN THE PYRAMIDS

Five years ago we blogged about what has been an influential article from NYT Magazine called 'Challenging The Generals." 

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/26/magazine/26military-t.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1

We thought it’d be interesting to give it another look from five years away.  So here is the pertinent posting from five years ago with an update:

1. The cause of this tension is the war in Iraq, but the consequences are broader. They revolve around the obligations of an officer, the nature of future warfare and the future of the Army itself. And these tensions are rising at a time when the war has stretched the Army’s resources to the limit, when junior officers are quitting at alarming rates.

’07 comment: I don't know that this applies in our Army today more than at other times in history. Certainly, worldwide, resources are stretched. I don't know that people are quiting at higher rates than other points in history (that would be interesting to know). What applies is the line-up of the consequences of the tension: officership, future warfare, and the future of The Army. We might revisit these in a separate blog.

’12 comment: It is around the time of the original article that the now influential Former Salvation Army Officer Fellowship blog started up - http://fsaof.blogspot.ca/.  Today’s post has the names of 500 former officers game for a conversation to ‘come back’.  They represent 20 times their number.  So the issue is still critical.  Again, we can’t tell if the desertion rate is increasing (General Clifton reported stats in The Officer* during his tenure but that trend has ceased.  They seemed to be declining).

MAJOR STEPHEN COURT

Edmonton, Canada
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Addendum from FSAOF:

*The General’s article “If Crosses Come”, details the cause and effect (%) of resignations:

REASONS:

Domestics, marital or family: (25.29 %)

Dissatisfaction, for example, appointment/remuneration: (21.01) %

Misconduct: (19.06) %

Unsuited for further service: (9.7 %)

Transfer to another church: (6.23 %)

Marriage to non-officer: (5.8 %)

Feeling discouraged: (5.4 %)

Health issues: (5.4 %)

Health of spouse: (.4 %)

Doctrinal issues: ( 1.55 %)

The above list of ‘reasons’ suggest that there is no unique or single common motivating factor, the resignations stem from a multitude of factors.

As a spiritual body nearing 550 members, the FSAOF is very concerned about the army’s future, the organization that trained us for the ministry and in the roles where many of us serve today. The spiritual body we represent was grounded and formed in response to a ‘call’ each of us heard, accepting our vocation in accordance with Paul’s description in Ephesians 4:11-12 (NIV) ‘It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up’.