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When you turn on the news and see military people speaking, here are some things to consider:
For one, think about how few high ranking enlisted NCO's (Sgt Majors, Command Sgt Major's, First Sgt's, et cetera) you see. The reason why: these guys are mainly from the working class and have spent a long time climbing the ladder. These guys are quite often blue collar people and are workers most of their career. And it is not that these people are not well spoken and intelligent.
Next, when you see military officers on television that are below the grade of a retired general you have to ask, "why didn't they make General." Unless it is a very young Captain or someone who didn't make the military a career, be very skeptical. When I see Lt. Col's, or full bird Col's (retired), there is usually a reason why they did not make it any higher. The same with Majors. In these cases you have to use the Col David Hackworth (rest in peace) example - that a person didn't go any higher because of problems or that, like in his case, the person spoke the truth and was punished for it.
Lastly, many officers that are speaking out are towing the company line and looking for that next step up. So of course they are going to say the best things and put the best light on things or else.
I think the ones you would like to see are too busy doing the right things and trying to keep their people alive and could not care less about showing up in the lime light.
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