Our Dangerous Commander-in-Chief

There’s something about our President that has bothered me for some time (okay, a LOT bothers me), but I wasn’t able to put my finger on this one thing until recently. It’s been subtle at times, but lately it has been more apparent, more in-the-face.

I noticed early on his habit of calling people by their first name, even in formal speeches or events. General McChrystal was always “Stan.” Vice President Biden was “Joe,” and Senator McCain was “John” during the Healthcare Summit. On the surface, it’s not a big deal, but as a former military officer I’ve found it to be grating. It speaks disrespect. I’ll come back to this point in a moment.

Lately, in his interactions with key individuals (military leaders, top advisors, and members of Congress, for example), he’s had a tendency to ignore their advice and make decisions on his own. He’s entitled to do that; of course, but given the man’s lack of any military experience – and shallow credentials outside of community organizing – one would think he’d stop and listen to his Generals, at the very least.

When presented recently with options for scaling back military operations in Afghanistan, Obama ignored the recommendations his Generals made and decided to withdraw all surge troops by September 2012. The courses of action the Department of Defense suggested came after careful analysis of the military mission and its requirements. The President’s decision, in contrast, was based upon an election in November 2012. This kind of self-centered decision making is dangerous, and likely to get troops killed.

This wasn’t the first time our Commander-in-Chief disregarded key advice. Earlier this month he ignored legal counsel from top Pentagon and Justice Department lawyers who said he had no legal authority to continue air strikes against Libya without congressional approval. Before that, there was the troop surge request for Afghanistan operations made by “Stan.” Gen McChrystal submitted his request in August 2009, but the Decider-in-Chief waited until December 2009 to make a decision. He ignored Gen McChrystal’s request and granted a troop increase below the level his field commander needed.

When I was on active duty in the Air Force, there was something we called “Butter Bar Syndrome.” Newly-minted Second Lieutenants, fresh from their service academies, ROTC programs, or other sources of commissioning, often hit the pavement hard in their first assignments. Eager to demonstrate leadership and to flex their new gold bar rank insignia, they would bark orders to seasoned E-8s and E-9s. Instead of calling them “Chief Jones,” or “Sergeant Smith,” they were called “Stan” or “John.” They would feign listening as these men or women of considerable experience made recommendations, only to take a course of action vastly different from anything they had just heard.

Butter Bar Syndrome resulted from insecurity. Calling a Chief Master Sergeant by his or her first name kept the Lieutenant elevated in status (in the LT’s mind). Ignoring the Chief’s advice showed he was decisive, apt to be recognized by higher command for his leadership acumen, or so the LT hoped. Most Lieutenants learned fairly quickly that all the chest puffing was unnecessary. Oftentimes it took a no-nonsense Chief giving the young officer some closed-door, fatherly counseling to get him on the right track.

Unfortunately, with our current Commander-in-Chief, there appear to be no Chief Master Sergeant types willing to grab him by the scruff of the neck and knock some sense into him. Barack Obama is too smart to know how little he knows. His insecurity around all those seasoned Generals and his arrogance mean he will continue to ignore the advice of people with an eternity of more experience than he has on any given issue. With military lives on the line around the globe, the stakes are too high to have this man in Command.

Mike Angley is the award-winning author of the thriller series, the Child Finder trilogy. He is a retired USAF Colonel and 25-year career Special Agent with the Air Force Office of Special Investigations (OSI). Follow him on Twitter: @MikeAngley, FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/mike.angley, and visit his website: www.mikeangley.com.