Two e-mails from Marines: Who is right?
Last month (mid-August) the Marine Corps announced that it would start firing captains and majors who have repeatedly been passed over for promotion. Or, as the announcement of the policy change put it, "EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY, MARINE CORPS POLICY IS TO SELECT FOR CONTINUATION ONLY THOSE TWICE PASSED MAJORS AND TWICE PASSED CAPTAINS WHOSE CONTINUED SERVICE ...
Last month (mid-August) the Marine Corps announced that it would start firing captains and majors who have repeatedly been passed over for promotion. Or, as the announcement of the policy change put it, "EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY, MARINE CORPS POLICY IS TO SELECT FOR CONTINUATION ONLY THOSE TWICE PASSED MAJORS AND TWICE PASSED CAPTAINS WHOSE CONTINUED SERVICE IS IN THE BEST INTERESTS OF THE MARINE CORPS BASED ON THE NEEDS OF THE MARINE CORPS IN ACCORDANCE WITH CRITERIA ESTABLISHED BY THE SECRETARY Of THE NAVY."
Last month (mid-August) the Marine Corps announced that it would start firing captains and majors who have repeatedly been passed over for promotion. Or, as the announcement of the policy change put it, "EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY, MARINE CORPS POLICY IS TO SELECT FOR CONTINUATION ONLY THOSE TWICE PASSED MAJORS AND TWICE PASSED CAPTAINS WHOSE CONTINUED SERVICE IS IN THE BEST INTERESTS OF THE MARINE CORPS BASED ON THE NEEDS OF THE MARINE CORPS IN ACCORDANCE WITH CRITERIA ESTABLISHED BY THE SECRETARY Of THE NAVY."
Two e-mails about this appeared in my inbox.
The first was from a more senior Marine officer: "We are institutionally breaking faith all over the place. Amos is killing the soul of the Corps. His legacy is going to be one of division and resentment."
The other, immediately above it, was from a field-grade officer: "About time."
Which one is right?
Thomas E. Ricks is a former contributing editor to Foreign Policy. Twitter: @tomricks1
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