Best Defense

Thomas E. Ricks' daily take on national security.

You ain’t a real military professional if you aren’t studying your profession hard

Lt. Col. Gregory Thiele, USMC, in the July issue of the Marine Corps Gazette: "The modern U.S. military is, for most, not a profession but a trade or craft which they learn in a ‘monkey see, monkey do’ fashion… Unfortunately, while many Marines desire the higher status conferred by belonging to a profession, very few ...

via U.S. Army/flickr
via U.S. Army/flickr
via U.S. Army/flickr

Lt. Col. Gregory Thiele, USMC, in the July issue of the Marine Corps Gazette: "The modern U.S. military is, for most, not a profession but a trade or craft which they learn in a 'monkey see, monkey do' fashion... Unfortunately, while many Marines desire the higher status conferred by belonging to a profession, very few do the reading, study, and writing the title demands."

Lt. Col. Gregory Thiele, USMC, in the July issue of the Marine Corps Gazette: "The modern U.S. military is, for most, not a profession but a trade or craft which they learn in a ‘monkey see, monkey do’ fashion… Unfortunately, while many Marines desire the higher status conferred by belonging to a profession, very few do the reading, study, and writing the title demands."

Thomas E. Ricks covered the U.S. military from 1991 to 2008 for the Wall Street Journal and then the Washington Post. He can be reached at ricksblogcomment@gmail.com. Twitter: @tomricks1

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