Best Defense
Thomas E. Ricks' daily take on national security.

Military fairy tales: Thoughts on the ‘good ideas fairy’ vs. the ‘hyperactive fairy’

We’ve all heard military cracks about 'the good idea fairy,' which is a disparaging term for someone who suggests an idea for others to pursue.

Screen Shot 2016-01-25 at 10.19.20 AM
Screen Shot 2016-01-25 at 10.19.20 AM

 

 

We’ve all heard military cracks about “the good idea fairy,” which is a disparaging term for someone who suggests an idea for others to pursue.

But we rarely hear about its opposite, which I would label “the hyperactive fairy.” This is someone who values activity for the sake of activity, and doesn’t stop to consider new options, such as, “Should we really be doing this?” I suspect we don’t hear this because there are many more hyperactive officers in the military than there are good idea officers. Amirite?

Image credit: Wikimedia Commons

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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