Humor in Uniform – EDUCATION DESTROYS LEADERSHIP QUALITIES – Strange Military Logic

HUMOUR IN UNIFORM

EDUCATION DESTROYS LEADERSHIP QUALITIES

Topsy Turvy “Military Logic”

Ramblings of a Retired Veteran

By

VIKRAM KARVE

Life is funny.

Life is full of contradictions.

And this is more so in the military – where there is plenty of humour in uniform.

For example – in the 1970’s – when I joined the Navy – I realized that – in the Navy – your career prospects are inversely proportional to your education. 

Yes – believe it or not – it was strange logic – but it was true:

The higher your qualifications – the lower your status in the hierarchy. 

When I joined the Navy – I found that at the bottom of the heap were the most highly qualified Post Graduates (M.Sc./M.Tech.) who land up as Education Officers (called “Schoolies”).

These “Schoolies” were landlubbers who ended up teaching the basics of algebra and geometry to sailors. 

In the middle rung of the officer status hierarchy – we had the Technical Officers – who were Engineering Graduates (BE/B.Tech.).

And lording over everyone were the matric-pass (or interscience-pass) Executive Officers – who were the prima donnas – and had superior status vis-à-vis their more educated counterparts. 

In the Army – the situation was even worse.

Lesser qualified infantry/cavalry officers of the arms enjoyed much better career prospects as compared to their more highly qualified technical counterparts of the services.

In fact – infantry officers totally dominate the higher army leadership – and it is common knowledge that – in most cases – officers of other arms/services are better qualified than infantry officers.

In fact – you will be amazed to learn what a grand old Admiral – a distinguished sea dog and war veteran who had served with distinction both in war and peace – used to always say to us. 

The Admiral always said that: “too much education destroyed natural leadership qualities”.

His view was that: “too much education hampered the inculcation and development of Officer Like Qualities (OLQ) – which was the sine qua non of military leadership”.

“Education is not conducive to OLQ” – he would say – adding that: “education makes officers think and analyse too much”.

This paradox exists in the civilian world too. 

Everywhere in administration – generalists prevail over specialists. 

Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers are at the helm of affairs in all types of organizations ranging from Airlines to Electricity Boards to Public Sector Units to Port Trusts to Financial Institutions.

Yes – you will see generalists lord over specialists in all places – in most government organisations – and even in the corporate sector – where generalists head technical and operational entities even if they have no expertise. 

Some IAS officers are even appointed as Vice Chancellors of Universities. 

Yes – it seems that IAS Officers are truly the “jack of all trades”  – you name any type of government organization – and you will find an IAS Officer heading it.

In many places where anti-intellectualism prevails – like in the military and civil services – if you are highly educated and specialized – you are considered a “boffin” – or an egghead – a geek – or a nerd – who is unfit for leadership roles.

Do you agree with what the grand old Admiral used to say? 

Does Education really destroy natural Leadership Qualities? 

Does Education hamper the inculcation and development of Officer Like Qualities (OLQ)?

VIKRAM KARVE

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1. This blog post is a spoof, pure fiction, just for fun and humor, no offence is meant to anyone, so take it with a pinch of salt and have a laugh.

2. All stories in this blog are a work of fiction. Events, Places, Settings and Incidents narrated in the story are a figment of my imagination. The characters do not exist and are purely imaginary. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

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