Dennis Blair
Former commander in chief of the US Pacific Command, Dennis Blair, delivers a speech at a conference of the Japan Atomic Industrial Forum (JAIF) in Tokyo on April 13, 2015.
The Trump administration’s recent Department of Defense leadership changes are unprecedented in their scale and riskiness. Far from bringing fresh and smart perspectives to national security, they are most likely to weaken the combat effectiveness of the armed forces at a dangerous time for the United States.
A diverse officer corps at all ranks produces higher combat effectiveness because it is drawn from a wider and deeper talent pool. The armed forces have learned over the years that not all the best military leaders are white males, and that we need to draw from the best leadership talent in the 35 percent of Americans who are not white and the 50 percent who are not male.
The armed forces bring in the best people they can attract at the start of the very competitive merit-based “up or out” promotion system. The larger the talent pool from which the entrants are drawn at the bottom, the better will be the leaders at all levels through the very top four-star positions.
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