Chicago Dispatch: Defense Entrepreneurs Conference by Kristen Rouse, True Boots.
... I’ve personally found that even if the lessons we junior officers and NCOs learn on the ground are reflected in the directives coming from high-level commanders, it often seemed that mid-level commanders had full discretion on whether those lessons–which many of us knew as pathways to avoiding problems and achieving success–would be treated seriously or not. Maybe it was because these middle-aged commanders were steeped in an age that trained against a different enemy, a war for different times. Maybe they were too disconnected from what their junior troops were experiencing and learning on the ground. Maybe they were too proud to accept that the men and women serving under them might understand how to achieve mission success better than they do. Or maybe they were too risk-averse to give credence to anything new or unfamiliar. Whatever the case, our military organizations too often resist needed change and adaptation...