[May 27, 2025] As a young Army Captain, I worked with some great people in my Infantry Company. But one of my Sergeants was a holdover from when our standards were not as high as they should have been. So, it wasn’t easy to slot him in the right job. Unfortunately, my Battalion Commander – a tough disciplinarian – noticed. One day he said to me that the Sergeant there is just dumb.
He was right. But to properly command a line Infantry company means accepting what you’re given in terms of personnel. I could have transferred this man out, or a better solution would be to find him a job in my company that fit his mental abilities and avoid any position requiring flexibility or high levels of stress. I didn’t know the Sergeant’s IQ, but if I had to guess, I’d likely say it was around 85 to 90, perhaps even lower.
An IQ around 85 or lower means there is absolutely nothing the Army could do to train you that is more productive than non-productive. This is the bare minimum to be a service member. The problem for the U.S. Army in the 1980s was that we had a large standing Army, and we needed bodies because of our focus on the attrition strategy of the USSR. And around ten percent of our service members fell into that lower category. Of course, the military is always looking for people, good people. The “up or out” philosophy of the Army meant that, at some point, these lower IQ soldiers would be thrown out.
This Sergeant was in the position of Fire Team Leader. And he was completely out of his league and was unable to lead. I had him temporarily transferred to the Mess Section, where meals are prepared and served. After a month, the senior Mess Steward came to me requesting that I remove the Sergeant and kick him out of the Army. But he could do some basic tasks like moving heavy equipment from one point to another and count items up to about twenty.
I talked to the Mess Steward and told him that I would not drum this Sergeant out of the Army because it would kill him. He’s 40 years old (far behind his peers), and getting fired would put him where nobody should go. He’d never recover from the shock. There had to be something he could do. He had grit and a no-quit attitude. Fortunately for the Sergeant, my Mess Steward was able to find work that needed doing but gave it a try.
It turned out that the Sergeant quit the Army two months later, getting a job helping train dogs. Training dogs fit him just fine. This would not be the last time I found members of my military unit who were intellectually unable to perform in their assigned jobs. My attempt to balance military readiness with fitting the right person in the right job was an ongoing challenge. And, the higher I moved up in rank, the more I discovered that there were a number of folks who had been promoted to get rid of them and were not slotted with consideration of their inabilities.
I’m not sure whether the Peter Principle is a real idea, but the idea that some people will be promoted to their level of incompetence seems to have some merit. I like the way I worked: finding the right job for everyone, for their abilities.
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You just can’t make this stuff up. I heard from my cousin, who was in the Illinois National Guard that pre-war on terrorism that many meme ears were there just to collect a paycheck and were open about “getting out” of the NG if there was ever a war. Yes, they were cowards and they didn’t care that anyone knew it. Plus, they were not physically fit. Or smart, for that matter.
DUMB DUMB DUMB
Ya just gotta laugh at these vignettes.
Is the “Peter Principle” at work here. I don’t think so. I believe that being that dumb requires a new explanation and one the Army might not want to hear. Thank goodness now have a Secretary of Defense who actually gets “warfighting” and not some neo-Marxist PC Woke crap ideology that destroys military readiness. What you say?
dumb is dumb
old warrior, you are right, of course. And that is why sometimes it’s just a waste of time and resources to try to save someone like whom Gen. Satterfield is writing about. But there is also the moral equation. Are we doing what is best for others? We need to think strand hard on that subject. Sometimes in business and the military, we do things that are not efficient and practical and for good reason. I see this playing out in this “dumb sergeant.” We are proud of Gen. Satterfield’s service to our country. Yes!👏
The bad news for dumb people is that just don’t know that they’re dumb.
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👍 great and funny article 👍
If you’re a young person reading this leadership blog, I hope you take these lessons to heart because they are going to make your life easier and better. Make a summary of the best ones. And pay attention to how Gen. Satterfield solves problems and try’s, honestly, to help those who work for him.
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A salute to all our veterans.
Agreed. Now that Memorial Day is past and we have giving proper honors to those servicemen who gave their lives in defense of freedom worldwide, we can now put our focus and efforts into making sure our veterans are properly treated.
“ I’m not sure whether the Peter Principle is a real idea, but the idea that some people will be promoted to their level of incompetence seems to have some merit. I like the way I worked: finding the right job for everyone, for their abilities.” — Gen. Doug Satterfield. Spot on observation. I think we can all appreciate you trying to find the right job for everyone. But sometimes you just have to let some people go.
CRAZY EXPERIENCE WITH A DUMB SERGEANT
Ha Ha Ha. …. yes, Gen. Satterfield sure know how to get me to read his articles. And the headline is a real attention-getter. I’m too was in the US army back in the post-Vietnam War era while the military was slowly decreasing in size and yet was still very large. The peacetime era was seeing cutbacks and still suffered from the Vietnam War backlash. That meant some in the military were not up to doing anything useful. I see this here. More prevalent in the National Guard and Reserves. Thank you, sir for what you do and for bringing back good memories of my fro from those days.
That’s what Gen. S. does well.
Fred, even today, we can still see the echoes of that war in our college campuses as those now-old hippies have become college professors and bring in their anti-American rhetoric to the classroom. They just can’t help themselves and are doing everyone harm by their infantile thinking. 😅
Good point, Drew.
Good one, Gen. Satterfield. Yep, some folks are just dumb. They can’t be trained. And they come often with drug and alcohol issues too. And that is only the beginning. They have problems controlling their emotions and often lash out. Now, that’s not all of them, of course, but many and so be on the watch for misbehavior.
Sir, when you present us with these stories when you were a young officer or when you were a kid, we get a better idea what helped make you a better person and great leader. Keep ‘em coming our way.
Good one, Gen. Satterfield. Thanks for the story.
Plenty of those here.
I like these stories from Gen. Satterfield’s past. I learn alot from them.
True enough, Dale. But there’s more to it than enjoying or laughing along with Gen. Satterfield when he recalls past experiences that somehow shaped who he is today. Certainly, these experiences are not random and how they impact his thinking and behavior can only be realized in how he using them. I’m not sure if I’m making sense but I do enjoy tremendously reading about these Gen. S. stories.