[March 21, 2024] The U.S. Army’s selection process for Battalion Commanders is rigorous, balanced, and is designed to select the Army’s best. At this time, it is alleged that GEN Charles Hamilton tried to influence the selection of a female Lieutenant Colonel, previously determined to be unfit for command. This is what is called “undue command influence” and is another unfortunate scandal.
In other words, GEN. Hamilton was trying to use his position as a four-star general to influence the Battalion Commander selection board to allow the female officer to pass the qualification process. Army culture frowns upon this kind of action by a senior officer, and regulations forbid it.
“This was a pressure campaign. [Hamilton] has a lot of influence; this violated the integrity of how the best officers are selected to run units,” “This was abnormal; it was unprofessional. He should have known better.” – quote from military.com of a U.S. Army General with direct knowledge of the situation told Military.com on the condition of anonymity to avoid retaliation.
The female Lieutenant Colonel has remained unnamed because there is no evidence of wrongdoing on her part. Twice, the female was deemed unfit for command. However, she was recently listed on the command selection list, suggesting she will be selected for a unit soon. “It is unclear whether she managed to get on a third panel and finally passed or skirted what Army senior leaders have long touted as a filtering process to weed out bad leaders.”
Undue command influence is terrible because it allows leaders to gain rank and responsibility when they do not deserve it. From the standpoint of many senior officers, including myself, we have seen this type of conduct by a General or Admiral in the past, and the results are always ugly.
If this female is assigned to a battalion command, she will fail. She was found to have “ineffective” and “counterproductive” leadership qualities in her previous two reviews. To have this kind of evaluation is the death knell for any officer, and given evaluation inflation, this is damning of her.
The more significant problem here, which has become more pervasive since the U.S. military adopted DEI promotion policies, is that we will witness fewer and fewer qualified officers in senior positions.
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Thank you, Gen. Satterfield for spotlighting this leadership failure.
Gen. Satterfield brings us an example of how NOT to be a good leader. Regardless of whether Gen. Charles Hamilton did in fact put his finger on the scale to help this female colonel, he should have remained at a distance and let the process work. Otherwise, people will begin to think that he will do this again elsewhere and allow those unfit for command to be in important positions. This gets me thinking that Gen. Hamilton is not a good leader himself because he put himself in the line of fire morally. Shows poor skills.
Sad but true. If the word is out in the public, and with the tight lips of the US Army, then I suspect that Gen. Charles Hamilton did, in fact, put his finger on the scale to allow this LTC a command. Of course, the end result will be very bad for that unit. And, given that we now know it, that LTC should be studied with a close microscope (metaphorically) for any screw ups. And, believe me, she will screw up. Just waiting with my popcorn in my easy chair.
Oh, tell us your prediction, The Observer. I hope you’re wrong about her. But I do also think she will FAIL big time. CHeers!
Great article on undue command influence. This should not be happening today.
Excellent observation my friend Gen Douglas
Undue command influence is terrible because it allows leaders to gain rank and responsibility when they do not deserve it. From the standpoint of many senior officers, including myself, we have seen this type of conduct by a General or Admiral in the past, and the results are always ugly.
sadly we have all seen it
some body deserves a butt whippin’
What concerns me most is that two members of that board changed their vote (overnight) after being pressured by Hamilton.
The first day, all 5 agreed she was incompetent. The next day (after all the pressuring from Hamilton) the vote was 2-3.
She still was non-select, but two board members left their integrity in the dumpster.
After being twice non-select, she magically becomes “Select” and is on her way to command.
Heads need to roll over this mess. Lots of heads.
Thank you, Old Gyrene for the insight. I agree. The results of this improper selection will be ugly for the troops and her.
Old Gyrene, thanks for your comments. There is a concern that Gen. S did not point out and that is two members changed their vote. Looks like we have some cowards as leaders who bend at the slightest breeze. I have found that the military bureaucracy goes out of its way to NOT label troops as unfit or ineffective unless the evidence is overwhelming. This LTC must be really really bad.
Wow, Gen. Charles Hamilton supposed to have exerted undue command influence. Shock me with a taser.
Gen. Satterfield, on an unrelated note from your daily favorites, you link to an important article, “Will federal censorship be the pandemic’s biggest legacy?” from the NY Post.
https://nypost.com/2024/03/19/opinion/will-federal-censorship-be-the-pandemics-biggest-legacy/
Will a federal entitlement to censor be the most shocking legacy of the COVID-19 pandemic?
This grim prospect arises from a Supreme Court hearing Monday at which some justices seemed to view the First Amendment as a weapon of mass destruction. A 1919 Supreme Court opinion tacitly sanctified endless restrictions on free speech when it equated criticizing conscription with falsely shouting “Fire!” in a crowded theater. The court repudiated that dictum in 1969. But will the current court unleash a new generation of censors by proclaiming, “There is no right to shout ‘BS’ during a pandemic”?
Hey, The Kid, thank you. I’ll start reading Gen. Satterfield’s DAILY FAVORITES more often now.
👍👏🤦♀️😊🤷♂️✔
SAD SAD SAD
The interference became so egregious that the director of the Army Command Assessment Program, Col. Robert O’Brien, penned a memo chronicling Hamilton’s conduct on Nov. 1, immediately after the lieutenant colonel was deemed unfit twice in two assessment panels within 48 hours.
TERRIBLE TERRIBLE TERRIBLE
“This was a pressure campaign. [Hamilton] has a lot of influence; this violated the integrity of how the best officers are selected to run units,” “This was abnormal; it was unprofessional. He should have known better.” – quote from military.com of a U.S. Army General with direct knowledge of the situation told Military.com on the condition of anonymity to avoid retaliation.
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The fact that this is an anonymous comment by a US Army General speaks volumes. Since when do they lack the courage to call out favoritism? Oh, yeah, Pres Joe Biden.
Whenever you have cowards in the General Officer or Flag rank, then the military has a serious problem. 🤦♀️
True facts, Danny. And thank you American Girl for calling out the cowards.
It’s funny (or sad) that now we have to worry about “ineffective” and “counterproductive” DEI officers getting into command positiions. This is exactly what Gen. Mark Milley wanted. That woke bastard. Now he is at Princeton Univ and is right at home with the other wokies.
Gen. Satterfield does it again and exposes our WOKE military. Thank you Gen. Mark Milley and SECDEF Lloyd Austin.
If you believe this is just an empty accusation, then you are clueless when it comes to traditional military culture that adopts a truthful and honest approach to everything because lies get you killed. Just like in the US Civil War when political officers got promotion faster in the beginning. It didn’t take long after these same political generals lost battles and got soldiers killed unnecessarily that there was a change. This culture of selecting only the best and rejecting those incapable of good leadership is a rule written in blood.
Army Vet, you nailed it. Military rules and regulations are learned, unfortunately, the hard way.
Was Gen. Charles Hamilton a DEI promotion too?
What has our military come to under Biden. A branch of govt that promotes POCs and LGBTQI+ wennies. that’s what.
Not just Biden.
Obama led the charge on ‘fundamentally transforming’ America (and her Military).
Hamilton is only one example. The majority of all Flag Officers are in the same category.
Semper Fidelis!
CWO-4 (Ret)
Thank you, sir , for your service. And welcome to Gen. S’s website.
I will hazard to predict that this Lieutenant Colonel female is a “friend” of GEN Charles Hamilton and is black.
I have to agree. I hope they expose who she is soon. “No wrong doing on her part.” Yeah right.