The Class Too 'Dumb' to Quit

Good piece by Friedman. Unfortunately, most Americans don't really care that some servicemembers are on their sixth combat tour.

All those deployments have left us with a deep cadre of officers with experience in Iraq and Afghanistan, now running both wars — from generals to captains. They know every mistake that has been made, been told every lie, saw their own soldiers killed by stupidity, figured out solutions and built relationships with insurgents, sheikhs and imams on the ground that have given the best of them a granular understanding of the “real” Middle East that would rival any Middle East studies professor.

With regards to the Friedman quote above, imagine if the DoD had actually kept some of the superstars that left the service? Then they would have had an even deeper cadre.