15 signs of a "combatant commander" that superiors hardly notice (Mike O'Leary, Canadian Armed Forces) 1. A true commander has courage and a tendency to insubordination. Officers with ideal or near-ideal performance characteristics bend to the existing value system and do not wish to change anything. 2. An officer who is not "loyal" is valuable because he is not inclined to quietly give up his principles. He knows how to think independently. He can be creative. 3. Overqualified officers are at greater risk of dismissal than underqualified ones. They are able to complete any given task, but are unable to "please their superiors". They are tolerated in the army, but they are not allowed to climb the hierarchical ladder. They act as workhorses. 4. The army is structurally and ideologically designed for war, so morale, formation and the balance between discipline and the welfare of the army must remain strong. In times of peace, the system cannot be allowed to freeze to the point of complete degeneration due to bureaucratization. 5. The willingness to deviate from the execution of an order if it has ceased to be in the best interest of the combat mission becomes very important and should by default be inherent in a soldier of every rank. Training soldiers and officers to follow orders mindlessly is no longer acceptable. 6. Ordinary commanders avoid tactical exercises where soldiers have to fire to prevent an emergency. The theoretical basis is that it is not dangerous, and the officer will not have to be responsible for an emergency shooting. Risk-takers refuse to be comforted and are willing to trade growth in the military hierarchy to get results. 7. Inaction is far worse than a situational choice that later turns out to be wrong. And even worse disobeying the order. 8. Partial success is also success, not failure. Even when partial success lies simply in the courage to take the initiative.