Simple Country Physicist

I was a bit amused to see a blot on DANGER ROOM [Link] about the “Military’s Lamest Websites”. The main theme of the blot seems to be how so many military web sites are either “under construction” or haven’t been updated in years.

Silly blogger, doesn’t understand the military outlook on doing business.

The most important thing for the military is completing whatever mission is currently assigned. If multiple missions are assigned, they are divided out and command adjudicates interferences.

Creative disobedience is a highly prized capability.

Civilians are a paradox: they are to be protected, at least organizationally as members of the overarching organization (government); but they interfere with the mission; and are outside military channels, hence unworthy of any respect or consideration; but may be in authority over the military as part of the overarching government.

Thus, we come to the matter of web sites. Useful web sites are those that enhance the mission. Because of security concerns, these web sites must not be accessible to individuals not authorized to access these web sites. Hence, the DANGER ROOM folks cannot access the “real” military web sites because they don’t have access privileges.

Web sites accessible to unauthorized personnel may be required from time to time to satisfy the requirements of civilian authority. When this is required, creative disobedience comes into play. This means that part of these “public” web sites are created and other parts initiated but all effort on these web sites ceases as soon as the attention of civilian authority is elsewhere. These web sites do not contribute to mission and are thus irrelevant at best.

Bot occasionally, the military seems to do 404 things all by themselves, mostly because they can’t take counsel from civilians, even when the civilians know of what they speak. A case in point is the Yankee army’s six sigma program for their transformation. The problem is that they don’t know if their process are stationary or not and six sigma (or any stochastic management methodology) is only relevant if the processes are stationary. Big attaboy for the Yankee army!