GovernmentExecutive.com

Credit Where Due

"Adapt or Die" (Aug. 1) leaves out several points of pertinent information that I discussed with correspondent Greg Grant.

Since my retirement from active duty, numerous Army organizations have invited me to share my views on developing adaptive leaders. They have given me a platform time and time again to challenge traditional wisdom and beliefs in a way that is consistent with a learning organization. Throughout Army schools, combat veterans are ensuring that training reflects combat lessons learned. As a matter of fact, I concluded the interview with Mr. Grant by stating that I was optimistic about the future, though I believed it was going to take more time and work to implement the necessary evolution for the Army to be prepared for 21st century warfare.

The article, however, focuses only on the negative, particularly in reference to my statements, and leaves out my references to the Army's efforts to become adaptive. While Mr. Grant mentions the Adaptive Leaders Course, he does not do it in context. In fact, the Basic Officer Leader Course II has fully embraced adaptive learning throughout its training. He also refers to a story I passed on regarding the "followership course" in the present tense, when in fact, I cited this story to indicate where the Army's BOLC II had started from and that it was now evolving fully using the ALC model. This in itself is indicative of the Army's willingness to accept ideas, to change and to evolve.

From its beginning in the summer of 2005 to today, the course has made a dramatic, positive leap.

It is easy to be negative in today's environment, but it is harder to remain un-biased and to give credit where credit is due. To say the Army is only showing signs of tweaking the edges undercuts the premise that real change is happening.

Maj. Donald E. Vandergriff (retired)
Woodbridge, Va.

First Things First

Shortly after Sept. 11, it became widely known that many of the responding organizations were unable to communicate with each other. Now, almost five years later, it is my understanding that little has changed to improve that situation.

I fail to understand the point of spending millions on a system to locate people if you still can't contact them . Shouldn't a far more pressing concern be to fix the communications problems in New York City and anywhere else similar situations exist?

Albert S. Lubran
Monument, Colo.

Negative Numbers

What I gleaned from "Hard Numbers" (July 1) is that Ronald Stroman is promoting the Theory of Victimization and not "diversity" at the Government Accountability Office. That is unless the concept of diversity applies only to advancing Americans of African descent and ignoring the race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age and physical abilities of others.

The story's connotation is that GAO performance ratings are a black-white issue. A review of the four sketchy graphs labeled Revealing Data, however, shows 2005 GAO performance ratings for whites, Hispanics and blacks trailing those for Asians in three paybands.

The graphs also showed Hispanics barely trailing blacks in payband 3, but there was no mention of other ethnic groups lagging behind whites in the story. Unless the raw data was quantified beforehand, this is not a suitable comparison, since no consideration was given to the number rated in each category and it makes no mention of gender.

Mr. Stroman's observation about trying to hail a cab outside the Rayburn House Office Building also reflects his subscription to the victimization theory. According to the District of Columbia Taxicab Commission, the majority of taxi drivers now are from Third World countries. So it would seem being passed up for a potential longer haul fare could be economically and not racially driven. Establishing more quotas to give any ethnic group inflated ratings to show "progress" is flat wrong. How about finding out why supervisors are reluctant to give negative performance counseling to "employees of color," which translates to blacks. Could it be a history of negative reception, real or perceived?

I agree with Mr. Stroman that "race, gender, ethnicity, disability, age and sexual orientation do matter." But I believe a more effective remedial approach would be to provide training in areas with performance shortfalls - for all, not just blacks.

I would mandate something like the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College's Personnel Management for Executives courses and the Organizational Leadership for Executives course. They really made a difference in my ability to be a more effective leader.

Stuart Soffer
White Hall, Ark.

Correction In the Aug. 15 Top 200 Contractors issue, the "Top Travel Vendors" chart on page 67 incorrectly listed Comfort Hotel International. The correct name is Comfort Inn.

COMMENTS

• Government Executive’s recent posting in The Buzz (September 1, 2007) titled Onward, Christian Soldiers is very disheartening. Not that a faith based organization is offering its believers support, nor that another is mentioned recruiting/soliciting those desiring to become missionaries to attend their training, what is disheartening is the author’s apparent prejudice against such an activity, in fact subliminal attempt to paint their efforts as illegal or even morally/socially corrupt or could the author be subliminally supporting their efforts. Why wouldn’t any faith based organization desire current or past members of our military, members of Congress, or other people working in any level of government, are they not worthy enough for a particular faith? Leaders appear hard to find and recently a “new” paradigm of leadership calling for accountability, integrity, and responsibility in both government and private business has been called for. It would seem that with the recent polls showing citizen support for Congress and the government at one of its lowest in history and the scandals coming out of Washington on individual’s failing to demonstrate moral and ethical integrity, accountability, responsibility, I would think the author would desire that government employees go and learn and model those same practices that those in question or other faith-based-organizations espouse or perhaps that was the author’s intention, it was made clear. What was made clear though was his disdain for a Christian effort as shown by both the second sentence of his/her article and the last sentence of his article, “The group believes in the literal account of creation and that the Bible is the literal word of God.” Randy Hecht Posted September 5, 2007 1:24 PM