The study started actually almost a decade ago. I did a different study looking at how we're developing innovation in the Army's junior officers. We said, if you add up all the requirements, it exceeds the amount of time that company commanders have to execute them. But always in the back of my mind has always been so what happens? They can't do it all.
Leonard Wong of the Strategic Studies Institute at the U.S. Army War College talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about honesty in the military. Based on a recent co-authored paper, Wong argues that the paperwork and training burden on U.S. military officers requires dishonesty--it is simply impossible to comply with all the requirements. This creates a tension for an institution that prides itself on honesty, trust, and integrity. The conversation closes with suggestions for how the military might reform the compliance and requirement process.