Jocko Podcast 524: How Soldiers and Soldiering Reflect Real Life Every Single Day.

Quick Overview

Jocko Willink and Echo Charles analyze Field Marshal Earl Wavell's 1945 article "In Praise of Infantry" and subsequent writings, emphasizing that the most essential quality for a general, above tactics or even imagination, is robustness—the ability to withstand the shocks of war, which Wavell illustrates using the durability testing of military equipment.

Key Points: Field Marshall Wavell stated that all wars are won by infantrymen, who always bear the brunt, suffer heavier casualties, and require more initiative and intelligence than other arms. Wavell cites Socrates' definition of a general needing to secure rations, imagination, practical sense, and energy, but Wavell asserts the first essential quality is "robustness, the ability to stand the shocks of war." Wavell explains robustness through physical illustration: artillery committees dropped new mountain guns from 100 ft towers, and rifles are buried in mud, demanding equipment withstand severe shocks. The general's mind must similarly be robust, buried in "the mud and sand of unreliable information and uncertain factors," requiring a high margin over the normal breaking strain. Wavell notes that while youth offers an advantage, superior knowledge and judgment in a mature mind that retains the capacity to absorb new ideas and execute bold designs can overcome youth. Moral qualities for a leader include character (knowing what one wants and having determination to get it), genuine interest in the trade, the fighting spirit (will to win), and a spirit of adventure or a "touch of the gambler in him." The most important mental quality Wavell identifies is common sense, or "less dupracticable," which depends on a sound knowledge of the mechanisms of war, specifically topography, movement, and supply (logistics).

Context: Jocko Willink and Echo Charles discuss excerpts from Field Marshal Earl Wavell's book, Soldiers and Soldiering, compiled from his extensive military career which spanned the Boer War, WWI, and WWII, including campaigns in India, the Middle East, Africa, and Burma. Wavell, a highly decorated and experienced British military leader, offers insights into the necessary qualities for effective military command, contrasting ancient philosophical ideals with the realities of modern warfare.