Those who read the Wall Street Journal will have already have general idea of what this week’s essay is about. But for those that don’t, a little explanation is in order.

The most severe shortage that the army currently faces is lower level officers. They more or less have enough grunts to meet their authorized strength and they have high level officers in spades. But lieutenants and captains are leaving the force at record levels. In part, this is because of the hardships of war. But an even bigger factor is frustration with upper level leadership.

In this essay, Lt. Col. Paul Yingling gives vent to those frustrations and the reception that this essay has been getting has rocked the military world. One general even went so far as to call all his subordinate officers together so that he could publicly rebut this essay.

Since this essay reflects the sentiments of a lot of junior officers currently serving in the military, I think that it is worth reading. But I would remind people that just because old guard is corrupt doesn’t mean that new crew has better ideas. Just think of the French and Russian revolutions.