Word: waller
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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This turnaround was the result of deep soul-searching. "After Vietnam," says Lieut. General Calvin Waller, deputy commander in chief of Central Command in Saudi Arabia, "most of the military men who decided to stay soldiers said to themselves, 'We have to do something different.' " The first priority was to get rid of the draft and create an all-volunteer force. By excluding from its ranks those who did not want to serve, the military hoped to get rid of troublemakers and incompetents. This strategy seems to have worked. Says Lieut. General John J. Yeosock, commander of the Army units...
...contrast to 65% in 1973. Revamped procedures for evaluating officers and enlisted men have been put into place and rigidly enforced. Soldiers who do not quickly adjust to military life or perform well enough to earn promotions within five years are washed out of the services. Says Waller: "If you don't perform at a certain level, we don't want...
General Calvin Waller may have been uncertain whether all American troops will be ready when the Persian Gulf deadline passes this week, but TIME's small journalistic army is fully prepared. The deadline makes this a "weird" conflict, remarks chief of correspondents John F. Stacks. "Other wars developed by accretion or else suddenly, like Pearl Harbor. This long period of getting ready is nerve-racking." But at least it allowed Stacks time to deploy his forces...
Administration officials quickly scrambled to undo the effects of Waller's candor. Secretary of State James Baker claimed that the general's comments were intended to keep Saddam guessing. Countered a U.N. diplomat: "When an official states publicly that something is disinformation, that's when you know it is not." Meanwhile, White House press secretary Marlin Fitzwater told reporters that "what ((Waller)) really said is they might not be as ready as they would like...
...fact, that was not what Waller said, but perhaps he should have. Like any prudent general, Waller was being supercautious. "The military services never tell you they've got enough," says a senior admiral. "They always want just a few more...