I learned this in professional military education as an officer decades ago. At that time the US military was breaking out of doctrines demanding strict obedience and control from above — moving toward doctrines of cooperation and the nurturing of independent initiative. As a Soviet air defense analyst, I soon came to realize that the one thing Soviet military leaders most feared about the United States armed forces was our skill at leveraging decentralized initiative, which produces robust tactics survivability even in the face of extreme combat stress.

No U.S. NCO or junior officer fears harsh discipline for taking initiative in the heat of the moment. Instead, she is not just encouraged to take personal initiative but actually required to. Not acting because she lacked explicit orders would be a career killer. Acting inappropriately based on inadequate information would simply be an education opportunity.

Of course, in many ways the US military is patriarchal. I mean, the dominance hierarchy is spelled out explicitly, even in the uniforms people wear.

So isn't it interesting that the military nonetheless recognizes that strict hierarchy is a weakness rather than a strength?

By the way, you have a lot more patience than I have. I blocked our argumentative lil Antarctic troll years ago. 😉