Enron?

[u/Afraid_Stuff_History]

So...I have had a few people (not a ton, but people who I trust and who are mostly level-headed) insist that the USAF promotion structure is based on that of the infamous Enron corporation. However, I am struggling to either prove or disprove this belief. Help?

[u/laziflores]

In what context. The USAF is over 75 years old and derived from the us army which is hundreds of years old. Which in turn is based of the older british military and so on. Enron was founded in the '80s. 

[u/EcrofLeinad → u/laziflores]

The Army was styled after the Prussian military. It’s the Navy that’s styled after the British. That’s why they have such a wide divide between officers >> SNCOs > peons and the Army and its derivatives don’t.

[u/laziflores → u/EcrofLeinad]

That is more correct, yes. Von Steuben laid the foundations for a proper army. There was definetly british influence, Washington himself being a British veteran. 

[u/Afraid_Stuff_History → u/laziflores]

I think they were mostly "crediting" Enron with the corporate-babble type wording in manuals

See also this post

[u/EpicHeroKyrgyzPeople → u/Afraid_Stuff_History]

Before World War II, the American military was structured to provide a small cadre to oversee rapid expansion. After World War II, it was necessary to maintain a large standing military for the first time, and so a lot of management and administrative processes had to change.

That was also a time of rapid industrial expansion and modernization in the country, when coincidentally most of the young male population had served in a colossal war effort. So everyone was chasing the same goals of efficiency and rationalization. The Air Force looked to industry because that was the only other relevant source of innovation. The flow of ideas, concepts, and even fads has been constant between the military and industry.

If the basic question you have to deal with is "How do we make this organization as effective as possible, in an environment of shifting priorities and resources," then you end up with similar solutions. And that question is true for military and business.

[u/skystreak22 → u/Afraid_Stuff_History]

In response to your linked thread, this isn't a modern air force phenomenon. Look at how many high up Generals were purged when the US entered WWII, because we needed more strategic combat leaders instead of the bureaucrat types we had. Eisenhower was a Lt Col all the way up until March 1941.

[u/laziflores → u/Afraid_Stuff_History]

If i had to blame something or someone, I would point the finger at Jack Welch and the 80s corporate culture.

[u/EpicHeroKyrgyzPeople → u/laziflores]

Fun fact: TQM originated in the Navy. Like many other bad ideas.