CCReflect

"Ironically, U.S. military doctrine purports to value "critical" and "creative" thinking.  Unfortunately, that emphasis hardly fits with the realities of promotion and command selection.  A recent empirical analysis by faculty from West Point's Department of Behavioral Sciences and Leadership concluded that "promotion and command boards may actually penalize officers for their conceptual ability."  In other words, more intelligent, educated, and skeptical officers - those with "higher cognitive ability," according to the study -- don't fare so well in the competitive promotion game."