Leadership: April 25, 2005

Archives

The Saudi Arabian government has shut down, perhaps only temporarily, the French staffed naval training school at Jiddah. This may be continuing fallout from the grounding of the frigate Makka back in December, while she was under the command of a chuckleheaded Royal. Apparently the French instructors have been trying to instill some rigor into the training process, while the Saudis would prefer a more easygoing approach. The Saudis have always had problems with the men of the royal family in the armed forces. Many of the 5,000 or so male descendents of the founder of Saudi Arabia (who had over 40 sons by many wives), expect special treatment. This has often been a problem, because the government usually hired Western instructors to train the Saudi troops, and expects the trainees to be held to high standards. This often  works with the commoners, but the princes have always been a problem. Most foreign trainers get with the program and adjust standards, while some just quit. However, a few try to perform a little attitude adjustment on the princes. This sometimes works, but usually it does not. Many of the princes live in a fantasy world, which does not include paying close attention to infidel instructors. This has led to a lot of wrecked military equipment, and some questionable leadership in units commanded by princes. The government prefers to tolerate this situation, rather than risk bad feelings in the family. 

 


Article Archive

Leadership: Current 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 


X

ad
0
20

Help Keep Us Soaring

We need your help! Our subscription base has slowly been dwindling. We need your help in reversing that trend. We would like to add 20 new subscribers this month.

Each month we count on your subscriptions or contributions. You can support us in the following ways:

  1. Make sure you spread the word about us. Two ways to do that are to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
  2. Subscribe to our daily newsletter. We’ll send the news to your email box, and you don’t have to come to the site unless you want to read columns or see photos.
  3. You can contribute to the health of StrategyPage. A contribution is not a donation that you can deduct at tax time, but a form of crowdfunding. We store none of your information when you contribute..
Subscribe   Contribute   Close