Quote:
Originally Posted by bobcat
frankly they wouldn't have gotten their commisions in the mordern military.
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And why not?
Patton attended West Point, and graduated with Honors. He came from a long line of affluant ancestors, and was well educated. Prior to WW1 his career was the very image of a Cavalry Officer achiving above and beyond expectations with Multiple stints attending the worlds most highly rated Cavalry School, as well as being the youngest ever appointed US Army Master of the Sword - back in the 10's, the US Cavalry School still taught sword drills - and he even designed a new sword based on his experiences.
In 1916, in Mexico, Patton led the US Army's first ever armoured attack, and excelled in that as well as leading further raids and recce missions.
During WW1, he was assigned to the Army Tank Corp, and once more, performed above expections, earning the Purple Heart while leading 10 men from his disabled tank agianst a Machine Gun nest.
After the war, he went back to the Cavalry, and while assigned to Hawaii in 1931 presented a study to the Pentagon saying that the islands was incredibly week agianst a carrier born Air Attack. He then commanded the 3d ACR, before becoming the commander of Fort Myer till the start of WW2.
At no time till the start of the war had he done anything that would preclude him from achiving high rank in the Army.
Nelson, in his day, started life agian, from an affluant family, but he got his start as a ordinary seaman. The utmost lowest rank you could have in the Royal Navy at the time. During his first cruise, he was appointed midshipman, and started his training to be an officer (Granted, it helped that the Captian of the ship was his uncle - but nepotism is still very much alive today). While he took full advantage of the Patronage system of the day, in every command he held, he, much like Patton, excelled above and beyond normal expectations.
During the Peace between 83 and 93, he, like most officers in the Navy, was placed on half pay and placed in Reserve - a fairly normal occurance for Officers in the Royal Navy. While on Half Pay, he was known for going the extra mile to ensure former members of the crew of his ships was gainfully employed and in good health. With the return of war with France, he once more excelled. While he could be called to task for being prone to going off orders, with very little exception those larks ending in overwhealming successes.
In both cases, 90% of the heat directed to both officers was in regards to thier private lives. But in both cases, the behavour wasn't exceptional to the age: Perhaps a bit more than the normal, but it was still normal for the day.