Brain Fertilizer

The sub-title is a little misleading...

It really doesn't talk much about NCO's, and doesn't even go far enough in discussing the problems with officers, but the article still has some good points. Here's one:

It has become generally accepted wisdom that it was a mistake for the Coalition Provisional Authority to disband Saddam's army after American forces took Baghdad two years ago. If Maj. Lechner's experience is typical, then retaining the old force would have just created a whole different set of problems, and might well have further set back efforts to create a flexible, effective Iraqi army. Solving the problem in the 7th Battalion ultimately required rooting out nearly all of those officers who had served under the old regime.