Armchair Military: Difference between revisions

** Some [[Expanded Universe]] novels do feature an admiral or two getting down and dirty when necessary. Even the stuck-up Admiral Arlen McAteer, whose grudge against Picard being made captain is entirely based on his own ideals for a perfect Starfleet (translation: Picard is too young to be a competent captain, despite his numerous successes).

** There is a fine example of one in ''[[Star Trek Elite Force]] II'', when a typical example of an armchair admiral disbands the Hazard Team as unnecessary in these "civilized" times. Along comes Picard and points out that this may be the case at the heart of the Federation but is definitely false on the outskirts. He promptly reassembles the Hazard Team despite the admiral's objections.

* A lot of the upper brass in ''[[Stargate SG-1 (TV)|Stargate SG-1]]'' remain far behind the front lines. Subverted because they sometimes get down and dirty as well later. In the first couple of seasons nobody ever had to deal with a Stargate in the modern age for such a long period of time, leading to many mistakes.

** The best example, however, is the IOA. They make a lot of decisions that aren't logical at all, such as, in ''[[Stargate Atlantis (TV)|Stargate Atlantis]]'', ordering a preemptive strike on the Replicator homeworld of Asura when the Replicators hadn't even made any hostile moves towards the Atlantis Expedition. This causes the Asurans to retaliate by sending a laser satellite that drives Atlantis off of the planet it's on, leaving it stuck in space for a while. And they repair the damage done to their cities ''very'' quickly, making the entire attack ''a waste of time and resources''.

* As a lighter example of [[Interservice Rivalry]], the US Air Force is frequently referred to as the "Chair Force" by the uniformed personnel of other branches. Airmen with a self-deprecating sense of humor have also been known to toss the term around themselves. Ironically, in the Air Force, it's ''only'' the officers who are supposed to get shot at - unless one is in Combat Control or Pararescue.

* [[Adolf Hitler]] is halfway to this trope. While he did have combat experience, he only made it to the rank of Corporal before taking the reins of the largest army in Europe. While Hitler did come up with some effective strategies, he greatly overestimated his military acumen. The fact that he had made a lucky guess regarding his disposition of forces during the French invasion gave him the impression that he was a closet military genius, which would color many of his decisions throughout the remainder of the war.

* President [[Dwight D Eisenhower]] never actually served in combat. He did face criticism for that from military leaders at the time (including George S. Patton), but he's still one of the most decorated military leaders in modern history and served in the military for over forty years, both before and after his presidency.

** Eisenhower benefited from the unique nature of his command: a [[Multinational Team|multinational force]] fighting along a large front (well, two fronts, if you count Italy)<ref>Yes, we know the Eastern Front was bigger. Eisenhower had nothing to do with the Eastern Front. So please, pipe down.</ref> with logistics in particular being a nightmare. As it turns out, Eisenhower was a good diplomat and knew how to leverage the United States military's logistical skills (logistics has historically been the US military's strongest suit) into victory<ref>Yes, we know that the Eastern Front was extremely important. However, neither the Western Allies nor the Soviet Union could have won without the other's efforts. Now ''pipe down''.</ref> Eisenhower was competant as a strategist, but not especially skilled at it; however he was perfect for the job he was there for - getting the Americans, British, French, Canadians, Poles, and others to concentrate on fighting the Axis and not squabbling with each other over who got the glory.

[[Category:Military and Warfare Tropes]]

[[Category:Armchair Military]]