I recently read the book Corps Business (as in Marine Corps) and this tracks with how the Marines changed their organizational command structures post Vietnam.

I recently read the book Corps Business (as in Marine Corps) and this tracks with how the Marines changed their organizational command structures post Vietnam. For example, tactical decision making went down the chain of command as the thought was the non commissioned officers and front line troops were in the best position to make those decisions. This is not that surprising given modern management thinking. What was surprising: certain administrative decisions went UP the chain. This is best exemplified by the quote: "In Vietnam, as a captain I was making tactical decisions while also managing the food supply for my troops. Now, junior lieutenants and sergeants make those tactical decisions, colonels handle the food supply and I can make more strategic decisions." This is opposite of my experience in technology where it seems the middle managers are doing a bit of everything: - personnel work e.g. coaching, mentoring etc - tactical planning e.g. organizing sprints etc - strategic planning e.g. "how are we going to re-design X"