Marines Wreck Super Scientist's Career

[n2doc]

By Noah Shachtman November 19, 2010 | 3:46 pm | Categories: Army and Marines
He shamed the brass into buying bomb-resistant trucks — and drove them mad with his constant calls to the press and Congress. Now Franz Gayl, an iconoclastic civilian scientist working for the Marine Corps, has been stripped of his security clearance, effectively wrecking what was left of his career.

Over the past decade, no one in the Marine Corps has been more creative, more persistent and more migraine-inducing in his pursuit of warfighting gadgetry than Franz Gayl. He Some of his ideas were wacky: oribiting troop transports, super-strength exoskeletons, laser guns that could roast insurgents alive, using the “Mother of All Bombs” to end the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

More than a few of his concepts were rock-solid, however, like sending small spy drones and heavily-armored trucks to troops in the field. Eventually, the Pentagon bought tens of thousands of the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) trucks, due in large part to his agitating and whistleblowing efforts.

But instead of earning accolades for his efforts, Gayl got brickbats.

http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/11/marines-deep-six-super-geeks-career/#more-35929

[mopinko]

1. yeah, minds like that rarely thrive in bureaucracies.

which is what is wrong with them, mostly.

[formercia]

2. The Corps is not noted for thinking outside the box.

I can just imagine...:rofl:

[hack89]

4. I would disagree

I have always found the Marines to be the more flexible and innovative service - because they operated on a shoe string budget compared to the Army they tend not to throw money and gadgets at a problem.

[morningglory]

6. I highly recommend a book, "Boyd". It shows what the Marines

do with information. It is an amazing book. This guy, Boyd, came up with the idea of differentiating between a "goal" and a "Mission" in combat situations: which one should drive a troop's efforts? No one has ever heard of him, and we all have to do that mission/goal crap in our corporate employment. It seems to work for the Marines. It is amazing. Please look for it. You will enjoy it very much.

[BrklynLiberal]

3. hmmm. Wonder how many lives this man's idea saved....but, nevermind. Irrelevant...

:puke: :puke: :puke: :puke:

Bureaucratic bullshit is the most foul smelling of all bullshit...including military bureaucratic bullshit.

[TacticalPeek]

5. Bummer.

OTOH, judging by effectiveness you might have to say that the Marines' conservative change pace does not have a wholly negative effect.

[Rex]

7. Well ain't that a peach? Now they can get back to getting our troops

killed with cheap gadgets and armor made with flaws (cheap). :sarcasm: