• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content

Professional Military Education

Exploring military history, strategy, and ideas through the lens of great books and an awesome podcast!

"The most important six inches

on the battlefield

is between your ears."

General James Mattis (USMC-Ret.)

  • Home
  • Blog
  • Podcast
  • Book Reviews
  • About
  • Contact

Crisis of Command: A Marine officer’s call for accountability

By PMEComplete on November 6, 2022

Crisis of Command


Stuart Scheller served in the Marine Corps as an infantry officer for seventeen years. His five deployments included combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. When he was a Lieutenant Colonel, Scheller served as a battalion commander at the Marine Corps School of Infantry (SOI).

In the summer of 2021, U.S. forces withdrew from Afghanistan. The withdrawal was poorly planned and hastily executed. The Taliban took over the entire country and surrounded Kabul airport. As Marines scrambled to secure the airport, a suicide attack caused the tragic deaths of 13 U.S. servicemembers. Frustrated by these events, Stuart Scheller felt compelled to speak out.

Scheller made a public video that criticized military leadership. Shortly after releasing the video, he was fired from his job as a battalion commander. He then publicly resigned from the Marine Corps and continued to be critical of both the military and Marine Corps leadership. As a result, he was placed in the brig and court-martialed before leaving the Marine Corps in December 2021. The public nature of his call for accountability stirred a lot of controversy. In the interview, we speak about Scheller’s insistence on accountability.

Topics of the Interview include:

  • What motivated Stuart Scheller to join the Marine Corps
  • How he became disillusioned with the overall strategy in Afghanistan
  • Moral courage and when it’s time to speak up
  • What was going through his head as he prepared to make his first public call for accountability
  • How the actions of General John K. Singlaub in the 1970s influenced his criticism of General McKenzie
  • Stuart Scheller’s contrarian views to include his thoughts on General Mattis
  • The movie Black Hawk Dawn, the publication Task & Purpose, and books by Malcolm Gladwell
  • Scheller’s current political causes to include his support for Senate candidate Don Bolduc in New Hampshire

More Information

Check out the videos: Stuart Scheller’s first video, second video (from the bus), and third video

Stuart Scheller’s website: https://authenticamericans.com/

Follow him on Twitter: @stuartscheller and Facebook

Check out his book: Crisis of Command: How We Lost Trust and Confidence in America’s Generals and Politicians

Check out my recent article on accountability at The American Mind. Also, my book review of Angelo Codevilla’s book, America’s Rise and Fall among Nations.

HELP SPREAD THE WORD!

If you like the interview and want to hear others, subscribe in iTunes, Spotify, or Audible. Support the show with written reviews, share on social media, and through word of mouth. Check out the website: www.professionalmilitaryeducation.com

To request additional shows or guests, e-mail me: tim@professionalmilitaryeducation.com

 

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • More
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)

Related

Copyright © 2023 · Smart Passive Income Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in