&gt; makes field decisions within a extremely narrow scope.<p>What?  Modern Western armed forces, and especially special forces units, make many independent decisions requiring great amounts of creativity and initiative.  The hallmark of over 300 years of Western military units is the ability to operate without consulting the chain of command for every decision.<p>Were you a member of an armed force from a more centralized military, such as Russia or China?  If so, then your perspective makes more sense.