All In the Family

During a hitch in the Army when I was a butter bar, I served alongside another lieutenant. I thought he was average, perhaps a notch or two above average. Others were less charitable in their assessment.

Nonetheless he was fast tracking -- got the coveted duty assignments, locations, and schools.

Usually when someone is doing well in their career, most folks think he's got his act together. However, even his friends didn't think he was that good.

What made him stand out among his peers? Well, it didn't hurt that his old man was a two star general. Now, the son didn't advertise that fact but then you didn't have to beat it out of him either.

I can't speak for the other services but in my tour of duty, I looked at my fair share of command and promotion lists and scratch my head and say -- hey isn't his or her old man a general officer?

Now I'm not suggesting that these guys are all duds. I'm sure there's a good one or two in the bunch.

What's the point, Maguire?

Well in the Empire State, the son of Basil Patterson will chose (among others) the daughter of John F. Kennedy or the son of Mario Cuomo to fill the seat that is currently held by Bill Clinton's wife.

The sad fact is that none of the four aforementioned folks got where they are on their own. They had a big leg up on the competition -- and used it to the fullest advantage. That's not to suggest they are unqualified -- but none of them are self-made.

Maybe they should take a cue from my fast-tracking colleague.

He quit the Army (long before 9/11) and works in private business. He knows that any success he has in this endeavor will be a result of who is -- and not who is father is.

UPDATE: Similar thoughts from elsewhere here.