Now, all that said, replace "Lloyd Fredendall" with "Kendal Ozzel", and you can easily picture the character portrayed in the movies and in the Clone Wars TV series doing many of the same things. Eisenhower "transferred" him out, giving Patton his command, and when Patton finally got a look at what he'd inherited he realized the man had been a complete waste of a uniform and utterly useless.ĭespite all that, after Fredendall was still promoted when he returned to the US, because he hadn't officially been removed from his post for cause. General Earnest Harmon to see what was going on, and Harmon's official after-action report on Kasserine Pass called Fredendall a physical and moral coward. By the time of the disaster at the Kasserine Pass, his orders were conflicting Anderson's, so subordinates had no ideas who they were supposed to be listening to, assuming they understood what Fredendall was ordering. He built a ridiculously elaborate command bunker well behind the lines and insisted on an armoured Cadillac. Fredendall couldn't issue orders properly, which caused his subordinates to try and figure out what the hell he was wanting them to do. Anderson, considered him incompetent, but couldn't simply get rid of him because of the political issues. Subordinates more familiar with the terrain and other conditions thanįredendall soon become disliked by his men because while they were out in the field, he was commanding from his command ship (until the fighting was over in the initial landings) and later from a luxury hotel. Reconnaissance, yet he was impatient with the recommendations of Inclined to jump to conclusions which were not always well founded.įredendall rarely left his command post for personal visits and Opinions and critical of superiors and subordinates alike. "Small in stature, loud and rough in speech, he was outspoken in his After the war, he attended and taught at infantry school, did well at command and staff school, did some rounds in various administrative posts (where he made a lot of well-placed contacts), and it was those contacts and the glowing recommendations they gave that caused Eisenhower to put him in command of Central Task Force of Operation Torch.Įisenhower forever regretted that decision. Went to Europe when the US joined World War One, became recognized as "an excellent teacher, trainer and administrator of troops", enough to get him brevetted to lieutenant-colonel, but never led troops in combat. Took an officer's qualifying exam after he earned a civilian degree and received a commission. Got into West Point because of family connections, and failed twice out of West Point (and when the same senator nominated him a third time, they refused to accept him). I give you, as an example, Lloyd Fredendall. I am primarily looking for an in-universe canon explanation, though examples of how incompetent officers in real life managed to rise through the ranks are welcome as out-of-universe explanations. Perhaps he was put in charge of Vader's flagship so Vader could keep a close eye on him? This looks somewhat like a case of the Dilbert principle in practice, although Ozzel was promoted to such a prominent position that he was able to make serious mistakes. How did this incompetent officer manage to become an admiral and the commanding officer of a fleet including Vader's personal flagship? You have failed me for the last time, Admiral. Vader was also famously contemptuous of him: There's no evidence that Ozzel was actually a Rebel agent, so he appears to be truly incompetent. Following the destruction of the First Death Star, he had become an Admiral. In 14 BBY, he held the rank of Rear Admiral, and was a member of the Joint Chiefs. Wookieepedia doesn't mention how he got out of his teaching positions nor does it say much about his rise through the ranks:Įventually, he ended up serving in the navy of the Galactic Empire. His superiors did not see him fit to serve as an effective field commander, and he was relegated to teaching positions for a while. Wookieepedia's article on Ozzel also notes that earlier in Ozzel's career However, he makes multiple mistakes - he almost missed the Rebel base on Hoth, and he brought the fleet out of hyperspace too close to Hoth so that the Rebels were alerted to the Imperials' presence. Kendal Ozzel is seen in Episode V The Empire Strikes Back as the admiral in command of the Imperial fleet searching for the hidden Rebel base and Darth Vader's personal flagship, the Star Dreadnought Executor.
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