Retired four-star General Stanley McChrystal tells Fareed that it’s brains and not “the size of your bicep” that makes an effective modern soldier.

Retired four-star General Stanley McChrystal has emphasised the importance of character and analytical ability over physical strength for effective modern soldiers. Speaking about his experience commanding the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), McChrystal noted that military effectiveness is best measured by an individual’s merit and capacity to contribute, rather than physical attributes such as the “size of your bicep” or gender.

McChrystal explained that within JSOC, selection and advancement were based on competence and the ability to analyse and accomplish missions. He distinguished between the terms “warrior” and “soldier,” stating that his units prioritised discipline, adherence to the laws of armed conflict, and a core set of values. He suggested that the focus should remain on service to the nation and job competence, rather than debates about political issues such as “wokeism.”

Addressing gender roles in the military, McChrystal stated that women proved highly competent in their positions, especially as more opportunities became available during the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. He highlighted that as women demonstrated their abilities, they earned positions and paved the way for future generations.

McChrystal also discussed the evolving nature of warfare, observing that technology and automation, including artificial intelligence, have shifted the requirements for military service. He suggested that many roles no longer require traditional physical strength, and that individuals with disabilities can contribute significantly, particularly in technical or remote operations such as drone piloting.



Gen. Stanley McChrystal on what makes an effective modern soldier

We have a Pentagon right now that says it is fixated on warfighting. I think by common consent you would be regarded as the leading warfighter of your generation. You went out in Iraq and did hundreds, maybe thousands of operations where you literally went in with a small handful of soldiers and killed bad guys. What people who were in Iraq told me when I was there, you were doing the most risky thing anyone was doing. What do you think it takes to be a good warfighter? Well, first it takes character. Not just as a leader, but in the organization. The organization needs to have character, and that means it needs to have values that guide how it functions. Secretary Hagseth and I, I think, have a different view of what really defines a great warfighter. I think that it's really a meritocracy. It has to be a meritocracy. It's who can contribute the most. It's not necessarily the size of your bicep or the fact that you're a man. It's really whether you can analyze missions, whether you can do the job. I mean, in reality, JSOC, which I commanded the counterterrorist force during that fight, became extraordinarily based on who could contribute the most, not who was the most classical TV-looking warrior. And, in fact, we shied away from the term warrior because warrior can also mean a less disciplined person. We were soldiers and service members that followed the rule, the laws of armed conflict, military discipline, and a set of very important values. So I think when we go after wokeism, and I'm not quite sure what that means, but if I put a very broad definition, I don't think that's what is most important in the military. I think it's values focused on service to the nation and then competence, people able to do their job. Did you find women were competent in the jobs you were concerned about? I did, and the thing that was sort of sad about it is women had to prove their competence. Early in my career, women didn't get the kind of jobs that put them in line for command and things, and so later when it was time to be selected against a male counterpart, they didn't have the resume to compete. But that started to change, and it particularly changed during the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq because we had a cadre of women who came in and did jobs really, really well, and it was undeniably well. And so what happened is when you have to get things done, you're going to rely on the people who can do it best. And so those women literally earned their position, and they gave the opportunity to the people who followed them to have those roles. We laughed about the women in combat. There was still a debate going on about women in combat, and we used to joke because we said that ship has sailed. They have been in combat for almost a decade, and they've been proving themselves. And so I think that was some diehards who were fighting the last war. It's interesting you made a point about the biceps issue. Is it true that modern warfare, because you have so much automation and equipment, and my guess is AI will do this even more, it's not really as much the kind of rugged, macho guy who can do 100 push-ups in five minutes or whatever? No. In fact, of course, there's always a small subset of the service that has to have that capability if they're going to do certain missions. But it's always been a pretty small subset. Now with technology, the reality is if we were to reinstitute a draft, I would draft people who had physical disabilities, people in wheelchairs who've got good brains and good values because they can contribute just as much as someone else. If you're operating a drone, if you're in a wheelchair, what difference does it make? Exactly.

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