MELDGYRIE MAE M.

ANDALES
PA 202 – Ethics and Accountability

THE PENTAGON WARS: A REACTION PAPER

The cult classic Pentagon Wars was aired in the year 1998 by HBO and gained
numerous reaction all over its target audience. The movie is derived from the book
published by Ret. Colonel James G. Burton, an Air Force US Army, in his real time
account while serving the Pentagon.

The movie is a satirical take on the cycle of creation of the infamous Bradley
Fighting Vehicle which is basically created for the mere purpose of transporting troops
in the battlefield without harming the troops inside. The journey of its creation is a long,
arduous, and expensive one which frustrates the Chief Engineer, Colonel R. The first
prototype of the Bradley Fighting Vehicle was to transport 11 soldiers into the battle field
safely and securely. However, upon the perusal of the high ranking officials of the
Pentagon, things change rapidly including the main objective of the vehicle. As the
years have gone by, the Bradley have now known to different names and with different
aims, prolonging the creation and release of the aforesaid vehicle. This is a pure
depiction of the traditional planning loopholes and its drawback as those high ranking
officials or those executives tend to decide indecisively on matters without thorough
study and evaluation on what will happen to the product or to program or project.
Planning is an arduous process but if planned well, implementation becomes bearable
and achievable. Yet in the movie, there were no thorough deliberation on the additional
changes of the vehicle, not one study being conducted if it is viable to be applied in the
vehicle.

As the process of conducting series of laboratory test of the vehicle, Colonel

Burton, an Air Force US Army with an MBA at ___ and a honorable and excellent man
in his field of expertise, was invited by the US Congress to be part of the tester of the
Bradley Fighting Vehicle to fast track the release and production of the aforesaid vehicle
as it will greatly provide an edge against the enemies. Colonel Burton was eager in
pursuing and ensuring the conduct of the test of the Bradley Fighting Vehicle such that
sparked a ‘war’ between General Partridge, the assigned General for the release and
production of the Bradley Vehicle. The war between these two High ranking officials
contributes to the revelation of the manipulation of the test results of Bradley vehicle
and the illegal conducts of the test just so the Bradley be release as it drags billions of
public expenditure of America. General Partridge have to release the said vehicle so as
to strip it away under his care, neglecting the consequences of what may happen if the
Bradley be released in the battlefield. This provides the sense of responsibility and
accountability of both public officials. Both were responsible and accountable to their
jobs but General Partridge tend to neglect these vital virtues in performing their duties
and functions. While General Partridge is more concerned of the epic release of the
long awaited fighting vehicle, Colonel Burton is more concerned on the welfare of the
troops who will be using this fighting vehicle. It is important to note that these two
officials are accountable and responsible on the consequences that may arise while
using the said vehicle yet it seems in the movie that General Partridge have been or
had denied this notion but rather more inclined on the personal interest of releasing this
vehicle – fame, promotion, and high paying rank. With this scenario, it is inevitable to
our public officials to be just like General Partridge but it is as well a challenge of them
to lead to the right path of being a genuine public servants.

As the story of the movie unfolds the secret of General Partridge and its loyalist
regarding with its manipulation of test data, the House Committee on ____ have
intervened and recommended the final testing of Bradley fighting vehicle to know
whether it needs modification or not. The result of the test is “uplifting” to the stand of
Colonel Burton as the infamous Bradley Fighting Vehicle have gloriously exploded in
front of their faces declaring that Bradley Fighting Vehicle is not yet ready for release
and needs modification in its machine specification. Because of such, Colonel Burton
won the fight of modifying the Bradley to avoid future casualties among its men.
However, the movie is not a happy ever after. It showed the realities of the political
influence of the organizational structure which is the rotten and deep rooted scandals of
politics – General Partridge is promoted and its loyalists while Colonel Burton was
forced to retire. These sad realities within the organization is deeply rooted as it is
widely accepted by all the members of the organizational structure and in ways, it is
difficult to “kill”.

The movie challenges the leaders, managers, and even public servants to be
more “public” rather than private. Serving the people right with integrity rather than
serving their own selves. Prioritizing public interest rather than personal interest. The
challenge is difficult but a joyful one when you have chosen the right direction. All in all,
the movie is a comical yet an eye opening show for public officials as public servants.