Quantity

(The discussion between the two military specialists continued.)

“My friend, you shouldn’t be too worried,” the cabinet secretary tried to be reassuring, “I agree it is by-and-large a problem of manpower. Nonetheless we have increased the number of student in the military school – and we are going to have more. In short, you are going to see twice as many military graduates five or ten years later.”

“I’m not sure that’s good news,” the Commander murmured.

“Alas, you don’t think that is of any help to the current problem, and you worry about the number of teacher in the military school – you said that much previously,” the senior civil servant was confident, “But we are talking about the long term definitive solution of the problem.”

“I am worrying about something more fundamental,” the senior soldier said.

“Which is …?”

“The quality of our soldiers, sir,” the Army General explained, “You know, not everyone is suitable for the battlefield. In fact, with the current number of graduates, we are already seeing a small proportion of the new soldiers obviously not fit for facing war. Having twice as many new soldiers may not translate into doubling the manpower – it could also mean half of the army in the future are not meant for the war!”

“Don’t be silly. Isn’t it a saying that the problem of the quality of an army should only be considered after the problem of quantity has been solved?” The Secretary smiled.

“There’s such a saying alright,” the Commander did not smile back, “But this very statement was made by Adolf Hitler…”