> he established what was called the plucking board or plucking committee. it was composed of six retired officers headed by his immediate predecessor and former boss, gen. malin craig. its task was to review the efficiency ratings of the older officers  particularly colonels in their sixties and near retirement who could not withstand the rigors of combat command  and weed out the worst to make room for younger, more fit officers. in his instructions to the review board he told them to ignore past, peacetime records, as they were irrelevant when it came to the demands of leadership in combat. critical times are upon us, he warned. only todays performance mattered. in the first six months of its existence the panel removed 195 captains, majors, lieutenant colonels, and colonels. ultimately 500 colonels were forced into retirement. one who was not was col. george patton. even though his age, 54, placed him in the at-risk for retirement category, patton had the energy and drive of a much younger man  he survived the plucking committees review. > on april 22, 1941, marshall testified about the progress of his rapid mobilization program of the army before the truman committee, a senate committee responsible for oversight of military expenditures. he made a point of highlighting the success of the new policy of selective promotion based on merit. marshall said, if leadership depends purely on seniority you are defeated before you start. you give a good leader very little and he will succeed; you give mediocrity a great deal and they will fail. this is illustrated everywhere i turn. these rapid tours i make around the country disclose that as the most impressive thing. you see the effect of leadership in handling the flu, in the construction of a cantonment, in doing anything.
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