One of the larger stumbling blocks for the north was a lack of competent (vice politically appointed) leadership in the armies on the field, and this carried down to the troops. How long does it take to train a competent NCO? The north did not have many I suspect when starting out. Took a couple of years of that Darwinian process to weed out the bad generals and NCO's, and get on with the task of leading a small group or an army...and while Lincoln could never get rid of all the less-effective generals, he promoted those who fought. The south tended to have more men familiar with living on the land, not from cities. Their competence through the ranks overcame many weaknesses previously identified. Most any southern farm hand was a candidate to be an NCO. Likewise, when the Japanese air forces began to lose airplanes/pilots at a faster rate after 1942, while the US's pilots were rotated in/out of combat to instructor roles to train still more pilots...the end was a foregone conclusion. I've learned something after reading all your posts. Thank you Folks.
