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You're Fired Rarely do commanding officers point out to their superiors why they should be fired, but in December 1812, American Gen. Henry Dearborn did just that, writing to Secretary Eustis: "A general who becomes unpopular, either by conduct, deficiency of the necessary qualification, misfortune, or accident, ought not to be continued to command." Despite this accurate assessment of his own performance, he stayed on. Sadly for the country, America found itself in the same state as England would be in a little over 100 years later . . . without officers available who had the experience of commanding large armies in the field. In World War I, Lord Kitchener found himself beset by constant demands that he fire Gen. Haig for the massive casualties the British army was suffering on the Western Front. His famous reply was always: "Replace him? With who?"
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