Sometimes, that's how the world is. When you easily influence, influence, and change the fate of others, your own destiny is also being rewritten by others.

From John's point of view, Crawford's so-called "predicament" is not a big deal. With only half an hour's drive from the airport to the Klebe barracks, he easily planned the road for his old friend for the next few years.

While John was proudly and proudly showing the results of his nearly a year of struggle to the General Staff Acceptance Team, and wondering whether it would be more appropriate for Crawford to go directly to Hopkins or take a detour through James Jr., he did not know that thousands of miles away, in a large conference room on the top floor of the Washington Ammunition Building, his fate was almost completely changed by someone else.

Once upon a time, John was also present in this room, where he personally participated in many combat analysis and seminars. But today, it's even more star-studded. Chief of Staff Marshall led the deputy chiefs of staff, assistant chiefs of staff, as well as Army advisers to the President and representatives of the Department of the Army to sit in the first row. Behind them were divisional and above commanders from the functional departments of the General Staff, the three major commands, and the Second and Third Armies.

At this moment, nearly 100 generals, large and small, are listening attentively to General McNair, commander of the ground forces, commenting on the large-scale southern exercise some time ago. Standing next to General McNair to make a supplementary speech was none other than Brigadier General Eisenhower, the chief of staff of the Third Army, who had made a big splash during the exercise.

This super-large-scale exercise, which just concluded in Louisiana, is undoubtedly the highlight of the Army's most attention this year.

This is the first time in the history of the Army that more than 400,000 troops have been dispatched to conduct an exercise. Moreover, none of the officers on the army's roster had previous experience in commanding troops of division size or above. The exercise was like a huge experiment to test the value of the Army's operational ideas, personnel, weapons, and equipment. For the top of the Army, its value is incalculable.

"This exercise has familiarized our troops with large-scale coordinated operations, accelerated the process of weakening weak links, improved the skills of front-line commanders in commanding troops in field operations, and gained practical experience in implementing large-scale field resupply......," General McNair, the head of the assessment team for the exercise, stood on the podium and expounded his opinions endlessly.

"There is no doubt that this exercise has also exposed some problems that need to be solved urgently, the most important of which is the problem of discipline! I believe that our soldiers are able to be disciplined, and the lack of discipline in some units is the fault of the unit commander! Commanders who are not able to enforce discipline well must be replaced in a timely manner and the ensuing arguments and gossip must be strictly controlled, so as not to dampen the morale of troops and officers......"

"Of course, this exercise also allowed us to discover a group of young people who are capable of completing the most difficult tasks assigned by the staff and command." As he spoke, McNair turned to the side and pointed to Eisenhower on the side, "For example, Brigadier General Eisenhower next to me, his outstanding performance in the exercise impressed everyone, including the British Affairs Observation Group. ”

Although he was only seven years younger than the other party, as the commander of the Army's ground forces called a "young man", Eisenhower still humbly expressed his gratitude to McNair for his compliment. At this moment, in the high-level circles of the Army, Eisenhower is still only a "fledgling", a newcomer who is even more "new" than John.

Not long ago, when he first appeared to the public press at a press conference on the exercise, military reporters even wrote his name "D.D. Eielsonbein" in the caption of the photo. For this, John laughed at him for a while while when he called to congratulate him. Eisenhower could only laugh at himself: "At least they haven't mistaken my initials." ”

As a newcomer, it was necessary for Eisenhower to remain modest and cautious, which would earn him a good impression score on his debut. Especially when he succeeded McNair, there were quite a few sharp questions in "Supplementary Notes on Some of the Problems That Arose in the Exercise."

"The issue of the efficiency of resupply is another prominent issue exposed by this exercise. In peacetime, we have never tried to constantly move food, oil and ammunition from supply depots and warehouses to the front by road. Eisenhower said: "The sheer volume of supplies alone is sufficient to justify our previous fears about the adequacy of our troops." The commanders and logistical support personnel of all units have made thorough and rigorous plans before the exercise, which is worthy of recognition and has achieved certain results. However, the results are still not satisfactory, which reminds us that the current approach to field supply needs to be further improved......"

"Brigadier General Eisenhower, how much do you rate the Third Army for its logistical supply?" Marshall, who had been writing something in a black notebook, suddenly interrupted him.

"Seventy-five points, Your Excellency Chief of Staff." After a moment of silence, Eisenhower gave the score he had in mind.

"Where are the 25 points deducted?" Marshall then asked.

"The most terminal material transportation and delivery. Before the exercise, we had sufficient supplies in stock, as well as sufficient trucks and transport forces. However, when the materials were put on the front line, a series of unexpected problems were encountered, which caused a certain amount of chaos. Speaking of this, Eisenhower glanced at General Somerville, who was sitting behind Marshall, and added cautiously, "Of course, this situation is mainly because this is the first time we have organized such a large-scale supply drop, and Lieutenant Colonel Leroy-Lutz is leading the logistics support department of the group army to sum up the experience, and I believe that they will come up with a solution as soon as possible." ”

Lieutenant Colonel Leroy-Lutz, as Eisenhower called him, is the current head of logistics for the Third Army, and he is also the confidant of Somerville, commander of the army's logistics forces.

To be fair, this lieutenant colonel is an outstanding among logistics officers. Historically, Leroy-Lutz became Chief of Staff of the Logistics Corps, a three-star lieutenant general, for his outstanding performance in logistics.

In this life, perhaps influenced by John's set of "advanced logistics support theory," Eisenhower's vision was much higher. The still immature Leroy-Lutz is not much in his eyes. However, in order to take care of Somerville's face, Eisenhower still said a few "kind words" for him.

"That's right." Marshall looked down at his notebook, "I have thought of a suitable person to solve these problems, and perhaps no one is more suitable than him......"

Eisenhower immediately guessed who Marshall was the best candidate, and even many of the other generals in the room. Where are the precedents of FedEx's brilliant achievements and the reform of the Army's logistics system, and if there is one person in the Army who can solve these problems, it is John.

However, at this moment, Eisenhower could only choose to respond with silence. He was very aware of his little brother's "ambitions", and he also knew that John, who was determined to become the commander of the Airborne Forces, would never be willing to become a logistics officer again.

However, his own report pushed him to a turning point in his life by mistake. Eisenhower couldn't help but wonder, what choice would Marshall's chief of staff make this time?