" A Japanese staff functioned very differently from its Western counterpart. The commander bore the burden of spiritual responsibility, maintained contact with higher headquarters, and guided his staff. The chief-of-staff and operations officer possessed far more power than a Western chief-of-staff and G-3. Staff officers presented options to the chief and decisions were derived by negotiation, guided by the commander, to reach a common concensus. In reality, aggressive and opinionated staff officers, concerned with face-saving, often battled their way through planning sessions with factions of offficers taking sides. Planning was made more difficult in an environment where anyone advising caution was branded a coward, where major commanders took complete operational freedom ( Dokudan Senko ) from higher headquarters, and subordinates often ignored their commanders ( Gekokujo ).

From Okinawa 1945 by G Rottman

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