Tainter and the U.S. Military

Tainter's theories on the breakdown of civilization is based on reaching a critical mass of complexity. Obviously, this is something that every portion of government and society faces. So, I found this article on dishonesty in the military to be interesting. From CNN:

U.S. Army officers often resort to "evasion and deception," and everyone at the Pentagon knows it, according to a new study conducted by the U.S. Army War College. 

"In other words, in the routine performance of their duties as leaders and commanders, U.S. Army officers lie," reads the study, which was conducted by the War College's Strategic Studies Institute. 

The 33-page report, compiled following interviews with officers across the Army, concluded that the Army's culture is rife with "dishonesty and deception" at all levels of the institution -- from the most junior members to senior Army officials.

Bureaucrats will be bureaucrats, whether it be in the Pentagon or the IRS. But here is the interesting part--why they resort to "evasion and deception":

But Army officers are faced with an increasing number of requirements and bureaucratic hoops, according to the study, and rather than work with a rigid military brass to reform a burdensome bureaucracy, officers will simply sidestep those requirements, lying on forms and often rationalizing their answers.

Our military is breaking down due to administrative complexity.