I'm rather bemused at some of this discussion. I remember the bad old days before the present army system was introduced. I would humbly urge every budding commander that wishes to wallow in every little detail on the ground to simply get themselves appointed as Marshal and let someone else become General. Let's not go back to before or kid ourselves things are/were better with a hyperactive General pulling everyone's strings.
I remember what it was like to be a hands-on, control-everything General and it was bloody awful. It took up shedloads of my time and I'd be getting up earlier or staying up later to keep things all square. To be successful as a General you simply had to be a control freak ready to burn a lot of time on BM (and it's a shame to hear that some of us still do that!) Gone were any RPs or general letters. I was just sending orders, haranguing, breathing in reports. The needs of relentless communication was the one and only reason I ever got involved on IRC. Being General was good at building your profile, but it was a pig of a job. You were basically doing volunteer work in addition to whatever else you do in your real life!
I really appreciate the current system because, although the General still sets over-arching strategy and takes a keen interest in martial matters, much of the fine detail is spread across the shoulders of a handful of marshals. You don't have to micromanage dozens of nobles personally (though back in the day, scores was probably more realistic!) And it can work, I've managed to get along with the present situation fine. I've given Marshals more independence, been an independent Marshal and I have not obsessed so much, haven't needed to obsess so much. Some people apparently still do, but at least these days it's optional, not simply a requirement.
There is definitely a shortage of decent Marshal material around like. Part of Carelia's problem that. And then, if you have old characters you either don't have enough hours to really lead an army in war or you know better than to put your name forward ;-) Older players should definitely force their way onto military councils whenever and wherever they can though. I was on Carelia's for a good bit and it's really, really surprising what newer players don't know about certain aspects of war that you've probably picked up simply by long exposure. Some of these young marshals might be good at logging in early each turn, but they can definitely do with older wizened heads advising them from above!
