@jjhoonster While most of the rant is warranted, I think the points regarding Karen abandoning her unit are a bit much; She has whipped them into a well-oiled machine that operates how she wants them to without needing constant input, which is a positive thing. Madeleine covers for day-to-day issues while Karen still handles bigger issues; it's just there aren't any big issues for her to deal with, which is why the complaining and her going on the attack against those bandits in a previous chapter.
I disagree with your conclusion, and the reason is because of roles/responsibilities of a commander. I think that many units are, for the most part, "well-oiled machines" in terms of day-to-day garrison tasks. The role of a commander is not to concern themselves with these. That is the duty of NCOs and subordinate leaders. In fact, commanders shouldn't really concern themselves too much with any current operations (CuOPs), because at the time of execution, the plan should be developed enough for subordinate leaders to handle everything (this is one aspect of the concept known as Mission Command). The exception to this, in my opinion, is during complex combat operations with many unknown variables where the commander must make decisions on the spot. But generally, the commander should mostly be concerned with future operations (FuOPs) to make decisions and set conditions before execution. You'd be surprised on how many decision points there are in even operations you'd think to be straightforward. Something as simple as deciding whether to assault from the left or the right can become complex when you factor in costs, benefits, risks to force, risks to mission, etc. And it's the commander's job to accept risk, provide guidance to staff, and choose the Courses of Action (CoAs) that they deem best fit for mission (this is a process known as the Military Decision Making Process, or MDMP). A commander cannot make these decisions or provide guidance when they are absent.
I can go on and on about this stuff, but explaining in more detail would mean going into the weeds of leadership philosophy, MDMP, and a couple other topics. If anyone's interested, you can reach out via discord and we can have a discussion. A lot of this does start treading into the art of leadership/warfare rather than the science, but that's why it's such an interesting topic. But regardless, I stand by my opinion that Karen leaving her unit (ESPECIALLY to be an adj for a different unit) is a horrible decision as a commander.