'The General Mattis collection: a mixture
Moderator's Note
Nine threads in July 2015 easily id'd as linked to now retired USMC General Mattis have been merged here and the threar re-titled 'The General Mattis collection: a mixture'. Prompted by the most recent post. Seven more 2-16 threads merged in 29/12/16 (ends).
I just finished reading Thomas Rick's Fiasco and was trying to track down LTG Mattis' reading list. Anybody out there have it? Thanks.
Shek
Question for SWJED aka(crystal ball)
Do you think he will try to implement a CAP style or Distributed Operations type Strategy?
Crystal Ball Says: Mission Type Orders
Quote:
Originally Posted by
slapout9
Do you think he will try to implement a CAP style or Distributed Operations type Strategy?
General Mattis will attempt to identify the desired end-state (hopefully he will have some help here from the National Command Authority) and based on his in-depth knowledge of COIN issue mission type orders / commander's intent to his subordinate commander in Iraq. Whether that entails CAP or DO or anything else remains to be seen as the situation in Iraq is quite dynamic and what may have worked in one province at one particular point in time may or may not be applicable now. That said, he will hopefully be able to instill unity of command amongst all the entities that are now players in Iraq.
The Washington Post says Mattis may replace Casey
In this post the speculation is that Gen. Petraeus would replace Abizaid and Gen. Mattis would replace Gen. Casey, Gen Casey is also apparently in the running for Abizaid's Centcom slot.
LtGen Jim Mattis to US Joint Forces Command
On the Small Wars Journal Blog - LtGen Jim Mattis to US Joint Forces Command.
Quote:
A rumor we have been hearing since May was reported on yesterday in the North County Times – Lieutenant General James Mattis (USMC) has been nominated for his fourth star and slated to take over US Joint Forces Command in Norfolk, Virginia...
Ten or more flag spaces? Unlikely.
OTOH, maybe it's a valid organization and some service peculiar subordinate (nominal, of course...) commands are unnecessary...
Mattis Takes the Helm at JFCOM
Mattis Takes the Helm at JFCOM - SWJ Blog - video of and article on the change of command...
Lets use this as an opportunity to talk about
why we are interested in JFCOM as an organization
What I hope JFCOM can do is become the joint engine of leader agility and adaptation that looks far enough forward in sufficient breadth to help us get it more right than wrong.
A tall order in itself. JFCOM has in the past been billed as an engine of Joint "Transformation" - a term that was ambiguous enough and which appeared to emphasize everything but the people who make up the military. It has been perceived as being techno-centric, deservedly or not - and its embracing of EBO in Joint Doctrine generated some well articulated fights by the opposition (part of this probably has to do with how the services perceive the value of EBO in terms of strengths and limitations)
A large challenge will be overcoming entrenched mindsets (both within and on the outside) to achieve a balance that entices the services and commands out of our kung-fu stances. Fostering a Joint culture of innovation required to identify and understand ourselves and our adversaries (current and future) operating across the broad spectrum of war vs. being perceived as a gear which grinds out flavors of the month is no small task. The collective "we" must come to grips with the limitations of DOTMPF to fix our shortfalls. Wherever we adjust these aspects to answer hard, but specific questions, we paint ourselves into corners.
These are the science pieces, whereas Leadership is the art piece. We don't like to rely wholeheartedly on that one because it seems to leave too much to chance - not everybody is going to be as good as the next guy or gal - so we seek to even the odds with the science. We can't even agree on where "born" ends and "made" begins in the quest for leaders - its too vague and too suspicious - and hits too close to home for many to ponder.
You can give the same tools under like conditions to different leaders in complex organizations operating in complex environments and the odds are at least equal that they will not reach the same outcome - even if their experience set up to the time appears to be the same. One may succeed and the other may fail simply because one has the right innate mixture of courage, character and intellect (be they born to, or developed) equal to the task at hand. That is hard for us to swallow.
This is why putting the right person in the right command matters so much. JFCOM can be about helping us get over ourselves by providing a framework for common discussion that helps us take what we have vs. what we wished we had and jointly solving the strategic, operational or tactical problem set (be it the one now or the one on the horizon). Its success in doing so will depend as much on the folks outside JFCOM as those inside.
Best Regards, Rob