Will the Trigger-Puller shift mission?
I have been reading a lot, especially from the Democratic outlets, about shifting the mission in Iraq to more support, and less combat. My question, which I will answer in part as I see it, is this. Will the commanders on the ground actually willingly, and quickly, shift mission if the order comes?
I think not. This is born of my own personal experience, which is naturally limited, but it is supported by a logical thread as well. We all know that soldiers are supposed to salute and move out when orders come, but most people would admit that, as with any bureaucracy, the degree to which that mission is fulfilled depends on the person following the order, and how they interpret it. This is why everyone, from General to private, must be supervised to some degree to make sure that the mission is accomplished. I believe that there are several impediments to shifting from combat to support.
1) Training. I cannot imagine an outcome where force protection is not allowed. That being said it is not in the training or doctrine of any branch of the American military to be passively force protective. As long as there are convoys rolling on the Lines of Communication, the natural instinct of pretty much every commander will be to patrol the areas around those LOC's, and precipitating combat operations. From there it could be a slippery slope to massive operations.
2) Inertia. People keep on doing what they are doing, and people have been fighting the war the way they have been fighting it for nigh on five years now. People are going back for as much as their fifth deployment, and changing those habits will be hard.
3) Culture. Commanders want to have the statistics. If the previous commander had twenty named operations, it is in military culture that you should have twenty five, or thirty. We measure everything, and every measure should improve if you are good commander. Moreover, it is not culturally 'cool' to tell a war story that begins "When I was a battalion commander, we had this one meeting..."
(I am not saying that commanders are worried about their OER's as some people might cynically suggest. Instead, what I am pointing out is in American culture, and the military especially, everything should always improve. Therefore the metrics we use have direct bearing on the results we get. We use kinetic action as a major metric, and the culture of the military makes changing from kinetic to non-kinetic metrics difficult.)
None of this is to say that transitioning from direct action to supporting roles in Iraq is impossible. I merely believe that simply pronouncing that there will be a change from kinetic to support roles does not mean that it will necessarily happen. I think that needs to be taken into account when planning. The solution may be as simple as more direct oversight by higher ranking or civilian authorities, or it may be as complex as a complete overhaul of the system within which we operate.
I am asking here to see if my suspicions are correct. A discussion of the implications would most likely be better served in a more strategically oriented forum.
Didn't mean to sound that way, I certainly was not offended.
I tend to be overwordy sometimes and my attempts to be more concise lead to seeming abruptness occasionally.
I agree that we are not in disagreement :) to any real extent. I was being sarcastic (should've used the icon) on the 'metrics' bit. I know all too well of the bureaucratic predilection for numbers that Robert Strange MacNamara foisted on the Armed Forces of the US. During the years before I retired and throughout all my second stint as a DAC I fought metrics on every possible occasion. I won a lot of battles but, sigh, lost the war...
I do believe that numbers are not a valid proof of much of anything in combat -- other than to give the Intel Analysts something to play with (sometimes to good effect, sometimes not).
The lag time I'm pretty sure is just the result of nothing more than the lumbering elephantine bureaucracy that DoD and the Services have all become, that and the terrible stifling of iniitiative that is too prevalent. It can be sped up if the right guy is in charge. If he's not, then we will lumber along and it'll probably work out; the kids always make it work.
Metrics, metrics everywhere
Ken,
Thank you for clarifying that point because I was about to ask you what military you served in prior to retirement? Sit in any staff especially O-6 and above and it becomes apparent that "metrics" are used to measure everything especially when we're trying to paint a positive result in some endeavor. It helps our human minds 'frame' success using numbers... I agree they don't mean all that much but they are out there.
PT
Heh. Metrics, metrics everywhere indeed...
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Pragmatic Thinker
Ken,
Thank you for clarifying that point because I was about to ask you what military you served in prior to retirement? Sit in any staff especially O-6 and above and it becomes apparent that "metrics" are used to measure everything especially when we're trying to paint a positive result in some endeavor. It helps our human minds 'frame' success using numbers... I agree they don't mean all that much but they are out there.
PT
I think the absolute overemphasis on metrics stems from two sources; Business School graduates in uniform and an over reliance on 'data' to 'prove' things to the excessive number of 'consultant's and think tanks we hire. Fallacious logic on both counts IMO. All three counts, in fact. ;)
Screw up manufacturing Widgets and you sell the bad ones at a discount and get a tax write off for the whole thing. Screw up in combat and someone's going to die unnecessarily. Business and Soldiering are not at all compatible.
Had a Battalion Commander once, good guy. Had two big charts behind his desk. One had "Things that are important" and listed AWOL, DR, Article 15s, etc. The other had "Things that are unimportant" and listed Indiv Tng, Marksmanship, ARTEP completions etc. He was being sarcastic. The Bde Commander tolerated (and agreed with) the charts. The first General that saw it pitched an absolute fit and the Charts disappeared... :rolleyes:
Yes, 'metrics' are out there -- and most do more harm than good IMO... :(