Devils Advocate and Stirring up the Pot - I Hope
Some would argue a clearly articulated commander's intent would be better served with 23 - 24 year-old small unit leaders with more training, education and experience as well as maturity vice 19 -20 year olds.
The age of NCOs serving in our usual coalition partner’s forces is older – and they have more experience under their belt. Yes, I know we have PFCs, LCpls and Cpls on their second and third combat tours – but what has that gotten us? Some would submit a worn-out force and one that has led to some of the damning strategic consequences of tactical actions – Abu Graib and Haditha are but two examples. Yes, I understand that incidents like this are committed by a slim minority of the force and the vast majority perform heroically - but that minority still has the potential to completely derail any chances of executing successful Small Wars - and in particular COIN. Can't we find a way to weed them out before the damage is done?
Moreover, why should the majority be required to learn the hard way?
An often unsympathetic – sometimes hostile mainstream media as well as the IO efforts of our foes compounds this situation.
Others would argue that the problem is not with the Strategic Corporal - but with the next higher leadership level up through and including the SECDEF. That argument partially supports the commander's intent thesis. I suspect that it is more than just a clearly articulated commander's intent - that other capabilities would give the Strategic Corporal more tools in his kit to carry out that intent - and in the absence of a clearly defined end-state and / or commander's intent carry-on successfully in a complex and changing operational environment that includes asymmetric foes in close proximity to the local populace.
Don’t get me wrong, as I most certainly do not have an answer to this. An older force has a lot of implications for U.S. military conventional forces. A seasoned force from a smaller pool and increased longevity and retention rates are but a few of the variables we would have to overcome. Training and education costs are another consideration.
The Strategic Corporal is here to stay – whether we like it or not – it is not something we can wish away or apply simple solutions to as we plod along in this IO-rich environment.
I take exception to the view that training and education would be a waste of effort.
That said, I am purposely stirring up the pot here and enjoin this board to begin posting possible solutions for debate – we all seem to have a handle on the problem set and apparently many of us are struggling to find answers.
Start working closer with law enforcement
A Strategic corporal is more like a cop to me. Police officers are trained to make life and death decisions from day one. We have to do this without waiting for an operations order or some officer (supervisor) to tell us what to do. We have a lot of experience with doing it on camera, both good and bad. In the 28 articles for COIN and many other COIN writings you always here about acting like a beat cop. Do you know how to act like a beat cop??Do you know what a beat cop would do?? From what I have seen(which is limited )you have alot to learn. It hurts me to see such brave soldiers/marines get into such sh** because nobody has ever trained them on other options.
One way to start is this. Cops don't think Ends,Ways,and Means we think Motive,Means,and Opportunity!!! We don't think about total victory we think about control to a reasonable level.
OK now everybody take a shot!!(joke)