Strickland

[Strickland]

I am looking for two types of documents, and would like to know if anyone is aware of such documents, or where I could find them. I am looking for historical examples of Commander's Estimates of the Situation done for any small war in any country. I am only limited by the fact that I need this to be open source. Second, I am looking for a reference or website that lists all the small wars - armed conflicts of the past 15 years. I would appreciate any suggestions. Thank you.

[Tom Odom]

Adam,

Small unit and small war teaching guide: Duffer's Drift by Swinton. Can be downloaded at CSI press on the Leavenworth web page.

I will think about your RFI and post more as necessary.

Best

Tom

[slapout9]

Major, somewhere in the SWJ library was an article I read about how Fall used an estimate of Viet Cong tax collectors replacing regular Government of Vietnam tax collectors as a strategic measure of effect in Vietnam. I don't remember exactly but at the time of major US troop build ups he believed the VC already had effective control of 70% of the country and it's tax base. Anyway it is in the library sorry I couldn't be more specific maybe Dave knows about it.

[MountainRunner]

Second, I am looking for a reference or website that lists all the small wars - armed conflicts of the past 15 years. I would appreciate any suggestions. Thank you.

Have you looked at the Correlates of War project data? http://www.correlatesofwar.org/

[Mike in Hilo]

Slapout9: The Fall paper you're referring to is The Theory and Practice of Insurgency and Counterinsurgency, Naval War College Review, Winter 1998--a reprint from the April 1965 issue. This is also the gem in which Fall cites the disconnect between the standard US offer to the villagers to build them privies or improve their hog breeding stock vs. the more compelling VC message--a promise to kill village chiefs and landlords.

[slapout9]

Major Strickland, Mike found the paper I mentioned and it is short and to the point. The paper has a short section on Insurgency Indicators where it talks about tax collectors and village chiefs.


Mike, I see you were with the CORDS program? Ever run into a guy named John Tilton?

[Mike in Hilo]

Sorry, name doesn't ring a bell. But even if he was there same timeframe I was, CORDS was a hell of a large edifice. I post this here rather than as a private message because readers may be interested in the magnitude of the enterprise. 44 provinces meant 44 Province Teams. Each team had about 50 men, likely more counting the guys farmed out to the districts. Typically, the +/- 50 included about 4 civilian Foreign Service Officers--the rest were US Army, officers and enlisted (and some Australian Army slots in the Australian AO). Anyway, the CORDS institutional structure was highly compartmentalized geographically, that is, by Military Region (formerly Corps Tactical Zone). Each MR had its own DEPCORDS (DEPCORDS MR III reported to the CG,Third Regional Assistance Command). So working in MR III, I would not have known many who were assigned to the other three MRs. Even MR III alone, with 11 full-fledged province teams, meant about 550 men at any given time, not including the many at the regional headquarters in Bien Hoa.

Cheers,
Mike.

[slapout9]

Yes, the CORDS program was and is an interesting program. Maybe you can give us all a short overall assessment of the program sometime from the viewpoint of somebody with on the ground experience.

[davidbfpo]

Try 'Rules of Engagement: A Life in Conflict' by Tim Collins, which has chapters on Sierra Leone (hostage rescue), Northern Ireland (support to the police) and several aspects of the latrest Iraqi war. Published in 2005, after the author left the BRitish Army; best known for his pre-war speech to his regiment.

More dated: 'SAS: Operation Oman' by Colonel Tony Jeapes, the C.O. 1971-76 (published 1980) and 'SAS: The Jungle Frnotier - SAS Regiment in Borneo Campaign 1963-66' by Peter Dickens (not the C.O.).

There is another contemporary book on my bookself, but I cannot find it.

Davidbfpo