Rules of Engagement for Conscience and Sense

[jcustis]

Roger...I thought it would be those little things.

[120mm]

I think the most important thing to bring out of this is for commanders to train and trust their soldiers. The current checklist system of ROE is a crutch; we should be able to produce a soldier that will know when and how to engage an enemy so as to not assist the insurgency.

Walking over the ground, later, it was obvious that not only would the E-5 been justified in engaging the mortar crew, she would've damaged the insurgency in doing so. On the other side, the E-4 who killed the kids was absolutely in the wrong, though it was determined he was in compliance with the ROE. (They were penetrating the perimeter to steal trash)

Unfortunately, in a top-down "directed" system, you get Yugos. It is a "hard sell" in the current environment to get commanders to accept risk in order accomplish "soft" missions and to actually trust the enlisted man/woman. If our soldiers have to spend 8 hours a year training on "grill safety", how can we expect them to function in a COIN environment?

As an aside, to really p.o. the reading audience, the E-5 who took the mortaring was reprimanded for being "sharp" with the O-4 "Battle Major" who denied her requests to engage the mortar team.

[Stan]

Thanks 120 ! I had a feeling this was coming.

I now, more than ever, thank whomever for having refined officers such as LTC Odom (with his wit and wisdom) at my side when things got difficult and arduous decision making was the last thing I needed to hear.

Tom, like most of my professional officers used his common sense in such scenarios and took an ass chewing later. He would still laugh and I often had to wonder if this was doing his career any favors. I already had 20 plus in, so there were no longer academics involved, just saving the skin on my behind.

Unfortunately, in a top-down "directed" system, you get Yugos. It is a "hard sell" in the current environment to get commanders to accept risk in order accomplish "soft" missions and to actually trust the enlisted man/woman. If our soldiers have to spend 8 hours a year training on "grill safety", how can we expect them to function in a COIN environment?

As an aside, to really p.o. the reading audience, the E-5 who took the mortaring was reprimanded for being "sharp" with the O-4 "Battle Major" who denied her requests to engage the mortar team.
8 Hours Ago 02:40 PM