Organizing for COIN at the Company and Platoon Level

[Rob Thornton]

I guess we should not tell Joyner that small tactical units are in fact doing this and its working!

Hat tip to CPT Gwinn who has taken the time to write it down in a way that communicates the "how" and "why". Efforts like his help units hit the ground running vs. waiting for higher echelons to provide solutions. It also adds to the larger discussion about what we do!

[Tom Odom]

I guess we should not tell Joyner that small tactical units are in fact doing this and its working!

Hat tip to CPT Gwinn who has taken the time to write it down in a way that communicates the "how" and "why". Efforts like his help units hit the ground running vs. waiting for higher echelons to provide solutions. It also adds to the larger discussion about what we do!

Absolutely....

We have been working this for some time. CPT Gwinn wrote it in a way that captures much of what we have been training and doing.

And the comments about the futility of waiting for higher to help out are on the mark, especially when it comes to intel and developing local situational understanding. Joyner misses that point entirely....

Best

Tom

[SWJED]

Organizing Small Units for COIN

... Gwinn offers, in good detail, how to organize for COIN at the company and platoon level. This post should be useful -- along the same lines as David Kilcullen's "Twenty-Eight Articles" -- for any small unit leader heading off to Afghanistan or Iraq.