Coalition Warfare at the Tactical level and the consequences of cultural disconnects

[Ken White]

Having worked as an Advisor to a Viet Namese Battalion and as an ops advisor to the old Imperial Iranian Army, I agree with your conclusions and the anecdotes brought several grins to my face...

[marct]

Hi Rob,

Great anecdote! Thanks for posting it. I've been thinking about your piece for a while now (since my last comments), and I think that one of the key differences lies in the warrior ethos (vs. a soldiers ethos). This isn't to say that the two can't be combined, but I suspect that the warrior ethos dominates in the Iraqi mindset. Just out of interest, after successful IA raids, did the people taking part in them talk about it in the first person - I vs We?

Marc

[Rob Thornton]

Marc,
Its difficult because once you engage through an interpreter you get their interpretation. However, the BN S3 did speak english and he would generally say " my soldiers did this" or "the patrol, they do this".
I think there was some "we" and there was some "I" in the interpreters' responses - this may have also been skewed by how I asked the question(s) and which interpreter I used (not all are as capable - or as familiar).
If I had to strike a balance I would say that when referring to a "we" it was more along the lines of the patrol vs. a company or BN - this reflects how they operate - and maybe why I reflected that in the org chart I did up on "building Indig Sec Forces" in VOL 8 - I just did not fully realize why I did it until now - interesting.
Best, Rob

[marct]

Hi Rob,

Thanks. The I - We split tends to indicate a whole slew of different things, which is why I was wondering how they described the actions.

Marc

[Armchairguy]

This has nothing to do with your great anecdotes Rob, but it seemed that this was a story that you'd love. An Iraqi officer and his troops gave a check for $1000 to help out Americans hurt by the California wildfires. Choked me up a bit.

[Rob Thornton]

ACG - Thanks - I'll see if I can dig the story up - I appreciate you bringing it up. Best, Rob