Lessons from Iraq: An Infantry PL's Thoughts on OIF Ops

[Tom Odom]

Not for want of emphasis here, Been a problem since 2004 and really a problem as the first units went back. Still a mark of a good unit is insisting on a good RIP/TOA as they assume and giving one when they pass off their AO to another. As Ken says, egos and human nature. I would add that the commander sets the tone: if he says do it and do it right so it will be done and not otherwise.

Best

Tom

[jcustis]

I would add that the commander sets the tone: if he says do it and do it right so it will be done and not otherwise.

Absolutely, and something I overlooked to a degree when I first opened the article but I can say I've seen it firsthand...but the material included in this officer's article (and he returned this past Aug) is far from earth-shattering. I could pick about 80-90% of the material up elsewhere (and it would be dated by 1-2 yrs), whether it be here at the SWC, in Armor or Infantry magazines, or in handbook/smartcard. If he learned this the hard way, and felt he would have picked it up during a better RIP/TOA, I wonder what sort of PME he's been subjected to around the company CP.

When I used to see good tools and techniques in articles, I forced my platoon commanders to read them and discuss at some point. I also plagiarize like a mofo because I know there are guys way more smarter than me, so let's learn from them. It funny though, that I have peers who haven't cracked the cover on an issue of Armor for more than a couple of minutes before chucking it

[Ken White]

a seven month turn around, sometimes less -- that's seven months CONUS and a year to fifteen months there. While they're in the states, they spend most of their training effort on big war stuff (by direction), not on the next tour. Not to mention they changed over the last three years from their old TOE to a totally new TOE which was a major reshuffle and stood up a new Brigade all that at the rate of a Bde every four or five months while still maintaining the deployment schedule. They average about 25% turnover.

As you say, he got back in August and he's talking about stuff he learned when he arrived, so yeah, you're talking about stuff that's over a year old. Then there's OPSEC to preclude publishing the really neat and most current stuff...

Since he's writing for Infantry, one can presume he reads it, I suspect.