Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 20 of 32

Thread: Duffers Drift Redux: Nightmare on Wazir Street

  1. #1
    Council Member Tom Odom's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Location
    DeRidder LA
    Posts
    3,949

    Default Duffers Drift Redux: Nightmare on Wazir Street

    I was lucky to work with a very bright Major here in putting this together. It is unclassified and can be found at the following links as well as download it.

    Nightmare on Wazir Street

    Preface
    2LT Backsight Forethought's Family Lineage

    Yes, makin' mock o' uniforms that guard you while you sleep
    Is cheaper than them uniforms, an' they're starvation cheap;
    An' hustlin' drunken soldiers when they're goin' large a bit
    Is five times better business than paradin' in full kit.
    Then it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' :Tommy, 'ow's yer soul?:
    But it's :Thin red line of 'eroes: when the drums begin to roll,
    The drums begin to roll, my boys, the drums begin to roll,
    O it's :Thin red line of 'eroes: when the drums begin to roll.

    Tommy
    Rudyard Kipling


    This recollection of combat nightmares is dedicated to those who “stand ready to deploy, engage, and destroy the enemies of the United States of America in close combat.”

    A little more than a century ago, my great-great-grandfather Backsight Forethought returned to Ireland from service in the Boer War as a lieutenant in the Royal Irish Rifles. BF was, according to family oral history, something of a weird duck given to long walks and even longer conversations with himself. Most disturbing to his fellow Irishmen of the day was his tendency to refer to dreams as a guiding source in his life after his return from South Africa. Ultimately, the confining nature of Irish society, climate, and country prompted BF to emigrate from Ireland to the United States, where his ways blended in and he enjoyed greater room to roam as he murmured to himself about somebody named “Oom.” BF passed away in 1945 with his family and heirs around him. One was my great-grandfather, BF II, and another was his son, BF III, my grandfather. True to our Irish roots, we had kept alive the patrilineal heritage, naming each firstborn son after the man who brought the family to America.

    With that shared name came a shared but selective gift. You see, every BF since Great-Great-Grandpa BF has been guided by his dreams. BF the First chose to write a short book about his dreams in the Boer War, hoping to share his hard won insights with following generations of lieutenants facing combat for the first time. BF II said that short work helped him survive the tragedy of the trenches in WWI. BF III, just back from Europe in 1945, assured his grandfather, BF the First, that his dreams had guided him in the long march up the Italian boot. My father, BF IV, experienced the same in Vietnam.

    And so it has proved for me. Like my great-great-grandfather, I have chosen to recount my experiences on paper. This tale encompasses an amalgamation of events and lessons learned that took place during the Iraq phase of the Global War on Terrorism. I hope that by reading this narrative, some leader on a future battlefield will apply the basic principles illuminated through the pain of another. Nowadays it is important to remember, when making an assessment of our enemies, that the insurgent has been practicing insurgency for a few years. He is extremely smart and adaptive. Right now one of them is hard at work developing a diabolical plan to try and kill you. Remember, all the dumb insurgents are dead.

    Backsight Forethought, V
    2LT, Infantry*

    * With respectful acknowledgement of The Defence of Duffer's Drift by then Captain E.D. Swinton, D.S.O., R.E. (later Major General Sir Ernest Swinton, K.B.E., C.B., D.S.O.)
    Prologue: Arrival in Iraq
    The First Nightmare: Avoid the Obvious
    The Second Nightmare: Set the Conditions
    The Third Nightmare: Don't Make Fatal Assumptions
    The Fourth Nightmare: War Is Not Fair: Use All the Advantages to Kill the Enemy


    Download in PDF
    Attached Images Attached Images
    Last edited by Tom Odom; 06-13-2008 at 02:57 PM. Reason: added link to download

  2. #2
    Council Member
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
    Posts
    567

    Default

    I've downloaded and will read when I get a chance. I think all veterans should do the same. (My father in law passed away just before I met my future wife. She often mentions how much he would've enjoyed sharing his combat stories with me and I always reply that I would've loved to hear them. It's really a shame that he never wrote them down.)

    If anyone else has similar documents, I'd love to read them too: especially about older conflicts.
    Quote Originally Posted by SteveMetz View Post
    Sometimes it takes someone without deep experience to think creatively.

  3. #3
    Moderator Steve Blair's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Location
    Montana
    Posts
    3,195

    Default

    Uh...you do realize that this is a semi-fictional account intended as a training aid...right?
    "On the plains and mountains of the American West, the United States Army had once learned everything there was to learn about hit-and-run tactics and guerrilla warfare."
    T.R. Fehrenbach This Kind of War

  4. #4
    Council Member Ken White's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    Florida
    Posts
    8,060

    Default The only Swinton folks know today

    is Tilda...

  5. #5
    Council Member
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
    Posts
    567

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Steve Blair View Post
    Uh...you do realize that this is a semi-fictional account intended as a training aid...right?
    No. Since I hadn't read it yet, but I'm still interested in the real McCoy. You guys are all so darn professional around here. If you don't want to "share the drama" here, I'd still be interested off line. (Don't worry. It'll be our little secret. It won't make you look unprofessional.) And if you could throw dad's or grandpa's accounts into a scanner, I think that would be really interesting.
    Quote Originally Posted by SteveMetz View Post
    Sometimes it takes someone without deep experience to think creatively.

  6. #6
    Council Member
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    Sierra Vista, AZ
    Posts
    175

    Default other iraq duffer's drift

    "The Defense of Jisr al Doreaa" by Michael Burganoyne and Albert Markwardt is another great Iraq update of Duffer's Drift about a PL at a COP in an Iraqi village. Lots of great small unit lessons.

    I tried attaching the pdf, but it failed. It is posted on the companycommand.mil website for those with AKO access. If you can find, check it out.

  7. #7
    Council Member Tom Odom's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Location
    DeRidder LA
    Posts
    3,949

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by patmc View Post
    "The Defense of Jisr al Doreaa" by Michael Burganoyne and Albert Markwardt is another great Iraq update of Duffer's Drift about a PL at a COP in an Iraqi village. Lots of great small unit lessons.

    I tried attaching the pdf, but it failed. It is posted on the companycommand.mil website for those with AKO access. If you can find, check it out.
    That one is also on the CALL restricted site.

  8. #8
    Council Member Cavguy's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2007
    Location
    Honolulu, Hawaii
    Posts
    1,127

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by patmc View Post
    "The Defense of Jisr al Doreaa" by Michael Burganoyne and Albert Markwardt is another great Iraq update of Duffer's Drift about a PL at a COP in an Iraqi village. Lots of great small unit lessons.

    I tried attaching the pdf, but it failed. It is posted on the companycommand.mil website for those with AKO access. If you can find, check it out.
    It's also on the http://coin.army.mil AKO and sharepoint. It's UNCLASS, so I will send it to the Admins if nothing else.
    Last edited by Cavguy; 06-13-2008 at 04:07 PM.
    "A Sherman can give you a very nice... edge."- Oddball, Kelly's Heroes
    Who is Cavguy?

  9. #9
    Small Wars Journal SWJED's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    Largo, Florida
    Posts
    3,989

    Default The Defense of Jisr al Doreaa

    "The Defense of Jisr al Doreaa" by Captains Michael Burganoyne and Albert Markwardt is now posted at SWJ. Large file - over 6 mb...

    Thanks Cavguy!

    Dave

  10. #10
    Council Member Juan Rico's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
    Location
    Neither Here Nor There
    Posts
    26

    Default wazir street vs. operation david

    having just read fmfm 1a (http://www.d-n-i.net/fcs/pdf/fmfm_1-a.pdf), i couldn't help but notice the difference in the proportionate-ness of the artillery response in wazir street (i have no war experience by the way) to operation david as illustrated.

    and was reminded of the lt. col. burke's explanation, "one of our first rules is proportionality. a disproportionate response, like using an M1 tank [or in this case artillery] against a couple of lightly armed mujaheddin, turns us into Goliath. it is a great way to make the locals hate us so much they will fight us. it also makes us look like cowards."

    is this a marine/army difference? thanks in advance for your explanations.
    لا أريد لأحد أن يسكت عن الخطأ أو أن يتستر عن العيوب والنواقص‏‏‏‏
    حافظ الأسد

  11. #11
    Council Member jkm_101_fso's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Location
    Kabul
    Posts
    325

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by SWJED View Post
    "The Defense of Jisr al Doreaa" by Captains Michael Burganoyne and Albert Markwardt is now posted at SWJ. Large file - over 6 mb...

    Thanks Cavguy!

    Dave
    It's a little hokey, but a perfect read for brand new 2LTs headed over. I like the though progression used, tying in the overall theater strategy.
    Sir, what the hell are we doing?

  12. #12
    Council Member Tom Odom's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Location
    DeRidder LA
    Posts
    3,949

    Default

    Although I am not a fan of Lind's 4GW model--the only thing that really makes sense to me is the quote, "My head hurts" above the insert on Operation David, I would not attribute the differences between that fictional vignette and the one we put in Wazir street to a difference between Marines and Army.

    Understand that the motivation behind Wazir street was not fictional--it was personal in that the author had lost troops in combat who charged in when tactical patience would have achieved the sought after end state--killing the bad guys without killing civilians or losing friendlies. I believe that is a shared value between Marines and Army.

    There is a decent discussion of Excalibur in USA Today

    Tom

    Army buys more accurate artillery shells
    By Tom Vanden Brook, USA TODAY
    WASHINGTON — The Army has accelerated purchasing a high-tech artillery shell that can be fired from as far away as 14 miles yet explode within 30 feet of its target to avoid civilian casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan, Army officials and analysts say.

    An urgent request from commanders in Iraq for more accurate artillery to reduce civilian deaths prompted the Army to speed production of the Excalibur shells, according to the Government Accountability Office. In May, the Army awarded an $85 million contract to buy Excaliburs — the most ever spent for the shells.

  13. #13
    Council Member jkm_101_fso's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Location
    Kabul
    Posts
    325

    Default Excalibur

    Capt. Victor Scharstein, whose 1st Cavalry Division unit fired the Excalibur at insurgents in Baqouba, vouched for the shell's accuracy. "It may take me 20, 30, 40, 50, upward of 100 rounds to destroy a target" with conventional artillery, he said. "Now I'm attacking a target with one or two rounds."
    My current BN CDR was the BDE FSO for Scharstein's unit...he had nothing but great things to say about the excalibur, other than the CFF needs to be extremely accurate.
    Sir, what the hell are we doing?

  14. #14
    Council Member Cavguy's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2007
    Location
    Honolulu, Hawaii
    Posts
    1,127

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Juan Rico View Post
    having just read fmfm 1a (http://www.d-n-i.net/fcs/pdf/fmfm_1-a.pdf), i couldn't help but notice the difference in the proportionate-ness of the artillery response in wazir street (i have no war experience by the way) to operation david as illustrated.

    is this a marine/army difference? thanks in advance for your explanations.
    Having served in MNF-W, the Marines have no more or less compunction than the Army in employing artillery or airstrikes in urban terrain when required.

    The theater guidance is the same for all services. Implimentation rests on the front line commanders. I have never seen a systemic difference, but one that varied by the region each commander was in.

    I will say I fired more arty and airstrikes in MNF-W in 2006 in a month than we did in all of Tal Afar over a year.

    Finally, realize that employing GMLRS or Excalibur is far different than a conventional fire mission. Without going too far down the classifed route, these weapons have highly focused effects that minimize collateral damage.
    Last edited by Cavguy; 08-25-2008 at 06:59 PM.
    "A Sherman can give you a very nice... edge."- Oddball, Kelly's Heroes
    Who is Cavguy?

  15. #15
    Moderator Steve Blair's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Location
    Montana
    Posts
    3,195

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Cavguy View Post
    Having served in MNF-W, the Marines have no more or less compunction than the army in employing artillery or airstrikes in urban terrain when required.

    The theater guidance is the same for all services. Implimentation rests on the front line commanders. I have never seen a systemic difference, but one that varied by the region each commander was in.

    I will say I fired more arty and airstrikes in MNF-W in 2006 in a month than we did in all of Tal Afar over a year.

    Finally, realize that employing GMLRS or Excalibur is far different than a conventional fire mission. Without going too far down the classifed route, these weapons have highly focused effects that minimize collateral damage.
    He's also referring to the DNI stuff, which is created for the 'notional' Austro-Hungarian Marine Corps....sort of Lind's play army when it comes to his theoretical writings. It can be hard to tell the difference, especially if you just pick up one of those things without the cover...something that makes one wonder at times.
    "On the plains and mountains of the American West, the United States Army had once learned everything there was to learn about hit-and-run tactics and guerrilla warfare."
    T.R. Fehrenbach This Kind of War

  16. #16
    Council Member Cavguy's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2007
    Location
    Honolulu, Hawaii
    Posts
    1,127

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Steve Blair View Post
    He's also referring to the DNI stuff, which is created for the 'notional' Austro-Hungarian Marine Corps....sort of Lind's play army when it comes to his theoretical writings. It can be hard to tell the difference, especially if you just pick up one of those things without the cover...something that makes one wonder at times.
    Ahhh ... DNI

    I have read that paper before. I guess it put me off at the beginning with this:

    Quote Originally Posted by DNI
    America's greatest military theorist, Air Force Colonel John Boyd, used to say,
    That said, overall it's not bad.

    Most of the concepts are sound counterinsurgency guidance dating back to the 60's, with the requisite DNI 4GW propaganda mixed in to make it seem "new".
    "A Sherman can give you a very nice... edge."- Oddball, Kelly's Heroes
    Who is Cavguy?

  17. #17
    Council Member Stan's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Location
    Estonia
    Posts
    3,817

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Cavguy View Post
    It's also on the http://coin.army.mil AKO and sharepoint. It's UNCLASS, so I will send it to the Admins if nothing else.
    This has absolutely nothing to do with this thread, but, gotta say...

    Love that hat

    Nice pic too !
    If you want to blend in, take the bus

  18. #18
    Moderator Steve Blair's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Location
    Montana
    Posts
    3,195

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Stan View Post
    This has absolutely nothing to do with this thread, but, gotta say...

    Love that hat

    Nice pic too !
    He might just love the smell of napalm in the morning, too....if he surfs, that is....

    (sorry, but I had slip in the Apocalypse Now reference...)
    "On the plains and mountains of the American West, the United States Army had once learned everything there was to learn about hit-and-run tactics and guerrilla warfare."
    T.R. Fehrenbach This Kind of War

  19. #19
    Council Member Cavguy's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2007
    Location
    Honolulu, Hawaii
    Posts
    1,127

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Steve Blair View Post
    He might just love the smell of napalm in the morning, too....if he surfs, that is....

    (sorry, but I had slip in the Apocalypse Now reference...)
    Not to stray too far O/T, but I couldn't resist.

    This was the last slide from my Armor Conference presentation this year ...
    Attached Images Attached Images
    "A Sherman can give you a very nice... edge."- Oddball, Kelly's Heroes
    Who is Cavguy?

  20. #20
    Council Member Umar Al-Mokhtār's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    Cirenaica
    Posts
    374

    Default I believe Cavguy is modeling...

    the current SCU: Schofield Combat Uniform. Blends in well during late night tacops in the Fort DeRussy AO.
    "What is best in life?" "To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of the women."

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •