Where did???

[Bill Moore]

Posted by Wild Bob,

Though, I did send my boss a two pager Friday on why AFG is neither a war, nor CT, nor COIN; but that it is simply campaign in a larger effort to counter the regional Unconventional Warfare campaign being waged by AQ.

You can't be a true wild man if you only slip white papers to your boss. You need to rock the system like Washington, MLK, Ghandi, Cory Aquino, etc. I recall we all had a chance to respond to a JFCOM request a few weeks ago about the potential need to redefine IW and possibly develop a new doctrine for it. Apparently I was the lone voice out there (according to their website) that called for a new doctrine, everyone else was apparently content with relying on our current COIN, FID, UW, SO, and CT doctrine. I wondered where my SF brothers were, not those in the halls of doctrine, as they have taken a momentary leave of their senses, but the voices from the field?

I non-concurred for the reasons you listed, cause most common folks simply want to put the problem set in a familiar box, and presto we have an instant doctrinal solution, no further study required. So we start off with defining the problem incorrectly and then consequently apply the wrong the strategy. When it doesn't work, we think we have to apply more of the same strategy. We don't question if our original premise was wrong to begin with.

When I think of Wild Bill Donovan (from reading his biography) I think of a no nonsense guy who defied the rules and got the job done. He was smart, open minded, and carried a large set of gonads. What was the name of that movie where Clint Eastwood was a Marine Gunny when they invaded Grenada? I loved it when the well portrayed conventional officer said you're the type of Marine that should be locked away with a sign that says break glass only in time of war (something along those lines). Well we're at war, let's break the glass.

[Tom Odom]

OK, off to look for it now. I'm pretty sure it'll follow the 1941 Infantry Instructor's manual, but I'll not prejudge it, and as my Grandfather was the SOE K-Pol (now called POLAD - TOM ODOM take note! ) I am emotionally pre-disposed to it!

Bloody hell!

Wilf has come out of the closet...

[davidbfpo]

Bill,

What was the name of that movie where Clint Eastwood was a Marine Gunny when they invaded Grenada? I loved it when the well portrayed conventional officer said you're the type of Marine that should be locked away with a sign that says break glass only in time of war (something along those lines).

It was Heartbreak Ridge, from 1986: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091187/

davidbfpo

[Red Rat]

Where did all the "Wild Bill" Donovans go?


My answer is simple- insitutional bureacracy coupled with risk adversion in the FBI, CIA, SOCOM, JSOC, and Special Forces. Today, Donovan would be fired as an infantry/recon LT.

My 2 star CG on OIF (the break-in) described SF as over bureaucratised and risk averse - and he had a long SF pedigree!!

As I think we are never going to fight the Afghan as well as they fight each other I harken back to the SAS of the Imperial Indian Army - notably the Frontier Scouts (The South Waziristan Scouts, The Tochi Scouts, The Gilgit Scouts and the Chitral Scouts). It takes a poacher to make a really effective gamekeeper

The Frontier Scouts by Charles Chenevix Trench is out of print but highly recommended. Personally I think there is quite an appetite in the army for officers and SNCOs to do extended tours in AFG or other places with such formations. At the close of empire Loan Service with the various ex-colonial armies was always sought after by the more adventurous and less career minded individual, especially where it involved shooting at people, tigers or both