Posted on Sep 13, 2021
Losing Small Wars: Why US Military Culture Leads to Defeat | Small Wars Journal
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Posted 3 y ago
Responses: 7
Hate the idea of "an eye in the sky" dictating COA in ground fight. May have slept through that instruction those (many) years ago but, as an Advisor of CIDG/Regional Forces in the Central Highlands, I didn't merit that level of upper brass attention. Had that been the case, I probably would have over-used the phrase, "You're coming in broken!" Don't know how practical the ideas expressed in this article are in terms of implementation. A major shift, for sure, and then what. Chaos is chaos. Interesting that the German high command's major complaint about fighting Americans was that they (we) didn't follow our own doctrine meaning, of course, that we were highly unpredictable on the battlefield. This is a great, thought provoking article and I appreciate your posting it, LTC Eric Udouj .
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This kind of reminds me of the Capitol Building riot. There was a lot of violence at the building, but the NG had to wait hours to get approval from the Department of the Army and or the DOD. I forgot who really was the decision maker(s). At that point the purpose of the NG was to augment the Capitol Police and secure the building, but they were late to arrive.
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LTC Eric Udouj
Yup - the RRF sat waiting.. no call made before or during. It will take a while for that to come out as to the WHY.. such is politics.
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MAJ Ken Landgren
Speaking of micromanaging, I believe the Secretary of the Army stipulated the NG could not wear full battle rattle and could not have weapons. This is what I think I remember. It reminds me of the SECDEF ordering our military in Somalia armored vehicles could not be used. LTC Eric Udouj
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LTC Eric Udouj
MAJ Ken Landgren - Les Aspin - now there is a grave worth pissing on. No Armor or gunships due to perceptions rendered... nothing to do with the mission....
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MAJ Ken Landgren
I concur with you 100%. No SECDEF should specify tactical capabilities of the military. His micromanaging cost us lives. LTC Eric Udouj
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