Posted on Aug 31, 2022
'We never understood what winning meant' — A decorated Marine Raider reflects on the fall of...
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Kabul
Kabul
Edited 2 y ago
Posted 2 y ago
Responses: 3
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If 'we' didn't understand what winning was supposed to look like, why weren't leaders like him asking their higher? Better yet, why wasn't Washington telling the leaders what winning was to be? That's the questions I want to know. Its easy to Monday Morning quarterback, but when you were involved and you didn't ask when you were there then you've got no room to speculate.
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SFC Casey O'Mally
MSG Roy Cheever I was a Soldier, not a diplomat. My job was to fight and win our nation's wars.
A large part of the problem, IMHO, was that the DoD lost sight of their purpose - warfighting. Or, more accurately, our politicians lost sight - and our Generals let them.
My job was not to throw off the mantle of oppression. SF, maybe (De Oppresso Libre). But all that nation-building and governance crap belongs to State.
Yes, I am exceptionally critical of the Generals, but not without cause. From everything I have read, heard, and experienced, both Iraq and Afghanistan were overwhelmingly and convincingly won at the tactical level. We won pretty much every battle. We hunted down, rooted out, and killed or captured enough bad guys to populate a small country. We accomplished almost every mission set before us at the Company, Platoon, and Squad level. We WON the tactical fight. Overwhelmingly.
But the strategic fight? The fight where your Generals are the decisive point? Where Stars make decisions and win or lose wars? To include inside the beltway. We lost those battles. Over and over and over again.
A large part of the problem, IMHO, was that the DoD lost sight of their purpose - warfighting. Or, more accurately, our politicians lost sight - and our Generals let them.
My job was not to throw off the mantle of oppression. SF, maybe (De Oppresso Libre). But all that nation-building and governance crap belongs to State.
Yes, I am exceptionally critical of the Generals, but not without cause. From everything I have read, heard, and experienced, both Iraq and Afghanistan were overwhelmingly and convincingly won at the tactical level. We won pretty much every battle. We hunted down, rooted out, and killed or captured enough bad guys to populate a small country. We accomplished almost every mission set before us at the Company, Platoon, and Squad level. We WON the tactical fight. Overwhelmingly.
But the strategic fight? The fight where your Generals are the decisive point? Where Stars make decisions and win or lose wars? To include inside the beltway. We lost those battles. Over and over and over again.
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