Tenacity and Remembrance Over the last ten years, the United States has enjoyed unequalled success in multiple campaigns while often in protracted conflict, and astoundingly each victory has been achieved with an all-volunteer force. These accomplishments are a byproduct of the tenacity, personal character, and ethos of the Special Operations Forces (SOF) men and women who are determined to win the fight no matter what the cost; however, it must be considered that this great strength can also precede a great weakness, “forgetting.” The SOF community dare not forge into the future until it considers the lessons that can be learned from the past. “There is nothing new except what has been forgotten.” (Antoinette) As leaders and representatives
American soldiers are ethical warriors. Military ethics and warrior ethos constitute the two fundaments of the Army’s Code of Honor. One cannot be separated from the other. This obligation has applied for ages to those who held power: "science without conscience is but the ruin of the soul," as wrote Rabelais in the early seventeenth century. More than ever, soldiers need ethic references to guide their actions and prevail, especially in a Counter-insurgency environment where excessive use of force jeopardizes mission accomplishment. Whatever the situation might be, soldiers must be able to use their science of war with restraint, discernment, and ethics. Recent bad experiences proved that the Army should advocate this ethical military obligation with humility and determination.
When Halstead was given this mission in Iraq, she never anticipated the challenge she would soon face. She had one year to plan her operation, train and certify her units for deployments and after months of painstaking preparation and training, Halstead was confident her soldiers and unit were ready to be certified for deployment. However, certification had to be issued by her superior, a three-star general recently back from Iraq—and the most challenging boss Halstead had ever encountered in all of her years of services.
The purpose of this paper is to discuss the real world consequences of when Army leaders become complacent dealing with foreign national soldiers, and the day to day operations while in a combat theatre. To gather lessons learned from the example discussed in order to lower the probability of a reoccurrence among the force. Through the example demonstrate the need for Army leaders to constantly fight against complacency, and the extreme importance that leaders know their soldiers, and place their soldiers’ needs before their own. The scenario discussed was a real incident that took place in Iraq in 2009, at a Coalition Outpost (COP) approximately 30 kilometers south of Mosul, in a city called Hammam al-Alil.
In 2012, General Dempsey states “Mission Command is fundamentally a learned behavior to be imprinted into the DNA of a profession of arms.” The way Mission Command has evolved through the past years is indicative to the US Military adjusting to a new threat. The concept of Mission Command is not new, what is important is how General Dempsey states “Education in the fundamental principles of mission command must begin at the start of service and be progressively more challenging..” The General emphasizes the need for education at the start of the individual’s service. Additionally, this highlights the United States Army’s doctrinal adjustment to the new threat. During the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, the US faced an enemy whose creativity and adaptability are two of its greatest assets. The fast-paced situation changes in both of those AOs required tactical level leadership maintain the autonomy to “exercise disciplined initiative.” This type of initiative historically leads to mission success, specifically in fast-paced situations where a key to success is forcing the enemy to react.
The book The Ugly American clearly demonstrates several of the established Special Operations Force (SOF) imperatives outlined in ADRP 6-22. As a Special Forces soldier I can relate these imperatives to stories illustrated in the book and apply them to real life situations that I have experienced in the field. The Ugly American is a goldmine of wisdom and a handbook for special warfare. All Special Operations soldiers should read it.
Special Forces soldiers work in foreign lands with situations which are not always completely clear from its beginning. The Special Operation Imperatives serve as the base for success by providing the framework to develop and assist the host nation in achieving their desired goals. Through this essay I will use the novel “The Ugly American” (William J. Lederer & Eugene Burdick) to provide context to the benefits of applying such imperatives and the consequences of improper application. I will bring to light the actions of the characters and depict the reasons why the application of the imperative made the character succeed or fail in his desired goal.
Deceased philosopher Bertrand Russell once said, “War does not determine who is right- only who is left”. Those left are the soldiers of the 1-502nd, specifically Bravo Company 1st plt, and the Janabi family and to a greater extent, the ever-changing global world we all live in today. The tragic events that conspired in a small Iraqi village became a microcosm of how leadership failures at every level shaped the actions of a few soldiers who committed atrocious acts. One can also see how a high operational tempo, along with prolonged violence and death, has on a person’s psyche. It is the ugly side of war that the average American citizen may not want to hear or talk about. For a soldier, it is inevitably what they train their
Throughout history, the United States Government and Armed Forces have learned from devastating mistakes and decisive victories making the US Armed Forces superior to most, if not all, other militaries; however, the Battle of Mogadishu in Somalia throughout Operation Restore Hope, Operation Provide Relief, and the Joint Special Operations Task Force missed the mark on such “lessons learned”. The inadequate intelligence; the ignorance of tactics, techniques, and procedures; and absence of reinforcements cost needless loss of US troops, and crippling a sophisticated, well-equipped military at the hands of an under-equipped militia using irregular warfare tactics. Even 24 years later, the impact resonating still weighs heavily on minds of key leaders in the government along with all echelons of military commanders.
Throughout history, the U.S. military has enjoyed a reputation of being one of the most respected and reliable organizations in the United States. Although the military continues to make every effort to achieve excellence, the very real threat of drawdowns and budget cuts have constrained and forced leaders to change the way they conduct business. Even though the objective remains to be building a stronger and superior force, the latest changes to policy have ushered in a destructive zero-defect attitude within its ranks.
The Special Operations Forces (SOF) imperatives are a refined and instrumental group of attributes that SOF relies on to accomplish difficult missions with minimal oversight and resources. SOF operates in an environment much like the one described in William J. Lederer and Eugene Burdick’s fictional novel “The Ugly American.” I will illustrate how the “The Ugly American” characters, who embodied the SOF Imperatives were successful and how the absence of the SOF imperatives led to failure. I will then quantify that illustration, with a personal experience using the same imperatives to support my assessment of the characters.
Special training does not make a Special Forces soldier; it only sharpens the inherent characteristics and qualities of the dedicated American patriot. The American patriot’s upbringing is what usually makes him a great American, whether he chooses to serve in Special Forces or stays a civilian who furthers US interests overseas. In this essay, we will examine and contrast past Special Forces operator experiences with the characters from Ugly American book using the 12 Special Operations Imperatives as a universal scale. We will focus on civilian characters whose actions and achievements mirror the equivalent in the US Army Special Forces goals.
As stewards of our profession, commanders ensure that military expertise continues to develop and be passed on to aspiring professionals through operational development. It is during this developmental phase that Professional Soldiers put their knowledge and skills to the test. Operational Army units certify and recertify their Professional Soldiers through repetitive and realistic training events including the Combat Life Saver Course, platoon live fires, and exercises at the National Training Center. In the course of these challenging and realistic experiences, the Army’s operational units develop Soldiers and leaders prepared to maintain high standards, discipline, and operational readiness. Operational development and adaptability will continue to drive changes in Army doctrine, organization, leadership, and education as we enter the post-war era. Without this kind of development, the Army could not maintain a well-disciplined professional fighting force.
By volunteering to fight in the greatest military in the world, we as leaders, have made the conscience decision to help build a unified ground force that is capable of working
Psychologists have mainly defied prospective memory into two types of prospective memory remembering situations, named time-based and event based. Some researches have also come up with the third type of prospective remembering situation knowns as activity-based. However there are various controversies regarding the activity based being different from the event based.
While today the Special Forces Operations Units are seen as heroes and the highest caliber of enlisted men in the Army, they were not initially seen as an elite group. Perhaps the Special Forces did not receive the recognition they deserved because their successes in psychological and counterinsurgency warfare strategies were immeasurable during World War II and the Korean War. President Kennedy’s administration would lead the way for the Army’s Green Berets and later the Navy SEALS. However, it wasn’t until the Vietnam War that unconventional warfare, or guerilla warfare as it became known, was utilized in a capacity that would expand the effectiveness and duties of the Special Forces Units.