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Stare Master
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An Army board headed by Gen. David H. Petraeus has selected several combat-tested counterinsurgency experts for promotion to the rank of brigadier general, sifting through more than 1,000 colonels to identify a handful of innovative leaders who will shape the future Army, according to current and former senior Army officers. The choices suggest that the unusual decision to put the top U.S. officer in Iraq in charge of the promotions board has generated new thinking on the qualities of a successful Army officer -- and also deepened Petraeus's imprint on the Army. Petraeus, who spent nearly four of the past five years in Iraq and has seen many of the colonels in action there, faces confirmation hearings next week to take charge of Central Command, which oversees U.S. forces in the Middle East and Central Asia. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/14/AR2008051403366_pf.html
Only two defining forces have ever offered to die for you, Jesus Christ and the American GI. One died for your soul, the other for your freedom.
"History teaches that when you become indifferent and lose the will to fight someone who has the will to fight will take over." COLONEL BULL SIMONS
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Regular Joe
 
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| Intelligence, Innovation, being able to think on your feet,a nd adapt and adjust is is exactly what commander needs to be able to do to be successful at counter insurgency and Foreign Internal Defense. The problem is that it requires a commander to stick their neck out and take chances and lots of officers, with an eye to their future careers, just aren't willing to do what is necessary even if they have the ability to think outside the box.
De Oppresso Liber
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Combat Veteran
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| I know a few that need to be on it and a few that don't. Muddy!!!
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Regular Joe
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The long hard trials in Afghanistan and Iraq are starting to bear fruit and will continue to for a long time to come. The military changes slowly but it does change. The simple fact is that until Afghanistan and Iraq the conventional forces of our military have not been well versed or trained in unconventional warfare. The officer corp has been made up of many who refuse to think outside the conventional box and won’t stick their neck out to implement new unconventional ideas even if they do have good ones because they fear for their careers. However, this long unconventional war is changing all that. Now the cream of officers who have demonstrated an understanding and proficiency in UW (Unconventional Warfare), like general Petraeus have floated to the top and they are making big changes. Last week Gen. Petraeus issued a list of the top 10 officers he wants to make general based on those officers demonstrated proficiency and success in unconventional warfare operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Now the path is open for intelligent, free thinking officers that can adapt quickly to changing situations on the ground to make changes without fear of their careers being damaged or ended. It has been a very hard and expensive education process but in the end what is going to happen is that the best commanders in the US military will be those that best learn how to conduct the most effective counter insurgency and Foregin Internal Defense missions. And this is exactly what they have to learn because that is going to be the type of warfare they will encounter for some time to come. And so for generations to come the experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan will effect our military doctrine and we will end up with the best UW capable force in the world. Until recently we have seen the hard lessons learned. That hard learning process has forced the military, and in particular the officers corp of the Army and Marines to change. And now we are just beginning to see the hard gained knowledge from those lessons applied on the ground. The tide has turned for good at last.
De Oppresso Liber
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Anti-social
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According to Scales, the word in Army circles is that McMaster will be given a key role shaping future Army doctrine. "We are in a very similar place now to the period after Vietnam in the 1970s, when a lot of officers returned and everyone was asking 'What is next?' " said Scales. "It's time now for the Army to think about the future and institutionally anticipate the changing nature of war." Of course after Vietnam, the Army turned its focus solely to major conventional war against the Soviets and looked at counter-insurgency as something to be avoided rather than prepared for.
1/508th Abn Inf, 82nd Abn Div 81-83 1/4th Inf (Mech), 3rd Inf Div (USAEUR) 83-84 SGT\EIB\Recondo "Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly and applying the wrong remedies." - Groucho Marx
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Stare Master
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RedDevil (5/19/2008)
According to Scales, the word in Army circles is that McMaster will be given a key role shaping future Army doctrine. "We are in a very similar place now to the period after Vietnam in the 1970s, when a lot of officers returned and everyone was asking 'What is next?' " said Scales. "It's time now for the Army to think about the future and institutionally anticipate the changing nature of war." Of course after Vietnam, the Army turned its focus solely to major conventional war against the Soviets and looked at counter-insurgency as something to be avoided rather than prepared for. True, but the Army didn't completely abandon CI/UW during that period. JOTC in Panama specifically taught guerrilla war doctrine, which is a form of CI warfare. When JRTC opened up in Ft. Chaffee it also dealt with guerrilla war/low intensity conflicts. But you are right that the Army's focus was on a conventional war in western Europe. The officers who lead the Army during that time were primarily those that had a mech/armor background with a lot of time in Seventh Army.
Only two defining forces have ever offered to die for you, Jesus Christ and the American GI. One died for your soul, the other for your freedom.
"History teaches that when you become indifferent and lose the will to fight someone who has the will to fight will take over." COLONEL BULL SIMONS
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Regular Joe
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RedDevil (5/19/2008)
According to Scales, the word in Army circles is that McMaster will be given a key role shaping future Army doctrine. "We are in a very similar place now to the period after Vietnam in the 1970s, when a lot of officers returned and everyone was asking 'What is next?' " said Scales. "It's time now for the Army to think about the future and institutionally anticipate the changing nature of war." Of course after Vietnam, the Army turned its focus solely to major conventional war against the Soviets and looked at counter-insurgency as something to be avoided rather than prepared for. The Generals damn near killed SF in the years after Vietnam. It wasn't until R. Reagan came along that things began to look up for SF.
De Oppresso Liber
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Seasoned Vet
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| Gen. Petraeus is a excellant choice to make recommendations on those promotions, he is smart..not just booksmart but worldly smart with common sense and humility. His staff is very loyal to him and after seeing him up close and personal for just 6 hours I can tell you it is because he is a Soldier's General. He reminds me of the best of the WWII Airborne Generals with a touch of Bradley and the audacity of Patton when he believes he is correct. He knows insurgency, has learned the lessons of those who have fought them successfully and unlike some senior officers I've met or heard about he seemed to have a good appreciation of Special Forces as well as Special Mission Units. Too many Officers, even those at SOCOM do not appreciate SF and the UW mission instead they want to pour money and resources into the "sexy" Special Ops units like the 160th, Ranger Regt., MARSOC, etc. But only SF can perform the UW mission and have the skills and institutional memory to be successful in the full counter-insurgency spectrum. Some high ranking Officers in SOCOM and JSOC have vowed that another SF fete accompli like Afganistan will not be allowed, they want it to be totally a JSOC operation with SF given a very minor role. Too many Officers in SOCOM/USASOC are not even SF and have no desire to see SF given a larger role or more resources. There is a huge battle brewing and it may determine the future of not only our ability to fight an Insurgency but decide the future of SF and SOF, a very important distinction.
Stand in the door!
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