Writer: SPC E.Manning
Towards the end of June, the ISAF was faced with a slight power-vacuum facing the retirement of General Stanley McChrystal, whom was relieved of his command as supreme commander in Afghanistan. Luckily, the vacuum was swiftly filled by the highly decorated and experienced, David Petraeus. Ironically, this caused another power-vacuum as Gen. Petraeus' spot in CENTCOM is now vacant. Luckily, the US Military is all but prepared for changes and the public eye is now on four-star Marine Corps General, James Mattis, better known as his nickname, Mad Dog Mattis. Like the man he is being chosen to replace, General Mattis has an impressive service record, numerous decorations, and tactical ingenuity. He's been in every war save WWII that the United States has fought in the Middle East, and he holds the distinction of being the first Marine to command a Naval Task Force in combat. He was even a runner up for Commandant of the Marine Corps, although the Secretary of Defense chose General Amos instead.
But Mattis may get the opportunity to do some experimentation thanks to his new job at CENTCOM. While at Joint Forces Command, Mattis was an enormous proponent to a decentralization and disaggregation of authority to the lowest level. In simpler terms, his idea was to radically re-organize both the Army and the Marines into "High performing small units, capable of operating independently at increasingly lower echelons." This does not mean that regular infantry are being turned into Special Forces, but it is recognizing that the individual and small units are key in the decentralized battlefield of Afghanistan, where Insurgents are spread out in small pockets over a wide area. While this will require a lot of infantry to pull their weight, it does help to shift the tide over from quantity to quality. It also gives the men in the field a longer leash, allowing them to operate without having to call into HQ every minute. This lets them demonstrate their own creativity and initiative in implementing the commander's intent. While at first, many units may have slight complications adjusting to it. It will give them a lot of experience allowing them to grow and develop as soldiers and leaders. War is too complex to allow commanders to restrict all decision making to themselves – Smaller group leaders must be allowed the ability to make decisions and operate per situation.
This brings us back to the First Indochina War in 1946. For those of us historically challenged, Indochina is present-day Vietnam. What is Vietnam best known for in warfare? guerrilla tactics, which they used extensively in the Vietnam War against the United States. Needless to say, they tried the same thing against France. The French however, were quick on the uptake and followed the adage of fighting fire with fire.
"A handful of adventurous French volunteers created a veritable maquis to infiltrate, reconnoiter, ambush, sabotage and harass the enemy throughout the nominally Viet-Minh controlled hills.” - The Last Valley, Martin Windrow.
The best weapon against a guerrilla, was apparently another guerrilla. Special Operatives were parachuted in, and in some parts of the country the groups were so effective they created no-go zones for the Communists. Sadly, reeling back from the disastrous two-week defeat of World War II and only just established back as an operable country, France was not willing to send more resources to the region. The guerrilla campaign ultimately suffered from too little investment that doomed its effectiveness. However, the Viet-Minh ended up feeling so threatened by the operatives, that they pleaded with China for support, whom promptly sent an entire division across the border.
If General Mattis gets what he wants, we may be able to look at fighting Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula that have set up shop in Yemen, and an Al-Qaida affiliated group, al-Shabaab, that is operating in Somalia. Without sending the hammer down in force to crush a fly. In the beginning months of Afghanistan, Special Forces operatives working with assistance from local warlords and heavy close-air-support had entirely demolished the Taliban. Although their case is now different in many ways than the current war, they were able to simply deconstruct the largest organized military force in the country, without ever sending a conventional force to annihilate everything with combined arms. Although he has yet to be confirmed by congress, when he does, it will surely be an interesting occasion for us all. Living up to his own infamous slogan, there is "No Better Friend, No Worse Enemy" than General James N. Mattis, USMC. |
REGIMENTAL SERVERS 
Home
