Memo for the President-Elect
By David H. Hackworth
Since our commander-in-chief announced “mission accomplished” on May 1, 2003, the insurgents have seized the initiative in Iraq. And we’re also not winning the even-more-consequential worldwide battle against the Islamic jihadists. All because our forces are trying to do too much with too little the wrong way.
Lately, I’ve been shoveling through literally truckloads of reader queries along the lines of “OK, Hack, you spent most of the past two years griping, so what’s your solution?” It’s a question that needs an answer. So, as a long-term student of insurgent warfare and a soldier who’s fought guerrillas in post-World-War-II Italy, during the Korean War and for more than four years in Vietnam, here’s what I would do:
* Immediately fire SecDef Donald Rumsfeld, all of his Pentagon senior civilian assistants and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Richard Myers.
* Replace Rumsfeld with retired Gen. Anthony Zinni and give this tough, smart, proven leader a free hand to bring in the best people to reshape and streamline our armed forces for the long counterinsurgency fight ahead.
* Fire National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice and replace her with retired Gens. Wes Clark or John Sheehan.
* Establish a military objective – an often-neglected Principle of War – that will include: how the U.S. is going to regain the lost initiative (another neglected Principle of War) and how we’re going to take and hold the turf seized by insurgents; how we will then win the Iraqi people to our side in the fight against the insurgents; how the nascent Iraqi defense shield will eventually replace our forces; and a detailed, coherent exit plan.
* Force our coalition partners in Iraq to either move out of the safety of their forts and start participating in the campaign or go home. So far, they’ve added little to the fight except providing an opportunity for politicos to crow about the unity of a coalition in which we’re doing almost all the heavy lifting.
* Replace our conventional-thinking generals in Iraq and in other hot spots with leaders – preferably Special Forces – who understand the nature of insurgency, and leave them in place until we execute our exit plan.
* Double and then triple the size of our forces in Afghanistan – or we’ll soon be following in the Soviets’ loser boot-steps. This is one of the main events in our global fight with insurgents and should receive top priority.
* Establish a comprehensive course on counterinsurgency warfare that every commander from lieutenant to general would be required to pass, culminating in a butt-busting final exam certifying that graduates have qualified for counterinsurgency warfare at their particular level. A fail would mean immediate discharge.
* Toughen boot-camp standards for all soldiers and make them as realistic, demanding and disciplined as those sweated through by past generations. Then maintain this level throughout the regular and Reserve forces.
* Merge the Army National Guard and Reserve forces into one formation modeled after the Marine Corps Reserves but configured for the post-Cold War fight against international insurgency.
* Provide the states with limited funds to establish a light infantry/military police/state militia force for emergencies such as fires and storms, and for Homeland Defense missions.
* Reorganize the Army from A to Z, starting with doubling the size of Special Ops Forces and maneuver units, gutting the Cold War stuff and adding more civil-affairs, psych-war and military-police units. Deep-six the folks who excel in PowerPoint briefings but add nothing to the critical missions at hand, beginning with the pernicious, pervasive Pentagon blubber and working down to brigade level.
* Overhaul the Army’s antique personnel system, which has fostered the current corrosive corporate general officer system that’s made many officers and senior NCOs careerists rather than two-fisted leaders. Use Maj. Donald Vandergriff’s book, The Path to Victory, as a primer for this desperately needed reform.
* Reduce or scrap most of the multibillion-dollar porker programs such as Star Wars II, and spike orders for platinum-plated Cold War II ships and aircraft. Then use the funds to arm and equip our warriors appropriately.
* Make every military leader from buck sergeant to four-star memorize Sun Tzu’s The Art of War, and Imperial Hubris, by “Anonymous.”
That’s, of course, for openers .…
--Eilhys England contributed to this column.
Col. David H. Hackworth (USA Ret.) is SFTT.org co-founder and Senior Military Columnist for DefenseWatch magazine. For information on his many books, go to his home page at Hackworth.com, where you can sign in for his free weekly Defending America. Send mail to P.O. Box 11179, Greenwich, CT 06831. His newest book is “Steel My Soldiers’ Hearts.” © 2004 David H. Hackworth. Please send Feedback responses to dwfeedback@yahoo.com.
Reader Feedback:
It's Leadership Stupid
COL Hackworth,
After the scandal of the the 372nd MP CO in Abu Ghraib, I have been paying particularly close attention to the state of affairs of the Reserve and National Guard. The most recent incident at Talill Air Base was yet just another incident that demontrates the lack of training, professionalism, and general decay of the military. Particularly the Reserves.
As such, I have to mention that the incident involving the 343rd QM CO is not quite the aberration that our senior leaders are making it out to be. The 343rd is comprised of a small core of "original" soldiers, as well as quite a few "fillers" from other units. Among those "fillers" are soldiers from the 894th QM CO (USAR), Jackson, MS. This unit falls (peacetime) under the 365th Spt. Bn. (Corps), also located in Jackson, MS.
This fine Bn has produced such wonderful leaders as CPT Glass, who was replaced as CDR of his unit during mobilization with another senior CPT in order to spare him the embarrassment of being relieved. CPT Glass was later put in command of another QM CO, and was then relieved of his duties while at Annual Training. Now that the unit has been back from Annual Training, he's back in charge of the unit.
If we allow our officers to be incompetent and still continue to serve without consequence, how can we expect our troops to demonstrate competence and professionalism? The "rot" in the officers corps I see so often mentioned is directly affecting our troops at all levels. Either we begin to recruit and maintain good officers in the military as a whole, but especially in the Reserves and National Guard, or our military will rot away and become the paper tiger that the Soviet Army became.
People like these are a digrace to their country and dishonor true Soldiers. The longer they are allowed to serve and adversely influence, either directly or indirectly, other Soldiers to act improperly is allowing the cancer to spread. We must purge them from our ranks, even if it means exacerbating the shortage of officers and Soldiers. Better to have 1 good Soldier doing his or her job, than 10 mutinous or incompetent ones poisoning the proverbial waters.
A Concerned Army Reserve Soldier
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