thedrifter
02-01-03, 04:18 PM
January 29, 2003 14:38
Well-led Americans Just Do This
By Raymond Perry
As hostilities with Iraq loom closer, our leaders - and most importantly our civilian leaders - must take notice in this glib and glitzy era that the strength of the U.S. armed services rests, in part, upon the willingness of our people to stand and fight, denying an enemy his goal, without regard to whether they might receive an award for their action.
There has grown up a sense that one deserves and must be awarded a decoration for routine performance of duty. This can insidiously lead to looking over one's shoulder before acting. Fast-track careers can lead one to feel slighted when events overtake one and seem bent on derailing such a career. In his book on imprisonment, Vice Adm. James B. Stockdale observed that the easy ones for the North Vietnamese to break were those who felt that it was unjust for their fast-track careers to be derailed by capture. I believe that this attitude of, "Will I be noticed?" is a critical issue for the armed services today.
I was recently looking through an old copy of the U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings and came upon a sidebar article entitled "Honoring Heroes, Remembering Victims" by Cdr Randy Bowdish. This article described the stand of Captain William Barber's Company F against enormous odds during the Battle of Chosin Reservoir in 1950.
This struck a chord in me when, by happenstance, I compared it with an entry in the report of the fire in the Navy research submarine USS Dolphin last May. The Dolphin, operating 100 miles off the southern California coast, came within 75 seconds of sinking forever. These two incidents were connected across decades of loyal service by Americans. A parallel with United Airlines Flight 93 on 9/11 was just as clear.
Cmdr. Bowdish described how Capt. Barber's Company F, 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines, was assigned to hold Toktong Pass between Yudam-ni and Hagaru-ri, the only link between the 7th and 5th Marine Regiments. When the full fury of the vastly larger Chinese Army in North Korea struck and the Battle of Chosin Reservoir commenced, Company F had 220 men. Recognizing the value of their position and its importance to 8,000 Marines who were now retreating, this company held fast in unfathomable cold across five days and six nights of repeated onslaughts by thousands of Chinese soldiers. The best estimate of casualties inflicted by Company F was over 1,000 enemy killed.
Capt. Barber's wounds prevented him from walking. How does a man like Captain Barber lead his men from a stretcher? The answer, in part, is that the training, determination and courage of his men showed through. Capt. Barber provided that indefinable element upon which such battles turn.
Only 82 men of Company F walked away from this battle, but they, in consonance with their peers at Chosin Reservoir, inflicted over 70,000 casualties on a skilled army of 120,000. These were experienced soldiers from battles with the Japanese and the Chinese Civil War. These 10 Chinese divisions never fought again in Korea. Well-led Americans just do this.
On 9/11, the passengers on Flight 93 began the U.S. response to the attacks. These isolated Americans, once they understood what was going on, decided that this shall not stand - and Flight 93 dove into the ground as a result of their battle to deny these terrorists their goal. Information now uncovered gives clear indication that the target of Flight 93 was the U.S. Capitol Building or the White House. We only have an inkling of who the heroes were on that flight. But this is quintessentially American: to act now because it just needs to be done.
On board the USS Dolphin last spring, there were heroes. Machinist's Mate Chief John Wise was recently cited for his role in saving the submarine. He was cited for operating valves underwater in the sub's flooded pump room, probably a small place I suspect we would shudder to go into. For over an hour he did this, certainly by touch, in water that must have been bone chillingly cold and with only a small breathing space above the water.
This enabled the safe evacuation of his shipmates and later recovery of the submarine itself. An entry in the Navy investigative report of the fire stated that there were many sailors who were not recommended for awards because they simply went unobserved in out-of-the-way locations of the submarine. In such an emergency as this, one man may do the key thing that saves a ship but this must be in the context of the actions of many others, done well while facing daunting danger. Well-led Americans saved this ship.
It is the responsibility of leadership to discern who made things happen, to cut through the glitz and posturing, and get at those who did things in truly trying circumstances. In peacetime, it is all too easy to respond to the showy one and it is easier to present decorations to more, rather than few.
We will likely emerge from hostilities with Iraq yet again convinced that our military is the mightiest ever seen. Smart weapons enable us to do more damage with less than anytime in history. The potential for serious casualties is clear with Iraq, yet Iraq is just not a strong opponent.
But history also tells us that a knock-down, drag-out fight is coming. We must find a way to honor those who stand their ground in daunting circumstances and change the outcome of a battle.
In the case of the USS Dolphin, there must have been some, a core, that enabled the submarine to save its people and keep the ship afloat for recovery. Who were they? We know a few, the report mentioned them, but have we recognized them all? At Toktong Pass, we likely know most of those heroes, yet how many of you know a veteran from that era who quietly describes his role modestly, as MMC John Wise did, "Everybody was doing their job, I only did what needed to be done"?
As we prepare for battle our leaders must be ready to do the tough job of finding those who turned the battle by their presence, determination, skill and courage - not by their glibness. These choices seem easy in peacetime, but peacetime deludes. This lesson of history is clear: The U.S. military culture must cause warriors to stand and fight without looking over their shoulder to see if someone is watching.
DefenseWatch's newest Contributing Editor, Lt. Raymond Perry USN, is the pen name of a retired Navy officer who served in both submarines and surface warships during his 29-year career. He can be reached at cos1stlt@yahoo.com.
Sempers,
Roger
Well-led Americans Just Do This
By Raymond Perry
As hostilities with Iraq loom closer, our leaders - and most importantly our civilian leaders - must take notice in this glib and glitzy era that the strength of the U.S. armed services rests, in part, upon the willingness of our people to stand and fight, denying an enemy his goal, without regard to whether they might receive an award for their action.
There has grown up a sense that one deserves and must be awarded a decoration for routine performance of duty. This can insidiously lead to looking over one's shoulder before acting. Fast-track careers can lead one to feel slighted when events overtake one and seem bent on derailing such a career. In his book on imprisonment, Vice Adm. James B. Stockdale observed that the easy ones for the North Vietnamese to break were those who felt that it was unjust for their fast-track careers to be derailed by capture. I believe that this attitude of, "Will I be noticed?" is a critical issue for the armed services today.
I was recently looking through an old copy of the U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings and came upon a sidebar article entitled "Honoring Heroes, Remembering Victims" by Cdr Randy Bowdish. This article described the stand of Captain William Barber's Company F against enormous odds during the Battle of Chosin Reservoir in 1950.
This struck a chord in me when, by happenstance, I compared it with an entry in the report of the fire in the Navy research submarine USS Dolphin last May. The Dolphin, operating 100 miles off the southern California coast, came within 75 seconds of sinking forever. These two incidents were connected across decades of loyal service by Americans. A parallel with United Airlines Flight 93 on 9/11 was just as clear.
Cmdr. Bowdish described how Capt. Barber's Company F, 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines, was assigned to hold Toktong Pass between Yudam-ni and Hagaru-ri, the only link between the 7th and 5th Marine Regiments. When the full fury of the vastly larger Chinese Army in North Korea struck and the Battle of Chosin Reservoir commenced, Company F had 220 men. Recognizing the value of their position and its importance to 8,000 Marines who were now retreating, this company held fast in unfathomable cold across five days and six nights of repeated onslaughts by thousands of Chinese soldiers. The best estimate of casualties inflicted by Company F was over 1,000 enemy killed.
Capt. Barber's wounds prevented him from walking. How does a man like Captain Barber lead his men from a stretcher? The answer, in part, is that the training, determination and courage of his men showed through. Capt. Barber provided that indefinable element upon which such battles turn.
Only 82 men of Company F walked away from this battle, but they, in consonance with their peers at Chosin Reservoir, inflicted over 70,000 casualties on a skilled army of 120,000. These were experienced soldiers from battles with the Japanese and the Chinese Civil War. These 10 Chinese divisions never fought again in Korea. Well-led Americans just do this.
On 9/11, the passengers on Flight 93 began the U.S. response to the attacks. These isolated Americans, once they understood what was going on, decided that this shall not stand - and Flight 93 dove into the ground as a result of their battle to deny these terrorists their goal. Information now uncovered gives clear indication that the target of Flight 93 was the U.S. Capitol Building or the White House. We only have an inkling of who the heroes were on that flight. But this is quintessentially American: to act now because it just needs to be done.
On board the USS Dolphin last spring, there were heroes. Machinist's Mate Chief John Wise was recently cited for his role in saving the submarine. He was cited for operating valves underwater in the sub's flooded pump room, probably a small place I suspect we would shudder to go into. For over an hour he did this, certainly by touch, in water that must have been bone chillingly cold and with only a small breathing space above the water.
This enabled the safe evacuation of his shipmates and later recovery of the submarine itself. An entry in the Navy investigative report of the fire stated that there were many sailors who were not recommended for awards because they simply went unobserved in out-of-the-way locations of the submarine. In such an emergency as this, one man may do the key thing that saves a ship but this must be in the context of the actions of many others, done well while facing daunting danger. Well-led Americans saved this ship.
It is the responsibility of leadership to discern who made things happen, to cut through the glitz and posturing, and get at those who did things in truly trying circumstances. In peacetime, it is all too easy to respond to the showy one and it is easier to present decorations to more, rather than few.
We will likely emerge from hostilities with Iraq yet again convinced that our military is the mightiest ever seen. Smart weapons enable us to do more damage with less than anytime in history. The potential for serious casualties is clear with Iraq, yet Iraq is just not a strong opponent.
But history also tells us that a knock-down, drag-out fight is coming. We must find a way to honor those who stand their ground in daunting circumstances and change the outcome of a battle.
In the case of the USS Dolphin, there must have been some, a core, that enabled the submarine to save its people and keep the ship afloat for recovery. Who were they? We know a few, the report mentioned them, but have we recognized them all? At Toktong Pass, we likely know most of those heroes, yet how many of you know a veteran from that era who quietly describes his role modestly, as MMC John Wise did, "Everybody was doing their job, I only did what needed to be done"?
As we prepare for battle our leaders must be ready to do the tough job of finding those who turned the battle by their presence, determination, skill and courage - not by their glibness. These choices seem easy in peacetime, but peacetime deludes. This lesson of history is clear: The U.S. military culture must cause warriors to stand and fight without looking over their shoulder to see if someone is watching.
DefenseWatch's newest Contributing Editor, Lt. Raymond Perry USN, is the pen name of a retired Navy officer who served in both submarines and surface warships during his 29-year career. He can be reached at cos1stlt@yahoo.com.
Sempers,
Roger