Hang Right Politics

Posted by Republicanpundit on January 11th, 2007 in Our Military, Iraq, Our Heroes

This article is in two parts. Part one deals with how the U.S. builds it’s miltary, And why it is so effective. The second is what is lacking in the Iraqi military that it will have to obtain to be a successful one.

PART ONE. AMERICAN MILITARY COMMAND STRUCTURE AND MISSION RESPONSIBILITIES.

1. INTENSE TRAINING

The American Military builds it’s forces from the ground up. It starts in basic enlisted training and officer’s training. This training is intense. It is done so as to weed out the 10 to twenty percent who cannot perform to the required levels. It is also done this way to pack as much information in a 6-12 week frame as is humanly possible. It teaches how to become a serviceman (or woman) to look, think and act like military professionals. (If you took a bunch of people off the street or out of college and did not teach them the discipline they need, the result is a mob of poorly dressed people who are unorganized without any of the basic skills required to perform the job they will be assigned).

2. KNOWLEDGE REQUIREMENTS

Technical training in U.S.military is second to none, and enjoys the envy of all nations and large organizations . Some technical schools last two years, and commonly last from 20 weeks to 52 weeks. It consists of an 8 hour day of intense training. After Technical school, there is On-the-Job (OJT) training which start at the first assignment out of technical school. This lasts until the day a military person leaves the military, and is augmented by NCO academies and Command Military Schools. Every day is a training exercise. Each officer or enlisted people must meet the training laid out in the training plan. All i’s’ are dotted and all t’s are crossed in his or her training folder, which accompanies them thoughout their career. Every person, regardless of rank is trained and empowered to use initiative and take responsibility for mission accomplishment.

3. TRAITS.

A Commissioned Officer (01 through 10) differs from a Non-Commisioned Officer (NCO)(E-4 through E-9). For purposes of this paragraph, both CO and NCO are considered officers because the same trait and skill requirement apply to both in varying degrees. All must be loyal to the President, country, and all personnel assigned in positions above him and below him. Loyalty comes from respect of their superiors and subordinates. In a large civilian organization, this is a highly sought after trait. In the Military it is absolutely required for mission success. Truthfulness and total honesty is a requirement.A successful officer possesses all the above mentioned traits. It is known as “integrety”. An individual owns his integrity and determines whether or not it is great or poor his by actions. Job knowledge skills and people skills are a requirement in order to become an effective leader. All traits and skill mentioned in this paragraph are “musts” to for a successful officer or NCO, and will seperate him from those who do not possess them. A leader’s primary duty is to proved equipment,manpower and protection for his subordinates, and to see that the welfare of them is such as to meet any mission requirement. That includes, housing,food, equipment, proper clothing and a harmonious home or barracks life.

RESPONSIBILITY.

All are responsible for executing their role to complete the mission, both personally and professionally, and is expected to take that responsibility without reservation or any outside considerations. Each is responsible for every action taken. He or she also has a great reponsibility to those above and below them in the chain of command. He or she is to never blame a failure on those below them. To do so is considered dispicable and would dishonor themselves beyond repair.

PART TWO: IRAQI FORCE STRUCTURE AND RESPONSIBILITIES FOR THE MISSION. (Problems listed below apply to virtually all third world countries)

1. LACK OF TRAINING.

The ideal military described in the previous paragraphs are the same for both militaries, however, it will take years to bring the Iraqi’s to our level. This is because there is no social equality. The first thing one notices when arriving in the Middle East is there is no middle class. There are the educated rich and the uneducated poor. Commissioned Officers are usually selected by level of society he comes from. In most third world countries, this is the sole requirement to be an officer, and it is sometimes bought by that officer’s family. There are basically no NCO’s, so there is no one to supply, equip and train the lower ranks. The Officer considers enlisted troops as social inferiors and treats them as such. Lower ranks are not empowered to make decisions or use his initiative. He is discouraged to do so.

2. LACK OF COMMAND STRUCTURE.

The lack of NCO’s means there is no connecting thread between Officers and enlisted men.
NCO’s in any successful military are the ones who carry out the mission by training and equipping those who are lower enlisted to fulfill the mission. They also inform their subortinates on any particulars required of them. In third world military organizations, most enlisted men do not know the mission because they are not trusted enough to inform them of it. That is why, when the Officer is killed, they will, in most cases, drop their weapons on the battlefield and dissappear into the countryside. The lower ranks have no stake in the outcome. Officers provide no support for the men. They are expected to fend for themselves for food and equipment.

3. TRAITS.

The Officer in a third world military is responsible only for himself. He is usually there to enrich himself and his family. They do not consider stealing food and ammunition meant for the men, nor anything else as criminal, indeed, it is expected. Therefore, the men do not trust the Officers and feel no need for loyalty to him.

4. LACK OF RESPONSIBILITY.

Officers of a third world country accepts no responsibity either to mission or to his subordinates. As a matter or fact, if the mission fails, the first thing he will do is blame his subordinates and mistreat them accordingly. There is no such thing as credibility. It is everyman for himself. He does not fight for his country, but only for himself. A million man army in this situation is a million one man armies.

CONCLUSION: The lack of a sound military described in part two of this article is the primary goal of our military training of Iraqi forces. In our military, It takes 8 to 10 years to “grow” a commissioned officer or a non-commissioned to the point where he or she is able to perform with very little supervision. It my take twice that long to teach the Iraqi forces to meet that level of competence. When a politician says that we should train the Iraqi Forces quickly, then leave, is whistling past the graveyard.