The Principles of Mission Command in The Punishment in Syahcow, Afghanistan

Introduction

The Punishment in Syahcow, Afghanistan was a battle in the Afghan War. The mission was to conduct a recon by patrol in order to determine the existent of the Taliban in the village. The recon was ambushed and despite overwhelming odds U.S. forces and their allies were victorious. The battle was won utilizing the seven principles of Mission Command, which will be disussed in this essay.

Battle is defined as “to engage in combat between individuals or armed forces: to engage in battle: fight: to contend with full strength, vigor, skill, or resources” (Merriam-Webster, 2020). When at war it is imperative to utilize all capabilities at your exposure. Principles of Mission Command is a capability and must be utilized in order to defeat ones enemies, not using the principles will result in defeat. I will be providing the principles and how each were used in the Punishment in Syahcow, Afghanistan and how each contributed to LTC Don Bolduc leading the Soldiers of the Desert Eagle Battalion to victory.

Principles of Mission Command

Mission Command dictates the mission objectives while simultaneously allow those receiving the orders to determine how to complete the mission and adjust their strategy according to the ever changing battlefield. “Mission command — the Army’s approach to command and control — underpins how the U.S. Army fights.” (JCS, 2019). Mission Command principles prepare Soldiers for the mission and also assist Soldiers while engaged in the fight.

Mission Orders

Knowing the objective is necessary before you can begin any operation. “An order is a communication—verbal, written, or signaled—that conveys instructions from superiors to subordinates” (JCS, 2019). The mission was to state simply, “defeat the insurgency” (JCS, 2019). Desert Eagle Battalion knew their mission and completed it.

Commander’s Intent

Understanding the mission order is also key when planning how to execute. “The commander’s intent is a clear and concise expression of the purpose of the operation and the desired military end state that supports mission command, provides focus to the staff, and helps subordinate and supporting commanders act to achieve the commander’s desired results without further orders, even when the operation does not unfold as planned” (JP 3-0 as cited in JCS, 2019). LTC Bolduc intent was “under a specific strategy designed to search for the enemy, find, fix, and finish him, and attack him both kinetically and non-kinetically through the use of direct and indirect approaches. Assist the local popu­lace through the use of civil-military operations (CMO), psychological operations (PSYOP), and information operations (IO), and then train the Afghan National Army (ANA) along a decentralized program of instruction and assist other Afghan national security forces to be able, over time, to do what we’re doing and work ourselves out of a job” (JCS, 2019). CPT Christopher Wells a subordinate to LTC Bolduc was charged with leading the execution of the commander’s intent.

Competence

In order to execute a task and achieve the desired intent requires knowledge and skills gained through education and experience. “Tactically and technically competent commanders, subordinates, and teams are the basis of effective mission command” (JCS, 2019). CPT Wells based his plan of action of off gathered intelligence and utilized the military decision making process (MDMP). One decision which had to be made by CPT Wells was what time they would arrive to their objective, the village. He decided to arrive at sunrise based off his theory “that the Taliban were going to be pretty tired because we received information that they were taking the bodies of the guys who were killed in Tagaw and bringing them back to Syahcow and burying them” (JCS, 2019). This decision exhibited competence the idea of arriving at sunrise would mean that the enemy would be surprised and tired.

Shared Understanding

Having a plan means nothing if everyone involved does not understand the who, what, when, where, why, and how of said plan. “Shared understanding of the situation, along with the flow of information to the lowest possible level, forms the basis for unity of effort and subordinates’ initiative” (JCS, 2019). Most operations have several moving parts and the Punishment in Syahcow, Afghanistan was no different. CPT Wells was commanding three main elements and all understood that their end goal was to establish a cordon around the village. Two of the three elements were under fire and despite the fire fight, additional support provided by Apache pilots, and the efforts it took to regain control of the situation, “the three Coalition positions now represented a cordon to prevent any enemy in the village from escaping” (JSC, 2019). Every element understood and trusted that the other element would do its part in order for them to complete the mission as a whole.

Mutual Trust

Having confidence and faith in yourself comes easy, but having confidence and faith in others based off my research proves to be more challenging. According to Joyce Catlett, M.A., a psychologist, author and lecturer “it’s become more and more difficult to remain vulnerable, trusting, and open to life in this era of uncertainty, global upheaval, divorce, and disrupted family life” (Catlett, 2020). The heat of battle and facing life or death only makes trusting and depending on others even harder but is a necessity. “Mutual trust is essential to successful mission command, and it must flow throughout the chain of command” (JCS, 2019). The Soldiers of the Desert Eagle Battalion had mutual trust and after regaining control of the battle and establishing a parameter around the village which would not allow the enemy to enter or exit their mutual trust would be needed again; to clear compounds within the village. “Once they cleared the first compound, Logsdon was supposed to take one team to the west side of town and clear from north to south. The other team, on the east side and also clearing from north to south, was led by SFC Willie Bell of ODA 323. The concept was for the teams to alternate clearing compounds, maintaining alignment, and remaining within sup­porting range of each other” (JCS, 2019). They would have to trust that the other team was properly clearing their assigned compounds as well as would provide support if needed while executing the dangerous task.

Disciplined Initiative

When executing a dangerous tasks it is important to continue pushing until completion. When you lack the discipline and/or initiative to complete the tasks results can be catastrophic. “Every individual from the highest commander to the lowest private must always remember that inaction and neglect of opportunities will warrant more severe censure than an error of judgment in the action taken” (FM 100-5, 1941 as cited in JCS, 2019). Clearing the village was necessary, challenging, and dangerous task. According to CPT Wells, “we were fighting in 115-degree temperatures, everybody was getting smoked really quickly, but we still had to con­tinue to fight and clear through the village” (JCS, 2019). The Soldiers of the Desert Eagle Battalion exemplified disciplined initiative despite physical and mental exhaustion. “Simply put, disciplined initiative is when subordinates have the discipline to follow their orders and adhere to the plan until they realize their orders and the plan are no longer suitable for the situation in which they find themselves” (JCS, 2019). The Soldiers’ disciplined initiative resulted in the village being cleared, but not without incident.

Risk Acceptance

Every mission has its risks, there are tools used to eliminate and mitigate these risks. “Planners assess hazards (the conditions and the events that could result)—and assign associated risk levels — during mission analysis; course of action (COA) development; COA analysis; and orders production, dissemination, and transition steps of the MDMP” (ATP-519, 2014). This tool is called a risk assessment. CPT Well’s conducted a risk assessment and mitigated those risks accordingly. “Our mission statement was a reconnaissance patrol to confirm or deny their existence in that town. It wasn't a movement to contact on paper but we planned it that way. We planned for the worst, hoped for the best” (JSC, 2019). Risks that cannot be eliminated are accepted. “Commanders carefully determine risks, analyze and minimize as many hazards as possible, and then accept risk to accomplish the mission” (JSC, 2019). There were casualties during the Punishment in Syahcow, Afghanistan. CPT Wells said it best, “My former teammates and I all met on the 1-year anniversary of the battle of Syahcow in order to remember that without Mike and his fellow infantrymen we might not have survived that day. We will always be in his debt and we will never forget” (JSC, 2019). The casualties would have been much greater if the principles of Mission Command were not employed.

Conclusion

Principles of Mission Command is a capability and must be utilized in order to defeat ones enemies. The principles do not guarantee mission success. Based off of my research, I have proved not utilizing the principles will result in defeat. Take a moment and reflect on the Punishment in Syahcow, Afghanistan. Now imagine that the examples I provided of how Mission Command principals where used had not used in the battle. “At the tactical and operational levels, how the enemy fought proved very instructive. The enemy was prepared for the battle of Syahcow and was resolute in his defense of the village” (JSC, 2019. The Soldiers of the Desert Eagle Battalion were prepared for not just a basic recon mission, but for a possible ambush. An ambush quickly became the reality, but because of the seven principles of Mission Command the Soldiers of the Desert Eagle Battalion were victorious.

References

1. U.S. Army Joint Chiefs of Staff. (2019). Joint Doctrine Note 1-19: Mission Command. Available at: https://doctrine.army.mil/JDN_1-19/

2. Merriam-Webster. (2020). Definition of Battle. Available at: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/battle

3. FM 100-5. (1941). Field Service Regulations: Operations. Available at: https://history.army.mil/html/books/010/10-1/index.html

4. ATP 5-19. (2014). Risk Management. Available at: https://armypubs.army.mil/epubs/DR_pubs/DR_a/pdf/web/ARN19349_ATP%205-19%20FINAL%20WEB.pdf

5. Catlett, J. (2020). The Challenge of Trusting Others in Uncertain Times. Available at: https://www.psychalive.org/challenge-trusting-others-uncertain-times/

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6. U.S. Army Joint Chiefs of Staff. (2019). Joint Publication 3-0: Joint Operations. Available at: https://www.jcs.mil/Portals/36/Documents/Doctrine/pubs/jp3_0ch1.pdf