Im Concerned About The New Rules Of Engagement In Afghanistan

Im Concerned about the New Rules of Engagement in Afghanistan

I just finished reading an account of an actual battle in Afghanistan where US and NATO forces are fighting according to new rules. The purpose is to eliminate civilian casualties and in the spirit of doing so commanders are severely limiting the firepower that they are allowing their soldiers to use. The thing that concerns me about this is that the commander who is limiting the firepower is not doing so from the battlefield where he can see whats actually happening and make an accurate assessment of the situation. He is doing it from a command post somewhere where he is making a blind decision based on guidance from above.

The NATO policy now is supposed to make the soldier think hard about the amount of firepower that he needs to use for a specific target. In other words he doesnt need to use a bomb when a bullet will do. The purpose of this is not to kill or injure innocents who may happen to be close to the action.

In the account that I read commanders were not allowing heavy firepower to be used at all when it was needed.

I'm concerned that in the spirit of doing right we do something completely backwards. I look back to the days of Vietnam when target lists had to be approved by politicians who had no real concept of combat or any experience whatsoever. Now Im not saying that the commanders are not capable at all. Im saying that in order to make an accurate assessment about what is really needed you need to be there to have eyes on the situation. Soldiers have a tendency to overkill. This is just human nature when you are faced with an enemy force which is threatening your life. You dont want to leave it to chance that there is any remaining threat.

I remember during Operation Desert Storm the very first artillery mission that we fired in the days preceding the ground war. The Commanding General somehow got wind of it and got in the middle of it. The mission should have been totally executed in about ninety seconds took every bit of thirty minutes to complete. Why? The General was in the way. He wasn't there. He couldn't see the target. He didn't have any of the high tech equipment that the forward observers who could actually see the enemy were using, and he wasn't trained to conduct artillery calls for fire, but yet he thought that he could do a better job. Those observers trained year round to do the thing that they were not able to do that day. Why? Because the General felt that he had to be involved.

I hope that these new rules don't cause commanders to micromanage this way because if it does it will be a disaster. Commanders need to train their soldiers using the Rules of Engagement (ROE) as the guideline. Make sure that the soldiers understand why it is, what it is, and let them do their jobs. The first line soldier is capable of doing the thing that he has been trained to do. If you allow him to use his head he will surprise you with his capabilities.

The average Fire Support Officer and Non Commissioned Officer has spent countless hours insuring that their forward observers are trained and proficient in what they need to do. As a Fire Support Officer I did not execute fire missions. Thats what I trained my observers to do. I trained them until I was confident that they knew what they had to do in every conceivable situation. I made sure that they knew the requirements and limitations of the situation and I knew that they had the discipline to follow orders. Military Ring Express

I just finished reading an account of an actual battle in Afghanistan where US and NATO forces are fighting according to new rules. The purpose is to eliminate civilian casualties and in the spirit of doing so commanders are severely limiting the firepower that they are allowing their soldiers to use. The thing that concerns me about this is that the commander who is limiting the firepower is not doing so from the battlefield where he can see whats actually happening and make an accurate assessment of the situation. He is doing it from a command post somewhere where he is making a blind decision based on guidance from above.

The NATO policy now is supposed to make the soldier think hard about the amount of firepower that he needs to use for a specific target. In other words he doesnt need to use a bomb when a bullet will do. The purpose of this is not to kill or injure innocents who may happen to be close to the action.

In the account that I read commanders were not allowing heavy firepower to be used at all when it was needed.

I'm concerned that in the spirit of doing right we do something completely backwards. I look back to the days of Vietnam when target lists had to be approved by politicians who had no real concept of combat or any experience whatsoever. Now Im not saying that the commanders are not capable at all. Im saying that in order to make an accurate assessment about what is really needed you need to be there to have eyes on the situation. Soldiers have a tendency to overkill. This is just human nature when you are faced with an enemy force which is threatening your life. You dont want to leave it to chance that there is any remaining threat.

I remember during Operation Desert Storm the very first artillery mission that we fired in the days preceding the ground war. The Commanding General somehow got wind of it and got in the middle of it. The mission should have been totally executed in about ninety seconds took every bit of thirty minutes to complete. Why? The General was in the way. He wasn't there. He couldn't see the target. He didn't have any of the high tech equipment that the forward observers who could actually see the enemy were using, and he wasn't trained to conduct artillery calls for fire, but yet he thought that he could do a better job. Those observers trained year round to do the thing that they were not able to do that day. Why? Because the General felt that he had to be involved.

I hope that these new rules don't cause commanders to micromanage this way because if it does it will be a disaster. Commanders need to train their soldiers using the Rules of Engagement (ROE) as the guideline. Make sure that the soldiers understand why it is, what it is, and let them do their jobs. The first line soldier is capable of doing the thing that he has been trained to do. If you allow him to use his head he will surprise you with his capabilities.

The average Fire Support Officer and Non Commissioned Officer has spent countless hours insuring that their forward observers are trained and proficient in what they need to do. As a Fire Support Officer I did not execute fire missions. Thats what I trained my observers to do. I trained them until I was confident that they knew what they had to do in every conceivable situation. I made sure that they knew the requirements and limitations of the situation and I knew that they had the discipline to follow orders. Military Ring Express

by: tishbite

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