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AWOL: Absent Without Leave Leadership by JH Lee
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It was obscene this week to witness the Secretary of Defense on a surprise visit to Abu Ghraib (pronounced gray) prison and crying out for justice. He does this without shame- a shame that should be evident in his camp. He has so mismanaged the war that the National Guard and Reserves find themselves in this intolerable position in the first place. With an idea of a lighting speed victory, he, his deputy, and the VP set in motion a framework for the disaster that we now call, Abu Ghraib. And, he wants justice toward the "midgets" in the system. They will be punished, but Rumsfeld and the chain of command should not be allowed to skate by unscathed. He has not uttered a word that I've heard that would even comes close to saying he bears some accountability, i. e., his insistence that we attempt to do the impossible with the least amount of troops and resources necessitating that 40% of the Force is the National Guard and Reserves--weekend warriors.
The 320th Military Police Battalion had a mission of guarding enemy prisoners of war. Most of them didn't even know that was their mission when they were hanging around their PA armory before Iraq. Many thought they would be sharply dressed for parades with striking armbands that said, MP, with a forty-five caliber pistol strapped to their waste. We are talking, by in large, youngsters who work at McDonald's, Walmart, students, insurance salesmen, and clerks of various sorts.
And, in a Reserve or National Guard unit, you might be a CEO or white collar worker on the "outside" while as a member of the Guard or Reserves, you could be an underling or blue collar worker. It happens all the time. Most are in the Reserves or Guards for benefits or to make a few bucks. They are weekend warriors, for God's sakes, playing Army.
Most of us Americans who care and who are footing the bill were asleep at the wheel. We didn't think of prisoners of war, how war affects the soldiers or their families, but how we won the war, "so let's beat feet out of there". And, then, of course, comes the shocker.
We have not won, and Iraq is as muddled in a year as Vietnam became in ten. Suddenly, we were not conquering heroes, but occupying imperialists or worse. It was as predictable as the sands of the desert.
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Country's Leadership Is Asleep At The Wheel by JH Lee
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What I think is that as Americans, we don't want to think that any of us could be as cruel as we've seen in those awful photos on prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib (Gray). And, so it wounds us in an emotional sense, at least those of us who care and are concerned.
I hear all these politicians talk about "the American people." Well, the vast majority of the American people don't care. I mean, really. I am amazed sometimes when I talk to folks and they give me the "Nobody is Home" look about Iraq. Or, they just convey these crazy platitudes which drive me crazy.
I ran into some lady at the yogurt place this week who was ranting and raving about the President with no offerings on solutions.
Listening to the Senate hearings this week reminded me of the movie, Spartacus where the Roman senators sit around and cogitate their navels on the state of the Roman empire. I got the impression that our Congress generally doesn't have a real clue about the military. Even Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell said, "I don't know how the hell these people got into our army."
Well, these folks got in like anybody can. They joined and were mostly recruited with promise of benefits and an opportunity to mostly play soldier. A few, like Specialist Charles Graner, who apparently is accused of being a main perpetrator, was a former Marine. And, all things being equal, before this event, was the kind of soldier we probably want in wartime.
However, we are talking about the Reserves and National Guard, weekend warriors who never expected to be in Iraq guarding prisoners. They were ill prepared and overwhelmed and they are going to be punished but what I fear is the leadership will go unscathed; and, if so, a true travesty of justice.
There is a well-defined chain of command in the military and in the Abu Ghraib prison, it was AWOL (absent without leave). For instance, Specialist Graner had a Squad Leader, a Sergeant who should have been checking on him. The Squad Leader had a Platoon Sergeant and the Platoon Sergeant had a Platoon Leader who was an officer, a Lieutenant. Where were these people? AWOL?
Where was the Company Commander, a captain, and the Battalion Sergeant Major? AWOL! Then, the support people: the docs, the chaplain. What is this! Where were all these people? Nowhere to be found is where?
Recently, I talked with a Navy Lieutenant who served for a time with the Marines. He was appalled at what happened at Abu Ghraib when you have unsupervised soldiers. He related the views of his own experience at war which was always "Checking on your men. You leave nothing to chance. I love soldiers and they are good soldiers but they are young soldiers but are often stupid. Your job is to keep their stupidity to a minimum."
This did not happen at Abu Ghraib. Why? Well, it was too much, too new, too unreal. The failure is not only those who perpetrated this, but it is the leadership and that starts at the top. The leadership was asleep at the wheel.
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If the military chain of command had a carefully worked out plan to write a prescription for disaster at Abu Gharaib (gray) prison in Iraq, they could not have done it better. Here's the formula for what happened: (1) Take Army Reserve troops who are weekend warriors and give them impossible jobs for which they have no training. (2) Provide poor or no leadership. (3) skew the lines of authority with a bunch of Military Intelligence weenies. (4) make no effort to give the troops any amenity that other troops have, i. e., gyms, barbershops and days off.
The secret to a successful military unit is the Chain of Command. Why do you think units like the 82d Airborne for instance are so successful in terms of discipline? Twenty thousand plus men and women who are honed to a gnat's hair, ready to go at a moment's notice, leaping out of airplanes, physically fit.
Well, there are many reasons the 82d is so disciplined, not the least of which is a dynamic chain of command that stays on top of what is going on with their troops. They are zealous in making sure that they have everything they need, are trained superbly and lack for nothing.
Contrast this to the 320th Military Police and it's embarrassing that it could be the same army. But, be practical, what would you expect in comparing clerks and hamburger slingers and professional soldiers: this is about it. This is not to disparage the Guard and Reserve troops but they did not sign up for this. The "hard-liners" will say these "weekend warriors" knew it could happen but in reality, no way.
It is easy to say that a couple of older bad apples, soldiers, who somehow got in our Army and did this horrendous deed. These soldiers will be punished, but it is more than some soldiers doing stupid and inhumane things. They must go to jail, but let's not forget what brought them to this point.
The secretary of Defense should pull a Robert McNamara-"I was wrong, terribly wrong" and not wait thirty plus years like Mc. But, do you think he or anybody will own up. They come up with changing the procedures for interrogating prisoners-figure out what to do without addressing the real problem. The real problem is that we had untrained and ill prepared troops who had no business being put in that situation. And, whose to blame? Answer. Who is running the war?
There's probably enough blame to go around but the Secretary of Defense is the prime culprit. The President says he's a good Secretary of Defense. The VP, Mr. Credibility himself, says he's the best ever. I say no wonder the country is in the shape it's in, look at what these two have been smoking.
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