And that includes not only winning the battle but winning the mind-game, said Army Lieutenant Colonel John A. Nagl, one of five participants in a West 2007 panel here Wednesday titled: "Endgame Iraq: What are the Operational Lessons Learned?"
"The most important part of that fight is the psychological part," said Nagl, commanding officer, 1st Battalion, 34th Armor and author of Learning to Eat Soup with a Knife: Counterinsurgency Lessons from Malaya and Vietnam.
And all agreed it would not be a quick fix. Nagl said Americans have to realize we are in it for the long haul "and understand this is going to a long fight."
Much like President Bush's new strategy to use a surge of 21,000 U.S. troops to not only take but also hold troubled areas like Baghdad and the al-Anbar province, the panelists said it is important to hold these areas until the Iraqis themselves are convinced they can and must control them on their own.
"We have to get the Iraqi forces to provide security that the people trust in," said Colonel Michael A. Shupp, USMC, Chief of Staff, Joint IED Defense Organization Department of Defense and a veteran of the battle for Fallujah in 2004-2005.
Shupp said when he first got to al-Anbar province the Iraqi forces were from the local area and were completely infiltrated by insurgents. He later received Iraqi troops from all over Iraq—Sunnis, Kurds, Shiites—who had a national focus, not a local focus, and were able to take control of the area in the side-by-side support with Shupp's Marines. "Most important, we turned the city of Fallujah back to the people of Iraq and brought freedom [from] fear back to the citizens inside of that city," Shupp said. Shupp said he commanded more than 7,000 Iraqi soldiers and police during his assignment in Iraq. "They were magnificent soldiers," he said. They trained, fought and learned with the Marines. "But most of all, they saw our example."
"They would always say 'back in the day'," Shupp said, noting it was common for Iraqis to fire guns in the air or beat people with sticks to control them. His answer was: "'Back in the day' is over with Saddam [Hussein] and what he did to those poor people. Now is the day to take care of people versus to abuse them."
Shupp told the Iraqis that now was the time to protect and serve. "And we were getting that message across," Shupp said. "But we have to get that through all of Iraq."
Insurgency Solution: Intelligence
Commander Steve Wisotzki, USN Chief Staff Officer, Naval Special Warfare Group One, former Commanding Officer, Seal Team One, is also a believer in the psychological part of the job. In last half of 2005 and 2006, he commanded Naval special warfare team in Iraq.
"Al-Anbar is arguably the most dangerous province in Iraq," Wisotzki said. But U.S. forces are trained for the job. "It is easy to clear an area but it is extremely hard to hold it," he said. "The thing that makes it work in al-Anbar is the nonkinetic—the hearts and minds, the human element, understanding the culture, understanding the language, and pursuing programs that exploit those capabilities."
Nagl said the one-word answer to solving the problem of insurgency has to be intelligence. "Counterinsurgency is inherently a people-intensive boots-on-the-ground business," he said. "We certainly found that boots on the ground made a huge difference in providing the ability not just to clear, but to hold and to build the Iraqi forces that will lead to success there."
Still, in the end, Nagl said the future lies with the Iraqi people. "If they make a good-faith effort to hold and to build, we can succeed. If they do not, then it doesn't matter how many forces we deploy to Iraq. We cannot win this war on our own, we can only set the conditions by which the Iraqis can win it for themselves," he said.
But the panel's moderator, Major General David L. Grange, USA (Ret.), president and CEO of McCormick Tribune Foundation, wondered if they will be given the time. "The bottom line is that there is much at stake here and that troops are in the fray, they are currently in harm's way and solutions must be found," he said. "As the American people grow impatient, either because the war is perceived to be less legitimate or they just don't care, because maybe some would rather vote for American Idol than the presidency, or be in a mall, the current effort, the surge, may be our last chance to produce something that's acceptable to this nation."
Port Security Has Deterrence Value
Other sessions Wednesday at the West 2007 conference, cosponsored by the U.S. Naval Institute and The Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association (AFCEA), included one on port security. Dr. Stephen E. Flynn, a Jeane J. Kirkpatrick senior fellow for National Security Studies and author of The Edge of Disaster: Rebuilding a Resilient Nation, urged greater attention and financial support to protecting the homeland.
He said there is an attitude that to win the war on terror we must take the battle to the enemy "over there" so we don't have to do it here. As a result, he said prevention and planning for our ports and other potential targets are woefully under funded. He said the Port of Los Angeles has received only $25 million since 9/11 to protect its 45-mile perimeter and that Congress only recently approved $15 million for Homeland Security to inspect chemical plants around the nation to determine if they had a security plan.
"There is deterrence value to resiliency," Flynn said.
While there can be no guaranteed way to prevent a terrorist attack, Flynn said the country needs to make its targets less attractive by making the investment of time, surveillance, risk of exposure, and failure too great for those who would attack us.
Vice Admiral Charles D. Wurster, USCG, Commander, U.S. Coast Guard Pacific Area, filled in for Coast Guard Commandant Thad Allen, who was to deliver the Honors Dinner Keynote Address.
Admiral Allen remained in Washington where he was testifing before Congress about the Coast Guard's troubled Deepwater program to modernize its aging fleet of ships and aircraft. The now four-year-old program has been troubled by design problems, cost overruns, and delays.
Wednesday night, Vice Admiral Wurster told the West 2007 attendees that Admiral Allen was "taking steps to resolve these problems."
Ray Kipp worked 35 years as a reporter and editor for The San Diego Union, The San Diego Union-Tribune and Copley News Service in Washington, D.C. He is a former Marine.
West 2007
On Scene Report
Admiral Stavridis: Diplomacy Key to Security
By Ray Kipp
West 2007
SAN DIEGO — Sounding a bit like Theodore Roosevelt and his theory of speaking softly and carrying a big stick, Admiral James G. Stavridis stressed the importance of both options in an address to the West 2007 conference here Thursday.
Noting the theme of this year's session: "Swords and Diplomacy; How Do We Build the Right Military to Fight, Win, and Influence?" Admiral Stavridis said it blends right into his mission as the commander, U.S. Southern Command.
"It is really a balance between swords and diplomacy and I will tell you that diplomacy in general is the more important tool," the admiral told a packed luncheon meeting who attended to honor his service to country, the Navy, and the U.S. Naval Institute.
His task of patrolling one-sixth of the surface of the world, a portion of the globe that includes 500 million people, 32 countries, 15 protectorates, and 16 million square miles, including the Caribbean and Central and South America, is made more difficult by current world events.
He is not alone. He said commanders throughout the Navy must become more innovative as more and more scarce resources flow appropriately to the military and diplomatic missions in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Even though his command is also responsible for security in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands and is in charge of detainee operations at Guantanamo Bay, Admiral Stavridis said the option is to adapt and innovate not complain. And, he is thrilled by the potential of his assignment.
"These are enormous spaces in an enormous part of the world in which enormous amounts of people feel themselves linked to the United States," he said. "It is a home we share together, the Americas. And, we share our DNA in this hemisphere."
The admiral noted that 30 years ago, Latin America was ruled by totalitarian regimes and democracy was not the prevailing form of government in this area. "Today every country in the Americas is a democracy with the sole exception of Cuba. That's a remarkable transition," Stavridis said.
While those states don't always agree with the United States, the admiral applauded their efforts. "It is important that we focus on the challenges in that region," Stavridis said. First and foremost, he said, is poverty. Forty percent of the populations live on less than $1 a day while there are extremely wealthy sectors. "That is typically a recipe for political instability," he said. Stavridis said the goal is to create a foundation of security that allows economies to grow and improve.
But there also must be transnational challenges to counter narcotics, terrorism, corruption, urban gangs, natural disasters, and humanitarian crises. "What we need to operate in this area is innovation," the admiral said.
He said the Southern Command is the perfect match for the Navy's goal of a 1,000-ship Navy, a proposed global maritime coalition, a group of volunteers, and other countries that want to come together and operate with us.
Admiral Stavridis said during his career he had deployed with a Portuguese and Argentine ships. "There are terrific navies down there, the Chilean, the Brazilians. Many of the Caribbean countries have excellent, small Coast Guard-type craft that can operate with us," he said. "I will tell you, our allies are terrific. They got game."
Another diplomatic innovation includes a plan to bring a hospital ship through this regional of the world. Stavridis said the idea is to duplicate the mission of the USS Mercy that provided aid during the tsunami disasters. It is envisioned as a six-month tour of the USS Comfort through the Caribbean, through the Panama Canal, and throughout the region.
He said that cultural innovations are also needed. He has set a goal that 70 percent of all operatives in the Southern Command will have a facility in either Spanish or Portuguese.
But the sword also complements the strong diplomatic mission.
In addition to terrorism, narcotics interdiction is among the top priorities. Stavridis said that 25,000 people in the United States die each year from the use or connection to drugs. He said the main problem is cocaine, followed by marijuana. "The drug war has come somewhat off the headlines since 9/11, but I tell you that it poses significant danger and a high rate of mortality in this country," the admiral said.
He said technologies like acoustic, satellite, and surface surveillance are things he needs as a commander. "It all comes together as precision, guided intelligence," he said.
Stavridis said we also have to develop better ways of sharing information with our allies. "We cannot solve these problems unilaterally," he said. "We must work with our partners, our allies, in constructs like the 1,000-ship navy." That means sharing information and intelligence.
There are some things that need to be protected from our partners just as they need to protect things from us, Stavridis conceded. Still, "the vast number of things we do at sea and ashore can be effectively and fruitfully be shared with our partners," he said.
The admiral ended his comments with praise for the troops who serve in his and other commands. "Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Coast Guardsmen, and civilians who do this work are all volunteers," he said. They serve in the steaming jungles of Columbia, in Peru, on riverboat patrols, boarding parties, and flying patrols trying to interdict drugs.
"Every one of them in this theater and in all our theaters are heroes of this republic and we owe them a debt of gratitude," Admiral Stavridis said.
Ray Kipp worked 35 years as a reporter and editor for The San Diego Union, The San Diego Union-Tribune and Copley News Service in Washington, D.C. He is a former Marine.
West 2007
On Scene Report
Adapt and Grow
By Ray KippWest 2007
SAN DIEGO — It's not your grandfather's war, and it is not the same enlisted personnel who are fighting it.
That seemed to be the message that evolved from a panel session on "Warfighers: How Do We Develop and Retain 21st Century Enlisted Leaders?" at the West 2007 conference here Thursday.
Stories of how a different kind of war in Iraq and Afghanistan is testing the mettle of our enlisted personnel and their leadership development came from master chief petty officers of the Navy and Coast Guard, and a Marine Corps sergeant major with the Second Marine Expeditionary Force. Quicker and multiple rotations, assignments to nontraditional roles, leadership skills, and the need for family support systems were among the topics.
Master Chief Petty Officer for the Navy Joe R. Campa Jr. said the main challenge right now is having to balance the force with the needs in Iraq. He said an unexpected reality is that the Navy is now providing nontraditional support to sister services, often taking Sailors off ships or shore-based commands, under a program called Individual Augmentation.
"If someone were to tell me five years ago the Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy would be in a land-locked country in the mountains of Afghanistan talking to their Sailors, I wouldn't have believed it," Campa said. "But that's what's happening." He said the Sailors are providing a unique capability that is enhancing the ability to prosecute the war on the ground.
But, at the same time, Campa said, those Sailors are exposed to ground combat—something that only the Seabees, corpsmen, and SEALs experienced in the past. "We have some of our electronic warfare technicians working counter-IED (improvised explosive device) and making a difference supporting the Army and Marine Corps," Campa said. "We have Sailors working in imbedded training teams and working in the mountains of Afghanistan," he said. "We have Sailors working on provisional reconstruction teams out there."
"It is difficult for the Sailor. It is difficult for the parent command that had to give him up. And it creates problems for the families," Campa said. "It is difficult for family members, be it a mother, father or spouse, sending a loved one off to a war [when] they never thought their loved one would be involved in that war—being on the ground, being in harm's way instead of serving our nation at sea."
"Ditto" for the U.S. Coast Guard, which also has seen some of its members taken away from Homeland Security assignments and sent to support other units in the Middle East, said Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard Charles W. Bowen.
The largest challenge facing the Marine Corps today is its force rotation, said Sergeant Major Ron Himsworth, USMC, Second Marine Expeditionary Force. "Our helicopter squadrons ... are over there for seven months and they're back here for five," he said. He said the toll is hard on the equipment and at times it seems it is being kept together with duct tape. But it remains functional, he said.
It is the same for troops. "The infantry battalions are rotating at six months over there and six months back." Himsworth said. And those six months back include about two months of training and orientation to prepare to go back. But they too remain functional, he said.
Himsworth, who spent 13 months in Iraq, said it was necessary to reduce time in country. "At month nine, I was burned out in Iraq. I was exhausted, my mind was exhausted," he said. "I had 48 days of sustained mortar fire in my camp. It's not bad, but it would be nice to get a full night's sleep."
Many young Marines have been to Iraq three times already. Others are preparing for their fourth or fifth tour. Anyone making more than three tours is a volunteer and must pass a rigid evaluation before going, the sergeant major said. And the Commandant of the Marine Corps, General James Conway, has announced that Marines who have not yet served in the fray will soon get their turn.
The sergeant major describes the action in Iraq and Afghanistan as being "not an officers' war. This is a sergeants'-and-below war."
And the enlisted personnel are acquitting themselves well as leaders. "Talk about World War II being the greatest generation, and I believe they are; the kids of today across all our services are the greatest generation that you're going to see," he said. "They are smarter than anything. All the services are going to be in phenomenal shape in a few years."
When his unit had a counter-IED system that didn't work, Himsworth said it was a lance corporal and an EA-6 pilot who figured out how to put the antennas on the system so it wouldn't disrupt the communications system or the computers in the vehicles. "The young kids understand it," he said.
He said the services are having to teach ethics and core values that are not being taught in schools today. "Now, with a war, we are practicing what we've taught," Himsworth said. "We're holding our staff NCOs (noncommissioned officers) to a higher level."
He told a story of a unit in a small town in northern Iraq that was passing out toys, food, and soccer balls. He said one smiling and happy young man accepted the gifts, then went around the corner to set up an IED to blow them up. He also had an RPG stuffed in the bushes. "The senior man on that patrol was a sergeant and they had to make the decision," the sergeant major said. "They did not kill that guy, they took him prisoner and brought him back in." Once he showed intent by touching that IED, the rules of engagement authorized a deadly response, but that didn't happen. He said there are Navy corpsmen out there demonstrating their core values by treating an enemy combatant who may have just tried to kill them.
When the talk turned to values of honor, courage and commitment, Campa said: "We want the same high level of character from all our people and we want them to be able to do the right thing at all times. Our core values are kind of like a moral compass for us when there isn't a right answer."
He said the Navy continues to develop leaders in its enlisted ranks. "Anyone who is a petty officer is, in my mind, a leader. You measure success by the success of your Sailors," he said.
The master chief said that as Sailors have had to adapt to nontraditional roles that may put them in harm's way, so have their families. "We've gone through a learning curve to prepare families and Sailors for nontraditional missions," he said. "We do a lot of pre-education with the families. We've developed support networks through the Army, Marine Corps."
But he said they have found that when Sailors get nontraditional assignments, a lot of times their families leave the fleet concentration area and go back home into the heartland of America. "And we were losing visibility on them," he said.
"We've done some partnership with the Army and the National Guard and they've opened up some of their family support centers to us," he said. "As these Sailors get absorbed by other units, we have to be able to track them as they come back and make sure that their families are supported in a way that we haven't had to support them before."
The West 2007 conference, cosponsored by the U.S. Naval Institute and The Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association (AFCEA), concludes today.
Ray Kipp worked 35 years as a reporter and editor for The San Diego Union, The San Diego Union-Tribune and Copley News Service in Washington, D.C. He is a former Marine.
West 2007