A Marine colonel electrified a U.S. Naval Institute gathering last month with a first-hand account of the November 2004 Battle of Fallujah and the exploits of the regimental combat team he led against dug-in Iraqi insurgents.
Colonel Michael A. Shupp's gripping tale was among the highlights of the Institute's tenth annual Joint Warfare Atlantic Exposition and Symposium in Virginia Beach, and was part of a panel discussion on measuring success in Iraq, which earned a standing ovation.
The symposium kicked off with a keynote address by lieutenant General David W. Barno, U.S. Army, the former commander of Combined Forces Command in Afghanistan, who discussed how the lessons of the war in Afghanistan were that joint warfare and counterinsurgency are the new methods of battle.
Barno, currently assistant chief of staff for installation management, spent nineteen months overseeing joint forces in Afghanistan, where cross-border terrorism, tribalism, and an ancient culture required Barno to "completely readjust our game plan." Barno said Operation Enduring Freedom was a stark example of how counterinsurgency, as opposed to "kinetic" battlefield fighting, is now "a separate and distinct form of warfare." The problem for him, however, was the limited amount of literature and expertise he found on modern counterinsurgency methods.
Barno explained to a packed auditorium how he helped alter the tactics of joint U.S. forces there, in part by giving commanders long-term "ownership" of regions, instead of sending them out on short-term missions. The goal was to encourage commanders to get to know local elders and mullahs, to learn the local culture, to build trust and gather intelligence-a significant change that he said has brought huge benefits.
Barno raised themes that were echoed across two days as top active and retired military experts explored how peace-keeping and humanitarian skills were now required for today's soldier.
Participants in the Institute's symposium—whose theme was "Facing Future Threats: Are We Prepared Today for Tomorrow's Adversaries?"—gathered at Virginia Beach's sleek new (but currently only half built) convention center.
Other highlights included sessions on whether U.S. forces are prepared for the hard-to-predict threats from today's enemies, and how to pay for and staff the response to those threats. The Sea Services' most senior enlisted men discussed the importance of continued and effective recruiting. And Admiral Edmund J. Giambastiani, Jr., the recently-named vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, warned that few Americans are prepared for the lengthy "test of wills" required to defeat terrorists who have "staying power" and intend to exhaust U.S. forces over the long haul.
"We are at war with an enemy whose publicly stated intent is to change your way of life," he said. "And if you don't believe me, you can go to their website."
The Atlantic Fleet commander, Admiral John B. Nathman, insisted that the Navy must be "forward" to counter terrorist threats at sea.
"Would you want to stop a container ship (hiding a weapon of mass destruction) in Yemen, or would you rather stop a container ship at the entrance to the harbor at Long Beach?" he asked. "We want the war on terrorism to be an away game."
Retired Navy Rear Admiral David J. Nash, president of the Government Group of BE&K, an international engineering and construction company, discussed his tenure as director of the Iraq Program Management Office, overseeing $18.4 billion in reconstruction projects there. Nash said that despite significant bureaucratic hurdles, the United States has overseen completion of 1,800 rebuilding projects, ranging from a $500,000 schoolhouse to a $400 million power plant. But he said the U.S. public and the media are naive in their expectation of simple solutions. Still, he said the signs of success are significant.
And, he added, "If we weren't making progress, there would be civil war."
Perhaps the most inspiring speaker was Marine colonel Shupp, who arrived by red-eye from Camp Pendleton minutes before climbing the stage. Currently commanding officer, First Marine Regiment, First Marine Division, he commanded Regimental Combat Team One in Operation Al Fajr.
When Shupp arrived outside Fallujah in September of 2004, the heavily fortified city of 250,000 was under the control of Iraqi insurgents, and U.S forces could hardly get near the city walls without being attacked. Four months later, thanks to the successful second Battle for Fallujah that began in November, the city's citizens were returning to vote in their first election, insurgent attacks dropped to nearly zero, electricity and water supplies were restored, and schools reopened. "We did the right thing for those people. We gave freedom a chance to take hold," said Shupp, "And that city is coming back to life. . . I think what we brought to Fallujah is freedom from fear."
In addition to current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, panels discussed who the enemies of tomorrow might be, and how to budget for those threats. In one panel, a spirited debate unfolded over whether China might emerge as a future adversary.
"I'm pretty certain China's on a path to becoming a great power, and I'm pretty certain they've got problems with how we run the world," said Thomas Donnelly, resident fellow in defense and security studies at the American Enterprise Institute, who moderated the panel.
Karl M. Hasslinger, a retired Navy captain and manager of Washington operations for General Dynamics, Electric Boat, envisioned a scenario in which al Qaeda-like disenfranchised and/or criminal factions—a "coalition of the miserable"-aligned with China. Donnelly called it a "nightmare scenario."
Other participants included Adm. John B. Nathman, USN, Commander, U.S. Fleet Forces Command; Vice Admiral Charles L. Munns, USN, Commander, Submarine Forces, U.S. Atlantic Fleet; Lt. Gen. Bernard M. Trainor, USMC (Ret.), Associate, Center for Science and International Affairs, John F. Kennedy School of Government; Rear Adm. H. Denby Starling II, USN, Commander, Naval Air Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet; Rear Adm. Joseph F. Kilkenny, USN, Commander, Carrier Strike Group Ten; Rear Adm. William E. Gortney, USN, Director of Operations, Plans, and Policy, U.S. Fleet Forces Command; Capt. Peter Van Hooser, USN, Commander, Naval Special Warfare Group Two; Capt. Kevin G. Quigley, USCG, Chief, Office of Defense Operations, U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters; Col. Anthony J. Rock, USAF, Deputy Director of Requirements (A&D), Headquarters, Air Combat Command, Langley Air Force Base, Va.; Lt. Col. Frank G. Hoffman, USMCR (Ret.), Center for Emerging Threats and Opportunities, Quantico, Va.; Ronald O'Rourke, Naval Analyst, Congressional Research Service; Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy Terry Scott, USN; Former Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy John Hagan; Fleet Master Chief Jonathan R. Thompson, USN, U.S. Fleet Forces Command; Force Master Chief James Monroe, USN, Naval Surface Force, Atlantic; Command Master Chief Frank Tatu, USCG, Coast Guard Headquarters Units; Sergeant Major Federico Ferez Jr., USMC Manpower and Reserve Affairs.
Mr. Thompson is an author and freelance writer.