Best Defense

Thomas E. Ricks' daily take on national security.

Who succeeds in COIN work? It ain’t always them sophisticated smoothies

There’s a line in David Kilcullen’s “28 Articles” about how you’d be surprised which soldiers are able to do counterinsurgency or similar work, and, he adds, it has nothing to do with rank or even with education. I thought of that when I read this observation by Maj. Jason Ross, an Army intelligence officer, about ...

There's a line in David Kilcullen's "28 Articles" about how you'd be surprised which soldiers are able to do counterinsurgency or similar work, and, he adds, it has nothing to do with rank or even with education. I thought of that when I read this observation by Maj. Jason Ross, an Army intelligence officer, about his time in 2006 as a member of an officer-heavy advisory team with the Iraqi army in Baghdad:

There’s a line in David Kilcullen’s “28 Articles” about how you’d be surprised which soldiers are able to do counterinsurgency or similar work, and, he adds, it has nothing to do with rank or even with education. I thought of that when I read this observation by Maj. Jason Ross, an Army intelligence officer, about his time in 2006 as a member of an officer-heavy advisory team with the Iraqi army in Baghdad:

We had a lot of intelligent folks on our team like pilots and people with advanced degrees but we had a staff sergeant from the backwoods of Kentucky who was probably the most successful member of the team. He somehow related to the Iraqi soldiers and latched on to one or two of their non-commissioned officers and he got the most done.

Thomas E. Ricks covered the U.S. military from 1991 to 2008 for the Wall Street Journal and then the Washington Post. He can be reached at ricksblogcomment@gmail.com. Twitter: @tomricks1

More from Foreign Policy

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping give a toast during a reception following their talks at the Kremlin in Moscow on March 21.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping give a toast during a reception following their talks at the Kremlin in Moscow on March 21.

Can Russia Get Used to Being China’s Little Brother?

The power dynamic between Beijing and Moscow has switched dramatically.

Xi and Putin shake hands while carrying red folders.
Xi and Putin shake hands while carrying red folders.

Xi and Putin Have the Most Consequential Undeclared Alliance in the World

It’s become more important than Washington’s official alliances today.

Russian President Vladimir Putin greets Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
Russian President Vladimir Putin greets Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.

It’s a New Great Game. Again.

Across Central Asia, Russia’s brand is tainted by Ukraine, China’s got challenges, and Washington senses another opening.

Kurdish military officers take part in a graduation ceremony in Erbil, the capital of Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, on Jan. 15.
Kurdish military officers take part in a graduation ceremony in Erbil, the capital of Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, on Jan. 15.

Iraqi Kurdistan’s House of Cards Is Collapsing

The region once seemed a bright spot in the disorder unleashed by U.S. regime change. Today, things look bleak.