Best Defense

Thomas E. Ricks' daily take on national security.

The hard voice of combat experience: It is not about getting all your people home

It has always bothered me to hear commanders say things like 'I just want to get home with all my people alive.'

031023-N-6967M-234
One member of Special Boat Team 22 (SBT-22) lays down cover fire with a minigun during a practice narrow river beach extraction.  

Photo by PH1 Shane T. McCoy
031023-N-6967M-234 One member of Special Boat Team 22 (SBT-22) lays down cover fire with a minigun during a practice narrow river beach extraction. Photo by PH1 Shane T. McCoy
031023-N-6967M-234 One member of Special Boat Team 22 (SBT-22) lays down cover fire with a minigun during a practice narrow river beach extraction. Photo by PH1 Shane T. McCoy

It has always bothered me to hear commanders say things like “I just want to get home with all my people alive.” It appears to be a nice thought but I think is actually an ignoble one. Why deploy if you are not going to fight?

It has always bothered me to hear commanders say things like “I just want to get home with all my people alive.” It appears to be a nice thought but I think is actually an ignoble one. Why deploy if you are not going to fight?

So I was struck by this comment from a British officer who during World War commanded at every level from platoon to brigade against the Germans, Italians and Japanese. His advice: “When you attack first give the enemy the benefit of all the firepower you can produce from as many different types of guns, mortars, etc., as you can lay your hands on, and keep close to your barrage — even in it. Better to lose a few men from your own fire than a lot from his.”

Yes, we live in different times. But I wonder if are losing the ability to make such hard calculations.

Another tip from the same officer: “In defence conceal the position of your real front. The false front is one of the best devices for cutting down casualties.”

Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons

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

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