February 1, 2008: Iraq has been forcing
more American junior officers to exercise a lot more authority than in previous
wars. This is largely because, the tactic of sending combat units out to set up
temporary bases in neighborhoods and villages, has made the company commander
(usually a captain, in charge of 150-200
troops) the "go-to" guy. In theory, the company commander can bump a lot of
requests from the locals up the chain-of-command. But in practice, it's easier
to take care of things on the spot, and that's what a lot of company commanders
do. Often that means promising something, then going to the battalion or
brigade commander to get the goods. But this thinking has also enabled
sergeants and lieutenants to step up, and take charge more than they normally
would.
This is nothing new. U.S. troops were
doing this in the Balkans during the 1990s, and many of those with experience
in those peacekeeping missions, put it to good use in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Same thing happened in Vietnam, Korea and World War II. That sort of thing
never got imprinted on the public consciousness because journalists and
historians paid little attention to this boring "civil affairs" type stuff. But
there it is, still with us, and still ignored. But, even more so than in the
past, it's winning the war.
