COL Freeman’s ability to assess the situation and devotion to his Soldiers set the conditions for the 23rd Regimental Combat Team (RCT) to be successful in the Battle of Chipyong-Ni. Though outnumbered, the RCT overcame obstacles to defeat the Chinese Communist Forces (CCF). The RCT wrestled with the same issues like most of the Army. They were understrength, and their equipment was non-mission capable (NMC). In order to bring them to full strength, the Army recruited Soldiers from various units, including reserves, but these Soldiers lacked infantry skills and were out of shape. COL Paul Freeman arrived to assume command days before the RCT was to depart Fort Lewis to the Korean Peninsula. Days before the RCT marched to Chipyong-Ni, they were involved in the battle at Twin Towers and received many casualties. COL Freeman’s ability to drive the operations process was vital to the RCT’s mission success. The 23rd RCT received the mission to defend Chipyong-Ni in an attempt to bait the CCF to attack with a large force that could be defeated, but the RCT was at 70% strength following the battle at Twin Tunnels (some units were at 60%). The RCT received intelligence reports of multiple CCF Divisions marching towards Chipyong-Ni. COL Freeman requested the RCT be allowed to pull back 15 miles to prevent encirclement and was approved by MG Almond, but was overturned by LTG Ridgway. LTG Ridgway, the newly assigned Eighth Army Commander, did not allow retreat and always wanted to make contact with the enemy. He relieved his G-3 on the spot for giving him retreat contingency plans. Chipyong-Ni was once an important hub but was now a desolate city located in a valley with six hills overlooking the city. COL Freeman knew his 4500 man ... ... middle of paper ... ...ch Battalion. COL Freeman dedicated the reserves to regain the position lost by George Company. Rangers and the reserves regained the position. CCF endured their first tactical loss, while Eighth Army would not be defeated again. 23rd RCT were relieved by Task Force Crombez of 1st Cavalry Division. COL Freeman beloved by his men, finally left the RCT at noon on 15FEB1951 with tears forming in his eyes. He was devoted to his Soldiers and his ability to assess the situation and ultimately secured a successful mission in Chipyong-Ni. He would issue orders with a “handshake, a grin, and provided words of encouragement before dangerous missions.” Chipyong-Ni was that type of mission. He didn’t like the situation, but issued the order as if he thought of the idea. He set the climate that extended down to the lowest Private in the RCT, to be proud and be victorious.
COL Prescott’s role in the Battle of Bunker Hill, or more correctly know as the Battle of Breed’s Hill, is a great example of how to properly execute mission command. An overview from The Cowpens Staff Ride and Battlefield Tour (Moncure) reveals a number of operation and strategic objectives that the American militia had to consider. In this instance, COL Prescott takes charge of 1200 men with instructions to defend against incoming British forces that were seeking to occupy the surrounding hills during the Siege of Boston campaign. COL Prescott utilized a variety of steps in the operations process that contributed to his expert utilization of mission command over his forces. Through various sources from published works by experts on the subject, COL Prescott’s mission command demonstrates its effectiveness in his understanding of the situation against the British, his visualization to create an end state for t...
Introduction. Common Attributes of military leaders are just that, common. The accomplished Generals, Colonels and Majors that contributed to the most successful wars of our country have been molded a certain way. They are molded through vigorous training both in scholastic training and in the field along with rigorous mentorship. Colonel Lewis McBride was a rare exception to the rule. As a renowned Chemical museum curator so distinctively puts it, he was, without a doubt, one of the most interesting and industrious officers in the history of the US Army Chemical Corps.
This event took place in Vietnam about1972, around the time Americans were withdrawing from the country due to the public demands. A Captain John W. Ripley who has been assigned to overlook and advise South Vietnamese troops did not foresee himself doing such a heroic act to stop further advancement from the North. Captain Riley before being an officer was an enlisted personnel, he went through various amount of rigorous training, furthermore he did cross training with the British Royal Marines, and did a year long tour in Vietnam with the Marines. [Captain Riley’s dedication of duty could not be put in words. His self-sacrifice and steadfast performance to stop the North Vietnamese Army were even greater at this time at Dong Ha. He received information about an advance movement from the NVA into southern parts of Vietnam. A key element of this strategic move was the bridge of Dong Ha.
The actions taken by Moore and his command group from Company Commanders to NCO’s, saved the lives of numerous American soldiers. This battle shows the leadership and unit discipline were needed to survive and be combat effective in adverse situations. Throughout the battle you see numerous Army Values and Warrior Ethos being used. “I will never leave a fallen comrade”, was the etho used the most, to reach the separated platoon. The battle also shows that not all tactical orders are effective, but as leader you must never second guess yourself.
...ront because he wouldn't ask his soldiers to do something that he himself would not be willing to do. He showed great personal courage by living this lifestyle, realizing that his chances of surviving the deployment was very slim and still volunteered to put his own life at risk as often as he could afford. He also was very loyal to the people to his left and right. He would take extra guard shift in order to allow his platoon members to get more sleep, taking the stress of constant action off of his subordinates. Although he was only in leadership for a short time he was still credited with allowing his platoon to maintain the relaxed standards that they initially struggled with and the cause for much of the abuse that they received from LTC Kunk. He was not upholding the standards and therefore not fulfilling his duty to maintain his platoon to the Army standard.
In June 1950, following World War II, North Korea and China invaded South Korea and the Korean War began . Seventeen countries in the United Nations and the United States sent armies to help defend the people of South Korea. The Battle of Chipyong-Ni was an important battle and victory for COL Paul L. Freeman and the United Nations, especially after the defeat in the previous days before this battle. This battle is sometimes described as the Gettysburg Battle of that era . Even with the fear of being over ran by the Chinese, COL Freeman was extremely successful using mission command during his two-day battle at Chipyong-Ni.
Black Hearts is a great example of the reality on how severe bad leadership skills can ripple throughout a unit and impact its overall mission. This book serves as a guide for future leaders of America and will set the examples of what not to do in leadership positions. The lessons we can take from these soldiers can help us as potential leaders to become more competent and effective. The fact that this book focused on the hardships, poor decisions and sound judgment of the soldiers it helped emphasize on what was not the best choice of action and leaves a moment for you as the audience to think how you would of done it better. So right or wrong there was a lesson to be learned and the book did a good job including the reader. This book puts you in the shoes of a small group of soldiers from the 502nd Infantry Regiment and gives you an up close and personal take on the experience of the soldiers, from the bottom of the the ranks all the way up to the commander. 502nd Bravo Company 1st platoon deployed in the fall of 2005 into one of the most dangerous battle zones in Iraq known as the “Triangle of Death”. Thrown into the heartland of a growing insurgency, with undefined goals and a shortage of manpower, Bravo Company began piling up casualties at an alarming rate. They suffered many losses, as well as mental anguish. Because of the long and tragic deployment, a collapse in leadership began to unfold causing one of the most tragic, brutal, and infamous deployments in U.S Army history. There were many reasons that caused the deconstruction of leadership, and eventually, the actions of the soldiers accompanied by the lack of control, lead to the rape and murder of an innocent Iraqi girl and her family. This is a story about character...
During the battle, COL Hughes moved to areas under heavy fire to advice his commanders directly and motivate his Marines to push forward. He exhibited extraordinary professionalism as he maintain his presence as a true ground commander who fought side-by-side with his Marines. Initially, cloud cover was heavy and poor weather prevented close air support (CAS) and artillery support. With organic assets readily available, he personally directed fire support on enemy defenses slowly weakening Communist forces hold on the city. Clearly, COL Hughes was able to inspire trust to his subordinates whose end result was a cohesive team that fought a successful battle
After Wiest spent three years interviewing 61 officers and men of Charlie Company of the 4/47th Infantry; this is his answer to what happened not so long ago. Their acknowledgment, and the personal evidence of other veterans, has enabled Wiest to collect a most full portrayal of a company-sized unit in Vietnam. At times Wiest book is not easy reading. The 9th Infantry Division's Charlie Company was
Arguably one of the greatest generals in American history Douglas MacArthur was born to be in the military, his father Arthur MacArthur was a great soldier who honorably in the Army and it MacArthur went to West Point to follow in his father's footsteps. MacArthur served for rising through the ranks at a rapid pace, he became most well known for his leadership during the second world war but after that he led his troops on the battlefields of Korea in his seventies. Although MacArthur proved to be a brilliant general, his aggressive decisions towards the end of the Korean War led to his honorable removal as general of the United Nations Army and his heroic actions and tales to be cemented permanently in American History.
The book summarizes the struggles that Bravo Company faced from the start even before deployment. The unit was initially sent to JRTC at Fort Polk, Louisiana, and made many tactical errors during their rotation. 1st platoon had many individuals captured from the start, and the leadership automatically decided that Captain Goodwin would be incompetent for the following deployment while LTC Kunk would be difficult to work with for the upcoming year. Once they came out from JRTC, Bravo Company and Charlie Company were both given the toughest missions. Bravo Company was assigned to the most dangerous AO in the so-called triangle o...
As I would bring my complaints to the PSG of the status of our sections moral all he could do is take it to the 1sg, which was to no avail. Over a period of months the only Soldier to stay the course would be Boston. He knew that this wasn’t where he wanted to be, he wanted to be airborne. Where he could worry about being infantry and not get stuck supporting the Commander Cavalry Scouts with whatever training was set up for them that
After America was brought into the Second World War, The 82nd Infantry Division was reactivated back into the United States Army under the command of General Omar N. Bradley. With this division being reactivated meant there was many untrained and unexperienced men in this infantry division. Most of the soldiers volunteered after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. All of the paratroopers were volunteers. Bradley taught these men how to use a gun, conditioned these men to run for long periods of time, and made all these men muscularly stronger. By August 1942 the 82nd...
During the Vietnam War, the first platoon (approximately forty men) was lead by a young officer named William Calley. Young Calley was drafted into the US Army after high school, but it did not take long for him to adjust to being in the army, with a quick transition to the lifestyle of the military, he wanted to make it his career. In high school, Calley was a kind, likable and “regular” high school student, he seemed to be a normal teenager, having interest in things that other boys his age typically had. He was never observed acting in a cruel or brutal way. In Vietnam, Calley was under direct order of company commander, Captain Ernest Medina, whom he saw as a role model, he looked up to Medina. (Detzer 127).
There was also confusion over unity of command. Admiral McDonald, commander of LANTCOM, made two errors in command and control. He did not assign one his subordinate commanders to act as the overall director of ground forces no matter what the service and he did not select the commander of XVIII Airborne Corps as the leader of Army forces. The lack of a single commander meant that coordination between the Marines and the Army was minimal. The lack of a designated ground force commander and the omission of XVIII airborne Corps muddied the commander’s intent. The services would have been ...