The 2nd Brigade of 101st Airborne Division found out in the summer of 2004 that they had to prepare for the war in the Middle East more particularly for Iraq. With Colonel Todd Ebel in Command of the 2nd Division with a year to prepare over 3,400 men and woman he got right to work. Colonel Ebel started by choosing his staff and who he thought was fit to take charge and lead this ever more complicated war. It was a huge religious civil war taking place in Iraq at the time with the Sunnis at war against the Shi’ite and after the capture of Saddam insurgency started uprising immediately. This uprising along with the uprising of Muqtada al-Sadr a key leader that had lots of violent followers that soon grew into a form of a militia called Mahdi Army which became another huge problem for the U.S. because the line between a legitamite populist movement and a huge theocratic organized-crime and terror ring was a thin one. The 2nd Brigade Infantry Battalions consisted of 1-502nd (First Strike) and 2-502nd (Strike Force) and 2nd brigade as a whole is known as the “Black Hearts”. Ebel’s mission was to deny insurgent’s access to Baghdad through his AO and as intelligence increased to uproot and destroy insurgent safe havens, while also training the IA so they could ensure the stability of the region later on. Ebel chose Lt. Col. Kunk as commander of “First Strike” 1-502nd and Lt. Col. Haycock as commander of “Strike Force” 2-502nd. By Ebel’s personality evaluations of Kunk and Haycock he decided that Kunk would work in the area that involved him being more engaging where populist centers were and work with local officials and Haycock more in the fighting areas. Kunk was in command of 3 rifle companies, 1 weapons company, 1 logistics company... ... middle of paper ... ...e leadership characteristic that popped out at me was how Cap. John Goodwin was his resilience to overcome all the horrific parts of this deployment and still stayed with it and worked his hardest with no breaks until he was forced to go on that leave to rest and then as soon as he heard something bad had happened, he stopped everything he was doing and got back to his men as quickly as he could it showed how much he cared, he also listened to his men and what they needed and tried helping them all the time. One thing he did not do a good job of was letting Kunk get to him and knock his confidence down and taking care of his own health so he could be awake and alert as company commander each and every day. His soldiers mentioned how weak, and tired and malnourished he looked from being next to the radio 24/7 which should never happen when you are calling the shots.
The award-winning novel by Stephen Ambrose, Band of Brothers: Easy Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne from Normandy to Hitler's Eagle's Nest, discusses one of the greatest examples of mission command in the form of 1st Lieutenant Richard Winters and his role in the Brecourt Manor Assault. This battle is a textbook example of how to fight against a superior enemy force that outnumbered the unit by four times as much. Facing overwhelming odds with just 16 paratroopers against over 60 German Soldiers, 1LT Winters nevertheless prevails and succeeds in achieving his objective while minimizing casualties to just three Soldiers lost. Looking back further into the American Revolution, the Battle of Bunker Hill on the American side is one of the earliest examples of Mission Command under the command of COL William Prescott.
The book Black Hearts by Jim Frederick is an in-depth narrative about the 1st platoon, Bravo Company 1-502nd Infantry 101st Airborne Division deployed to Iraq in 2005. The leadership failures documented in this book range all the way from the general officer level down to the lowest private. LT general Ricardo Sanchez failed to understand the climate his command group was entering as they were deployed into Iraq. From then on the entire leadership failures continued to compound upon each other with improper time to plan. It is customary to have a six month lead time to have a proper battle hand off when preparing to take over an AO from another unit. To compound this problem, the entire time the 502nd was in pre-deployment training, they were preparing for the rigors of urban combat. In reality, they were given six weeks to recon their new area of responsibility and were going to a countryside crafted by the heavens for guerilla warfare. As Colonel Ebel said in the book, “It is not going to be an easy road. They are not even sure of what they have in the area. It just feels bad. We can expect a real fight.”
As the incoming brigade commander, LTC (P) Owens, I see the critical leadership problem facing the 4th Armored Brigade Combat Team (ABCT) is the inability or unwillingness of Colonel Cutler to lead and manage change effectively. In initial talks with Col Cutler and in reviewing the brigade’s historical unit status reports, the 4th ABCT performed as well as can be expected in Afghanistan, but as the onion was peeled back there are numerous organizational issues that were brought to the surface while I walked around and listened to the soldiers of the 4th ABCT, in addition to reviewing the Center for Army Lessons Learned (CALL) report. One of the most formidable tasks of a leader is to improve the organization while simultaneously accomplishing
From there it jumps backwards to before the deployment. It goes back to Colonel Todd Ebel taking over 2nd Brigade of the 101st Airborne Division. He was tasked with taking over a particularly rough area of Iraq, to do so he sent the 502nd or as they were known, the Black Hearts. They were identified by the black patch that each would where on the side of their helmets. There initial task was to replace the guard unit that was currently in the area of operations and to continue the mission from there, this would prove to be very challenging. He divided up his work by giving Lieutenant Colonel Tom Kunk the eastern more urban area of the “triangle of death”. LTC Kunk is described as a straightforward and engaging leader. He was harsh and did not get along very well with his subordinate leaders constantly putting them down and butting heads with them.
In this paper, I will provide a Battle Analysis and outline the events leading up to and surrounding the Battle of 73 Eastings (refers to a north-south grid line). In addition, I will describe how the United States Army’s (USA) 2nd Armored Calvary Regiment (ACR) defeated forces from the Iraqi Republican Guard (IRG) using speed, technology and superior combat power. Although some consider the Battle of 73 Eastings extremely successful, some consider it a failure due to the large amount of Iraqi forces that retreated towards Bagdad. Lastly, I will analyze how each side used their intelligence assets and what they could have used to change the outcome.
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...
... in any organization if it is to grow. The Air Force Professional Development Guide listed many characteristics of leadership, among these were being tough and being sensitive. This may seem like an oxymoron, but all success in life is based balance. Being tough is very important even in open communication. When someone needs advice and or direction from a leader, the last thing they need to hear is brown nosing or “fluff”. They need to hear the truth, no matter if it is not desired but almost always it is the most effective. Being sensitive is also very much needed. The PDG speaks on this subject “listen to your people, communicate with them and be perceptive to their needs”. A person needs to know that their needs are listened to and recognized. As was mentioned before, this is a two way street, this should be utilized from an airman to NCO and from NCO to airman.
"Lost Hearts" written by M R James is a disturbing yet intriguing short story. M R James uses intense descriptions and shows ghostly figures to create tension. Throughout the story unpredicted events take place. Mr Abney’s obsession with pagans and religion makes the reader question why he is so interested about taking in his orphan cousin and how it could benefit him. “The Professor of Greek at Cambridge had been heard to say that no one knew more of the religious beliefs of the later pagans than did the owner of Aswarby.” We learn about the disappearance of the two previous children who had also been taken in by Mr Abney. After the ghostly sightings of the two children with their hearts ripped out, are witnessed by young cousin Stephen, it creates a sense of foreshadowing events and suggests to the reader, the third victim will be innocent Stephen.
Leadership at the tactical level is built on personal interaction. This type of leadership is face to face and encourages adherence to policy and procedures. This leadership also takes into account the human element of command. In the LW course, we studied numerous leaders that exhibited this type of leadership style. Robin Olds was a leader that transformed the squadron they led. Three keys to their leadership were mission success, people focus, and espirt de corps.
All soldiers, especially leaders, are highly recommended to keep a certain set of values that radiate throughout the entire U.S. Army. They are challenged to keep them near and dear to their hearts and to define and live them every day. A leader is one who takes these challenges serious and abides by
Regardless of the career you choose in your life, whether it be an accountant or a Soldier in the United States Army, someone, somewhere most likely had an influence to bring you to that decision. The Army defines leadership as the process of influencing people by providing purpose, direction, and motivation while operating to accomplish the mission and improve the organization (JP, p. 1). Now imagine you are a young Private, in one of the most dangerous places in Iraq and you have constant leadership changes, and not much support from your direct leadership. I am sure at this point you can imagine, it is not the best scenario to be in. Throughout the duration of this essay you will read about Sergeant First Class Rob Gallagher and Sergeant First Class Jeff Fenlason, their leadership abilities, and the techniques they attempted to use to resolve the issues in this Platoon that was in a downward spiral after losing many leaders to the hell of war.
My Legacy Leader is LTC Brian A. Coppersmith, USA, Ret. LTC Coppersmith exemplified Army leadership from his character, presence, and intellect to his ability to lead, develop and achieve. LTC Coppersmith’s leadership ability directly affected me as a Human Intelligence Collection Sergeant operating under his command in garrison pre-deployment, and while deployed forward to Iraq. The example that LTC Coppersmith set for me is the foundation that I have used to guide each of my actions on as a leader. It is my hope that I will be able to positively influence and inspire at least one Soldier in the same manner that LTC Coppersmith inspired and influenced me.
As an officer in the United States Army, it has been imperative for me to understand every facet of leadership and why it remains important to be an effective leader. During this course, I have learned some valuable lessons about myself as a leader and how I can improve on my leadership ability in the future. The journal entries along with the understanding of available leadership theories have been an integral part of my learning during this course. For all of the journals and assessments that I completed, I feel it has given me a good understanding of my current leadership status and my future potential as a leader. All of the specific assessments looked at several areas in regards to leadership; these assessments covered several separate focus areas and identified my overall strengths and weaknesses as a leader. Over the course of this paper I will briefly discuss each one of these assessments and journal entries as they pertained to me and my leadership.
My top five virtues that I strive to have are patience, compassion, honesty, self-discipline, and loyalty. I believe these traits make me a better leader and ultimately a better person. I try to set an example of a good person for my children and the Soldiers that I lead. I understand that we are not perfect but we should always aim to improve upon ourselves every day. Patience is not a virtue of mine and I struggle to control my emotions when my plans have gone awry. Compassion is a very important trait for leaders because everyone’s situation is different and holding everyone to the same standard is not fair to those individuals. As a commander we are given latitude when administering Uniform Code of Military (UCMJ) actions to subordinates. With this authority we need to consider all relevant issues and show compassion towards those
I have had the opportunity and privilege to work with a variety of military and non-military leaders who taught me important lessons in leadership. I obtained these lessons through direct mentorship or observation as I watched how they conducted themselves. Those lessons, combined with my own personal beliefs and experiences, have helped me develop my own leadership philosophy. My leadership philosophy focuses on balancing mission accomplishment with Soldier welfare. As a leader, I place significant emphasis on creating an environment built on trust and mutual respect, personal and professional development, and Soldier welfare.