US Troops Under Command of a Foreign Officer… AGAIN!!!

OK, I have said, from time to time, that this site is US Military friendly… and I mean it. So, it will come as no surprise to readers of IoF that I am more than a little upset with the US Military handing off 12,000 US troops to NATO in Afghanistan.

Now… the fact that we are a part of NATO is not a problem for me, (Well, it IS, but that is for another day!) but the fact that US troops will be under the command of an officer, not a member of the US military, is a problem for me. A British officer, to be sure, but he is not a US officer and he is NOT a member of the US Military.

If I were still in uniform, I would have a difficult time serving under any officer not of the US Military. Soldiers, sailors, Marines, Airmen, and Coast Guards men, have a reasonable right to believe that when they raise their right hand and take the oath, as a soldier in the US Military, that they will be commanded by a US citizen, a member of the US Military.

I feel this is wrong, and I feel certain men will lose their lives while serving under an officer who may, or may not, be qualified to lead US troops into combat.

Look, the US Military is a finely tuned machine. It has the capability of doing anything, anywhere, at any time… with the right leadership. To place the US Military under the command of an officer, not of the same military, is akin to placing a surgeon’s scalpel in the hands of, oh, say, a first year medical student and asking them to perform brain surgery. The have control of a tool, when wielded by a highly trained surgeon, can perform wonders. When used by someone less trained than a surgeon, it can become an instrument of death and destruction.

In any event, I was under the impression we had solved this problem, sometime back, with legislation, which prevented US troops from being commanded, ever again, by a non-member of the US Military. Apparently, I was misinformed.

Oh, but you may well argue, the General is a British General. That is true, and I hold the British military in high regard… just not as high as I hold the US Military. Besides, the entire British armed forces, added together, will not compare, in size, to the US Marine Corp.

Now this post is not meant to bring into question the abilities of the British Armed Forces. They’re good. Damned good. But they are not Americans.

The American fighting man is a unique individual. First he, or she, is a volunteer. They are the best trained, best equipped, best fed, best clothed, and most highly motivated troops in the world. They are kept at a state of readiness often referred to as “leaning forward” at all times. If the officer leading them is not in then same state of readiness as the troops there will be trouble.

Frustration among the troops is to be avoided at all times. But nothing can be as frustrating to a soldier ready to do the job he has trained for and, for whatever reason, the officers above him don’t share his commitment and his attitude. Frustration is a breeding ground for mistakes… and mistakes, in the military, cost lives.

Look, the men and women of the US Military are the treasure of America. They are sons, daughters, husbands, fathers, brothers and they are OURS! Why, then, does the DOD feel it can jeopardize the lives of that treasure under the command of anyone other than an American officer?

I don’t like it. At all!

Longstreet