Introduction
Army principles of mission command are essential components of a successful military operation. It is possible to see the application of these principles during Operation Anaconda. Operation Anaconda was part of the war against terrorism in Afghanistan, and the US Army fought against the United Taliban and al-Qaeda forces. It shows that the problems during the military operations were caused by issues that were beyond the control of the American officers, but all aspects are critical when the operation is planned and performed.
Discussion and Analysis
Operation Anaconda Background
Operation Anaconda happened at the beginning of March 2002 in Afghanistan and was performed by the NATO coalition against radical Islamic groups. There were certain inconsistencies in how the US forces and the media described the operation. For instance, NATO representatives stated that more than 500 terrorists were killed during Operation Anaconda, while the journalists found only 23 bodies of the combatants (Malkasian, 2021). Therefore, the operation assessment was biased, and many agreed there was no practical need at its start.
The discussed military operation showed the weak sides in the planning process that the NATO coalition had, which allowed the officers to change their approach to strategic and tactical planning. Even though the US forces managed to remove Taliban and Al-Qaeda from the Shahi-Kot Valley where the operation took place, preliminary planning had significant drawbacks (Malkasian, 2021). According to the estimates, there were 72 wounded and eight killed officers due to landing in the middle of the Shahi-Kot Valley, which made the position of the US forces vulnerable (Malkasian, 2021). As a result of Operation Anaconda, the coordination of actions between the military units improved significantly (Loyn, 2021). Moreover, the approach to gathering and applying data from intelligence has become more thorough.
Principles of Mission Command
All military missions should follow common principles to have successful results, including minimizing causalities in the army group and achieving the operation’s goal optimally. It is possible to discuss several important principles that military officers use in their work. They include discipline, following orders, making the intent of the commandment clear, accepting reasonable risk, and making everyone share the same understanding of the mission’s goal (Department of the Army, 2019). Discipline is the primary principle in military service that ensures that all soldiers respect the hierarchy and accept the leader’s position as the officer. It is especially vital in critical situations, including military operations, but discipline should always be supported to elaborate on the habit. At the same time, the discipline principle does not oppose the adequate initiative supported by the commander (Department of the Army, 2019). Therefore, it is vital to elaborate on the clear vision of discipline and initiative acceptable in the army according to the army principles of mission command.
The course of Operation Anaconda illustrates the importance of supporting the balance between discipline and initiative. Even though there were obstacles during the operation and the coalition faced severe challenges while fighting the Taliban and Al-Quaeda, the command remained flexible and adapted to the situation. Problems with target identification allowed the terrorists to spot the American soldiers. Moreover, the coalition soldiers from Afghanistan suffered severe losses from the radicals and required additional firepower and unit reinforcement they soon received (Malkasian, 2021). These critical situations during Operation Anaconda illustrate the importance of discipline that does not allow soldiers to panic and adequate initiative that helps them to change the situation.
Following orders is the second critical principle of command during the mission. It is the integral component of planning and executing the mission that allows the combatants to understand guidance, allocate the necessary resources, and assign various tasks to soldiers. Subordination and discipline are closely connected with the principle of following mission orders (Department of the Army, 2019). During Operation Anaconda, the commander strictly followed the mission orders, which allowed the soldiers to preserve their unity during challenging moments when the enemy attacked them. The mistake made by intelligence while planning the operation was the underestimation of the number of Taliban and Al-Quaeda fighters (Loyn, 2021). It shows that the initial mission orders were not optimal and detailed, which caused problems during Operation Anaconda.
Another vital principle in the military mission is clear the commandment’s intent. This principle is interconnected with the need to make everyone share the same understanding of the mission’s goal. As a result, these two principles can be discussed together in the analysis of the mission command. To achieve discipline and subordination, the commander is always responsible for making the mission’s intent evident to everyone in the unit. Moreover, the commander has to support their soldiers and explain the details that might be unclear (Department of the Army, 2019). The major difference between these two principles of mission command is that the same question is discussed from various perspectives, one from the officer and one from the soldier (Department of the Army, 2019). In both cases, the commander must ensure that all soldiers understand the orders and have a clear vision of what they must accomplish during the mission.
Operation Anaconda is an example of a mission where everyone in the coalition understood the goals and the ways of achieving them. It allows the alliance and the American soldiers to achieve good results during the mission, regardless of the complications at the beginning of this operation. First, they had to free the Shahi-Kot Valley from Taliban and Al-Quaeda fighters, and they completed this task (Loyn, 2021). Second, they understood that they required support from aircraft to end the mission, which was also the consequence of understanding the operation’s goals (Loyn, 2021). This example shows that the coalition forces met the commander’s intent after establishing explicit coordination of actions between its military units.
The last mission principle is accepting reasonable risk, which is essential in military operations. Soldiers and officers should make their decisions quickly in critical situations, which makes it complicated. The main issue is that the notion of prudent risk supposes completing the mission regardless of possible causalities (Department of the Army, 2019). The pilots had to take risks connected with aviation and the bombing. For instance, there was a comparatively small number of planes during the mission because there was the risk of crashing them as the operation was conducted in a mountainous region (Loyn, 2021). There were wounded and killed coalition soldiers during Operation Anaconda, the price the commander had to pay for destroying the enemy and achieving the mission goal.
Conclusion
Operation Anaconda proves that a strong team that can cooperate and communicates effectively based on discipline, hierarchy, and mutual support shows effective results during the mission. Regardless of specific issues connected with the planning of the operation and use of intelligence data, the task was completed successfully. The use of the principles of the mission command allows the coalition fighters to overcome the existing problems with the tactical planning of the operation. It allows us to state that the use of principles of mission command is essential in the army.
References
Department of the Army. (2019). ADP 6-0. Mission command and control of army forces. Army Doctrine Publication.
Loyn, D. (2021). The long war – the inside story of America and Afghanistan since 9/11. St. Martin’s Publishing Group.
Malkasian, C. (2021). The American war in Afghanistan: A history. Oxford University Press.