View Full Version : Green Beret brings his girlfriend to Afghanistan, "goes Native"
Got to just love this...
http://nypost.com/2014/06/29/the-green-beret-soldier-who-went-native-in-afghanistan/
Old Dog New Trick
06-29-2014, 14:36
I think that's great!
It's a shame more people don't understand just what it takes.
Who give a shit if his girlfriend wants to risk all for love.
Rules are rules for one of a couple reasons, order and that they are to be challenged.
mojaveman
06-29-2014, 15:05
Sad that his career had to end that way because he seems like a very talented person. I'm sure there are plenty of people who can hardly wait to see the movie.
I am sure he will self promote. He seams to be rewiriting history with his reporter friends so his movie should be comical. Lawrance takes Afganistan staring Curley and Moe and their Girlfriends.:eek:
Nonstop24/7
06-30-2014, 17:44
I just ordered his story book, AMERICAN SPARTAN. Sounds like some good tactics, if you can make it work like he appartently did.
Some folks get jealous with your success sometimes.
I know, rules are rules, unless your name is Barry.
Basenshukai
06-30-2014, 18:34
It's a shame. Could you imagine what he would have turned out to be had he not done any of those things and left the AO with honor and accolades, as opposed to all of the trouble he got himself into? It's a damn shame.
No personal interaction with the guy but he understood hooking up with the locals on their own terms to get what he wanted done...he had their respect and they responded.
He just went to far and forgot about protecting his 6.
His situational awareness of the enemy and the locals was excellent, his situational awareness of his US Army culture sucked.
Hoist on his own petard as they say.
He lost focus by going the love route in country. That was a personal deal that jeopardized his mission.
He could of swung that too if he'd of used discretion but he went balls to the wall on a personal note.
Too bad, I kind of like the guy from afar.
spottedmedic111
07-01-2014, 08:14
...he understood hooking up with the locals on their own terms to get what he wanted done...he had their respect and they responded.
Unfortunately he did deals with local power brokers/war lords instead of Afghan officials, which is what we were there to do. As such it has mostly unraveled since he left...no enduring gains made. True, warlords get things done and Afghans officials are infuriatingly self-serving. Yet, that was our mission. He had a wild ride but didn't help us much.
No personal interaction with the guy but he understood hooking up with the locals on their own terms to get what he wanted done...he had their respect and they responded.
He just went to far and forgot about protecting his 6.
His situational awareness of the enemy and the locals was excellent, his situational awareness of his US Army culture sucked.
Hoist on his own petard as they say.
He lost focus by going the love route in country. That was a personal deal that jeopardized his mission.
He could of swung that too if he'd of used discretion but he went balls to the wall on a personal note.
Too bad, I kind of like the guy from afar.
Violently agree, sir. MAJ Gant's "One Tribe at a Time" premise sure seemed to make sense. What didn't work appears to be the way in which he (as a resource) was managed (led), and of course the way he didn't cover his 6 while he was making some stupid choices. Bet this is a greater risk to the good war fighter than the public knows.
Your observations, spottedmedic111, are on target, too, sir. The mission is the thing.
Unfortunately he did deals with local power brokers/war lords instead of Afghan officials, which is what we were there to do. As such it has mostly unraveled since he left...no enduring gains made. True, warlords get things done and Afghans officials are infuriatingly self-serving. Yet, that was our mission. He had a wild ride but didn't help us much.
That' a part of the story I'd not heard before and figured I'd get here.
That's a difficult dance step but seen it done before.
In RVN you had to deal 'locally' with power brokers and with the central Govt. goons.
I'll bet the local Afghan officials are 'dealing' with local war lords presently...and Karzai never stopped.
spottedmedic111
07-01-2014, 11:28
I agree PRB and I'll only add that we must work with local/tribal leaders as well as govt. officials. Remember the Sunni uprising in Al Anbar, Iraq against AIF? That was a result of finally working with tribal leadership after ignoring them for years. Anyway, traditional forms of governance must be included but without excluding appointed officials. After all, once we leave we can't hold warlords accountable for anything.
However, what I am hearing is there is much more to the story...that the Maj.s conduct is only partially publicly known and he did some rather embarrassing things that will not be brought fwd as they would put a bad light on SF and the Army in general.
Guymullins
07-01-2014, 12:48
That every country has special forces soldiers, schooled in unconventional warfare, but as soon as they become unconventional themselves, they are beaten down and hounded out? The British seemed best at handling eccentrics. Stirling and TE Lawrence were given their heads and they produced marvelous results. The Germans also let Otto Skorzeny run loose and he achieved much.
That every country has special forces soldiers, schooled in unconventional warfare, but as soon as they become unconventional themselves, they are beaten down and hounded out? The British seemed best at handling eccentrics. Stirling and TE Lawrence were given their heads and they produced marvelous results. The Germans also let Otto Skorzeny run loose and he achieved much.
And that right there is the crux of the problem. What is the level of TRUST the command will give to the executors of the mission..:confused:
spottedmedic111
07-01-2014, 13:33
...as soon as they become unconventional themselves, they are beaten down and hounded out?
This is the claim he is making but it's not accurate. You don't think every ODA in theater is capable of running around killing Taliban? Of course they are, but the mission was to enable villages to protect themselves. His activities weren't particularly remarkable, only his freedom to conduct them were.
miclo18d
07-02-2014, 07:15
Knowing your operational environment goes beyond just the enemy. You have to know what your chain of command will put up with too.
When EVER we mentioned the term 'Know your operational environment', we were ALWAYS referring to our own chain of command. 'Don't write checks that your azz can't cash' would be a direct translation!
blue02hd
07-02-2014, 07:24
Knowing your operational environment goes beyond just the enemy. You have to know what your chain of command will put up with too.
When EVER we mentioned the term 'Know your operational environment', we were ALWAYS referring to our own chain of command. 'Don't write checks that your azz can't cash' would be a direct translation!
This comment is worth a couple thumbs up. Out running your headlights normally does not end well.