Tag: defence services

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183: Taliban’s Runover: Some Factors

 

Setting and Population Density Pattern. 

  • Afghanistan’s overall population density is only about 148 people per square mile / 57 people per square kilometer (Indian population density is 1202 per square mile / 464 per square kilometer).

 

  • Even in the populated areas of Afghanistan, people are quite spread out, with only 26 percent of the population living in urban centres. This dispersed population pattern, is a challenge for the state army to defend while, it favours the Taliban’s quick-moving offensive.

 

Taliban Strategy.

  • Following the withdrawal of Western forces, the Taliban swiftly and easily occupied vast swaths of sparsely populated territory. They then used that territory to launch coordinated and fast-moving offensives.

 

  • Instead of traditional tools of warfare (like artillery and armour), the Taliban moved quickly in weaponised pickup trucks to defeat dug-in defensive They forced The Afghan forces to retreat from outposts and checkpoints to (safety of) urban areas, thereby ceding control of supply lines and major highways. This allowed Taliban forces to surround and isolate urban centers.

 

  • Local officials were quick to accept Taliban control because they had little allegiance to the central government and knew that Afghan forces were unwilling (and unable) to defend their areas from Taliban

 

Taliban Advantages.

  • Taliban enjoyed a presence throughout the country, allowing them to pressure the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces in multiple locations.

 

  • The Taliban were able to conduct lightning offensives across many fronts, which fatally stressed the limited cohesion of the Afghan National Defense and Security.

 

Afghan Security Force: Challenges

  • Low force-to-space ratios meant that defenders had significant ground to cover and had to move swiftly and in a coordinated fashion to stand any chance of successfully countering Taliban threats from many The Afghan security forces were not geared up to these tasks.

 

  • The Afghan military lacked the capacity and cohesion required to stand firm and defend against fast-moving offensives across many fronts.

 

  • Afghan forces had always been heavily dependent on S. air support for troop movement, re-supply, and combat operations. In absence of the air support, the Afghan military was unable to regroup or move units around quickly.

 

  • Afghan forces were hampered by lack of cohesion, leadership, motivation, and limited training & mobility.

 

Outcome.

  • The weaknesses of the Afghan security forces, combined with the low force-to-space ratios generated by Afghanistan’s terrain and its population distribution, made a quick Taliban victory a reality.

 

  • Taliban rarely had to use force because they could leverage their geographic reach to intimidate local leaders and convince defenders to flee or surrender.

 

Lessons

  • Understanding Local conditions is Important.

 

  • One solution does not work for every problem.

 

  • Psychological (Mind) factor of any armed is important.

 

  • Besides Equipment and training, motivation and leadership is equally important.

 

There is much more to it – More coming up

 

Questions

Has the western world really understood Afghanistan?

Is the fight against terrorism being orchestrated correctly?

 

Titbit

Afghanistan is called graveyard of empires.

Britishers came and failed

Russians tried and failed.

Yanks tried for long and failed.

 

Random Thoughts

Now it is Chinese turn

(Chinese are too smart to burn their hands – they will let Pakistan do Their dirty work)

Pakistan is playing with a two edged sword.

will the nurtured snake bite back

 

Suggestions and Value additions are most welcome

 

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References

https://warontherocks.com/

https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/afghanistan-taliban-uk-war-troops-b1902270.html

https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/united-states/2021-08-17/why-taliban-won

https://cissm.umd.edu/research-impact/publications/worst-case-scenario-assessing-impact-complete-isaf-military-withdrawal

https://www.wsj.com/articles/afghanistan-army-collapse-taliban-11628958253

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/exclusive-taliban-advances-afghan-military-overhauls-war-strategy-limit-losses-2021-07-22/

https://www.factcheck.org/2021/08/timeline-of-u-s-withdrawal-from-afghanistan/?utm_source=email&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=social-pug

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182: Leadership Lessons from Hollywood War Movies: Black Hawk Down

Films have a huge impact on the human mind. Films can communicate, embody and articulate the effectiveness of behaviours of leadership.

Hollywood has a variety of award-winning films that portray the heroism and sacrifices   of different military leaders in battlefield.

 

Black Hawk Down

Film. Black Hawk Down released in 2001 based on a true fact from Somalia. This film was produced and directed by Ridley Scott from a screenplay by Ken Nolan. This movie was based on the 1999 non-fiction book Black Hawk Down by journalist Mark Bowden.

Film Setting. In 1993, the US military operated a raid in Mogadishu to capture faction leader Mohamed Farrah Aidid. The ensuing firefight was known as the Battle of Mogadishu. In January 1991, Somalian President Mohammed Siad Barre was overthrown by a coalition of opposing clans, precipitating the Somali Civil War. In this civil war, around three hundred thousand (300,000) people were killed. Therefore, this civil war turned to genocide and the united nation had to intervene for the peacekeeping.

Film Plot. In 1992, U.S. forces had arrived in Somalia on a humanitarian mission to provide the food access to starving people in a city where different militia groups controlled basic resources. Initially, Task Force Ranger and U.S. Joint Special Operations force was a collaborated with other elite forces units from Army Special Operations Command, Air Force Special Operations Command, and Navy Special Warfare Command. Fifth Ranger Regiment and Delta Force was sharing the major members of this operation. Members from the seventh Task Force Ranger was dispatched to seize two of Aidid’s high-echelon lieutenants during a meeting in the city. The goal of the operation was achieved, though conditions spiraled into the deadly Battle of Mogadishu. The initial operation on October 3, 1993, intended to last an hour, became an overnight standoff and rescue operation extending into the daylight hours of October 4th. In this operation, 19 US soldiers sacrificed their lives and more than 1000 Somalian militia and civilian were killed.

Leadership Qualities

Black Hawk Down movie, is one of the best examples of leadership during crisis. It also brings out elements of situational leadership and ethical leadership. In the movie Major General William Garrison is portrayed as an authoritative but caring leader. Overall it is a story of many heroes. The major leadership lessons from this movie as follows:

  • Lead by example and be willing to carry the burden of leadership.
  • Be reliable and dependable, a leader that can be counted on.
  • It is critical for leaders to understand Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs

Recommendation

This film is recommended to be watched by the young military leaders.

Titbits

Black Hawk Down won two Academy Awards for Best Film Editing and Best Sound Mixing at the 74th Academy Awards (wikipedia.org, oscars.org). This movie has a strong foundation of political dilemma and social justice issue.

 

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References

Harvard Business School. (2003, April 21). “Black Hawk Down”: Leading in Crisis. Retrieved on September 10, 2018 from https://hbswk.hbs.edu/archive/black-hawk-down-leading-in- crisis.

Kirkpatrick, T. (2017, May 18). 8 awesome enlisted leaders depicted in war movies. https://www.wearethemighty.com/articles/8-awesome- enlisted-leaders-depicted-in-war-movies.

Guthrie, K. L., & Jenkins, D. M. (2018). The role of leadership educators: Transforming learning. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.

 Rajendran, D., & Andrew, M. (2014). Using film to elucidate leadership effectiveness models: Reflection on authentic learning experiences. Journal of University Teaching & Learning Practice, 11(1), 8.

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178: Leadership Lessons from Hollywood War Movies: Saving Private Ryan

Films have a huge impact on the human mind. Films can communicate, embody and articulate the effectiveness of behaviours of leadership.

Hollywood has a variety of award-winning films that portray the heroism and sacrifices   of different military leaders in battlefield.

 

Saving Private Ryan

 Film. Saving Private Ryan is an epic war film directed by renowned filmmaker Steven Spielberg and produced by Robert Rodat. This movie was released in 1998 based on the Invasion of the Normandy in the Second World War. This movie achieved very good critics from the worldwide and praised a lot to Spielberg and Tom Hanks as Captain Miller in the movie.

 

Plot. The plot of the movie was based on the Second World War. Three of the four sons of the Ryan family were killed in Warfield. Therefore, the fourth son (James Ryan affiliated with 101st Airborne Division in Normandy) was ordered to back home immediately. Captain Miller of the second Ranger Battalion leads a breakout on Omaha Beach to find Ryan and bring him back home. Captain Miller choose six people the assist him for this mission and started to find Ryan in the different battlefields. Before reaching Ryan, Captain Miller lost two men on the road and finally found him near Ramelle. Ryan was defending a tactically important bridge near Ramelle from the German Soldiers. Ryan learned that all of his brothers were killed in battle and felt sorrow for them. However, he refused to leave his post. Therefore, Captain Miller had to make a quick, tough decision to defend the bridge together, and afterward bring him back. By this time, they took preparation with their small arms and ammunition to defend the Germans. Within a few hours, the heavily armed German Troops came to the bridge and resisted by US Army. During the fighting, most of the men of that company were killed including captain miller. However, he continued to shoot his last bullet before the air strike support.

 

Leadership Qualities of Captain Miller

Captain Miller displayed transactional and transformational leadership traits. He displayed qualities that are portrayed by strong and positive leaders.

He never compelled his fellow team members to do anything. He motivated them.

He proved to be an innovative leader, willing to learn from the mistakes.

He was willing to take the responsibilities on his own shoulders.

He adopted a follower-based approach to leadership. He always discussed with his followers and his followers’ feedback was always welcome. While he was open to feedback from the fellow teammates, but was loyal to the chain of command.

He was tough decision maker, willing to make the quick and critical decision.

He displayed empathy towards his personnel.

 

Recommendation

Saving Private Ryan is a great piece of Steve Spielberg portraying an epic leadership style. It is composed of transactional, transformational and follower based approach of leadership.

Military leaders should watch this movie for its leadership lessons.

Titbits

Moreover, this movie has a huge commercial success; in the USA, it has earned 216.8 million USD and worldwide 481.8 million USD (wikipedia.org). This movie was nominated in eleven categories for a seventy-first academy award and won the awards in five categories including Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Sound Mixing, Best Film Editing, and Best Sound Effects Editing (oscars.org). Besides Oscars, this movie also won multiples awards worldwide. This movie was an ethno-biography of Private Ryan, a Second World War veteran.

 

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References

Homes, C. (2014b, October 28). Saving Private Ryan Review: Top ten Leadership Lesson from this Movie. Retrieved October 15, 2018 from https://www.part-time- commander.com/saving-private-ryan-review-10-leadership-lessons-from-the-movie/

Rogers, T. (2015, October 28). Seven lessons from Saving Private Ryan that will make you a better leader. Medium. Retrieved October 20, 2018, from https://medium.com/@tobiasrogers/seven-lessons-from-saving-private-ryan-that-will- make-you-a-better-leader-3e208a78a657

Kirkpatrick, T. (2017, May 18). 8 awesome enlisted leaders depicted in war movies. https://www.wearethemighty.com/articles/8-awesome- enlisted-leaders-depicted-in-war-movies.

Guthrie, K. L., & Jenkins, D. M. (2018). The role of leadership educators: Transforming learning. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.

  Rajendran, D., & Andrew, M. (2014). Using film to elucidate leadership effectiveness models: Reflection on authentic learning experiences. Journal of University Teaching & Learning Practice, 11(1), 8.

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