Chain of Command - Essay Example

Running Head: THE VIETNAM PERSPECTIVE OF THE RULES OF ENGAGEMENT The Vietnam Perspective of the Rules Of Engagement And the Six Levels of the Chain of Command _______________________________ _____________________________ THE VIETNAM PERSPECTIVE OF THE RULES OF ENGAGEMENT 2 Introduction The Commander-in-Chief is confined to doing his works on a much broader range and is rarely seen visiting the men in combat right on the field of battle in a far away encampment. When he does visit the troops, the atmosphere turns into that of renewed enthusiasm, chivalry, and patriotism.

That is the nearest the highest civilian-military commander can get to his troops having directed his strategic command and orders most of the time from the war room and through the regular chain of command from the Commander-in-Chief down the line. In this case, Lyndon Johnson, who was President of the United States when the most powerful country on the face of the earth went into what is called the limited war ideology in Indo-China, his Secretary of National Defense Robert McNamara, General William Westmoreland, the man in charge of the US military operations in Vietnam in the 1960s, the division and battalion commanders and the individual soldiers in full battle gears.

Soldiery, from top to bottom, is guided by the laws of modern warfare especially that task to institute peace and freedom as the Military Review by Sargent (2005) noted, we simply cannot afford to collaterally alienate the people we are trying to influence, liberate, protect, or aid. Not everyone in the field can have the honor and pride of taking orders from the Commander-in-Chief in the form of a morale-boosting pep talk and encouragement. Under constant threat of dragging into the mayhem two of the biggest armies in the world, China and the USSR, and the wounds of World War II and the Korean War still fresh from the minds of the American people, the United States went into employing the doctrine of limited war.

Such a condition makes ROE one of the most compelling courses of action to accomplish its mission in Vietnam. Keyword: ROE - Rules Of Engagement THE VIETNAM PERSPECTIVE OF THE RULES OF ENGAGEMENT 3 The Vietnam Perspective of the Rules Of Engagement And the Six Levels of the Chain of Command The pyramid-like structure of the chain of command starts with the ground troops symbolizing peace and freedom which the whole United States of America has been known to have stood for in war and in peace.

Sargent (2005) implies that part of the mission is about sustaining strategic legitimacy and credibility. However, the heat of the battle continues to hound both the battle-scarred soldiers and the battle-scared localities which prevented major accomplishments based on that strategy. The resulting bloody carnage and increasing casualties in both civilian and military sectors were inevitable. For the battalion commanders, the mission has to be accomplished according to plans which are mainly to seek and destroy.

The same mindset that is engulfs the whole scenario from the rice paddies to the command centers. A battalion is capable of independent operations of limited duration and scope (United States Army Chain of Command). The division commanders take care of the more massive, coordinated assault and precise execution of the war plans set forth by the general headquarters. The division represents the biggest level of command in the 6-point study whose ROE in relation to the limited war ideology can be summed up in one specific rule according to Stafford (2000) Use of Proportional Force Which May Include Non-lethal Weapons to Control the Situation.

General William Westmoreland oversees the whole operations and must answer directly to the Secretary of Defense and the President. Like his ground commanders, for him, the most acceptable words are mission accomplished! This means that the ROE has been carried out with little or no complications at all. In spelling out troops requirement, McNamara (2005) has remained conscious of confining the war in Vietnam saying that the plan is such that the risk of escalation into war with China or the Soviet Union can be kept small.

In the highest seat of power, peace with the employ of superior force is inherent in its mission as President Johnson concluded in his report on the Gulf of Tonkin Incident (1964) that firmness in the right is indispensable today for peace; that firmness will always be measured. Its mission is peace. Conclusion Preventing war to escalate is in itself an overture for peace. The use of the Rules of Engagement is equally important in a limited war doctrine. Corollary to that, it is best to be constantly reminded that with great firepower, comes great accountability.