Three Block War

Three Block War

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                         "The Strategic Corporal: Leadership in the Three Block War"

 

Marines Magazine, January 1999

 

by Gen. Charles C. Krulak

 

Operation Absolute Agility

0611: The African sun had just risen above the hills surrounding the sprawling city and

sent its already dazzling rays streaming into the dusty alleyway. Corporal Hernandez felt

the sun on his face and knew that today would, again, be sweltering. He was a squad

leader in 2d Platoon, Lima Company and had, along with his men, spent a sleepless night

on the perimeter. For the past week his platoon had provided security to the International

Relief Organization (IRO) workers who manned one of three food distribution points in

the American Sector of Tugala ~ the war-torn capital of Orange ~ a Central African

nation wracked by civil unrest and famine.

The situation in Orange had transfixed the world for nearly two years. Bloody tribal

fighting had led first to the utter collapse of the government and economy, and ultimately,

to widespread famine. International efforts to quell the violence and support the teetering

government had failed, and the country had plunged into chaos. The United States had

finally been compelled to intervene. A forward deployed Marine Expeditionary Unit

(Special Operations Capable) was ordered to assist the efforts of the ineffective Regional

Multi-National Force (RMNF) and the host of international humanitarian assistance

organizations that struggled to alleviate the suffering. The MEU's arrival had stabilized the

situation and allowed the precious relief supplies to finally reach the people who needed

them most.

The Food Distribution Point (FDP) manned by 2d Platoon serviced over 5,000 people

daily. The Marines had, at first, been shocked at the extent of the suffering, by the

constant stream of malnourished men and women, and by the distended bellies and drawn

faces of the children. The flow of food and medical supplies had, however, had a dramatic

impact. The grim daily death tolls had slowly begun to decrease and the city had begun to

recover some sense of normalcy. Within a month the lives of the Marines had assumed a

sort of dull routine. Corporal Hernandez removed his helmet and rested his head against

the mud wall of the house in which his squad was billeted and waited for his MRE to

finish heating; satisfied that he and his fellow Marines were making a difference.

0633: The dust and rumble of a half dozen 5-Tons pulling into the market square caught

the attention of Corporal Hernandez. Escorted by Marines, the convoy brought with it the

food and medical supplies that meant life or death to the inhabitants of this devastated

neighborhood. With it also came word of life beyond the confines of this small corner of Orange and useful intelligence concerning the disposition of the opposing factions that

wrestled for its control. Today, the convoy commander had disturbing news for the

platoon commander, Second Lieutenant Franklin. Members of the OWETA faction, led by

the renegade warlord Nedeed, had been observed congregating near the river that divided

the capital in half and marked the boundary separating the turf ofOWETA from that of its

principal rival. Nedeed had long criticized the presence of the RMNF and had frequently

targeted its personnel for attack. While he had strenuously denounced the presence of U.S.

forces, he had, so far, refrained from targeting American personnel. As starvation became

less a concern, however, tensions had begun to rise and there was growing fear that open

hostilities would breakout again and that attack ofRMNF and MEU personnel was

increasingly likely.

Lieutenant Franklin passed the report to his company commander and then gathered his

squad leaders together to review the developing situation. 1st Squad was ordered to move

about four hundred meters north and man a roadblock at Checkpoint (CP) Charlie.

Corporal Hernandez returned to his position, reluctantly disposed of his uneaten MRE,

and prepared his Marines to move out. The movement to the road intersection at CP

Charlie was uneventful and took less than ten minutes. The squad had manned the post

before and was familiar with the routine. Pre-staged barricades were quickly moved into

place to secure the street to vehicular traffic and a triple strand of concertina was strung in

order to control pedestrian movement. Corporal Sley and his fire team moved a hundred

meters north and established an Observation Post (OP) on the roof of a two-story building

that afforded excellent fields of view. By 0700, the squad was in position. At that hour,

the city was still quiet, and except for the intel report concerning OWETA activity, there

was no evidence that this day would be any different from the previous. The Marines of

1st Squad settled in for another long hot day of tedious duty.

0903: By nine o'clock, the normal large crowd, mostly women and children with baskets

in hand, had gathered to await passage through the checkpoint. The Marines orders were

clear: they were to deny access to anyone carrying a weapon and to be alert for any

indications of potential trouble. Their Rules of Engagement (ROE) were unambiguous:

anyone observed with an automatic weapon was considered hostile, as was anyone who

intentionally threatened Marine personnel. The MEU Commander had made this policy

clear in meetings with each of the warlords in the early days of the deployment. His

directness had paid dividends and to date, no MEU personnel had been wounded by small

arms fire. The factions had kept a low profile in the American sector and had not

interfered with those convoys accompanied by Marines. Such was not the case, however,

in adjacent sectors, where RMNF personnel had frequently been the target of ambush and

sniper fire. The Marines had stayed on their toes.

0915: Corporal Sley reported from his position on the rooftop that the crowd was

especially large and included an unusually high proportion of young adult males. He

sensed an ominous change in the atmosphere. Less than a mile away, he could see the

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vehicles of Nedeed's gang gathered at the far side of the bridge spanning the river that

separated the OWETA and Mubasa factions. He passed his suspicions on to his squad

leader, "Something big is about to happen." The day promised to be a break from the

routine.

0921: Corporal Hernandez promptly relayed Sley's report and concerns to his platoon

commander and learned from Lieutenant Franklin that Nedeed's chief rival - Mubasa --

was moving west toward CP Charlie. Mubasa's intentions seemed clear; his route would

bring him directly to CP Charlie and an ultimate collision with Nedeed. 1st Squad's

position astride the two MSR's placed them squarely between the rival clans. Lieutenant

Franklin directed Hernandez to extend the road block to cover the road entering the

intersection from the West and indicated that he and Sergeant Baker's 2d Squad were en

route to reinforce. Corporal Hernandez could feel the tension grow. The crowd had

become more agitated, aware that Mubasa's men were near and concerned that the vital

food distribution might be disrupted. The young men had begun to chant anti-U.S. slogans

and to throw rocks at the startled Marines. Corporal Hernandez felt the situation slipping

out of control and decided to close the road completely. With great difficulty, the barriers

were shifted and the concertina was drawn back across the narrow access point. The

crowd erupted in protest and pressed forward.

0931: Overhead, the whirring blades of a low flying IRO UH-1 were heard, but failed to

distract the crowd. Their curses and chants, however, were drowned out for an instant by

the sound and shock wave of an explosion. The helo had apparently been hit by ground

fire, possibly an RPG, and had burst into flames and corkscrewed to the ground several

blocks east of the OP. Corporal Sley had observed the crash from his vantage atop the

building and saw, to his relief, that at least two survivors had struggled from the flaming

wreckage. His relief, however, was short-lived. In the distance, he could see Nedeed's men

rushing across the bridge. Sley urgently requested permission to immediately move to the

assistance of the downed helo crew.

0935: While Corporal Hernandez considered the feasibility of a rescue attempt, the

situation took another serious turn; three vehicles loaded with Mubasa's men and followed

closely by a INN film crew arrived on the scene. Brandishing automatic weapons and

RPG's, they forced their vehicles through the crowd until the bumper of the lead truck

rested against the barricade. With their arrival, the already agitated crowd abandoned all

restraint. The occasional rock had now become a constant pelting of well-aimed missiles.

One had hit Lance Corporal Johnson in the face. The resulting wound, although not

serious, bled profusely and added to the rising alarm. Somehow the sight of the bright red

blood streaming down the face of the young Marine fed the crowd's excitement and

heightened the panic growing within the squad. What had started out as another routine

day of humanitarian assistance was rapidly becoming something else entirely. A Molotov

Cocktail crashed into the position injuring no one, but contributed further to the

confusion. The Marines of 1st Squad looked from man to man and then stared

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questioningly at Corporal Hernandez. He reassuringly returned the gaze of each man,

knowing better than any of them that the fate of the squad, of the wounded IRO personnel,

and perhaps, of the entire multi-national mission, hung in the balance. In the span of less

than three hours he had watched a humanitarian assistance mission turn terribly wrong and

move ever closer to outright disaster. Corporal Hernandez was face to face with the grave

challenges of the three block war and his actions, in the next few minutes, would

determine the outcome of the mission and have potentially strategic implications.

The Three Block War

The fictional mission described above -- Operation Absolute Agility - is similar to many

that have been conducted around the world in recent years and represents the likely

battlefield of the 21st Century. It also represents, in graphic detail, the enormous

responsibilities and pressures which will be placed on our young Marine leaders. The

rapid diffusion of technology, the growth of a multitude of transnational factors, and the

consequences of increasing globalization and economic interdependence, have coalesced

to create national security challenges remarkable for their complexity. By 2020,

eighty-five percent of the world's inhabitants will be crowded into coastal cities ~ cities

generally lacking the infrastructure required to support their burgeoning populations.

Under these conditions, long simmering ethnic, nationalist, and economic tensions will

explode and increase the potential of crises requiring U.S. intervention. Compounding the

challenges posed by this growing global instability will be the emergence of an

increasingly complex and lethal battlefield. The widespread availability of sophisticated

weapons and equipment will "level the playing field" and negate our traditional

technological superiority. The lines separating the levels of war, and distinguishing

combatant from "non-combatant," will blur, and adversaries, confounded by our

"conventional" superiority, will resort to asymmetrical means to redress the imbalance.

Further complicating the situation will be the ubiquitous media whose presence will mean

that all future conflicts will be acted out before an international audience.

Modern crisis responses are exceedingly complex endeavors. In Bosnia, Haiti, and

Somalia the unique challenges of military operations other-than-war (MOOTW) were

combined with the disparate challenges of mid-intensity conflict. The Corps has described

such amorphous conflicts as - the three block war - contingencies in which Marines may

be confronted by the entire spectrum of tactical challenges in the span of a few hours and

within the space of three contiguous city blocks. The tragic experience of U.S. forces in

Somalia during Operation Restore Hope illustrates well the volatile nature of these

contemporary operations. Author Mark Bowden's superb account of "The Battle of

Mogadishu," Blackhawk Down, is a riveting, cautionary tale and grim reminder of the

unpredictability of so-called operations other-than-war. It is essential reading for all

Marines.

The inescapable lesson of Somalia and of other recent operations, whether humanitarian

assistance, peace-keeping, or traditional warfighting, is that their outcome may hinge on

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decisions made by small unit leaders, and by actions taken at the lowest level. The Corps

is, by design, a relatively young force. Success or failure will rest, increasingly, with the

rifleman and with his ability to make the right decision at the right time at the point of

contact. As with Corporal Hernandez at CP Charlie, today's Marines will often operate far

"from the flagpole" without the direct supervision of senior leadership. And, like Corporal

Hernandez, they will be asked to deal with a bewildering array of challenges and threats.

In order to succeed under such demanding conditions they will require unwavering

maturity, judgment, and strength of character. Most importantly, these missions will

require them to confidently make well-reasoned and independent decisions under extreme

stress ~ decisions that will likely be subject to the harsh scrutiny of both the media and the

court of public opinion. In many cases, the individual Marine will be the most

conspicuous symbol of American foreign policy and will potentially influence not only the

immediate tactical situation, but the operational and strategic levels as well. His actions,

therefore, will directly impact the outcome of the larger operation; and he will become, as

the title of this article suggests ~ the Strategic Corporal.

The Strategic Corporal

Regrettably, the end of the Cold War heralded not the hoped for era of peace, but rather, a

troubling age characterized by global disorder, pervasive crisis, and the constant threat of

chaos. Since 1990, the Marine Corps has responded to crises at a rate equal to three times

that of the Cold War -- on average, once every five weeks. On any given day, up to 29,000

Marines are forward deployed around the world. In far-flung places like Kenya,

Indonesia, and Albania, they have stood face-to-face with the perplexing and hostile

challenges of the chaotic post Cold War world for which the "rules" have not yet been

written. The three block war is not simply a fanciful metaphor for future conflicts ~ it is a

reality. Like Corporal Hernandez, today's Marines have already encountered its great

challenges and they have been asked to exercise an exceptional degree of maturity,

restraint, and judgment.

Marines, of course, have always shone most brightly when the stakes were highest. The

NCO's that led the bloody assaults on the German machine-gun positions at Belleau Wood

intuitively understood the importance of their role. The Marines of 2d Battalion, 28th

Marines, who scaled the fireswept heights of Mount Suribachi needed no one to

emphasize the necessity of initiative. The Marines of the Chosin Reservoir, of Hue City,

and of countless other battles through the years did not wait to be reminded of their

individual responsibilities. They behaved as Marines always have, and as we expect

today's Marines and those of the future to behave ~ with courage, with aggressiveness,

and with resolve. The future battlefields on which Marines fight will be increasingly

hostile, lethal, and chaotic. Our success will hinge, as it always has, on the leadership of

our junior Marines. We must ensure that they are prepared to lead.

How do we prepare Marines for the complex, high-stakes, asymmetrical battlefield of the

three block war? How do we develop junior leaders prepared to deal decisively with the

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sort of real world challenges confronting Corporal Hernandez? The first step of the

process is unchanged. Bold, capable, and intelligent men and women of character are

drawn to the Corps, and are recast in the crucible of recruit training, where time honored

methods instill deep within them the Corps' enduring ethos. Honor, courage, and

commitment become more than mere words. Those precious virtues, in fact, become the

defining aspect of each Marine. This emphasis on character remains the bedrock upon

which everything else is built. The active sustainment of character in every Marine is a

fundamental institutional competency ~ and for good reason. As often as not, the really

tough issues confronting Marines will be moral quandaries, and they must have the

wherewithal to handle them appropriately. While a visceral appreciation for our core

values is essential, it alone will not ensure an individual's success in battle or in the myriad

potential contingencies short of combat. Much, much more is required to fully prepare a

Marine for the rigor of tomorrow's battlefield.

An institutional commitment to lifelong professional development is the second step on

the road to building the Strategic Corporal. The realignment of the Recruit Training and

Marine Combat Training programs of instruction reveal our reinvigorated focus on

individual training. Those programs remain the most important steps in the methodical

process of developing capable Marines. Our Formal Schools, unit training and education

programs, and individual efforts at professional education build on the solid foundation

laid at recruit training and sustain the growth of technical and tactical proficiency and

mental and physical toughness. The common thread uniting all training activities is an

emphasis on the growth of integrity, courage, initiative, decisiveness, mental agility, and

personal accountabilty. These qualities and attributes are fundamental and must be

aggressively cultivated within all Marines from the first day of their enlistment to the last.

Leadership, of course, remains the hard currency of the Corps, and its development and

sustainment is the third and final step in the creation of the Strategic Corporal. For two

hundred and twenty-three years, on battlefields strewn across the globe, Marines have set

the highest standard of combat leadership. We are inspired by their example and confident

that today's Marines and those of tomorrow will rise to the same great heights. The clear

lesson of our past is that success in combat, and in the barracks for that matter, rests with

our most junior leaders. Over the years, however, a perception has grown that the

authority of our NCO's has been eroded. Some believe that we have slowly stripped from

them the latitude, the discretion, and the authority necessary to do their job. That

perception must be stamped out. The remaining vestiges of the "zero defects mentality"

must be exchanged for an environment in which all Marines are afforded the "freedom to

fail" and with it, the opportunity to succeed. Micro-management must become a thing of

the past and supervision ~ that double-edged sword » must be complemented by

proactive mentoring. Most importantly, we must aggressively empower our NCO's, hold

them strictly accountable for their actions, and allow the leadership potential within each

of them to flourish. This philosophy, reflected in a recent Navy Times interview as

"Power Down," is central to our efforts to sustain the transformation that begins with the

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first meeting with a Marine recruiter. Every opportunity must be seized to contribute to

the growth of character and leadership within every Marine. We must remember that

simple fact, and also remember that leaders are judged, ultimately, by the quality of the

leadership reflected in their subordinates. We must also remember that the Strategic

Corporal will be, above all else ... a leader ofMarines.

Conclusion

And what of Corporal Hernandez? While his predicament is certainly challenging, it is not

implausible. What did he do? First, he quickly reviewed what he knew. He was certain

that Lieutenant Franklin and 2d Squad would arrive within a matter of minutes. He knew

that the crash site was located within the adjacent RMNF unit's sector and that it manned

checkpoints astride Nedeed's route to the downed helo. He knew that any exchange of

gunfire with Mubasa's gunmen would likely lead to civilian casualties and jeopardize the

success of the humanitarian mission. Second, he considered what he did not know. He was

uncertain of either Nedeed's or Mubasa's intentions, or of the feasibility of a rescue

attempt. Based on these considerations and myriad other tangible and intangible factors,

he completed a rapid assessment of the situation -- and acted. Corporal Sley was directed

to maintain his position atop the building and continue to monitor Nedeed's progress and

the status of the casualties. Hernandez then switched frequencies and contacted the Marine

liaison with the adjacent RMNF unit and learned that they had already dispatched medical

personnel to the helo crash site, but were unaware of Nedeed's movement and would now

because of Hernandez's warning reinforce the appropriate checkpoints. By the time that

transmission was completed, Lieutenant Franklin had arrived with the additional squad.

With them came a neighborhood leader who had previously acted as an interpreter and

mediator. Mubasa's men, apparently uncomfortable with the shift in odds, began to slowly

withdraw. The mediator, a recognizable and respected figure in the community, was

handed a bullhorn and addressed the crowd. Within minutes the situation was diffused:

Mubasa's men had departed, the crowd was calmed, and RMNF personnel had reached the

crash site. For a few tense minutes though, the fate of both 1st Squad and the overall

mission had hung in the balance and on the actions of a young Marine leader. As would

be expected, our Strategic Corporal — firmly grounded in our ethos, thoroughly schooled

and trained, outfitted with the finest equipment obtainable, infinitely agile, and above all

else, a leader in the tradition of the Marines of old... made the right decision.