Inside the Team Room Episode 16: War and Bureaucracy

Where is Episode 17? Isn't it time yet?

Keep em comming!!!!!

Great job as in the past.  This series is a favorite of mine.  All points are well taken, tactical decisions need to be made by boots on the ground.

It's a little ironic in a way, because the whole reason we have these issues with civilian casualties and making it look like we're fighting a more "humane" kind of war is because we looked at the destruction and carnage of two world wars and we didn't like what we saw.  So we get all of the Geneva Conventions and International Law and junk and it ends up making war even more brutal in the sense that it has created enemies who take advantage of the fact that western militaries doing peacekeeping have to follow rules.  In other words, I think we learned the wrong lessons in some ways.  I mean, it's not like insurgency is a new thing.  The French resistance in WWII was an insurgency and they hid themselves by dressing up as civilians, same as anyone.  It isn't rocket science.

Now, I'm not saying that civilian casualties should not be a consideration, but I'd like to think that people aren't as stupid as we generally assume (I hate the term "sheeple", while also acknowledging that there's probably some truth to it).  You'd think that people would be able to figure out: Americans shoot people they think are terrorists.  I am not a terrorist.  But wait, terrorists dress up like me.  Maybe I should not even be in the same neighborhood as terrorists so that I don't get killed.

My favorite episode so far. Obviously not because of the Bureaucracy, but for the tenacity of warriors like these who find a way to succeed no matter what obstacles are in the way. You can bet if the same politicians making the rules had to also risk their own lives (not just political) following the ROEs they come up with, the rules would be far more lenient. 

I am reminded of the old story of a Game Warden who heard about a guy who was illegally catching huge amounts of fish. The Warden took it upon himself to catch him, so he went undercover and slowly be-friended the guy who ended up being a rather average kind of old man with not much of a way to make a living. Well, one day the old man invited the covert Warden to go fishing with him. Figuring he would now get the evidence to make the collar, he accepted the invitation. Sure enough, a few days later, the old man took him out in his old flat-bottom jonboat to the lake where all the violations were suspected to have happened. Situated in the middle of the lake, the old man sort of played with a fishing rod for a while, just looking around to see if others were watching. Satisfied they were alone on the lake, the old man pulled out a stick of dynamite, lit it, and threw it overboard. After it exploded, fish started floating up to the surface, and the old man started scooping them into the boat. After he sat back down, the Game Warden identified himself and told the old man he was under arrest. The old man just asked him what for. The Game Warden said, "you can't use explosives for fishing, it's illegal". The old man just smiled, broke out a second stick of dynamite, lit it, and tossed it into the lap of the Game Warden. As the panicked Game Warden held the dynamite with a rapidly disappearing fuse, the old man just calmly asked him, "you gonna just sit there or are you gonna fish?"  

Our fighting men and women are the best in the world. Too many times when we have issues, these are caused by incompetent, arm chair quarterback leaders and its a damn shame that lives are lost because of it..

I don't blame Chris Kyle one bit for what he did. I probably would have done the samething. Just imagine if the car hadn't stopped and it killed hundreds of people w/a car bomb.

"Apparently,  I Shot One of the President's Friends..."  is what you should call the next book. 

Mr. Webb, I just want to say thanks for this great site and your service. These videos are highly entertaining, have you thought about putting them all together on dvd for sale? BTW, loved the SOF mag cover,congratulations.

If we had fought WW2 under these same rules of engagement, we would have lost.

If you have a thing against scooters, do not go to Japan, Thailand, Vietnam or Cambodia. It will be a losing battle......or a target rich environment.

While Episode 15 was fun to watch, it's also frustrating. Kyle was trained to identify this type of enemy tactic and eliminate the threat yet was disabled... Then he is investigated after following ROE and found in line due to significant witnesses...

What would have happened to this great SEAL if the witnesses were not around? We may have all been reading about a war fighter that murdered 2 men on a scooter. Much worse... Kyle could have been removed from action. Lies and the loss of a great warrior... I'm grateful we dodged that bullet! Let's hope we keep the rest of them out of our foot.

i feel ya. whine in the kunar province, we were on foot running a mission. the guys up front found an IED ready to go. we took care of it and went on our way. three days later we get back to the FOB and the battalion CO is there. he did not like the way we handled the incident. my ream leader looked him dead in the eye and said, "Sir, if you would like to come out with us next time you can handle the IED and i'll quarterback you from out of the blast area." they left us alone after that 

I wonder if Brandon might comment on whether this micro-management increased with the change in administrations?

that whole scooter thing was funny as hell!

trying to fight a war with one arm tide before your back

OK, I've always secretly thought that VESPAS should be wiped from the Face of the earth.  Now I've got a good reason, and none other than Sean Connery's approval.  

How much do you lead a Vespa? 

I really hope this site and these videos make it easier for our warfighters to make the correct decisions at the correct time without being second guessed. I hope enough people get pissed off about hearing those stories that something is actually done to remove the hundreds of layers of red tape in war and the rest of our lives. Thanks for your service.