FOCUS ON OUR FIGHTERS

We have to move from analysis to execution.?We have several thousand Marines and 82d Airborne troopers attempting to create calm amidst chaos and to fulfil the last vestige of honor with departing personnel-Western and Afghan.

We need to take a breath and understand/appreciate the incredible pressures our troops are going to be under in the next few days.

There is no harder mission for a combat soldier/Marine than an evacuation under pressure (NEO) which is without the comforting exchange of fires Tentpeg can understand and is conditioned to respond.

The first, and most crucial issue is what the senior leadership provides as the mission tasks and the Rules of Engagement.?Based on experience, I can say they will usually be late, incomplete, inadequate and inappropriate.?That can't be helped.?The Grunt on the ground, PFC Tentpeg, has to sort out in his own mind what is the right answer and hopefully be backstopped by some very calm NCO's and officers who are focussed on what is happening vice what might happen.

Next is the immediate command of the troops and what they add/subtract/interpret to the ROE that is passed down.?Remember, there is no previous training stint, what if drills and hot washes-it is on the flight line, get it on, first time.

Next is the overwhelming pressure from multitudinous agencies and organizations demanding primacy and screaming at PFC Tentpeg for special treatment or adjustment to the rules as Tentpeg understands.?Then what degree of protection/cover does the immediate ramp leadership provide to manage the interlopers? Does it dither or is it decisive?

Then the airlift commanders and managers/crews: Are they in synch with the guidance or is it so nebulous that they change Tentpeg's understanding making him the bad guy with the hundreds of civilians-many women and children-pressing on him?

Then there is the practical reality of managing the runway and admin buildings of an airport complex of almost five miles in size.?Yes-the deep Mil hotspots will be relatively sacrosanct but the more open areas eg those processing Afghanis will be chaotic.?Who will take a strong hand in passing out or denying access tickets and controlling the crowd? Will the designated controller-usually State- actually take charge in a meaningful way or make Tentpeg the de facto controller?

Will there be activist multi-Departmental command presence on the ground, in the complex, prepared to adjust ROE as conditions warrant??Will higher distance detached policy makers/commanders be prepared to accept adjustments in the immediate interest of life and limb?

Are we prepared to do/direct the sort of physical confrontations needed to wrest calm out of chaos so some form of orderly progression may proceed?

Are we prepared to leave behind scenes of clamoring humanity that failed to make the last flight?

This is a task no military unit wants and perhaps the most taxing for any chain of command. It becomes highly individualistic on the ramp and our humanity sometimes gains precedence over military necessity.

It may get ugly