Category: War
“Leave No Man Behind” is a creed and ethos often repeated and adhered to by various units and soldiers. The interpretation of the phrase is applied to the treatment and extraction of the seriously wounded, the recovery of the body of military members killed in action, and the attempts to rescue or trade for prisoners of war.
Despite being widely known and repeated in the U.S. Military, “leave no man behind” is not represented in any official military doctrine or publication. It is a culture of the armed services, which carries significant risk.
A recent article reported the Air Force’s recommended upgrade of Tech. Sergeant John Chapman’s Air Force Cross to the Medal of Honor for his actions during Operation Anaconda, an attempt to rescue Neil Roberts, a SEAL who had fallen from a helicopter after being struck by enemy fire.
The article highlights the decision of a Navy SEAL Chief, serving as the leader of the team that Sergeant Chapman was supporting, to withdraw from the mountain top position while under heavy enemy fire. The Chief believed that Sergeant Chapman had been killed, and made the decision to withdraw his team, which already had multiple wounded members.
The basis for this upgrade is drone imagery, improved by new technology to show a clearer feed of the actions occurring on the ground. The Air Force reports that Sergeant Chapman, despite being left behind and seriously wounded, can be seen continuing to provide suppressive fires for a helicopter attempting to insert a quick reaction force of Rangers, as well as engaging in close quarters combat with Al Qaeda fighters before ultimately being killed in action.
In total, seven troops were killed in this engagement, now referred to as the Battle of Roberts Ridge. Much of the criticism of this decision revolves around the principle of “leave no man behind.” Should troops go to such lengths to rescue fallen comrades, pulling additional resources and risking additional casualties?
The X’s and O’s Perspective – Rescue Mission with Strategic Implications
“Leave No Man Behind” is not based on the tactical necessity to recover the wounded or missing. It is a dangerous task to those troops undertaking it, potentially exposing themselves to ambush from an enemy who understands our cultural necessity to recover a comrade.
Once that soldier is wounded or missing, he is no longer an asset to accomplishing a mission. In fact, he or she is a significant hindrance that takes combat power away from mission. Even more so, the decision to conduct a rescue or recovery mission can change policy and the face of a conflict.
There are numerous examples of the dangers associated in following “Leave No Man Behind.”
The Battle of Mogadishu is a well-known engagement, in which a Task Force was directed to capture an associate of the warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid. The shoot down of a task force helicopter and ensuing recovery efforts led to the death of eighteen U.S. soldiers, seventy-three wounded, and the capture of Warrant Officer Michael Durant following the crash landing of his helicopter. The loss of life led to a policy change by the Clinton administration and the ultimate withdrawal of U.S. forces in Somalia.
In 1972, Captain Roger Locher was shot down over North Vietnamese territory during a major aerial operation to slow the transport of North Vietnamese Army troops and supplies into the south. Captain Locher was able to escape and evade capture for twenty-three days despite being far behind enemy lines.
All units under the command of General John Vogt were ordered to stop operations (to include major bombing campaigns of Hanoi,) and focus on the rescue effort. Captain Locher was successfully recovered, after approximately 150 U.S. aircraft were redirected to find and rescue him
From a foreign military perspective, the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) once utilized the “Hannibal Directive” as a policy for units and commanders when IDF soldiers have been captured or abducted. It consisted of a massive procedure to bomb all possible escape routes, assuming the risk of killing the abducted soldier. Reports of the use of “Hannibal Directive” are controversial due to the high probability of collateral damage and IDF assumption that a soldier should rather be killed than captured.
The last use of the directive is reported during the 2014 Israeli-Gaza incursion, when Lieutenant Hadar Goldin was believed to be captured, pulled into a Hamas tunnel system in the Gaza Strip. The use of the directive was criticized by the Israeli public and international community, and was heavily publicized by media outlets.
The implications of these examples have been significant in foreign policy (Somalia), operational objectives (aborted Hanoi bombing strike), and media coverage (Hannibal Directive) leading to public criticism. They all stem from the reallocation of combat forces to aid in the rescue or recovery of personnel, despite the costs, under the culture of no man left behind.
Why It Matters
It is important to note what “Leave No Man Behind” means to those in uniform.
While not captured in doctrine, there are few things more reassuring to a soldier about to enter combat that his brothers and sisters in arms would spare nothing in attempts to get him back. To the families of those fallen, the catharsis of being able to bury their own cannot be overstated or even understood by those who have not been in that sad and unfortunate position.
As found by a study by the U.S. Army War College, “Combat Motivation in Today’s Soldiers,” the motivations have not changed in war over time. They fight for one another, built through the bond of shared misery, loyalty, and love. It is not surprising then that soldiers would go to such lengths to never leave a man behind, despite the risks and possible failure.
In the case of the Navy SEAL Chief who made the decision to withdraw after believing Sergeant Chapman had succumbed to his wounds, his decision should not be controversial or criticized. He made a decision in the heat of intense enemy fire, with the knowledge at hand. Gaining a birds eye view from a drone feed can be a significant asset, but it is a shameful prospect to criticize when enabled through replayed footage taken from thousands of feet overhead, many years after.
Ultimately, the responsibility lies with the commander on what he is willing to risk to ensure no man is left behind. It is a heavy burden, and may not be worth the loss of others in terms of mission accomplishment. These are decisions made in seconds, and will not be perfect. It is an unenviable position, and one he or she will undoubtedly debate for a lifetime.
Sources:
http://www.strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil/pdffiles/pub179.pdf
http://archive.palmcenter.org/files/active/0/2006_0925-Wong_critique.pdf
www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA622819
http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/hadar-goldin-hannibal-directive
http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-1.608693
https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/monograph_reports/MR1173/MR1173.chap2.pdf
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/28/world/asia/seal-team-6-afghanistan-man-left-for-dead.html?emc=edit_th_20160828&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=50217936&_r=0
Mass media frequently uses terms such as ‘genocide’ with considerable liberty. Admittedly, words have power, and incendiary terms like genocide, war crimes, and violations of international law pack a certain viscerally compelling gravitas. Recently, ‘genocide’ has been used to describe the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
Genesis of Conflict and Genocide
The argument could be made that the current sordid state of affairs in the Middle East all started back in the 18th century BC. Abraham is considered the patriarch for Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. There were some fairly egregious domestic disagreements between Abe’s wife Sarah and his handmaiden Hagar over the respective half siblings Isaac and Ishmael that never really got fully resolved.
That admittedly oversimplifies the situation. However, fast forward 3,800 years and the fire that sparked so long ago still burns brightly even today. In case you haven’t noticed, Jews and Muslims don’t get along terribly well. For the most part, we Christians, at least after the Crusades ended in 1291, just seem to be along for the ride. It’s obviously more complicated than Abraham’s tawdry marital squabbles, but that really is kind of where it all began.
Roots and Ramifications
The Romans sacked Jerusalem in AD 70 and subsequently dispersed the Jews. Isaac’s progeny lived as a diaspora around the globe for nearly two millennia. Then Adolf Hitler murdered six million of them during World War 2, and the whole world seemed to collectively gasp. In the aftermath of the Holocaust, a great many Jews returned to the Holy Land and won a vicious war for independence in 1948. They have been fighting on and off ever since.
There have been countless examples of war carving up national borders in the past two centuries. Several such conflicts are simmering today. Generally, once the bullets stop flying things eventually kind of find their level. But not here.
The Lay of the Land
Today, the Palestinians are cooped up in Gaza and the West Bank (Obviously so named because this piece of land occupies the west bank of the Jordan River. The nation of Jordan is on the other side.) The Israelis hold some really prime real estate in between. The Palestinians are none too happy about that. Everyone and their grandmother has tried to broker a lasting peace deal over the past half-century to no avail. The place is still just a mess.
Everybody hates everybody. Whenever they are not actively fighting, the combatant factions are stockpiling weapons in anticipation of the next inevitable opportunity to go all kinetic on each other. Throughout it all, the United States has traditionally backed Israel, while the religious fanatic psychopaths in Iran bankroll terrorist organizations like Hamas, Hezbollah, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. These days Joe Biden’s mob seems a bit conflicted.
Current Affairs
The Israelis call 7 October 2023, Black Sabbath. That’s when Hamas terrorists launched a coordinated attack against Israeli military and civilian targets around Gaza. The final toll included some 1,200 Israelis and unfortunate foreigners dead, with around 240 taken hostage.
Not satisfied to just machinegun unarmed civilians at a peace concert, Hamas operatives raped, pillaged, and tortured like it was the freaking Dark Ages. I’d give you some details, but I’d sooner not be responsible for putting those images into your mind. You can find all that ghastly stuff easily enough online. Suffice it to say, lots of bad people have been compared to Hitler. On 7 October, Hamas did things that would give the alpha Nazi Reinhard Heydrich pause.
Day of Terror
In the immediate aftermath, the Israel Defense Forces launched a coordinated air and ground assault against Hamas targets in Gaza. The rub is that Gaza is only twice the size of Washington DC. Packed into this tiny little space are more than two million Palestinians. Hamas themselves claim to have honeycombed this particularly congested real estate with some 311 miles of subterranean tunnels filled with weapons as well as extensive logistics and command and control facilities. The resulting fight has been untidy to say the least.
No sooner had the screaming stopped on 7 October did the Palestinians begin protesting the Israeli counterattack. Their political demonstrations have been well-organized and liberally distributed around the globe. They often involve burning stuff and destroying things.
Israel, not unreasonably, alleges a pro-Palestinian bias in such hallowed spaces as the United Nations and liberal American college campuses. A common refrain is that the Israelis are committing genocide in Gaza. I thought it might be a healthy exercise to explore what that word really means.
The Pen is Mightier Than the Sword
Etymology, as defined by Wikipedia, is the scientific study of a word’s origin and the evolution of its meaning over time. Distilled to its essence, etymologists trace the foundational basis of words in the pursuit of pure, uncorrupted meaning. The time-tested definition of genocide is the deliberate killing of a large number of people from a particular nation or ethnic group with the purpose of exterminating that nation or group.
The war in Gaza is not genocide. The war in Gaza is just good old-fashioned war, albeit in a very congested space. That’s not meant to minimize the suffering. The normal sort is still plenty horrible, but we really need not embellish things with superfluous literary theater in an effort to make them seem worse than they already are.
Still Not Genocide
War in a built-up area like Gaza is the targeted destruction of both military facilities and supporting infrastructure along with, according to Hamas, some thirty thousand dead Palestinians as of this writing. How many of those were civilians and how many were Hamas fighters is innately unfathomable, but everyone agrees that this astronomical figure includes an absolutely sickening number of children. However, this still does not meet the threshold of genocide.
Genocide in this case would be carpet bombing refugee camps and machinegunning the survivors. It would be poisoning the water and salting the fields. It would be sealing the borders with the intent of watching the inhabitants cannibalize each other and then starve. That’s not what is happening in Gaza, but we do have some relatively recent examples of the real deal.
The Rwandan Genocide: A Case Study
A lyrically bloody subset of the protracted Rwandan Civil War unfolded for 100 days between 7 April and 15 July 1994. A Tutsi rebel group called the Rwandan Patriotic Front invaded northern Rwanda from bases in Uganda in 1990. Majority Hutus ran the government. The minority Tutsis didn’t care for that.
The Hutu president Juvenal Habyarimana subsequently died in a plane crash under suspicious circumstances, and his followers went absolutely berserk. Over the next three months, Hutu militias systematically murdered at least 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus. That simply breathtaking bloodletting actually met the textbook definition of genocide.
In Perspective
Let’s put this in perspective. My thriving little community of Oxford, Mississippi, has a population of around 26,000 people. The Rwandan genocide would be like murdering every man, woman, and child in Oxford thirty times over…in 100 days. That’s some 8,000 fresh corpses per day. A further 200,000 Hutus died when the surviving Tutsis finally gained the upper hand and chased them into Zaire and the Congo.
To make this event even more incomprehensible, a shocking lot of the killing was done with machetes. It has also been estimated that as many as half a million women were raped. I would characterize the event as inhuman, but, sadly, it was actually quite very human. It is just that we humans suck, like a lot.
This is Really And Truly Genocide
Here’s the truly heartrending part. Tutsis and Hutus are all drawn from essentially the same stock. They speak the same language. They attend the same churches. Historically, Tutsis have been herders, while Hutus have raised crops. However, there is more money to be made in livestock, so the minority Tutsis are typically the more affluent of the two groups. The Hutus are generally poorer, but there are more of them. Their society, politicians, and media inflamed passions between the two groups right up until somebody grabbed a machete. Methinks there might be a cautionary tale buried in there someplace for modern-day Americans as well.
The slaughter in Rwanda was indeed genocide. Six million Jews rounded up and gassed before being burned in crematoria, that’s genocide. What is happening in Gaza is just run-of-the-mill war. It is uniformly horrible, but it really isn’t all that special when viewed through the blood-sotted lens of human history.
Ruminations on Conflict and Killing
Benjamin Netanyahu was quick to make the distinction between Hamas and the Palestinian people. He rightly states that their war is with the terrorists, not the Gazans as a whole. However, the animals who perpetrated Black Sabbath filmed most everything. One of the more compelling images was that of a naked German-Israeli woman named Shani Louk paraded through the Gazan streets in the back of an open pickup truck. Rank and file Palestinians did not rush to her aid or try to stop the macabre spectacle. They chased after the truck by the hundreds spitting on the poor woman’s cooling corpse. Shani Louk wasn’t a soldier or a politician. She was just some kid at a rock concert.
Concluding Thoughts
It really all turns on your particular perspective. The Israelis state they are avenging mass murder. The Palestinians claim Black Sabbath was little more than a prison break. Right, wrong, or otherwise, both groups assert a claim on the land that spans millennia.
A substantial fraction of the planet is currently verklempt over the death and destruction the Israelis have wrought in Gaza. However, It seems to me that every one of those dead Palestinian civilians would still be alive today had Hamas not stormed across the border on October 7 and murdered 1,200 Israelis. It also seems like releasing the remaining hostages might be a great place to start putting a bow on this thing. Amidst all the hand-wringing in the mass media about the legitimate horror in Gaza I hear precious little about that.
There is a spiritual and moral rot in that place that now spans generations. I am at a loss as to how to remedy that. The hatred runs so deep and has reigned supreme for so long that it would now take literal generations to mitigate. Peace could still break out in that wounded part of the world, but that would take a legitimate miracle.
Joe “Hoser” “In the smoke ’till I croak” Satrapa, was a living legend flying fire tankers for Cal Fire, as well as in the fighter community as a formidable F-14 Tomcat, and F-8 Crusader pilot.
Ever since he was a child, Hoser had a true love for guns, and after he earned his wings, he had a choice to be assigned to the F-4, or the F-8. “No guns? What kind of aircraft is this with no guns?” and he immediately chose the “Last Of The Gunfighters” as the Crusader was called at the time by aircrews.
According to the “Satrapa legend” Hoser had earned his call sign one day over the gunnery range. Also known as “Da-hose”, or “D-hose” was flying in trail position in a 4 ship formation of F-8 Crusaders flying over the desert sands.
As the formation was approaching the gunnery range target, Joe jumped out of trail position, cutting off the lead, and began to fire off from two thousand feet up, and one and a half miles out…”hosing” off all his bullets in a single pass.
His flight leader J.P. O’ Neill told him to return to the airfield at El Centro and the same night O’ Neill had the final say on the incident when he nailed Satrapa: “Lieutenant junior grade Satrapa, for hosing off all his bullets in one pass, will hence forth be known as Hoser. That’ ll be five bucks.”
During the Viet Nam war, “Hoser” earned a reputation as a fearless Crusader pilot. He also became known for his preference to carry over 40 pounds of ordinance with him during his missions. A few hand grenades, and some small automatics in the event he ever had to leave his aircraft over enemy territory.
Another event occurred during the Viet Nam war when “Hoser” was flying his Crusader with another F-8 when his wingman was hit by enemy fire. As his wingman bailed out of his burning Crusader, the aircraft continued flying straight and level while leaving a black smoking trail. “Hoser” brought his Crusader back around and set his sights on the pilotless Crusader and blew it out of the sky. All “Hoser” had to say about that was “A kill is a kill!”
Sometime in the Eighties; Hoser managed to modify a 20MM barrel from the F-14 Gatling gun, by attaching a breach thereby fashioning a formidable homemade weapon. Unfortunately for Hoser, the breach blew up, taking his index finger and right thumb with it. “Hoser” had the doctors remove his right big toe and attach it to his right hand.
Hoser now used his three fingers and big toe to demonstrate he still had the dexterity to operate the trim button on the F-14’s stick. Hoser returned to flight status…but now ordained with the new call sign, “Toeser”
After leaving the Navy, Hoser began a new direction flying Fire Tankers for Cal Fire. It did not take long for Joe to earn a reputation as one hell of a fire attack pilot who cared far more about superior airmanship, than he did about paperwork.. and became known as Joe “In the smoke ’till I croak” Satrapa
Sadly, on March 17th 2019…Joe “Hoser” “In the smoke ’till I croak” Satrapa, a true aviation legend….flew West
Following is an excerpt is taken from “Top Gun – The Navy’s Fighter Weapons School” by George Hall
“No dissertation on present-day section tactics, or on naval aviation in general, could be considered complete without a brace of “Hoser” stories.
In the micro world of perhaps 400 Tomcat pilots, a few legendary gonzo maniacs are going to bubble to the surface. Joe “Hoser” Satrapa was already famous in Vietnam as a young and utterly fearless F-8 pilot who regularly carried a good forty pounds of lethal ordnance- leaning toward small automatic weapons and hand grenades- in case he was suddenly compelled to leave his aircraft and carry the battle directly to the little bad guys in the jungle.
Guns were Hoser’s game in the air; he flew the four-gun Crusader – which many Navy pilots still regard as the [deleted] machine of all time- in Southeast Asia, and he’d never been forced to rely totally on missiles like his Navy Phantom cohorts.
After negotiations that would shame the pro football draft, Hoser was dragooned back into the Tomcat front seat as a RAG guns instructor. This, after personal entreaties from the highest levels up and including Secretary of the Navy John Lehman, himself a Reserve naval aviator.
Many active pilots and RIOs well remember Hoser’s delivery of manic harangues to fuzzy-cheeked newcomers from the RAG.
In his patented Yosemite Sam voice he would whip the lads, and invariably himself, into a lethal frenzy: “Pull on the pole till the rivets pop and the RIO pukes! No kill like a guns kill! A Lima up the tailpipe is too good for any Gomer! Close with the miserable Commie [deleted] and put a few rounds of twenty-twenty-mike-mike through his canopy!
If he hits the silk, gun his ass while he swings!” Hoser would then pace the corridor, bumping into hapless petty officers, muttering oaths, trying to re-align his internal INS.
Hoser also knew a thing or two about the element of surprise. During the much-maligned AIMVAL-ACEVAL fighter trials of a decade ago, Hoser was put in a 1 V 1 against a Navy Aggressor flying an F-5.
As the two combatants sat side-by-side on the Nellis runway, awaiting tower clearance for a second takeoff, Hoser looked over at his opponent, reached his hand up over the control panel, and mimicked the cocking of machine guns in a World War I Spad.
A thumbs up came from the other cockpit- guns it would be, the proverbial knife fight in a phone booth, forget the missiles. Both jets blasted off.
In the area, the fighters set up twenty miles apart for a head-on intercept under ground control.
Seven miles from the merge, with closure well over 1000 knots, Hoser called “Fox One” – Sparrow missile away, no chance of a miss. As they flashed past each other, the furious F-5 driver radioed, “What the hell was that all about?” “Sorry.” said Hoser, “lost my head. Let’s set up again. Guns only, I promise.”
Remember Charlie Brown, Lucy, and the football? Again the two fighters streaked towards the pass, again at seven miles Hoser called “Fox One.” The Aggressor was apoplectic; he was also coming up on bingo fuel state, a common situation in the short-legged F-5.
Hoser was first back to the club bar, nursing an end-of-the-day cold one as the flushed Aggressor stomped in. “Hoser, what the hell happened to credibility?” fumed the F-5 jock. Said Hoser, with accompanying thumb gestures, “Credibility is DOWN, kill ratio is UP!”
It’s a popular Top Gun story, and it’s moral isn’t lost on students or teachers. From 1 V 1 to forty-plane furball, expect anything. But never expect your enemy to be a sweet guy.”
– George Hall
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Some more hard men at war art
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