Direct Art

A Direct Work Of Art
Introduction
Major General David Petraeus, Commander of the 101st Airborne Division, received orders to move his Division into the Nineveh Province, Iraq to stabilize the region North of Baghdad on 18 April 2003. However, he knew very little about the conditions and state of the providential capital of Mosul. Therefore, he dispatched his 2nd Brigade Commander, Colonel Anderson, to gather as much information as possible, assess the situation, then report back describing the conditions in order for Major General Petraeus to lead, and direct his units in Mosul. This paper explores the aspects he used to lead, direct, and assess the 101st Airborne Division in Mosul. Moreover, how General Petraeus was able to utilize artful

The most prominent way a commander directs and leads their units is through plans and orders, whether it be, in the form of a warning order (WARNO), operations order (OPORD), fragmentary order (FRAGO), branch plan, sequel plan, or simply a narrative sketch (ADRP 5-0, 2012). Essentially, all units begin preparing upon receipt of an order from their higher headquarters. A WARNO assists commanders by allowing subordinate units to begin their planning early, therefore establishing parallel planning and capitalize on the 1/3rd – 2/3rd rule. OPORDs expand upon the information a WARNO provides. FRAGOs capture the adjustments necessary to accomplish the mission. Branch and sequel plans, much like a FRAGO, cover follow-on missions necessary to obtain the overall end state. Major General Petraeus’ mission to stabilize Mosul faced grave issues. He quickly identified that his units were ill prepared to take the lead on a full-fledged reconstruction effort. Ideally, rebuilding Iraq was to fall upon the Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance (ORHA), not the 101st Airborne Division. His Soldiers had not trained to rebuild a city and ORHA lacked a plan to support their goals. Therefore, Major General Petraeus

Notably, good leaders focus on the leader competencies of lead, develop, and achieve. General Petraeus’ leadership competencies, use of WFF, and orders showed successful results in stabilizing Mosul. Remarkably, within a few months, trade, civil order and essential services were recovering; all operational variables were progressing. I find it noteworthy that he continually assessed the mission. Adamantly, he would hold daily meetings to ensure he was receiving the most relevant information to assist with making the right decisions. Realistically, he recognized he could not please everyone so he had to aim for a consensus of the people and successfully did so through constantly accessing measures of effectiveness (MoE) and measures of performance (MoP). Consistently, he showed fairness and led by example. On one instance, he heard that his Soldiers damaged property and used things without paying. He immediately addressed this issue and even tracked down a coca cola manager to have a lawyer reimburse them $25,000. General Petraeus not only led the 101st Airborne Division, he led Mosul. He led Iraqi’s through the local leader selection process and establishment of government. He led them across the Syrian border. He developed them to find a sense duty, honor and self-respect within themselves such as cited by Lundburg (2006), “The