Operation Anacond Analytical Papers Of Principles Of Mission Command

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Operation Anaconda: Analytical Paper of Principles of Mission Command
According to APD 6-0: Mission Command (2019), the definition of mission command is “The Army’s approach to command and control that empowers subordinate decision making and decentralized execution appropriate to the situation.” (p.Glossary 3) This approach by the Army is used on a daily basis at various times during countless operations and missions. One of the operations where mission command was used was Operation Anaconda. Operation Anaconda occurred shortly after the attacks on the United States (US) on September 11th to counter the attacks conducted by Taliban forces in Afghanistan. The operation’s main objective was to destroy or capture the al Qaeda and Taliban forces …show more content…

But I’ve seen great leaders who stood in front of a platoon and saw it as 44 individuals, each of whom had his hopes, each of whom had his aspirations, each of whom wanted to live, each of whom wanted to do good. So, you must have character. Some great man once said that character is seen only when nobody is watching. It’s not what people do when they are being watched that demonstrates character, it’s what they do when they are not being watched that demonstrates true character.” (Shwarzkopf, N., 2001) Missions are not accomplished. And wars are not won by personnel or units put in charge if they are incompetent. During Operation Anaconda, the US had many successes and yet just as many lessons …show more content…

Switching over to a more aerial attack and advising against the original plan of the hammer-and-anvil approach was one of those times. “[Task Force Mountain] switched from its original hammer-and-anvil focus to embrace a new plan that emphasized the massing of air fires in support of U.S. Army positions on the valley’s eastern sides.” (Kugler, 2007) Through this ingenuity, everyone involved was able to adapt and overcome the operation completing the objective at hand. Leaders knew there would be calculated risk in changing up plans on such short notice. But considering the pros and cons risk acceptance came to the forefront of completing the