Posted by
EWRoss on Monday, January 11, 2010 7:00:00 AM
A US
Army Lieutenant Colonel I knew in Vietnam was relieved of his
battalion command because one of his artillery batteries accidentally dropped
rounds on a friendly unit during a combat operation.
One of
the battalion's batteries was firing in support of an infantry company engaged
in an intense, close-quarters battle with a Viet Cong unit. The forward
observer with the infantry company that called for the artillery fire was
adjusting it as best he could under difficult circumstances. One volley landed
on his own company killing and wounding several US soldiers.
What
struck me as odd at the time is that the colonel wasn't even commanding the
battalion when the incident occurred. He was on leave in the United States.
The battalion executive officer was in command. The exec, the battery
commander, the forward observer, and the battalion commander all were
reassigned.
When I
saw him a few weeks later after he had returned to Vietnam, I told him I was sorry
that he had been relieved and questioned the brigade commander's decision.
He
quickly admonished me. He said he would have made the same decision had he been
the brigade commander. He said it was his battalion and he was responsible for
everything it did or failed to do, regardless of whether he was on leave at the
time or not. "When we pin on our insignia of rank, we become accountable
for our actions an those of the people we command," he told me.
"Don't ever forget that." And I never have.
It may
not always be appropriate to apply the same standards of accountability to
civilian officials that we apply to military officers in the United States. Where the lives of
American citizens are involved, however, that difference should be very small.
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