Military Leaders Sent Them On A Hasty, Ill-Planned Mission — And Are Now Blaming Them

[rangerrebew]

Military Leaders Sent Them On A Hasty, Ill-Planned Mission — And Are Now Blaming Them
By Paul Szoldra
on May 10, 2018
 
The Pentagon has briefed reporters on its long-awaited investigation of the deadly Oct. 4, 2017 ambush in Niger, where four American and four Nigerien soldiers were killed, and its report passes more blame on the fallen soldiers than the leadership above them.

I obtained a draft 8-page unclassified summary of the investigation by U.S. Africa Command, which offers findings and recommendations that it claims it based on “all available evidence” from the incident in Tongo Tongo. According to the report, the investigating team received photos, video, audio, and witness testimony from 143 people.

https://taskandpurpose.com/niger-report-soldiers-pentagon/

[endicom]

This is the wrong approach. You're supposed to heap praise on their bravery and commitment to purpose to distract from your poor planning.

[Maj. Bill Martin]

Well...it's possible that the report is largely correct.  Sometimes, the guys on the ground really do make stupid decisions.

The writer blasts the report for not answering all the questions that came to mind, apparently ignoring that he mentioned early in the report that he had only an unclassified version of the document.

Point is, maybe this is CYA, or maybe the NCO's exceeded their authority or did something dumb.  Impossible for us to really know.