Well I have done pretty well so far getting along with my ANA unit and its leadership. It is a real challenge to work with these ANA for several reasons. The first is that they have learned from the Soviets in how an Army is run. The Soviet army had the officers run everything and the NCOs were nothing more than errand boys for the officers. There was no respect for the NCOs and if the officer was not around, then nothing would happen. This is what many of the older ANA guys have learned because they saw what the soviets did back in the 80s. This is a big downfall of the USSR army and why they are not as nearly as successful as we are. In our army, the officers are important in setting policy, tactics, etc. However the NCOs are referred to as the backbone of the army, because they are the ones that make things happen. They are the ones that manage the soldiers, that lead in combat and that keep this army strong. There is no argument about this and this is a key reason of why our army is so strong and successful.

So here we are trying to teach them that the NCO is something to be feared, respected and listened to. This is a challenge as the officers don’t like this concept and the NCOs have a hard time in asserting this concept. So this is the first reason. The second reason is because they truly do have the mentality of 3rd-6th graders. They are more worried about jingling up their trucks, gear and selves than what is really important. They are worried about competing with each other, looking better, standing out, shooting better than just worrying about themselves.

The third reason is that many of the officers are terribly corrupt. Most field grade officers have bought their position and have no concept of setting an example. The soldiers get new gear and the officers take it and sell it. They don’t put the soldiers in for deployment pay unless they know there is a way they can skim it off of the top. They take things like the TVs WE buy for the soldiers morale and put it in their rooms and not let the soldiers watch it. This corruption happens from the top down and is considered a benefit of most officers while it is loathed by the soldiers, NCOs and us of course.

Anyway, rather than having the soldiers sit in the back of Ford Ranger pickups bouncing up and down on these nasty roads (see ANA War truck in photos section), we decided to fund having some seats built for the back that are safer and better for them. We have had a local contractor building a prototype of these, we negotiated the price, warranty, etc. I had the CSM of the ANA Battalion serve as the rep from them to decide the design and approve it. We made several changes and had some to agree on with the final one being version 3 today. They made two of the prototypes and I along with the HHC 1SG agreed that we would put them in two trucks that are going on mission tomorrow, so the soldiers can give us feedback (kind of like a Beta test). As we were loading them up, the HHC Commander came over and had a fit. All of a sudden he wanted to be involved in the decision. He was going off about how much we were paying, the design, etc. My first reaction was that he should not worry about the cost, because it was us (the US ARMY) paying for it. I told him if he thinks he can get it cheaper that he should pay out of his pocket. That silenced that one for a while. He also wanted some changes, which were understandable and we had the contractor agree to them. I told all of the ANA that were there along with the contractor that we would still use these tomorrow to get feedback from the soldiers. All agreed, maybe not 100% but they agreed. I tried my best to explain the flippin concept of a prototype and that all the future ones would be made by the new design. That I was not going to have them re-work these just to get them made the new way when we could use them the next day on a real mission.

Anyway, about an hour later the contractor tried to take the 2 trucks downtown to have the seats bolted in the trucks and the HHC Commander called the front gate and told them not to let the trucks leave. He made the contractors turn around and then told them he did not want the seats at all and to remake them all the way he wanted.

This is about the time I lost it. I went down to the ANA and grabbed the CSM and told him that they are very, very close to losing all the seats and not have any for the year I am going to be here. I told him the cost was not their concern, because it was not their money, and that if the HHC commander kept it up I was going to trash those seats, still pay the contractor and that money would be shot and not available to spend on other things, and they would not ever see seats as long as I am there. I explained that the CDR’s arrogance is only going to hurt the soldiers and that is not what I am about. The Commander rides in the front, so he should let the soldiers determine what is good or not.

Anyway, it calmed down and we agreed on some things. I was more upset that they are so damn selfish and cannot appreciate something being done for them than anything else. The scary thing is that I just hit the one month mark today, and it is waaaay too early to be getting this upset at them already. Might make for a loooooooong year.

Troy