Swift Boat Lessons in Leadership

John Kerry was awarded a Silver Star for his actions in combat on February 28, 1969. A number of bitter veterans with 30-year vendettas against Kerry have attacked his actions on that day. They have claimed that somehow Kerry's Vietnam experience makes less qualified than George W. Bush to be Commander-in-Chief.

As it turns out, there are only three officers with direct knowledge of what happened that day: John Kerry, Lieutenant Donald Droz (now dead), and a third swift boat commander, William Rood. Rood has rebutted with eyewitness testimony many of the claims made by those whose simmering hatred of Kerry has caused them to denigrate all veterans who have faithfully served.

What Rood has to say offers insight into what we might expect from a Commander-in-Chief John F. Kerry:

Ambushes were a virtual certainty, and that day was no exception.

The difference was that Kerry, who had tactical command of that particular operation, had talked to Droz and me beforehand about not responding the way the boats usually did to an ambush.

We agreed that if we were not crippled by the initial volley and had a clear fix on the location of the ambush, we would turn directly into it, focusing the boats' twin .50-caliber machine guns on the attackers and beaching the boats. We told our crews about the plan.

The Viet Cong in the area had come to expect that the heavily loaded boats would lumber on past an ambush, firing at the entrenched attackers, beaching upstream and putting troops ashore to sweep back down on the ambush site. Often, they were long gone by the time the troops got there.

The first time we took fire—the usual rockets and automatic weapons—Kerry ordered a "turn 90" and the three boats roared in on the ambush. It worked. We routed the ambush, killing three of the attackers.

...It happened again, another ambush. And again, Kerry ordered the turn maneuver, and again it worked. As we headed for the riverbank, I remember seeing a loaded B-40 launcher pointed at the boats. It wasn't fired as two men jumped up from their spider holes.

What I take from this is that an engaged, analytical, intelligent, and courageous leader assessed a situation and came up with a plan. An effective plan. He shared the plan and led it's successful implementation. Then he did it again. The plan was not some loose, "shoot from the hip" idea. The plan relied on "thinking outside the box." The plan was focused on the enemy at hand. The plan was adapted to deal with the facts on the ground. The plan deviated from the normal course of action because the normal course of action was ineffectual. The plan succeeded because it was predicated on knowledge and executed with leadership.

If President John Kerry can bring to America's foreign policy just a sliver of what he demonstrated on February 28, 1969, America will be much better off than it is right now.

Via Kevin Drum.