'Too-slow' Marine Commander Relieved

News Max ^ | 4-5-03

[hope]

Reprinted from NewsMax.com

'Too-slow' Marine Commander Relieved

NewsMax.com
Sunday, April 6, 2003

"I'm afraid this could mean more casualties," one enlisted man told the L.A. Times embedded reporter, after hearing that Maj. Gen. James Mattis, commander of the 1st Marine Division had relieved and replaced his regimental commander for reportedly being too slow in his drive on Baghdad.

Col. Joe W. Dowdy, who had been commander of the 1st Marine Regiment, was reassigned Friday to another position, being replaced by Col. John Toolan, the 1st Marine Division's operations officer.

Toolan hurried to the front and immediately took charge of a speeded-up drive to Baghdad, quickly ordering more troops and more air power to the front lines. By Saturday morning, the Marine forces were racing north on Highway 6 and had begun to enter the capital.

According to the Times report, enlisted men with the 1st Marines were less than happy with the timing of Dowdy’s ouster. Dowdy, a popular commander was cautious with his troops -- reportedly at the expense of speed.

The Marines had come under heavy fire at the town of Al Kut, where they had run into stiff resistance from the Republican Guard's Baghdad Division. Previously, fighting at several cities along the way, including Umm al Qasr and Nasiriyah, had slowed the Leathernecks.

After the fight at Al Kut, with Dowdy still in command, the Marines drove all night with their headlights on to make better time. The tactic, usually considered an unsafe move, came on the heels of Mattis’s demand for greater speed at a meeting of officers.

Toolan is considered a “close-with-and engage-the-enemy" type of commander who had helped draft the division's battle plan and is a Mattis confidante.

The Marines have been driving toward Baghdad on a parallel course with the Army's 3rd Infantry Division, which reached the outskirts of Baghdad late Wednesday -- ahead of the Marines.

In the 1991 Gulf War, the Marines trumped the main Army forces and entered Kuwait City first.

Read more on this subject in related Hot Topics:

Saddam Hussein/Iraq

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[LuvUSA]

You're right, but there is probably not going to be the Naval battles of old. Being a Navy guy, you almost feel guilty for not having to be in harms way as much as the guys in the Army or Marines have to.

[Conservababe]

Makes me wonder why we do not have a united military, no branches.

I know I am naive, but this is a serious question.

[Happy2BMe]

Still too much fog to settle on this one.

It had to go through channels and there is more than meets the eye here.

Finger pointing starts the second you step in front of the mirror - REMEMBER THAT!

[ArneFufkin]

Those old battleship captains were nothing short of inspired artists.

[Delta 21]

He may have wanted to insure the Iraqis were neutralized before advancing further and faster but I guess that was not the "big picture". Orders are orders, and this is war.

[Fred Mertz]

Here is more info, if you trust the sources. I'm skeptical.

[JayP56]

What a bunch of bull S***...the Marines didn't "Trump" the Army in 91 into Kuwait. The Army's mission was to attack behind Kuwait, into southern Iraq and take out the Republican Guards....

[Squantos]

I was just getting ready to ping ya Fred.......Stay Safe !

[PLMerite]

"Yeah, what's a few more casualties, give or take? Ooh-rah."

Keep advancing, pressing the enemy until all he has time to do is surrender, or die.

If your casualties double but your pace triples you've lost fewer men at the end.

A meatgrinder is a stationary object.

[LuvUSA]

Pretty simple...each branch has a specific role, as in anything does. Businesses do as well as the government. Control the seas...Navy
Control the air....Air Force
Control the land ....Army
First strike capabilty from land , air and sea...Marines

[Conservababe]

If the Navy has planes and the Army has ships and the Air Force has foot soldiers....why are there three branches of the military?

Oops, I did forget the Coast Guard.

[Cicero]

There was some suggestion in earlier stories that he might not be sufficiently aggressive.

As for speed being dangerous to the troops, that's a judgment call. It seems to me that by going in so quickly a lot of lives have probably been saved, instead of slogging away and giving the enemy more time to prepare his defenses.

It looks as if a lot of ammo and supplies never reached the Iraqi troops, and many of them were too bewildered by the swift advance to really fight.

[ArneFufkin]

There's no fog. There was a personnel exchange. The mission objective and timetable remains the same. If you make Colonel, you know your mission, resources and expectations. If he needed something additional to move forward last week, he should have requested it. He was obviously behind plan in an unacceptable way. Politics my ass, this team is playing for keeps.

[LuvUSA]

You're right. Cruise missles are nice and effective, but laying thousands of ton of steel from a battleship or destroyer onto the enemy was probably more effective psycologicaly... GO NAVY
!!!!

[Happy2BMe]

"According to the Times report, enlisted men with the 1st Marines were less than happy with the timing of Dowdy’s ouster. Dowdy, a popular commander was cautious with his troops -- reportedly at the expense of speed."

I put a good deal of credence into feedback from the troops.

The troops would be the first to bid Dowdy "adoo" if warranted.

They haven't and it may not be.

Pending...

[ArneFufkin]

The troops have no feedback. They have orders and they have superior officers - and they're not meeting their expectations in the manner the other ground units advancing on Baghdad have. I don't know, but obviously HIS commander knew, CENTCOM command knew and apparently HE DIDN'T KNOW because they booted him from the command. It's apparent that this unit is the weakest link in the chain right now. So, the get a new boss, they suck it up and get to the right place at the right time to execute whatever strategic role they play in the seige of Baghdad and victory in this War. The End.

[Happy2BMe]

"The End."

Nuts!

[ArneFufkin]

It's a good thing Dowdy wasn't leading the charge to Bastogne.

[Ben Bolt]

It's a long story ... Wich decade would you like to start with ? Gregorian calender ?

[Conservababe]

Long stories can be told in paragraphs.

Start with what ever timetable you wish.