ROE Vietnam
Within the context of war fighting, the idea of limited war and the rules of engagement within that paradigm can often conflict if not counter act each other. The purpose of this essay is to correlate the understanding the rules of engagement (ROE) with limited war ideology as seen through the perspective and experiences of different levels of the chain of command.
Individual Soldiers
The Vietnam War was mosty a guerilla style war fought between young and aggressive soldiers on all sides of the conflict. For soldiers at this level, all war is total war. The perspective of the individual soldier transcends mission and war objectives and resides mostly in the survival mode of living, escaping death or capture.
Battalion Commander
As one progresses higher upon the chain of command, the Battalion Commander begins to participate in the more strategic aspects of the conflict. Even though this medium level commander is aware of the total war strategy, he was responsible for employing tactical level maneuvers in support of the total war. ROE from this standpoint are spelled out in SOP and daily experiences.
Gen Westmoreland
Westmoreland was the commanding General for the operations in Vietnam for most of the conflict. His perspective of total war must include governmental agencies, both American and foreign along with other geo-political interests. As the highest ranking person, specifically responsible for the mission in Vietnam, the ROE from this perspective must be a total war scenario where nothing can be omitted in understanding the conflict.
Division Commander
Division Commanders fall above the battalion and brigade levels of command but receive orders from higher sources of authority. Much like the BC this commander must make sense of what is happening on the ground and the political influences that are affecting his ability to succeed. This position is placed squarely in the center of this dynamic and represents a challenging if not impossible position to make sense of.
Sec of Def McNamara
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