By Steven Pressfield | Published: November 16, 2009
If a Tribal Engagement Strategy (TES) were to be tried in Afghanistan, how exactly would it work?
Last week, in the first part of this “Size Matters” post, we spoke with Maj. Jim Gant about the optimal size for a single U.S. Tribal Engagement Team (TET)—that is, the tactical unit that would be attached to a single Afghan tribe. Maj. Gant strongly advocated the position that smaller is better. Six to twelve men, no more.
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By Steven Pressfield | Published: November 9, 2009
[Today we have a special follow-up interview with Maj. Jim Gant, on the subject of how big (or small) a Tribal Engagement Team should be—and what kind of large-scale support it would need. But first I want to say thanks to the many, many readers who have responded to Maj. Gant’s paper “One Tribe At A Time” and to all the members of the military, policy and journalism communities who have helped to circulate it. Special thanks to James Dao of the N.Y. Times (“Going Tribal in Afghanistan”), James Meek of the N.Y. Daily News (“Memo to Obama: Talk to Jim Gant or Risk Losing Afghan War”), to Small Wars Journal and to Col. Dave Maxwell, to BlackFive and Andrew Exum at Abu Muqawama, and to Glenn Reynolds (Instapundit) and Mark Safranski (Zenpundit.)
[Now to our interview:]
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By Steven Pressfield | Published: November 2, 2009
Maj. Gant,
First I want to say Thank you, Thank you and Thank you! I just finished your “One Tribe At A Time” strategy paper and I am speechless!! You have captured and eloquently explained everything we, those of us who were in Afghanistan in the early days, have been beating our heads against the wall about since late 2004, when it all began to spiral downward.
"Me, the Mayor of Zormat and tribal elders after they had presented me with my turban. I'm second from the left, wearing the turban."
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By Steven Pressfield | Published: October 19, 2009
[The blog is "on the road" this week, so I'm going to re-run last week's One Tribe At A Time post. I actually wanted to do this anyway, just because it produced so many interesting comments and questions. We'll have the full free downloadable .pdf of Maj. Jim Gant's One Tribe At A Time next Monday. Thanks, friends, for your patience! Now to business ...]
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By Steven Pressfield | Published: October 5, 2009
Last week in our first excerpt from Special Forces Major Jim Gant’s paper, “One Tribe At A Time,” Maj. Gant laid out the concept for a specialized type of American unit–a Tribal Engagement Team. Such teams would be small, highly trained and motivated, and granted broad latitude in the means of pursuing their mission. They would live full-time in the villages with the tribes, “lead, assist, train, supply,” and help organize Tribal Security Forces (TSFs.)
Dr. Akhbar was the first person ODA 316 met in Mangwel village
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William S. McCallister is a retired military officer. While on active duty, Mr. McCallister served in various infantry and special operations assignments specializing in civil-military, psychological and information operations. He has worked extensively in Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
