Ahhh....Major Black.....no words will make a difference, but, your empathy for the Captain is heartbreakingly beautiful. I can confidently assume your son was as fine a man as you and his mother could have hoped for.
While I don't necessarily agree with our engagement I would never denigrate your very painful loss by suggesting it was " failed politics" that caused his death. Your son, and the other fallen young men, represent the very best.
3
I offer my condolences to Major Black, and to all those who lost family on the mission. It appears that the team was placed in a situation they should never have been in; the responsibility lies with those who put them in that situation.
We can hope the army heeds Major Black's request.
2
Assuming the facts are as Maj Black described them the notion of punishing Captain Perozeni is itself an outrage. Not only should those who sent them on the mission be punished but those now trying to punish Perozeni should be punished right along with them.
2
More lives lost for nothing. Failed policies. Gladly marching their kids to their deaths for some mythical ideal. We have more in common with ISIS than we will ever know.
2
This is the military mindset at its best. A father who has suffered a devastating and horrible loss can still view his son's death dispassionately with regards to Captain Perozeni. I offer my condolences on the loss of his son and the other three soldiers who died on the mission. Critics of the military should read this letter and consider a realignment of mass criticisms of all members of the military.
4
A heartbreaking--and extremely persuasive--letter. As usual, the military cuts off blame at the lowest available level. How eerily similar to no general being punished after, for example, the army was utterly unprepared for the Chinese onslaught in Korea.
5
All gave some, some gave all. MAJ Black not only served his country in uniform but still does by doing what is right under such circumstances. To honor, country, and duty.
Hope your son RIP.
Good luck Captain.
20
CPT Perozeni is a scapegoat, plain and simple. The senior officers who ordered the mission should be reprimanded. The senior officers at AFRICOM should be reprimanded for not providing for the needed ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance, & Reconnaissance) aircraft to properly provide overwatch, and the Personnel Recovery/Casualty Evacuation capabilities to respond quickly. Special Operations personnel have been forced to operate under highly increased risk for the last 10 years under AFRICOM, and this high risk has been highlighted over and over again to senior leaders, who have not prioritized fixing that risk. General Thomas Waldhauser, AFRICOM Commanding General, when asked by Congress after this tragedy whether he had everything he needed to complete the mission in Africa, he replied that he did. The years leading up to this incident, and the handling of it afterwards, is nothing short of disgraceful. Captains and NCOs work with the situation and orders that they are given. Whether CPT Perozeni made tactical mistakes is irrelevant. Punish those that put his team in that situation with no top cover.
23
@John I agree with your assessment that CPT Perozeni should not be punished, and I am inclined to agree that perhaps he and his team did not have all of the support they needed to carry out this mission.
But we differ when it comes to assigning blame and punishment.
Having served in Afghanistan and having come under fire more than once, I can say with clarity and certainty that even the best intelligence (and I also have an intelligence background) cannot accurate 'predict' or 'forecast' events on the ground. Intelligence informs commanders, it doesn't predict what the enemy will do in any given situation.
The point is, when we put our men and women of the military in harm's way, there are going to be times when some of them will, sadly, not return from their mission. The men and women of the military understand that better than anyone.
That's the nature of war and we must accept that when we endeavor to carry out our country's foreign policy objectives through the use of military force, should that become necessary.
Gross negligence is one thing but it is very different and distinguishable from this kind of event. Don't punish CPT Perozeni -- or anyone else. Not for this.
6
@SleeperCatcher
Afghanistan and Africa are two extremely different areas, and the support given to the two areas is also extremely different. Afghanistan forces are never sent outside the wire without overwatch overhead, or nearly immediately available. In Africa, it became a way of life. If the French had not responded quickly with fighters and helicopters, it's more than likely that all of these men would be dead, rather than "just" four of them. There are new rules that address these issues, but four men had to die first. When the fire alarm has been going off for a long time, people start to ignore it. Until suddenly the fire is upon them and people burn. This is the bane of the military's existence...to enact change, often people have to die. Junior leaders get scapegoated, and senior ones move on to their next command pleading ignorance. Meet the new issue. Same as the old issue.
19
@John
Everyone knows that ----flows one way. Decisions are made hastily and young soldiers die. The mission was in jeopardy from the beginning and the blame had to be made quickly. But those on the ground have orders to follow but the blame is always placed with the ones with the most risk.
4