Morale in COIN

As leaders in the Army, we are paid to think rationally and remove emotional thought as much as possible when there is no need for it.  The emotional side is necessary for motivating Soldiers and pushing a unit to its full potential.  Pride is more emotional than rational and getting Soldiers to take pride in the unit and in their leadership means we need to strike an emotional nerve with them.  However, tough decisions as well as maintaining morale in a monotonous COIN environment require a lot of rational thought.  In contrast, emotional thoughts usually force Soldiers to pursue some kind of unobtainable closure after a SIGACT.  In the COIN environment, seeking closure means doing something that you might regret since it would have detrimental second and third order effects within the operational area.  So basically, emotionally fueled decisions might lead to a false sense of closure that truly leads to no progress in the long run.  Therefore, emotional thought must be suppressed until each patrol is over and Soldiers are in a safe environment.  They can then unload their emotional concerns and frustrations to leaders in a productive way.  Leaders who avoid these venting sessions will see morale gradually decrease.  

While on patrol, Soldiers in general (not all of them) think emotionally, which means they base a lot of decisions on how they felt during the last deployment when a SIGACT occurred.  These emotional thoughts based on past experiences tend to overshadow the rational thoughts which tell them that their current environment is not the same as the last one.  If leaders do not constantly remind them of the differences between their past experiences and the current environment, then they will continue to fight yesterday’s battle which no longer applies.  When I say constant reminders, this means EVERY patrol.  Leaders must break Soldiers away from the muscle memory that was learned in a previous kinetic environment.  If a Soldier has PTSD, it simply adds to the emotional drama that ensues when he thinks about past experiences while operating in the current environment.  I believe that almost everyone who has experienced the stresses of being on the ground in a hostile zone will develop some form of PTSD, but some cases are more severe than others and each person deals with it in a different manner.  The quote “the anticipation of death is worse than death itself” is true and must be taken into consideration.

It is extremely important for leaders to give Soldiers an outlet to release the emotional strain that comes from the restraint they are currently displaying on daily patrols.  These outlets should include lots of physical challenges, socially interactive activities like platoon roasts, academic studies, and anything that makes them laugh.  Uncontrollable laughter is an extremely effective stress reliever.  The possibilities are only limited to a leader’s willingness to think outside the box.  The absolute worst thing a leader can do is complain about the mission to his Soldiers or show anything more than empathy when they are venting to him.  If junior leaders need to complain, they must bring it up to the command group and we will let them complain as much as necessary.  Relevant and rational issues must be addressed and TTPs might change accordingly.  Communication is crucial which means leaders at the platoon level must keep the battery leadership informed when new challenges or issues arise.  Taking care of the team, both mentally and physically, is THE priority at all levels.