Slow withdrawals affect morale

I read an article on military.com about changes to the missions and operational policies for U.S. troops in Afghanistan before our departure. One major change is the Afghan government now requires troops get a search warrant before entering homes. This makes it difficult to find enemy troops who are sheltering in homes, and changes the war to a dangerous police action.

The reductions in the operational capability of our force is consistent with the gradual withdrawal of U.S. forces from a combat zone. I went through such changes during my time in Vietnam.

When I arrived in Vietnam, my first operation was a battalion helicopter borne assault, which was very typical of actions in Vietnam. Shortly after this we began working as separate companies and platoons. We would spend weeks patrolling our AO (Area of Operations) looking for enemy troops or evidence of their having been there. At night we would set up ambushes along likely routes of travel. During the day in some areas, we were supposed to call out "Dung Lai" (Vietnamese for STOP) three times to anyone we spotted before firing at them.

These slow draw-downs in forces have an extremely negative impact on morale and operations. Troops are in combat zones, looking to engage enemy forces while knowing that their time there is limited. "Winning" is no longer a goal, if it really ever was. The general feeling of the troops is what is the point to taking risks? Morale slides as the primary goal is to avoid risks and stay alive until it is time to leave.

When the massive North Vietnamese Army invaded in spring 1972, our battalion was sent north to back up the South Vietnamese Army, some of whom had retreated. We had a mission and felt some purpose for being there.

Later, when we returned to Da Nang, we learned the 196th Infantry Brigade was standing down with most troops going home. The morale and attitude problems became more pronounced in the only battalion left to continue patrolling. As a platoon leader, I found it more and more difficult to motivate and overcome the belief that what we did no longer mattered. Slow withdrawals are political actions that are dangerous for the troops involved.

Jack Dragoni attended Boston College and served in the U.S. Army in Berlin and Vietnam. He lives in Chaffee, Missouri.