Case Study: Karma
This is the start of a new case study. For those of you unfamiliar with how this works, I start a story loosely based on personal experiences and develop it based on your responses. This is a complete work of fiction and none of the units, situations, or people mentioned are real. You should feel free to chime in with your suggestions, comments, observations and questions; that’s what really makes these fun for everyone. At the end of the case study, I’ll wrap it all up and talk briefly about how the case study compared to what happened (or didn’t happen) in real life. The purpose of these case studies is to provide an entertaining venue to discuss military leadership.
Edit (24JUL12): attached to this post is a summary of the now-completed case study in case you want to read it straight through instead of sorting through every post.
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The setting is still the fictional 2nd Special Forces Group, currently in stateside garrison after completing a rotation in Iraq. The events in this case study take place after “The Good Wife” and “The Soul Plane Incident.” For purposes of this case study, you are the commander of the MID (explained below).
The Group Support Company of 2nd Special Forces Group consists of a Headquarters Detachment (HQD), the Military Intelligence Detachment (MID), the Signal Detachment (SIGDET), the Support Operations Detachment (SUPDEP), and the Chemical Warfare Defense Detachment (CHEMDET). The HQD includes a robust admin section (15 personnel) and the major training elements, or “lockers,” the SCUBA Locker, the HALO Locker, the Sniper Locker, the Advanced Urban Combat Locker, and the Desert Mobility Locker. The Lockers are authorized 12 18-series personnel each, and while they are all extremely good at what they do, tend to consist of individuals who are injured or are awaiting retirement. The GSC headquarters element (the commander, first sergeant, armorer, XO, and company clerk) are also accounted for under the HQD. HQD consists of around 80 total personnel.
The MID contains HUMINT, CI, and SIGINT collectors and analysts, a small terrain team (mapping engineers), IMINT and all-source analysts, and a section of 09L translators. Its strength is about 100 personnel. The SIGDET handles the Group-level communications equipment and is smaller, about 50 total people. The SUPDEP is huge, more than 250 men and women, and includes cooks, medics, transportation specialists, mechanics, riggers, and engineers. The CHEMDET consists of twelve personnel from the Chemical Corps branch, organized into chemical reconnaissance and chemical decontamination sections. All of the detachments are commanded by captains, and the overall GSC (which is large enough to be considered a battalion-size element in most other units) is commanded by major. Below is a rough organizational chart.
The commander of 2nd Group’s GSC is MAJ Marcus Ripley. He has been in command about 18 months, and is probably going to rotate out soon. That is unfortunate, because he is a highly-competent commander and is well-liked by subordinates, peers, and superiors alike. The commander of the HQD was transferred out suddenly and the position is currently vacant. The commander of the MID (you) is CPT Scott Faith. You have been command for about the same amount of time as MAJ Ripley, and you too are probably going to be moved to a different position soon. SIGDET’s commander, CPT Tamara Beverly, is new and has only been in command for about 30 days. She seems to have her act together, though. The SUPDET commander is CPT Simon Criss, who has been in command slightly less time than you have. You and CPT Criss are very good friends, having been in the unit about the same amount of time and having worked closely together in Iraq. CPT Criss successfully assessed for a job with the 16th Special Aviation Element (the 16th SAVE- a special mission unit), and is planning on moving on to greener pastures in 90 days. Fortunately, SAVE is “across the airfield” on the same installation as 2nd Group, so you’ll still get to see each other from time to time. CPT Criss is also on the list for promotion to major.
MAJ Ripley has been trying to fill the vacant HQD position for a while, but is having trouble getting someone to volunteer for the assignment. Part of the problem is the nature of the assignment. As a non-operational, 18-series-coded position, the commander of the HQ Det was usually put into that position for one of two reasons. He is either a) an SF all-star marking time in the HQD until a key position opened up for him or b) he’s a no-talent assclown that no one wants on a team, and got shuffled over into the GSC because no one could be bothered to do the paperwork to actually get the guy booted out of the unit altogether. Right now there are no “good” young SF captains who are not already gainfully employed elsewhere within the Group. That just leaves the “category b)” types. You’re dreading who you’re going to end up with.
The HQD commander typically acts as the commander of the GSC when the commander is gone, which is frequent since there are GSC soldiers supporting both Iraq and Afghanistan. Technically, there is a an XO for the company, but it’s a warrant officer position and the Group commander insists on having a “real live officer” in charge at all times. Since there currently is no HQD commander, you're filling the role of XO. At this week’s company command and staff meeting, MAJ Ripley asks for suggestions on ways to avoid the potential leadership vacuum that would result from him, you, and the SUPDET commander potentially rotating out at the same time. There is also still the problem of the vacant HQD position. Any suggestions?
This is the start of a new case study. For those of you unfamiliar with how this works, I start a story loosely based on personal experiences and develop it based on your responses. This is a complete work of fiction and none of the units, situations, or people mentioned are real. You should feel free to chime in with your suggestions, comments, observations and questions; that’s what really makes these fun for everyone. At the end of the case study, I’ll wrap it all up and talk briefly about how the case study compared to what happened (or didn’t happen) in real life. The purpose of these case studies is to provide an entertaining venue to discuss military leadership.
Edit (24JUL12): attached to this post is a summary of the now-completed case study in case you want to read it straight through instead of sorting through every post.
/////
The setting is still the fictional 2nd Special Forces Group, currently in stateside garrison after completing a rotation in Iraq. The events in this case study take place after “The Good Wife” and “The Soul Plane Incident.” For purposes of this case study, you are the commander of the MID (explained below).
The Group Support Company of 2nd Special Forces Group consists of a Headquarters Detachment (HQD), the Military Intelligence Detachment (MID), the Signal Detachment (SIGDET), the Support Operations Detachment (SUPDEP), and the Chemical Warfare Defense Detachment (CHEMDET). The HQD includes a robust admin section (15 personnel) and the major training elements, or “lockers,” the SCUBA Locker, the HALO Locker, the Sniper Locker, the Advanced Urban Combat Locker, and the Desert Mobility Locker. The Lockers are authorized 12 18-series personnel each, and while they are all extremely good at what they do, tend to consist of individuals who are injured or are awaiting retirement. The GSC headquarters element (the commander, first sergeant, armorer, XO, and company clerk) are also accounted for under the HQD. HQD consists of around 80 total personnel.
The MID contains HUMINT, CI, and SIGINT collectors and analysts, a small terrain team (mapping engineers), IMINT and all-source analysts, and a section of 09L translators. Its strength is about 100 personnel. The SIGDET handles the Group-level communications equipment and is smaller, about 50 total people. The SUPDEP is huge, more than 250 men and women, and includes cooks, medics, transportation specialists, mechanics, riggers, and engineers. The CHEMDET consists of twelve personnel from the Chemical Corps branch, organized into chemical reconnaissance and chemical decontamination sections. All of the detachments are commanded by captains, and the overall GSC (which is large enough to be considered a battalion-size element in most other units) is commanded by major. Below is a rough organizational chart.
The commander of 2nd Group’s GSC is MAJ Marcus Ripley. He has been in command about 18 months, and is probably going to rotate out soon. That is unfortunate, because he is a highly-competent commander and is well-liked by subordinates, peers, and superiors alike. The commander of the HQD was transferred out suddenly and the position is currently vacant. The commander of the MID (you) is CPT Scott Faith. You have been command for about the same amount of time as MAJ Ripley, and you too are probably going to be moved to a different position soon. SIGDET’s commander, CPT Tamara Beverly, is new and has only been in command for about 30 days. She seems to have her act together, though. The SUPDET commander is CPT Simon Criss, who has been in command slightly less time than you have. You and CPT Criss are very good friends, having been in the unit about the same amount of time and having worked closely together in Iraq. CPT Criss successfully assessed for a job with the 16th Special Aviation Element (the 16th SAVE- a special mission unit), and is planning on moving on to greener pastures in 90 days. Fortunately, SAVE is “across the airfield” on the same installation as 2nd Group, so you’ll still get to see each other from time to time. CPT Criss is also on the list for promotion to major.
MAJ Ripley has been trying to fill the vacant HQD position for a while, but is having trouble getting someone to volunteer for the assignment. Part of the problem is the nature of the assignment. As a non-operational, 18-series-coded position, the commander of the HQ Det was usually put into that position for one of two reasons. He is either a) an SF all-star marking time in the HQD until a key position opened up for him or b) he’s a no-talent assclown that no one wants on a team, and got shuffled over into the GSC because no one could be bothered to do the paperwork to actually get the guy booted out of the unit altogether. Right now there are no “good” young SF captains who are not already gainfully employed elsewhere within the Group. That just leaves the “category b)” types. You’re dreading who you’re going to end up with.
The HQD commander typically acts as the commander of the GSC when the commander is gone, which is frequent since there are GSC soldiers supporting both Iraq and Afghanistan. Technically, there is a an XO for the company, but it’s a warrant officer position and the Group commander insists on having a “real live officer” in charge at all times. Since there currently is no HQD commander, you're filling the role of XO. At this week’s company command and staff meeting, MAJ Ripley asks for suggestions on ways to avoid the potential leadership vacuum that would result from him, you, and the SUPDET commander potentially rotating out at the same time. There is also still the problem of the vacant HQD position. Any suggestions?
