Pearl Harbor in Relation to Mission Command Structure - Term Paper Example

Pearl Harbor in relation to mission command structure Introduction Mission Command has some important facets that ensure the proper execution of commands within the military. The first mission of any military endeavor is to stay alive while protecting the interests of its nation (S.Alberts). The human race from primitive times has always sought to procure resources for their own survival. This situation created the need for fighting so as to end conflict through the use of force. Ensuring the survival of a combat group makes it necessary to have structure, organization and leadership (Creveld). The leadership is structured along the command chain and is what provides the first facet or principle of a mission command which is using mission command orders. Closely following is the authority and capacity to issue actionable commands within the chain of command in order to accomplish a mission. Team building is a very critical part of every mission because every soldier’s life is put in the hands of others in the course of accomplishing a mission as well as ensuring the teams survival. This need to ensure its own survival by humans led to the formation of groups mainly along family and clan lines. The modern military is a more organized structure with in societies that ensures the survival of their people groups and their interests. In an effort to function efficiently these groups developed structures that ensured its survival and order. Pearl Harbor is a classic example of nations fighting for resources in an effort to further its interests and betterment. Groups in primitive societies merged with other similar groups to increase their capacity to increase in wealth (Black). The same thing still happens to date even after these groups had fully evolved into kingdoms and nations. There their defense systems also evolved into national armies as fighting groups were consolidated into one centralized and formal fighting group. These formal fighting groups fought on behalf of their societies and in return were rewarded with payment in terms of money, recognition and honor. Pearl Harbor was a high and glorious moment in history for the Japanese while it was a low one for the Americans, which plunged both countries into World War II. The success of the Japanese was however short-lived as it did not plan and strategies to destroy the whole naval base which cost them a lot. Many nations have gone into war in an effort to procure the better good of their citizens while many others have forced by circumstances beyond their control to participate in wars. Command therefore originates from the masses which gives power to structures and entities in those structures such as armies, the political and executive, monarchial governments, and all authorities the power to act on their behalf. Human figures in such institutions usually acting in the best interests of their populations have often affected the course of history as they strive to attain the optimum for their own. One such figure is Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto who was inspired by a prophecy and a book written by an American (Alfred Thayer Mahan) to attack the US naval fleet in Pearl Harbor. According to a contemporary soldier and navy seal Scott Taylor, America has always rushed to defend not just her borders but those of other nations not because they view themselves as perfect but many times as the lesser evil (Taylor). This quest for resources manifests in the quest by nations, kingdoms, people groups have form time in fight for what they consider as needs. Perceptions of Threat The existence of a threat is largely dependent on the perception of the one who feels threatened. In the case of nations this may include matters such as sovereignty, national honor, claims to land or other resources they see as valuable (Black). In the era where colonization was largely acceptable colonial lands were classified as resources of the occupying country. It therefore made sense for Japan to seek resources in other lands so as to increase its ability to sustain and provide for her own. This endeavor to conquer new lands was strategic in also providing strongholds for military activities. Such activities included intimidating other would be powers with the presence of military might which had the effect of dissuading them form taking an interest what territories that had already been claimed. This was the situation that japan found itself in that sparked off a diplomatic war which later blew up into a full scale military war. From the stand point of military command the Emperor of Japan who is the final authority and commander in chief of the Japanese military forces. He was still in consultation with his advisers and war counsel and had not given the go ahead for war to his own people until 1 December. The country of Japan was reluctantly preparing for war as a backup but planning to force its hand through occupation of the islands so as to use it to negotiate for peace. Though the country was planning for a possible war it was definitely a show of a breakdown in the chain of command and authority for any military section to act without direct orders from the Emperor and plunge the country into full fledged war out of a sense of honor and not preparedness. There was a definite lack of unity of intent between the military who seemed all to ready to go to war and the monarchy who were more prone to solving matters in a more diplomatic manner. Admiral Yamamoto was a man with a lot of military power in the Japan but he should ideally have been under the direct command of the Empower in matters of war. The Japanese naval fleet under Yamamoto was relying on the success of a preemptive lethal strike calculated to disable the American fleet. The attack was carried out in two waves and involved fighter planes, torpedo planes and bombers that were launched form two aircraft carriers. The attack was carried out early at seven-forty eight in the morning, which was probably calculated to coincide with the time soldiers were living the mess. They deployed aircrafts attacked and damaged American naval vessels that resulted in the loss of many lives and casualties. Four battleships sunk while four were damaged during the onslaught but seven were repaired and back in shape to fight the war as they had been on shallow waters when the strike took place. Human error could have been the cause of lack of rapid response on the part of the Americans as the Japanese aircraft had been mistaken for friendly aircraft returning back to base form a mission. This error most probably took place because there had been no informal or formal declarations of war, which probably made for laxity in vigilance. The Japanese on the other hand were fully aware that they had not made any declarations of war yet decided t take the extraordinary measure to instigate and propagate an act of war. The Japanese suffered minimal loss of life and had few casualties though one of their own captured. They however, made the error of leaving the army power stations, shipyard, fuel and torpedo storage facilities, maintenance yard, and naval headquarters intact. The Americans used these facilities to salvage and repair their vessels, which they used for battle so that the effort of the Japanese only served to delay and impede but not immobilize and destroy the navy fleet. The Americans learnt the hard way never to underestimate the enemy’s ability to attack at any place ignoring what might be considered as the most likely targets. The Japanese also learnt the hard way that it was virtually impossible to invade and make war based on the assumption that a quick and decisive strike will ensure victory. The Americans paid a high price for its laxity in interpreting security intelligence that suggested that military conflict was inevitable. Intent of Occupation The Japanese and the Americans had been embroiled in a diplomatic war for some time, which had been speedily and progressively getting worse. The Japanese were interested in the conquest of the Dutch East Indies and Malaya, which they wanted to acquire for themselves. These areas went by the name of ‘Southern Resource Area’ to the Japanese. The Japanese felt threatened by the presence of the Americans military, and consequentially made a decision to destroy their naval fleet, which they felt would effectively end any interference to their occupation of the areas. This tactical strategy failed because instead of it acting as a onetime strike that to end American interference as it was intended to it acted as a catalyst to war. . The army command structure flows from top to bottom in line with clearly set out procedures and protocol (Black). The exercise of authority strictly follows a chain of command used to give directives in order to accomplish a mission. The army by its very nature has a centralized command, which is responsible for strategy, execution of commands and creation of missions. Subordinates decentralize the execution of these commands as others carry them out under the chain of command. The subordinates then carry out the orders under defined constraints. The subordinates are the people with the hands on position in executing a mission and so usually have some measure of freedom, initiative in making a decision but still in line with the set out chain of command (S.Alberts). Untenable Negotiation The Japanese had all along been hoping to secure a stronger position, which would enable them to broker a peace deal with the US or any of the Allied countries if need be. The monarchy was not really enthusiastic to have a war. However, the actions of the Japanese military led to a full scale war as both countries found that the military contact between the two nations had pushed them beyond negotiation. The leaders of both nations found that their hands were now tied and they had no other choice but to declare war on each other. This amounted to a mission command failure as the authority to engage in hostile contact with the enemy came from lower down the chain of command (Black). The action of the Japanese was interpreted an act of war which warranted a military corresponding act of war and military action. The Japanese Admiral had planned the attack in such a way that it would take place as soon as they were ready and a formal declaration had been made to America. This calculated move backfired as the attack preceded before a declaration of war. This attack effectively moved both countries from the level of diplomatic negotiation to war. There was no other way out for the American government, which had to defend the honor and dignity of her nation in the face of flagrant offensive action by a hostile state. The declaration of war took place the next day on December 8 by the Americans, which ended any room for negotiations on their part. The Japanese too declared war on America and this plunged both countries into World War II bring to a head the diplomatic stalemate that had existed between the two countries for some time over china. They reasoned that by holding on to the islands they could win a negotiated peace. Conclusion The Japanese were not the only nation that had desired to conquer and colonize other lands for the exploitation of their resources. America itself had been a colony of Great Britain before it fought its way to independence. Japan as a nation was acting as a creature of her time in, which colonization and exploitation of other lands was the norm. The tactical error made by Yamamoto’s fleet ensured they won a battle that proved to be a small part in a big war. The plans of invasion by Yamamoto were narrow sighted in that they did not anticipate the broad spectrum of war and only concentrated on disabling the naval strength of America at Pearl Harbor. The Japanese seemed to have not anticipated a fully -fledged declaration of war from America and therefore down played their response to defensive military action. At the time of the Pearl Harbor attack America ranked as third in the world in terms of naval power after Great Britain and France. The strategic thought of the eighteenth century in battle was to heavily rely and invest in naval power by greater numbers of naval vessels and submarines (Black) (Glover). Germany who had not invested heavily in the navy suffered great loss in the Royal Navy blockade that led to its defeat. All these theories and strategies on naval dominance used by nations at the time followed Alfred T. Mahan’s war strategies. Mahan was a veteran of the American Civil War and therefore he thought more of defending the mainland from external invasions from the British who had fought them with battleships. He proposed that America surround itself with naval vessels on its shores, which would ensure her security and safety. Employing such a strategy in two far-flung nations such as Japan and America needed more integration and involvement of other military wings such as the air force to succeed. This is what Admiral Yamamoto and his fellow war council did not adequately prepare for when they went into Pearl Harbor. A war is a costly affair and should only be engaged in if a country is prepared into it for the long haul (Glover). It is very had to predict the way a war will go because the strategists and proponents differ in method and employment. Works Cited Black, Jeremy. Why Wars Happen . New York: New York University Press, 1998. Creveld, Martin van. Technology and War: From 2000 B.C. to the Present . New York: Free Press, 1991. Glover, Jonathan. Humanity: A Moral History of the Twentieth Century . Yale: Yale University Press , 1999. S.Alberts, David. Information Age Transformation: Getting to a 21st Century Military. Washington, D.C.: CCRP Press, 2002. Taylor, Scott. Trust Betrayed : Barrack Obama, Hillary Clinton and the Selling Out ofAmericas National Security. New Jersey: Regnery Publishing, 2015. https://www.pearlharboroahu.com/ www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/pearl-harbor Read More