Video Above: Former CIA Leader Explains Why Zelensky & Ukraine Have Inspired The Free World —
By Kris Osborn, President – Center for Military Modernization
Ukrainian President Zelensky is well known for his passion, fervor, intensity and somewhat inexplicable ability to unite and inspire the country of Ukraine by directly and openly defying Russian invaders from the capital of Kyiv. This pure “spirit” is in large measure responsible for Ukraine’s unexpected success, yet Ukraine’s ability to stop, repel and even destroy attacking Russian forces could not be happening without substantial tactical proficiency.
Ukrainian Success
Basic love of self, country, countrymen, civilians and children is certainly an undeniable motivating force, as is a simple need to unify against a common enemy to defend the homeland. Yet passion alone could not kill or stop the Russian invaders, as Ukraine has used US and NATO-provided weaponry and innovative warfare tactics to achieve unexpected success.
In a tactical sense, Ukrainian success can be identified in concept by the term “decentralization.” Ukraine have applied this idea of decentralized command and control to great effect in several key respects. Ukraine’s use of anti-armor weapons is perhaps the most visible element of this, as dispersed groups of dismounted fighters showed an ability to stage ambushes and hit and run attacks upon incoming mechanized Russian forces by disaggregating and striking at different angles from hidden positions with shoulder-fired anti-tank weapons. By not needing to “mass” in large formations or have every movement orchestrated from one central command hub, Ukrainian fighters were able to leverage an element of surprise and themselves become smaller and much less vulnerable targets available to Russian attackers.
With these factors in mind, a former high-level leader within the intelligence community explained that a leader’s ability to inspire is only as effective to the extent that it is matched by tactical competence and practical leadership ability. The most important leadership quality needed amid combat and incoming hostile fire … is competence, says Mike Mears, former Director of Human Capital, CIA, told Warrior in an interview.
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“There was an interesting study at West Point sometime ago that said, when you’re in combat all of those attributes or needs, leadership, strengths, drop, and suddenly another one comes up to be number one, and that is competence. And the reason is, if you’re caught in a firefight, what you hope more than anything is that your Sergeant knows what to do and how to do it. You don’t care so much about all this other stuff. And that’s the only exception in leadership, I think, in which you get this during life threatening situations, you get this little reversal,” Mears explained.
Along these lines, yet another aspect of Ukraine’s effective use of a “decentralized” strategy can be seen in the communications realm. There has not appeared to be any kind of functional command and control “hub,” center or location from which coordinate tactical decisions, rather those at the tip of the spear are empowered to make fast decisions within a broader leadership framework or structure.
Having multiple, dispersed radio “nodes” is a critical element of a “decentralized” strategy as it makes communication much more survivable and sustainable when facing a major threat. Smaller “nodes” or individual radio locations spread apart create smaller, less detectable signals likely to be found or attacked by Russian forces. The smaller the radio or electronic device, the smaller and less detectable the emitting signal or signature for enemies to track and jam. This decentralized command and control strategy may be one key reason why there are little to no reports of Russia using EW, something it was widely known to be capable of during its previous incursion into Ukraine in 2014.
“Look back at Zelinsky, he had about 26%. approval rating on February 23, or shortly before the invasion. And I think there was a recent survey that showed him with 91% approval rating. He has shown himself that he’s not a comedian. This guy is a highly competent manager, administrator, and leader. The competence that he’s showing, is extraordinarily reassuring to the Ukrainian people,” Mears said.
Kris Osborn is the President of Warrior Maven – Center for Military Modernization and the Defense Editor for the National Interest. Osborn previously served at the Pentagon as a Highly Qualified Expert with the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army—Acquisition, Logistics & Technology. Osborn has also worked as an anchor and on-air military specialist at national TV networks. He has appeared as a guest military expert on Fox News, MSNBC, The Military Channel, and The History Channel. He also has a Masters Degree in Comparative Literature from Columbia University.
