A Tale of Two Evacuations

American Thinker ^ | Sept 8, 2021 | Larry Gill

[texas booster]

“Proper Prior Planning Prevents Piss-Poor Performance”

As I reflect on the recent news of leaving Afghanistan, it reminds me of the evacuation I participated in as a junior enlisted marine in Beirut, Lebanon in 1984. Despite both the differences and similarities between these two operations, the main thing to remember is, as Marines, soldiers, or whatever branch of service, we receive our orders from the top. Our orders descend from the commander-in-chief to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, through the chain of command, all the way down through the lowly private standing next to you. We go and we accomplish the mission, trusting in the decisions of our superiors and absent of politics. Or so we thought!

The fighting in Lebanon had been going on for years. I arrived in Beirut in early December 1983. As a newly assigned member of the Marine Security Guard Detachment at the U.S. Embassy, I was motivated to be there. The embassy detachment was small but was as technically and tactically proficient as any unit in the Corps. Many of the detachment Marines had served in other embassies and diplomatic missions. Terrorist car bombings were practically an everyday occurrence, as were sporadic daily gun battles and artillery fire. It seemed the factions were all fighting each other, the Lebanese Army was fighting the factions, and on the edges of this chaos were the Iranians and Syrians firing on the Marines. The marines were on a “Peacekeeping Mission” and were stuck in the middle. We were augmented outside the embassy by “Foxtrot Co. 2nd Bn 8th Marines and had one mission; To protect the embassy personnel; to safeguard classified materials, and to protect government property.

[texas booster]

There are similar circumstances between the evacuation in Beirut 1984 and the one recently conducted in Afghanistan 2021: terrorism, humanitarian issues, warring factions fighting each other, partisan congressional decisions, lack of diplomatic progress, and politicians who ignore the intelligence reports from the operators in the field.

The first time I ever heard the rule of the 7 P’s was in the Marine Corps, and I believe it was taught to me by Gunnery Sergeant Randy Sears. Sears explained, that “Regardless of the task if it required planning, the 7 Ps were applicable. “Proper Prior Planning Prevents Piss-Poor Performance”! In February 1984, the fighting in Lebanon was so severe that decision-makers in Washington D.C. decided to close the American Embassy. And simultaneously, they decided to build a new U.S. embassy annex in East Beirut. Unlike Afghanistan, we did not have 20 years to develop a contingency plan. It seemed to be an almost instant decision! A rapid, shoot from the hip type plan, which would require applying the 7 P’s.

Excellent article but American Thinker articles need to be excerpted.

Well worth reading the rest of the article at the link!

[texas booster]

The decisions made to announce our departure created media buzz and told the enemy what our plans were. By all military sense, this is perhaps the biggest breach of Operation Security (OPSEC) there is....

We know all about OPSEC whether from our time in the military or from our real world experiences.

How did a government full of ivory tower geniuses fail at this? < / sarc>