2 Generals fired by Amos for Camp Bastion attack
The Washington Post reports that Marine Commandant General Amos has fired two generals for security failures that led to the attack last year on the UK’s Camp Bastion which is adjacent to US Camp Leatherneck. The attack by Taliban forces cost two Americans’ lives and most of a squadron of AV-8 Harriers there.
The commandant, Gen. James F. Amos, said the two generals did not deploy enough troops to guard the base and take other measures to prepare for a ground attack by the Taliban. The two, Maj. Gen. Charles M. Gurganus, the top Marine commander in southern Afghanistan at the time, and Maj. Gen. Gregg A. Sturdevant, the senior Marine aviation officer in the area, “failed to exercise the level of judgment expected of commanders of their rank,” Amos said.
The problem with that assessment is that the attack occurred where the Brits employed Tongans for tower security and the Tongans didn’t man the position where the Taliban attacked. Also, from the reactionary far-right Washington Post;
Troop reductions also affected security measures. When Gurganus took command in 2011, about 17,000 U.S. troops were in his area of operations. By the time of the attack, in September 2012, the American contingent had dropped to 7,400 because of troop-withdrawal requirements imposed by President Obama.
In December 2011, 325 Marines were assigned to patrol the area around Bastion and Leatherneck. In the month before the attack, that number was cut to about 110.
Gurganus did seek permission in the summer of 2012 to add 160 troops to protect Bastion and Leatherneck, but his superiors in Kabul rejected the request because the military had reached a limit on forces set by the White House.
So, who is going to get fired when the troop’s security depends entirely on Afghans, you know those guys who have killed scores of US troops in direct sneak attacks, and when the troops are drawn down so far, the sneaks don’t have to pull the trigger themselves, just let their Taliban buddies through the wire. Or, as in this case, just don’t man a tower or two.
Category: Terror War
Hate to say it about my Marine brethren, but GEN Amos is a fucking ass-kissing dick who can’t see past his own power-points.
I guess we know where the buck stops – and it ain’t at the White House or with the Joint Chiefs.
Seems these two took the fall in a situation where their area of responsibility exceeded their area of authority/ability to get resources.
It all seems a bit tragic.
I’m betting those two Generals had tattoos, drank beer and put their hands in their pockets regularly. Sure sign they were screwed up.
Amos is a sack of shit.
I’m not convinced that retiring at current rank w full benefits is “firing”
Amos is the ass-clown who should be fired if not thrown directly into jail!
http://www.militarycorruption.com/HOS-johnamos.htm
The court martial that he ordered had to be dropped because it was illegal and then he went to great lengths to cover it up.
This man is a disgrace!
The term “scapegoats” comes to mind.
Obviously, in retrospect “mistakes were made”. But it’s damn hard to do what’s necessary when you don’t have the resources to do what’s necessary; have asked for the resources to do what’s necessary; and have been denied the resources to do what’s necessary.
Best comment, from StrikeFO; Every time Amos fires someone a Blue Falcon gets it’s wings.
A soldier, I never paid much attention to Marine generals, but I was impressed with Gen Pace. Whatever Gen Amos may be, he ain’t no Gen Pace.
General Amos goes to bed each night in his Underoos and prays that he’ll ever be 1/1000th the Marine that General Mattis is.
Jim Amos is destroying the Corps, and Mike Barrett is letting him.
The SJA who was intervening on behalf of the Marines in the AFG urination case is being headhunted now:
http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/article/20130818/NEWS/308180010/Whistle-blower-alleges-reprisal-by-Marine-brass-says-he-won-t-back-down
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/sep/29/marine-corps-whistleblower-faces-vengeance-from-su/?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS
Replaced by perfumed princes no doubt. Kiss the ring or get out.
The undue command influence exerted by Amos in the urination case clearly shows he is unfit to be Commandant. If the Brits and Tongans failed to provide adequate security it was definitely on the local US commander to provide adequate protection for the people and equipment under his command. If he couldn’t get additional combat power from higher to do it, use the people and resources at hand to provide acceptable security.
Looking at the positive, Amos only has a year left on his term. Gen Joseph Dunford (ISAF commander)is probably good bet to be lead candidate as next CMC. Gen Dunford is a protege of Gen Mattis, combat tested, was fmr asst commandant, and considered a rising star…oh yeah also skipped Maj Gen rank on his way to 4 stars.
Being a Marine who served in the Aviation Community, I don’t like saying it, but,
They never should have made a pilot the Commandant.
“Hate to say it about my Marine brethren, but GEN Amos is a fucking ass-kissing dick who can’t see past his own power-points.”
I can’t think of a single Marine who supports him. He’s a traitor to our Nation and the Corps, as far as I’m concerned he doesn’t rate the title Marine.
From what I saw at most of the little camps and FOBs in OIF3, we never had enough folks. One camp only had a company of Marines….where they really needed at least 4 companies to actually do anything.
Dang … at least Murtha waited till he was out of uniform before he started trashing the Corps.
Maybe Amos is looking to take the crown away from him as the most heinous ex-Marine in US history?
Anybody else see the article on LTC West at the link COB6 posted? Bums me out, I thought he was one of the good guys…
Having been at Leatherneck for the prior rotation, this is a bunch of crap. This is just the latest embarassment from this butt kisser. No one supports him and have any of you read the new policy for taking back the barracks? It’s the textbook example of micromanagement. This is what we get for putting a f@cking pilot as CMC…..and the SMMC is no better for letting it happen. Go ahead and downsize us to 150K, with a command climate like this, Marines won’t want to stay in.
Amos is a faggot.
The sooner that turd leaves the sooner the Corps can begin to unfuck what he did.
Yeah, Amos is not our most “shining Commandant”. Hopefully the next one won’t be so….politically oriented.
He and the Army’s big dog SGTMAJ would make a great team.. >sarcasm<
With apologies to Randy Newman . . . .
They’re scapegoats
They’re scapegoats
They asked for more troops but they still took the fall
They’re scapegoats
They’re scapegoats
Now they’re both up against the wall
Don’t feel bad Marines, the Army feels your pain.
General Gurganus was my commanding officer in 2005. A finer officer and gentleman you will not find. And a warfighter. We were in Al Anbar and our RCT had responsibility for Fallujah and its surrounding shitholes. I would follow him into hell wearing gasoline long johns.
General Amos is a fucking wack job. There was no reason for this investigation. And he fired two good men. General Gurganus had already been nominated for a third star and was to become the chief of staff for the Marine Corps. This is a sad day for the Corps.
Bit old, but here’s incomparable Duffelblog writeup from June (Think they were onto something)….Commandant Attempts To Fire Entire Marine Corps:
http://www.duffelblog.com/2013/06/gen-amos-fire-relieved-command/
I have the Powerpoint (unclassified) presentation from the General Officer Symposium, which outlines the changes Gen Amos desires to implement. Interesting reading, but I don’t know how to post it here.
It hasn’t hit the Marine Corps Times yet, but has been the discussion among commanders abroad at SNCO/Officer meetings.
And I ran across this from Drudge this morning:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/sep/29/marine-corps-whistleblower-faces-vengeance-from-su/
So they indicated they did not have the resources necessary to provide the level of security they felt was required to properly do the job, they were denied those resources. The area where the taliban came through was not under the authority of either of these men but instead under our allies including a tiny contingent from Tonga a country of 100,000 people with the largest and pretty much only city housing 70% of those people. The Tongans were there under an agreement signed by their king with the British back in 2010. Consequently, the two US commanders don’t have any authority over the British troops or the Tongans who are there only by agreement with the British and not the US. Predictably the men from the tiny country in the South Pacific who are used to eating fish and sleeping on the beach near clear blue water decide not to hang around and do their jobs, the British have no plan to address that and everybody leaves the the gates open for the enemy. When the enemy attacks the US Marine Commandant conducts an investigation, using his laser like focus and precision comprehension skills he immediately finds fault with the very people whose requests for additional personnel he refused through his leadership team in Kabul and completely avoids a political nightmare by not placing responsibility on the fearsome nation of Tonga or their British master and sacks two guys who didn’t have what they requested and didn’t have any authority to get what they requested and who didn’t have any authority to task our allies with providing it either…. Explain to me again the benefits for working with a political machine like this over the long term? I’m getting really unclear how anybody wants to pursue this career path, you get f#cked while you’re in, you get f#cked when you retire, you work for less pay and considerably more sacrifice than your civilian college educated peers, and most of the nation thinks you’re a threat to their safety when you leave the military. Yeah, sign me up for more… Read more »
@27 VOV
Don’t hold back, Brother. Fire for effect!
@28 I didn’t mean to go overboard, and I sure hope I didn’t offend you….I loved my time in the military. I learned to push myself farther and harder than I would have ever learned on my own (or I would have taken decades to learn it) and it’s helped me be successful in my private and professional live.
I met and worked with great people, I am just saddened by how it appears the people who dedicated their lives to the service are being treated these days with increases to their insurance premiums. The talk of reducing active duty troop pay, difficulty receiving benefits. It’s the wrong way to treat the people who implement the most difficult components of our foreign policy and risk of life and limb.
While I don’t know them I feel I owe them for what they taught me through tradition and schooling, and their being mistreated p1sses me off to no end.
Sorry for being obtuse, Brother. I was indulging in a little tongue-in-cheek, as in : “yeah, sign me up for some, too.”
I agree with every word you wrote.