Warriors in Peace Operations - Strategic Studies Institute - U.S. Army

not knowing the answers to the dozens of questions Major
General Nash kept firing, and then asking for a staff officer
who was not in the van (“G-2!!!, get the G-2 in here . . .,”
followed by a long wait getting the G-2 back in the van . . .
then a question, and the G-2 having to reply, “I do not know
sir, I’ll find out”). I’m not sure who was more frustrated,
Major General Nash over the staff’s inability to anticipate
and know the answers to his questions or the staff’s
frustration with a CG who never seemed to be satisfied. It
seemed to me the staff was whipped. Later toward the end of
the day, Major General Nash asked me what I thought of the
CP and what they should do there. I made two comments
that I can recall. One was it seemed the Command Post
needed to be reorganized along the functional lines
necessary for this kind of mission. The other was that I
thought the staff needed a little rest more than anything
else.
I do not know if it had anything to do with what I said,
but the next weekend the division sent most of the staff
home for a weekend off. By the time they traveled there and
back, there was not much rest, but it was well-intentioned.
I have concluded since then that what was really
happening that day was that I was being interviewed for my
next job. Later in the week, Major General Nash sat down
with me and told me he was not making an offer, but if he
asked, what would I think of becoming the division G-3. I
said I was very flattered, and that if he had to have an
answer right then I would give him one, but knowing the
implications, I would prefer to talk to my wife first. He said
that was a good idea. I’m not sure if he really thought it was
or not, but eventually I would wind up being the G-3 after I
changed command.
My greatest lesson from this period was how traumatic it
is for those who must stay behind when you split up a unit
and deploy part of it. The emotions and trauma are very
difficult, demanding positive self-help to mitigate them.
Such self-help is very hard to accomplish, given the
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