The Application of SO Imperatives in The Ugly American by William J. Lederer and Eugene Burdick

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When looking at the Special Operations (SO) Imperatives, one can gain an understanding of how to change their way of looking at problems that they are faced with in any scenario. By applying these imperatives, Special Forces Soldiers can set the conditions to succeed in any situation that they find themselves in. When reading The Ugly American by William J. Lederer and Eugene Burdick, there are several examples of the correct application and the lack of application of the imperatives throughout the book. Taking a look at the Office of Strategic Service (OSS) linking up with John Colvin during the war, Father Finian and how he operated with and through others, and how Louis Krupitzyn and his wife understood their operational environment and Colonel Hillendale also mastered this skill and was the right man for the job. I will explain how the SO imperatives were applied correctly. Joe Bing and his inability to recognize the political implications while in Setkya and Tom Knox’s return trip from Cambodia serve as great examples of how the imperatives need to be applied correctly.
The best example of the SO imperatives in The Ugly American was the Facilitation of Military and Interagency Activities. John Colvin was an OSS agent that parachuted into Sarkhan to conduct operations against the Japanese in 1943 and stumbled upon Deong. They became close friends and conducted numerous harassment operations against the Japanese patrols and soft targets. One of the operations was for Colvin and Deong to conduct a link up with a US Submarine and retrieve a large quantity of ipecac. Colvin and Deong were going to set the conditions for the upcoming landing of the U.S Marine Corps. By convincing the Sarkhanese cooks to put the ipecac in the Japan...

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...ying in, I was able to interact with the local population for the team. While Bulgarian was not my target language, I made it a point to learn as much of the language as I could to show the people that we were not just temporary guests of their country, but that we had a vested interest in their success. There were others on the team that did not take this seriously and it was evident when we went out into the town for dinner. People would shy away from the group when there were members acting like the ugly American. If they had taken the time to understand the cultural aspects of the country, they would have had a better experience while on the JCET. As Louis Krupitzyn took the time to understand his operational environment to set himself up for favorable situations, I found my knowledge of the Bulgarian culture and language gave me an advantage while on the JCET.

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