Mission Command Research Paper

AMEDD Captain’s Career Course

Mission Command at Landing Zone X-Ray

Mission Command Paper

By CPT Matt Slykhuis

Small Group 12

15 February 2015

Lieutenant General Harold G. Moore was a phenomenal battlefield commander. His discipline in battle and ability to adapt to a challenging enemy was unprecedented at the time, and his expertise is proven time and time again in the years since his deployment to Vietnam in 1965. It is obvious when studying the battle at landing zone X-Ray that then-Lieutenant Colonel Moore had a masterful grasp of mission command, but his success in the face of a determined enemy was not solely the result of his actions on landing zone X-Ray. His impact on the battle originated long before

The brigade committed 16 of its 24 helicopters to 1st Battalion for the assault, which allowed the battalion to bring in approximately 150 Soldiers per lift. Bravo Company landed first and began sending reconnoiter elements out to the surrounding area, while maintaining the bulk of its company in the landing zone to ensure it stayed secure. The landing zone was critical to the battalion because it was the only way to get the rest of the battalion into the fight. One of the Bravo Company platoons captured an enemy Soldier within the first 30 minutes of the battle, and when interrogated, he indicated that there were over 1600 North Vietnamese Army Soldiers in the area. By the third lift of helicopters, the rest of Bravo Company and Alpha Company had arrived at landing zone X-Ray. It was at this point that the first shots were fired against Bravo

Lieutenant Colonel Moore received notice that his battalion would head into landing zone X-Ray just hours before the operation would kick off. He knew that he couldn’t complete a plan on his own, so he pulled in his operations officer, Captain Matt Dillon, to start initial planning for the operation. Lieutenant Colonel Moore also talked with his Command Sergeant Major the night prior to the operation to ensure that nothing had been overlooked. Both of these actions drew upon his strong team to analyze a situation and collaborate toward the end