For the US Army to succeed in the 21st Century, Soldiers of all ranks must understand and use Mission Command. Mission Command empowers leaders at all levels, allowing them to synchronize all warfighting functions and information systems to seize, retain, and exploit the initiative against a range of adversaries. This collection of historical vignettes seeks to sharpen our understanding of Mission Command philosophy and practice by providing examples from the past in which Mission Command principles played a decisive role. Some vignettes show junior officers following their commander's intent and exercising disciplined initiative in very chaotic combat operations. Others recount how field grade officers built cohesive teams that relied on mutual trust to achieve key operational objectives. Each historical account is complemented by an annotated explanation of how the six Mission Command principles shaped the action. For this reason, the collection is ideal for leader development in the Army school system as well as for unit and individual professional development. Mission Command places great responsibility on our Soldiers.

From the foreword: "The present volume, Vanguard of Valor II, offers six accounts of US Soldiers at the tip of the spear during the Afghan campaign. The Combat Studies Institute's Vanguard of Valor series is intended to document small unit actions in Afghanistan. These books play an equally important role by offering insights to Soldiers who may find themselves in the years ahead under similar conditions, whether in Afghanistan or in some other troubled land where they have been deployed to conduct the dangerous business of defending the national interest in a theater of war."

From the foreword: "The present volume, Vanguard of Valor II, offers six accounts of US Soldiers at the tip of the spear during the Afghan campaign. The Combat Studies Institute's Vanguard of Valor series is intended to document small unit actions in Afghanistan. These books play an equally important role by offering insights to Soldiers who may find themselves in the years ahead under similar conditions, whether in Afghanistan or in some other troubled land where they have been deployed to conduct the dangerous business of defending the national interest in a theater of war."

This is the story of the American Army and its Soldiers during a critical period of Operation IRAQI FREEDOM-the 18 months following the topping of the Saddam Hussein regime in April 2003. On Point II: Transition to the New Campaign provides a contemporary historical account of the United States Army in Operation IRAQI FREEDOM from May 2003 through the Iraqi elections of January 2005. As its title indicates, the book depicts the transition of the Army from conventional combat to full spectrum operations in support of building a new, free Iraq. One of the great, and least understood, qualities of the United States Army is its culture of introspection and self-examination. American Soldiers, whether it is the squad leader conducting a hasty after action review of a training event or the senior leader studying great campaigns from the past, are part of a vibrant, learning organization. The CSI motto-The Past is Prologue-neatly captures the need for this study. Publishing the recent history of the United States Army's operations is a key part of the TRADOC mission to develop adaptive, innovative leaders who are flexible, culturally astute experts in the art and science of the profession of arms, and who are able to quickly adapt to the contemporary operating environment. On Point II is a comprehensive, balanced, and honest account of the Army's role in this particularly significant period in Operation IRAQI FREEDOM. It is neither triumphant nor defeatist. On Point II provides Soldiers and other military professionals with a means to understand important and relevant lessons from the Army's recent operational experience. The story of the Army in this period of Operation IRAQI FREEDOM is one filled with many transitions, with many successes, and with significant challenges. On Point II is dedicated to the outstanding men and women of the United States Army who have sacrificed so much and who remain "on point for the Nation" in the defense of freedom at home and abroad.

From the introduction: "In early 2013, the Combat Studies Institute became involved in this effort by writing a series of Mission Command case studies for use at the US Army's Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC) at Fort Polk. Those case studies form the core of this collection. Each case includes a brief account of a military action followed by an explanatory section that demonstrates how the case illustrates Mission Command principles. This structure was designed for use in training and schools but is equally conducive for self-study programs. None of the 16 cases in this volume offer examples of leaders practicing Mission Command perfectly. Some of the actions described, in fact, come from early periods in which the lack of radio and other modern communications made any level of command and control very difficult to attain. The real value of these cases lies in their ability to clearly convey how past leaders employed principles such as the use of commander's intent and the exercise of disciplined initiative to seize, retain, and exploit the initiative. In this way, the past breathes life into current doctrine, making it more tangible and understandable. "

"On Point II" is the US Army's first historical study of Operation Iraqi Freedom between May 2003 and January 2005. The authors of this study, historians at the Army's Combat Studies Institute, have based their account on primary documents and hundreds of interviews with key participants in the campaign. On Point II tells the dramatic story of how, after May 2003, the US Army reinvented itself by transforming into an organization capable of conducting a broad array of diverse and complex full spectrum operations to create stability in Iraq. Critical chapters in this comprehensive book focus on detainee operations (including the Abu Ghraib incidents), reconstruction efforts, and the general response to the growing insurgency in Iraq. The study uses maps, charts, and photographs to help tell its story and includes appendices that document the units involved in the campaign and key events during this period of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Originally published by the U.S. Army Combined Arms Center, Combat Studies Institute in December 2008.

Since 2001, the US Army in Afghanistan has been conducting complex operations in a difficult, often dangerous environment. Living in isolated outposts and working under austere conditions, US Soldiers have carried out missions that require in equal parts a warrior's courage and a diplomat's restraint. In the larger discussions of the Afghanistan campaign, the experiences of these Soldiers-especially the young sergeants and lieutenants that lead small units-often go undocumented. But, as we all know, success in Afghanistan ultimately depends on these small units and their leaders, making their stories all the more important. In 2010, as the scale and tempo of Coalition operations in Afghanistan increased, so did the need for historical accounts of small-unit actions. As commander of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), I commissioned the Combat Studies Institute to research and write the cases collected in this volume and in those that will follow. By capturing key insights from both lethal and non-lethal operations, I hoped these accounts would be of immediate utility to sergeants and lieutenants at the center of future operations. The eight actions described in these pages take the reader through a wide range of platoon-level operations, from an intense firefight near Kandahar to an intricate civic action project in Kunar Province. Drawing from dozens of Soldier interviews, these accounts vividly depict the actions themselves and offer critical insights of greatest benefit to the small-unit leaders of today and tomorrow. The US Army always has prided itself as an institution of constant learning, strongly committed to drawing lessons from its past. This volume from the Combat Studies Institute is an excellent example of that long and honorable tradition.

Prepared by the Afghan Study Team of the Combat Studies Institure, U.S. Army, From the foreword by Genral (ret.) David Petraeus: "In 2010, as the scale and tempo of Coalition operations in Afghanistan increased, so did the need for historical accounts of small-unit actions. As commander of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), I commissioned the Combat Studies Institute to research and write the cases collected in this volume and in those that will follow. By capturing key insights from both lethal and non-lethal operations, I hoped these accounts would be of immediate utility to sergeants and lieutenants at the center of future operations. The eight actions described in these pages take the reader through a wide range of platoon-level operations, from an intense firefight near Kandahar to an intricate civic action project in Kunar Province. Drawing from dozens of Soldier interviews, these accounts vividly depict the actions themselves and offer critical insights of greatest benefit to the small-unit actions leaders of today and tomorrow. The US Army always has prided itself as an institution of constant learning, strongly committed to drawing lessons from its past. This volume from the Combat Studies Institute is an excellent example of that long and honorable tradition. I hope that you will find the actions n Vanguard of Valor to be both instructive and compelling. I am sure that you will find them to be inspirational."

From the foreword by Genral (ret.) David Petraeus: "In 2010, as the scale and tempo of Coalition operations in Afghanistan increased, so did the need for historical accounts of small-unit actions. As commander of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), I commissioned the Combat Studies Institute to research and write the cases collected in this volume and in those that will follow. By capturing key insights from both lethal and non-lethal operations, I hoped these accounts would be of immediate utility to sergeants and lieutenants at the center of future operations. The eight actions described in these pages take the reader through a wide range of platoon-level operations, from an intense firefight near Kandahar to an intricate civic action project in Kunar Province. Drawing from dozens of Soldier interviews, these accounts vividly depict the actions themselves and offer critical insights of greatest benefit to the small-unit actions leaders of today and tomorrow. The US Army always has prided itself as an institution of constant learning, strongly committed to drawing lessons from its past. This volume from the Combat Studies Institute is an excellent example of that long and honorable tradition. I hope that you will find the actions n Vanguard of Valor to be both instructive and compelling. I am sure that you will find them to be inspirational."

"A Different Kind of War" is the US Army's preliminary history of its campaign in Afghanistan between October 2001 and September 2005. Based on hundreds of oral interviews and unclassified documents, this study offers a comprehensive chronological narrative of the first four years of Operation Enduring Freedom. "A Different Kind of War" tells the story of how the Coalition planned the campaign against the Taliban regime and then used its military forces to overthrow that regime in 2001. The study then focuses on the Army's lead role in the campaign that evolved after the establishment of a new government for Afghanistan in 2002. As this work shows, that new campaign slowly evolved into a broad counterinsurgency effort that featured combat operations, reconstruction projects, and training programs for a new Afghan Army. "A Different Kind of War" closes with a discussion of key historical insights from this period of military operations in Afghanistan. Maps, photographs and tables support this important study throughout.