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by
Bill Steinke
Special to MulesCentral
October 20, 2009
 Many
of you know me as an avid Mule Fan and original author of the “Mules
Report”. Others may know me as
a tireless poster on D2Football.com. I think of myself as a devoted
husband and father of six (6) sons. My friend Kevin Ashcraft has
asked me to write a guest column
this week while deployed here in Southwest Asia. For several years
now, since giving up the weekly column on this web site, I’ve had a
burning desire to write a report expounding on my view of the game
of football as a career military man.
Part
of what fuels my passion for football is the striking similarity
between the game and the principles which govern U.S. Military
Doctrine. As many of you know, I have spent the majority of my life
in the Army; as an Infantryman, Paratrooper, and Ranger. My ties to
the University of Central Missouri came when I taught Army ROTC
there and befriended Willie Fritz. My personal passion for the game
may only be matched by Willie’s love and respect for our men and
women in uniform; as noted by Joe Moore in his interview with Coach
Fritz last week. As for the similarities between football and the
military, I need to offer a little background first, for
perspective.
 Current
U.S. Military Doctrine was greatly inspired by a Prussian General by
the name of Carl Philipp Gottlieb von Clausewitz. Clausewitz was a
soldier, military historian and
military
theorist. He is most famous for his military treatise
Vom Kriege,
translated into English as On War. I highly suggest it for
any modern day Football Coach.
My
goal is to relate those Principles to the modern day game of
football, as the similarities are striking. They are also a great
way to look at the game; in both its’ preparation and execution.
One
final caveat before beginning...
In
no way am I inferring that War is a game; nor am I suggesting that
football is a matter of life and death. Our men and women of the
U.S Armed Forces put their lives on the line every day for the
freedoms we often take for granted. On the flip-side, no matter how
 much
you love the game of Football, it is imperative to keep in mind that
these young men, who go above and beyond the average college
student, for our entertainment, are students first and athletes
second. All the best coaches will tell you that; and mean it!
For the record, my late Father, John
Ellis Steinke is buried in Arlington after a 30+ year career and
tours in WWII, Korea, and Vietnam. He was a football fan too; an
alum of University of Michigan and Cal Berkley. He would approve of
this article, God rest his soul…
Without further ado, the United States
Principles or War and how they relate to football…
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OFFENSIVE
– Seize, retain, and exploit the initiative. Offensive action is
the most effective and decisive way to attain a clearly defined
common objective. Offensive operations are the means by which a
military force seizes and holds the initiative while maintaining
freedom of action and achieving decisive results. This is
fundamentally true across all levels of war.
The Ground Attack…
The Airborne Assault…
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Football is
about scoring points. Winning doesn’t come without it.
It’s been said that offense wins games and defense wins
championships. I’ll submit one can’t win championships
without first winning games.
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In the
military, a common phrase around those in the combat arms is
“In the absence of orders, attack!” The motive behind this
phrase does not imply that attacking in and of itself
accomplishes anything, but that attacking with the purpose
of gaining an advantage over the enemy is much preferred
over waiting for him to attack you. It’s all about gaining
the initiative; in football, this translates to making one’s
opponent react to your game plan, rather than reacting to
his. When a team has the lead the opponent has to take more
chances.
-
I’ll submit,
just like in war, that defenses can contribute to a
successful outcome by maintaining an “offensive” mentality.
The whole purpose of the defense is to go back on the
offensive. Both football and combat are exercises in
momentum. Where one is at is not as important as where one
is going for those with an offensive mentality.
-
 MASS
– Mass the effects of overwhelming combat power at
the decisive place and time. Synchronizing all the elements of
combat power where they will have decisive effect on an enemy
force in a short period of time is to achieve mass. Massing
effects, rather than concentrating forces, can enable
numerically inferior forces to achieve decisive results, while
limiting exposure to enemy fire.
-
Every Soldier
and weapon system must be used in a way in which they
contribute to the “Point of Attack”. Mass isn’t just about
having more forces “in the fray” it’s about ensuring that
firepower is concentrated at the decisive place and time on
the battlefield.
-
In football,
every Player has a role in every play. Mass is as much
about timing and rehearsal as it is about size and simple
numerical superiority. No individual can be out doing his
own thing and expect to contribute to the team’s success.
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Mass is one of
the most difficult concepts to grasp as it may be
inappropriately named. I would suggest the term
“Synchronization”, but I’m no Clausewitz, by any stretch of
the imagination.
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ECONOMY OF FORCE
– Employ all combat power available in the most effective way
possible; allocate minimum essential combat power to secondary
efforts. Economy of force is the judicious employment and
distribution of forces. No part of the force should ever be left
without purpose. The allocation of available combat power to
such tasks as limited attacks, defense, delays, deception, or
even retrograde operations is measured in order to achieve mass
elsewhere at the decisive point and time on the battlefield.
 
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Utilizing
Soldiers and weapons systems on the battlefield at a time
and place where they would be better served elsewhere (in
supporting attacks or in reserve) is a common error among
junior leaders. There is a time and a place for every
Soldier to contribute to a unit’s success and good
battle-plans always include “Branches and Sequels” from the
Main Attack. Everyone needs to be ready to step in when
they are needed and not be otherwise engaged in meaningless
efforts.
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In football,
we call this depth on the bench. A military unit can win a
battle and still lose the war. Football is a game of four
(4) quarters. Games are often lost in the fourth quarter,
not necessarily because of lack of conditioning, but rather
by relying on starters for too long, until they can no
longer contribute. Seasons can often fall by the wayside by
losing key players when they could be getting rested and
allowing others to gain more game experience.
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Good
basketball coaches seem to master this art.
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MANEUVER
– Place the enemy in a position of disadvantage
through the flexible application of combat power. Maneuver is
the movement of forces in relation to the enemy to gain
positional advantage. Effective maneuver keeps the enemy off
balance and protects the force. It is used to exploit successes,
to preserve freedom of action, and to reduce vulnerability. It
continually poses new problems for the enemy by rendering his
actions ineffective, eventually leading to defeat.
-
In war, this
is the “nuts and bolts” of the conflict. Maneuver relies
upon knowing what one’s forces are capable of, and utilizing
them to the best of their abilities. Maneuver also depends
heavily upon one’s knowing the enemy and what weaknesses to
exploit.
-
On the
gridiron, this equates to understanding where and when
strength can defeat speed and where speed can defeat
strength.
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There is no
substitute for experience (practice) when it comes to
maneuver.
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UNITY OF COMMAND
– For every objective, seek unity of command and unity of
effort. At all levels of war, employment of military forces in a
manner that masses combat power toward a common objective
requires unity of command and
unity of
effort. Unity of command means that all the forces
are under one responsible commander. It requires a single
commander with the requisite authority to direct all forces in
pursuit of a unified purpose.
U.S. Centcom Commander, General David
Petraeus Mules Head football Coach, Willie Fritz
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I could
elaborate on a military term known as “nested concepts”
here, but suffice it to say, at every level, the efforts of
the subordinate commander should support the objective of
the higher level commander.
-
One Head
Coach, one game plan, and clear communication, before,
during and after every game pretty much sum this one up.
Each play, each series of downs, every drive, every quarter,
and every game must have a plan which is clearly understood
and followed. That said, one of the things that makes a
great commander is the ability to delegate and trust one’s
subordinates to make decisions at critical times; based upon
the “Commander’s Intent”.
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SECURITY –
Never permit the enemy to acquire unexpected advantage. Security
enhances freedom of action by reducing vulnerability to hostile
acts, influence, or surprise. Security results from the measures
taken by a commander to protect his forces. Knowledge and
understanding of enemy strategy, tactics, doctrine, and staff
planning improve the detailed planning of adequate security
measures.
-
The military
has a term for this called “OPSEC” or Operational Security.
Everyone is encouraged to adopt a sense of Duty, Pride, and
Loyalty. It’s been said that “Loose Lips Sink Ships”.
Soldiers who have long careers are typically ones who never
underestimate their enemy.
-
In football,
this is more than just having closed practices and swearing
everyone to secrecy about the game plan. Security also
implies the use of deception and countermeasures against the
enemy. Good security mandates an expectation that the enemy
is actively trying to discover your game plan; before and
during the game. Teams at all levels place great emphasis
on securing “the playbook”. Sending in plays through the
use of signals is well and good, but the MOST secure means
of communication is word of mouth. The more the team
understands, in advance, what the plan is, the less likely
the opponent is to discover what that plan is.
-
In my time in
the Army, I have more than once watched the enemy watching
me and used this active means of enemy observation to my
advantage.
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SURPRISE –
Strike the enemy at a time or place or in a manner for which he
is unprepared. Surprise can decisively shift the balance of
combat power. By seeking surprise, forces can achieve success
well out of proportion to the effort expended. Surprise can be
in tempo, size of force, direction or location of main effort,
and timing. Deception can aid the probability of achieving
surprise.
-
There is a
fine line between surprise and folly. Surprise is more than
doing something the enemy doesn’t expect. It’s doing
something the enemy is “unprepared” to defend.
-
A game plan
without any element of surprise is no game plan. Some folks
call this “trickery”? I view it more as doing whatever it
takes to seize the momentum back from one’s opponent. A
note of caution, surprise always includes an element of
risk, so using it when one is winning should be extremely
limited as it could easily shift momentum back to ones
opponent if (and often when) it fails.
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Every game /
operation should include something the opponent has never
seen before. Even if it’s just a slight twist on what is
already being done, the newness of the new technique tends
to get into the opponent’s head. That said, variations of
the game plan don’t need to be complex (see SIMPLICITY
below).
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SIMPLICITY
– Prepare clear, uncomplicated plans and concise orders to
ensure thorough understanding. Everything in war is very simple,
but the simple thing is difficult. To the uninitiated, military
operations are not difficult. Simplicity contributes to
successful operations. Simple plans and clear, concise orders
minimize misunderstanding and confusion. Other factors being
equal, parsimony is to be preferred.
-
Simple does
not equal predictable; nor should simplicity exist for the
sake of laziness. What simplicity does mean, in regard to
planning is that if something is not understood, it can’t be
executed. Complexity not only supposes that the chance for
error is higher, but that it takes more time away from other
efforts that are equally, if not more, important to overall
success.
-
We’ve all
heard the saying, “if it works, don’t fix it”. This doesn’t
mean do the same thing over and over again. It does mean,
only make changes where changes are needed and master the
fundamentals first. The error of simplicity is in
“over-simplicity.”
The bottom line with success in
football, all tactics and strategy aside, is in bringing in good
people, having high expectations for their performance (player and
coach alike), and in empowering them to do their job. Football,
like the U.S. Army, is a “people business”.
I appreciate your taking the time to
hear my “warped view” on the game we all love. It is my sincere
desire that it causes you to see both football and our military from
a positive perspective.
Meet you on the High Ground!
Bill Steinke |
