Ten minutes of grueling and brutal combat footage shows a well equipped Russian squad falling apart and freezing in the kill-zone of an ambush. This is what a top-heavy chain of command looks like on the ground.

There's a lot that can be said about this video. We could spend hours ripping apart every tactic, technique, and procedure that's on display from the Russians in this video. From the terrible individual actions to the lack of aggression they show, there's almost nothing done correctly here. We're not going to talk about that though. You're looking at a deeper problem with the entire Russian military in this one ten minute video clip.

There's one consistent thing the Russians have had working against them since the beginning of this conflict, and that's a distinct lack of small unit leadership on the ground. At the end of the day, when you get punched in the face, the only way out of it is through instinctively fighting back with aggression and initiative. Small unit leaders, or non-commissioned officers, are what you need on the ground fighting individual squads, and when you don't have that you end up with troops reacting to contact just like this.

Let me break it down shotgun style. There are three main tasks happening for a squad in a gunfight. The individual rifleman is down his sights fighting the fight through aggressive and directed individual actions. Right above the individual rifleman, you have the team leaders coordinating and directing the aggression of the individuals in his fireteam through the direct example of his own aggressive actions. His head comes out of the scope long enough to receive orders and ensure his fireteam is executing them. In the absence of orders, that team leader finds a job for his team and gets to work by setting the example through his own decisive actions. Above the team leader is the squad leader.

The squad leader is wielding the most deadly weapon on any battlefield anywhere, and that's the aggression of his team leaders. The squad leader isn't controlling one rifle, he's controlling all of them. He understands the commander's intent, and is left to find a path to success through his own independent initiative based on the situation he is presented with. It's not uncommon for the squad leader to have his head pulled completely away from his rifle while he simply yells into a radio and points at the point of friction that needs to be handled. A squad leader is usually the guy you see handing out all of his magazines at the consolidation phase of combat, because he's often not fired a single round through his own rifle.

The Russians have no capability of fighting this way, because they have little to no non-commissioned officers who are entrusted to lead the fight. In the absence of orders from their officers, or in the presence of a deviation from the plan, the Russian Soldier is tasked with radioing in for guidance from commanders who are not present to see the fight unfolding in real-time. The individual actions of the riflemen are present, but the combat leadership to direct those individual actions doesn't exist. No one is out of their optic. No one is looking for the point of friction. No one is taking the initiative to direct the violence. Everyone is standing around waiting to be told what to do.

As a result, everyone freezes in place and waits for someone to take charge of the situation. Unfortunately, Jesus doesn't take the wheel for you in combat. The non-commissioned officers are supposed to do that. You can't win a professional boxing match without calling your own hits, and you certainly can't win it by having your coach call the shots for your while he's sitting in the locker room.

About the Author

Josh Brooks

Josh is an American writer and former USMC machine gunner with eight years of experience in ground combat arms throughout the GWOT. He is currently based in Texas and specializes in combat footage analysis and digital marketing.Follow Josh at OfficialJoshBrooks.com