You will remember Colonel Mike Wyly, USMC, ret., from Robert Coram’s book. I think Robert would agree with me that Mike was much more than an acolyte and was in many ways a peer of John’s.
They were both, for example, colonels when they met. John had years of experience developing and teaching air-air tactics, and Mike had commanded infantry units in combat (Jim Webb, future Secretary of the Navy and U.S. Senator, was one of his platoon leaders). John had spent a decade researching the basis for what became maneuver warfare, while Mike had written a masters thesis on a related topic and published extensively in the Marine Corps Gazette.
A few days ago, a mutual colleague asked Mike to comment on what Boyd would say about the situation in Israel and Gaza. Here’s what he wrote:
For the record – here’s MY answer to the question: “What would Boyd say?”
1. No difference:
- Speed – a prompt and speedy OODA when it comes to orienting yourself based on observations, making firm decisions, and turning your decisions into actions.
- Pit your strengths against enemy weak points.
- Make multiple thrusts at once into enemy vulnerabilities and into avenues of approach.
- Make it look like you are going to do one thing but do something else.
- Maintain a solid focus of effort (i.e. Schwerpunkt).
- Be bold.
- Know when not to obey orders and take the action that will best exploit enemy vulnerabilities.
2. War is a “mind-game”, whether it’s heavy force against heavy, light vs. light, light vs.heavy, or heavy vs. light.
3. It’s not the size of the force that counts. It’s how you employ it. For instance, send me into the jungle to drive a big force that out-numbers me crazy. Or, give me a huge force to concentrate on my outnumbered enemy’s life-blood and I will wipe him out.
Boyd and I used to have these discussions, on and on. Boyd would give me an air-to-air scenario and I’d think it through and reply: “It’s the same on the ground…just terrain features instead of cloud cover, or mountains, etc.
Then I’d pose to him a scenario I had experienced as a rifle company commander in Vietnam. He’d think of a similar situation air-to-air.
In other words, have a fast OODA, moral resolve, and due caution when caution is called for.
I miss him. And the long talks we’d have. Often when the phone would ring in the night and wake me up to that machine-gun voice: “Hey, Mike, I’ve been thinking …