People First Mission Always: A Historical Examination of the Need to Find the Balance Between Protecting the Force and Achieving the Mission

When should force protection take precedence over achieving the mission Historically, a relationship has developed between these two concepts. From the development of fortifications to modern combat outposts, force protection has now become the overriding concept when a nation is deploying its military forces. The security of a nations soldiers has become a priority, with unwarranted pressure on commanders to avoid casualties when deployed on a mission. This prioritization of force protection has become a modern day reality, except when a quick decisive victory is assured, or the conflict is deemed to be of vital national importance. The three historical case studies examined herein, examine the relationship between force protection and mission accomplishment. This relationship will moreover carry forward into future operational deployments, the lessons from history being a constant reminder of previous misadventures. Recent history has seen many examples where an overly defensive mindset has been adopted because of a publicly unacceptable tolerance for casualties. To be successful in military campaigns a balance needs to be attained between force protection and mission accomplishment.