Corregidor Mission Command

THE BATTLE FOR RECAPTURE OF CORREGIDOR

The Battle for Recapture of Corregidor was fought February 16-26, 1945 and is one of the battles during Philippine Campaign form 1944-1945 during World War II. The strategic seizure of Corregidor is part of the eventual clearing of the Philippine Island from the Japanese Imperial Government. Lt Col George M Jones as the Rock Force Commander led the troops. This paper aims to discuss how Ltc Jones led his troops to the success of this battle through several principles of mission command.

Mission command is the exercise of authority and direction by the commander using mission orders to enable disciplined initiative within the commander’s intent to empower agile and adaptive leaders in the conduct of
Cohesive teams and mutual trust had been formed through hard training and combat. Although a large number of replacement personnel arrived just days before the battle, the unit command structures were firmly in place. Combat leaders at all echelons were well trained and experienced. At the task force level the 3-34 Infantry Battalion was selected in large part because it had worked with the 503rd PRCT in the past. Additionally, the air support and air transport elements also had a long relationship with the 503rd PRCT.
2. Create Sharing Understanding
All participants and supporting elements had a shared understanding the mission and commanders intent. The importance of the recapture of Corregidor was clear to all. All of the men were briefed on each phase of the operation and their part in it. Pilots and staff of the air and naval forces supporting the operations the planning sessions and provided input. These forces also insured they had common radios and procedures in place, and provided liaison teams as well.
3. Provide a Clear Commander’s
This disciplined initiative was key to the success of this operation as small units rooted out the Japanese defenders scattered across the island. Both paratroopers and Infantry excelled at this as it had become routine in combat operations in the Pacific. High leader casualties and poor communications demanded that all combat commanders took stock in the situation and acted accordingly towards mission accomplishment. On Corregidor, this was displayed repeatedly by squad and platoon leaders. One excellent example on Day 1 of the operation was the creation of the ad hoc squad that killed the Japanese commander. At the task force level Col Jones made the decision to cancel the third drop and bring the battalion in by the sea. His chain of command concurred with this assessment from the man on the ground and supported the decision fully. At battalion-level and below, units had freedom of action to introduce new techniques and tactics. The innovation of abandoning positions to Japanese at night is one good example of this. This innovation, which ran counter to accepted practice of holding seized terrain, allowed for the relatively easy elimination of the enemy once morning