The Ugly American Character Analysis
Mr. Lederer and Mr. Burdick wrote the Ugly American many decades ago and it is a story that holds many truths of how we act and operate in today’s society. This fictional work displayed characters that truly understood many of the Special Operation Forces (SOF) imperatives. Louis Krupitzyn, John Colvin and Major Wolchek represented the SOF imperatives of understanding the operational environment, anticipating and controlling psychological effects, operating with and through others, considering the long term effects, facilitating interagency activities, and engaging the threat discriminately. I will combine my own experiences and those of these three characters in The Ugly American. I will demonstrate how the SOF imperatives influenced their behavior and how I approached situations during my time in Special Forces.
As the Russian …show more content…
Ambassador, Louis Krupitzyn did what his American counterpart Louis Sears could not do; he understood his operational environment. During his time as a Foreign Service officer, Krupitzyn extensively prepared for his assignments and roles requiring greater responsibility and leadership. When Russia had put a timeline of 30 months on Sarkhan to become a Communist country, Krupitzyn was well equipped to assume the responsibility and achieve this task.
Understanding his responsibility and Russia’s end-state, he took his role seriously. Krupitzyn researched and found that the ideal Sarkhanese man was humble, slender, and graceful, so he dieted and lost weight. He learned the language, immersed himself in Sarkhanese literature, and learned how to play their musical instruments, such as the nose flute. He learned their religion and participated in cultural activities. Upon his first days in Sarkhan, he made it a point to visit the highest monk in Sarkhan, the Chief Abbot, leader of all Buddhists in the area.
During his talks with the Chief Abbot, he was able to converse with him in his native tongue. When the Chief Abbot explained the bad fortune of typhoons to him, Krupitzyn reacted quickly by buying rice on the local market and giving it to the populace that was most affected by famine. This built rapport with the local populace.
Although this built rapport with the local populace, Krupitzyn’s true purpose was to outsmart the American Ambassador Louis Sears.
He influenced the populace through psychological means. He did this by using overheard information (intelligence) from an American chauffeur that Americans were bringing in 5 tons of rice for the famished populace. Upon keeping his promise to the Chief Abbot, he delivered rice to the famished people of the typhoons wreckage. He promised the people that more rice would be coming soon and that Russia, the friend of Sarkhan, would relieve them of their famine.
He would personally be there to make sure that it would happen. When the American ships and trucks made their delivery of rice, he ordered Communist agents to stencil in Sarkhanese on the bags of rice, “This rice is a gift from Russia.” He spoke through a loudspeaker from the dock during the distribution of the rice, informing the Sarkhanese, that Russia kept her word. Even when the people observed the American flags on the ships and boat, he reiterated to them that America only helped them out with the transportation because they wanted to make
money.
Krupitzyn deflected any questions from the crowd by reassuring them that Russia only wanted to help the populace by supplying them with food that they needed. He reiterated that Russia wanted nothing else and although Americans were doing their own public relations with speeches and pictures, it was insufficient because nobody was there to provide it any credibility. By the time Louis Sears realized what happened, it was too late. Over 10,000 people had seen that Russia delivered on its promise and America only helped so they could make money.
My team members and I learned the language of the region we of our next deployment. We learned about the area’s economic and social struggles, and their customs and religion. Much like Krupitzyn, we had a mission and a timeline and a goal. We conducted key leader engagements (KLE) talking with elders showing them pictures of what we could do for them and how we could help their people. The village elders explained to us that some of the Taliban would give them protection but the village was required to provide the Taliban money, food, and shelter in return. We told them that we were in no need of their resources. We explained to them as we were building their schools and digging wells that things like this could happen all the time if we worked together. If we worked together as mutual partners, it would keep any hardship and unwanted dangers brought on by the Taliban out of their village. We delivered that promise with a well, a school, and weekly visits to make a presence that we were there to help them.
John Colvin had a deeper understanding of the country of Sarkhan and its people than American Ambassador Sears did. Mr. Colvin applied two SOF imperatives: operating with and through others by having a working relationship with Deong, a local Sarkhanese resident. Also, he considered the long-term effects of how cattle would boost the economy of the country. During the Second World War, Colvin worked with a local native named Deong. They worked together for 8 months and achieved success in disrupting the activities of the occupying Japanese forces. They blew up 12 Japanese munitions trains, demolished 6 military bridges, put time bombs on the hulls of eight armed Japanese river patrol boats, and planted ipecac in the enemy’s food supply. Colvin and Deong built such a strong trust with each other that Deong showed Colvin the way of the Sarkhanese people. In turn, Colvin came to understand and appreciate the country much more. Deong knew the consequences of his actions. He knew that working with an American could easily lead to his death. However, Deong developed such a deep trust with Colvin, that the benefits of working together outweighed the risks. He knew he was doing the right thing.
After John Colvin left Sarkhan, he saw that Communism was making its way into Sarkhan and he knew the detrimental effects that it would have on this peaceful country. After many futile letters to Congress, Colvin decided that he would take action. Colvin was a cattle farmer. He understood the people and the land very well and he knew he could make a positive economic effect if he could get the cattle into their country. The people of Sarkhan could use milk and its by-products to boost their economy. There were good markets in Asia for the by-products. The butter could be reduced to ghee and sold to India, the leather could be tanned and made into finished goods, and the entrails could be used in the native medicines preferred by non-Christians.
Ultimately, Colvin was giving the population of Sarkhan a means to economically survive for the future. He did not want the populace to rely on the Communist. During his tenure as a factory owner, he had the ability to influence the population on how the ideology of Communism would only hurt them in the years to come.
In 2008, my ODA and the Afghan Security Guards developed the same relationship that Colvin and Deong established. In the 8 months that we worked together, we shared some of our tactics and techniques that helped them become a better security force in their community. This eventually deterred the enemy from coming and harassing their villages. In return, they taught us the Sharia law and how it was their way of life. This gave us a better understanding of why and how they acted and did what they did.
Major James Wolchek applied two SOF imperatives during his time in Hanoi. He facilitated interagency activities by coordinating his efforts with and through the French Legionnaire commander Major Monet. His efforts created a strong cohesion between him, the American Ambassador, and the Legionnaires during their efforts in Hanoi. He engaged the threat discriminately by understanding the appropriate solution to win at battle was to use the enemy’s tactics instead of the proven conventional tactics used by his counterpart Major Monet.
Major James Wolchek worked with the French Legionnaire and with the American Ambassador MacWhite while he was in Hanoi. He fought side by side with Major Monet and Mr. MacWhite during the onslaught of battles on the outskirts of the rural areas of Hanoi. It wasn’t until he had a feeling that he was living in a nightmare that he realized that the tactics that he and the French Legionnaires were employing against the Communists were not effective during battle and were, in effect, detrimental to the cause of the war. He knew that he was going to have to fight using different tactics. He was going to have to apply “outside-the-box” thinking and strategy. He also knew that he had to approach Major Monet, a proud man who fought from a country that produced Napoleon, and tactfully explain to him that they were going to have to fight the enemy using the enemy’s style of warfare. Although Wolchek was not keen on employing Communist tactics, he knew that conventional warfare was not the appropriate type of warfare to win this war. After convincing Monet to use Mao Tse-Tung’s unconventional style of warfare, the Legionnaires and Wolchek were able to win a battle. It was a battle that gave Monet and his men some hope. After the battle was over, Monet truly understood that this war could be won if the enemy was engaged with an appropriate approach. The partnership between Major Wolchek, Major Monet, and Mr. MacWhite exhibits the type of relationship that the leadership of an ODA needs when working in a Joint, Interagency, Intergovernmental, and Multinational (JIIM) environment and with partner forces. The rapport that Wolchek established through his experience and efforts established a unity of effort between the Legionnaires, the American Ambassador, and himself when it came time to battle the enemy.
Evaluating a threat, or any situation, and having the ability to discern the difference between the solution, that could be detrimental or meet the desired end-state, has a great impact on how the ODA operates in their area of operation (AO). Working in austere and hostile environments, the ODA leadership needs to understand the difference of threats in their AO and how to engage these threats. Sometimes, the direct approach will not always suffice. Knowing when to incorporate psychological operations or civil affairs rather than employing a more aggressive approach to a situation, could, in essence, by-pass even greater dangers and result in a feasible conclusion.
After five decades since the writing of the Ugly American, Mr. Lederer and Mr. Burdick’s fictional story was a narrative that many people, to this day, can relate a personal experience to an episode written in this book. There were characters that truly had an understanding of the local populace and their customs and traditions. While other characters had their own agenda and cared less about what impact they had on their host nation partner, Louis Krupitzyn, John Colvin and Major Wolchek were characters that displayed the SOF attributes. The SOF imperatives influenced their behavior as much as it influenced how I approached situations during my time in Special Forces.
As the Russian …show more content…
Ambassador, Louis Krupitzyn did what his American counterpart Louis Sears could not do; he understood his operational environment. During his time as a Foreign Service officer, Krupitzyn extensively prepared for his assignments and roles requiring greater responsibility and leadership. When Russia had put a timeline of 30 months on Sarkhan to become a Communist country, Krupitzyn was well equipped to assume the responsibility and achieve this task.
Understanding his responsibility and Russia’s end-state, he took his role seriously. Krupitzyn researched and found that the ideal Sarkhanese man was humble, slender, and graceful, so he dieted and lost weight. He learned the language, immersed himself in Sarkhanese literature, and learned how to play their musical instruments, such as the nose flute. He learned their religion and participated in cultural activities. Upon his first days in Sarkhan, he made it a point to visit the highest monk in Sarkhan, the Chief Abbot, leader of all Buddhists in the area.
During his talks with the Chief Abbot, he was able to converse with him in his native tongue. When the Chief Abbot explained the bad fortune of typhoons to him, Krupitzyn reacted quickly by buying rice on the local market and giving it to the populace that was most affected by famine. This built rapport with the local populace.
Although this built rapport with the local populace, Krupitzyn’s true purpose was to outsmart the American Ambassador Louis Sears.
He influenced the populace through psychological means. He did this by using overheard information (intelligence) from an American chauffeur that Americans were bringing in 5 tons of rice for the famished populace. Upon keeping his promise to the Chief Abbot, he delivered rice to the famished people of the typhoons wreckage. He promised the people that more rice would be coming soon and that Russia, the friend of Sarkhan, would relieve them of their famine.
He would personally be there to make sure that it would happen. When the American ships and trucks made their delivery of rice, he ordered Communist agents to stencil in Sarkhanese on the bags of rice, “This rice is a gift from Russia.” He spoke through a loudspeaker from the dock during the distribution of the rice, informing the Sarkhanese, that Russia kept her word. Even when the people observed the American flags on the ships and boat, he reiterated to them that America only helped them out with the transportation because they wanted to make
money.
Krupitzyn deflected any questions from the crowd by reassuring them that Russia only wanted to help the populace by supplying them with food that they needed. He reiterated that Russia wanted nothing else and although Americans were doing their own public relations with speeches and pictures, it was insufficient because nobody was there to provide it any credibility. By the time Louis Sears realized what happened, it was too late. Over 10,000 people had seen that Russia delivered on its promise and America only helped so they could make money.
My team members and I learned the language of the region we of our next deployment. We learned about the area’s economic and social struggles, and their customs and religion. Much like Krupitzyn, we had a mission and a timeline and a goal. We conducted key leader engagements (KLE) talking with elders showing them pictures of what we could do for them and how we could help their people. The village elders explained to us that some of the Taliban would give them protection but the village was required to provide the Taliban money, food, and shelter in return. We told them that we were in no need of their resources. We explained to them as we were building their schools and digging wells that things like this could happen all the time if we worked together. If we worked together as mutual partners, it would keep any hardship and unwanted dangers brought on by the Taliban out of their village. We delivered that promise with a well, a school, and weekly visits to make a presence that we were there to help them.
John Colvin had a deeper understanding of the country of Sarkhan and its people than American Ambassador Sears did. Mr. Colvin applied two SOF imperatives: operating with and through others by having a working relationship with Deong, a local Sarkhanese resident. Also, he considered the long-term effects of how cattle would boost the economy of the country. During the Second World War, Colvin worked with a local native named Deong. They worked together for 8 months and achieved success in disrupting the activities of the occupying Japanese forces. They blew up 12 Japanese munitions trains, demolished 6 military bridges, put time bombs on the hulls of eight armed Japanese river patrol boats, and planted ipecac in the enemy’s food supply. Colvin and Deong built such a strong trust with each other that Deong showed Colvin the way of the Sarkhanese people. In turn, Colvin came to understand and appreciate the country much more. Deong knew the consequences of his actions. He knew that working with an American could easily lead to his death. However, Deong developed such a deep trust with Colvin, that the benefits of working together outweighed the risks. He knew he was doing the right thing.
After John Colvin left Sarkhan, he saw that Communism was making its way into Sarkhan and he knew the detrimental effects that it would have on this peaceful country. After many futile letters to Congress, Colvin decided that he would take action. Colvin was a cattle farmer. He understood the people and the land very well and he knew he could make a positive economic effect if he could get the cattle into their country. The people of Sarkhan could use milk and its by-products to boost their economy. There were good markets in Asia for the by-products. The butter could be reduced to ghee and sold to India, the leather could be tanned and made into finished goods, and the entrails could be used in the native medicines preferred by non-Christians.
Ultimately, Colvin was giving the population of Sarkhan a means to economically survive for the future. He did not want the populace to rely on the Communist. During his tenure as a factory owner, he had the ability to influence the population on how the ideology of Communism would only hurt them in the years to come.
In 2008, my ODA and the Afghan Security Guards developed the same relationship that Colvin and Deong established. In the 8 months that we worked together, we shared some of our tactics and techniques that helped them become a better security force in their community. This eventually deterred the enemy from coming and harassing their villages. In return, they taught us the Sharia law and how it was their way of life. This gave us a better understanding of why and how they acted and did what they did.
Major James Wolchek applied two SOF imperatives during his time in Hanoi. He facilitated interagency activities by coordinating his efforts with and through the French Legionnaire commander Major Monet. His efforts created a strong cohesion between him, the American Ambassador, and the Legionnaires during their efforts in Hanoi. He engaged the threat discriminately by understanding the appropriate solution to win at battle was to use the enemy’s tactics instead of the proven conventional tactics used by his counterpart Major Monet.
Major James Wolchek worked with the French Legionnaire and with the American Ambassador MacWhite while he was in Hanoi. He fought side by side with Major Monet and Mr. MacWhite during the onslaught of battles on the outskirts of the rural areas of Hanoi. It wasn’t until he had a feeling that he was living in a nightmare that he realized that the tactics that he and the French Legionnaires were employing against the Communists were not effective during battle and were, in effect, detrimental to the cause of the war. He knew that he was going to have to fight using different tactics. He was going to have to apply “outside-the-box” thinking and strategy. He also knew that he had to approach Major Monet, a proud man who fought from a country that produced Napoleon, and tactfully explain to him that they were going to have to fight the enemy using the enemy’s style of warfare. Although Wolchek was not keen on employing Communist tactics, he knew that conventional warfare was not the appropriate type of warfare to win this war. After convincing Monet to use Mao Tse-Tung’s unconventional style of warfare, the Legionnaires and Wolchek were able to win a battle. It was a battle that gave Monet and his men some hope. After the battle was over, Monet truly understood that this war could be won if the enemy was engaged with an appropriate approach. The partnership between Major Wolchek, Major Monet, and Mr. MacWhite exhibits the type of relationship that the leadership of an ODA needs when working in a Joint, Interagency, Intergovernmental, and Multinational (JIIM) environment and with partner forces. The rapport that Wolchek established through his experience and efforts established a unity of effort between the Legionnaires, the American Ambassador, and himself when it came time to battle the enemy.
Evaluating a threat, or any situation, and having the ability to discern the difference between the solution, that could be detrimental or meet the desired end-state, has a great impact on how the ODA operates in their area of operation (AO). Working in austere and hostile environments, the ODA leadership needs to understand the difference of threats in their AO and how to engage these threats. Sometimes, the direct approach will not always suffice. Knowing when to incorporate psychological operations or civil affairs rather than employing a more aggressive approach to a situation, could, in essence, by-pass even greater dangers and result in a feasible conclusion.
After five decades since the writing of the Ugly American, Mr. Lederer and Mr. Burdick’s fictional story was a narrative that many people, to this day, can relate a personal experience to an episode written in this book. There were characters that truly had an understanding of the local populace and their customs and traditions. While other characters had their own agenda and cared less about what impact they had on their host nation partner, Louis Krupitzyn, John Colvin and Major Wolchek were characters that displayed the SOF attributes. The SOF imperatives influenced their behavior as much as it influenced how I approached situations during my time in Special Forces.