r/WarCollege Reading Club - Military Advisors in Korea: KMAG in Peace and War
Introductions
Hello everyone, and welcome to the second session of the r/WarCollege Reading Club. The purpose of the r/Warcollege Reading Club is to present books of topics relevant to the community, give anyone that wants to a chance to read them, and then a certain time later have a discussion on the book based around questions presented both when the book is announced and when the discussion post is posted. The time between when the book is presented and when the discussion will happen will vary from book to book to accommodate for length of the text, but we will announce when the discussion post will be so you will know ahead of time how long you have to finish the book.
Book of the Quarter - Military Advisors in Korea: KMAG in Peace and War by Major Robert Sawyer
Questions
- In your own words, what was the book about?
- Are there any lessons you can take away from the reading?
- What were some of the common problems KMAG faced during their existence?
- How was KMAG different at the end of the Korean War compared to before the Korean War?
- Can KMAG receive any of the blame for the setbacks of the summer of 1950 and the winter of 1950-1951?
- What does the book suggest about the relationship between training, equipping and institutional development?
- Would you say KMAG was ultimately a success or failure?
- What role did culture play, if any, in KMAG's job?
- From your reading of the text, what traits would you say are important for making an effective advisor?
- KMAG, and all other MAGs, were temporary organizations. Do you think that there would be any benefit(s) to having a permanent advising organization like what the U.S. Security Force Assistance Brigades were originally touted to be? Why or why not? Note this question is talking about more conventional advising instead of the more specialized advising that organizations like the Green Berets do.
This text is 188 pages of text plus a little more for the preface, bibliography, and what not. As such, I would say that three weeks is enough time to read it. The discussion post for this will be posted at 0700 PST/1000 EST/1500 GMT on Monday, 11 May. Save all answers to the about reading questions until that time.
If you have any questions or clarifications, please do not hesitate to ask.