New Broom vs Old Hand: Leadership for Threat Containment

The following “other considerations” are mentioned in a passage on how to choose a “containing force” leader for regions dealing with terrorism. It’s on page 9 of Readings in Counter-Guerrilla Operations, US Army Special Warfare School, April 1961:

The local commander may be overfamilar with his surroundings and somewhat contemptuous of the emergency. He may be reluctant to adopt “face-losing” precautions, and he will tend to underrate the terrorists. In company with some members of the administration and the police he may resent the emergency as a personal setback and the arrival of reinforcements as a slur on his own capabilities. So the appointment of commanders must be balanced between the qualities of the “new broom” and the “old hand,” and it is important that a right choice should be made.

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