We leave no man behind

The phrase and what it stands for hit me the other day when I followed the story of an elite group of British military trying to make it out alive across the Iraqi border into Syria. These men belonged to the Special Forces of the S.A.S. (Special Air Forces) on a rescue operation.

The concept of nemo resideo translated as “leave no one behind” seems to disappear in the dawn of time. However, it may have been revived during recent conflicts like the Vietnam War and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. No matter when or how it originated, the very core of these words led me to Alexander. It was something he could have initiated if it not already existed.

As I was pondering the matter, I remembered Alexander’s march across the Karakum Desert towards the Oxus River. Over a distance of roughly sixty kilometers, the troops trudged over endless treeless hills dotted with rare green vegetation. In this “pebble desert”, they fell short on water, and some men broke into the wine and oil provisions making their situation far worse. They all struggled to keep moving, and some were maddened by thirst and lost their sense of orientation. When Alexander finally reached the river banks, he ordered to light huge fires to bring those who lost their bearings back on track. Comrades ran back and forth to carry water to the stragglers. With his usual determination, Alexander encouraged his troops to keep going. He wasn’t going to leave anyone behind if he could help it.

But after all, this may not be entirely Alexander’s doing. The bulk of his troops had campaigned with his father, who created the first professional army ever. Most men had been fighting together for ten or twenty years already by the time Alexander took over the general command. They had shared the sores of long marches under all weather conditions. They had shared their food, their sorrows and miseries, as well as their dreams and their secrets. They had cared for each other’s wounds and got drunk together. Most importantly, they had learned to rely on each other. They knew the others as they knew themselves. They were a real band of brothers.

Campaigning with Alexander had tightened that brotherhood as he added ever more years of service to those which his seasoned soldiers had already computed. Marching on with their king, the men always had to be alert of the almost daily dangers. These dangers could take many forms. The men had to face hostile tribes, rivers in spate, scorching deserts, dilluvian rains, thunderstorms, ice and freezing cold, earthquakes, wild animals. The list is endless, so it seems. If the soldiers could not rely on each other, they could not survive. It was as simple as that. They would never leave any of their buddies behind if they could help it. Staying together and caring for their comrades was a matter of pure necessity.

Another event that came to my mind is the ambush set up by Spitamenes in Bactria where Alexander’s troops were caught in a guerrilla war. The confrontation ended in a pure massacre as only some 350 men out of the 2,300 sent on the mission survived. There was nothing Alexander, who was still recovering from his wounds and dysentery in Alexandria Eschate, could have done to rescue them. The king never sent his men on a suicide mission. Loosing so many good men hit him hard but all he could do was to avenge their death. In his anger, he ordered to sweep up the entire valley of the Polytimetus River. His instructions were clear, every house and every village should be taken down, all the crops burnt. The enraged Macedonians didn’t hesitate to execute their orders. Taking revenge was something they understood all too well.

In modern warfare, the US Army personnel are expected to live by what’s called the Soldiers’ Creed. Its last version from 2003 reads as follows:

I am an American Soldier.

I am a Warrior and a member of a team.

I serve the people of the United States, and live the Army Values.

I will always place the mission first.

I will never accept defeat.

I will never quit.

I will never leave a fallen comrade.

I am disciplined, physically and mentally tough, trained and proficient in my warrior tasks and drills.

I always maintain my arms, my equipment and myself.

I am an expert and I am a professional.

I stand ready to deploy, engage, and destroy the enemies of the United States of America, in close combat.

I am a guardian of freedom and the American way of life.

I am an American Soldier.

Times have really changed for if the concept would certainly have appealed to Alexander and his Macedonians, I’m sure they didn’t feel the need to express it in so many words or to spell it out in writing. They simply knew their duty and what was expected from them and they certainly would give their all under any circumstance.