Drones, Decision & Teams (Part 2)

An excited Colonel Powell sent a message to Lieutenant General Frank Benson in the Cabinet Office Briefing Room “A” (COBRA).

The console beeped as a message delivered.  Lieutenant General Frank Benson glanced at the message which read “We have her! We should strike.”

The General relayed this to the the others. However, they opposed it as they still wanted to capture the targets. So, he relayed the news back to Colonel Powell.

A frustrated Colonel Powell asked the team to find out who else was in the building. So, they moved the miniature drone further into the building. What they noticed shocked them. Two suicide vests were on a table in a room. This time Colonel Powell called the General to report on the urgency. However, he was adamant that they needed a capture option. She also called in Legal, who clarified that it would be legitimate to take out the targets provided they kept casualties low.

So, she asked for a damage assessment of the blast. The result of the assessment was positive. This was relayed back to COBRA, but they were still adamant. They wanted the Americans to approve the mission change from capture to kill. They eventually reached the American Foreign Secretary who was on an official visit to China. He consented immediately.

Colonel Powell then issued the order to strike the target. As the pilot prepared to strike, a little girl settled down within the blast radius to sell bread. The drone pilot, who had no combat experience, refused to execute the order, asking for a reassessment. The Risk Assessment Officer accessed multiple scenarios but each came up with the same result of the death of the child.

In Harm’s Way

To get the child to leave the location, they sent in an undercover agent to purchase the bread. However, he was spotted by the enemy and chased away narrowly escaping death. Despite being paid for the bread by the agent, the girl remained to sell her bread.

As time went by, the team got increasingly frustrated. The girl’s bread moved slowly whiles the suicide bombers armed themselves. Things got dire when the now unattended miniature drone run out of battery. With no eyes in the room, the team was at a disadvantage. They could not tell if the suicide bombers were preparing to head out. In that case, they only had one eye in the sky and could only follow one group.

After pursuing, the high-value targets for 6 years, Colonel Powel was not ready to let this opportunity go. She wanted to succeed by any means necessary. The Colonel proceeded to pressure the Risk Assessment Officer to change his evaluation to a more favorable one.

Armed with the result, she got approval for the strike and issued the order. The pilot reluctantly released the bomb. This time the pilot could not oppose the order. He initiated the process and eventually released the bomb. At the same time, the undercover agent came out of hiding and sent a boy to buy the bread. The boy run quickly to the little girl bought the remaining bread and run back. They all watched nervously as the girl slowly packed up her things to leave the place. Unfortunately, she couldn’t make it away in time before the bomb hit its target.

The Review

The undercover agent, who risked his life behind enemy lines, was my favorite character I’m the movie. He showed exemplary courage and determination in the face of danger. He was a great team player whose contributions were always positive.

Colonel Powell was also a good leader. She prepared a contingency plan to take out the targets even before the situation changed on the ground. Manipulation was the only questionable side of her character. Though the situation was tough, she should have avoided manipulating her subordinate to get the results she wanted. If it happened in a situation where her superiors were right, then she would have dragged the team down. Working in teams means that you will sometimes implement decisions you may not agree with.

The Under Secretary is my pick for the worst character. She stalled the decision-making process at every turn even without approving authority. She was willing to risk the lives of over 180 potential victims of a suicide bombing with that of one child.

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