Operation Exodus: the massacre of 44 Philippine Police commandos in Mamasapano clash

Authors
Villareal, Gilbert G., Jr.
Subjects
Philippines
Philippine National Police
Special Action Force
OPLAN: Exodus
terrorism
Moro Islamic Liberation Front
Bangsamoro Freedom Fighters
counterterrorism
Special Operations
Mindanao
Mamasapano
Advisors
Fox, William P.
Burks, Robert
Date of Issue
2016-09
Date
Sep-16
Publisher
Monterey, California: Naval Postgraduate School
Language
Abstract
The Mamasapano case (also known as OPLAN: Exodus) is a controversial special operations mission that was executed in January 25, 2015, by Philippine National Police commandos to neutralize high-value terrorist leaders. During the last phase of their operation, these commandos were swarmed by different armed groups in the area of operation. This thesis analyzes the factors that led to the failure of OPLAN: Exodus through a unique perspective—the point of view of a special operator—to study how the operation's structure affected the culture, the environment, the leadership, and the men. The study assesses the leaders' criteria through the science of strategic thinking, utilizing Game Theory and Multi-Attribute Decision Making; the combination of these two dynamic tools is used to evaluate their potential usefulness in special operations decision making. Finally, this thesis proposes criteria and an organizational solution that can be useful for special operations units like the Philippine National Police Special Action Forces to avoid tragedies and loss of human life, especially in the special operations community.
Type
Thesis
Description
URI
https://hdl.handle.net/10945/50501
Series/Report No
Department
Defense Analysis (DA)
Organization
Identifiers
NPS Report Number
Sponsors
Funder
Format
Citation
Distribution Statement
Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.
Rights
Copyright is reserved by the copyright owner.
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