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Updating the Academies

By John

Just got a column up at The Weekly Standard, topic is the service academies and how they may need to change their academic infastructure to better meet the needs of the Long War. Here's a sample:

West Point and all of the service academies promote math and engineering above all other disciplines. Thayer wanted math savvy artillery officers. The Navy sought officers with a firm grasp of engineering to keep their ships running and navigate the seas under the harshest of combat conditions. And the Air Force desired officers capable of operating the service's cutting-edge technology. It's the perfect academic infrastructure for a young cadet, if we expect him to fight the Cold War.

Unfortunately, we are fighting a new war. Tomorrow's war. This is a war where we fight an enemy who understands that the battlefield lies in the human heart, not in the skies or on the seas. And while the liberal arts curriculum is precisely the school of thought needed to effectively prepare our cadets to fight in the 21st century, not one of the service academies offers a Bachelor of Arts degree.

An Army platoon leader would be better equipped to administer to tribes in Anbar province if he had a degree in International Affairs and a minor in Arabic. A Marine infantry Lieutenant might be more effective unifying warlords in Afghanistan if he spent his four years at Annapolis studying the history of central Asia. U.S. Special Forces have been deployed to over 180 different countries since 9/11, and, to be sure, the military offers them the education needed to meet that goal. But in all that training an academy cadet will only get as much foreign study as he can squeeze into his schedule between orbital mechanics and advanced calculus.

Read the whole thing here. Would love to hear some discussion on this, especially from any academy grads that might be out there.

And yes, of course VMI got an honorable mention.

Update: Robert Farley, an academic himself, writes:

FM 3-24 (the counter-insurgency manual) is a remarkably sophisticated social science document, and I think that John is quite right to suggest that, however well the science and engineering curriculum may have worked in the past, emphasizing the social science option now makes sense. Of course, the service academies do offer majors in the social sciences and even arts and letters, but the curricula still very heavily favor math and science. Given, however, that we can expect future wars to resemble tightly knotted social science problems more than engineering problems, however, it seems reasonable to review the balance.

Right. COIN is all hearts and minds, which was kind of my point. Also, to clarify, the Academies do let their cadets major in social sciences, but those majors are still part of a math and science intensive BS track.

Now in the comments, MajMike correctly points out that the academies are only a small part of overall officer accessions. However, I'd point out that those graduates do represent a disproportionate percentage of the senior leadership. Promoting a certain agility of thought at the academies early on might yield a big pay off later on.

*Update 2* I'm starting to see the debate shift from whether or not the Academies should adjust slightly towards a more liberal arts heavy curriculum to whether or not they even offer liberal arts courses. This is on me for not articulating better. West Point in particular has an incredibly robust foreign languages department and their military history program is enviable. I'm merely suggesting toning done the intensive math/science/engineering core curriculum for liberal arts majors and allowing them a Bachelor of Arts instead of mandating a Bachelor of Science.

This is something that West Point certainly understands, just read the Dean's homepage:

Army leaders of the 21st Century must be cognizant of culture, history, and social organization. As officers, they will serve in an environment of joint and coalition operations, both domestically and abroad. They will lead people, organize resources, interact with foreign cultures, and maintain a high state of readiness. To succeed, they must understand the context of their social world, what motivates human behavior and how to influence such motivations. They must be creative in thought and decisive in action under conditions of uncertainty.

What I'm hearing is that "well the system in place is sufficient." But I've spoken with recent grads who felt that they would have better off studying foreign cultural and languages than calculus and physics. I think that West Point and other academies are focused on the total academic experience, which is noble. But what I'm suggesting is that perhaps they loosen up just enough to allow cadets to become less generalized and more specialized in their academics.

That's all.

*Update 3* Dr. James Joyner, a former West Pointer and one of my favorite bloggers, has this to say:

As a political science/international relations PhD whose tenure at West Point was short circuited after three semesters of the math and engineering heavy curriculum, I’m certainly sympathetic to Noonan’s point of view. It’s hardly clear that the ability to handle differential equations is an essential skill for a combat commander; indeed most ROTC grads come from other backgrounds. Then again, there’s little reason to think overly technocratic officers are the reason for our failures at counterinsurgency. After all, men like David Petraeus, H.R. McMaster, and John Nagl managed to become experts at COIN despite the handicap of being honor graduates of the Military Academy.

Regardless, I would argue that the over-emphasis on advanced mathematics and engineering courses is outmoded. West Point, at least, has recognized this and been moving in the right direction for roughly a quarter century. They were offering social science concentrations as early as 1984 and began allowing cadets to declare majors, including in the social sciences, more than fifteen years ago. They also require courses in international relations and two years of a foreign language.

Superb points, particular on the success of Petraeus, McMasters, and Nagl.

Also, according to DaveB in the comments section, West Point has upped the language requirement to four full years. That's great news.

*Update 4* OPFOR buddy CDR. Salamander said the same thing back in February:

I have always thought, along with others, that the USNA and NROTC official bias towards technical degrees was wrong-footed, short sighted, and not creating the intellectual diversity we need. So does Andrew Exum.

"A former Army officer and Middle East analyst has called on the nation's service academies to trade in their focus on engineering for a more modern curriculum on international relations.

Andrew Exum, who led combat units in two tours in Afghanistan and one tour in Iraq, said the engineering coursework required at the U.S. Naval Academy and U.S. Military Academy in West Point, N.Y., is a holdover from the 19th century, when that was the direction of future warfare. "

Exactly right. We need experts across the field of study. I don't know about you, but my Wardroom is adrift with engineers who have never used their education - but also have never read a great work, cannot find the Spratly Islands, don't understand that "Old Europe" nations like Belgium are younger than the U.S., and do not know the difference between Arab Saudi Arabia and Persian Iran.

When you read the article, one thing you notice is that the Cult of the Happy Talk has so thoroughly infected Annapolis that it can't even make sense - or tell a story that has any credibility with those who know what is going on.

"I think the author, Andrew Exum, has really shown light on exactly the right discussion," said William Miller, the Naval Academy's academic dean. "We all should be asking ourselves how we should be preparing the next generation of leaders in the Navy, Marine Corps, Army and Air Force for the 21st- century battlefield. We are always having that discussion."

What a complete non-answer. No straight talk about what we need to teach the future leaders of the fleet. Just political non-answers. We owe the taxpayer and the Fleet better than this.

"Miller said the difficulty with changing the curriculum at the Naval Academy is that many graduates need sufficient training to operate nuclear reactors in submarines or work with other cutting-edge technology in the surface fleet.

Only 12 percent to 13 percent of each graduating class enters the Marine Corps infantry field, officers who have been on the front lines in the war on terrorism. And among those, 50 percent are social science or humanities majors."

What a load of BS. Yes, engineering is important - but not for every Navy officer. As a matter of fact - the lack of a Liberal Arts or other non-engineering background is killing out Fleet. An engineer wants to load up a new class with all sorts of new, expensive, unproven equipment. Someone educated in logic and economics is more concerned with the possible and affordable.

Phew, harsh indictment of our engineers. Reminds of the BS vs. BA culture wars back at VMI.

Anyway, you can read the whole thing here.

Name the Future Combat System!

By John

Danger Room:

The Army needs a new name for its gazillion-dollar modernization plan, Future Combat Systems. Let's help 'em out. Yesterday,we got dozens of suggestions for what to call the mega-ambitious, budget-busting program. Our panel of experts has narrowed the field down to ten handles. Now it's time to vote on the best one.

To save the Army a few bucks on graphics, the winning name will get a custom-designed logo, courtesy of the Robot Economist. (He's already done one up for his choice.) Hit it!

Follow the link to weigh in. I don't want to sway hearts and minds or anything, but Battle-Oriented Optical Networking Data Operations Ground-Geared Linkage Elements (BOONDOGGLE) has my vote.

Iran's not Sitting Still

By Bull Nav

...while Saudi Arabia inks a major arms deal with the US.

Iran is in negotiations with Russia to buy 250 state-of-the-art fighter jets, an Israeli newspaper reported, in a pointed response to a new American bid to sell billions of dollars’ worth of weapons to potential Iranian adversaries in the Middle East.

The article in Navy Times goes on to point out something which is fairly well known, and which is that Iran's Air Force consists mainly of '70s vintage US aircraft we sold to the Shah. This includes F-4 Phantom II's and Tomcats.

Not much for our Carrier Strike Groups to have to worry about.

If this purchase goes through, however, that will change.

The Su-30’s listed performance capabilities are comparable to or better than the three primary American fighters deployed to Iraq: the Navy’s carrier-based F/A-18 Hornet and the Air Force’s F-15 Eagle and F-16 Fighting Falcon.

That's a lot of very high performance aircraft to be sitting in Iran while we are engaged in supporting operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. One must realize that this won't happen overnight, though, and it will be sometime before even one Flanker shows up in Iran.

Another point. For all the overt support in the way of arms sales our friends the Russians are providing to Iran, you have to wonder what else they are doing.

In the shadows.

New arms race?

Or just a resurgence of one we thought was over...

*Update (John)* Enter the usefulness of the F-22....

Canadian Combat Art, Part 2

By Lt Col P

I got a note from Damian at The Torch. He tried to leave a comment on a previous post but for some reason it didn't go through. So, I asked him to send it again so I could put it up here.

I can't remember the exact comment, but it went something like this:

You may want to be careful riffing on the Canadian tendency to punctuate our sentences with "eh" - we're raised on hockey fights up here. ;)

In case any of your readers are interested, Johnson also embedded with U.S. Marines in Iraq awhile back, and visited Walter Reed too - some of his work from those efforts can be found here.

Thanks!

No. Thanks to y'all. Keep 'em coming.

VMI Grad Takes Command at Camp Lejeune

By Lt Col P

Tonight, the second in our ongoing series highlighting the sons of the Institute now commanding our forces. Previously we brought you Cdr F. Winton Smith '89. Now, BullNav and I bring you LtCol John R. Giltz '89, USMC, commanding officer, Combat Logistics Battalion 26.

From the program at his change of command:

Lieutenant Colonel Giltz was born in Morehead City, North Carolina and graduated from the Virginia Military Institute in May 1989 with a Bachelor of Arts in History...

(Yes, the history major theme is strong with us.)

Go get 'em Brother Rat. Congratulations and good luck.

Mud

By John

Iced Tea came out my nose....

Here's the link to the original photo, which comes from the Air Force website. Air Force public affairs has really been hitting the Academy basic training course hard this summer.

Click through the pic for the Hotel Tango. Plenty more where that came from.

Cultural Differences

By Richard S. Lowry

Last week, I had a forty-minute telephone conversation with the Multi-National Force-West commanding general, Major General W. E. Gaskin, USMC. His Area of Operations (AO) encompasses all of al-Anbar Province. We spoke about many things, but the subject that intrigued me the most was our talk of the Tribes of Anbar and how their tribal culture is different from American Society.

Here is what I learned about the tribes of Anbar.

Read More »

Evening Quote

By John

Columbia Journalism Review, on Scott Thomas Beauchamp:

How dare a college grad and engaged citizen volunteer to join the Army to fight for his country! (Which is something that most of the brave souls who inhabit the milblog community prefers to leave to others.)

Hotel Tango: Baldilocks

Moving the Ball Forward

By John

Second installment from our PSYOP friend.

Moving the Ball Forward

PSYOP COP

When war comes, it is the natural inclination of warriors to grab a rifle and “get some”. The Army career system rewards the combat arms jocks with CIB’s on their chest and everyone is hoping for a little glory.

World War Two was won through sheer industrial might and brute force. It was the conventional warrior’s wet dream and something that will probably never be seen again (and thank God for it).

The War on Terror is something entirely different. Inasmuch lethal action has a role to play (because, as they say, “some men you just can’t reach”), non-lethal action has to be the driving force in this war. Otherwise, logic demands that you must wipe out vast swaths of population to convince them they’re wrong and we’re right (essentially the driving strategy behind WW2).

PSYOP has a legitimate (although very misunderstood and misused) role to play in this. While I touched on the tactical sides of PSYOP in my last post, there is another role, known as EPW Exploitation. Very little PSYOP is dedicated to the task, but after reading this, I almost wonder if there isn’t merit to this course of action.

Read More »

A Sad Day in Dayton

By Bull Nav

It was a gray, cloudy day. Off and on, the skies were threatening. Still, along thousands of others, my son and I headed down to Dayton to watch the air show.

Thunderbirds, lots of static displays, lots of performances.

I took lots of pictures and wanted to write witty remarks about it, but I can't do that.

A man died entertaining us.

Mr. Jim LeRoy, former Marine, crashed his biplane into the runway while performing for the second time today. It is something that will forever be imprinted in my memory.

My thoughts and prayers are with his family tonight.

If you would like to read more coverage, go to the Dayton Daily News.

Gatorade's Combat Uses

By John

W.Thomas Smith's latest dispatch from Iraq:

It's so easy to become dehydrated out here.

An Army captain back in Kuwait described how soldiers and Marines in combat sometimes cut open the top of an IV fluid bag, mix-in some Kool-Aid powder from an MRE, and drink it. "It tastes pretty bad, he said. "But it's almost instant rehydration, and soldiers keep fighting."

....reminded me of this bit from Robert Kaplan's superb Imperial Grunts:

....Sgt. Keith Pace of Ann Arbor, Michigan, had, among other exploits, saved a seven-year-old girl's life with a Gatorade enema. "She had spinal meningitis," Pace explained to me. "She was dehydrating fast. I couldn't find a vein for an intravenous solution. I filled an enema with a bottle of Gatorade, lifted her butt, rammed the Gatorade up her anus. It got into her bloodstream and rehydrated her."

Probably the Navy's favorite way to hydrate.

Picture of the Day: Elephants in the Air

By John

Well I think the reason that they call it the "Galaxy" is rather obvious, don't you?

A KC-10 Extender flown by a blended crew from McGuire Air Force Base, N.J., prepares to refuel a C-5 Galaxy July 23 from the 436th Airlift Wing at Dover AFB, Del. The blended crew comprises Airmen from both the active duty 305th Air Mobility Wing and the Air Force Reserve 514th AMW at McGuire AFB. There are two blended teams competing at Air Mobility Rodeo 2007. The other blended team is from Charleston AFB, S.C. Photo Courtesy of the US Air Force.

Beat that with your Squid propaganda, Bull Nav! Squid aircraft, that is. A Stennis or Nimitz just ain't playin' fair.

Defending Scott Thomas

By John

Since Private Scott Thomas Beauchamp willingly outed himself yesterday, the debate predictably changed to whether or not Private Beauchamp actually existed, not whether or not his claims were accurate.

I've had some thoughts swirling around my head...concerns really, about the stringent defense of Beauchamp on many left wing blogs. I suppose that I understand their basic desire to defend The New Republic, in the same way that right wing blogs would want to defend The Weekly Standard or the National Review. But the defense goes beyond just fighting for a much-loved magazine. It's as if certain liberals want to believe Beauchamp's allegations, even in the absence of formal investigative results from 1/18th and The New Republic.

What bothers me most about this is that there has been a grand absence of serious commentary about what Beauchamp wrote from liberal bloggers. Most of it consists of sarcasm and ad hominum attacks against conservative bloggers and milbloggers for even questioning the legitimacy of the private's diary entries.

Take the "somewhat popular blogger" Tbogg, for example. Tbogg harshly critiques Jonah Goldberg and Hugh Hewitt's questioning of the legitimacy of Beauchamp's claims of soldier-committed atrocities, while sharply criticizing Michael Yon's account of Al Qaeda in Iraq baking an Iraqi boy and "serving him" to his family, claiming that Yon's sourcing was sloppily done.

I'm not sure why Al-Qaeda gets the benefit of the doubt, where American soldiers do not. To say nothing of the fact that Yon has received bi-partisan praise for his even, professional dispatches, while Beauchamp has backed up nothing but his name and was originally published anonymously.

Further concerning is the elevation of Beauchamp as a heroic whistleblower by the same bloggers. From what I've read, Beauchamp apparently is a real American hero for exposing US soldiers for the heartless killbots that they are. I've tried to point out in more than one email that Beauchamp did not report up the proper channels so that the Army could take appropriate action, nor did he follow the traditional whistleblowing m.o. by seeking independent, outside help to bring his fellow soldiers to justice. He didn't want to do the right thing, he wanted to be published.

That makes him selfish, not a hero.

So in the same email exchanges, I've tried to explain things like this: Beauchamp either lied about his fellow soldiers, or he tolerated his fellow soldiers while they committed terrible crimes (and yes, desecrating graves and animal cruelty are crimes). That makes him unworthy of defense by anyone, left or right.

Unfortunately, it seems that once again the all-important narrative trumps facts, ethics, and common decency. Beauchamp is selling a story that certain people want to believe, and in the end, that's all that matters.

Update: Matt at Blackfive seems to feel the same way:

When the military bloggers get blamed for outing this piece of garbage, the left decides to defend a self-described war criminal.

Almost unbelievable.

Yeah, almost. To be honest, nothing much surprises me anymore.

Anyway, I like Greyhawk's take. Simplicity resonates:

1. Scott Thomas Beauchamp's story is now in the hands of his superiors. They know him and his overall worth as a soldier and will decide his immediate future. If you are fortunate enough to be someone other than one of those superiors (or his wife) you are officially relieved of concern for this asshole and his future.

2. In the meantime, something to bear in mind as his story is bandied about: Scott Thomas Beauchamp is an asshole. He either did what he said he did to a disfigured woman in a DFAC (which makes him an asshole) or he fabricated the story for reasons unknown (which makes him an asshole). This same methodology can be applied to his other war stories, too.

3. As for anything else he might have to say regarding past, present, or future events: nobody in their right mind cares what an asshole has to say.

4. Some people might somehow consider this a political issue. They are wrong. There are assholes in the Democrat and Republican Parties in the United States. There are probably assholes living on your street. There are assholes in the Army. Those who think no soldier could be an asshole are wrong. Those who think all soldiers are assholes are wrong. While some assholes aren't exposed prior to their military service, those who think the Army transforms good people into assholes are wrong. (Beer can do that, but that's another story.)

5. I hereby add "those with an obsessive attraction to assholes" to the list in paragraph one. By all means, if you find assholes irresistible, please continue to obsess over this particular model until the next one comes along. You won't have long to wait.

Finally...

By Bull Nav

Well, with a big tip-o-the-hat to BostonMaggie, and after much anticipation, we now know (from Stars and Stripes):

Defense Secretary Robert Gates has decided to recommend Adm. Gary Roughead, head of U.S. Fleet Forces Command, as the next Chief of Naval Operations, Defense officials said Thursday.
Gates told senior combatant commanders about his decision Thursday during a conference at the Pentagon, officials said.

So now we will see the ripple, but I am sure that is all figured out.

Scott Thomas Exposed

By John

The New Republic just posted a note from the mystery man himself:

My Diarist, "Shock Troops," and the two other pieces I wrote for the New Republic have stirred more controversy than I could ever have anticipated. They were written under a pseudonym, because I wanted to write honestly about my experiences, without fear of reprisal. Unfortunately, my pseudonym has caused confusion. And there seems to be one major way in which I can clarify the debate over my pieces: I'm willing to stand by the entirety of my articles for The New Republic using my real name.

I am Private Scott Thomas Beauchamp, a member of Alpha Company, 1/18 Infantry, Second Brigade Combat Team, First Infantry Division.

My pieces were always intended to provide my discreet view of the war; they were never intended as a reflection of the entire U.S. Military. I wanted Americans to have one soldier's view of events in Iraq.

It's been maddening, to say the least, to see the plausibility of events that I witnessed questioned by people who have never served in Iraq. I was initially reluctant to take the time out of my already insane schedule fighting an actual war in order to play some role in an ideological battle that I never wanted to join. That being said, my character, my experiences, and those of my comrades in arms have been called into question, and I believe that it is important to stand by my writing under my real name.

--Private Scott Thomas Beauchamp

Private Beauchamp has just placed himself in an unenviable 'damned if you do, damned if you don't' scenario. If his stories are true, he'll be facing the business end of the UCMJ. If false, he'll be exposed as a fraud and a liar, and will have destroyed that budding writing career that he so confidently promised.

So we know he's a soldier. I never doubted that in the first place, he spoke the lingo well enough. But, as Greyhawk noted, the inquiry has really just begun. Now we have to go about fact-checking his stories, which I suspect will turn out to have been grandly embellished.

So no doubt wheels are turning over in the 1/18's command staff right now. Wouldn't be surprised if Private Beauchamp was standing tall in front of the man at this very moment, under the scruntity of an aggressively curious CO who is demanding details down to the letter about each of his diary entries.

Expect a press release soon. The Army is going to move quick on this, now that they have a face to the name.

Either way, today is going to be a very bad day for Private Scott Thomas Beauchamp.

As a final thought, I think Uncle Jimbo deserves a fair share of credit here. In this post at Blackfive, Jimbo tore into Beauchamp with the precision of a trained pyschologist, nailing him as a primadonna who brilliance is always unappreciated by the buffons around him.

And Jimbo's statement: Every unit has a Scott Thomas, the whiny pissant whose brilliance is never recognized and who is always being abused by the chain of command for stuff that's not his fault." ...is certainly validated by this email from Michelle Malkin's blog:

I’m active Army & an Iraq vet.

I just pulled up “Scott Thomas Beauchamp” on the secure “Army Knowledge Online” website. It lists his current rank as “PV2″. (That data is kept accurate via pay records on that website.)

In his Sep 06 blog post he listed his rank as “Private First Class”. That indicates that without a doubt he was busted at least one rank as part of Article 15 proceedings under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, and he likely has a strong ax to grind with his chain of command.

Here's the thing about milbloggers. We're usually right about this stuff.

Update: Matthew Yglesias at The Atlantic misses the point:

Well, now here he is -- his real name is Scott Thomas Beauchamp, he's a soldier, and as best I can tell nobody has yet brought forward any serious reason to doubt his story. Needless to say, rather than spend some time reflecting on the fact-free zone the conservative press is trying to create, Jonah Goldberg is attacking Beauchamp while Mark Steyn argues that Jonah isn't attacking him viciously enough.

That's just crazy. All these people need to stop. They need to take a deep breath. They need to apologize to the people at TNR who've wasted huge amounts of time dealing with their nonsense. And they need to think a bit about the epistemic situation they're creating where information about Iraq that they don't want to hear -- even when published in a pro-war publication -- can just be immediately dismissed as fraudulent even though the misconduct it described was far, far less severe than all sorts of other well-document misconduct in Iraq.

It was never about whether or not Thomas was a soldier. Most of us were "nearly certain" he was. It was the stories that smelled, not Thomas' identity. And those stories still need to be verified. This is the same way that the AP skated on Jamil Hussein, they were able to shift the debate away from Hussein's reports and onto whether or not he was an Iraqi police officer.

Update 2: Scott Johnson at Powerline writes:

In their preface to Beauchamp's statement, "the editors" state that they have thus far found nothing to disprove Beauchamp's article. They do not add, as they did earlier, that they have communicated with soldiers who have done much to corroborate the events recounted by Beauchamp. Indeed, neither Beauchamp nor "the editors" have disclosed a single fact to corroborate the article, although the disclosure of Beauchamp's identity counts for something. I trust that all will become clear in the fullness of time.

Right. It's on TNR to present the facts, not the blogosphere. Simply "finding nothing" to disprove the stories isn't good enough. They ran the story by a -then- anonymous source, a decision that places the burden of proof directly on TNR's shoulders.

Also covering:
Dean Barnett
Michelle Malkin
Small Wars Journal
Mudville Gazette
Gateway Pundit
Qando
Hot Air
Castle Argghhh
Powerline

Another picture of the day

By Bull Nav

Well, since the day started off with a helo, I thought to myself, what could be better than one Pavehawk?

The answer:

070724-N-8907D-429 NORFOLK, Va. (July 24, 2007) - Five MH-60S Seahawks, from the "Sea Knights" of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 22, perform formations over Chambers Field at Naval Station Norfolk. HSC-22 can perform vertical replenishments, search and rescue, and anti-surface warfare as part of a mobile detachment for expeditionary strike groups. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class David Danals (RELEASED)

Hollywood Tackles Iraq

By John

In a rather predictable manner:

On Sept. 14, Warner Independent Pictures expects to release “In the Valley of Elah,” a drama inspired by the Davis murder, written and directed by Paul Haggis, whose “Crash” won the Academy Award for best picture in 2006. The film stars Tommy Lee Jones as a retired veteran who defies Army bureaucrats and local officials in a search for his son’s killers. In one of the movie’s defining images, the American flag is flown upside down in the heartland, the signal of extreme distress.

Other coming films also use the damaged Iraq veteran to raise questions about a continuing war. In “Grace Is Gone,” directed by James C. Strouse and due in October from the Weinstein Company, John Cusack and two daughters struggle with the loss of a wife and mother who is killed on duty. Kimberly Peirce’s “Stop-Loss,” set for release in March by Paramount, meanwhile, casts Ryan Phillippe as a veteran who defies an order that would send him back to Iraq.

........

That impetus for immediacy is driving other filmmakers and studios as well. In October, for example, New Line Cinema will release “Rendition,” in which Reese Witherspoon plays a woman whose Egyptian-born husband is snared by a runaway counterterrorism apparatus. Paul Greengrass, the director of “The Bourne Ultimatum,” in which the bad guys belong to a similar rogue unit, is adapting Rajiv Chandrasekaran’s book about the Green Zone in Baghdad, “Imperial Life in the Emerald City,” for Universal Pictures.

Brian De Palma’s “Redacted,” focusing on an Army squad that persecutes an Iraqi family, is to be released in December by Magnolia Pictures. And Sony Pictures is developing a film based on the story of Richard A. Clarke, the former national security official and Bush administration critic.

It's the same narrative that inspired the whole sordid Scott Thomas affair. But unlike TNR, Hollywood can actually get away with fiction.

These flicks will tank. Even after the enormous success of movies like 300 (comes out on DVD Tuesday, by the way), Tinsel Town is still completely incapable of wrapping their minds around a single, simple truth. Americans love heroes. We love strength and we worship winners. The classic American champion has always been the immortal GI, so why does Hollywood make flicks like Jarhead and then bemoan the fact that it bombs?

Still, despite the enormous ideological slant in Hollywood....we've still got good guys batting for the home team.

The Tank Deploys

By John

W. Thomas Smith reports from Kuwait:

Internet is touch-and-go here at this huge tent city in the Kuwaiti desert about 23 miles from the Iraqi border. So this will be quick.

Will be flying to Baghdad in a day or so.

It's hot here: Close to 130 degrees in the shade (and believe it or not, humid). Mercifully, it drops down into the 90s at night. The dust and sand, like talcum powder, are also much worse than when I was here in March and April.

Walked past a company sized force of Marines around 5:00 a.m. They were sweating, grunting, some quietly laughing, most just trudging ahead beneath packs, body armor, helmets, and weapons: The fine dust rising up from their formation.

"Where you going, Marines," I asked as they passed by. A few glanced at me. No words. One smiled briefly. They all continued marching toward the airfield in this incomprehensible heat.

A gunnery sergeant standing off to the side near one of the tents, shouted "Get some, Marines!"

Dispatches will follow in the coming days.

Keep checking "The Tank."

I will be.

Picture of the Day: On Vacation in Alaska

By John

In what looks to be the most relaxed CSAR mission ever...

Staff Sgt. Corey Erconlani exits an HH-60 Pave Hawk in the midst of a combat search and rescue training scenario at Red Flag-Alaska 07-3, a multinational air combat training exercise held at the Pacific Alaska Range Complex. Sergeant Erconlani is assigned to the 210th Rescue Squadron from Kulis Air National Guard Base, Alaska. Photo Courtesy of the US Air Force.

Of course to be fair, they had to land and let the photographer out. At least Staff Sgt. Erconlani didn't flash a cheesy smile and a thumbs up.

Canadian Combat Art

By Lt Col P

Most of you regulars will know that I'm a big fan of my fellow Marine, Mike Fay's, combat art.

By way of The Torch, I have found his Canadian doppelganger.

Would that make Mr Johnson...

Read More »

A New Citizen!

By Lt Col P

This makes me proud to be an American:

Caption: U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Sona Babani, 20, an Iraqi native -- with Jim Nicholson, secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs, center, and Gregory Christian, Washington director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services -- is congratulated on becoming a citizen. (By Nikki Kahn -- The Washington Post)

"I am an American. I am a citizen of a country I am fighting for," Babani said, explaining her desire to become a citizen. "It's kind of personal. I have loved America since I was little."

Marine, you have more integrity and courage than many of your fellow citizens who haven't seen one percentage of the horrors you've seen. Welcome aboard!

(PS: And kudos to WaPo for a good article.)

"Santiago! And At Them!"

By Lt Col P

So was the battle cry on that great day, that magnificent day, the 11th of September 1565, when the Knights of St John and the long-awaited Spanish relief force from Siciliy drove the Turk from Malta.

And unless I am wrong, today is the Feast Day of the patron saint of Spain, Santiago Matamoros-- Saint James the Moor Slayer.

:-)

"A Definite Sign Of Progress"

By Lt Col P

Captain Matt writes me from Iraq, "As far as I know, this is the first article I have seen about Shi'ites and Sunnis being part of a combined Awakening. This is in Taji, about 17 KM north of Baghdad. This is a bad area, and this is a definite sign of progress."

Note that he said "the first article I have seen," not "the first time I have seen." In other words, the progress isn't always being reported.

While others discuss defeat, the ones doing the hard work have their sights on victory.

That whole "lower class" thing...again

By Bull Nav

I make a point every day of reading the op-ed pages of my local newspaper. More than a few folks in the home of the Big House have something of a different opinion of this country, the conflict in Iraq, and especially military service than I have. So I read with the expectation that I will be able to get a different view in hopes of better understanding my neighbors.

This evening, I was not disappointed.

Outraged? Well, that may be a bit too strong, but it's close.

Just a couple of days ago, my son was reading Where the Red Fern Grows and got to the second to last chapter. He had to put the book down because it was too much for him. I told him that every book or movie that is worth anything is one that makes you feel something when you read it. Happy, sad, angry...
So by those standards, the paper is a good one.

Anyway, the opinion pieces are primarily NYT writers, but they do have a section called Other Voices in which they invite local residents to contribute essays. Big university town, lots of professors and other types...

Today's writer fit neatly into this mold and once again rolls out the tired argument of class warfare.

Since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, thousands have willingly joined a well-advertised, volunteer military. There seemed to be plenty of young people from America's least advantaged groups to take up arms. In the meantime, more privileged youth have been spared the rigors of military training.

I personally have never bought into the whole class thing here in the US of A. When I was growing up, we did not exactly have a lot. In fact we qualified as "poor" in terms of the amount of money my parents made. I came to realize that while we did not have much money, we weren't "poor" in terms of our goals and aspirations. I came to realize that it is all about attitude. I had the attitude that it was up to me where I went and how I performed.
To quote a rather famous Virginian, "You may be whatever you resolve to be."
Apparently, the writer does not seem to think that people who are on the low end of the economic scale have that attitude.

Let's step back a bit and use our imaginations. Imagine growing lower- and working-class disillusionment with: lack of health care, poorly funded schools, low wages and a largely unchallenged cultural mocking of those at the lower ends of our social class hierarchy. Envision a rising cynicism and reluctance in America's lower regions as political and economic elites persist in pestering the least advantaged to join the military. Visualize patriotic women and men disheartened with second, third and fourth tours of duty in Iraq. Consider families reacting negatively to demanding expectations while more privileged sectors of society avoid service and sacrifice.

I know when people get down, they can get disillusioned but they don't blame all their problems on the government.
As far as mocking the poor or disadvantaged, seems to me that could be an academia thing? We do what we can, but I expect people to be responsible for their actions. I don't mock the poor, but nor do I consider myself an elitist. I have worked hard to get where I am and I expect that if I want to improve my position, I need to keep it up.
And yes, I know people get weary of multiple deployments. That is the nature of this conflict. It (long separations, dangerous assignments) was the nature of things during the "peace" of the '90s when ships and units routinely deployed overseas. There was extensive training when they weren't overseas such that they were still gone for long periods of time.
The thing that really upset me was his portrayal of today's services as a bunch of poor, downtrodden misfits who can't otherwise get a job. All the while the privileged elitists don't even have to think about serving.

In my Navy Reserve unit right now, I have a second class petty officer who has a master's degree and is the HR director for her company; I have another one who is a lawyer. We have firemen, policemen, engineers. We have people from all walks of life who volunteered because they wanted to be part of something bigger than themselves.

Because they wanted to serve.

Now, I understand that we need to balance deployments and that recent recruiting efforts have fallen short. I know that the Army Reserve and National Guard are doing a lot. And that SECDEF is going to have to come up with a comprehensive manning plan soon.

I also understand the need for enlightened, educated debate.

What we don't need are small-minded attacks on those who serve, on those who take pride in their service.

Like I said, I like to get the views of my neighbors...

A Small Difference of Opinion

By John

While the Democratic field argued over who can retreat from Iraq the fastest, Michael Yon reported:

"I see progress being made here now. I see the surge working, and it's working faster than I actually thought it could."

Hotel Tango: Instapundit Podcast

Their War, Our War

By Lt Col P

A very good article in the current Washington Post Magazine, "Their War." It's about the apparent, and apparently widening, gap between the military and society at large.

I like the article, and I agree with much of what she says. In truth, the gap has existed more often than not. Mass military participation is the exception, not the rule. Yet, the author has an important point-- how does the nation sustain a war when only a tiny fraction of the nation is actively involved in it? (My answer is that you can start with good strong leadership.) That is the central question, and our nation's survival depends on the answer.

Now, of yet more interest is the accompanying live chat on washingtonpost dot com. I'll let you read through it and draw your own conclusions.

Read More »

Aussies Brits? <3 American Airpower

By John

Stole another one off of Lt Col Patrick. What can I say? Those sharp pilot eyes of his can spot a great video from a mile away.

Another naughty language warning.

I'm not sure if the grunts were actually calling in the strike or just reporting 'bombs on target," but it'd certainly be interesting if we've blurred the line between nations to the point where Brits, Aussies, and Canadians can tap into America's formidable combat air resources.

Hotel Tango: Duty in the Desert

Awesome.

By John

Ranger coffee.

It's super-charged, of course.

Priorities

By John

Pretty darn ok Ham Nation from vlogger Mary Katharine Ham this week. Topic is Pete Hesgeth and the Vets for Freedom campaign, y'know....the same group of Vets that anti-war Senators refused to meet. Jimbo nails it:

Somehow Harry had time for a bunch of clowns like MoveOn and other Soros tools, but Vets for Freedom isn't interested in losing the war so no time with the Dem leadership.

I'm a member of Vets for Freedom, although I'm still active duty. To sign up or donate, click through the embedded link.

The New Air Force Gunship

By John

Is going to be stealthy?

Requirements for the Air Combat Command’s (ACC’s) bomber and the gunship are still being drawn up. But, both commands agree on some key characteristics: a degree of low observability (LO)—not necessarily full stealth—and endurance. The future gunship will look nothing like today’s lumbering platform, and it could actually wind up appearing more like a B-2. “I don’t think the transport next-generation gunship will be on a mobility platform because you are not going to need to carry around all that weight,” says Lt. Gen. Michael Wooley, outgoing Afsoc commander. “If you are not carrying around that big gun and all of that heavy ammunition you don’t need a big [transport] that is in itself vulnerable.” Wooley will be replaced by his current vice commander, Maj. Gen. Donald Wurster, later this year.

ACC has announced it will not push the state-of-the-art for its next-generation bomber, which must be fielded beginning in 2018. That time frame and limited funding are prompting the Air Force to scale back earlier aspirations for a highly stealthy platform equipped with exotic directed-energy weapons. Afsoc has traditionally latched onto the Air Force’s larger buys when procuring a platform in order to prevent having to dedicate funding to a separate development project.

Sounds cool. Maybe we'll build more than eight of them this time around.

Victory Caucus

By John

Just checked out the new Victory Caucus website, and it is superbly done in every respect. Design, content, readability....all excellent.

Check it out, bookmark it, and read it every day. That's one hell of a resource.

Hotel Tango: Hugh Hewitt

Accountability

By John

It's important.

Particularly when you make a statement as silly as "..we had Bin Laden just where we wanted him, Tora Bora. We took troops away from there and sent them to Iraq."

That's what Senator Harry Reid said on Face the Nation this morning.

Where in reality:

“There appears to be a real disconnect between what the US military was engaged in trying to do during the battle for Tora Bora - which was to destroy Al Qaeda and the Taliban - and the earlier rhetoric of President Bush, which had focused on getting bin Laden,” says Charles Heyman, editor of Jane’s World Armies. “There are citizens all over the Middle East now saying that the US military couldn’t do it - couldn’t catch Osama - while ignoring the fact that the US military campaign, apart from not capturing Mr. bin Laden was, up the that point, staggeringly effective.”

Why do I have to listen to a million iterations of "Bush lied, people died!" from the nutroots when they obviously have no discernible ability to separate military fact from military fiction?

A Post About Nothing

By Lt Col P

Well, not quite. I've been silent lately because I haven't had much to write about, save for a minor rant over at the other blog.

What else is there to say? Congress remains "oily," as I think one of the boys at B5 once put it, legislating defeat instead of pressing for victory.

The forces overseas continue the fight undaunted, though, and are pressing hard for victory. This, while hardly surprising, is ever heartening. I only wish the oleagenous legislators were paying more attention.

On another positive note, the weather in DC is uncommonly fine. Low-to-mid 80s yesterday and today, and dry. (Thanks, Canada!) Beer is still widely available, good cigars remain for now untaxed, and the 2nd Amendment scene looks promising. Oh, and speaking of which, I might be on the verge of an important purchase. Stay tuned.

That is all. Return to what you were doing.

VMI in the News

By John

VMI and its women persevere on journey:

LEXINGTON On her first day at Virginia Military Institute, Nohelia Martin walked into the barracks courtyard and was greeted by bedlam.

"Screaming and yelling," said Martin, recalling the commotion that signaled that year's renewal of VMI's storied Rat Line. "I thought, 'This is ridiculous. Why am I here? I'm going to wait a few minutes to see what happens -- and then I'll leave.'"

But she didn't go anywhere. She fell in with her company of fellow cadets, visited the barber shop for a military-style haircut and decided to stay. Three years later, Martin, who is about to enter her senior year, cannot imagine attending college anywhere else.

"It's been an awesome experience," said Martin, from Prince William County. "I wouldn't trade this for anything."

Before 1997, VMI was an experience -- awesome or otherwise -- that women could only imagine. For its first 158 years, the school was a men-only bastion that fiercely guarded its history and traditions. That ended when the U.S. Supreme Court ordered VMI to open its doors to all. The first coeducational class in VMI history showed up Aug. 18, 1997, and included 30 women.

Ten years later, the integration of women at VMI is still a work in progress -- "a journey," as VMI Superintendent J.H. Binford Peay III likes to say -- that has endured rough patches. Of the 1,300 cadets who completed the 2006-07 academic year, fewer than 100 were women. School officials hope to almost double the number of female cadets over time.

"Those will be young ladies who want this very special kind of education," said Peay, a Richmond native, 1962 VMI graduate and retired four-star Army general who became superintendent in 2003. "They'll come in here and they'll struggle, and they'll get through it."

The challenge is not only finding women -- and men -- interested in such a demanding college experience but recruiting against the federal service academies that offer free education in exchange for post-graduate military service. VMI pitches its academics and its intimate size.

When the Class of 2011 arrives in Lexington next month, it is expected to include 44 women, which would make it the second-largest number of women matriculating in a single class. The Class of 2009 started with 51. Nineteen from that first class of 30 in 1997 made it to graduation.

That was Slab's class. Two years later I entered my rat year, which was the last two semesters that VMI had an all-male class, the class of 2000.

Mixed feelings on this. On one hand, VMI has produced some phenomenal female cadets. Slab has some in his class that have truly excelled, ditto on my class.

On the other hand, I went to an all-male military high school and I understand that it's an experience that you absolutely can not replicate. Females changed the Institute, not through any actions of their own, but simply by being there. The administration took aggressive steps to prevent a Citadel-esqe Shannon Faulkner incident, and the end result was an ultimate weakening of the overall system and a bloated bureaucracy in barracks (the Commandant's staff went from 3 officers when I was a rat to 9 today).

Now for the uninitiated, one of the real strengths of VMI was that the barracks environment cultivated a unique brand of leadership. Cadets were tasked with running the corps, between the regimental system (captains, lieutenants, sergeants, corporals) to the class system (president, vice president, class historian).

But as the Commandant's staff increased, career officers moved in and assumed duties previously reserved for cadets. The oversight on the corps ran the cadet regiment more effectively, yes....but that missed the point. VMI was never about standing up a corporate corps of cadets, it was about giving cadets responsibilities and holding them accountable for the decisions they made as leaders. That system, and the unyielding honor code, is what made VMI cadets great.

The supreme court case changed mentalities. VMI became more concerned with how it was perceived by the outside world and as a result, took leadership out of the hands of cadets and put them into the hands of career military types (there are 3 bird colonels, 2 light colonels, one major, two captains, and one sergeant major currently on staff). That's to run a corps of 1300 cadets, when the cadets should be running themselves.

I'm worried that this is altering VMI's cadet output. Instead of producing bold leaders who aren't afraid to make a decision and be wrong about it, we're creating the same type of wimpy civilian ROTC cadet who won't make a head call without asking for permission first.

I do hope that this trend reverses itself.

Update: Oh, and aside from all that. There is this she-det cadet.

Yup

By John

I think W.Thomas Smith sums up the whole Scott Thomas affair rather nicely:

Of course, we know (and it's been said over the past few days) that no officer or NCO would tolerate this kind of behavior from a soldier like the mysterious "Scott Thomas."

But knowing Marines and soldiers as well as I do (and Jim does), I'll tell you what else would happen: If Mr. Thomas were witnessed mocking a female burn victim or running over dogs, he'd almost surely get his "a** whipped" by any number of the rank-and-file. And I'd be willing to put money on that.

Yeah, me too.

Kings of the Road

By John

Col. Patrick calls it "Middle East Driving 101," I call it "Owning the freakin' road 101."

Nothing says "move it" like singing a little bumper music to the poor rusted jalopy in your front sites, eh?

**NAUGHTY LANGUAGE WARNING**

Hotel Tango: Duty in the Desert

The 9/11 Generation

By John

Dean Barnett has phenomenal piece up in The Weekly Standard on the young men and women who answered the call after September 11th.

I've spent much of the past two weeks speaking with young people (and a few not-so-young) who have made the decision to serve their country by volunteering for the military. Some of these men have Ivy League degrees; all of them are talented and intelligent individuals who--contrary to John Kerry's infamous "botched joke" ("Education, if you make the most of it, you study hard, you do your homework and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. And if you don't, you get stuck in Iraq")--could have chosen to do anything with their lives. Having signed up, they have either gone to Iraq or
look forward to doing so. Not surprisingly, the mainstream media have underreported their stories.

One of the excesses of the 1960s that present-day liberals have disowned and disavowed since 9/11 is the demonization of the American military. While every now and then an unrepentant liberal like Charlie Rangel will appear on cable news and casually accuse U.S. troops of engaging in baby-killing in Iraq, the liberal establishment generally knows better. They "support" the American military--at least in the abstract, until it does anything resembling fighting a war.

As a proud member of the 9/11 Generation, I can't thank Dean enough for writing this piece. Same goes for The Weekly Standard, who in the course of one week has risen to the front lines of this ideological battle and defended the US military politically as fiercely as the US military defends them physically.

Progressives destroyed the reputation of the legions of honorable Vietnam Veterans and are trying to repeat history with my generation. You need to look no further than TNR's fiasco this week for proof of those efforts.

Dean Barnett, by the way, hasn't let up an inch on TNR and their lackluster handling of this matter. Here's the latest from Townhall's blog:

I’m not going to take it personally that Frank Foer [TNR's editor] turns into a Chatty-Kathy when Howard Kurtz calls, but has his secretary give me the runaround when I’m on the line. Besides, why would I care when he so completely revealed his agenda to Kurtz?

"A lot of the questions raised by the conservative blogosphere,” said Foer, “boil down to, would American soldiers be capable of doing things like the things described in the diarist. The practical jokes are exceptionally mild compared to things that have been documented by the U.S. military. Conservative bloggers make a bit of a living denying any bad news that emanates from Iraq."

See? This little quote shows just how much we differ. Foer apparently thinks the cruel mocking of an IED victim, the defiling of an Iraqi corpse, and the misuse of a Bradley fighting vehicle to run over dogs all qualify as “practical jokes.” I don’t.

But that’s not all Foer says. He even insists that the “practical jokes” are mild. Scratch that. He says they’re “exceptionally mild compared to things that have been documented.” This wonderful “defense” proves my point that the heart of Foer’s agenda has always been slandering the entire United States military and the 160,000 men and women who are serving in Iraq.

There you have it. Franklin Foer - supporting the troops as only he can.

Right. Foer takes off the editor's hat and dons his ideological fedora. And that's the only way that Scott Thomas' diary entries are believable.....you have to want to believe because it fits your narrative. Hook, line, sinker. Scott Thomas validated a narrative that TNR needed to be true, so they abandoned the very basics of journalistic integrity and ran an unchecked story by an anonymous source. Twin cardinal sins, even in the weird world of magazine journalism where the rules aren't as hard and fast as the newspaper realm.

By the way, credit to some progressives. They are absolutely creaming Foer in the comments section of his "we're investigating" post.The short skinny from their commentators? Hey, it ain't just conservative blogs who are concerned Scooter...

Good on em.

Evening Quote

By John

Since I'm a bit grumpy with socialists as of late....

How do you tell a communist? Well, it's someone who reads Marx and Lenin. And how do you tell an anti-Communist? It's someone who understands Marx and Lenin.

-Ronald Reagan

More on The New Republic Fiasco

By John

Bob Owens takes the fight to the man.

Michael Tanji offers to subscribe if TNR can present the evidence.

And Mike Goldfarb continues the mission.

Meanwhile, I received this email from a VMI Army Captain who routinely runs into IEDs on patrol:

John,
IEDs do not have a melting effect upon contact with human skin. Some are configured to expel more fire than shrapnel, but those are rare and I have never heard of one melting skin as if you were holding a lighter to the face of a GI Joe action figure.

I emailed a PAO to dig further into this story, she said she will look into it. I'll let you know what I find out.

Don't mess with the VMI network!

Our military-heavy comments section has also been calling shenanigans:

Commenter Old Tanker:

"As he marched around with the skull on his head, people dropped shovels and sandbags, folding in half with laughter. No one thought to tell him to stop. No one was disgusted. Me included.

The private wore the skull for the rest of the day and night."

Sorry, as a former NCO and combat veteran I call BS. No one told him told him to stop!! Not one NCO or officer??

There was also his story of he and his buddies picking on a female that was an IED victim and scarred. He says they were loud enough for her and several other tables to hear them. And a severe beat down didn't occur?? No NCO's or officers around to snatch them up by the short hairs????

The whole piece really smells....

Yup. And here's a more salty take from Echo Six Oscar:

This story is BULLSHIT!!! I just finished up a year+ deployment, 75% of which was spent in or around Falcon. The chow hall ain't exactly huge. A woman like that would have been noticed. Oh and excuse me, but I've seen my share of IED injuries and I've yet to come across one that "melts faces." IEDs don't do that, even the gas ones. Even if they did, soldier's don't make fun of that shit especially at Falcon where everyone has a buddy who was hit by an IED. This story wouldn't even be believable if it were a bunch of us sitting around drinking beer and shooting the shit, so why the hell would a newspaper print it?

And from commenter Mike, who -like Greyhawk- takes issue with the term "chow hall." (although Echo Six Oscar used it above? I still hear it used to refer to our base dining facility):

Story 1 - It ain’t a ’chow hall’ in the Army. It’s a D-Fac (dining facility) or for old farts like me a mess hall. Poser.

Story 2 - The word Helmet isn’t used much any more. The common term today is Kevlar. If you have worn one, you know there ain’t nothing fitting on top of your head. The Kevlar has a crown web inside to support and spread the weight of the helmet over your entire head. Anything in it, especially pointy things like teeth, would focus the entire weight onto one point of your cranium. Painful for long time wear. Poser.

Story 3 - The bad guys hide IEDs in dead animals. How, exactly, does a sleeping dog look different than a dead one? Running over one, stupid - and does not lead to a long life. I have chased coyotes in a Hummer (non-armored) and you ain’t catching one, let alone getting close enough to run one over. Heck, I chased Jackrabbits on a motorcycle and ain’t nobody running one over. Poser.

And another VMI man makes the same point about the skull-cap. From Joel:

I'd call bullshit on him wearing it under his helmet. Even with those "swedish foam" helmet pads inside the MICH helmet, it's still a damn tight fit. Ten hours on patrol in the Iraqi heat and the thing's about unbearable. Trying to fit bone under there as well? Impossible.

I think TNR owes its readers, and the military, an explanation.

A Response to Teddy Kennedy

By Richard S. Lowry

A couple weeks ago, I sent an email to Senator Kennedy suggesting that he try to understand what is really happening in Iraq before voting to "cut and run" from the fight. Surprisingly, I received a response to my correspondence. I am not gullible enough to believe that Ted Kennedy took the time to respond to me personally, but I decided that his message to me needed to be addressed.

I also don't believe that Senator Kennedy will ever see my rebuttal to his message. But everyone on Op-For will.:

Read More »

Al-Qaeda Leaders Killed

By Richard S. Lowry

I just received this Press Release from Baghdad. This is something I wanted to get out right away, so I will refrain from comment other than I bet you won't see this in the MSM.

MULTI-NATIONAL FORCE-IRAQ
PRESS DESK
BAGHDAD, Iraq
http://www.mnf-iraq.com
703.343.8790

July 19, 2007
Release A070719c

Senior al-Qaeda in Iraq foreign terrorist identified

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Coalition Forces positively identified a third foreign
terrorist killed in an operation June 23 south of Hawija.

Ahmed Sancar, also known as Khattab al-Turki, was a known terrorist and
senior leader in al-Qaeda and a key financier and facilitator for the
terrorist group.

Sancar was killed during the same operation that killed Mehmet Yilmaz,
also known as Khalid al-Turki, and Mehmet Resit Isik, also known as
Khalil al-Turki. Yilmaz was a close associate of Khalid Shayikh
Muhammad, the mastermind behind the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World
Trade Center and the Pentagon. Yilmaz also led a group of Turks to
Afghanistan in 2001 to fight against Coalition Forces.

Intelligence reports indicate that Sancar, like Isik, performed key
communication and logistic roles for al-Qaeda in Iraq and coordinated
with other senior al-Qaeda facilitators. Intelligence reports also
indicate that prior to Sancar's death, he was aggressively pursuing a
plan to attack northern Iraq, specifically focusing on the
Kurdish-controlled areas to increase al-Qaeda in Iraq's operational
reach in the country.

Coalition Forces killed the three foreign terrorists and senior al-Qaeda
in Iraq leaders in an operation June 23. During the course of
surveillance operations, Coalition Forces identified a vehicle which
they assessed to contain Yilmaz and three associates traveling together.
When the vehicle stopped, Coalition Forces moved to detain the four
individuals. The four men exited the vehicle, which was followed during
surveillance operations, with weapons in hand. As Coalition Forces
moved to detain the armed men, the four armed terrorists fired on the
forces. Responding in self-defense, Coalition Forces engaged the armed
men, killing all four.

Inside the vehicle, Coalition Forces found rocket-propelled grenades, an
RPG launcher, numerous AK 47 rifle magazines, a pistol and suspected
homemade explosive materials. They safely destroyed the vehicle and
weapons on site.

"Coalition operations are disrupting and destroying al-Qaeda's terrorist
network from the highest levels down," said Maj. Marc Young, an MNF-I
spokesperson. "We will continue to target and attack these terrorists
who conduct horrendous acts of violence and terror against the Iraqi
populace."

Veterans Not Worth Anti-War Senators' Time

By John

Yesterday, a group of former soldiers representing Vets for Freedom took the good fight to The Hill. Lobbying key Senators in the debate, Iraq War vets tried to pound the severe consequences of retreating from Iraq into congressional skulls.

Unfortunately, the anti-war Democrats -most of whom voted to send these Veterans into combat- refused to meet with VFF, and sent staffers in their stead:

Vets for Freedom's mission Tuesday was to reassure the GOP lawmakers supporting President Bush's war strategy as they endure a pummeling at home in TV ads and automated telephone calls from anti-war groups. And maybe, the veterans hoped, they could change the minds of other lawmakers.

Their Capitol Hill offensive wound up illustrating the unevenness of the debate over the war and whether to end it. Veterans for Freedom has scant money to spend and no contracts with professional public relations firms.

The opposition can easily entice a sitting lawmaker to attend rallies and events; 23 senators and 57 representatives attended an anti-war candlelight vigil Tuesday night organized by Americans Against Escalation in Iraq, an umbrella organization that represents roughly 9 million anti-war activists.

The only senators who would meet with the pro-surge veterans were those who already shared their view. The real targets -- war opponents or wobbly supporters -- sent a first wave of senior aides to shield themselves from the pitch.

Senator Carl Levin's (D, MI) staff apparently felt that meeting with Vets was a waste of time:

For more than a half-hour Tuesday, a small group of Iraq war veterans worked on their adversary, pressing President Bush's surge strategy to the staff of Michigan Democratic Sen. Carl Levin.

"Unproductive," muttered one as he arrived for lunch in the American Legion building on D Street shortly afterward.

Vets For Freedom is taking a lead here and I hope that you all will join them. I just signed up after I received an email from one of my VMI Brother Rats who has assumed a leadership position in VFF's ranks.

The Politico touches on an important point, the pro-war crowd is getting creamed by the anti-war lobby. VFF did what it could, but will need help from fellow servicemembers if we're going to convince our elected officials that listening to the real-life consquences of a withdrawl from Iraq is something more than....unproductive.

You can sign up here.

Scott Thomas: Fact or Fiction?

By John

Some of you may be familiar with Scott Thomas and his New Republic dispatches. Thomas, who writes under a pseudonym, claims to be an American soldier serving near FOB Falcon near Baghdad. His writing -there have been a total of three pieces- is controversial and levels some serious, Jesse MacBeth-esqe charges against his fellow soldiers. Here is a sample:

About six months into our deployment, we were assigned a new area to patrol, southwest of Baghdad. We spent a few weeks constructing a combat outpost, and, in the process, we did a lot of digging. At first, we found only household objects like silverware and cups. Then we dug deeper and found children’s clothes: sandals, sweatpants, sweaters. Like a strange archeological dig of the recent past, the deeper we went, the more personal the objects we discovered. And, eventually, we reached the bones. All children’s bones: tiny cracked tibias and shoulder blades. We found pieces of hands and fingers. We found skull fragments. No one cared to speculate what, exactly, had happened here, but it was clearly a Saddam-era dumping ground of some sort.

One private, infamous as a joker and troublemaker, found the top part of a human skull, which was almost perfectly preserved. It even had chunks of hair, which were stiff and matted down with dirt. He squealed as he placed it on his head like a crown. It was a perfect fit. As he marched around with the skull on his head, people dropped shovels and sandbags, folding in half with laughter. No one thought to tell him to stop. No one was disgusted. Me included.

The private wore the skull for the rest of the day and night. Even on a mission, he put his helmet over the skull. He observed that he was grateful his hair had just been cut—since it would make it easier to pick out the pieces of rotting flesh that were digging into his head.

If the bit sounded a little fishy to you, you're not alone. Michael Goldfarb at the Worldwide Standard (and a great friend of the milblogging community) is taking the New Republic to task over this dubious whistleblower, see link here. Mike writes:

...we believe that the best chance for getting at the truth is likely to come from the combined efforts of the blogosphere, which has, in the past, proven adept at determining the reliability of such claims. To that end we'd encourage the milblogging community to do some digging of their own, and individual soldiers and veterans to come forward with relevant information--either about the specific events or their plausibility in general.

Mike lists a few other examples of Scott Thomas' dispatches, all equally suspicious. The skull-hat tale raised some mental red flags on my end, simply because of the Thomas' timeline. The thought of a soldier (a) so grossly and openly violating the UCMJ and (b) wearing human remains for the better part of the day without an NCO or an officer spotting him is absolutely unbelievable.

But that's on the micro level. On the macro, my suspicions rest on a trinity of facts:

1) Recent examples of warzone whistleblowing have turned out to be false (Jimmy Massey, Jesse MacBeth, Daniel Coburn) and driven by an agenda.
2) The dispatches fit a narrative.
3) The New Republic has a proven, historical susceptibility to fake journalism.

Anyway, if you have served in Iraq and can offer some additional insight, even validation, of Scott Thomas' claims, please send them along to the Worldwide Standard. Fact or fiction, you'd be doing the Armed Forces an enormous favor.

If fiction, because it would (once again) clear our name. If fact, because it would enable the Army to launch the appropriate investigation and address these accusations through proper channels.

Others covering:
Blackfive
The Corner
Ace
Hot Air
Dean Barnett
Powerline
The Tank

Short Term Strategy

By John

With the Senate showdown on Iraq in the pipes, there's been a substantial increase in the pundit-driven noise level over the debate. The best I've read so far comes from Michael Tanji at Threats Watch:

A firm date for withdrawal of US forces is just another way of establishing a terrorist-liberation-day in Iraq. US military might is the only thing that is keeping a relative lid on violence in Iraq. A date-certain for withdrawal would bring about a temporary drop in violence, but only because terrorists would be taking advantage of the down-time to prepare for the slaughter that was to come.

We successfully defeated the old Iraq. What the surge is doing is trying to set the conditions for the rise of a new Iraq. Benchmarks are essential for that rise. But what consequences do we impose absent progress? For some the answer seems to be “progress or die,” because that is what will happen if we leave prematurely. The results-now-or-else caucus want Iraq to be post-war Germany or Japan: at best an apples to oranges comparison given the size of the forces involved and the differences in the nature of the two wars.

More troops would allow the US to exert more control over the security situation in Iraq, but caps on troop levels are a key factor in the strategies of most defeatists. The leaving behind of a token force of trainers is a viable option, but only if the security situation affords them a level of protection that does not result in a repeat of Little Big Horn. Having the Secretary of Defense “certify” that every troop sent forward is perfectly trained and outfitted is the Sarbanes-Oxley-fication of war. Ask any business executive what a pleasure work has been since that legislation passed and you will have some idea of what it will take for the US to defend its interests and principles.

Tanji, a career spook, also runs an excellent blog called Haft of the Spear in addition to his Threats Watch postings. Read it daily.

Picture of the Day: Herks Come Home

By John

No doubt back from doing something awesome...

Eight C-130 Hercules aircraft from the Air Force Reserve Command's 911th Airlift Wing return home to Pittsburgh Air Reserve Station, Pa., after participating in Exercise Bold Effort July 14. The purpose of this training exercise was to maintain unit proficiency in re-supplying ground forces during combat operations. Photo Courtesy of the US Air Force.

For more Herky goodness, you should visit Duty in the Desert.

The World's Stupidest Fatwas

By John

My favorite? Pokemon:

Denouncing the lovable Japanese cartoon characters as having “possessed the minds” of Saudi youngsters, Saudi Arabia’s highest religious authority banned Pokémon video games and cards in the spring of 2001. Not only do Saudi scholars believe that Pokémon encourages gambling, which is forbidden in Islam, but it is apparently a front for Israel as well. The fatwa’s authors claimed that Pokémon games include, “the Star of David, which everyone knows is connected to international Zionism and is Israel’s national emblem.” Religious authorities in the United Arab Emirates joined in, condemning the games for promoting evolution, “a Jewish-Darwinist theory that conflicts with the truth about humans and with Islamic principles,” but didn’t ban them outright. Even the Catholic Church in Mexico got into the act, calling Pokémon video games “demonic.”

These guys need to get a life in such a bad way.

DC Gun Ban Appeal: Good or Bad?

By Bull Nav

Well, it looks like Mayor Fenty of Washington DC has decided to appeal the decision overturning the 31-year old handgun ban in DC.

The District will ask the Supreme Court to uphold its strict 30-year handgun ban, setting up what legal experts said could be a test of the Second Amendment with broad ramifications.

On the one hand you have the gun control folks concerned.

Some gun control advocates have cautioned that a defeat in the Supreme Court could lead to tough gun laws being overturned in major cities, including New York, Chicago and Detroit.

(Please note: Detroit has no such law banning handguns, either to carry or to own. The Michigan Concealed Pistol Law covers it.)
I hope common sense on the part of the Supreme Court will prevail.

Gun rights advocates welcomed the chance to take the fight to the high court. A central question the D.C. case poses is whether the Second Amendment protects an individual's rights to keep and bear arms.
Experts say gun rights advocates have never had a better chance for a major Second Amendment victory, because a significant number of justices on the Supreme Court have indicated a preference for the individual-rights interpretation.

I guess my bigger concern is if they uphold the law. That could have huge Second Amendment ramifications.
As with everything in the courts, it will take time...

CNO Nomination This Week?

By Bull Nav

Well, from this article, Navy Times seems to think so:

The Navy’s search for a new chief of naval operations is underway, with an announcement of a nominee expected to come as early as this week, sources tell Navy Times.

I know BostonMaggie has been following this with rapt attention, as have many other folks. She has the best compendium of analysis here, so you might want to take a peek.
But of course, the question is who?

The leading candidate for CNO remains Adm. Gary Roughead, commander of Fleet Forces Command in Norfolk, Va., according to sources familiar with the selection process.

Seems a lot of folks think that.
The article has reasons why some of the other options really aren't.

Other candidates include Adm. Robert Willard, a naval aviator who now commands Pacific Fleet, and Adm. Timothy Keating, commander of U.S. Pacific Command. One source, who asked for anonymity when discussing the matter, said Willard would prefer to stay in Hawaii and that it is unlikely the Pentagon would want to pull Keating from PacCom this early into his tour there. Keating took over at PacCom in March.

Bottom line, it could be any time.
Yeah, no submariners in the mix, but we'll have our day yet

President Bush to Act on Iran?

By John

Not the double secret sanctions definition of "act," either.

The balance in the internal White House debate over Iran has shifted back in favour of military action before President George Bush leaves office in 18 months, the Guardian has learned.

The shift follows an internal review involving the White House, the Pentagon and the state department over the last month. Although the Bush administration is in deep trouble over Iraq, it remains focused on Iran. A well-placed source in Washington said: "Bush is not going to leave office with Iran still in limbo."

The White House claims that Iran, whose influence in the Middle East has increased significantly over the last six years, is intent on building a nuclear weapon and is arming insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The vice-president, Dick Cheney, has long favoured upping the threat of military action against Iran. He is being resisted by the secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, and the defence secretary, Robert Gates.

I'm calling shenanigans here. This Guardian guy crafted a whole story from some insider's gut feeling.

Bush doesn't trust a Dem to launch an air campaign in response to some rogue dictator snubbing UN sanctions? Are you serious?

Desert Fox, Deliberate Force anyone? That's what Democrats do.

I'm not making a statement in favor of military action against the Iranians or against it. Just pointing out that this story is sensationalist, and should be treated with the same regard as you treat National Enquirer headlines in the supermarket checkout.

Reapers Grab Their Sickles

By John

And set out to harvest bad guys.

BALAD AIR BASE, Iraq (AP) - The airplane is the size of a jet fighter, powered by a turboprop engine, able to fly at 300 mph and reach 50,000 feet. It's outfitted with infrared, laser and radar targeting, and with a ton and a half of guided bombs and missiles.

The Reaper is loaded, but there's no one on board. Its pilot, as it bombs targets in Iraq, will sit at a video console 7,000 miles away in Nevada.

The arrival of these outsized U.S. "hunter-killer" drones, in aviation history's first robot attack squadron, will be a watershed moment even in an Iraq that has seen too many innovative ways to hunt and kill.

I picked up this story from Herky driver and fellow Zoomie blogger Lt Col Patrick, who writes:

The MQ-9 Reaper isn't your standard unmanned, slow drone flying overhead a battlefield providing videotape images to an Ops Center for decision-makers. The MQ-9 is a killing machine. A very lethal, fast weapon with the ability to loiter over at battlefield for up to 14 hours.

Speaking of slow drones, the Air Force is also pumping more Predators into the box to boost existing CAP numbers:

7/13/2007 - WASHINGTON (AFPN) -- Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. T. Michael Moseley is accelerating delivery of the Defense Department's December 2009 goal of 21 daily MQ-1 Predator unmanned aerial vehicle combat air patrols, or CAPs, by one year.

At the chief of staff's request, Air Force officials coordinated deployment actions with the Joint Staff and Central Command to increase three additional Predator CAPs, boosting full motion video and rapid strike capability to the Joint Force commander in Iraq. Two of these CAPs are expected to be active this summer or early fall.

Anyway, word on the Reapers is Afghanistan first, then Iraq. These things are going to be buzzing over Waziristan like a swarm of wasps on the 11 year old who just chucked a rock at their nest.

Here's the factsheet if you want to know more.

Ahh, all that writing and not one Blue Oyster Cult reference. Good on me.

Oh hell, alright. OPFORian Mike sent this in a couple months back, how could I not repost?

Reference here if you don't get the joke. You're also lame if you don't get the joke.

Dollar Store Specops

By John

Familiar with the AC-130 Gunship? The scalpel used by the Air Force to surgically disembowel Tangos? The weapon system that is most needed, most relevant, and most useful to the grunt in this tactical level war?

Guess how many the Air Force has in their inventory?

Eight.

Eight.

Does that seem a little low to anyone else? I cringe at the mere thought of those poor crews' deployment schedule.

I'm not completely blaming the Air Force here either. They're trying to modernize the entire force on the budget equivalent of the loose change that Congress finds under the couch.

I've said it once, I'll say it again. We have got to start funding the military as if it's at war.

Valour-IT

By John

Oh, so the golden notebook goes on freakin' sightseeing tours now?

And gets a lame acronym? (Leave it to the Squids....)

It is so on this Fall.

PSYOP Cop

By John

Continuing in our tradition of tapping the rich VMI alumni base for various fields of military expertise, here's a brand new post (hopefully one of many) from a fellow grad called "Psyop Cop." This is good stuff, as you don't hear much about psychological operations in the press. Read on.

This is my first blog, so I’ll introduce myself. I’m PSYOP Cop, an Army reservist from Virginia. I have ten years background in the Infantry and crossed over to Psychological Operations (PSYOP… not PSYOPS or psyops…. just PSYOP) where I served as a team leader for a three-man Tactical PSYOP team in East Baghdad in 2006. In civilian life, I’m a police officer. I’m a fellow VMI alumnus with Noonan, et. al. and that’s how I ended up on Op-For.

So, for my premiere blog (and I mean “premiere”, since I’ve never blogged before), I offer up this bit from SKYNews. It is a featurette of some of our opposition’s latest products.

The mission of Psychological Operations is to change minds and influence behavior. It’s essentially marketing applied to the military. We also have tactical applications and most grunts know us for our loudspeaker trucks that we ride around in. With that we become the voice of the supported unit commander (if he chooses to utilize us). We can also conduct tactical deception operations and surrender appeals, among other things.

Read More »

Evening Quote

By John

Just because....

A nation which can prefer disgrace to danger is prepared for a master, and deserves one.

-Alexander Hamilton

Sew Much Comfort needs help

By Slab

GBear of SpouseBUZZ is asking for help. She is the founder of Sew Much Comfort, which provides adaptive clothing for servicemembers wounded in Iraq or Afghanistan. Currently, they are trying to build a stock of utility uniforms for servicemembers who are returning to duty with amputations or prosthetics. Unfortunately, GBear can only purchase Air Force uniforms, so she needs help stockpiling utilities for the other services. Doggies, this means your ACUs. For us jarheads, and the squids, she's looking for utilities.

So folks, give Sew Much Comfort a hand, go out and purchase a set of your respective utility uniform, and mail it to the address below. Since it's going to our wounded comrades, just think of it as HABU (Hooking a Brother Up). Oh yeah, she asked for a note with the branch of service it is for and the size. Just to help their volunteers keep it all straight. Your support, as always, will be greatly appreciated.

Sew Much Comfort Distribution Facility
3170 Rodenbeck Dr.
Beavercreek, OH 45432

"Op-For, This Is Agent 91-- How Do You Read This Station, Over?"

By Lt Col P

Op-For has quietly placed a correspondent in Afghanistan, a graduate of the Class of 91. We hope that he will be able to give us the ground truth there from time to time, all within opsec bounds of course.

He sent me a couple of recent updates on his odyssey from CONUS staff job to player in the new Great Game...

From last Saturday: Just landed in Shannon Ireland on the way to Kuwait. We will be on the ground for about six hours and they have easy wireless access in the airport terminal, so I thought that I would catch up a little.

NIACT (Navy Individual Augmentee Combat Training) is designed to give sailors the most basic level of ground combat training. In two weeks, we covered basic M-16 marksmanship, land navigation, Law of War, Code of Conduct, stress shooting, reflexive shooting, heavy weapons training, MOUT, room clearing, and everyone’s favorite, road marches.

The Army drill instructors who conducted our training were very professional and made sure that everything was done safely. I am sure they had nightmares about a bunch of sailors running around with weapons [no comment!], but they taught everyone what they needed to know. I have just gone over 16 years on active duty and this was the first time I have ever received formal marksmanship instruction. I have always maintained that the Navy needs to get a whole lot more serious about firearms training and this only strengthened that opinion. I fired the M-16 for the first time on a Tuesday and qualified sharpshooter the next day. The reflexive shooting courses and stress shooting range were all conducted with live ammunition and there were zero negligent discharges.

We were issued the IBA “system” as soon as we got there and spent the next two weeks wearing it at every opportunity. I have spent more than a little time in Navy fire fighting ensembles, but wearing 65 lbs of body armor in the South Carolina sun and humidity is an entirely different experience. The best was the road in black flag conditions with weapons on loose sand and gravel. We had ten percent of my training company drop out. I have a whole new appreciation for everyone walking patrol throughout Iraq wearing that every day.

And then the next day: I am sitting in the AMC terminal at Bagram AFB. From here, I will be flying on to my final destination. I will let you know when I get there. I spent six days in Kuwait, three of them on the Udari range. That was an experience worthy of its own email...

Keep your head down, but your eyes and ears open. We look forward to more when you get the chance.

"A Tactic To Erode Public Support"

By Lt Col P

A few days ago we cited a good post from The Torch on "The Battelfield Between Our Ears." (Update here, BTW.) Well now, in an article in Newsmax this week, a Marine investigating officer has recommended that charges be dropped against one of the Marines in the Haditha incident. He says, "To believe the government version of facts is to disregard clear and convincing evidence to the contrary, and sets a dangerous precedent that, in my opinion, may encourage others to bear false witness against Marines as a tactic to erode public support of the Marine Corps and mission in Iraq."

Exactly. Use our open press, and our system of justice, against us. It's a very clever tactic and it has far-reaching operational and strategic effects. This is the information war, the fight for the gray matter. It's not one we are doing particularly well in, and a defeat there can negate all of the enormous effort we have expended on the ground. We can, and must, do better on that "field" of battle.

Breaking News

By John

While the rest of the military is off fighting the war...

The Air Force is "streamlining" evaluation forms.

Top story in the blue world today, couldn't make it up if I tried.

Am I suffering from relevancy issues? You betcha.

Essay Contest: Can Al Qaeda Be Deterred?

By John

West Point's Combating Terrorism Center is taking the fight up an academic avenue with their newly announced Al-Qaeda essay contest:

The Army G-3 and the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point are sponsoring the 2007 National Security Strategy Essay Contest in order to solicit new ways of thinking about deterrence in today’s post-9/11 world. We invite submissions of article-length (7,500 – 10,000 words), publication-quality essays addressing the following question:

How can the U.S. credibly and ethically deter adherents of extremist religious ideologies from engaging in terrorist activity?

Essays will be judged on scholarly rigor, creativity and innovation. Authors are encouraged to be interdisciplinary in their thinking. The author of the essay judged by the CTC Faculty and Senior Fellows to be the best will receive a $5,000 research grant.

West Point has taken a lead here that I wish VMI -and other American academic institutions- would follow. You can register for any number of basket weaving, transgender cultural studies courses at any given university (although not VMI!), but I see very little effort from our collective academic disciplines dedicated towards cracking this tough terrorism nut.

Hotel Tango: Eagle @ Milblogs

This is our enemy

By John

And he doesn't get any uglier. This blurb from Michael Yon's Second Chances dispatch gave me chills:

The official reported that on a couple of occasions in Baqubah, al Qaeda invited to lunch families they wanted to convert to their way of thinking. In each instance, the family had a boy, he said, who was about 11 years old. As LT David Wallach interpreted the man’s words, I saw Wallach go blank and silent. He stopped interpreting for a moment. I asked Wallach, “What did he say?” Wallach said that at these luncheons, the families were sat down to eat. And then their boy was brought in with his mouth stuffed. The boy had been baked. Al Qaeda served the boy to his family.

Iraq is complicated, but this fight could not be simpler.

We are the good guys. They are the bad guys.

And these particular bad guys need to die in a bad way.

Picture of the Day: Spanish Hornets

By John

Hey look, the socialist Spanish government let their fighter jocks play with us evil American capitalists!

Spanish F-18's sit on the Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, flight line July 10 waiting to be serviced before a training exercise July. A group of Spanish airmen are participating in Red Flag-Alaska 07-3, a multi-service, multi-platform coordinated, combat operations exercise, which runs through the July 27. Photo courtesy of the US Air Force.

I've always had a soft spot for Spain, what being born there and all. Anyway, I was under the impression that the socialist Spainish government was trying to minimize interaction between our militaries, so I was most pleased to see that their flyboys made the very....very long pull to Eielson.

We Will Joust!

By John

Pinch has a phenomenal first hand account of escorting legendary fighter pilot Robin Olds to a post-conference party. I'm pretty sure it's how the man would want to be remembered (General Olds passed recently):

Robin at age 75 or so, was still in ‘ burner ‘! Given that my grip on his sport coat had become a very stabilizing force in his life, other than an occasional teeter, he was showing no wear!

At my rickety edge of consciousness I meekly re-suggested a departure.

“Are you saying I am too drunk to drive?” he bellowed again.

To which I tactfully replied, “Absolutely not, sir, I only desire the honor and the privilege of driving the General to his quarters.”

He demurred.

Another hour passed before he sensed my weakened state and offered a window of opportunity.

“I demand an honorable challenge before going to quarters,” he declared.

Thinking that I retained superior SA [ another error in judgment ] I replied:

“Let the General engage with his weapon of choice! ”

“ Get me two brooms and those two empty scotch bottles over there. We will Joust! ”

The story is so classic fighter pilot, it hurts. Read the whole thing.

Back!

By John

Apologies for the absence folks, just spent a week recharging my batteries at a VMI pal's lakehouse in Minnesota.

United Airlines is like The Godfather: just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in. Late flights, double bookings, cramped seats, indifferent employees...you know, the usual cornucopia of crappy service that my tax dollars shield from a much-deserved bankruptcy.

So whenever I'm ready to just burn all my miles with United and switch to the more military-friendly American, United guilts me into sticking with the poor bastards.

This time it was a Fourth of July first class upgrade, courtesy of my military ID card. Complete with the "thank you for your service" handshake from the United desk rep. The sweet little lady talked me off the edge. Now look on the topic of pulling out my military ID instead of civilian credentials, yes...I could just as easily show my Virginia driver's license and yes, it'd probably be easier to pull out of my wallet than my acetate covered military CAT card. But there's a "John Noonan" registered on the 'Do Not Fly' list, probably some IRA butthole, so flashing my active duty creds smooths over the otherwise rocky check-in process.

I'm not trying to be a sneak with the card, in other words.

So flight in was terrific. Flight out? Not so much.

Late as usual. Like, 11 at night late. And I was already in a foul mood because they wouldn't upgrade a limping Iraq war veteran (82nd boy) who is now on permanent disability due to an IED blast near Falcon, out in the box. Offered my miles even, so a 24 year old tethered to a cane might have a little extra legroom. No dice. I got the 'preferred customer' line. "Uh, can you point to someone who United should prefer in first class more than that guy," I ask?

Hit the same wall. He stayed in coach. Screw them.

Not a choice cap for an otherwise wonderful vacation, spent drinking and wakeboarding on a beautiful Minnesota lake. In that order, too. Wheee.

And now I'm back to my semi-pissed off, limbo state with United. Meh. There's probably some longer post here about the collapse of once-great American economic institutions like our carriers, Kodak, the auto industry, etc...but y'know, I'm kinda tired.

And my Ford is running great.

Good to be back!

Monday Evening Mullings

By Lt Col P

Two items of note this Monday evening.

The first, an essay on resolve and will, "The Battlefield Between Our Ears," from our colleagues at The Torch. Truer words have never been spoken. It applies to us, Americans, as well as to Canadians. There is no military force that can compel us to yield one single inch of ground in Iraq or Afghanistan. Only we can do that, to ourselves.

The second is a Michael Yon post on a leadership lesson. It's simply brilliant, both the tale and the telling. If you, like me, have ever suffered under a no-second-chances "leader," you'll understand how powerful this is. It's a lesson that all young lieutenants and ensigns should be required to read. (Scroll down to the last passage, "The Ground Truth.")

Blue Angels, Finis

By Bull Nav

Well, I could not resist, yet again.

I got done with the yard work about the time they should have been taking off, and started taking pictures. Nice to watch from your pickup tailgate drinking a beer.

This was the best one today, looking up the street.

All four, inbound.

Once again, great show, guys. Even if I was about 5 miles from show center...

Keep up the great work!

Fire & Ice On Exhibit

By Lt Col P

A few weeks ago I mentioned that the primus inter pares Marine combat artist, CWO2 Mike Fay would be exhibiting some of his best works at the Michener Museum in Doylestown, PA. That hour has come; his exhibit opens today and runs through 21 October. As an added bonus, he'll be giving an artist's lecture on 10 July. For those who live in the area, that would be an event not to be missed.

I, being a powerful and influential member of the milblogging/milhistory/milart milieu, received an invitation to the exclusive opening last night, but alas, was unable to attend. I do plan to get up there and see the exhibit though, and I encourage all of you to do so as well.

Below the fold I have three (3) of his best with a little scratch art criticism of my own. Let it never be said that I don't have a sensitive side.

Read More »

Blue Angels, Part 3

By Bull Nav

What an incredible performance yesterday afternoon. This was one of the best shows I have seen them perform, and I am not just saying that because it is where I live. Truly a great show.

I took dozens of pictures, but the one below says more about the Blue Angels than any flying picture can.

Teamwork. Precision. Dedication.

They have parked and shutdown the aircraft. Starting with Number 6, each pilot is introduced as they march to the Number 1 aircraft. They are shaking hands and congratulating each other on a successful performance.

Like I said, I have many more, but I need to sort them for the best.

Not to mention, there is one more show today...

US Navy Drill Team

By Bull Nav

At Thunder Over Michigan. In Ypsilanti.

I have never seen the Navy Drill team, but was looking forward to this as much as the Blue Angels today. I was not disappointed. They were delayed in starting and unfortunately had to compete with aircraft for the crowd's attention, but their performance was spectacular. Not to mention it was 87F with no wind.

Later I had a chance to talk to the OIC and one of the team members. When I mentioned to the Petty Officer that they were as good as the USMC Drill Team, his only response was, "Better."

I hope they come back...

RIVRON Three

By Bull Nav

As reported in this article, Riverine Squadron Three has been stood up:

Third riverine squadron formally established at Yorktown
By LOUIS HANSEN, The Virginian-Pilot
© July 7, 2007 | Last updated 11:19 PM Jul. 6
YORKTOWN
The Navy formally established the third of three planned riverine squadrons Friday morning at Yorktown Naval Weapons Station

The CO is ready to go.

Cmdr. Gregory Sandway, commanding officer of the new squadron, told his troops to prepare for combat.
"This is a command that is ready to sacrifice," he said.

But that should come as no surprise.

Sandway, a 1990 graduate of Virginia Military Institute who lives in Chesapeake, served as an explosive ordnance disposal officer before being tapped to lead the riverine squadron. He said he took the job because he wanted to lead sailors into war.

So to Greg I say, do your best and take care of your men. Good luck!

The AK-47 Turns 60

By Lt Col P

The AK-47 turns 60 today-- the "47" in the name referring to 1947, the year in which it was adopted, hence the nomenclature.

The great LtCol Jeff Cooper called it a "peasant's gun," not suitable for the true rifleman, but readily admitted that it had some real virtues. Not least of them was simplicity, followed by reliability. If accuracy was never its strong suit, well, it's good enough within its parameters. And good enough is good enough.

It also shows its ugly mug all around that world, and for that added reason it has gained some real currency in the world of serious firearms instruction. Respected outfits like Gunsite and EAG Tactical teach AK-specific classes, and they don't lack for students.

The only reason I don't own one is that I haven't coughed up the cash to buy one. I really should rectify that because a good solid Romanian WASR-10 runs about $330 on GunsAmerica.com. That's 330 bucks for the rifle and, "2-30 rd magazines,sling, cleanig kit [sic], oil bottle and manuel [sic]." I can only assume Manuel is the illegal that cleans it and polices the brass after I'm done firing, damn his eyes. But I could be wrong.

So, a muted happy birthday to the AK and its inventor. I don't love you, but I respect you.

Blue Angels, Part 2

By Bull Nav

They showed up yesterday and performed two practices. I had work to do around the house, but managed to take a few pics. Here is one of the better ones, taken from my front yard:

The big show is tomorrow (and Sunday). I can't wait...

Grunts

By Slab

Blackfive brings us a great video about the guys truly on the pointy end, the grunts of Golf Co 2d Battalion 5th Marines. As a proud Marine grunt myself, I was stoked to see a video about these guys.

From Sgt Deboard, who provided the video:

Attached is a great multimedia presentation put together by Cpl. Ryan Blaich about Marines with G/2/5 operationally attached to 2/7, RCT-6. Thought you may be interested in putting it up on your site. Motivating stuff. All about the real workhorses out here -- the grunts, warfighters moving to contact.

I've sometimes been accused of being a "grunt snob", but that's ok by me. The gunslingers you see in the video are the Marine Corps' raison d’être, no matter what anyone else tries to tell you different.

An unusual CASEVAC platform

By Slab

As Marines, particularly Marine terminal controllers (i.e. FACs and JTACs), we tend to be a bit snobbish about our close air support. We, of course, prefer fellow Marines overhead, and tend to complain about all of the little things that the other services do that don't fit within our own picture of "How Things Should Be Done". One group that we often malign are the Army's Apache community. They have not trained in the same rotary wing close air support (RWCAS) tactics, techniques, and procedures that we have honed with our light attack helicopter community over the past 15 or so years. However, two recent incidents highlight that tactical and procedural differences do not make them lesser pilots, or any less courageous.

From Blackfive comes the first rescue of a wounded soldier from the 3rd Infantry Division in Ar Ramadi. After two attack weapons teams, consisting of two AH-64 Apaches each, responded to a firefight in Ramadi, and making a trip to LSA Anaconda to refuel, they found that MEDEVAC aircraft had yet to arrive to evacuate a critically-wounded soldier. One of the aircraft landed while another team provided overhead cover, and the copilot gave up his seat to the wounded soldier, strapping himself to the wing despite the heavy volumes of small-arms fire that had been directed at the supporting aircraft. They were able to get the wounded soldier safely to Camp Ar Ramadi for treatment.

Then, from Neptunus Lex and the WaPo we find out that yet another Apache crew took incredible risks to evacuate fellow soldiers. CWO's Steven Cianfrini and Mark Burrows had their OH-58D scout helicopter brought down by insurgent fire south of Baghdad. Apaches from Task Force Marne responded, with the aircraft piloted by CWO's Allan Davison and Micah Johnson landing to pick up the downed flyers. Once again, the copilot, CWO2 Johnson, gave up his seat and strapped himself to a wing, while CWO2 Cianfrini took the vacant seat and CWO2 Burrows strapped himself to the other wing. Blackfive had the video:

OK, I'll give it to those Apache guys. Very large stones. Boulder-sized. Bravo zulus all around, guys.

By the way, in case some of you don't remember, these are not the first instances of this technique being used. The Royal Marines actually used Apaches to go back for a missing comrade in Afghanistan this past January. Four Royal Marines from Zulu Coy, 45 Commando, inserted by Apache, and with the assistance of some of the aircrew, recovered the body of their comrade, L/Cpl Ford. Interestingly, there is a bit of a VMI connection to this story, as one of my Brother Rats was a member of Zulu Coy at the time.

LIBERTY!

By Lt Col P

Happy Independence Day, folks! Today the Founding Fathers declared not only independence from the mother country, but also Liberty, that magnificent political and social condition that we enjoy still today, although in some quarters it's a bit battered.

What's the difference between freeom and Liberty? Freedom is the absence of restraint, whereas Liberty is the condition in which engaged, active citizens can live as they choose and pursue their goals as they see fit. Freedom too often descends into license, while Liberty, if preserved, offers the best balance between an unfettered life and civic order. Liberty is what the Founders fought to win, and sought to hand down to us. It is worth fighting for.

Via Michelle Malkin, here's a great piece of historical writing-- Liveblogging the Continental Congress.

And below the fold, I have placed the entire text of the Declaration of Independence. Too often we remember only the opening passages and forget the rest, the devastating point-by-point critique of King George and his government. An extraordinary document, written by truly great men.

Enjoy your 4th.

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Blue Angels, Part 1

By Bull Nav

Yeah, I know. I have not been around much of late. Too much to do during the summer: camping, fishing, shooting (with my son's first .22)...and of course air shows.

I could not pass up the opportunity.

Normally, we travel a good bit during the summer to see the different air shows. Cleveland, Dayton, even Selfridge ANGB is a haul (just because of the traffic). Well this year we have two air shows on two consecutive weekends, RIGHT HERE. Last weekend was at Battle Creek, MI, and this weekend is Thunder Over Michigan. Both have the Blue Angels, and here is one of the shots I took at Battle Creek on Sunday:

Since we live about 5 miles from Willow Run, I am hoping to get some good shots as they fly over the house, too.

Oh, and John, just for you, there was a F117 flyby and the Viper East demo team performed. Once I figure out this multiple pictures thing...

Kiwi receives the Victoria Cross

By Slab

This one's for my mate, Tony. As much shit as I give him about fornicating with sheep, you have to admit that those Kiwis are some pretty good dudes to have next to you, whether it's a gunfight or just having a couple of brews.

Cpl Willy Apiata of the New Zealand Special Air Service was awarded the Victoria Cross, the Commonwealth's highest award for gallantry, for his actions in Afghanistan in 2004. Cpl Apiata is only the 14th recipient since the end of World War II, and the first Commonwealth recipient since Australian Warrant Officer Keith Payne received the award in 1969. His award is also the first to a serving member of the SAS anywhere in the Commonwealth.

The citation is available here, and the New Zealand Herald has a good writeup as well.

From the citation:

As the enemy pressed its attack towards Lance Corporal Apiata’s position, and without thought of abandoning his colleague to save himself, he took a decision in the highest order of personal courage under fire. Knowing the risks involved in moving to open ground, Lance Corporal Apiata decided to carry Corporal D singlehandedly to the relative safety of the main Troop position, which afforded better cover and where medical treatment could be given.

Well done, Cpl Apiata. You've done your countrymen, and all of us, proud.

H/t to Defense Tech.

Transformers

By John

Hate to knock Slab's superb 'recon by fire' post down the ladder, but I just caught Transformers in theaters and *had* to flap my jaws on it.

The flick is entertaining as hell, even for folks who didn't grow up with the cartoon like Charlie and I did. But what made it OPFOR worthy (ya'll know I don't do movie reviews) was the fact that the entire flick was one long commercial for the US Air Force.

Raptors, Predators, Ospreys, Nighthawks, Warthogs, HH-60s, AC-130s, C-17s, C-130s and F-16s all made an appearance (no Navy jets, sorry Lex!). Yeah, short of C-5s and F-15s, that's pretty much our entire inventory.

And then there's the best line in the flick "We can't win without the Air Force!"

I'm starting to wonder if the blue suiters didn't dip into the old recruiting purse to help fund the thing.

Michael Bay has excellent relations with the Pentagon, and boy did that show. He went on record "the level of military cooperation on this film is unprecedented" and y'know, he ain't kidding.

n-e way, for the Air Force exposure alone I'd encourage you to go check it out. Oh, and for the giant, battling transforming robots, too.

Here's the Air Force report from last year's filming.

Recon By Fire

By Slab

Herschel Smith of The Captain's Journal has made several posts about the Rules of Engagement in Iraq. Some of his more notable posts were The NCOs Speak on Rules of Engagement, Rules of Engagement and Pre-Theoretical Commitments. Herschel and I have disagreed a bit over the ROE - he believes that the ROE are insufficient for the prosecution of this war. I believe that the Rules, as they are written, are sufficient yet are being incorrectly applied by some local commanders. Obviously, neither of us have been able to trot out much in the way of specifics due to operational security concerns, and pretty much agreed to disagree.

Yesterday, Herschel posted an interesting video clip from a journalist embedded with Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion 2d Marines (BLT 1/2). While on patrol, the Marines were engaged by approximately 8-10 insurgents and responded aggressively with fire and maneuver. They initially killed 3, and suspected that more were hiding in a reed-lined canal. This is all very familiar to me, as it very closely resembles what was occurring near Habbaniyah last year. The patrol leader decided to "recon by fire" the suspect canal. The embedded reporter was surprised by this tactic, and apparently conducted a cursory investigation into similar incidents that may have killed innocent Iraqis. Of course, the reporter's lack of tactical knowledge is blatantly apparent in this clip, as neither incident constituted a reconnaissance by fire. The first incident appears to have been a 6-year old boy who was mistaken for an insurgent, the second was a round that ricocheted during an "escalation of force" (EOF) incident.

From what I see in this video, the patrol leader made the correct tactical decision to recon the canal by fire. The reporter again shows his tactical ignorance by saying:

The logic behind recon by fire? It's better to fire a bullet blindly than send a Marine into harm's way.

Reconnaissance by fire does not mean firing blindly with the hopes of hitting something. It is a technique of firing into areas believed to contain enemy in order to provoke them into returning fire or fleeing, at which time they can be engaged using more precise methods. The Rhodesian Selous Scouts used a more refined version of this, known as the Drake Shoot or Cover Shoot, in their frequent close quarters engagements during the Rhodesian bush war. My only point of concern with the Marines' recon by fire shown in the video is that they did not do so from a position of cover. In my opinion, it would have been wiser to take cover and recon by fire with their 40mm grenade launchers. However, I was not on the ground with them, and they may have had reasons to use rifle fire instead of grenades. I believe they showed proper consideration for the collateral effects of their recon by fire by remaining close to the canal and firing at a downward angle. As it turns out, their tactic worked and another muj was dispatched. Bravo zulus all around, if you ask me.

Long Time No See

By Slab

I've finally returned from my latest hiatus. Following my wedding and honeymoon in Rocky Mountain National Park (which was incredible, by the way), I came back to a frantic day at the office. I had put several weeks into planning a training exercise for last week, with events including a range with popup targets at unknown distances out to 800 yards, a live grenade house, and some opportunities for our SAW and M203 gunners to practice with their weapon systems. Of course, since it was planned by a grunt (moi), it also included staying in the field overnight (non-tactically, alas) and conducting a dismounted movement of some miles with all of our crap (said with the utmost affection) on our backs. Unfortunately, it all had to be canceled the day before. The company levied us with numerous administrative requirements, all at the very last minute, and it shot my plan all to hell.

I spent the rest of the week in the Operator Advanced Casualty Response Course, put on by Deployment Medicine International. For those who have heard of it, it's usually referred to as DMOC, or Deployment Medicine Operators Course. OPSEC forbids me to say much of what was covered or how it was instructed, but it is hands down the best medical training I have ever received. Yesterday's field exercise left me sunburnt, exhausted, and 100% more confident in my abilities to treat common injuries in an operational environment. If that's not enough of a testimonial, two ANGLICO sergeants who took Deployment Medicine's Operational Emergency Medical Skills (OEMS) course responded to a mass casualty incident near Habbaniyah last year. Of 17 serious casualties, including the only corpsman, only one died, and his injury was immediately non-survivable. If you spend any time in environments where the metal-to-air density ratio is a concern, I highly recommend you look into DMI and their courses.

I hope to be able to make a few more posts over the next two weeks, and then it will be off to more training for the rest of July. Looks like John and LtCol P are doing such fine work that my absences aren't likely to be noticed anyway.

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