November 2007 Archives

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Diplomacy Fails, Iranian Nuke Research Continues

By Charlie

Diplomacy:

LONDON - An 18-month attempt to persuade Iran to mothball uranium enrichment collapsed Friday after a senior European Union envoy failed to dent Tehran's resolve to expand the technology, despite the threat of new U.N. sanctions.

The meeting had been considered a last chance for Iran to give in to pressure from the five permanent U.N. Security Council nations and at least freeze — if not dismantle — its enrichment program before the end of the month, ahead of a new effort by the five nations to find common language on a third set of U.N. sanctions.

…EU's Javier Solana: "After five hours of meetings, I expected more, and therefore I am disappointed,"

Wow, five hours. I know I expected the EU to be able to talk Iran out of their nukes in five hours.
The EU doesn’t seem to be approaching this with too much urgency. Too bad for them, they’re in missile range.

Defining Terrorism: War vs. Crime

By Charlie

I reached a moment of pure frustration today while typing out a paper for on of my classes. Given a report from the US Coordinator for Counterterrorism in April of 2001, I was assigned to describe what efforts were being made at the time to prevent or slow future acts of terror. Remember, this was April of 2001, five months before September, 2001, when the terrorist equation changed.

This document identified Taliban-controlled Afghanistan as a “primary hub” for international terrorism, and indicated that it was a growing threat for “all countries.” According to this document, sanctions were levied against the Taliban by UNSCR 1333, for harboring Osama Bin Laden and failing to close down training camps. This document hailed the sanctions as a “major victory” in international cooperation against terrorism. Additionally, it highlighted the importance of “isolating” the Taliban.

Additionally, the document points out how sanctions are important to “keep the pressure” on Libya, for its complicity in the Lockerbie bombing. The document mentions Iran, as the top state sponsor of terrorism in the region, and “expects those states in the region that are committed to peace distance themselves from all forms of terrorism.” While questionable as a policy prescription, the document then highlights work within the G-8 to “condemn” terrorism. According to the document, “the foundation of our efforts is diplomacy,” and the report seeks to ensure that terrorists are “brought to justice.”

I am well aware of the current debate of the approaches to dealing with terrorism, and I do understand that diplomacy and multinational cooperation are essential to combating terrorism: terrorists use borders to their advantage, and multinational agreements and cooperation deny this advantage to the terrorists. Got it.

What struck me was how this pre-9/11 law enforcement approach completely failed. It is still a valid argument that terrorism should be handled by law enforcement and not the military, but the debate is on how to practically make that happen in the world today, because the pre-9/11 efforts failed so completely.

What this document I reviewed from the US Coordinator for Counterterrorism (April 2001) told me this:

-If we identify a “primary hub” of international terrorism, destroy it. Don’t sanction it or try to isolate it.

-Diplomatic pressure on Libya did cause Qadaffi to give up his WMD program, only after that diplomatic pressure was backed with a credible threat of military action.

-“Hoping” nations “distance” themselves from regional powerbrokers and state-terror sponsors like Iran is not a credible policy prescription. Syria and even Venezuela have sought to increase their ties with the Islamic Republic since 2000.

-International condemnations are meaningless unless they are backed up by men on the ground with guns fighting for the good guys. Witness Sudan. George Clooney can campaign all he wants for Darfur, nothing will change until a brigade of combat troops from a Western nation shows up to stop the killing.

The law enforcement vs. war debate on terrorism will continue to be a relevant discussion, but the lessons of the past cannot be forgotten on this matter.

**UPDATE: I found the link at the State Dept. website

Recording History - Part IV - Starting at the Top

By Richard S. Lowry

Welcome back!

I interviewed nearly one-hundred participants of the battle for An Nasiriyah in order to collect the overall story of the first major battle of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The two-year adventure of learning the details for Marines in the Garden of Eden began when then Brigadier General Richard Natonski invited me to come to Camp Lejeune in October of 2003. I spent an entire day talking with Marines and walked away knowing that I had to tell that amazing story.

So, when LtGen Richard Natonski suggested that I write the story of Phantom Fury, I jumped at the opportunity. Once I digested the PowerPoint briefing he gave me, I set out to start the research process again. I found a map; collected information on the units involved and started my interviews.

Richard S. Lowry is the author of The Gulf War Chronicles and Marines in the Garden of Eden.

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China Denies US Ships Port of Call

By Charlie

China's back:

China on Thursday fuelled the confusion surrounding its refusal to allow a visit to Hong Kong by a US aircraft carrier when it denied telling President George W. Bush that the affair was a "misunderstanding".

Beijing's decision to block a Thanksgiving port visit by the USS Kitty Hawk and earlier to bar two US destroyers from taking refuge in Hong Kong from a storm has angered the US navy and threatened the recent warming in cross-Pacific military ties.

This incident displays the divergence in thought that currently runs through the defense establishment. The root of this divergence is the Big wars versus Small wars argument. Big war enthusiasts argue that we need to focus on the next “big” war, against a state competitor (e.g. China, North Korea, Iran) and therefore we must purchase weapon systems that can deal with “big war” scenarios: F-22s, attack submarines, crusader artillery systems, etc. “Big War” types also embrace network-centric warfare, and increased investment in technological developments that will support destroying enemy armies. “Small war” proponents see the future of warfare developing along the 4GW model, where conflict are not between states, but within states. These wars will be fought along ethnic and religious lines, and increasingly involve control over resources. “Small war” types see the conflicts we are involved in now (OIF and OEF) and the relative successive gains when a “small war” strategy is implemented (COIN) rather than a Big-War mentality of search and destroy, and then returning to mega-bases for chow. “Small war” thinkers want to spend money on developing soldiers and supporting their efforts to work with local populations, rather than defeating enemy armies on the battlefield.

Anyway, this China incident gives some ammo to the “big war” thinkers, because they see China as our number one threat on a nation-state playing field. As long as China stays on the radar screen as a looming “future threat,” big war types will be able to forward their arguments that we are “ruining our Army” by executing counter-insurgency operations, and must return to focusing on synchronizing combat power on a linear battlefield.

China, if it were smart, would knock these kind of shenanigans off. While it isn’t wise to create international incidents with the US anyway, doing it at a time when economic ties between the two countries have never been stronger makes little sense. China is already making windfall off of US security protecting its oil exports through the Persian Gulf, and has negatively interfered with US efforts in Africa, and elsewhere. US efforts are focused elsewhere, fighting AQ and stabilizing Iraq and Afghanistan –we don’t have time for China right now.

Enter General Jones

By Lt Col P

Interesting news today: General James L. Jones, former Commandant of the Marine Corps and Supreme Allied Commander Europe, has been named Middle East Special Envoy. He is currently Chairman of the Atlantic Council.

I think this is a good choice. Gen Jones was once described to me as "smooth as ice" by one of his former ops officers, and it was meant to be a compliment. Compliment or no, it is accurate.

He definitely has the credentials, among them his experience as CO 24th MEU (SOC) during Operation Provide Comfort in Kurdistan in 1991. (Odd coincidence-- another unit commander in that op was (then) LTC John Abizaid. 24 MEU, especially the battalion landing team, was also chock full of VMI grads.) He was a breath of fresh air when he came in as Commandant, having a clear vision of what he wanted the Marine Corps to do. Let us hope he does the same for this very difficult task.

Wow, Didn’t see this One Coming…

By Charlie

Saudi Arabia releases 1,500 Al Qaeda Members

All it took was a promise not to wage jihad on the Arabian Peninsula for the Saudi royal family to free 1,500 imprisoned Al Qaeda members, declaring they had been "reformed." The kingdom's Interior Ministry released the terrorists last weekend, according to the Saudi newspaper Al Watan as reported by the New York Sun.

Saudi Arabia arrests more than 200 “militants.”

(CNN) -- More than 200 Saudi and foreign militants have been arrested over their alleged involvement in various plots, including assassinations and a planned attack on an oil facility, Saudi officials say.

Hmmm… there is a point here…. Somewhere…. Perhaps a connection that I’m missing…

F-15 Grounded

By Charlie

More problems with our aging air fleet?

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A week after lifting a flight ban on more than 400 F-15 fighters, the U.S. Air Force once again grounded most of the fleet because of potential problems that could lead to the planes falling apart in mid-air.
The grounding of the Boeing-made F-15 will not affect air operations in Iraq or Afghanistan because the F-15E flies there, according to Pentagon officials.

The grounding does slightly affect the homeland security operation called "Operation Noble Eagle," as the Air Force has had to fill gaps with F-16s.

The Air Guard, which did a lot of our ferrying while I was deployed, always pointed out to us that the oldest thing in the air would be the plane. Most of the “lift” fleet that the Air Guard has is circa 1960. It seems to me that some serious upgrades and modernizations are needed in the “lift” fleet, but I didn’t expect the attack planes to start having these kind of systemic technical issues.

The Problem with Peace Conferences

By Charlie

The Israeli/Palestinian “peace” conference continues in Annapolis today. However, Gaza, a Palestinian territory that democratically elected a terrorist gang to govern them, seems to have other ideas about “peace.”

GAZA (Reuters) - Hamas Islamists rejected U.S. President George W. Bush's drive for peace in the Middle East on Wednesday and vowed to undermine Israeli-Palestinian negotiations by keeping up their fight against the Jewish state.

So how does a leader make international agreements when a large portion of his country is diametrically opposed to agreements? This is another example in the growing global problem of conflict within states, not between states. The true conflict here is not between the Israelis and the Palestinians, everyone is well versed in that fight. The real story is the real civil war that continues in the Palestinian territories, between Hamas and Fatah. What is interesting here is that a “leader” of a “state” is attempting to lobby on the international scene on behalf of people that are not even consenting to be governed by him. This is akin to having Muqtada Al-Sadr negotiate on behalf of Iraq, when a large chunk of Iraqis can’t stand him.

What do you make of an agreement in these circumstances? Even if a mutual agreement on a framework (or roadmap?) toward Palestinian statehood is reached, how can it possibly be enacted on the ground when Hamas is still committed to destroy the Palestinians’ new “partner in peace” Israel?

The bottom line on this is that it is formulaic, going through the motions, check th box diplomacy.

Recording History - Part IIIA - More on Unit Symbols

By Richard S. Lowry

To those of you who have just surfed in, you have arrived nearly at the beginning of a great internet adventure. (Catch up on previous posts here.) I have recently started blogging my way through my newest book project. It will tell the story of the battle for Fallujah. Return frequently and follow along as my work grows into the next military history book to hit the shelves in your local book store. Please contribute suggestions and comments. I am looking forward to your feedback.

I have received a couple requests to expand on my explanation of military unit symbology so here is a little more detail.

Richard S. Lowry is the author of The Gulf War Chronicles and Marines in the Garden of Eden.

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Is the C-17 Worth the Price Tag?

By John

If we were going off of lift capacity and range.... maybe.

Add the "stop-on-a-dime" short field landing ability.... probably.

Throw in engines capable of producing totally rad mini-tornadoes... definitely.

Meanwhile, Back In Haditha...

By Lt Col P

A good article from Marine Corps Public Affairs highlights progress in Haditha, which was once, well, not a nice place to be.

HADITHA, Iraq -- (Nov. 27, 2007) -- It may be impossible to predict history as it is happening, but some of the battles fought in Iraq are certain to become legendary. Generations from now, school children will learn of the heroes who fought in Fallujah and Ramadi, battling in extreme conditions when their country needed them most. Haditha, another Anbar city once caught in the grip of yesterday’s violence, is now becoming a city of progress and transition.

Without question, Haditha is known for its fierce battles. Many have given their lives in an attempt to reclaim peace in this northern area of the province. It was in this city that six Marines were killed in an ambush during 2005. Days later, 14 Marines died when their armored vehicle was struck by a roadside bomb. The city was a hotbed for terrorists where Marines confronted their enemy in the streets, houses and farm lands. But, if there was ever a place that could paint the picture of the progress being made in Anbar, it’s here.

A battalion of more than 1,000 Marines recently moved into Haditha. Most of them are reservists from New Orleans’ 3rd Battalion, 23rd Marine Regiment. Others are attachments from Houston’s 1st Bn., 23rd Marines, or active duty Marines from various commands throughout the Marine Corps. Regardless of where they came or their status, their mission is clear.

“A year ago, we were fighting in the streets every day, (evacuating) Marines who were wounded in action,” said [LtCol] Jarrard. “Now, the Marines patrol the streets and the people are talking about problems, which are nice problems to have. ‘Hey, can we get the roads paved,’ it sounds kind of like our neighborhoods back home. The problems are problems that every city has in the world. They’re not the problems of a city in the midst of a civil war.”

Progress. Solid progress. Don't let the naysayers tell you otherwise, and don't let them place the credit where it's not due. This is not just a happy coincidence. Years of hard work, hard fighting, and patient persistent presence are the reasons for these little victories.

“Urban Guerillas”?

By Charlie

VILLIERS-LE-BEL, France - Youths rampaged for a third night in the tough suburbs north of Paris and violence spread to a southern city late Tuesday as police struggled to contain rioters who have burned cars and buildings and — in an ominous turn — shot at officers.

A senior police union official warned that "urban guerrillas" had joined the unrest, saying the violence was worse than during three weeks of rioting that raged around French cities in 2005, when firearms were rarely used.

The last time I heard the phrase “Urban Guerillas”: was in a terrorism course I took, and it was in reference to the Mini-Manual of The Urban Guerrilla, by Carlos Marighella, written in June 1969.

Marighella defines urban guerrillas:

The urban guerrilla, however, differs radically from the criminal. The criminal benefits personally from his actions, and attacks indiscrimminately without distinguishing between the exploiters and the exploited, which is why there are so many ordinary people among his victims. The urban guerrilla follows a political goal, and only attacks the government, the big businesses and the foreign imperialists.

The “ominous turn” in the article was the use of shotguns by the “youths.” Marighella talks about this, specifically:

Shotguns can be useful if used at close range and point blank. They are useful even for a poor shot, especially at night when precision isn't much help.

Marighella concludes:

The urban guerrilla is engaged in revolutionary action for the people, and with them seeks the participation of the people in the struggle against the dictatorship and the liberation of the country. Beginning with the city and the support of the people, the rural guerrilla war develops rapidly, establishing its infrastructure carefully while the urban area continues the rebellion.

The only question I have, is that if the French are using the term “urban guerrilla,” do they understand the intent of the movement of the guerillas? If they are revolutionary, what is the goal of their revolution? Sharia enclaves in Paris suburbs? Are the French ok with this? Until this group can be defined in terms other than shotgun-toting “youths,” the groups goals, and deeper organization, ideology, and funding sources will remain as nondescript as the term “youths” is.

After Iraq

By Charlie

This story has made the rounds today:

Talks Are Set on Ending Battle of Iraq: Quiet Announcement Signals Start of U.S., Iraq Parley

With the eyes of the world focused on the Middle East peace talks in Annapolis, Md., President Bush's war tsar, Lieutenant General Douglas Lute, quietly announced that the American and Iraqi governments will start talks early next year to bring about an end to the allied occupation by the close of Mr. Bush's presidency.

The negotiations will bring to a formal conclusion the U.N. Chapter 7 Security Council involvement in the occupation and administration of Iraq, and are expected to reduce the number of American troops to about 50,000 troops permanently stationed there but largely confined to barracks, from the current 164,000 forces on active duty.

"The basic message here should be clear. Iraq is increasingly able to stand on its own. That's very good news. But it won't have to stand alone," General Lute yesterday told reporters in the White House.

We’ll see how this pans out. The enemy has a vote in the situation, and there remains a “last gasp” or Al Qaida Tet Offensive possibility that if properly exploited through the media, could easily derail recent security gains.

That being said, if a long term occupation of Iraq (ala Korea and Germany) is in the cards, it will remarkably re-shape the way the US is perceived in the Middle East.

Iraq is and always has been one of many fronts in the global war on terror. Even if things quiet down in Iraq –we’re not out of the woods yet. Things could still go south in Afghanistan, Pakistan looks to be on the verge of a meltdown, Taliban and their terrorist fellow travelers still roam the northwest territories. AFRICOM is standing up to handle threats that are emerging from unstable regions and extremist insurgencies. Latin America seems to be unhealthily tilting towards communism, and Al Qaeda still lurks in the global shadows.

The idea that if Iraq is “won” our troop requirements worldwide will significantly decrease needs to be dispelled now. We still live in a very dangerous world, keep that duffel bag packed.

Picture of the Day: Bleccchhh

By John

What the hell!??

An F-16C Fighting Falcon from the Texas Air National Guard's 111th Fighter Squadron flies with a special paint job in honor of the squadron's 90th anniversary. All the colors and markings have specific meanings, reflecting the unit's nine-decade history. (Photo courtesy of John Dibbs)

OMG I want to shoot it down just to save my eyes the stress.

Recording History Part III - You Can’t Tell the Players without a Program

By Richard S. Lowry

To those of you who have just surfed in, you have arrived nearly at the beginning of a great internet adventure. (Catch up on previous posts here.) I have recently started blogging my way through my newest book project. It will tell the story of the battle for Fallujah. Return frequently and follow along as my work grows into the next military history book to hit the shelves in your local book store. Please contribute suggestions and comments. I am looking forward to your feedback.

For those who have returned – Welcome back!

Richard S. Lowry is the author of The Gulf War Chronicles and Marines in the Garden of Eden.

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10,000 E-mails?

By Charlie

Haven’t exactly been keeping up with my Google Mail account (which I primarily use for the website…)

Pakistan Gets Worse

By Charlie

If that's possible...

Ex-Pakistan Leader Returns to Hero's Welcome

Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif returned to Pakistan Sunday evening, marking a turning point in the political power struggle gripping this nation.

Unlike on Sept. 10, when Sharif made his first attempt to enter the country, this time there were no police waiting to detain and deport him. Instead, Sharif received a hero's welcome. Thousands of his supporters crowded into the airport in Lahore to greet him upon his arrival. Some held signs and chanted, "Go Musharraf Go!"

Things keep looking worse for Musharraf, despite his success in pulling off the state of emergency, stacking the courts with “his” guys, and quelling domestic political opponents. Here’s the rub: Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto, despite being popular now, really did not vault Pakistan out of the dark ages while they were in charge. Bhutto extended diplomatic recognition to the Taliban, and let the ISI funnel them arms.

Bhutto, Sharif, and Musharraf all seem to be sub-standard (even for Pakistan) politicians, and all are aware that blood is in the water. What is going on in Pakistan now is simply a very dangerous power grab by all three of these politicians – Musharraf tries to get a better grip on the country, while Bhutto and Sharif try to take it back. This wouldn’t be a big deal if this were some country in central Africa, or South America- but Pakistan is central to the US efforts in the war on terror. Pakistan is currently at a tipping point between anarchy, possible Islamic terrorist rule, and continued authoritarian grip. All three of these foster massive internal instability, and Pakistan’s informal “cease fire” with the Taliban operating in the northern provinces has not helped the situation much.

Then and Now…

By Charlie

I had a conversation with my uncle, a WWII vet, after Thanksgiving dinner. It went kind of like this:

“The biggest difference, I think, between what’s going on now and back during the war, is that you knew who the bad guys were. All of the civilians in Germany had left the area, and had gone to Czechoslovakia, or anywhere else that wasn’t in the combat zone. So when we were on line, anyone on the other side, you knew he was a Nazi, and you knew that you could shoot him. Nowadays, you don’t know who’s on your side and who is not.”

“We were on line for 38 days during the Battle of the Bulge. I remember one day, we lost 30 men, and over 70 wounded during one attack. We had replacement units coming to the front all of the time to cover the losses. It wasn’t anything to hear of entire companies, even battalions, being lost. You don’t see that now.”

Both of these snippets of my conversation with my uncle tell us a lot about how much things have changed. Let’s take the first snippet. Combatants versus Non-Combatants has been a huge issue during the recent battles in the war on terror. Rights of captured terrorists, rules of engagement, hostile intent definitions, and detainee ops have been hotly debated in the political and military arenas. Back in WWII, this was a fairly simple concept: shoot the Nazis. Because WWII formed the basis for which all future wars are judged, we view the current conflict in its context: black versus white, red versus blue. The only problem is that war has changed, and we are not fighting a 3rd generation war anymore, we are fighting 4th generation wars in a grey world.

Snippet #2 is also telling: the differences between casualty rates are striking. According to this report:

The death-to-wounded ratio has also improved, the study found. Nearly 8 people are wounded for every one who dies in Operation Iraqi Freedom versus the 1 death to 1.7 wound ratio found during World War II.

We have not had anything resembling the troop loss that the US endured during WWII, where entire aircraft carriers could were lost in the Pacific and brigades of troops were being ground against the German war machine. In Iraq and Afghanistan, troop losses, while tragic, have remained historically low. That is a testament to our technological advantage in battlefield medicine, tactics, techniques, and procedures during operations, and a focus on evacuation procedures during the planning process.

However, generations of soldiers and warfare still maintain some connections –my uncle welcomed me home, and had a look in his eye that indicated that he knew what it meant to be back.

Thanksgiving with the Boss Man

By John

Mike Yon breaks bread with General Petraeus, and reports on Baquba five months after Arrowhead Ripper:

Back in May, just before operation Arrowhead Ripper, there were about 60 violent acts per day. Now there are about 6. The markets are opening and the streets are again filled with people. I thought the veterans of Baqubah might like to know that their efforts have made a tremendous difference for the people here. You fought hard. This writer saw it. Your sacrifices truly meant something.

Read the whole thing.

Hotel Tango: Vodkapundit

Everyone’s Launching Satellites

By Charlie

The Germans and the Chinese seem to be making some gains in the quest for the final frontier:

German Spy Satellite Launches Into Space

Chinese Satellite Heading for Lunar Orbit Showcases Ambitious Space Program

I wanted to mention this because the enormous technological advantages that the US military enjoys are due in part to our early mastery of space technology. Satellites provide imagery, GPS ability, communication, and have become the cornerstone of US ground, naval, and air operations in all military theatres. So here’s a question: what if you could pluck one or two enemy satellites out of the sky?

That concept is the 21st century equivalent of calling artillery on a battlefield command post: it disrupts the flow of information, intelligence, orders, and command and control of subordinate units.

However, that brings me to this story in the WaPo:

Space Defense Program Gets Extra Funding

While wrestling with wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Pentagon is preparing weapons to fight the next battle from space, according to information in the 621-page, House-Senate conference report on the fiscal 2008 defense appropriations bill.

The $459 billion bill, which awaits President Bush's signature, provides $100 million for a new "prompt global strike" program that could deliver a conventional, precision-guided warhead anywhere in the world within two hours. …
Conferees added $100 million above the Bush administration's request for nearly $200 million to accelerate "space situational awareness." That is code for protecting U.S. satellites in space and being able to attack the enemy's satellites.

"Counterspace systems" that would warn of impending threats to U.S. satellites, destroy or defend against attackers, and interrupt enemy satellites are in the Bush budget for $53 million. Conferees gave them another $10 million.

Another $18 million would go for research into a second-generation counter-satellite-communications system; it would explore and develop capabilities "to provide disruption of satellite communications signals in response to U.S. Strategic Command requirements," …

Part of the funding will also go toward work on integrating this system, which detects enemy threats to U.S. satellites, with the offensive counterspace and counter-satellite-communications programs. …

Protecting our technological edge (even in space) is complimentary to our efforts in the war on terror. I remember that each time I look at my GPS and get an accurate grid.

Thanksgiving AAR

By Lt Col P

Had a good T'giving at the P household. General goodwill prevailed, despite the usual family tensions, and I have a big family.

I do the cooking on holidays, and while this one was not the elaborate from-scratch feast others have been, we still did pretty well. For those who haven't tried this method before, brine your turkey. BRINE IT. It's worth effort.

The weather here was weird yesterday. When the main party arrived at about 1300 it was something like 75 degrees. By the time the last two left at 2000 it was 55 and dropping rapidly.

Today we got the main outdoor Christmas decorations up, a little earlier than I am used to, but what the hell. I love Christmas, and I'm feeling in an especially good mood. I don't allow myself any Christmas-isms before Thanksgiving +1, but then it's non-stop carols and whatnot. My favorite Christmas book? The Mole Family's Christmas, the reading of which is a much-anticipated family tradition.

Got an invite to join a fellow NoVa blogger for a deer hunt tomorrow a.m. (more to follow). So I visited the local indoor range to verify the zero on the mighty Steyr Scout. All I needed to do was go two clicks up, and I was right in with a quarter-sized group about a quarter of an inch above the X. Wish us luck.

UPDATE 24 Nov: Countertop and I came back empty-handed. Despite that, it was good to get out, get cold, and see some of the natural world. Here's to next time!

Gravy!

By Charlie

Last year, KBR fixed my Thanksgiving dinner. This year, I was pleased to dine with my family.

Best wishes to all of my Brother Rats and brothers in arms abroad this Thanksgiving. I hope the next one is much, much better. Times like these are sweet for those at home, and tough for those who are not. Be sure to keep the guys in your thoughts and prayers over this holiday.

Thanksgivings Past

By Bull Nav

We are all thankful today for something.

I am thankful I am home, and that when I was on active duty, although I missed a few Thanksgivings (and one birth), I never missed a Christmas.

One of the Thanksgivings I missed was in 1999. The mighty USS SCRANTON was inport Bahrain, one of 4 port calls to that august center of US Navy operations in the Arabian Gulf.

A couple of other ships were in, too. Our carrier, the USS JOHN F KENNEDY and its shotgun, the USS MONTEREY were both inport. It didn't seem like a carrier was in...

Until the Joan Jett concert.

Beer was cheap and it was Ramadan, so no one was going into town. It was1999, the last century even, and 9/11 was still a couple of years away. We were the tip of the spear, ready to get to it with whoever wanted to make trouble. In port, it was time to party and let loose.

Our Chop (that is supply officer, for you non-Navy types) managed to get the entire band to sign our brow banner, but Joan Jett did not.

Drank a lot of beer and ROCKED OUT!

It was a good time in a foreign port, even though we were far away from our families.

We still had our Navy family.

Sunday we were underway and back at it.

Happy Thanksgiving To All

By Lt Col P

HT to all our loyal readers and commenters, our milblog colleagues, and to every soldier, sailor, airman and Marine at home and overseas. Special greetings to Agent 91, Slab, Brother Rat StClair and Brother Rat Pardew and all the other VMI men serving as "wardens of the marches." May next Thanksgiving see you home, safe and sound.

As for me, I am thankful for this great nation, my wife and child, my family, the 2nd Amendment, the Corps and the Corps, and the abundant availability of alcohol and tobacco.

jpp 89

Weapons Bleg

By Charlie

With all of the talk about the DC gun ban being declared unconstitutional, it got me thinking of the need to purchase another firearm. The holiday season is just around the corner, and what better way to celebrate it than to get myself a handgun for Christmas!

I was thinking about something in a .45, such as the Glock Model 21, Heckler & Koch USP DA/SA, or the Smith & Wesson 1911.

However, our audience is vastly more knowledgeable in cases such as these. Leave a comment and advise me which gun to get!

Quick Movie Review

By Charlie

Just saw Hitman. I’d give it a solid “B”, it had a so-so plot (I never really played the video games, so I can’t deliver the fanboy “accuracy”, and have no idea if it stayed on message.) Bottom line: it has gratuitous violence, good action, good gunplay, nudity of the female variety, and a HIND-D helicopter raking the side of a building with gunfire.

Definitely a “guy” flick (I saw it with the fiancé, not a great date movie…)

Give 'em an inch…

By Charlie

Always a fan of the MILF*, I figured an update on the situation in the Philippines was in order.

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) - - The Philippines government and separatist rebels have struck a deal on creating a Muslim homeland in the country's south which is expected to lead to a peace accord next year, officials said Thursday. The agreement on the extent of territory to be handed over had been a major stumbling block in the peace talks that opened when a ceasefire was forged with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in 2001.

Any time an insurgent group actually gains a chunk of territory, it is a HUGE victory on their terms, and validates their struggle for more land, and political control of it. All other things being equal, expect an information operations campaign to follow once the MILF takes political control of this territory, emphasizing how “just” the governance now is, showing new roads, schools, and happy children. Expect the MILF, and its fellow travelers, to set up shop in their new home territory, and use it to re-fit, re-am, train, and recruit forces to continue the unconventional fight elsewhere.

Just a side note, the US sinks quite a lot of money into the Philippines in the form of military assistance:

The Philippines is the most dependent on U.S. military assistance in all the East Asian countries, said a think tank in its latest report on Wednesday…. Its 54 million-U.S. dollar annual average is over 10 times more than the next biggest recipient, Thailand, another close U.S. ally in East Asia, which got an average of 4 million dollars annually during that period.

By this measure, from 1988 to 2005, U.S. military assistance was equivalent to over 8 percent of the Philippines average annual military expenditure. This is far larger than any other country in the region, much more than that of Thailand, for which U.S. military is only 0.4 percent of its annual military expenditure.

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Recording History - Part II

By Richard S. Lowry

Welcome! You have surfed in at the beginning of a great internet adventure. I recently started work on my next book. It will tell the story of the battle for Fallujah. John and I have decided to make you all a participant in this writing project. You have only missed PART I of this interactive series. I will be blogging my way through the project. You can follow along as my work grows into the next military history book to hit the shelves in your local book store. And, you can even contribute with suggestions and comments. Actually. I am looking forward to your feedback.

So, let’s get started.

Please join me in this continuing adventure by reading on and then taking the time to leave a comment.

Richard S. Lowry is the author of The Gulf War Chronicles and Marines in the Garden of Eden.

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68 Years

By Bull Nav

That's the amount of time since the Supreme Court has heard a 2nd Amendment case.

After a hiatus of 68 years, the Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to rule on the meaning of the Second Amendment — the hotly contested part of the Constitution that guarantees “a right to keep and bear arms.”

This one is based on Washington DC's appeal of the court case against their prohibition against gun ownership.

Either way it goes, it could have far-reaching implications.

Should make for an interesting Spring...

Tarawa

By Lt Col P

On this day in 1943, the bloody ugly nasty fight at Tarawa began. Three days later it was over, at the cost of a thousand Marines killed. A full scale diorama at the National Museum of the Marine Corps brings it to life in vivd detail.

Action In The Swat Valley

By Lt Col P

This past saturday or sunday morning I was watching Fox News, and in the microsecond I was able to take my eyes off Courtney Friel I saw one of the tickertape headlines saying something about a punitive expedition in the Swat Valley of Pakistan. Ah! That struck a chord!

Yesterday I found this in the WaPo:

Pakistan Bolstering Forces in Northwest

"More than 1,000 security forces, civilians and fighters have been killed in the past five months in Pakistan. Much of the violence has occurred in the Swat Valley, an area in North-West Frontier Province once known to tourists as the Switzerland of South Asia.

"Pakistani army officials said government forces killed 100 fighters loyal to a pro-Taliban cleric in three days of fierce battles in the northern Swat Valley. Forces loyal to the cleric had been gaining ground in recent weeks, capturing several towns in the valley. In the adjacent Shangla district, they have seized government buildings with little resistance from security forces."

(The Torch noted it too.)

The fabled Valley of The Swat is no stranger to trouble. Winston Churchill described it in detail in 1897, when he penned his account of the expedition of the Malakand Field Force, a story which bears close resemblance to current events. After describing the valley's former glories as a pacific kingdom of Buddhists, he continues thusly:

"The reputation which its present inhabitants enjoy is evil. Their treacherous character has distinguished them even among peoples notoriously faithless and cruel. Among Pathans it is a common saying: 'Swat is heaven, but the Swatis are hell-fiends.' "

There is much to note beside that picturesque passage, which again should remind smart readers that events do repeat themselves. Chapter One in particular provides a description of the inhabitants of what was then the Northwest Frontier that is, I expect, still mostly valid. The book fired my imagination when I read it, some 25 years ago, and it still does today. I strongly recommend it.

Cutting the JIEDDO?

By Charlie

Here’s a little more knowledge on the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization/Task Force (JIEDDO) that came up in the news today:

WASHINGTON, Nov. 19, 2007 – If Congress does not come through with a supplemental bill President Bush will sign, money for defeating the largest killers of American personnel in the war on terror will run out Dec. 1, a senior official said here today. Retired Army Gen. Montgomery C. Meigs, director of the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization, told Pentagon reporters that the organization will have to stop funding new initiatives and just maintain operations.

“We’re out of (funding) new stuff now; we’re going to have trouble sustaining current contracts after the first of December,” Meigs said.

This group is on point for combining efforts to defeat the threat of IEDs to troops in the field. The organization began operating in October 2003 as the Army IED Task Force, which became JIEDDO in July 2005. This organization has been at the forefront of “cracking the code” of the defining weapon of this war, and crafted both technological and tactical ways of defeating both the bombs and the networks that emplace them.
Here’s the write up on Global Security.org:

During the early stages of the IED problem, Task Force officials believed that technology was the best way to defeat the threat.

“The first items that we helped with were the up-armored Humvees, the add-on armor to protect from the blasts and the small-arms protective inserts that go inside the outer tactical vests,” said Col. Lamont Woody, deputy of the JIEDD TF. “Since then we have gone on to counter radio controlled initiators that the enemy has been using. In other words, we have gone out and tried to figure out how we counter the radio controlled threat.”

Since 2003, the JIEDD TF has invested about $378 million toward the acquisition of technology to counteract radio-controlled devices used to detonate IEDs. The devices, called Countering Radio-Controlled IED Devices – Electronic Warfare, or “jammers,” exist in six vehicle-mounted forms to detect and prevent potential IEDs.

“We have done a lot of research and study, and started to get the production lines in America spun up to get the actual jammers on the vehicles and to the troops that are deployed,” Woody said. “Our goal is to reduce the casualties and to make sure that the troops have the very best TTPs (tactics, techniques and procedures), and the very best equipment that we can provide them.”

JIEDDO can credit impressive statistics to its efforts so far:

According to JIEDD TF statistics, there has been a 45 percent decrease in the rate of IED casualties since April 2004. An estimated 30-40 percent of IEDs are found and rendered safe before they are able to be detonated.

Another point: these guys are at the forefront of a combined inter-agency combined arms fight against the enemy. The information they gather will help all war fighters abroad and law enforcement back home understand the threat that IEDs pose, and how to neutralize it and save lives.

Recording History

By Richard S. Lowry

John has suggested that I try to keep our readership updated as to my progress on my next book. I got to thinking about his suggestion and think it might be interesting to blog my way through the project. You and I may have a completely different idea of what is “interesting.” So, I will rely on your feedback through comments to determine whether I should continue with my saga of writing the story of Operation Phantom Fury.

If this goes as planned, I will be posting short updates on the writing and publishing process in the days and weeks to come. I will also try to provide short vignettes on some of the soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines I am interviewing. Some of the stories will end up in the book – others may not.

Please join me in this continuing adventure by reading on and then taking the time to leave a comment.

Richard S. Lowry is the author of The Gulf War Chronicles and Marines in the Garden of Eden.

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Arab MTV?

By Charlie

ABC:

Music and lifestyle television channel MTV has launched a new service aimed at the Arab world.

MTV Arabia will show a mix of Arabic hip hop videos, talent shows, and versions of worldwide hits such as Pimp My Ride that have been adapted for the Middle East market.

MTV says it hopes that the unifying force of music will help correct the misconception that the Arab world is a place of tension and stress.

I am mixed in my reaction to this. One the one hand, I am reminded about the Cold War example of our culture seeping under the Iron curtain through things like Radio Free Europe. Culture and economics are a marked advantage that the US enjoys, so why not leverage it? On the other hand, MTV, as the purveyor of such pap as “A Shot At Love With Tila Tequila” could easily become a rallying point against American cultural imperialism by local extremist elements in the Arab world.

Although it cuts both ways, I think that this will be an advantage to the US in particular and the West in general. At the very least, it will tick off those remaining pockets of Taliban trying to outlaw music.

Ivan Embraces Transformation

By John

Are the Ruskies reading from the book of Rumsfeld? Russian Army Chief of Staff Yuri Baluyevsky says da.

In a press conference last week, Baluyevsky said that:

Russia's Armed Forces, like all militaries in the world, would be putting an emphasis on quality, not quantity.

"It will be a leaner but meaner, well trained and equipped, and professional force," the general said.

......

"As for the modern Russian Army, it is not the Army that we have inherited from the collapsed Soviet Union in the early 90's," Baluyevsky added. "Today it's a totally new Army. As for the number of men, in the Soviet times the Army had more than 4 million servicemen and now it is a bit over 1 million. As you may notice, it has shrunk by 3 million."

Nice of him to do the math for us, I almost got out my calculator.

In Russia's case, you can certainly make the argument that they're in bad need of upgraded training and tactics, despite the fact that their improvement from the First Chechen War to the Second Chechen War was extraordinary. The bar was set pretty low after Ivan took an Afghanistan-esqe whupping in the first war, but I digress...

Lighter and leaner is the new hotness in today's global defense establishment. The problem is, while many nations have some force multiplying technology that allows for a reduced military, few are advanced enough to sync up geographically dispersed units into a single fighting force. That's a type of synergy that only the US military enjoys, where pilots drop bombs on targets in Iraq while sitting in an air-conditioned trailer outside Las Vegas and forward air controllers call in B-52s from Guam to drop iron on Tangos in Afghanistan.

Russia has some technological standouts. They make superb fighters, tanks, and SAMs, but they can't tie it all together. Glonass, the Russian GPS constellation, sucks, their comm sats are relics of the Cold War, and they seem more interested in supporting the grunt with indiscriminate artillery bursts than precision air strikes. They want leaner and meaner, but so far have only accomplished the "leaner" end of their transformation.

No doubt Ivan will one day develop a capable net-centric approach to warfighting. But, as the success of the Surge is creating a movement to undo 16 years of US defense cuts, by the time Russian catches up, warfare may have already evolved to the point where the lean, mean fighting machine is obsolete.

VMI-Citadel Connection

By Bull Nav

Once I graduated from VMI, I found that as I came across the occasional Citadel grad, we had a certain kinship. I mean, who else pays for the abuse we endure?

I ended up with a neighbor when I lived in Chesapeake, VA, who graduated from the Citadel. At some point in the mid-90's we set up a standing bet on The Military Classic of the South. When we won that year (gawd, I don't remember which one it was) the doorbell rang the next day and waiting for me was a case of Sam Adams. My neighbor was nowhere to be seen.

Well, this year, we had a little un-official wager with some of The Citadel bloggers out there (Skippy & Steeljaw Scribe) on the game. Obviously we came out with the short end of the stick, so I am going to hold up my end of the deal and post about a Citadel graduate of some notoriety.

Or at least some notoriety inside of VMI, specifically VMI athletics.

Mike Bozeman, BG (ret) USAR, The Citadel '67, was hired as VMI's track coach the month before I matriculated, July 1985.

I remember him because I tried out for track when I was a rat. I didn't make it because I could not hang with long distance running. Coach Bozeman was very laid back, very understanding and very encouraging. I could have remained on as an equipment manager, but decided that the ratline was for me.

Since that, VMI won 12 conference championships under his tutelage. He also spent two years as the Commandant of Cadets.

To go back a little in his history, he spent a year in Viet Nam as a LRRP platoon leader and was awarded the Silver Star.

He made an impression on me early in my cadetship, and has been a mentor and coach to many VMI cadets since.

The VMI Keydet website has his complete bio.

VMI Rules!

By Charlie

I took this during the Military Classic of the South at VMI this weekend. It was the first time I had been back to the “I” since I graduated. While I did get to try out my new Sony Cybershot digital camera, the main purpose of the visit was to catch up with my friends and classmates.

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Petraeus' New Crew

By John

Petraeus helping pick new Generals:

The Army has summoned the top U.S. commander in Iraq back to Washington to preside over a board that will pick some of the next generation of Army leaders, an unusual decision that officials say represents a vote of confidence in Gen. David H. Petraeus's conduct of the war, as well as the Army counterinsurgency doctrine he helped rewrite.

The Army has long been criticized for rewarding conventional military thinking and experience in traditional combat operations, and current and former defense officials have pointed to Petraeus's involvement in the promotion board process this month as a sign of the Army's commitment to encouraging innovation and rewarding skills beyond the battlefield.

Some junior and midlevel officers who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan have been particularly outspoken in their criticisms, saying the Army's current leadership lacks a hands-on understanding of today's conflicts and has not listened to feedback from younger personnel.

"It's unprecedented for the commander of an active theater to be brought back to head something like a brigadier generals board," said retired Maj. Gen. Robert Scales, former head of the Army War College.

Not that it's completely related, but when George C. Marshall took over as Army Chief of Staff, one of his first moves was to unload the hodgepodge of Army generals who had spent a career drinking the "old war" kool-aid. Controversial plan at the time, yeah. But it revolutionized the force, effectively destroying the Army good old boys club, a bunch of stubborn old bureaucrats who gave Billy Mitchell the boot while the Nazis were developing a brilliant choreography of infantry, armor, and aircraft known as the blitzkrieg.

The restructuring paid off. Omar Bradley was promoted from straight from Lt Colonel to Brigadier General, skipping over the rank of full colonel. George S. Patton was a colonel in 1939. By 1943 he had three stars. Dwight Eisenhower was rotting away in a staff job up until 1942, two years later he was leading Operation Overlord as Supreme Allied Commander. And so it went.

So do I see a bit of a connection here? A brilliant leader going sapper on Big Army's cumbersome checklist style of officer promotion, so as to better posture the force to fight tomorrow's war?

Yeah, you betcha.

Update: Whoops, a belated Hotel Tango to W.Thomas Smith at The Tank. Lo siento, dude!

Swiss Air Force Redux

By John

Switzerland. It ain't just skiing and skittles.

This clip is a cousin of the one I posted back in July. Some footage repeats, but shit... who cares? These guys look like they train to run close air support missions against the abdominal snowman, so close they fly to the Alpine peaks.

Question: who wins in a dogfight? The Swiss F-5s, or the "new" Iranian Saegehs with their dreaded second dihedral tail?

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The 40-Year Old Recruit

By Lt Col P

A very interesting article appeared in the Washington Post Magazine this weekend, "The Last Resort." "Forty and short on prospects," reads the tagline, "Clayton Beaver traded the lush splendor of Hawaii for boot camp, barracks and the strong possibility of going to war." Traded poverty and the lack of opportunity too, but I digress.

It is at once more, less and exactly what you'd expect. I encourage you all to read it. The reasons PFC Beaver joined up are not new, but the article reminds us of some hard truths. Make up your own mind. (By the way, good on him for doing it. I'm not sure I'd want to do any sort of basic training at his age, which is my age, even Army basic. I don't even want to think about going through OCS at 40.)

Now, see also the online discussion that accompanied the article today. This one is revealing not in what it says about PFC Beaver but what it says about some of our fellow citizens.

Bethesda, MD: This is a raw and extraordinary story and beautifully told. I've never fully appreciated why anybody joins the Army, but I can relate to and appreciate a good man who wants his family to have a home and opportunities. I admire Clayton Beaver delivering for his family and your story revealed all this powerfully. But I have concerns. My question is what if, three, four, five years down the road, this doesn't work out for him? What does a 43 or 45 year old man do then? Are there serious reasons to worry if it doesn't work out?

(I know a few very good Marines and other solid citizens who live in Bethesda, but that's pretty much indicative of the rest of them.)

However, here's a great one, out of DC no less:

Farragut Square, DC: Clayton Beaver is THE MAN, and I predict he will very quickly be elevated to leadership as he rallies his 19-year-old comrades to whatever task is at hand.

Being just a few days shy of 40, I could only read this story with admiration. If I tried to enlist, one exam of my knees would earn me a reply of "No thanks, Pops."

But beyond age quips, I admire him further for serving our country and for doing what it takes to improve things for himself and his family. I've seen Hawaii, and it's not all paradise. I also grew up in an insular area with limited local opportunities (Eastern Kentucky) and made the decision to move elsewhere. The alternative is to stay home and spin your wheels forever. If Mr. Beaver makes a career in the Army, he and his family will get to see the world beyond Oahu. If he eventually returns home, he will bring with him perspectives and energies that can be applied towards improving the lives of his family and his local community. Yes, there's risk in serving, but that's life. "If you want to walk on water, you've got to get out of the boat."

Clayton Beaver, if you're reading this: all the best, sir.

Michael Leahy: I'm posting this reader's comment as well as the next reader's comment to provide a window on to how the debate over American involvement in Iraq and elsewhere natually spills over to a story about the Army's attempt to attract recruits like Clayton Beaver.

And here it is...

Washington, DC: Your article is complete BS. There are plenty of good jobs in the U.S. other than volunteering to fight wars for the oil companies. People like Clayton Beaver are the problem, not the solution.

Michael Leahy: Here is the other reader's comment.

Shithead.

All in all, I have to give Michael Leahy a thumbs-up, although some of the article was overwrought. Beaver's achievements speak for themselves, though, and there's no doubting that.

Ambassador Crocker's Veterans Day Speech

By Richard S. Lowry

Richard S. Lowry is the author of "The Gulf War Chronicles" and "Marines in the Garden of Eden."

I just received this from Baghdad and thought you would all like to read Ambassador Crocker's address.

AL FAW PALACE
CAMP VICTORY

________________________________________________________________________
Internal Transcript November 12, 2007

AMBASSADOR RYAN CROCKER
VETERANS DAY SPEECH

November 12, 2007

AMBASSADOR CROCKER: Thank you very much, Gen. Odierno, Sergeant Major, ladies and gentlemen of the Armed Forces, I have to start I guess with a fashion statement. You'll notice something rather different, besides just our height, between the hairstyles that Gen. Odierno, the Chaplain, the Sergeant Major effect on the one hand and what I do on the other.

Today our country remembers and honors the millions of men and women who have worn the uniform of the United States of America. These veterans who came before you took the same oath you did to defend our nation, placing its security before their own lives. They have been an extraordinary example to all who have followed them and all of us thank all of America’s veterans for their service for the nation they built and the nation you defend today.

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Slab Speaks!

By John

From Anbar. Said via email that he couldn't log onto our dumb server for whatever reason, so I'm publishing his post for him.

Hello again. I thought now might be a good time for an update on the situation here in Al Anbar, from a firsthand perspective. First things first, however: happy birthday to all of my fellow Marines, and happy Veterans Day to all of the veterans out there, particularly those who went before my generation. I firmly believe that one of the reasons behind the performance of the current generation of service members is our sincere desire to honor the legacy of past generations. Those who went before set a standard of excellence that we have had to strive to emulate. I hope we’ve been successful.

I’m currently living at a small outpost north of Fallujah. My team supports a cavalry troop, Apache Troop of the 5th Squadron, 7th Cavalry. Before I arrived here, this was a pretty dangerous area. Apache Troop had some hard fights in here around late July. However, in August a local civilian watch began assisting with the security situation, which truly turned the corner on security in the Area of Operations.

The civilian watch is really an armed posse, unaffiliated with the Government of Iraq. Some of them are likely former insurgents. In a way, working with these groups is sort of “dealing with the devil”, as not all of them are particularly upstanding members of the community, and when U.S. forces are not present they might give in to the temptation to take advantage of being the “guy with the gun”. However, we’ve seen that, while the local Iraqis are wary of the civilian watch, they’re grateful for the increased security compared to just three or four months ago. In addition, the civilian watch has given Coalition Forces enough security to focus our operations on improving the quality of life in the local area. So if the civilian watch engages in “shady” activity from time to time, ultimately Coalition Forces end up being the good guys, which improves our relationship with the local populace. And eventually the civilian watch will be replaced with or incorporated into an official government security force. In some places that has already happened.

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Gunday Sunday: A Gratifying Spectacle

By Lt Col P

I spent the afternoon at The Nation's Gunshow. Didn't get any guns, but I did do some lookin', and I came away with some quality ammo and a few other things. It had been a few years since my last gunshow visit; I beheld the spectacle and pronounced it good. That's America for you, I thought; like Ted Nugent says, you can't do this in France.

Want ammo? You got it. By the case, the box, the single round, whatever. Look for the banner marked, "AMMO," and you've got a good place to start. The gamut ran from the high quality brand names to the unknown remanufactures to the peculiar but not necessarily bad. Try some half-sized 12-ga birdshot training rounds, fifty cents a piece. Not a bad idea if you have a pump gun or a double. Sealed battle packs of .308, 5.56, and 7.62x39, of Lithuanian and Yugoslavian manufacture. I snagged a hundred rounds of 5.56 Winchester white box, thereby fulfilling my duties under Natl Ammo Day. ($46, by the way.)

Also grabbed a handful of M1 Garand clips (you can never have enough), and one (1) new Magpul PMAG. I have read in more than one place that some Smith & Wesson M&P15s will take them, and some won't. I wanted to see for myself, since I have one of those rifles and I have read some good things about that magazine. It was only $15, and I figured that if the rumors were true I could unload it-- no pun intended-- pretty easily. OK, well, I'll be unloading tomorrow because it won't seat in my M&P15T. That's fine, because all of my USGI mags work well. Just wish I could run the PMAGs.

We saw and handled some guns that I had wanted to take a closer look at for a while. I found the SIG 556 to be a nice piece after an admittedly cursory handling, but none of the ones I saw had sights. (What kind of rifle comes without sights? On a serious gun you should be able to take out of the box, load it and fire it.) Same-same with the AK-47 WASR-10, but of course that has sights, and with the WWII German K98 from Mitchell's Mausers. Both are well worth the very modest price. I'll have one or both of them in short order, I predict.

VFRMarine Joins The Fray

By Lt Col P

Frequent commenter, and my fellow airborne qualified Leatherneck, VFRMarine has a new blog-- HQLegion. Check it out, and make a regular stop.

He is a formidable Krav Maga practicioner and a member in good standing of the Florida Bar. So, he'll help you compose your last will and testament, and then can put into effect for you; help you draft a power of attorney and then test it out while you're recovering from your injuries. Go to the Chuck Norris Facts website, substitute "VFRMarine" wherever it says "Chuck Norris," and you get the idea.

National Ammunition Day: Do Your Part

By Lt Col P

19 November is National Ammunition Day. (Or Week, 17-25 Nov, for those who can't hit the gunstore on the actual day.) The goal is for law abiding citizens to clean the shelves of their local supplier.

If a big retail store is your only option, then go for it. But I prefer to swing my business to the mom-and-pop gunstores, who are always looking for business and are the first victims of anti-gun legislation and lawsuits.

One hundred rounds a man (or 'man). Buy what you can, but buy some.

Picture of the Day: Smoke on the Water

By John

Click through for more. Guy took some great shots of San Fran, all planes and no hippies. Solid.

Blue Angel 5 makes a low pass over the San Francisco Bay. Picture courtesy of BZ.

Hotel Tango: Lex

SECDEF Gets Some

By John

Robert Gates seems to know what he's about:

Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Thursday that unless Congress passes funding for the Iraq war within days, he will direct the Army and Marine Corps to begin developing plans to lay off employees and terminate contracts early next year.

Gates, who met with members of Congress on Wednesday, said that he does not have the money or the flexibility to move funding around to adequately cover the costs of the continuing operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"There is a misperception that this department can continue funding our troops in the field for an indefinite period of time through accounting maneuvers, that we can shuffle money around the department. This is a serious misconception," Gates told reporters at the Pentagon.

As a result, he said that he is faced with the undesirable task of preparing to cease operations at Army bases by mid-February, and lay off about 100,000 defense department employees and an equal number of civilian contractors. A month later, he said, similar moves would have to be made by the Marines.

Some members of Congress believe the Pentagon can switch enough money to cover the war accounts, Gates said. But he added that he only has the flexibility to transfer about $3.7 billion — which is just one week's worth of war expenses. Lawmakers, he said, may not understand how complicated and restrictive the situation is.

The House on Wednesday passed, 218-203, a $50 billion bill that would pay for the wars but require that troops start to leave Iraq in 30 days.

I like the idea of hitting Congress where it hurts, constituencies that care more about their jobs than Iraq, but -if things go nuclear- how effective is it going to be? Without pulling out the map, aren't most representatives -sans Senators- from military areas generally conservative and pro-mission? I've got the big ones in mind, Norfolk/VA Beach, Fort Hood, Fort Bragg/Pope AFB, certain areas of San Diego, etc.

I was talking with Charlie a few days ago (yes, he's finally home), and we both noted how much the military has suffered from the Clinton-era cuts and then the later Rumsfeldian Transformation snafu. While we can't posture ourselves against a single, solid threat like the USSR anymore, both Charlie and I agreed that we need to elevate our capabilities to a much higher level of general readiness, given the instability and unpredictable nature of our new enemy.

Anti-war representatives love to toss around these canned, meaningless press releases about how the wars are "breaking" our Armed Forces, when -in reality- their underfunding of the military is placing more strain on the force than the wars ever could.

Think about it like this. If you've neglected your Armed Forces to the point where it can't deal with the stresses of two small wars (where your combined enemy numbers approximately 25,000 bad guys), then you have failed your servicemen and women.

Can you defeat an enemy ideology by throwing money at the problem? Who knows? Reagan seemed to think so....

Snow at Whitegrass, Winter's On The Way

By Lt Col P

Hawgs (sic) might be hot-- see above-- but it's cold at Whitegrass! 2-5 inches of snow due today and tomorrow, a scant few hours' drive from the nation's capital.

Why is this important to you? It's important to me, and that's all that matters. It's another stage in my master plan to get people off the expensive slopes and onto the (nearly) free slopes. Great fun for the whole family, much less expensive than a day at the big resorts, and it's a damn good workout.

Nordic skiiing-- You are your own lift ticket.

Picture of the Day: Grrrrrrrr

By John

Hawgs are so hawt.

An A-10 Thunderbolt II, like this one, is among the various U.S. Central Command Air Forces air assets available for providing close-air support for International Security Assistance Force troops in contact with enemy forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. The A-10 is specially designed for close air support of ground forces and can be used against all ground targets, including tanks and other armored vehicles. (U.S. Air Force photo/Capt. Justin T. Watson)

Ben Stein Does Blogs

By John

SpouseBuzz, to be precise:

Please join us Thursday, November 15th, at 2:30pm EST as SpouseBuzz authors discuss the book of the month Ben Stein's The Real Stars with featured guest Ben Stein, live on SpouseBuzz Radio.

Mr. Stein, wrote a popular column called Monday Night at Morton's which featured the piece called The Real Stars. A piece that went viral on the Internet in 2003. I recall getting the column sent to me in at least 15 emails, while my DH was serving in Iraq. I, for one was not surprised at the content of the message, but the messenger. Such support is typically not garnered from the mainstream media, or Hollywood.

Be there.

99.99% Need Not Apply

By John

Been meaning to get this posted ever since W.Thomas Smith aired it out at The Tank last week.

Yeah, it's a bad cliche... but damn I'm glad these dudes are on our side.

No, You Divert Your Course

By John

It's an old Navy myth that the Navy insists never happened. But that doesn't make this commercial for Silva navigation any less funny.

No doubt that at some point in history, another milblogger has posted this. It ain't exactly fresh material. What can I say? There's no news coming out of Iraq, I need filler.

Dated or not, it still makes me laugh.

As for real Navy humor? You can't beat the Brits:

The former Soviet navy regarded the Black Sea as a private lake and disliked naval intrusions. In the early 1960s a British destroyer flotilla entered the Black Sea and the Russians rushed some cruisers out at high speed and closed in...
Russian cruisers signalled urgently: "What are you doing in the Black Sea?"
Reply: "Twenty-one knots".

Course the Ruskies got their own jabs in:

A Soviet 'trawler' had been shadowing a NATO exercise for several days taking notes and gathering SIGINT.

As the ships queued up to refuel a British frigate signalled her: "Do you require refuelling?"

Reply: "Not if your exercise finishes on time".

Baaaaaaaaah!

New Mil-Spouse Blogger: Thaidylwave

By Lt Col P

New mil-spouse blogger debuted earlier today-- Thaidylwave.

Not that I'm biased or anything, but I think it'll be a regular read. Stop by and leave a comment.

Small Wars Journal on WaPo Live

By Lt Col P

Our colleagues (and my fellow Marines), Dave Dilegge and Bill Nagle of Small Wars Journal were on Washington Post Live today.

Go read it-- good stuff, uncensored, substantive answers. One example:

New York: What is the best-case scenario, and what is the realistic possibility that Iraq can become a stable country -- or does it appear hopelessly bound to continued ethnic fighting?

Bill Nagle: I think our entire species is hopelessly bound to continued ethnic fighting. We've been at it for eons, and even in the heart of the first world we are rife with tensions.

However, once you get out of the Logan's Run concept and identify with an acceptable level of violence, then the answer is definitive -- yes, Iraq can become a stable country.

Rallying Boys to a Dangerous Standard of Normalcy

By John

Ross Mackenzie, a good Virginia man, hit a real homer this week.

In the words of the always perceptive Midge Decter (author of, for instance, “The Liberated Woman & Other Americans”): Infantilized, deprived (“despite the ease” into which they are born), and “standing at the tail-end of a veritable whirlwind of anti-male sentiment that has been sweeping through the country for decades,” American boys “have been left with scarcely any good way either to be wholly themselves or to be assured they are indeed on the way to becoming men.”

So onto this tortured landscape, as a partial remedy for (Decter’s words) this suppression of “the natural condition of boys,” principal author Conn Iggulden and his brother Hal have dropped “The Dangerous Book for Boys.”

Why that most interesting word in the title — “dangerous”? If girls are task-completers, boys are risk-takers. Conn Iggulden:

“It’s about remembering a time when danger wasn’t a dirty word. It’s safer to put a boy in front of a PlayStation for a while, but not in the long run. The irony of making boys’ lives too safe is that later they take worse risks on their own. You only have to push a baby boy hard on a swing and see his face light up. It’s not learned behavior — he’s hardwired to enjoy a little risk.”

.......

Maybe it’s the feminist revolution. Maybe it’s divorce and single(-mother) families. Maybe it’s our Spockian mores of child-rearing. Maybe it’s an outgrowth of the relativism that no longer finds innate goodness in America — and so worth defending, and its enemies worth fighting — and likewise no longer recognizes, or values, the goodness inhering in boys.

And so into a culture relentlessly finding the normal abnormal and exalting the abnormal as normal, the Igguldens ride “to free boys to be themselves again” and call upon boys to rally to their “dangerous” standard — a standard dangerous for declaring it’s OK to be a normal boy doing normal boy things. Long may it wave.

Long has this been a pet peeve of mind. You hear about this new age neutering all the time in the news. Every time you read about a school banning tag or dodgeball, or a 3rd grader being expelled for sexual harassment because he pinched a girl's butt, or a kid being suspended for drawing picture of a firearm (I would've never made it through elementary school.... for all of the above, methinks).... it's the end result of the gender neutralization of the American boy.

I'm eternally grateful that this crap didn't become fashionable until recently. I grew up in a neighborhood where there were 9 boys within 2 grades of me. We experimented with fireworks, conquered the woods behind our houses, built secret forts and bike ramps, explored the neighborhood sewer system (you heard me), and staged all day battles with self-fashioned weapons. Sometimes we passed the afternoon just knocking the shit out of each other with sticks. We wrestled, scuffled, tussled, boxed, and fought. That's just the natural order of things.

Today... sigh. Different story. I can't help but to think that Mackenzie is on to something when he hints that boys aren't allowed to be boys anymore. Anti-war groups protest "war toys." The Boy Scouts can't figure out how to pull young men away from their Xboxes. Schools violently punish traditional "boys will be boys" behavior, while parents neutralize rowdiness with Ritalin.

I like to think that the enormous success of The Dangerous Book for Boys is some sort of societal rebellion against overly aggressive PC warriors. You should read the Amazon interview with the Iggulden brothers. It's so delightfully politically incorrect, I want to buy the book based on their ideology alone:

Amazon.com: You made some changes for the U.S. edition, and I for one am sorry that you have removed the section on conkers, if only because it's such a lovely and mysterious word. What are (or what is) conkers?

Iggulden: Horse chestnuts strung on a shoelace and knocked against one another until they shatter. In the entire history of the world, no one has ever been hurt by a conker, but it's still been banned by some British schools, just in case. Another school banned paper airplanes. Honestly, it's enough to make you weep, if I did that sort of thing, which I try not to. Reading Jane Austen is still allowed, however.

Amazon.com: What knowledge did you decide was important to add for American boys? I notice in both editions you have an excellent and useful section on table football, as played with coins. Is paper football strictly an American pastime? I'm not sure I could have gotten through the fourth grade without it.

Iggulden: I like knowing the details of battles, so Gettysburg and the Alamo had to go in, along with the Gettysburg address, stickball, state capitals, U.S. mountains, American trees, insects, U.S. historical timelines, and a lot of others. Navajo code talkers of WWII is a great chapter. It probably helps that I am a huge fan of America. It was only while rewriting for the U.S. that I realized how many positive references there already are. You have NASA and NASA trumps almost anything.

As for paper football, ever since I thought of putting the book together, people keep saying things like "You have rockets in there, yes? Everyone loves rockets!" Paper football is the first American one, but there will be many others. No book in the world is long enough to put them all in--unless we do a sequel, of course.

Buy The Dangerous Book for Boys.

Freaky Deaky Helmet Picture of the Day

By John

Good gawd. This thing could keep me up at night.

This nightmarish dome cover is being developed by the Brits for the new F-35. Apparently it has some sort of Superman x-ray vision capability.

An MoD spokesman said: "Unlike other jet aircraft the JSF, which is planned to replace the Harrier, does not have a traditional head-up display

Instead the computerised symbology will be displayed directly on to the pilot's visors, providing the pilot with cues for flying, navigating and fighting the aircraft. "It even will superimpose infra-red imagery on to the visor to allow the pilot to look through the cockpit floor at night and see the world below - like something out of Terminator.

Hmmm, imagine the possibilities.

Hotel Tango: Defense Tech

A Proud Day for Australia

By John

History comes alive in Beer Sheva, Israel.

If the title and post don't really sound related, just click. The photos are incredible.

Hotel Tango: Robert Avrech

Thanksgiving for our Veterans

By Richard S. Lowry

Today, Americans enjoy a freedom unequaled in the history of civilization. Our good fortune goes unnoticed by most everyone in their day-to-day lives. We are free to express ourselves. We are free of oppression. We are free of fear.

We move about in our daily lives taking our children to school, little league games, and the movies. We are safe and comfortable in our homes at night and the vast majority of us do not want for the necessities of life – food, clean water, and shelter.

Our lives are utopian, yet most Americans never stop to think about the hundreds of thousands – millions – of brave young men and women who are standing at the gates, guarding our nation: the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines who are fighting, bleeding and dying in foreign lands so that we may remain free.

My family has not forgotten the sacrifices made by these men and women and their families. I would personally like to voice our thanksgiving to all of the members of our armed forces and their families for the contribution they are making on my family’s, on our nation’s, and on the world’s behalf.

We know that you all stand on a thin green line which protects us from the dark side of today’s world.

Let us not forget the men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice in defense of our freedom; and let us all take a moment to remember the mothers, fathers, wives, brothers, sisters, sons and daughters of these heroes. Let us all mourn their losses.

The greatest tribute we could ever pay to our American servicemen and women, both living and deceased, is to stop on Thanksgiving, pause during that football game, or stop and think as you sit down to dinner with your family that our lives are good because of the sacrifices of others. Consider what America would be without the men and women of our military. Stop and thank the next Soldier, Sailor, Airman, or Marine you see. We all owe our freedom to them.

Semper Fidelis,

Richard S. Lowry is the author of "Marines in the Garden of Eden" and "The Gulf War Chronicles."

Picture of the Day: Afghan Exam

By John

Dude.

More than 1,800 perspective cadets rise for the playing of the Afghan National Anthem before the start of the Afghan College Entrance Exam for the Afghan National Army Academy, Kabul, Afghanistan, Oct. 25. The perspective cadets here are hoping to be one of the approximately 300 chosen for the new freshman class. The exam makes up 80 percent of their final admissions score. Photo Courtesy of the US Air Force

Anti-War Group Protests...um, a ban on Protesting

By John

Anti-War Vets Slam Parade Ban -

LONG BEACH - Iraq veteran Jason Lemieux might not be marching in the 11th annual Long Beach Veterans Day Parade on Saturday.

The Marine, who served three tours of duty in Iraq and is now against the war, was hoping to march as a member of Iraq Veterans Against the War, a national organization that calls for immediate withdrawal of troops in Iraq.

The group's application, however, was rejected last month because of its political views, parade coordinators said.

"I wanted to march like the rest of the Iraq veterans," said Lemieux, a 24-year-old Anaheim resident. "I served my country. I'm a veteran of a foreign war. I think I deserve that respect."

Iraq Veterans, along with the groups Veterans for Peace and Military Families Speak Out, applied to march together in the parade this year under the entry "Military Patriots."

After reviewing each group's mission statement, the Veterans Day Parade Committee, a non-profit group that organizes the event, voted unanimously to reject the application, said parade coordinator Martha Thuente.

"They do not fit the spirit of the parade," she said. "The spirit being one of gratitude for what the veterans have done. We do not want groups of a political nature, advocating the troops' withdrawal from Iraq."

Mixed feelings on this. One one hand, I'm thinking that anyone who has served (and was discharged honorably) deserves to march in parade celebrating military service. On the other, those guys are being totally obnoxious. I don't know what their intentions are, but their annoying "include me or else!" mentality makes it look as if they're trying to hijack a non-partisan event and use it for their own selfish purposes. Equally irritating is the way they act as if the legitimacy of the entire constitution rests on their right to crash another Bubba's BBQ. Witness:

The rejection has left many veterans and anti-war groups outraged.

"It think it's absurd," said Adrian Novotny, president of the Long Beach Chapter of Veterans for Peace, a national nonprofit that advocates non-violence, VA healthcare and veterans' rights. "It's a violation of Democracy, the whole concept which we are allegedly dying for."

Meh. No one is stopping you from holding your own parade that no one will show up to, Beavis.

Founders Day, Veterans Day

By Lt Col P

I hope you all recognized Veterans Day with the solemnity and import it is due. I did. (Read below.)

We must also recognize today as VMI Founders Day, as on 11 Nov 1839 the first cadet sentinel relieved the old arsenal guard. This act is well recorded in the annals of the Institute, and the name of that cadet-- John B. Strange, shown below as CO, 19th Virginia Infantry, in which post he was killed in action during the Civil War-- is memorized by all.

(I wonder when the first fight occurred between the cadets and the students of W&L, then Washington College? That date is lost to history, although we can safely guess the outcome.)

I celebrated the day in the most appropriate manner I could think of, that is, the joyous discharge of firearms at the local indoor range. I put another hundred rounds through the Smith & Wesson M&P15T, and about fifty through the old Springfield Armory .45. Altogether a satisfying day.

Let us not forget those alumni who are downrange today, among them Our Man Slab, Our Man '91 in Kabul, and two of my own BRs. "Ready in every time of deepest peril..."

Hey....

By John

This is pretty good stuff. Off Col P's virtual wetting down...

Makes a great bloody mary.

What can I say? Col P is a good VMI man. He knows his booze. Going to stack the shelves with this stuff.

Maybe even ping Vodkapundit. Yeah,

It's that good.

What's ya'lls fav vodka? Or booze, for that matter?

Happy Birthday, Marines!

By Lt Col P

Happy Birthday to all my fellow Marines, past, present and future. Somewhere out there thousands of small boys and teenagers have seen a Marine in uniform, on a recruiting poster, or on the news and have said, "That's what I want to be." Here's to all of those now in uniform, in ev'ry clime and place, who are providing that shining example.

And let us not forget the nearly one thousand who have paid the ultimate price in this war.

Now stand by for a message from the Commandant:

And finally, Reasons 201 - 236 To Love The Corps...

Read More »

Reasons 136-200 To Love The Corps

By Lt Col P

The penultimate post in this series!

136. [There doesn't appear to be a #136. It could have been left blank to honor fallen Marines, just like the empty place setting at the Birthday Ball.]

137. Global instability equals job security. [Always has, always will!]

138. When NMCI goes down, and it will, it’s like having the day off.

139. The honor, privilege and responsibility of leading, mentoring and caring for junior Marines.

140. Gunnery sergeants. Don’t know the answer? Ask the gunny. Need something? Ask the gunny. In trouble? Avoid the gunny.

141. Because Gunny said so.

142. The line to get “tazed” at a military gear expo. Marines will do anything for a free T-shirt.

143. Deployment reunions. Like reliving your wedding night. Sweet! [Unless you're single.]

144. Gig lines. Even in khakis and a polo shirt.

145. Eight-point covers. Even the uniform stands at attention.

146. Marine Security Guards #2. They’re not cute and cuddly, but when they greet you at the hatch, it’s like getting a great big hug from the United States of America, no matter where you are.

147. The Mameluke sword. Distinctive.

148. The NCO sword. Earned, never given.

149. The World Famous Mud Run. Thousands of people pay good money to run through 10 clicks of muck every year at Camp Pendleton.

150. John Philip Sousa. A Marine, the nation’s March King and composer of “The Stars and Stripes Forever.” Ooh-rah.

151. MRE crackers. Hard as Milk Bones but much tastier. You can almost feel your teeth getting cleaner as you eat ’em.

152. Jane Wayne Day. She’ll never ask about work again.

153. Shirt stays. Or garters. Whatever you call them, they’re a triple whammy, keeping your shirt tucked, your socks up and removing all that unwanted leg hair.

154. The slogans: “The Few, The Proud, The Marines.” “We’re Looking For a Few Good Men,” “Once a Marine, always a Marine,” “Tell that to the Marines.”If they could only purchase the rights to Hallmark’s “When You Care Enough to Send the Very Best.”

155. Speaking of slogans, “The Few, The Proud, The Marines” beat out such notables as Nike’s “Just Do It” and Burger King’s “Have It Your Way” for a 2007 spot on the advertising Walk of Fame. Better luck next year, losers.

157. Real duty station garden spots you can go an entire career without being assigned to: Southern California; Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii ; Okinawa, Japan.

158. Rear-party Marines. God bless them. Whatever reason they stay behind injury, impending retirement or being volun-told they are indispensable.They deserve medals for what they have to deal with while a unit is deployed.

159. While field-grade officers are at the company office, company-grade officers are in the field. [HEY!!]

160. Colonels who can take a joke. [Absolutely. And Generals too!]

161. Free flu shots. And smallpox shots and anthrax shots …

162. Former Sgt. Chris Everhart. While camping with his three sons in June 2007, a bear snatched their cooler and made a play for his 6-year-old. Everhart threw an 18-inch log at the bear’s head, cracking its skull before it could attack and killing it instantly. Then, the park ranger gave him a ticket for leaving the cooler where the bear could get it.

163. Standards. The Corps doesn’t lower the bar when recruiting gets tough.

164. Jim Nabors. “Gomer Pyle” becomes an honorary Marine in 2001 and makes Lance Corporal. It takes him six years to pin on corporal. Talk about art imitating life.

165. Vincent D’Onofrio. The other “Private Pyle” is doing pretty well on “Law and Order: Criminal Intent.” He’s still weird, though.

166. If you ambush Capt. Brian Chontosh’s boys, he’s going to take off his Navy Cross and kill you. Then, he’s going to pick up your rifle and kill your buddies. Then, he’s going to pick up your buddy’s rifle and kill your buddy’s buddies. Then, he’s going to pick up a rocket-propelled grenade launcher …

167. Speaking of the Navy Cross, a combat award second only to the Medal of Honor, Marines have earned 15 so far in Iraq, plus one in Afghanistan. Of the six awarded to sailors for those combat zones, five went to SEALs, and
one went to a corpsman who exposed himself repeatedly to enemy fire to evacuate and treat wounded Marines. Along with Chontosh, the other recipients include:

168. Gunnery Sgt. Justin D. Lehew.

169. Lance Cpl. Joseph B. Perez.

170. Sgt. Scott C. Montoya.

171. Cpl. Marco A. Martinez.

172. Sgt. Willie L. Copeland.

173. Capt. Brent Morel (posthumous).

174. Sgt. Anthony L. Viggiani.

175. 1st Sgt. Bradley A. Kasal.

176. Cpl. Robert J. Mitchell.

177. Cpl. Dominic Esquibel.

178. Sgt. Jarrett A. Kraft.

179. Cpl. Jeremiah W. Workman.

180. Cpl. Todd Corbin.

181. Sgt. Aubrey L. McDade Jr.

182. Pfc. Christopher Adlesperger (posthumous).

183. Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Louis E. Fonseca.

184. Iwo JIMA. Japan might have changed the name to Iwo To, but that doesn’t mean you have to acknowledge it.

185. Col. John Ripley. Received the Navy Cross for the destruction of the Dong Ha bridge in Vietnam. The Corps takes care of its own. In 2002, with Ripley near death, doctors finally found a donated liver for his much-needed transplant. So the Marine Corps sent helicopters and Marines to Philadelphia to retrieve it, and they personally rushed it back to Washington in time to save his life. [A great man if ever there was one.]

186. Marine Corps Times isn’t a version of Navy Times anymore. How many careers get their own newspaper?

188. Gatorade bottles wrapped in green, 100 mph tape so as not to offend the sailors in the room.

189. Camaraderie. Marines will hook you up with their sisters, then punch you in the mouth for doing what they knew would happen the whole time.

190. Ingenuity. MRE bombs, 101 uses for cleaning rods and iPods wired into field radio speakers.

191. Getting off the ship.

192. Getting back on the ship.

193. No beach? No problem. Marines inserted 400 miles into landlocked Afghanistan and created Camp Rhino using CH-53 Sea Stallions. Imagine what you can invade with the Osprey.

194. Cases and cases of bottled water mean never having to stand behind a water bull.

195. Race as a nonissue. It wasn’t always the case, but three black Sergeants Major of the Marine Corps in a row show that the Corps has only one color: green.

196. Every day in the Corps is another reason to celebrate. That’s why they call them working “parties.”

197. Riddick Bowe had what it took to be boxing’s undisputed heavyweight champ. He did not have what it took to be a Marine.

198. The U.S. Army Band is called “Pershing’s Own.” The U.S. Marine Corps Band is called “The President’s Own.”

199. “8th and I.” Ten bucks says you have no idea where the Army Chief of Staff lives. Commandants don’t hide. [Not entirely fair-- the ACOS lives at Ft Myer, I think.]

200. MRE “rat boxes.” How grunts trick-or-treat.

Reasons 91-135 To Embrace The Corps

By Lt Col P

91. Service Charlies. They look so good, the Navy’s copying ’em.

92. Fake Marines. No one eats ’em up faster than real Marines.

93. John Lovell. A 71-year-old former Marine is sitting in a Subway restaurant when two armed men try to rob the place. Lovell grabs his .45, kills one and wounds the other. No word on how Lovell’s sandwich fared.

94. 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines. Six Navy Crosses so far. Six.

95. Staff Sgt. Lawrence Dean II, aka the “BadAss Marine.” He recites a poem. He gets uploaded to YouTube. Thousands get motivated.

96. Gen. James Conway takes over as the new commandant . Among his demands: a new PT uniform, new tattoo regs, a plan to add dress blues to the seabag, a change-up in medals and 22,000 more Marines. Someone’s been thinking about taking over for a while, huh?

97. Body-fat standards. Everyone hates them, until they see a fat Marine.

98. “Jarhead.” Only a former Marine could write a war story about not fighting anyone and make it last for 200 pages, then get Jamie Foxx to star in the movie. [Never read the book, never saw the movie. Next!]

99. The Stumps. The Rock. The Sandbox. Oh, the places you’ll serve.

101. Tattoos #2. Getting a fallen friend’s name tattooed on your other forearm, and knowing the same.

102. The new PT running suit. Sure, the Army had them first, but the Army gets most things first.

103. Marine Expeditionary Units: The cheapest cruise you’ll ever take.

104. Camp Lejeune: The closest interstate and the nearest good shopping mall are both at least an hour away. [An hour?? Try TWO!]

105. Camp Pendleton: There are roads and malls, but try affording a house near the main gate.

106. Tattoos #3. Meat tags. Getting your blood type and other info inked on your ribcage isn’t necessarily a bad idea.

107. The Marine Corps is getting bigger. The Navy is getting smaller.

109. 30 days’ paid vacation, plus federal holidays off, is obscene by civilian standards.

110. Maj. Gen. Marion E. Carl, the Corps’ first fighter ace. First Marine to fly a helicopter. Two Navy Crosses, five Distinguished Flying Crosses, 14 Air Medals. In 1998, the 82-year-old was killed during a home break-in when he jumped in front of a shotgun blast aimed at his longtime wife, Edna.

111. Tattoos #4. Reaction to the new policy: Conway says sleeves are going away, Marines run for the chair. Tattoo parlors never saw so much business.

113. Guaranteed pay raises.

114. Marine Security Guard #1. Duty in the Bahamas.

115. Having a WWII Marine say he’s proud of you. [Yes. The WWII Marines are the gold standard for hard.]

116. Drew Carey used to be in the Marine Corps Reserve. Now, he’s the host of “The Price is Right.”

117. Combatant diver pins. No more of that Navy crap.

118. A Red Stripe is a beer, mon. A Blood Stripe is a symbol of pride.

119. NMCI, if only they would remove the “MC.” [And not soon enough.]

120. You watched “300,” and it reminded you of your unit.

121. The “Det One” .45 pistol. Designed by Marines, for Marines.

122. Combat marksmanship. You are creeping death. And you get graded on it.

123. [WE] Never lost six nukes on a plane.

124. CamelBaks. Water tastes like water again.

125. Give a Marine enough free time, and he’ll marry your Bahraini princess. [Or conspire with his buddies to commit some sort of amoral outrage.]

126. Go to YouTube. Type in “bored Marines.” Enjoy.

127. When the President gets on a helicopter, it’s not called “Army One.”

128. The opposite of the Peace Corps. [YES!!!!]

129. Camouflage. You can camouflage anything and make it cool.

130. No Fear #1. Marines aren’t scared of anything. Except apricots. And Charms.

131. Combat optics on M16s. Leave the iron sights, just in case. [Iron sights never fail.]

132. “Combat loss” amnesty for missing gear. It’s like pleading the fifth.

133. Riding a chartered Continental Airlines flight home from the war zone with assault weapons stuffed in all the overhead compartments.

134. In combat, the division band becomes a heavy-machine-gun platoon.

135. What do headaches, broken bones, infectious diseases, missing limbs and hurt feelings all have in common? Motrin. Thanks, Doc.

Totally Rad Military Gizmo of the Day

By John

A sub-launched helicopter.

And yeah, it actually carries peeps.

Picture of the Day:The Floating Bulwark

By John

So sayeth Melville:

“. . . these are the times of dreamy quietude, when beholding the tranquil beauty and brilliancy of the ocean's skin, one forgets the tiger heart that pants beneath it; and would not willingly remember, that this velvet paw but conceals a remorseless fang.”

Indeed.

Rough seas pound the hull of Military Sealift Command fast combat support ship USNS Arctic (T-AOE 8) as she sails alongside Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) while preparing for a replenishment at sea. Photo Courtesy of the United States Navy

A Couple of Reports from Afghanistan

By Lt Col P

Our Man in the 'Stan, Agent 91, has rogered up lately with some good reports, in response to a discussion we've been having that was prompted by something I read in The Torch. Not sure we'll post on the original question per se, but it produced some excellent material.

Bottom line: Afghanistan has a long way to go, but there is real progress being made. (Like Ted Nugent would say, Where have we seen this before?) Nine steps backward, ten steps forward. In case you missed these articles...

Afghanistan 'a success story,' World Bank says ALAN FREEMAN

October 16, 2007

OTTAWA -- Economic and social conditions in Afghanistan have improved dramatically since the fall of the Taliban, despite continuing problems with security, corruption and the drug trade, according to the World Bank's top official responsible for the country.

"This is a success story," Alastair McKechnie, country director for Afghanistan at the World Bank, said in an interview yesterday. "Afghanistan has defied predictions and has achieved a lot in a short period of time."

Mr. McKechnie, in Canada for meetings with officials in Ottawa and a speech in Toronto, pointed to a series of positive indicators, including double-digit economic growth, an expanding road network, a surge in school attendance - particularly by girls - and a drop in infant mortality from 165 per 1,000 live births to 135 in 4½ years.

He said it is easy to get a negative view of Afghanistan if one focuses on the south and east of the country, where the insurgency is strongest. In two-thirds of the country, there is no insurgency and conditions are improving more quickly.

Some of the credit goes to the World Bank, which has committed $1.5-billion (U.S.) of its own money to the country and set up the Afghanistan Reconstruction Fund, which has so far gathered $2.4-billion in pledges from two dozen countries.

This year's single top donor to the fund is Canada, with $211-million. Britain is second, with $145-million.

The Canadian money goes to a variety of projects and uses and is a major source of funding for the daily operations of the Afghan government, which still does not generate enough tax revenues to fund these activities on its own.

"Otherwise, teachers and health workers don't get paid," Mr. McKechnie said.

He conceded that much remains to be done in reducing corruption in the police and improving the functioning of the justice system.

Another challenge is to reduce the influence of the poppy trade. Afghanistan is estimated to furnish 93 per cent of the world's illegal opium supply, used in the manufacture of heroin, and opium production accounts for one-third of economic activity.

Even there, Mr. McKechnie said, the picture is not as bad as it seems, with only 4 per cent of the country's total arable land being cultivated with poppies and more provinces becoming poppy free.

To battle the opium trade, the most effective methods include the interdiction of traffickers, encouraging alternative cash crops such as grapes and appealing to the religious values of Afghans, he said.

Read More »

Reasons 46-90 To Love The Corps

By Lt Col P

The countdown continues!

46. Combat Action Ribbons. IEDs count now, and should have counted all along. Duh.

47. The occasional free beer. Wear your blues into a bar and see what happens. [YES. It happens.]

48. After decades of debate, there remains no resolution on whether sand fleas trump “The Reaper.”

49. The Corps’ doesn’t call its officers, commissioned or not, “petty.”

50. Cpl. Gareth Hawkins, lying on a stretcher after an IED shattered his leg, demanded re-enlistment before medical evacuation. And got it.

51. Whereas Army, Navy and Air Force jokes are funny, Marine jokes are potentially dangerous.

52. The occasional friendly debate. Refer to a Marine staff NCO simply as “Sergeant,” and see what happens. [YES. This happens too.]

53. That troublesome “10 percent,” making good Marines look great since 1775.

54. Everyone at a high school reunion is obliged to justify his last 10 years, except the guy wearing alphas.

55. As if ranks that include the words “Master” and “Gunnery” aren’t intimidating enough on their own, the Corps uses them both. At once.

56. Soldiers have Hooah Bars. Marines have Ka-Bars. The second will generally get you the first.

57. The dress code. You can wear your cammies to meet the Commandant or repair a tank.

58. From “Aliens” to “Doom,” the future vision of warfare almost always includes Space Marines.

59. The Corps was formed in a bar. [And pretty much lives in one today.]

60. Marines predicted the WWII campaigns in the Pacific years earlier and prepared for the inevitable. So when a Marine says, “Hey, I’ve been thinking…” perhaps you should take notes.

61. Give a Marine some free time, and he’ll rip down your dictator’s statue. [Or conspire with his buddies to commit some sort of amoral outrage.]

62. If it ain’t raining, we ain’t training.

64. Duty station garden spots: Jacksonville, N.C.; Yuma, Ariz.; Bridgeport, Calif.; Twentynine Palms, Calif. (Yes, we’re kidding.)

65. Making morning PT on time.

66. Recruiters who promise everything EXCEPT a rose garden.

67. Mustangs #1. It’s easier to take crap from a CO who went to boot camp.

69. Gen. Peter Pace, the first Marine Chairman of the Joint Chiefs. He left his four-star insignia with his fallen comrades at the Vietnam Wall when he retired. Classy move.

70. The people zapper. Using microwave energy to disperse a crowd sounds like fun. Semper fry, Gunny. [The Voice of Experience-- that thing hurts like hell.]

71. Nothing says “Good morning” like a mouthful of Copenhagen and freeze-dried coffee.

72. Nothing says “I love you” like a welcome home sheet hanging on a chain-link fence.

73. Bill Barnes. In June, the former Marine beat the crap out of a 27-year-old pickpocket who tried to make off with his dough. Oh yeah, he’s 72.

74. Leftwich Trophy. Heisman winners only think they know about leaving it all on the field.

75. EOD. If you don’t know why this is on the list , defuse the next IED yourself.

76. Tax-free combat pay. Doing what you signed up for and not having to give Uncle Sam a dime back.

77. Montford Point Marines. The first African-American Marines know a little something about honor, courage and commitment.

78. Front toward enemy. It’s not just a visual reference on a Claymore mine, it’s a Marine Corps way of life.

79. Mustangs #2. You know at least three Marines who drive them. It’s like a Ford dealership exploded on base.

80. Fred Smith, founder of FedEx. Only a former Marine could truly appreciate the value of getting your mail on time.

81. CMC: The tallest member of the Joints Chiefs. OK, so we haven’t actually measured, but he looks the tallest anyway. [I've never measured any of them, but Gen Conway is one big boy.]

82. No more spit shining boots. [Thank God.]

83. Chuck Norris was in the Air Force. Steve McQueen was a Marine. [Yes, but, Chuck has a great web page.]

84. The Crucible.

85. 1/9, 2/9 and 3/9. Welcome back, fellas.

86. The FROG uniform. You are now sweat-wickin’ AND flame-lickin’.

88. The M4. More rifles in the fight is generally a win-win.

89. MRAPs. Trucks straight out of Mad Max. We still love a good Humvee, but we loved jeeps, too. Things change.

90. Arty guys who do civil affairs. They blow it up, then they fix it. Circle of life.

MORE TO FOLLOW.

Picture of the Day: Eagle over the Ocean

By John

Enjoy the pictures of them flying, cause that's all you'll be seeing of the ole' Eagles for a while.

An F-15 Eagle flies over the Pacific during Valiant Shield Aug. 9. Following the crash of an F-15 Nov. 2., all non-mission essential F-15 flight operations has been suspended until completion of the investigation. Photo Courtesy of the US Air Force.

Backstory:

"I worry about the health of our aging fleet and how sometimes it is not well understood by those our Airmen protect," said the general. "The investigation will get to the cause of the accident. In the meantime, we'll continue to provide air supremacy for the Afghan National Army and the collective NATO, coalition and U.S. forces on the ground."

The Air Force grounded its F-15 fleet on Nov. 3 following the crash of a Missouri Air National Guard F-15C Eagle Nov. 2. F-15s assigned North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Central Command Air Forces will be on ground alert and fly missions if required.

Uh yeah. Glad to hear we'll still be providing air supremacy over the Taliban, despite the fact that we could do that with a Cessna. Still, the Air Force is wise to use this as a sales pitch for buying new planes. Our birds are crashing because they're effing old. Most of the 15s were built when disco was still cool. If it was ever cool, that is.

Creaky stuff.

Entries 1- 45 of 232 Reasons to Love The Corps

By Lt Col P

This list has been making the rounds by email today. Someone said that it came from Marine Corps Times, but I don't see it on the site after an admittedly cursory check. (If that ends up being the case, we hereby give them all due credit.)

232 is a lot to handle in one post, so let's do 45 or so each day until we hit the glorious 10th of November. My favorites are in bold, and my $.02 in [brackets]. Some of these are priceless.

1. Cpl. Jason Dunham. First Marine to receive the Medal of Honor since Vietnam. If jumping on a grenade to save a buddy isn’t worth the top of the list, nothing is.

2. Civilians have to find time to go to the gym. Marines get paid to go.

3. The National Museum of the Marine Corps. It’s like a Smithsonian of leatherneck.

4. There’s no such thing as an “ex” Marine.

5. Re-enlistment rates are higher IN the war zone.

6. Stink-proof socks. Well, almost. Systems Command is working on them.

7. Jalapeño cheese.

8. “Every Marine Into the Fight.”

9. Lump-sum re-enlistment bonuses up to $80,000. Many of you would consider doing it for free.

10. New uniforms #1. Pixel-pattern cammies? Yeah, the Corps came up with that.

11. “Doc.” [God Bless every one of them.]

12. Flexed arm hang is harder than it looks. We tried it.

13. Barracks parties on non-payday weekends.

14. Marine Gunners.

15. The Wounded Warrior Regiment.

16. MarAdmin 266/07: Letting 18-year-old Marines drink on base at this year’s birthday ball. [HELL YES. Long overdue.]

17. No receipt necessary for travel claim expenses less than $75.

18. The Lance Corporal underground.

19. Fallujah II. [Let's not forget Fallujah-I !]

21. Archibald Henderson’s couch, re-upholstered, is still in the Commandant’s living room.

22. “No better friend, no worse enemy.”

23. Typhoons approaching Okinawa often spark islandwide beer runs. [Often?? How about always! ]

24. Waivers.

25. Gen James Jones, who followed his tour as Commandant with an appointment as “supreme intergalactic overlord” (OK, it was Supreme Allied Commander, Europe, but close).

26. 10 rounds from the 500-yard line. [That's with iron sights, from the prone, using a sling. No bipod, no sandbags.]

27. Per diem. [OK, that's pretty joint but it's still a good piece of gear.]

28. To civilians, every Marine is recon.

29. Recruiting in Texas is like hunting at the zoo.

30. The “boat cloak.” Because every super hero needs a cape.

31. You can re-enlist in the IRR.

32. The wallet in your sock.

33. Motivating television commercials.

34. The “horse shoe” haircut, gone but not forgotten.

35. The global address list. Find your buddies and send them links to Marine Corps Times.

36. Running cadences that mention napalm. And Eskimos.

37. Stories that begin with, “So there I was ...”

38. Modified parade rest.

39. The transformation. Who you are when you join is not nearly as important as who you become.

40. LtGen Mattis getting a fourth star.

41. If you’ve been on liberty in Twentynine Palms, you’ve been on liberty in Yuma and Barstow, too.

42. Grooming standards. Not only can you not act like a thug, you cannot look like a thug.

43. It’s not the Army.

44. Women in Manhattan have all seen the Fleet Week episode of “Sex and the City.”

45. Combat shotguns.

And speaking of the Marine Corps Birthday...

Read More »

Valour-IT

By John

You have donated right?

Right.

Current stats. Given the AF's performance the last few years, I can't be too upset with our current bronze medal standings.

Still, we've got a long way to go if we're to meet our goal. Chip in, seriously. You're helping wounded vets here.

Here's the donation button. These freakin' widgets are killing me. Sorry if you see some extra code north and south of the button, I know it looks like ass.

Update: I've had it with the donation buttons. Click here to donate.

Y'know, after all of Navy Team Lead's awful trash trashing (no doubt to distract from their lame ass personification of the golden laptop), I can't help but to be a little pleased that they're bring up the rear. Out of respect to Bullnav, I won't take that joke any further. Even though we all know it has so much potential. Soooo much potential.

Help us out guys! Click that donation link!

Oh for God's Sake

By John

Dennis Miller, another pro-victory centurion, summed up his frustration with the Iraqi people: It's like playing Stratego with Charles Manson. He makes a few good moves and you think, 'Hey, Charlie's got it together.' Then he shoves the dice up his ass.

On that note, I was just reading a dead tree story on how the Iraqi Army and police have been making some remarkable strides...

...and then I saw this:

Excuse me if watching a squad of Iraqi troops flailing around like a bunch of retarded spider monkeys doesn't inspire much confidence.

I know, I know. I'm still on board guys, relax. But jeez...

Heh, kinda funny though.

Hotel Tango: Pia

ASMEA Launches

By John

This project was overdue:

Princeton, N.J.- Professor Bernard Lewis, Professor Emeritus of Princeton University, considered one of the world's leading authorities on the Middle East, will chair a newly formed professional academic association, the Association for the Study of the Middle East and Africa (ASMEA). Prof. Fouad Ajami of Johns Hopkins University will serve as the Vice-Chairman of the association's Academic Council. Other charter members include Dr. Les Gelb, Prof. Victor Davis Hanson, Prof. David Landes, Gen. Cevik Bir, Prof. Robert Lieber, Prof. Fedwa Malti-Douglas, Sec. George Shultz, and Prof. Kenneth Stein. ASMEA’s website can be found at: www.asmeascholars.org.

ASMEA's goal is to encourage and promote the scholarly and dispassionate study, through multiple disciplines, of these important and so often misrepresented regions. It will advance both research and discourse in these fields by offering its members new opportunities to publish and present ideas to the academic community and beyond. ASMEA will offer its assistance to established as well as new scholars in the field, including un-tenured faculty and senior graduate students.

At the announcement, Lewis stated: "Because of various political and financial pressures and inducements, the study of the Middle East and of Africa has been politicized to a degree without precedent. This has affected not only the basic studies of language, literature and history, but also has affected other disciplines, notably economics, politics and social science. Given the importance of these regions, there is an acute need for objective and accurate scholarship and debate, unhampered by entrenched interests and allegiances. Through its annual conference, journal, newsletter, and website, ASMEA will provide this. It will seek to improve the education of the next generation of scholars and leaders upon which our future depends."

Lewis summarized: "It will respond to the burgeoning interest in these and related fields by helping to address problems individually and in a comprehensive, multi-disciplinary fashion.”

So, when a new nonpartisan organization is announced, one that prides itself on removing ideology from scholarship, how is it covered? Why, with a slant, of course.

Seeking to change the direction of Middle Eastern and African studies, a new scholarly organization was announced Thursday — with some big name scholars on board and some tough criticism for the discipline. The biggest scholarly names in the new group, Bernard Lewis of Princeton University and Fouad Ajami of Johns Hopkins University, are associated with support for the Bush administration’s view of the Middle East, a decidedly minority opinion within Middle Eastern studies.

The use of "Bush administration" irked me. It was deliberate, those folks know anything with "Bush" in it will provoke an emotional (and often irrational) response. If it had a place in the story, then fine... I'm not arguing for sanitized news here. But this was about a bunch of professors trying to expunge politics from scholarship, not forming policy.

Read the comments, too. It would have been nice if folks waited a few months before passing judgment.

2007 Weblog Awards

By John

Well thanks to those of you who nominated us for "Best Military Blog" in this year's Weblog Awards. Third year running, quite an honor.

Voting is now open. So feel free to go and cast a vote for us poor fellers. Maybe make it so Blackfive only whups us by 1000 votes this year instead of 3000. Heh.

(PS- You can vote once ever 24 hours. Just sayin'!)

Kill the Air Force!

By John

Robert Farley sees a brave new military world over at the American Prospect: a world without the US Air Force.

What it does on its own -- strategic bombing -- isn't suited to modern warfare. What it does well -- its tactical support missions -- could be better managed by the Army and Navy. It's time to break up the Air Force

Here's the column: What's the Air Force for?

I was flattered to join Robert, the Danger Room crew, Jason Sigger of Armchair Generalist, Michael Goldfarb of The Weekly Standard, and David Axe of War is Boring in a roundtable discussion on whether or not the Air Force should be rolled back into the Army.

You can read the chat here.

I'm closing comments on this one, I'd rather have you guys go over to Prospect and weigh in there.

I will say this. Although not everyone agreed that we should burn the AF (I voted nay), feelings were unanimous that the Air Force is without a compass and a paddle. I joked with Robert about the amount of hate mail that he'd get over this one, but honestly.... good on him for recognizing the problem, and organizing a non-partisan roundtable to talk out solutions.

Also, my buddy Bruce at QandO launches his own discussion about Robert's column here.

HuffPo Yanks Green Zone Series

By John

HuffPo, y'done good.

After this post was published, some commenters and bloggers, especially Michael Goldfarb of the Weekly Standard raised a number of questions about its accuracy. As is our policy, we asked Mr. Sanders to either provide backup for his factual claims or retract them. His response follows. In it, he acknowledges three "flat-out" inaccuracies: Apache helicopters fall under the auspices of the Army not the Air Force; the USS Independence was not, as claimed, headed to the Persian Gulf in 2002 (it was decommissioned in 1998); and Sanders left out the word "battalion" in the sentence, "a pair of Apache helicopter battalions can devour more than 60,000 gallons of fuel in a single night's attack." These have been corrected in the post.

Sanders also raises the issue of jet exhaust that results when "a squadron of F-22s, say, fly sortie after sortie, at fairly low elevations, over a crowded neighborhood in Baghdad." Goldfarb says "an F-22 has never, ever, flown a sortie over Baghdad, let alone at low altitude and in squadron formation." In his response, Sanders disputes this, but Air Force spokesperson Maj. Kristin Marposon told HuffPost that F-22s have not been used in Iraq.

As for the other facts in dispute -- namely the number of jets stationed on aircraft-carrier groups in the Gulf, the number of stealth bombers and US planes in Saudi Arabia, and the number of aircraft carrier task forces stationed in the Gulf -- Sanders offers a detailed explanation of how he arrived at his figures. We'll leave it to you to decide the persuasiveness of his explanation. For us, it confuses as much as it clarifies.

Mr. Sanders feels that the dispute over these details obscures the larger point of his argument. Maybe so, but we are committed to maintaining the highest possible standards of accuracy and transparency. Accordingly, we will not be running the remaining parts of his Green Zone series.

Responsible decision. Goldfarb notes that: ...the Huffington Post has corrected its mistake and, in fact, demonstrated a laudable commitment to accuracy and transparency. Professional journalists--you know who you are--could learn a thing or two about journalism from Arianna Huffington.

He's right. Credit to HuffPo, they acted like real pros here. And yeah, The New Republic could learn a thing or too from Miss Huffington. Instead of saying "hey we screwed up" back in August, TNR has dragged out the Beauchamp affair so long that everyone -left and right- seems to be universally pissed at them for their lack of integrity. Compare that to HuffPo, who effectively killed the Sanders story on the spot. No one is going to remember this affair next week, while TNR is going to be suffering from the Beauchamp scandal for years.

Sanders retraction, by the way, was obnoxious. Read:

The argument about pollution stands; and nothing on the Weekly Standard takes on the pollution numbers! I begin the essay by saying that I write as a lay person--I am not a mathematician, not a military person, not a trained climatologist--and it would be wonderful to put together such a team and reach an absolutely authoritative version of this essay, if such a thing is even possible. At any rate, I feel initiated into this world of blog politics. As a friend told me from the outset, one cannot take on the military in this country, without getting knocked about.

Oh put down the violin dude. I'm not naive enough to think that the military should be immune from criticism. But you made an argument, and people held you accountable for what you said. And, surprise!, some folks even wanted you to defend your position. The fact that you were dumping on the service had nothing to do with your columns getting yanked, it had everything to do with the fact that you phoned in the research. So have a Coke and a smile and knock off the victim crap. This is your fault.

Mr. Goldfarb wants to know about the number of planes in Saudi Arabia. Here's my sentence: "To all that, we must add the 1,000 jets stationed on aircraft-carrier groups in the Gulf, along with 22 Stealth Bombers and another 700 planes in Saudi Arabia. First, the sentence, which perhaps could have been more clear, does not say that there are 22 Stealth Bombers in Saudi Arabia; the sentence says, we must account for them in terms of their pollution, wherever they are hidden.

Quote: In Saudi Arabia. In Saudi Arabia. In Saudi Arabia.

First, the sentence, which perhaps could have been more clear, does not say that there are 22 Stealth Bombers in Saudi Arabia...

@(&*)#(()@*%

Let me quote from Chalmers Johnson's Nemesis (p. 141): "Before our withdrawal from Saudi Arabia in 2003, we habitually denied that we maintained a fleet of enormous and easily observed B-52 bombers in Jeddah because that was what the Saudi government demanded." This is the heart of my argument: "So long as military bureaucrats can continue to enforce a culture of secrecy to protect themselves, no one will know the true size of our baseworld, least of all the elected representatives of the American people." The question is how many in a fleet?

One, B-52s aren't stealth bombers. Two, that was 4 years ago. Three, the size of our current force of B-52s, B-1s, and B-2s isn't a secret. Four, the location of the bomber force (secret or not) has no bearing on the size of the bomber force.

As to the exact number of planes in the Gulf and in Saudi Arabia, again Chalmers Johnson, this time from The Sorrows of Empire, (page 239), says that by January 1991, the Prince Sultan Air Base "started to receive aircraft, and by the beginning of the Gulf War. . .it was capable of housing, servicing, and arming five fighter squadrons of aircraft and their supporting personnel (a typical American squadron consists of twenty-four aircraft.)" A few paragraphs later, he mentions F-15s and F-16s taking off there, after 1996. "In the years leading up to the second Iraq war, the air force flew a total of 286,000 missions from Prince Sultan and other Persian Gulf bases. . . ." I do not think it is possible now to know how many planes we had in Saudi Arabia prior to our leaving in 2003. The point I want readers to keep in mind is the amount of pollution generated by those hundreds of thousands of missions and how little we know about them--type, number, and so on.

Uh, how little you know about them. A symptom that could have been cured with a some basic fact checking.

Punch in Sultan Air Force Base on Google and you get the following: The Saudi base is very large and it has extensive landing and plane storage facilities. It has a 15,000 foot runway. Couple this with the numbers of flight missions from Chalmers Johnson. This was a large operation. I used the figure 700 planes. It sounds to me that it was larger, much larger, than that.

Okay, instead of getting all your information from Chalmers and the internet, a simple phone call to an Air Force public affairs office would have explained that Prince Sultan's primary use was enforcing the UN mandated southern no-fly zone in Iraq. It hasn't been a major hub for US forces since 2003.

Let's now turn to the question of the number of carrier task forces in the Gulf. First, from Reuters: "On January 20, 2007, the USS Stennis set sail for the Persian Gulf as part of an increase in US military presence within the Middle East. The Stennis joined the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower in the United States Fifth Fleet of operations. On May 23, 2007, the Stennis, along with eight other warships including the carrier USS Nimitz and amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard, passed through the Strait of Hormuz. US Navy officials said it was the largest such move since 2003." (Link)

How many ships does this total? Ten or Twelve? How many "carrier task forces" does that constitute? The web site Global Security (March 9, 2003) reports that "five carriers have been deployed to the region at the same time. . . an unprecedented floating air force. . ." The site says that the Kitty Hawk and the Constellation are already in the Persian Gulf. That's in addition to the Stennis, the Nimitz, and the Eisenhower. "The Lincoln left Everett, Washington. . . and was ordered back to the Gulf." We now have a total of six carriers, and who knows how many "carrier task forces," since each carrier usually travels, according to Global Security, with a "battle group of at least two cruisers, a destroyer and a submarine. Aboard each carrier is an air wing with about 70 aircraft, roughly 50 of which are strike planes." The DoD says that the Stennis actually holds ninety planes. Given the rest of the ships involved, the number is 1,000 or even more.

Does this guy have no concept of time? He's quoting Global Security from 2003 and Reuters from 2007. And even using his screwed up chronology, he still didn't account for the thirteen aircraft carriers which he claimed were all in the Gulf at the same time.

Honestly, his pseudo-retraction only make things worse. HuffPo said that it "confused more than it clarified," which is true effing statement right there. Can you imagine what the other two columns must have looked like?

Had he just said "sorry, I f*cked up. My bad." I wouldn't have got all pissy and wasted my time pumping out this enormous post.

Anyway, go read Qando and Murdoc for more. I'm as donezo as Sanders' tenure at HuffPo.

Into The Wild Blue Yonder

By Lt Col P

Brigadier General Paul Tibbets, the pilot of Enola Gay, slipped the surly bonds today at the age of 92. B5 has a good post and good links.

He ought to be remembered for what he was-- a fine American who did his duty to the fullest, in an extraordinarily difficult mission. Just about every story done on him mentions that dropping the first bomb never bothered him much at all. We should all be glad that he did, and not least of us the modern Japanese. That's right. Modern Japan was almost certainly saved from a truly horrific invasion and occupation by the two bombs, the first of which was delivered on time and on target by one Col Tibbets. Think I'm wrong? Those devices destroyed two cities; Operation Olympic would have laid waste to the entire country, prolonged the war by a year, cost us a million more casualties, and the post-war occupation wouldn't have been pleasant at all. (See George MacDonald Fraser's Quartered Safe Out Here for a WWII rifleman's view of the bomb.)

Here's to you, General. And Godspeed on your final flight.

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