Archives for the 'military' Category
Rules Force Disengagement
Published on 16 Nov 2009 at 8:32 am.
1 Comment.
Filed under Afghanistan, military.
Herschel Smith at Captain’s Journal mulls some of the challenges posed by the one-arm-tied-behind-the-back tactics now in effect in Afghanistan.
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Losing Kilcullen
Published on 15 Nov 2009 at 10:48 am.
2 Comments.
Filed under Afghanistan, military.
The Australian counterinsurgency whizkid, via DoDbuzz, advises the O admin to conduct its Afghan business or get off the pot:
Alternate Academia
Published on 14 Nov 2009 at 9:00 am.
2 Comments.
Filed under academia, history, military.
Briefly spotted at Harvard University this past week. Crittenden* at the Weekly Standard:
They Were Soldiers
Published on 14 Nov 2009 at 8:10 am.
3 Comments.
Filed under history, military, vietnam.
As the president of the United States mulls another escalation of U.S. forces in a foreign war zone, some American combat veterans are marking an anniversary from a different war and a different time, and a very different escalation.
Forty-four years ago today, Nov. 14, 1965, 1/7 Cav of the 1st Cavalry Division choppered into LZ X-ray in the Ia [...]
The Surprising Re-Learning Of Vietnam
Published on 13 Nov 2009 at 8:17 am.
Comments Off.
Filed under Afghanistan, Obama, military, vietnam.
Maybe that should be “The Surprising Un-Learning of Vietnam.” Newsweek’s new cover article, “The Surprising Lessons of Vietnam,” is the latest high-profile media effort not to let our politicians lose another war politically. Subhead in the hard copy:
The most surprising lesson is not that wars of this kind are unwinnable, but that “You must fight to win.”
It [...]
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Working Out On The Go!
Published on 12 Nov 2009 at 8:54 am.
No Comments.
Filed under Iraq, Live Forever Or Die Trying!, media, military.
How To Live Forever Or Die Trying, Part 9.
It’s always hard to keep up an exercise regimen with all the demands of a hectic modern lifestyle, especially if you have to travel for business. J.D. Johannes, freelance embed and author of Fit for Combat: When Fitness is a Matter of Life or Death,* explains how he [...]
Great Words, Great Deeds
Published on 11 Nov 2009 at 8:02 am.
4 Comments.
Filed under Obama, courage, military.
It was a good speech. He said all the right things and didn’t say any of the wrong ones. White House transcript. It’s being hailed as the “best ever,” but they seem to say that every time he opens his mouth. Unlike his other great rhetorical moments, no one gets thrown under the bus in this [...]
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Harvard Yard
Published on 10 Nov 2009 at 7:03 am.
11 Comments.
Filed under America, academia, courage, military.
Home of American heroes.
It’s always easy to poke fun at the World’s Greatest University across the Charles, all the more so in recent decades as, like much of academia, it sank in a wretched swamp of America-bashing leftism while continuing to survey the world down its superior nose.
Did you know that Harvard can now boast no fewer [...]
Don’t Hold Your Breath, Joe
Published on 9 Nov 2009 at 7:31 am.
4 Comments.
Filed under al qaeda, military.
UPDATE: Non-conclusive discrimination victim Nidal Hasan was trying to contact al-Qaeda. See below.
Lieberman, run out of the Democratic Party for making sense a couple of years ago, makes some more. NY Daily News: “Lieberman Calls Fort Hood a ‘Terrorist’ Act.”
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Big Guns Make Bad Neighbors
Published on 7 Nov 2009 at 8:26 am.
7 Comments.
Filed under America, Boston, guns, history, military.
I say, Muffy, that deuced gunnery is flattening the bubbly! Old Ironsides’ la-di-da waterfront condo neighbors want to muffle the guns … a.m. and p.m. salutes to the flag, unsettling. Boston Herald:
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Combat Wounded, Combat Dead
Published on 6 Nov 2009 at 9:13 pm.
8 Comments.
Filed under al qaeda, military.
… deserve Purple Hearts. Their killer probably deserves desertion, treason and terrorism charges if, as all indicators seem to very strongly suggest, he was engaged in jihad, from his violence-inciting, hateful rants about the Koran, his denunciation of the United States as “the aggressor” in arguments with fellow soldiers, to his shouts of “Allahu Akhbar,” to what [...]
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Dots, Not Connected
Published on 6 Nov 2009 at 1:10 am.
7 Comments.
Filed under Afghanistan, America, Iraq, Islam, Jihad, Palestinians, military.
Not in time, anyway. The murders of 12 people and wounding of 31 others by one man with two handguns probably made a lot of things painfully obvious, and probably helped cut through a lot of clutter and red tape pretty quickly.
But when, within a matter of hours, the following facts and suspicions are widely reported, [...]
Thanks To You
Published on 2 Nov 2009 at 1:14 pm.
2 Comments.
Filed under courage, dogs, military.
Team Marines was still out front, leading the pack by $1,300 at $14,561 as of 1 p.m. today:
“We Enjoyed It”
Published on 31 Oct 2009 at 11:09 am.
6 Comments.
Filed under Afghanistan, Iraq, military.
The smallest of the four combat branches leads the Valour IT push as of 10 a.m. this morning. It was Marines, $13,486; Army, $11,910; Air Force $5,060; and Navy, $4,790.
Advanced Baby Splittage
Published on 31 Oct 2009 at 10:00 am.
2 Comments.
Filed under Afghanistan, Obama, military.
President Barack Obama, half-pregnant with Bush’s Afghan war, apparently is leaning toward splitting the baby … surgically. Washington Post:
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The Fourth Star
Published on 28 Oct 2009 at 9:34 pm.
No Comments.
Filed under Afghanistan, Iraq, military.
The Fourth Star: Four Generals and the Epic Struggle for the Future of the United States Army by Washington Post Pentagon reporter Greg Jaffe. Judging by an interview on NPR’s Fresh Air today, it sounds interesting. The focus is on four generals, their backgrounds, how they were influenced by the military’s Vietnam and Gulf War experiences as they [...]
Standing Tall
Published on 28 Oct 2009 at 6:00 am.
3 Comments.
Filed under Iraq, military.
I met USMC Lance Cpl. James Crosby in June 2004. He was 19. He was a kid from a blue-collar background in Winthrop, Mass., and his body was a mess. But I could tell within minutes of meeting him that he was no ordinary kid, and I was pretty sure I’d hear his name again. From [...]
Resignation
Published on 27 Oct 2009 at 11:08 am.
4 Comments.
Filed under Afghanistan, military.
A disappointment. Former Marine Capt. Matthew Hoh, with intense and traumatic duty in Iraq, who became a PRT team member in Zabul, Afghanistan, has resigned from the Foreign Service and refused high-level offers to stay onboard. Washington Post:
Fallen Marine
Published on 27 Oct 2009 at 9:28 am.
3 Comments.
Filed under Afghanistan, military.
Local boy made good, had it all, gave it all. One of 14 Americans to die in Afghanistan yesterday. Another 12 were injured. Boston Herald:
WWII In HD
Published on 24 Oct 2009 at 11:55 am.
3 Comments.
Filed under TV, history, military.
Big History Channel event, two hours a night, Nov. 15-19, “WWII in HD” promises to ”change the way the world sees this defining conflict.” Previews* and details at History.com, where they say they combed the archives for a lot of largely unseen footage and digitally cranked it up to HD standards.
McChrystal’s Afghanistan
Published on 15 Oct 2009 at 11:13 am.
5 Comments.
Filed under Afghanistan, media, military.
NYT’s Dexter Filkins goes deep with a profile of McChrystal in action that includes an intimate look at what he wants to do in Afghanistan, the difficulties he faces, some reasons for hope, a lot of ugly truths, and for a refreshing change in current American reporting trends, some comparison and contrast on the fact that these guys have [...]
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Chaos-istan
Published on 5 Oct 2009 at 9:51 am.
18 Comments.
Filed under Afghanistan, Obama, military.
On the Potomac. It’s the kind of thing political and military debacles are made of. UK Telegraph reports the president is PO’d at Gen. Stanley McChrystal over the London speech:
Afghan Tet
Published on 4 Oct 2009 at 11:03 am.
2 Comments.
Filed under Afghanistan, military.
While their president mulls the question, to fight or not to fight, Americans are fighting and dying in Afghanistan. Eight dead in a major, organized Taliban assault Saturday. Washington Post:
McClellan On The Hindu Kush
Published on 27 Sep 2009 at 11:15 am.
1 Comment.
Filed under Afghanistan, Obama, military.
They were almost right about the Obama-Lincoln analogies. Turns out he’s not Lincolnescque. Just Lincoln proximate.*
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A Modern War Reader
Published on 27 Sep 2009 at 10:45 am.
1 Comment.
Filed under Afghanistan, Iraq, history, military.
JH Stuart, who you’ll know from his periodic comments here, is a Norwich- and UVM-trained civil engineering consultant in Vermont and former Army engineer in Italy and Vietnam who has attacked our current wars with a engineer’s thoroughness, taking them apart to see how they work with the following course of study. Stuart called it “The [...]
Dismount!
Published on 25 Sep 2009 at 9:51 am.
4 Comments.
Filed under Afghanistan, Iraq, history, military.
Treadheads no more. The unit I rode into Baghdad with, 4th Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, is now reflagged as 3rd Battalion, 15th Infantry, 4th Brigade, 3rd ID. Hasta la vista, Bradley! Arrivederci, Abrams. Until we mech again. They’re running around in the dirt in Georgia and getting ready to go to Afghanistan, with about [...]
Hidden Gem
Published on 25 Sep 2009 at 8:59 am.
No Comments.
Filed under history, military.
Reportedly one of the world’s best WWII collections has been salted away in a private museum in Natick, Mass., for the past decade. Now slightly less private. Viewing by appointment only. Includes a purported sawed-off bit of the couch Hitler did himself and the Mrs. in on, a draft of the Munich agreement, a Sherman tank and other [...]
In Which Obama Has A General Problem, Just Like A Real President*
Published on 22 Sep 2009 at 9:17 am.
6 Comments.
Filed under Afghanistan, Obama, history, military.
Roggio at Long War points to and discusses a McClatchy report that McChrystal is ready to resign if not given the resources to prosecute the war in Afghanistan.
I’m going to guess Obama and Emanuel are not going to take kindly to being pressured, but it puts them in a spot.
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To Look Good Or To Feel Good?
Published on 21 Sep 2009 at 8:05 am.
3 Comments.
Filed under Afghanistan, Obama, military.
It’s a Lamasian dilemma* for Obama. Washington Post reports the top general in Afghanistan is sticking it to him. More troops or mission failure:
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Hard, Hard All The Time, But Doable
Published on 18 Sep 2009 at 8:00 am.
2 Comments.
Filed under Afghanistan, military.
In an open letter to the Brits, apparently designed to encourage and reassure, Gen. David Petraeus weighs in on Afghanistan. Times of London:
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Honor
Published on 17 Sep 2009 at 9:36 pm.
2 Comments.
Filed under Afghanistan, courage, military.
Sergeant First Class Jared Monti of Raynham, Massachusetts, was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor today at the White House. His parents were there to accept it for him.
Monti, a forward observer with 3rd squadron, 71st Cav, 10th Mountain Division, was on a recon mission on June 21, 2006, in Gowardesh on the Afghan-Pak border, when his [...]
Medic Murdered
Published on 10 Sep 2009 at 10:35 pm.
5 Comments.
Filed under Afghanistan, military.
Navy Corpsman James Layton was shot dead in a hail of Taliban gunfire, along with the wounded Marine he was working on. McClatchy:
Aftermath Anger
Published on 10 Sep 2009 at 11:46 am.
2 Comments.
Filed under Afghanistan, media, military.
UK Telegraph reports senior British Army sources voice anger that a soldier was killed rescuing a New York Times reporter who ignored security warnings and went into a Taliban-controlled area. An Afghan translator was also killed, unclear by which side. The military believed that the situation might be about to deteriorate.
Caught a few moments of what sounded [...]
Lessons And Rules
Published on 9 Sep 2009 at 9:49 am.
No Comments.
Filed under Afghanistan, military.
Bitter ones. Herschel Smith at Captain’s Journal looks at the death of four Marines, seven Afghan soldiers and an interpreter in an ambush in Kunar province and considers the force projection aspect of counterinsurgency and the arm-tied-behind-the-back part … when rules of engagement are followed over a cliff.
Small Wars Journal points to some relevant discussion: NYT with a [...]
Professional Issues
Published on 5 Sep 2009 at 9:58 am.
6 Comments.
Filed under media, military.
AP’s dead Marine photo violates its own embed agreement and the wishes of a dead Marine’s family. Gates objects. NYT.
The journal entries of AP Photog Julie Jacobson regarding the incident in which Lance Cpl. Joshua Bernard was killed are compelling reading. via Miami Herald. Real deal, descriptions of heavy combat. She says the Marines tried to ice her [...]
Afghan Woes
Published on 3 Sep 2009 at 8:44 am.
2 Comments.
Filed under Afghanistan, Obama, military.
Daniel Dravot: “Ask him who his enemies are, Billy Fish.”
Billy Fish: “Uttar say, ‘Enemies all around. The worst are the Bashkai. Always raiding and stealing our womens. And when we go to bathe, they are pissing in the river!”
Daniel Dravot: “Shocking state of affairs! You tell Uttar, we will help him defeat his enemies. He [...]
Blitzkrieg
Published on 1 Sep 2009 at 10:30 pm.
2 Comments.
Filed under Europe, history, military.
Born on this day, 70 years ago, in the invasion of Poland: The coordinated use of armor, infantry and air power to penetrate opposing lines with lightning speed to encircle and destroy targeted units. As significant as the tactics were, the strategic maneuvering was that much more so. Possibly the single most cynical, murderous act of modern history, when [...]
Be All You Can Be
Published on 24 Aug 2009 at 8:36 am.
2 Comments.
Filed under Afghanistan, Obama, military.
You can do it, as the commander in chief of the Army!
Bad news: NYT reports the military in Afghanistan, not strong enough. Apparently a few more good men would help. It isn’t exactly news. There’s a war on, the one the lefty peaceniks always said was the one that needed to be fought. But now that it’s theirs to fight, [...]
Case In Point
Published on 13 Aug 2009 at 1:49 pm.
1 Comment.
Filed under Afghanistan, Boston, cops, media, military.
While the Boston Globe waxes hysterical about the dangers letting veterans be cops, the New York Times weighs in with some news on what the presumed babykillers have been up to while earning their veterans’ civil service preference. It’s an informative article on the military’s adaption to Taliban tactics and finetuning of the counterinsurgency. Sounds like the Army expects a pretty high degree of sophistication [...]
Lefty Rag Opposes Minority Preferences
Published on 12 Aug 2009 at 11:22 pm.
6 Comments.
Filed under Boston, bigotry, cops, media, military.
No, not race, gender or sexual-orientation preferences. Don’t be ridiculous. It’s the Boston Globe, slamming civil service police preferences for that other much-abused minority, Military-Americans, in a bigoted, ill-informed editorial that plays on some of the worst stereotypes about veterans, and has the Boston police commissioner singing in tune:
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Marines Go To Town
Published on 12 Aug 2009 at 10:47 am.
No Comments.
Filed under Afghanistan, military.
Heavy fighting as Marines assault a Taliban stronghold in Helmand. AP, which reports the goal is to open the town for voting in the upcoming election, and isolate the Taliban from population centers.
A discussion of the importance of securing population centers … big ones, like Kandahar, at Small Wars Journal, where a frustrated Dave Dilegge wants [...]
A Great Wringing Of Hands
Published on 11 Aug 2009 at 8:45 am.
No Comments.
Filed under Afghanistan, Obama, military.
It’s begun in earnest. NYT’s Opinionator does a great job rounding up the rending of garments, gnashing of teeth, the wailing, lamentations of woe and destruction in the rush to lose a war. NYT’s O seems to particularly like Andrew Bacevich, the great strategic thinker who was determined to see us abandon Iraq, and having lost that [...]
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Good Start
Published on 10 Aug 2009 at 10:57 am.
1 Comment.
Filed under Iraq, media, military.
Falls apart. Walter Rodgers, formerly of CNN, embedded with 3/7 Cav in the invasion of Iraq, on the latest evolution in the Spanish persecution of Gibson, Wolford and deCamp, spanks the Euro-righteousness that has prompted several Iraq-related political prosecutions. Unfortunately, that’s pretty much where we part ways. CSM via Yahoo:
The Spanish case seems to be a [...]
Think You Can Write?
Published on 10 Aug 2009 at 9:54 am.
1 Comment.
Filed under military.
Wonder why no one’s ever noticed? Here’s your big chance. Small Wars Journal is staging an $8000 writing competition, and they aren’t effing around:
Papers should be 3,000 to 5,000 words in length. Papers will be blind reviewed and judged primarily for clarity of presentation, relevant insights to the question asked, and overall significance of the key [...]
Acute Defense Fund
Published on 10 Aug 2009 at 9:26 am.
No Comments.
Filed under Iraq, military.
Teflon Don reports a defense fund has been established for his Army buddy, SSG George Nickel, who brought the war home with him. More from their copmpany commander, Badger Six, who is blogging again at The Long Walk Home.
Shadows Of War
Published on 8 Aug 2009 at 10:39 am.
No Comments.
Filed under Iraq, PTSD, military.
Acute Politics on a friend back from the war who ran into some trouble there and more back here.
Propaganda Management 101
Published on 6 Aug 2009 at 12:59 am.
No Comments.
Filed under America, Clintons, Kim, North Korea, courage, dummkopf!, military.
I was trying to figure out what it was that bothered me about this picture. Bill and all the other hostages look suitably glum, as anyone forced to pose for propaganda shots should. Then I realized what was missing.
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University Of Combat
Published on 31 Jul 2009 at 10:24 am.
4 Comments.
Filed under Iraq, academia, media, military.
The University of Alaska J-school is embedding student journalists with an Alaska-based Stryker battalion in Diyala province, one of those parts of Iraq where al-Qaeda remains a problem, posing a reasonable likelihood that the three students and their professor could be exposed to fire. Chronicle of Higher Education:
Enemy Capabilities
Published on 28 Jul 2009 at 8:58 am.
No Comments.
Filed under Afghanistan, military.
As the Taliban gears up for an extended guerrilla war, and indications emerge suggesting they have their act together tactically in ways the Iraqi insurgents didn’t, here’s Captain’s Journal explaining how he, Michael Yon, Glenn Reynolds and I are complicit in telling the Taliban what they already know. CJ’s Herschel Smith links to this NYT report:
Medal Of Honor
Published on 24 Jul 2009 at 11:43 am.
2 Comments.
Filed under Afghanistan, courage, military.
Sgt. Jared Monti, 30, of Raynham, Massachusetts. Congressional Medal of Honor, posthumous, for his actions on June 21, 2006, in Gowardesh, Afghanistan. He didn’t just give his life trying to drag badly wounded soldiers to safety under heavy fire. He gave in life. Boston Herald:
