1775: The Continental Army suffers its first major defeat when
an American invasion force commanded by Maj. Gen. Richard Montgomery
unsuccessfully assaults the British at Quebec. The attack yields fewer
than 20 British casualties at the cost of over 50 killed – including
Gen. Montgomery – and over 400 captured.
1862: USS Monitor, the U.S. Navy’s first ironclad ship, sinks during a storm off the coast of Cape Hatteras, N.C., along with 16 of her crew.
1942: Emperor Hirohito permits Japanese forces on Guadalcanal to retreat after five months of fighting.
1946: Although noting that “a state of war still exists,”
Pres. Harry Truman proclaims an end to American hostilities in World War
II. Treaties with Germany or Japan are not signed until 1951 and 1952,
respectively.
1995: The 1st Armored Division crosses the Sava River into Bosnia-Herzogovina to begin a NATO peacekeeping operation.
Perhaps it is because it is the last day of a dying year, with the birth of a new one just before us. Perhaps it is because it is the end of this President's first term, with his second just to come. Whatever the reason, the New York Times has finally felt liberated to publish a piece explaining just what their class thinks of the Constitution. Here are the opening and closing propositions:
...[blame] the Constitution, with all its archaic, idiosyncratic and downright evil provisions.... we ought to try extricating ourselves from constitutional bondage so that we can give real freedom a chance.
Little in the piece surprises: disdain for the Founders, repeated references to America's legacy of slavery (that original sin that taints the country forever), and a desire that government should be liberated from all bonds so that it can pursue whatever good it settles upon. The only thing that surprises is the professor's assumption that a government, so liberated, will be inclined to pursue good at all.
For example, he writes that we should continue to be bound by the strictures he likes -- freedom of speech, religion, equal protection under the law, and a few others -- "out of respect, not obligation." Doubtless a government so respectful of these things that it required no obligations would be pleasant, but I have never seen it. There is a reason that lawsuits on these topics regularly reach the Supreme Court, which is that the government already fails to respect even these principles on a regular basis -- and that with the obligation in place.
Even more amazing is the claim that, under his proposed non-system, "The president would have to justify military action against Iran solely on the merits, without shutting down the debate with a claim of unchallengeable constitutional power as commander in chief." It's bad enough that a professor of Constitutional law doesn't realize that Congress has a very strong Constitutional claim against the 'unchallengable power' he cites: the power to declare war. What is worse is his notion that a President freed of Constitutional constraints would bother to justify military action at all.
Of course, the President might find himself forced to justify the action to one group under the new system: the military that would be liberated from any Constitutional duty to obey his orders. I wonder what that system might look like? I wonder, too, why it never occured to the professor to ask. His faith in government extends to the assumption that only things he approves of are possible if the government is liberated from Constitutional control. Somehow, something will keep everyone abiding by the parts of the system the professor likes.
Or even several days. A couple of weeks ago, I posted this tease about a wonderful day set-up for me by a regular reader (Thank You Dave!). Through those good offices, I got to meet Frank "Frankie" McRae, who is the director of training (and a bit more besides) for Raidon Tactics. Those of you who have served in Special Forces might remember him as NCOIC for of the US Army Special Forces Advanced Reconnaissance Target Analysis
and Exploitation Techniques Course (SFARTAETC) at Ft. Bragg N.C., as well as a member of the 1st Special Forces Group.
PHOTO
Since leaving the service, he works with Raidon Tactics and with Range 37, two separate but synergistic businesses not too far from Ft. Bragg. Raidon concentrates on providing world-class Shooting, Close Quarters Battle, Counter-Terrorism driver and medical training -- in short, close-quarters tactical training. They have quite the crew of instructors, and each is a subject matter expert in the task at hand, though not all are military. Most are, and like Frankie they have been there and done that, so you get to learn from true pros.
But in a good way. Long story short, between hacking old and possibly new, plus a server migration, plus some other issues, my site The Laughing Wolf is dead. Well, the software that drove it is dead, stiff as a board, deceased, and other such words.
So, The Laughing Wolf is reborn with new software. Sadly, some things happened to keep me from rescuing all the old posts (at least for now), so we are starting over.
That's where it's all you, and about you. Comments are once again enabled, but what I need to know is what you would like to see on the site. Items, features, widgets, and more -- what do you want to see there as the real users of the site? Where do you want it? Let me know, and in my copious free time I will do my best to get done what I can so the site is user friendly. I post, but you are the user, so let me know.
And, yeah, I was hoping to be in Afghanistan by Christmas, but that did not work out. As I noted earlier, the high-level PAO now involved says it will be early January before they get things worked out. Not having heard from them, I presume that is still a go and operating accordingly. That said, I've also put out th word that I do have ITOs, and if someone else wants an embed to please let me know. I may have missed Christmas, but New Year's is still possible for a unit that can think and move quickly. Want to know more, check out this post. Meantime, let me know what you would like to see on the "new" site.
On this day in 1983, Pres. Ronald Reagan took full responsibility for the October bombing of the Beirut Embassy in Lebanon that killed 241 U.S. troops. Contrast that with the lies, stonewalling, and passing the buck of the Obama administration in the aftermath of the Benghazi attack.
Of course, neither president was directly responsible for the death of American service members overseas; we must not lose sight that both of these attacks were perpetrated by America's enemies. However the policies of both presidents and the actions of their subordinates certainly played a role and is worth further investigation (in Obama's case) and discussion.
Reagan wasn't perfect. No man is. But by taking responsibility for something that happened under his watch, President Reagan displayed a level class that Americans are unlikely to ever see from the man who currently occupies the White House.
I have fought against the restrictive rules of engagement in Afghanistan under Bush and Obama as part of the counterinsurgency doctrine. To be fair, under the Reagan administration Marines were not allowed to have loaded weapons during their peacekeeping mission in Lebanon, and were only allowed to return fire under certain circumstances. Had the Marines pulling security outside the barracks been locked and loaded, then those 241 Marines, sailors, and soldiers probably wouldn't have died.
After the attack, Reagan withdrew the peacekeeping force. But why send combat troops to a country that poses no significant threat to the United States in the first place? When a president feels it is necessary to handicap our military's ability to respond to deadly force in a particular theater, then we probably shouldn't send men with guns in the first place.
In an age of terrorism, I wholeheartedly support counterterrorism. There are plenty of people who not only feel divinely inspired to kill innocent Americans, but also seek to do so. They must be stopped. But when we go beyond intelligence and special operations - putting "boots on the ground" - there has to be a legitimate reason.
We have sent enough young men and women to die in the Middle East, Southwest Asia, and North Africa. No matter how much blood we spill in that part of the globe, they will continue to hate us and themselves.
They can hate us for free. Stop the foreign aid. Stop propping up dictators and tyrants - the Soviet Union isn't around any more. Stop sending our young men and women to die. And for the love of all that is good, stop buying their oil. We have enough energy resources at home that no matter happens in that part of the globe, it's not our problem any more.
The following is a special report from Elise Cooper for BlackFive readers. You can read all of our book reviews by clicking on the Books category on the far right sidebar or by clicking here. Here is the latest review by Elise Cooper:
Joseph Finder’s The Moscow Club re-released this past Christmas is a very realistic novel about the Russian coup. If the reader wants a change of pace from the terrorist based Middle East thrillers this is a book to delve into. Originally written as a contemporary novel, it has now become a historical novel since its plot is based on a coup overthrowing Mikhail Gorbachev.
The characters are well developed and interesting. The heroes are Charlie Stone, a CIA analyst and his estranged wife, Charlotte. Both are intellectual, and tough individuals who are able to piece together a conspiracy by a group of Kremlin insiders working with rogue CIA individuals. Stone also finds himself having to prove his innocence after being accused of murder. He decides to get to the truth, which has him traveling across the US, throughout Europe, and ending up in the Soviet Union.
The villain is Winthrop Lehman who is based on Armand Hammer. Finder told blackfive.net that he wrote the book “to show how Hammer was friendly with Lenin. Here was a billionaire industrialist who had easy access to the White House and was working with the Russians against American interests. I used fiction as a way to tell a larger truth about Hammer. My contacts in the CIA were more willing to talk to me if I wrote a novel. I knew he would make a compelling villain in the story.”
A powerful quote from the book, describes how after Gorbachev is overthrown he will be replaced with “a right wing, neofascist Soviet leadership that will be dangerous.” Finder wanted to point out the way the Russian government worked and that today’s leadership is no different. “I predicted it. I remember having so many arguments as to what will happen in Russia. So many people thought that the bad guys were gone from Russia and the good guys were in control. I kept emphasizing it does not work that way. The people in power want to keep their power. I wanted to show glimpses of what Russia is really like.”
He did that by showing how the Russians broke up families and many times held a wife or child behind as hostages to ensure someone’s cooperation. He also goes into great detail on how the Russians tortured and murdered those who did not agree with the government. The author explores the question of Lenin’s death, which becomes a central part of the plot. Was he poisoned instead of dying a natural death?
An interesting side note is that it was written pre-9/11. There are parts of the book that can never happen today. For example how easy it was to get a fake passport, cross the border between the US and Canada, get a plane ticket at the last minute by paying with cash, and sneaking a gun through the detectors. Finder commented that he actually had someone field test sneaking a gun on a plane from Boston to Washington. The reader can compare how rules have changed in this nation post 9/11.
The Moscow Club is an engrossing spy novel. It is very insightful since it was written about the Russian coup just months before it really happened. It delves into the Russian culture and political scene. The plot is very believable and is a quick read for those who like engrossing thrillers.
General H. Norman Schwarzkopf, who commanded the U.S. led international coalition to drove Saddam Hussein's forces out of Kuwait in 1991, has died.
For those veterans of our battles today, who may have been watching Oscar the Grouch and Big Bird while this was going on (or maybe your Dad...or Mom {my bad} was serving), this was the man in action. He laid it out for us and if you have ever worked in a TOC, JOC, or EOC; then you know what the term "briefing slide" means now and where it comes from.
He is something to watch...
"If it had been our intention to overrun the country, we could have done it unopposed."
This is perhaps the textbook way to do a briefing for the media. He controlled the room, gave definitive answers, and ensured that he could tell them everything he could and most important to me, he let the fifth column leftists in the Lamestream Media who deep down wanted to publicly hate this war (because all wars are started by the U.S. of course) exactly what their place was. Please take note of each of the whiners that get their hash settled in due course.
I am not sure that there hasn't been a briefing given this way since.
He didn't spend his time hanging out at a firebase somewhere either...
In 1966 he volunteered for Vietnam and served two tours, first as a U.S. adviser to South Vietnamese paratroops and later as a battalion commander in the U.S. Army's Americal Division. He earned three Silver Stars for valor -- including one for saving troops from a minefield -- plus a Bronze Star, a Purple Heart and three Distinguished Service Medals.
Kind of makes that question to the reporter about being in a minefield mean a bit more....
God Bless you General and your service to this nation, God Bless your family and God Speed to you sir.
Posted By Blackfive U.S. Army Spc. Thaxal Potter provides security during a mission in Farah
City, Afghanistan, Dec. 26, 2012. Potter is a security force team
member for Provincial Reconstruction Team Farah, which trains, advises
and assists Afghan government leaders at the municipal, district and
provincial levels in Farah province.
U.S. Navy photo by Lt. j.g. Matthew Stroupy
Posted By Blackfive A coalition force member maintains security during a presence patrol in Afghanistan's Farah province, Dec. 16, 2012. Coalition forces train and mentor Afghan national forces in their area. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Pete Thibodeau
No, what I want for me is one thing; what I want for all those who can't be home for Christmas this year is to have as Merry a Christmas (or holiday of your choice) as they can. I hope that each of them can spend at least a moment talking to their families, and sharing in the day via technical means. It's not the same, not by a long shot, but it is better than nothing.
"Grab it before the Pentagon orders it burned..." - Vanity Fair
"...nonpartisan patriotism is the common thread tying together these reflections, love letters and stories of combat. They make for riveting reading." - The Washington Post
Winner of the 2006 Gold Medal for Anthologies - Military Writer's Society of America
"This collection is an excellent introduction to an emerging form of war reporting." - Booklist
"...there is much to tell, and celebrate, in the tough, day-to-day work that our soldiers are doing in one of the most challenging environments any army has ever faced..." - The Philadelphia Inquirer
"...the collection is riveting...a worthy tribute." - The American Prospect
Click here
for more information and list of blogger/authors
Former Paratrooper and Army Officer, "Blackfive" started this blog upon learning of the valorous sacrifice of a friend that was not reported by the journalist whose life he saved. Email: blackfive AT gmail DOT com
Retired Special Operations Master Sergeant, Jim Hanson ("Uncle Jimbo") is now focused on writing about the military, politics, intelligence operations and foreign policy. Email: jimbo AT unclejimbo DOT com
Writer, photographer, and raconteur C. Blake Powers is the Laughing Wolf. He is independent in politics and covers topics including journalism, military, weapons, preparedness, space, science, cooking, food and wine, product and book reviews, and even spirituality. Email: wolf1 AT laughingwolf DOT net Laughing Wolf's Amazon Wish List
Grim -- an Old Norse name that means 'one who wears a mask' -- blogs on issues of intelligence, information operations, and foreign relations. Email: grimbeornr AT yahoo DOT com
Instapinch
Bill Paisley, otherwise known as Pinch, is a 22 year (ongoing) active and
reserve naval aviator. He blogs over at www.instapinch.com on a veritable
cornucopia of various and sundry items and will bring a tactical naval
aviator's perspective to Blackfive. Readers be warned: any comments of or
about the F-14 Tomcat will be reverential and spoken in low, hushed tones.
Email: wpaisley AT comcast DOT net
Mr. Wolf has over 26 years in the Army, Army NG, and USAR. He’s Airborne with 5 years as an NCO, before becoming an officer. Mr. Wolf has had 4 company commands. Signal Corp is his basic branch, and Public Affairs is his functional area. He recently served 22 straight months in Kuwait and Iraq, in Intel, PA, and senior staff of MNF-I. Mr. Wolf is now an IT executive. He is currently working on a book on media and the Iraq war. Functional gearhead.
In Iraq, he received the moniker of Mr. Wolf after the Harvey Kietel character in Pulp Fiction, when "challenges" arose, they called on Mr. Wolf...
Email: TheDOTMrDOTWolfAT gmail DOT com
Deebow is a Staff Sergeant and a Military Police Squad Leader in the Army National Guard. In a previous life, he served in the US Navy. He has over 19 years of experience in both the Maritime and Land Warfare; including deployments to Southwest Asia, Thailand, the South Pacific, South America and Egypt. He has served as a Military Police Team Leader and Protective Services Team Leader and he has served on assignments with the US State Department, US Air Force Security Police, US Army Criminal Investigation Division, and the US Drug Enforcement Administration. He recently spent time in Afghanistan working with, training and fighting alongside Afghan Soldiers and is now focused on putting his 4 year Political Science degree to work by writing about foreign policy, military security policy and politics.
McQ has 28 years active and reserve service. Retired. Infantry officer. Airborne and Ranger. Consider my 3 years with the 82nd as the most fun I ever had with my clothes on. Interests include military issues and policy and veteran's affairs.
Email: mcq51 -at - bellsouth -dot- net
Chris Carter is a former USAF firefighter and now civilian firefighter who covers military history, national security, and baseball. Find out more at his website.
Twitter: @CrushingChris EMAIL: crushnik AT yahoo DOT com
Tantor is a former USAF navigator/weapon system officer (WSO) in F-4E Phantoms who served in the US, Asia, and Europe. He is now a curmudgeonly computer geek in Washington, DC, picking the taxpayers pocket. His avocations are current events, aviation, history, and conservative politics.
Twenty-three years of Active and Reserve service in the US Army in SF (18B), Infantry and SOF Signal jobs with operational deployments to Bosnia and Africa. Since retiring he's worked as Senior Defense Analyst on SOF and Irregular Warfare projects and currently ensconced in the emerging world of Cyberspace.
Major Pain --
A Marine who began his blog in Iraq and reflects back on what he learned there and in Afghanistan. To the point opinions, ideas and thoughts on military, political and the media from One Marine’s View. Email: onemarinesview AT yahoo DOT com
Uber Pig was an Infantryman from late 1991 until early 1996, serving with Second Ranger Battalion, I Corps, and then 25th Infantry Division. At the time, the Army discriminated against enlisted soldiers who wanted use the "Green to Gold" program to become officers, so he left to attend Stanford University. There, he became expert in detecting, avoiding, and surviving L-shaped ambushes, before dropping out to be as entrepreneurial as he could be. He is now the founder of a software startup serving the insurance and construction industries, and splits time between Lake Tahoe, Boonville, and San Francisco, CA.
Uber Pig writes for Blackfive a) because he's the proud brother of an enlisted Civil Affairs Reservist who currently serves in Iraq, b) because he looks unkindly on people who make it harder for the military in general, and for his brother in particular, to succeed at their missions and come home in victory, and c) because the Blackfive readers and commenters help keep him sane.
COB6 spent 24 years in the active duty Army that included 5 combat tours with service in the 1st Ranger Battalion and 1st Special Forces Group . COB6 was enlisted (E-7) and took the OCS route to a commission. COB6 retired a few years back as a field grade Infantry officer.
Currently COB6 has a son in the 82nd Airborne that just returned from his third tour and has a newly commissioned daughter in the 4th Infantry Division.
On this day in 1983, Pres. Ronald Reagan took full responsibility for the October bombing of the Beirut Embassy in Lebanon that killed 241 U.S. troops. Contrast that with the lies, stonewalling, and passing the buck of the Obama administration in the aftermath of the Benghazi attack.
