(re)Construction Teams in Afghanistan -- Mike Yon Dispatch

Posted By Uber Pig

Heh:

The village of Sangow Bar was dark.  It had no electricity until 2006 when Lithuanians invested about $40,000 to build this micro-hydro generator with the idea of watching the village to see if true improvement was made.  Today, Sangow Bar has plenty of electricity and the people have lights and satellite television, yet despite that opportunity, nobody seems to watch Oprah.  The old saying, “You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it watch Oprah,” is an unfortunate reality in many parts of Afghanistan.

Airborne Icon and Hero Passes On - Godspeed, Darrell "Shifty" Powers

Posted By Blackfive

"I could hear bullets and shrapnel hitting the plane. As I jumped out the door, I could see that the left motor was on fire." - Darrell Shifty Powers talking about jumping over Normandy, France, on D-Day.

Many, many of you have sent me notice that Shifty Powers of the heroic Easy Company, 2-506th PIR, 101st Airborne Division, died on June 17th.  I had no idea that he had passed on.  I have written here a lot about Easy Company and even have an autographed photo (Bill Guarnere) on my desk of the jump into Holland (Market Garden).

If you use GoogleNews (any combo of Darrell and/or Shifty Powers), there are less then ten notices of his death.  There are less than four articles about his passing on from "old media" news agencies.

Quite frankly, this is an affront to a genuinely good man.  Shifty Powers received two Bronze Stars and a CIB and fought in every campaign that Easy Company was in.  He was severely injured on his way home in a truck accident (the irony is that the men of Easy rigged the lottery to go home so Shifty would be first, but he ended up being one of the last to get home after an extensive hospitalization).

This email has gone viral about Shifty:

We're hearing a lot today about big splashy memorial services.

I want a nationwide memorial service for Darrell "Shifty" Powers.

Shifty volunteered for the airborne in WWII and served with Easy Company of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, part of the 101st Airborne Infantry. If you've seen Band of Brothers on HBO or the History Channel, you know Shifty. His character appears in all 10 episodes, and Shifty himself is interviewed in several of them.

I met Shifty in the Philadelphia airport several years ago. I didn't know who he was at the time. I just saw an elderly gentleman having trouble reading his ticket. I offered to help, assured him that he was at the right gate, and noticed the "Screaming Eagle", the symbol of the 101st Airborne, on his hat.

Making conversation, I asked him if he'd been in the 101st Airborne or if his son was serving. He said quietly that he had been in the 101st. I thanked him for his service, then asked him when he served, and how many jumps he made.

Quietly and humbly, he said "Well, I guess I signed up in 1941 or so, and was in until sometime in 1945 . . . " at which point my heart skipped.

At that point, again, very humbly, he said "I made the 5 training jumps at Toccoa, and then jumped into Normandy . . . . do you know where Normandy is?" At this point my heart stopped.

I told him yes, I know exactly where Normandy was, and I know what D-Day was. At that point he said "I also made a second jump into Holland, into Arnhem." I was standing with a genuine war hero . . . . and then I realized that it was June, just after the anniversary of D-Day.

I asked Shifty if he was on his way back from France, and he said "Yes. And it's real sad because these days so few of the guys are left, and those that are, lots of them can't make the trip." My heart was in my throat and I didn't know what to say.

I helped Shifty get onto the plane and then realized he was back in Coach, while I was in First Class. I sent the flight attendant back to get him and said that I wanted to switch seats. When Shifty came forward, I got up out of the seat and told him I wanted him to have it, that I'd take his in coach.

He said "No, son, you enjoy that seat. Just knowing that there are still some who remember what we did and still care is enough to make an old man very happy." His eyes were filling up as he said it. And mine are brimming up now as I write this.

Shifty died on June 17 after fighting cancer.

There was no parade.

No big event in Staples Center.

No wall to wall back to back 24x7 news coverage.

No weeping fans on television.

And that's not right.

Let's give Shifty his own Memorial Service, online, in our own quiet way. Please forward this email to everyone you know. Especially to the veterans.

Rest in peace, Shifty.

"A nation without heroes is nothing." - Roberto Clemente

Here is a clip of the men of Easy Company (Shifty too) talking about heroes...

However, I particularly like this quote from his daughter...in the SWVA online edition:

...Johnson said her father kept a busy schedule up until the end. Two years ago, he visited soldiers stationed in South Korea and Japan. Last September, had he not fallen ill, he would have traveled to Iraq.
He kept a busy schedule up till the end. Two years ago, he visited soldiers in South Korea and in Japan. Last September, had he not fallen ill, he would have made a stop in Iraq.

“I had his suitcase packed,” Johnson said.

Missing the trip overseas disappointed him, she said, especially the worry of disappointing the soldiers there.
 
“My daddy was a simple man, not complicated and very comfortable with himself and approachable,” Johnson said. “He spoiled us. Right now I don’t feel as safe. I know I’ll never be as loved.”...

Godspeed, Shifty.  I'm sure the Jumpmaster has you cleared on the manifest.

Airborne!!!

Iran six months from nukes?

Posted By Uncle Jimbo

Maybe so, according to German Intel although I don't know that they have any more accurate information than anyone else does. What I found highly entertaining and very indicative of why the media is nearly useless for anything other than gossip and laughs, was the accompanying article. The two Reuters journalists who write this report say some things so stunningly dense I was gobsmacked.

Some analysts say Iran may be close to having the required material for producing a bomb, but most say the weaponization process would then take one to two years due to technical and political hurdles.

"Weaponizing" enrichment would not escape the notice of U.N. nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), unless it was done at a secret location.

No shit. The ever-vigilant IAEA would certainly nail those Iranians unless they did something super sneaky like hide their activities. Those bastards!

Until now there have been no indications of any such covert diversion, a point made by the IAEA's incoming director-general shortly after his election earlier this month.

Come with me on this one. "No indications of any such covert diversion" I wonder if that's because covert tends to mean secret and maybe they didn't issue any press releases that IAEA's moron-in-chief El Baradei and his team of Clouseaus could read while lounging by the pool.

Current IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei has said it is his "gut feeling" that Iran is seeking at least the capability to build nuclear weapons, in order to protect itself from perceived regional and U.S. threats.

Well that is encouraging Mohammed, glad to know your gut had time off from digesting petit fours and canapes to state the bloody freaking obvious. What an ultra maroon.

(Writing by Noah Barkin and Sylvia Westall; Editing by Richard Balmforth)

Congratulations to the professionals at Reuters for putting out a piece of journalistic brilliance that left me and many others almost uninformed and dumb enough to serve in El Baradei's beloved IAEA.

Blue Falcon alert?

Posted By Uncle Jimbo

Uber Pig pointed out a case where a Major on orders to Afghanistan was suing to get out of the deployment because he hasn't seen a copy of Obama's birth certificate. His lawyer is a leader of the whack job confederation pushing this retarded agenda. Well Greyhawk has done some of his usual poking about and it seems this clown was a volunteer fot the tour in Afghanistan. Now apparently his orders have been rescinded and they are claiming a victory in the fight to prove Obama is an alien. Hmmmm.

Returning now to the news of Cook's "victory", here's the reported explanation for the Army's decision:

Earlier today, Quon said Cook submitted a formal written request to Human Resources Command-St. Louis on May 8, 2009 volunteering to serve one year in Afghanistan with Special Operations Command, U.S. Army Central Command, beginning July 15, 2009. The soldier's orders were issued on June 9, Quon said.

"A reserve soldier who volunteers for an active duty tour may ask for a revocation of orders up until the day he is scheduled to report for active duty," Quon said.

In short - Cook never had to go in the first place. Unlike most soldiers who deploy as part of a unit, Cook - a reservist - had volunteered to go as an individual augmentee. The Army generally seeks volunteers to fill such assignments first - if no one does so then a non-volunteer is tapped.

SO if this is the case, this asshole volunteered to go, sued to play the birth certificate card, and now claims this means Obama is from Venus. What a loser. As Greyhawk points out this means either some poor bastard gets a call today to leave on no notice, or the unit depolys to war one officer short. Either way this Maj Cook is a buddy f**king piece of shit.

On a lighter note here is s link to the most enjoyable bit of radio David Bellavia and I did. Blue Falcon radio was a segment with an old Canadian hippie who wrote a song aboiut a US deserter he idolized. David and I strug him along for 20 minutes plus pretending to agree with him. My favorite was David body-surfing down a pile of aborted fetuses.

'Tears In The Darkness'

Posted By Mr Wolf

Another fantastic book has come out very recently- this one written about the Bataan Death March.  Being interested in this horrific escapade in US history since I was little, I am very interested in getting my hands on this book.

I've not yet read it (will do so very soon) but the books site, with some outstanding video (if you visit the site, start with the vids- VERY compelling) is extremely good reading.  I became interested in the Bataan march when I was very young; I would see survivors of Bataan visit Camp Perry, Ohio (just outside Port Clinton) and they kept a marker and presence there to commemorate the 32 men from Co C, 192d Tanker BN that were captured and forced into the march.  Only 10 of them survived the march and imprisonment to return home to Ohio.

The book details events around Ben Steele, now 92, who on April 9, 1942, after ninety-nine days of battle in the Phillipines, was captured by the Japanese and spent one thousand two hundred and forty-four days as a prisoner of war.  Now, if that's not something heroic to survive, I surely don't know what is.

For me, this falls into the realm of the Ghost Soldiers book, another fantastic tale of a rescue mission in the Philippines.  Another choice book, if you have the means.

Wolf

Cherry or Ice? - Popular Mechanics in Afghanistan

Posted By Blackfive

There is a good article and some amazing photos at Popular Mechanics about Operation Thunder Alamask.

The Afghan Helicopter War by PM editor Joe Pappalardo is a great look into offensive air assault operations (and it will explain the title of this post).

The Afghan War Gallery:  Photos from Mission Thunder 2 by Chad Hunt will give you a snap shot of how the soldiers operate.  Hunt captures a medevac and some other operational pieces that tell a great story.  And he also points out little things like the grid coordinates written in ink on the hand of a squad leader looking for an enemy that Army Intel just told him (via radio) that are looking right at him ("They know where you are!").

A Real Hero

Posted By Blackfive

Over at the Donovan's place, words fail him...me too.  Sergeant Watson is one helluva soldier.

"That's my platoon leader, please take care of him."

Posted By Blackfive

1LT Brian Bradshaw is remembered by the flight crew who carried him from Bagram.

Brian was killed on the same day that a "celebrity" died.  Flight crew wanted to let Brian's family know about how his other family treated him.

For one brief moment, the war stopped to honor Lt. Brian Bradshaw. This is the case for all of the fallen in Afghanistan. It is our way of recognizing the sacrifice and loss of our brothers and sisters in arms. Though there may not have been any media coverage, Brian's death did not go unnoticed. You are not alone with your grief. We mourn Brian's loss and celebrate his life with you. Brian is a true hero, and he will not be forgotten by those who served with him.

Go read the letter before the WashPo puts it in the archives.

Who is killing Afghan civilians?

Posted By Uncle Jimbo

PJ Tobias does some excellent reporting from Afghanistan. Here he discusses who is responsible for killing Afghan civilians.

I was in the park the other day, chatting with Abdul Rahab, a retired police officer. He told me that, “More than the Taliban, I am worried about US bombings over residential areas.”

Well I wish I’d read this report from the UN before talking to him…

According to the UN, the Taliban kill far more civilians than US airstrikes do. The report sites this bombing in Logar, which killed 25 people altogether, at least a dozen of whom were children.

Food for thought for sure. I also like this tidbit as well.

The following conversation took place between me and an Afghan journalist, who is Muslim. It is illegal for most Afghans to buy, posses or drink alcohol. Expats like myself however, are another matter.

“Mr. P.J., you must bring me a bottle of vodka.”

“No, that would be illegal and you’d get fired.”

“Ah! You want to talk illegal? F&%$ing Karzai takes millions from poor Afghans and gives it to his friends. Is that legal? Bring me some vodka!”

“Well played.”

In the Crosshairs- Congressional Ass-Assins

Posted By Uncle Jimbo

A rant on the foolishness being perpetrated by the House Intel Dems who are fashioning a controversy about a CIA non-program that was briefed to their leaders and covered in the NY Times. Clowns.

This Isn't Funny

Posted By Uber Pig

Okay, so some officer from California is using Obama's failure to provide a birth certificate as an excuse not to deploy.  I mean, it's kind of funny, and kind of sad, too.  Any JAG lawyers have a comment on this?

U.S. Army Maj. Stefan Frederick Cook, set to deploy to Afghanistan, says he shouldn’t have to go.

His reason?

Barack Obama was never eligible to be president because he wasn’t born in the United States.

Cook’s lawyer, Orly Taitz, who has also challenged the legitimacy of Obama’s presidency in other courts, filed a request last week in federal court seeking a temporary restraining order and status as a conscientious objector for her client.

In the 20-page document — filed July 8 with the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia — the California-based Taitz asks the court to consider granting his client’s request based upon Cook’s belief that Obama is not a natural-born citizen of the United States and is therefore ineligible to serve as commander-in-chief of the U.S. Armed Forces.

Cook further states he “would be acting in violation of international law by engaging in military actions outside the United States under this President’s command. ... simultaneously subjecting himself to possible prosecution as a war criminal by the faithful execution of these duties.”

Cook, a reservist, received the orders mobilizing him to active duty on June 9.

According to this document, which accompanies Cook’s July 8 application for a temporary restraining order, he has been ordered to report to MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Fla., on Wednesday. From there, the Florida resident would go to Fort Benning before deploying overseas.

Documents show Obama was born in Hawaii in 1961, two years after it became a state.

A hearing to discuss Cook’s requests will take place in federal court here Thursday at 9:30 a.m.

Your comments below, please.

-- Uber Pig

On the legality of targeting al Qaeda leaders

Posted By Uncle Jimbo

h/t Instapundit

The answer is of course it is legal, under international law (well at least our interpretation of it), US law and common sense to kill terrorists anywhere, any time, any place. Now there are those who would argue that the ban on assassinations prohibits us from targeting al Qaeda or other terrorists, but those people would simply be wrong. This right is based in the concept of self defense, nothing more nothing less, not the Authorization to Use Military Force (AUMF) passed by Congress after 9/11 that allowed us to kill anyone involved with those attacks, no UN resolutions, nope good old-fashioned self defense doctrine is accepted to justify whacking tangos of any flavor.

Read the analysis and the paper cited at the link to Volokh Conspiracy if you want more detail on the legalities, but they are pretty clear and pretty simple. Terrorism is the same as pointing a gun at an entire country, or world for that matter, and if you catch a bullet for doing so well tough shit. We don't need to ask permission or beg forgiveness and the President doesn't need to ask Congress. He still needs to inform the leadership of covert ops as required by US law, but he doesn't need their blessing.

After 9/11 most folks assumed we were doing everything in our power to kill or capture anyone associated with al Qaeda, but many also might have assumed some authority to do so was needed. If so it resides in Article II of the Constitution where the President gets his Commander in Chief authority. Hunting and killing terrorists is not war and so I will join the Obama administration in foregoing the moniker "War on Terror" instead we can re-brand it as the "Terrorist Hunting Worldwide Authorization Card for Killing or THWACK.

This license is good for all manners of helping tangos assume room temperature from banging them in the temple joint with a rock, Lopping their heads off with a scimitar, Ventilating their craniums with a 7.62x51 rd, or returning them to their component molecules with any manner of precision-strike weaponry Hellfire on up.

So lets get these licenses distributed to all agencies with knuckle-draggers on staff, and an appropriate bonus program for successful exterminations. SInce Congress has such an interest in hearing about such things we can even put the heads on pikes at the Capitol so they can keep count. Happy hunting.

Readership Survey Results

Posted By Uncle Jimbo

We asked, you responded. We appreciate it and here are the results below the fold. Nothing too shocking, but useful to us as we talk to advertisers.

Continue reading "Readership Survey Results"

Guess Who Joined the Soldiers' Angels Board of Trustees?

Posted By Blackfive

Soldiers' Angels press release is below:

Top Milblogger 'Blackfive' Makes Long Relationship with Nonprofit Official

PASADENA, Calif., July 14 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Leading military support nonprofit Soldiers' Angels announced this morning the appointment of military veteran, IT executive and blogger/author Matthew Currier Burden to its Board of Trustees, approved by unanimous vote on July 11. Burden is expected to focus on a variety of projects for Soldiers' Angels, using his skills and contacts in technology, active duty military and politics to help the 200,000-member organization continue to care for America's military personnel, veterans, and their families.

A longtime supporter, Burden has worked closely with Soldiers' Angels in an unofficial capacity since 2003. "I've been doing a lot of soldier support on my own and with SA on a variety of projects for the last six years, but I wanted to do more by taking an official role," he explains. "I'm looking forward to using my military and social media experiences to assist Soldiers' Angels any way I can."

After enlisting at age seventeen, Burden served in the 82nd Airborne, Special Forces and the Defense Intelligence Agency as he moved from enlisted to officer. He started the influential military blog Blackfive in 2003 to address the unreported stories of America's heroes and in 2006 edited Blog of War, a collection of essays from military blogs. Burden recently co-founded the Warrior Legacy Foundation, a nonprofit committed to protection and promotion of the reputation and dignity of America's Warriors, and is President of independent reporting and advertising production company SOG Media. He holds masters degrees in business and computer science and is currently an IT executive in Chicago.

Soldiers' Angels founder Patti Patton Bader warmly welcomes Burden. "It is truly an honor to serve wingtip to wingtip on the Board of Trustees with Matt," she enthuses. Board of Trustees Vice-chairman Richard M. John adds, "We are very excited to have Matt join the Board. His wealth of knowledge and contacts with the military, bloggers, and other military support organizations will be vital to Soldiers' Angels continuing to accomplish its mission. Matt has demonstrated time and again that his first concern is the welfare of our service members, and we look forward to having his formal input and participation as a Board member."

Established in 2003, Soldiers' Angels is a volunteer-led 501(c)(3) providing aid and comfort to the men and women of the United States Army, Marines, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard, as well as veterans and military families through a variety of hands-on projects and volunteerism. For more info, see www.soldiersangels.org or call 615-676-0239. Tax ID# 20-0583415. CFC# 25131.

Leon Cooper - Someone You Should Know

Posted By Blackfive

Our favorite essayist, Bill Whittle, interviews Leon Cooper for PJ TV.  Leon was an Ensign at Tarawa during WWII commanding the landing craft, and was an eye witness to the hell of Red Beach.

Graphic content warning (language describing combat).

Check it out here.  It's worth your time.

Mountain Fire

Posted By Blackfive

U.S. Army soldiers fire mortar rounds at suspected Taliban fighting positions during Operation Mountain Fire in Barge Matal, a village in eastern Nuristan province, Afghanistan, July 12, 2009. U.S. and Afghan forces secured the remote mountain village, which was overwhelmed by insurgent forces several days before. The U.S. soldiers are assigned to the 10th Mountain Division's 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment. Photo by U.S. Army Sgt. Matthew C. Moeller

Another Nuclear Power in the Oceans of the World

Posted By Subsunk

India's nuclear-powered submarine ready

United Press International, July 13, 2009

If all goes as planned, India, according to various reports, will soon join the exclusive club of nations with their own domestically built nuclear-powered submarines, marking a giant leap for its naval defense.

More than 20 years in the making and until now known only as the Advanced Technology Vehicle project, the Indian navy's new nuclear-powered submarine named INS Chakra is expected to be launched in the coming weeks to begin its sea trials.

 

The report said the 7,700-ton INS Chakra will undergo sea trials for several months after entering the waters of the Bay of Bengal from the Vishakhapatnam port in southeastern Andhra Pradesh state. It is designed to carry intermediate-range submarine-launched missiles that have already been tested on the eastern coast, the report said.

The INS Chakra is the first of five such nuclear-powered submarines India reportedly plans under its Advanced Technology Vessel program to complete its triad of air, land and sea-based nuclear weapons systems.

The nuclear-powered submarine is also seen as helping to strengthen the navy's presence in its traditional sea lanes in the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean and to keep its sea lines of communication open and unhindered.

The Financial Times reported the INS Chakra, which cost about $2.9 billion, is based on the Russian Akula-I class submarine. Its pressurized water reactor was developed at the atomic research center in Kalpakkam in southern Tamil Nadu state.

 

"This is a historic and big step forward. The project is quite indigenous and it opens the door for deploying nuclear weapons in the ocean," C. Raja Mohan, professor of south Asian studies at Singapore's Nanyang Technological University, told the Financial Times.

One Indian expert told the Financial Times that China, with eight nuclear submarines and three times the number of combat vessels, is quite ahead of  India.

Separately, Indian media reports said Russia had resumed pre-delivery trials this month of its Akula class nuclear submarine to be leased to the Indian navy later this year. The Financial Times said India also is waiting to take delivery of a 30-year-old refitted Russian aircraft carrier as wells as building six French-designed Scorpene diesel submarines.

Commenting on the disclosure a senior Indian official reaffirmed that  New Delhi has no plans to sign the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty, reported the Indian press.

“No sir,” said Minister of State Prithviraj Chavan when asked whether  India has the intention to join the pact, which enlists signatory nations to promote non-proliferation, disarmament and the peaceful use of nuclear technology.

The other five countries which already possess nuclear powered submarines are the United States, Russia, Great Britain, France and  China, all permanent members of the UN Security council.

India is one of a handful of nations known or widely assumed to possess nuclear weapons – including rival Pakistan and Israel – that has refused to sign the non proliferation document.

So much for nonproliferation, folks. The Akula class is a very quiet Russian submarine and probably the only hostile competition for the United States Submarine Force. Although the Chinese, and other countries have nuclear submarines as well, the Russians have a seafaring history and some experience at submarine warfare (not much good experience, but they are capable of learning and not repeating mistakes and were formidable opponents during the Cold War). The Chinese are "uncomfortable" at sea in submarines. They do not have a long history of successful submarine operations, althought there is no reason to doubt their stated capabilities. The Indians will have some growing pains.

 

The Akula SSN that the Russians are selling them had an accident on onboard when a fire suppression (Halon) system was inadvertently activated and killed 20 sailors and shipyard workers. The Russians usually take their damaged goods and sell them off because they figure it is too hard to fix them. So the Indians will be stuck with the lemon Akula for a bit and work out the kinks on their program using it as a test case, I believe. Not that it will be a test or research submarine. Just that they will make their mistakes on the damaged goods boat, and use the lessons learned to make their indigenous craft come out better.

 

The oceans are getting more crowded every day. This is a big deal in the Pacific and Indian Oceans

Subsunk out.

Uber Pig in Las Vegas

Posted By Uber Pig

I'll be in Henderson, Nevada from 22-25 July, for a construction risk management conference, where I'll be giving a presentation on my startup.  Would like to hook up with any B5-ers in town around that time.  Also, would like advice on cheap things to do, places to stay, that sort of thing, since my trip plans aren't quite finalized yet.  Thanks -- and if you'd prefer, just email me at enlistedswine at gmail dot com.

-- Uber Pig

The Afghans Killed 2,000 Taliban Fighters? So What???

Posted By Deebow

I don't like President Obama one tiny little bit and this is one of the many reasons why...

WASHINGTON -- President Obama has ordered his national security team to investigate reports that U.S. allies were responsible for the deaths of as many as 2,000 Taliban prisoners of war during the opening days of the war in Afghanistan.

Obama told CNN in an interview that aired Sunday that he doesn't know what how the U.S.-allied Northern Alliance behaved in November 2001, but he wants a full accounting before deciding how to move forward.

"I think that, you know, there are responsibilities that all nations have even in war," Obama said during an interview at the end of a six-day trip to Russia, Italy and Ghana.

Move forward?  With what?  I know that I sooooo do not care what happened to 2,000 Taliban prisoners in 2001 when they were being routed by SOF and their indigenous counterparts around Mazar-i-Sharif and parts unknown controlled by the Northern Alliance.  2,000 dead terrorists sounds like the beginning of a citation for a medal...

In fact, I would say 2,000 sounds to me like a good start...

Having spent a bit of time as an Embedded Trainer (kind of like being an 18B, master logistician, finance guru, operations specialist and contract specialist all rolled into a big warrior/diplomat tortilla), I can tell you that we had one really big picture tactical and strategic rule by which my partner Capt. Jack and I lived by:

• Afghanistan is their country and as such we are here to train them how to be an Army and not to get into how they conduct their business unless it will interfere with our mission objectives or place us in danger (because their were only two of us vs. their entire company).

I am going to make an educated guess and say that this was probably one of the things that affected how the SOF assigned to that area conducted their business.  My job was to teach them to be an effective fighting force, and part of that was to be how they treated their enemy.

But a couple times, I was staring down the barrel of my M4 with my back to my buddies trying to make my point about how prisoners are treated while the Afghans (more of them than me) stared down the barrel of their AK-47 trying to explain to me the way they deal with prisoners.  Tense moment in my military career for certain.

I could take up prodigious amounts of bandwidth comparing and contrasting tribal allegiances, Afghan politics, the need for SOF to balance tactical reality versus strategic goals or the changing political landscape of the USA in relation to our foreign policy as it relates to President Obama and this decision of his.

But this is not what this is about....

Continue reading "The Afghans Killed 2,000 Taliban Fighters? So What???"

BLACKFIVE Readership Survey

Posted By Uncle Jimbo

I posted this Friday and we have gotten an excellent response so far, and yes I will post the results when it is done. Here is the survey for those who haven't seen it yet.

OK everyone. We have put together a quick 12 question demographic survey that we would really appreciate you taking the time to do. It is designed to give us information about our audience for advertisers. It will be very helpful as we try to improve the site and provide more original reporting. No personal info is required and you will not get any emails or anything as a result of taking it. Just click 12 little questions and you are done. Thanks in advance.

The survey is here.

One Year Anniversary- Battle of Wanat

Posted By Uncle Jimbo

One of the biggest pitched battles of the war in Afghanistan happened one year ago today. The Battle of Wanat happened at a vehicle patrol base that was attacked by approx. 200 Taliban and cost the lives of 9 soldiers of the 2nd of the 503rd, 173rd ABN along w/ 25 wounded. They killed scores of Talibs and contrary to some reports were never over run, but the cost was high. We have discussed the battle and those who fought it many times, here are some of those stories.

Honoring CPL Jonathan Ayers

"The guys that died there were my friends"

Six year old accepts Silver Star for his Dad

Wanat awards at Ft. Benning Airborne Walk

Thanking the kids who sent them socks

It is hard to look at this fight and call it a victory, but that is the truth, a hard-fought, painful, costly one for sure. These guys were only 10 days from going home and they got this after 15 months in that hell hole. I have read the AARs and many accounts of the battle and have heard the stories personally from about 10 folks who survived. Some have attempted to blame the command for establishing the outpost or for the time it took to negotiate the land deal. It was far from an ideal situation, but rarely are things ideal in war. What is certain is that the men of Chosen Company fought bravely and with honor for their brothers and their country. Godspeed to the fallen and Blue Skies to the survivors.

Tanker Babe spent the weekend in New Hampshire with some of these guys and has plenty of stories and pictures.

Khan Nechion Castle in the hands of our Marines

Posted By Blackfive

Khan Nechion Castle was built by Alexander the Great and was once a fortress for the governors of that area of Afghanistan.  The Taliban took it from the Afghans.

And now some Marines and Afghan National Army soldiers took it back.  After securing and improving the castle, the Marines intend on giving the castle back to the local government in the next week or two.

This is b-roll (rough footage).  Other than the firefight at the beginning, the interviews at the end with some Marine Corporals and Privates is worth the time to watch.

CIA Assassination program

Posted By Uncle Jimbo

Apparently it is time to discuss another classified CIA program in public for political purposes. The leak comes from one of the two usual suspects, Congress as opposed to the media this time. Outraged Democrats looking to cover Nancy Pelosi's exposed ass have decided to play games with what ought to remain a secret matter. Pelosi had claimed the CIA lied to her about waterboarding and other matters in direct contradiction to evidence saying it hadn't. Now a group of Dems on the Intel Committee have decided they can help rehab her rep, score some political points against the evil Bush regime and distract the public from the economy by giving the media some red meat. Strange how the Bush crime family comes back in focus once the cunning plans to save the economy and country fall flat.

Let's take this supposed failure to inform Congress for a moment. We don't know for certain what the hell it actually is or was, but let's accept the leaked versions for argument's sake. This was feasibility planning and perhaps training in support of the 2001 Presidential finding authorizing the capture or killing of al Qaeda leaders. It is not alleged that any operations were planned or even seriously contemplated, but simply that the CIA brainstormed the contingency that they might need to scarf up or kill senior terrorist leaders. That seems to be an eminently sensible thing for them to be doing and in line with contingency planning for hundreds of other potential missions they could be tasked with. The question here is whether these actions required notification of Congress. I have no idea. There are laws governing this and obviously a certain level of activity coupled with a likelihood of action would trigger such a notification threshold. The current leaked info doesn't seem to show any actions contemplated and seems more like ongoing brainstorming.

Let's leave the political grandstanding aside for a moment and focus on the substance of such a program.

Amid the high alert following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, a small CIA unit examined the potential for targeted assassinations of al Qaeda operatives, according to the three former officials. The Ford administration had banned assassinations in the response to investigations into intelligence abuses in the 1970s. Some officials who advocated the approach were seeking to build teams of CIA and military Special Forces commandos to emulate what the Israelis did after the Munich Olympics terrorist attacks, said another former intelligence official......Also in September 2001, as CIA operatives were preparing for an offensive in Afghanistan, officials drafted cables that would have authorized assassinations of specified targets on the spot.

One draft cable, later scrapped, authorized officers on the ground to "kill on sight" certain al Qaeda targets, according to one person who saw it. The context of the memo suggested it was designed for the most senior leaders in al Qaeda, this person said.

Eventually Mr. Bush issued the finding that authorized the capturing of several top al Qaeda leaders, and allowed officers to kill the targets if capturing proved too dangerous or risky.

Well now that is some fun stuff there, "kill on sight" oooh sounds scary. But let me ask a simple question here. Don't we do that regularly using UAVs? We identify an al Qaeda leader, we target him and we "kill on sight". I mean how does the weapon we use factor into that equation at all? Is it somehow OK for a guy sitting in Las Vegas to push a button and vaporize a bad guy, but not for another guy to put 2 1/2 pounds of pressure on a trigger and accomplish the same thing? Assassinate is a very charged term usually involving members of another government. That is not the case here, this is more of an adjustment to global rules of engagement allowing identified terrorist targets to be ventilated. I don't see any problems with that at all. If we get positive ID on a terrorist anywhere on earth, we should make the calculus as to whether they can be captured. If not then a swift trip to room temperature ought to be next on the agenda. I am curious what the argument against such a policy might be.

UPDATE: AP reports this:

WASHINGTON – Government officials say the secret intelligence program canceled by CIA Director Leon Panetta in June was meant to find and kill or capture al-Qaida leaders at close range rather than target them with air strikes.

So this looks even more like an attempt to modify our tactics to ensure we only kill bad guys and not civilians. That will not be tolerated, obviously.

WTH Are THEY Smoking?

Posted By Mr Wolf

Yeah- you've probably read it recently- calls for a ban on smoking in the military.  Telling all our joe's that he/she can't light up anywhere.  The iconic joe lighting up on the battlefield would become a thing of the past...

If you weren't already aware, DoD banned smoking in all buildings (along with a general ban in US Gov't buildings) years ago.  There are a few 'smoking rooms' in some buildings, but generally, smokers are banished like lepers to tents and smoking areas outside.  Now, it seems that in addition to RP's and stuff, we'll have to get used to a new 'SP'- ''smoking point'' during patrols and movements.

Now, I'm NOT a smoker.  Except for the odd 'victory cigar' or 'war cigar' I've never lit up in my life.  My mom quit years ago, but I've never had a compunction to smoke.  I've got relatives that seems to only be living because of the nicotine in their system keeps their hearts beating.  But I'm no ban-smoking evangelist- nor would I foist this total ban on anyone.  If you want to smoke, that's YOUR choice.  Just like taking a drink.  Its a legal substance, its been around for THOUSANDS of years, so what's the deal?

Continue reading "WTH Are THEY Smoking?"

Tranporting President Obama's Limo

Posted By Blackfive

U.S. Air Force airmen and aircrew personnel offload a presidential limousine from a C-17 GLobemaster at Kotoka International Airport in Accra, Ghana, July 8, 2009, as part of the U.S. military support for U.S. President Barack Obama's visit to Ghana July 10-11.
U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Jerry Fleshman

Col Kenneth Reusser, Marine Aviation Legend, Dies At Age 89

Posted By McQ

A Marine who fought in 3 wars and was a true legend has passed away.

Reusser was awarded 59 medals during his career, including two Navy Crosses, four Purple Hearts and two Legions of Merit. He retired from the service a colonel, The Associated Press and Oregon media reported.

He was shot down five times during 259 combat missions in World War II, the Korean War and Vietnam — at least once in each conflict.

Amazingly, they still make Marines like this.

Semper Fi Col. Reusser and God speed.

Ask a Jody

Posted By Uber Pig

Jody,

Your advice has been requested:

DEAR ABBY: I am a 26-year-old married woman. "Jerry" and I have been married just a year, but we've been together for almost four. We have one child who is 3 and another on the way.

Jerry joined the Navy soon after our wedding. He met "Hank" in boot camp, and they became good friends and hung out together until Jerry was deployed to Japan. Hank remained here and comes over from time to time to play with our son.

For the most part, I am content in my marriage, but lately I've had strong feelings for Hank. Hank has told me he has feelings for me, too. Now I'm mixed up about everything. I don't know if I could ever leave my marriage, but more and more I can picture myself with Hank.

Please don't get me wrong, Abby. I've never been one to do wild and crazy things, but right now I feel like I have no control over this. Jerry doesn't suspect anything and I don't know if I need to tell him -- after all, Hank and I haven't "slipped." But my feelings are too strong to ignore. Please help. -- CONFUSED NAVY WIFE IN CALIFORNIA

Your rationalizations in the comments below, please.

UFC 100, Memphis & Hooters

Posted By Uncle Jimbo

This is another fairly simple puzzle. I love Mixed Martial Arts, there is a great event this Saturday with many epic battles. I am in Memphis, the event will be broadcast at Hooters, I will be watching here.

Join for a beer if you wish.

A Post With No Printable Title

Posted By Grim

Apparently the Pentagon's "Health Experts" think it would be keen to ban the military from using tobacco.

The last physical pleasure permitted by General Order #1 -- banning alcohol, banning sex of any kind, banning service members of the opposite sex from visiting in private for any purpose -- is a good cigar.  Though not a smoker normally, I had a few such in very fine company, though we smoked in spite of the worst of dust and sand in the deserts of Iraq.

Even that is too much to ask, apparently, for the one percent of Americans who give themselves to the service of their nation. 

Someone You Should Know

Posted By Uber Pig

Normally Matt is the guy who publishes "Someone You Should Know," but this guy is definitely someone you should know.  Longtime reader Falschirmjaeger writes:

I've never written one of these, so bear with me.  It came to my attention today that the brother-in-law of a close family friend is currently at Walter Reed fighting for his life.

You see, his life and family is what he has left.  He left his legs, and his soldiers in Iraq.

“Karcher was on his 3rd deployment to Iraq… [D]espite a gunshot wound to his shoulder that ripped out much of his deltoid muscle, he fought hard to get back to the point where he could return to his soldiers. He said he felt guilty if they were in the fight and he was not.”

Read more here: http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2009/06/us-troops-pull-back-in-iraq-officer-fights-for-life/

You see after losing a great chunk of his deltoid, this man fought to make a comeback from an injury that woluld have sidelined most mere mortals for the rest of their lives, but then, just 10 after handing over his units' area of responsibility in Sadr City:

LTC Karcher was riding in an MRAP just before noon on Sunday, June 28th. The MRAP is considered the Army’s heaviest and safest personnel carrier.  But the multiple and powerful EFPs (explosively formed penetrator), those Iranian made shaped charge that penetrate metal, struck the door near where Karcher was seated.  His legs were gone.  Normally a medevac helicopter would be called, but the soldiers were socked in by a dust storm, and nothing was flying.  Karcher would have to be driven to Baghdad’s combat support hospital, or CSH as it is known.  Tourniquets were quickly applied in the field, but when he arrived at the CSH Karcher was in shock and losing blood.  Doctors at the CSH were finally able to stabilize him Monday morning when he was transferred to Balad air base for further medical care and then transferd to Landstuhl. When Karcher was loaded onto the plane for Landstuhl, those with him say he looked “strong and stable.”

 Video Here:

http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=7961613

Tim, Alesia, and their daughters Anna (14), Audrey (12) and Abbey (7) could use your prayers.

 

You can virtually visit Tim and sign his guestbook here:  http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/timkarcher

More links:

http://blogs.abcnews.com/theworldnewser/2009/06/martha-raddatz-a-soldier-fights-for-life.html

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/International/story?id=7961794&page=1

http://blogs.abcnews.com/theworldnewser/2009/06/update-a-soldier-fights-for-life.html

Hand Signal

Posted By Blackfive

A U.S. Marine signals members of his squad toward several CH-46 Sea Knights, CH-53 Super Stallions and other aircraft that participated in the training extraction of his platoon from their position during a long-range helicopter raid on Camp Pendleton, Twentynine Palms, Calif., July 8, 2009. The Marines are assigned to Echo Company, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit. Marine and Navy teams are testing interoperability before a deployment certification exercise.
U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Jeffrey Belovarac

BLACKFIVE Readership Survey

Posted By Uncle Jimbo

OK everyone. We have put together a quick 12 question demographic survey that we would really appreciate you taking the time to do. It is designed to give us information about our audience for advertisers. It will be very helpful as we try to improve the site and provide more original reporting. No personal info is required and you will not get any emails or anything as a result of taking it. Just click 12 little questions and you are done. Thanks in advance.

The survey is here.

New Majority commenters dump on 9/11 families

Posted By Uncle Jimbo

Elise Cooper who has contributed several pieces here at BLACKFIVE, has a post up at the New Majority about a meeting between members of the Justice Department and families of those killed on 9/11.

The Attorney General, Eric Holder, attended only the June 16th meeting and stayed for only one out of four hours.  Debra Burlingame, the sister of the pilot of American 77 that crashed into the Pentagon, explained that the families asked substantial questions which were either not answered or hardly answered.  She stated that “Holder was sorry he walked into that room.  For one hour they did not accept his platitudes.  The questioning was aggressive, hard, and pointed.  They got the message that these people were not going to be satisfied with the celebrity appearance and vague remarks. “

While it was a kind gesture to hold such a meeting, some of the elements showed a lack of tact, such as having a former counter-terrorism counsel for Human Rights Watch participate. This woman, Jennifer Daskal, who is now a member of the Justice Department Detainee Review Task Force has written that military commissions were “illegitimate, dysfunctional, and a kangaroo court.”. The families feel that the meetings with them were simply to provide political cover as the administration moves forward granting more rights to the detainees at Gitmo. While that point can be argued the comments at NM are inarguably offensive. I find it incomprehensible that someone can find more common ground with terrorists than with those who lost family members to terrorism. Here is the first comment.

These are people like Burlingame whose names we’ve been reading for years arguing that we should invade Iraq, Hussein was behind it all, we need to go to war with Islamofascism, etc. etc. In short they’ve hijacked a national tragedy to promote a series of actions that have been enormously costly to the national interest and almost entirely counterproductive. Give it a rest. The adults are now in charge.

New Majority purports to offer a way back from the wilderness for Republicans or a third way between left and right. I have to say it has not impressed me and if these clowns represent the audience, I'll decline the offer to follow them.

Keeping the Military Free of Hate Groups

Posted By Grim

Stars and Stripes published a story originating with the Southern Poverty Law Center, which states that SPLC found dozens of members of a hate-group website who claimed to be members of the military. 

The Raw Story asks "Gays not welcome; White Supremacists 'OK'"?  The truth is the opposite of that, though the Stripes article is written in a way that may be confusing.

[M]ilitary officials gave conflicting answers this week when asked how policies governing racist behavior are being enforced.

A spokesman for the Department of the Army said the service takes seriously any allegations of membership in racist, extremist or hate groups. But he said such allegations are dealt with on a case-by-case basis at the unit disciplinary level or in the military justice system, and are not being addressed as an Army-wide problem.

The Army spokesman then referred Stripes to the Army’s Criminal Investigation Command for more information. But that office refused to comment on Army policy on hate groups, saying that the issue of extremists infiltrating the ranks was “an Army-wide issue” that should be addressed at the service command level.

“If a sergeant is assigned to Fort Bragg,” said Army spokesman Wayne Hall, “the Fort Bragg office of Criminal Investigation Command is going to investigate that individual, not the Department of the Army at this level.”

If, for example, a soldier is found to have participated in a neo-Nazi rally, “Then it comes down to the unit commander,” Hall said. “It’s a violation of good order and discipline.”

I don't share Stripes' view that this is conflicting information; I suspect, rather, that the people they interviewed thought they were answering different questions. 

If a particular servicemember is suspected of active membership in an extremist group, his commander has authority to punish him.  The base or unit investigative services can be brought to bear to help uncover the truth about the matter.  This is the opposite of the situation with homosexuals:  under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," the commander is only supposed to react to open claims or unavoidable demonstrations of homosexuality, not to investigate suspicions.

The unit is the normal place for most disciplinary actions to be located, so there is nothing surprising in this.  It's just what you'd expect to be true.

The Army's Criminal Investigation Command appears to have thought that it was answering a different question from the one everyone else thought they were answering.  It is speaking not to the question of "What should be done if an individual servicemember is thought to be a member of a racist organization?", but "What should be done if there is a plot by racist organizations to infiltrate the military?"  Such a plot would be -- as the spokesman said -- a service-wide issue. 

Indeed, if the Army thought it was being targeted for organized infiltration, it might well look even to the interagency level, asking the FBI or others to help them disrupt the plot.  The FBI would have authority over the non-military members of the racist organization, which the Army would not. 

This is, however, not a military problem, but a civilian problem.  The military has clear rules prohibiting active membership in an extremist group by soldiers.  Does the civilian world have similarly clear laws banning extremist groups from organizing efforts to join the military?  I am no lawyer, but I would think that would be very hard to prosecute.  (E.g.:  Perhaps you could do something if you could prove they were suggesting their members commit fraud, by instructing them to lie when asked about membership in racist groups.  Certainly you could do something if you were able to prove an actual plot to overthrow the government or something similar.  However, mere advocacy that 'people who feel as we do' might want to 'join the military' would be protected free speech.) 

Regardless of the difficulties, though, it's civilian law and civilian agencies that would need to be brought to bear.

To recap:  if a particular servicemember is thought to be a member of a racist organization, that is a question for his unit, just as disciplinary measures normally are.  If it is suspected that a racist organization has a plot to infiltrate the ranks, that is a service-wide issue that needs to be handled at higher levels, because both military and civilian law may need to be brought to bear. 

Where in the world is Uncle J?

Posted By Uncle Jimbo

This should be kindergarten level. If anyone wants to play, I will be here through the weekend.

Last Australian Victoria Cross Awardee Passes On

Posted By Blackfive

A Blackfive reader (and Aussie)  sent me this request:
 

Can you do me a favour and announce that Edward "Ted" Kenna VC has passed away 2 days after his 90th Birthday in a Geelong nursing home, today Thursday July 9, 2009.

Ted Kenna was awarded the Victoria Cross, Australia's highest Military Award, for an action in 1945.  His story is quite amazing.  Perhaps one story is the fact that he married the nurse who cared for him after the war.  The Telegraph UK has a very nice obituary.

His Official citation reads:

War Office, 6th September, 1945.

The KING has been graciously pleased to approve the award of the VICTORIA CROSS to:-

No. VX. 102142 Private Edward KENNA, 2/4 Australian Infantry Battalion, Australian Military Forces.

In the South West Pacific at Wewak on 15th May, 1945, during the attack on the Wirui Mission features, Private Kenna's company had the task of capturing certain enemy positions. The only position from which observation for supporting fire could be obtained was continuously swept by enemy heavy machine gun fire and it was not possible to bring Artillery or Mortars into action.

Private Kenna's platoon was ordered forward to deal with the enemy machine gun post, so that the company operation could proceed. His section moved as close as possible to the bunker in order to harass any enemy seen, so that the remainder of the platoon could attack from the flank. When the attacking sections came into view of the enemy they were immediately engaged at very close range by heavy automatic fire from a position not previously disclosed. Casualties were suffered and the attackers could not move further forward.

Private Kenna endeavoured to put his Bren gun into a position where he could engage the bunker, but was unable to do so because of the nature of the ground. On his own initiative and without orders Private Kenna immediately stood up in full view of the enemy less than fifty yards away and engaged the bunker, firing his Bren gun from the hip. The enemy machine gun immediately returned Private Kenna's fire and with such accuracy that bullets actually passed between his arms and his body, piercing his clothing. Undeterred, he remained completely exposed and continued to fire at the enemy until his magazine was exhausted. Still making a target of himself, Private Kenna discarded his Bren gun and called for a rifle. Despite the intense machine gun fire, he seized the rifle and, with amazing coolness, killed the gunner with his first round.

A second automatic opened fire on Private Kenna from a different position and another of the enemy immediately tried to move into position behind the first machine gun, but Private Kenna remained standing and killed him with his next round.

The result of Private Kenna's magnificent bravery in the face of concentrated fire, was that the bunker was captured without further loss, and the company attack proceeded to a successful conclusion, many enemy being killed and numerous automatic weapons captured.

There is no doubt that the success of the company attack would have been seriously endangered and many casualties sustained but for Private Kenna's magnificent courage and complete disregard for his own safety. His action was an outstanding example of the highest degree of bravery.

Godspeed, Ted Kenna.

Aussie, Aussie, Aussie!!!