Victory through chairpower

To me it seems like not much of a story - but it's clearly the story that will not die:

Deep down, national-security conservatives know President Obama will not wage a decisive war against America's enemies in Afghanistan. They also know that the young men and women we already have there are sitting ducks. Ralph Peters notes that our commanders, obsessed with avoiding civilian casualties, have imposed mind-boggling rules of engagement (ROE) on our forces, compelling them to retreat from contact with the enemy and denying them resort to overwhelming force -- including the denial of artillery and air cover when they are under siege.

That October 2nd National Review piece from Andrew McCarthy reflects the position of the anti-war right, who, like the anti war left, express concern primarily for the health and welfare of US troops, of course.

It could also be seen as the first attempt to merge two mutually exclusive narratives that have developed over the past month or so - General McChrystal as ambitious tool of his civilian masters, willing to sacrifice his troops on the altar of politically-correct ROE and General McChrystal as bold leader defending his troops from foolish, timid, and distant leadership on high. The newly merged and reconciled McCarthy McChrystal is another Obama underling struggling to avoid being "tossed under the bus".

[McChrystal] is also a progressive big-thinker on geopolitics, having been a military fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and Harvard's Kennedy School. One perceives more of the academic than the warrior in his startling white paper proposal for what is labeled a "counterinsurgency" campaign.

The proposal was strategically leaked to the Washington Post last week. The president's knees are buckling as opportunistic politics give way to political accountability. The general has seen many a former courtier thrown under Obama's bus and has no intention of finding tire tracks across his camouflage.

From the other side, the left (and this view, somehow, seems to dominate the more traditional media) prefers McChrystal as guy who threatens national security by challenging his civilian leadership, and they haven't yet attempted their own merger of that with the ROE issue, preferring to dismiss the latter point as indicative of the fever-gripped, anti-Obama, racially-motivated, kill 'em all let God sort 'em out-right.

Those who can view war without consideration for politics and party talking points should realize that generals would like nothing more than to be among them.

McCarthy's point, it turns out, was ill-timed - published immediately before an intense firefight in Nuristan, wherein outnumbered coalition forces fought off insurgent/militia/Taliban (take your pick) attackers, with the aid of artillery and close air support.

The fighting came on a day when poor weather limited visibility. The insurgents struck from positions in a mosque, village buildings and hillside positions above the outpost, which is in the Kamdesh area of Nurestan province. Surrounded by enemy fighters and under heavy fire, U.S. soldiers called in ground reinforcements, along with attack helicopters, airplanes and surveillance drones. U.S. forces eventually repelled the attack while inflicting "a significant amount of casualties" on insurgents, Smith said. "Virtually everything that could be thrown at it was thrown at it."

"Artillery, helicopter gunships, surveillance drones and airstrikes inflicted "heavy enemy casualties," according to NATO. One estimate was 50 insurgents killed."

That should offer a bit of perspective to the ROE debate. But already there are those who would ask the "hard questions" regarding the contribution of overly-restrictive ROE to Saturday's battle. If anything, the anticipation that such support would be denied could have emboldened the attackers (and will in the future). If so in this case, in the end they realized they were mistaken.

For a more well-informed discussion on the topic of artillery and air support, there's a good (speculative - but from someone more qualified to speculate than most) look at some tactical aspects of the battle here. (Not limited to tactical; strategic and IO concerns are addressed as well.)

We'd do well to remember that by their nature ambush and surprise attacks are faster than response, that most casualties are suffered in the immediate onslaught, and that our "sitting ducks under siege" are a bit more dangerous than most water fowl. (And that by its nature, war is very much hell.)

And without expectation that it will do anything whatsoever to reduce claims of soldiers as "sitting ducks", here are the CENTAF Airpower Summaries for October 1st and 2nd - what they were doing while others were furiously typing away.

2 October:

U.S. Air Forces Central Public Affairs

SOUTHWEST ASIA -- Coalition airpower integrated with ground forces in Iraq and the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan in the following operations Oct. 2, according to Combined Air and Space Operations Center officials here.

In Afghanistan, Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle aircraft flew armed overwatch in the Asmar area. Friendly forces reported receiving fire and requested air power assistance to deter the enemy action. When target coordinates were confirmed, the aircraft deployed numerous precision guided munitions ending the attack. A show of force was also conducted to deter further enemy action.

Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II and MQ-1B Predator aircraft were in the vicinity of Tarin Kowt providing armed overwatch for friendly ground forces when the unit received enemy small arms fire. The point of origin for the enemy fire was confirmed and shows of force were made with flares expended. An enemy weapon was located and destroyed by a missile strike that triggered a major secondary explosion. The actions were considered successful.

Asadabad saw F-15E aircraft in the skies providing overwatch for a friendly forces' convoy. Shows of force were requested to deter any enemy action while the convoy passed through the area. The shows of force were successful in defusing an imminent threat to the safety of the convoy, there was no enemy attack.

In the vicinity of Nad E Ali, Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft were providing armed overwatch for friendly ground forces when they came under enemy small arms fire. The ground forces returned fire and aircrews supported the ground forces by conducting strafing runs against the enemy position ending the enemy fire.

At Asmar, Air Force F-16C and F-15E aircraft provided overwatch for friendly forces. The aircraft were also conducting reconnaissance for suspicious activity in the area. When enemy forces were identified at several locations, precision guided munitions and a strafing run were employed to successfully destroy the enemy positions.

Marine AV-8B Harrier aircraft were in the area over Lashkar Gah providing armed overwatch for friendly forces in the area. The aircraft responded to a request for air support when the enemy attacked from a treeline position. The coordinates for the enemy position were passed to the aircraft and strafing runs were executed that neutralized the enemy position.

Remak had F-15E aircraft overhead providing armed overwatch for friendly forces during a helicopter resupply operation. The aircraft noted suspicious activity in the form of possible improvised explosive device emplacement teams and performed a show force to interrupt the enemy activity. The action was successful as the suspected emplacers immediately vacated the scene.

Sheykhabad had F-16C aircraft providing armed overwatch for coalition forces in the area. The F-16Cs were also tasked to support a friendly forces patrol in the area and when requested provided a show of force that successfully deterred enemy action.

A-10 aircraft provided armed overwatch for friendly forces in the Kandahar area. The A-10s were tasked to support a friendly forces' patrol in an area that had earlier been subjected to an IED attack. As the patrol approached, shows of force were performed to deter any potential enemy action. The shows of force were successful.

In Kabul, F-15E aircraft supported a friendly forces foot patrol that was searching for hostile personnel. The aircraft provided armed overwatch and then displayed a show of force, with flares expended for the patrol when requested.

In Iraq, Air Force F-16C aircraft were in the vicinity of Rawah when friendly forces requested a show of force. The show of force was performed and declared successful.

In total, 68 close air support missions were flown in support of the ISAF and Afghan security forces, reconstruction activities and route patrols.

Thirty-two Air Force, Navy and coalition surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft flew missions as part of operations in Afghanistan.

In total, 23 close air support missions were flown in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. These missions integrated and synchronized with ground forces, protected key infrastructure, provided overwatch for reconstruction activities, and helped to deter and disrupt hostile activities

Twenty-five Air Force and Navy surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft flew missions as part of operations in Iraq. In addition, two Air Force aircraft performed tactical reconnaissance.

U.S. Air Force C-130s and C-17s provided intra-theater heavy airlift, helping to sustain operations throughout Afghanistan, Iraq, and the Horn of Africa.

U.S. Air Force airlift crews flew 138 airlift sorties; 452 short tons of cargo were delivered; and about 4,000 passengers were transported. This included about 105,000 pounds of aerial resupply cargo dropped over Afghanistan.

Coalition C-130 crews flew as part of operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.

On Oct. 1, Air Force HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopters and "Guardian Angel" teams transported eight patients to coalition field hospitals from locations in Afghanistan. Pararescue team members aboard located, rescued and began treatment to stabilize patients in the battlefield. The Pave Hawk transported these patients to field hospitals in less time than it takes for a civilian patient to reach emergency care by ambulance in most major cities.

U.S. Air Force aerial refueling crews flew 53 sorties and off-loaded approximately 3.4 million pounds of fuel to 246 receiving aircraft.

1 October:

SOUTHWEST ASIA -- Coalition airpower integrated with ground forces in Iraq and the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan in the following operations Oct. 1, according to Combined Air and Space Operations Center officials here.

In Afghanistan, Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle aircraft flew armed overwatch in the Asmar area. Friendly forces reported receiving fire and requested shows of force to deter the enemy action. The shows of force were considered successful in deterring enemy activity.

Sheykhabad saw F-15E aircraft in the skies providing overwatch for friendly forces. When friendly forces started receiving sporadic enemy fire a request for air support was made. Several enemy positions were confirmed and strafing runs made to eliminate the positions. One enemy position required a precision guided munition to end the attack from that location. Two additional shows of force were made to deter further potential enemy aggression.

Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft were in the vicinity of Chahar Bagh providing armed overwatch for friendly ground forces and a convoy when the friendly ground forces reported receiving enemy small arms fire. The point of origin for the enemy fire was confirmed and marked with a rocket. Aircrews supported the ground forces by conducting strafing runs against the enemy compound. The action was considered successful.

At Balocan, coalition aircraft provided overwatch for a friendly forces' patrol. The aircraft were also conducting reconnaissance for any suspicious activity in the patrol area. When friendly forces came under enemy fire, a show of force was conducted to deter the enemy aggression. The show of force successfully terminated enemy action.

Sheykhabad had F-15E Strike Eagle aircraft providing armed overwatch for friendly forces in the area. The F-15Es were also tasked to support helicopter operations in the area and when requested provided several shows of force that successfully deterred enemy action.

F-15E Strike Eagle aircraft were also overhead at Farah providing armed overwatch for friendly forces. The aircraft performed several shows of force in an effort to deter enemy action during an operation and they were considered successful as no enemy action occurred.

Near Shurakian, Navy F/A-18C Hornet aircraft provided armed overwatch for a coalition forces' convoy in the area. The convoy passed a compound where suspicious activity had been noted earlier. A show of force was requested and was successful in deterring any threatening activity while the convoy passed.

In Iraq, Air Force F-16C aircraft were in the vicinity of Tall Afar when friendly forces requested a show of force. The action successfully deterred enemy aggression and was declared a success.

In total, 86 close air support missions were flown in support of the ISAF and Afghan security forces, reconstruction activities and route patrols.

Thirty-one Air Force, Navy and coalition surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft flew missions as part of operations in Afghanistan. In addition, two Navy aircraft performed tactical reconnaissance.

In total, 22 close air support missions were flown in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. These missions integrated and synchronized with ground forces, protected key infrastructure, provided overwatch for reconstruction activities, and helped to deter and disrupt hostile activities

Twenty-four Air Force and Navy surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft flew missions as part of operations in Iraq. In addition, two Air Force aircraft performed tactical reconnaissance.

U.S. Air Force C-130 Hercules and C-17 Globemaster IIIs provided intra-theater heavy airlift, helping to sustain operations throughout Afghanistan, Iraq, and the Horn of Africa.

U.S. Air Force airlift crews flew 165 airlift sorties; 4,680 short tons of cargo were delivered; and about 3,000 passengers were transported. This included about 110,000 pounds of aerial resupply cargo dropped over Afghanistan.

Coalition C-130 crews flew as part of operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.

On Sept. 30, Air Force HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopters and "Guardian Angel" teams transported seven patients to Coalition field hospitals from locations in Afghanistan. Pararescue Team members aboard located, rescued and began treatment to stabilize patients in the battlefield. The Pave Hawk transported these patients to field hospitals in less time than it takes for a civilian patient to reach emergency care by ambulance in most major cities.

U.S. Air Force aerial refueling crews flew 57 sorties and off-loaded approximately 3.6 million pounds of fuel to 264 receiving aircraft.

Previously:

A man for all seasons

Unkind of War

This is the enemy

And now this kind of war

War Games (II)

Let's play war games

Quick response - and otherwise

Echoes from the blast

Tic tic tic...