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Welcome to the Dawn Patrol, our daily roundup of information on war and other topics - from the MilBlogs and various sources around the world.
Always updating - refresh for updates.
The Last Patrol -- [Rajiv Srinivasan - in Afghanistan]
26 June was my final combat patrol as a platoon leader forward deployed to Afghanistan... Four infantry companies will now cover the same sector we owned with four maneuver platoons.
On the morning of the 26th, I stood on my platoon's motor pool line watching the COP's profile against the Afghan sunrise. I shook my head in disbelief, "How did this baseball diamond sized outpost turn into this massive battalion FOB practically overnight?!"
...I called up my REDCON1 status before I led the convoy out the gate and onto the Highway. Like a tour guide, I pointed out areas of attraction over the net...
We drove to a village north of the highway. I wanted to show them a well I had built for them as a development project. This war isn't all "shoot, move, and communicate." I wasn't about to leave our discussion to just the kinetic stuff. As we approached the well, a dire voice came on the net, "Hey D6, we got six FAMs with RPKs and man dresses down south!" With nervous tension, the soldiers of the new infantry unit all turned their weapons in one direction hoping for a taste of the action. They wanted blood...
Fable Illustrated -- [Old Blue/Afghan Quest - in Afghanistan]
...I was recently asked if I am still optimistic. Yes. I am. Hastings did us no service, but the answer to that void is powerful. GEN McChrystal's resignation was a distraction, true. But in the days surrounding the end of his tenure there are initiatives that continued that he had a hand in, or generated by direction. The key troop-contributing nations here are making giant strides towards training units in COIN more effectively. These efforts will begin to bear fruit in a short time. I'm still talking months, but the fruit is already forming. Wait till the critics get a load of what's on the way...
Welcome LT Cornelius Hossenfeffur -- [A Handful of Dust]
I first want to apologize that no new material was posted this past week. I was traveling to India and my fellow contributors were in various states of disarray as well.
Next I want to announce the arrival of LT Cornelius Hossenfeffur, the first of infantry LTs to arrive in Kandahar. He got there only a day ago but should be providing some quality posts in short order.
Ice To Meet You LT McBain -- [A Handful of Dust]
Our second Kandahar infantry LT is now in country and online as well. LT McBain plans on treating the Taliban a little something like this:
Petraeus Comes East -- [Free Range International - in Afghanistan]
...The President made a choice which probably seemed to be wise under Chicago rules but was not too damn bright when viewed through the lens of Grand Strategy. Petraeus made President Obama, his V.P. Joe Bidden and his Secretary of State Hillary Clinton look bad. Really bad. When he appeared before the Senate before the Iraq surge those three senators made asses of themselves. Now they give Petraeus a slight demotion (I guess because he still reports to CENTCOM) and an impossible task as a little payback for past slights and whatever hand Petraeus had in engineering the relief of McChrystal's predecessor Gen McKiernan. They sent Petraeus here to fail because even our President and the group of home town dim wits he surrounds himself with know that the military cannot win this thing alone...
The Times Aren't a Changing -- [J.D. Johannes - in Afghanistan]
General McChrystal being replaced by his chain of command superior, General Petraeus, may not change much here in Afghanistan because Afghanistan simply does not change. The only way things will change here is if Petraeus and his subordinates turn Afghanistan's resistance to change to their advantage...
So where's everybody going? I mean when? -- [Fraser from ______ - in ____]
We're all waiting for the whistle to blow to signal that: "Hey guys, game over. Check the score board. WE WIN!" But this thing drags on forever. I thought that the whistle was just about to blow, but now it seems they want us to come to the middle of the field for a coin toss to see who gets the ball for the overtime!...
Muqtada Sadr's Mahdi Army militiamen slowly resurface -- [LA Times]
Reporting from Baghdad -- Mohammad and his gang are back. There may not be a Glock semiautomatic strapped to his waist anymore, but the terrifying mystique of the Mahdi Army still shrouds the Shiite Muslim militiaman like the menacing black uniform he once wore...
Beer Day Gone Wild -- [Fraser from ______ - in ____]
To celebrate this auspicious occasion - we get BEER. The Army has issued a temporary suspension of General Order Number One (a- b - xyz?? I can't remember which one it is). This suspension authorizes forward deployed troops to ingest alcohol.
Intoxication control measures have been implemented...
Poolside -- [Texas Music - in Iraq]
...When we were leaving, we saw two third country nationals (TCNs) raking moss out of the lake. The pool is right on the lake. They were doing the same thing when we arrived, dressed in blue coveralls, faces wrapped in scarves, yellow hard hats, balancing in a rickety boat, raking moss in a wet brown pile in the bottom of the boat. I don't know why they are doing this, but you see them all over, in the canals and lakes, raking up seaweed and moss. They were staring at all the soldiers, male and females who were laughing and splashing and playing in the cool blue water of the pool while they toiled away.
"I bet they hate Americans," I said.
"I was just thinking that," Said SFC Monty...
The last post: McChrystal's bleak outlook -- [The Independent (UK)]
Details of General McChrystal's grim assessment of his own strategy's current effectiveness emerged as the world's most powerful leaders set the Afghan president, Hamid Karzai, a five-year deadline to improve security and governance in his country.
The G8 summit in Toronto called for "concrete progress" within five years on improving the justice system and for Afghan forces to assume greater responsibility for security...
It was this briefing, according to informed sources, as much as the Rolling Stone article, which convinced Mr Obama to move against the former head of US Special Forces...
G-20 Toronto Summit Declaration -- [Washington Post]
Preamble
1. In Toronto, we held our first Summit of the G-20 in its new capacity as the premier forum for our international economic cooperation.
2. Building on our achievements in addressing the global economic crisis, we have agreed on the next steps we should take to ensure a full return to growth with quality jobs, to reform and strengthen financial systems, and to create strong, sustainable and balanced global growth.
3. Our efforts to date have borne good results...
G-20 leaders strike delicate balance -- [Washington Times]
Leaders of the world's 20 most powerful economies said this weekend that they must control deficits in the long run but not stifle a nascent economic recovery in the short term, in what President Obama described as "violent agreement" on principles...
Protests Turn Violent at G20 Summit in Toronto -- [Voice of America]
Hundreds of demonstrators protesting the G20 global economic summit in Toronto broke windows and set fire to some police cars during a noisy march near the site of the summit Saturday. At least 75 people are in custody and police say there will be more arrests.
A column of thick black smoke rose from the burning police cars in a chaotic scene...
The Prince and the Marine -- [Soldiers' Angles Germany]
Geez, do you think Todd will remember us "little people" after this? :-)
irresponsible "sources" -- [Chuck Z/From my Position ... On the Way!]
(Photo) This is my (most of) hand. Although swollen, it's smaller than it was the day before. I left the rest of it in a canal near Baqubah, Iraq. This is only one of the horrors of war...
(Photo) This is (most of) my leg. I also left the rest of it in a canal near Baqubah, Iraq. The black stuff held together by red cord is there because other things, like constantly trying to keep my heart beating, took precedence over peeling off layers of my skin to fix it. All the dark brown dots are shrapnel, which sets off metal detectors to this day...
I helped launch a charity program called Project Valour-IT through soldiersangels.org from my hospital bed. In the five years since, we have helped over 5000 wounded soldiers, sailors, marines, and airmen find ways to speed their recovery and return to their new normal lives...
White House to let McChrystal retire with 4 stars -- [CNN]
While the general is short of the time needed to retire at his current pay grade, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Obama would ensure he keeps his rank as he steps down.
"The president believes and has talked with Secretary Gates about this, and we will do whatever is necessary to ensure he, somebody who has served the country as he has, can retire at a four-star level," Gibbs told reporters.
From (hostile) fire to Brinestone -- [Mudville Gazette]
Matt (who was also a milblogger) staffed his company with other vets. You'll see an ad for Brinestone here on Mudville - that's one we've provided at no charge. Click through, take a look around, and bookmark 'em. Next time you're in the market for a computer (Mac or PC), software, or game system you'll know where to start.
And spread the word.
VA hospital may have infected 1,800 veterans with HIV -- [CNN]
Dr. Gina Michael, the association chief of staff at the hospital, told the affiliate that some dental technicians broke protocol by handwashing tools before putting them in cleaning machines.
The instruments were supposed to only be put in the cleaning machines, Michael said.
Remembering Operation Redwing -- [Soldiers' Angels Germany]
...Killed in action Kunar Province, Afghanistan June 28, 2005.
We will love you and miss you always...
This just in! New Commander named for Afghanistan. -- [Castle Argghhh]
Well finally someone is listening to Robert E Lee:
"It appears we have appointed our worst generals to command forces, and our most gifted and brilliant to edit newspapers..."
Afghanistan: Eyes Wide Shut -- [Bret Stephens/Wall Street Journal]
...Gen. Petraeus won in Iraq because George W. Bush had his back and the people of Iraq, friend as well as foe, knew it.
By contrast, the fact that we have been unable to secure the small city of Marja, much less take on the larger job of Kandahar, is because nobody--right down to the village folk whom we are so sedulously courting with good deeds and restrictive rules of engagement--believes that Barack Obama believes in his own war. The vacuum in credibility begets the vacuum in power...
Is Obama's 2011 Afghanistan Deadline a Mistake? -- [Spencer Ackerman/Danger Room]
The Obama administration argues that the date sends "a message of urgency" to the Afghan government to get its act together and start governing. Less clearly stated but still salient is that the war has stretched out for over nine years with minimal progress and the public is tired of waging it. Advocates for the Obama administration's strategy don't say that they think their approach to the war will work. They say that it's the least-worst strategy to secure U.S. interests against al-Qaeda and its affiliates in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Whatever that says about the administration's intellectual honesty, it's not a rallying cry to fight...
But Sen. John McCain and company are right that the July 2011 date is problematic. Even the most stalwart defender of the administration's decision to set the date has to concede that it hasn't been quite the "forcing mechanism" for the Afghan government that Obama intended...
A Turning Point in the War -- [Tunku Varadarajan/The Daily Beast]
A testy Lindsey Graham had asked the general to comment on these words ascribed to Biden in a book by Jonathan Alter: "In July of 2011 you're going to see a whole lot of people moving out [of Afghanistan], bet on it." Gen. Petraeus not only said that Biden had offered him (Petraeus) his "100 percent" support, but also that Robert Gates, the defense secretary, had never heard Biden say those words. When a general publicly quotes a defense secretary saying, in effect, that a vice president has been misquoted, one can be certain that the vice president in question will acknowledge a major political debt to said general. Expect Biden, henceforward, to be as near to silent on the question of Afghanistan as it is possible for a vice president to be. The two men are dining together Tuesday night, and I can see the general say to Biden: "Promise me, Mr. Vice President, that you won't say anything on Afghanistan before running it by me first." One trusts that President Obama, too, will tell his No. 2 to be more circumspect. (How do you say "zip it" in Pashto?)
Who had the worst week in Washington? Gen. David Petraeus. -- [Chris Cillizza/Washington Post]
The challenges of Afghanistan mean that Petraeus is risking the reputation he earned in Iraq as one of the greatest generals of his generation for what is, at best, a jump ball. The move feels even more dicey considering Petraeus's alternative: polishing his legacy at Centcom on the way to the chairmanship of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Finally, Petraeus has been regarded in some GOP circles as the best (only?) candidate with a chance of beating Obama in 2012. While that has always been a long shot, it now seems like a no-shot...
Kagan makes bipartisan appeal in Supreme Court confirmation hearings -- [Washington Post]
During the first day of questioning at her confirmation hearings, Kagan said that she respects legal precedent that upholds people's right to own guns and that she supports the use of military commissions to prosecute enemy combatants -- positions favored by many conservatives.
...And she adamantly defended her reluctance as dean of Harvard Law School to sponsor military recruiters on campus because of the ban on openly gay men and women serving in the armed forces.
Annual Congressional Baseball Game -- [The Hill]
The Democrats beat Republicans 13-5 on Tuesday night at Nationals Park in the annual congressional baseball game.
The game was tied 4-4 at the bottom of the sixth inning. But in the seventh inning, GOP pitcher Rep. John Shimkus (R-Ill.) was lit up, resulting in nine runs for the Democrats.
There would be joy in Mudville (Gazette)... -- [Castle Argghhh]
Jason Sigger wins the Internet today -- [Wings Over Iraq]
(Need more? Dawn Patrols Archives are here.)
Welcome to the Dawn Patrol, our daily roundup of information on war and other topics - from the MilBlogs and various sources around the world.
Always updating - refresh for updates.
Answer To A Comment On "RC South" -- [Old Blue/Afghan Quest - in Afghanistan]
One of the comments on the last post, "RC South," brought me to realize that the ASCOPE/PMESII crosswalk needs some explanation...
The ASCOPE/PMESII crosswalk is a combination of two sets of information that are found in the FM 3-24. The manual doesn't link them per se, but alludes to the linkage. What the Counterinsurgency Training Center - Afghanistan has done is create a crosswalk so that critical elements of information are not ignored when gathering information about the specific area of operations (AO)...
When Humvees Still Aren't Big Enough -- [Lt Gorman/A Handful of Dust - in Afghanistan]
...Since the MRAP is a hulking monstrosity with a very high center of gravity, it's not exactly an ideal fit for rugged terrain or the cramped city streets of Afghanistan. The M-ATV is its smaller, slightly less gigantic cousin that is meant to be more geared towards off-road than the MRAP which was designed with flat Iraq in mind.
Having worked with the new M-ATVs I can say they have some distinct advantages as well as some drawbacks...
Ralph Peters, Special Operations and the Perils of Secrecy -- [The Quatto Zone - in Afghanistan]
The latest exercise in Karzai-bashing from media curmudgeon Ralph Peters is an interesting case study in confusing cause with effect. As usual, you can ignore Peters's assertions. President Karzai really doesn't want to stop night raids by special operations forces, and SOF activity in Afghanistan actually has increased dramatically under the leadership of the "conventionally minded generals and Are-we-there-yet? pols" that Peters derides. What you should pay attention to is Peters's anonymous source within the SOF community and that source's intent...
$1 trillion USD of.......oh, screw it. -- [Knights of Afghanistan - in Afghanistan]
ISAF military operations, corruption in the government, strategic planning by the Obama administration, the weaknesses of current counter-insurgency theory, and all sorts of other Afghanistan-centered topics generate a predictable response in the blogosphere. Often the commentary is juvenile, hyperbolic or just plain wrong, but generally it barely rises beyond the level of nitpicking among COIN specialists or partisan hackery. There's often an undertone of negativity and defeatism, as the old saying about "bad news selling more papers" applies just as accurately to blog traffic, but no single article usually creates quite the firestorm that seems to have ignited over this article in the NY Times...
A Trillion Dollars -- [Free Range International - in Afghanistan]
Yesterday the New York Times reported a stunner which was that the United States has discovered 1 Trillion dollars in untapped mineral wealth in Afghanistan. That news would seem to be a potential game changer and I went out this afternoon to downtown Jalalabad to conduct a couple man on the street interviews with local Afghans...
Picture Of The Day - 20 JUN 2010 - "Fathers Day" -- [FaST Surgeon - in Afghanistan]
..Suffice it to say that it was as good as any neighborhood BBQ that I've ever attended (minus the beer). Thank you T&J! .. and thanks to the grill masters... the food was awesome...
Lost Boys: Father's Day Post -- [Rajiv Srinivasan - in Afghanistan]
...But every now and then, a ray of good fortune shines upon us, and the explosion we hear is not a planned enemy attack but a failed attempt at one. IED emplacement is a dangerous business. Thankfully for us, sometimes the enemy blows himself up, taking both another Talib and another IED off the streets.
Last week, three Pakistani men were planting an IED when such an explosion occurred...
Undisciplined Afghans endanger Marjah Marines -- [Dan Lamothe/Marine Corps Times - in Afghanistan]
...Marines aren't universally down on the ability of Afghan security forces, who are partnered with each Marine unit in Helmand province. Some say they have met good Afghan soldiers who fight with courage, take pride in their work and are proficient with weapons ranging from the 5.56mm M249 squad automatic weapon to rocket-propelled grenade launchers.
But the general consensus from rank and file infantrymen is that for every good ANA soldier, there are at least five or six who are lazy, incompetent or both.
"They're not willing to do the job it takes to defend their country," said Lance Cpl. Lucas McGary, a rifleman with 3rd Battalion, 6th Marines, out of Camp Lejeune, N.C. "They're so worthless that their worthlessness doesn't faze anyone anymore."
Such frustration is fostered by incidents that span a variety of categories...
Afghan forces' apathy starts to wear on U.S. platoon in Kandahar -- [Washington Post/Ernesto Londoño - in Afghanistan]
As a 31-year-old platoon leader in the military police, Rathmann arrived in Kandahar nearly a year ago, bracing himself and his unit for pitched battles against shadowy bands of Taliban fighters. Instead, their war has become a slog. With a larger American offensive postponed, firefights have been few and far between. Instead, the Americans have been battling more vexing enemies...
Afghanistan Strategy Focuses on Civilian Effort -- [NY Times/Rod Nordland - in Afghanistan]
The commander of NATO forces in southern Afghanistan, Maj. Gen. Nick Carter, insisted that there never was a planned offensive. "The media have chosen to use the term offensive," he said. Instead, he said, "we have certainly talked about a military uplift, but there has been no military use of the term offensive."
Whatever it is called, it is not happening this month...
Soldiers race against political clock in Afghanistan -- [BBC]
As the US military dramatically increases its numbers in Afghanistan there are real fears among British and US soldiers that they may have been given an impossible mission...
[Gen Petraeus], whose success in Iraq produces reverence on Capitol Hill, had already described his approval of the president's withdrawal timetable as "qualified".
From a man who chooses his words as carefully as Napoleon might have done his fighting ground, this sent a clear enough signal...
Yet the Obama surge will only provide a window of maximum troop strength for just eight or nine months.
No wonder some officers use the phrase "mission impossible"...
White House: Afghan pullout will start in 2011 -- [AP/Military Times]
The Obama administration reaffirmed Sunday that it will begin pulling U.S. troops out of Afghanistan next summer, despite reservations among top generals that absolute deadlines are a mistake...
US, Afghan forces kill 38 Haqqani Network fighters in Khost -- [Bill Roggio/Long War Journal]
The battle began Friday night in the Musa Khel district in Khost province, along the border with neighboring Paktia province, and near the border with Pakistan, and continued into today. US and Afghan forces were conducting an operation in the district when more than 200 Haqqani Network fighters attacked...
At least 33 killed in bomb attacks across Iraq -- [AP/Military Times]
The explosion capped a week in which about 100 people were killed in bombings and shootings nationwide, including at least 26 who died in a commando-style assault against the central bank in Baghdad on June 13. An al-Qaida in Iraq front group, the Islamic State of Iraq, claimed responsibility for that attack, saying it targeted the institution responsible for funneling "oil money and the stolen wealth of Muslims" to the West.
Baghdad Nights Glitter, Behind Shatterproof Glass -- [Anthony Shadid/NY Times]
A slew of new restaurants have opened in the capital this year, from Tomorrow and Tool al-Lail to Toast and City Chief, offering a respite for a city spectacularly bereft of nighttime destinations. All have evolved to the conditions of contemporary Baghdad, a city that teases with hints of the ordinary but remains a barricaded warren of blast walls and barbed wire. Namely, nearly all boast of having thick shatterproof glass...
Turkey's PM Erdogan vows to 'annihilate' PKK rebels -- [BBC]
...Rebels killed nine soldiers in a raid on an outpost near the Iraqi border early on Saturday, in the deadliest attack against the Turkish military since April 2009, when nine soldiers were killed by a roadside bomb that was blamed on the PKK.
Later on Saturday, two soldiers were killed in a mine explosion while attempting to capture rebels near the border.
As well as responding with helicopter attacks, Turkey launched air raids on PKK positions inside Iraqi territory...
25 Saudi Guantanamo Prisoners Return to Militancy -- [Reuters/NY Times]
Around 25 former detainees from Guantanamo Bay camp returned to militancy after going through a rehabilitation program for al Qaeda members in Saudi Arabia, a Saudi security official said on Saturday...
Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil exporter, has put the returned prisoners along with other al Qaeda suspects through a rehabilitation program which includes religious re-education by clerics and financial help to start a new life.
...Around 11 Saudis from Guantanamo have gone to Yemen, an operating base for al Qaeda, while others have been jailed again or killed after attending the program, said Abdulrahman al-Hadlaq, Director General of the General Administration for Intellectual Security overseeing the rehabilitation.
Jack Nicklaus donates design for VA course -- [AP/Military Times]
THWACK! The white ball soars into the sunny Northwest sky, past lush evergreens and lands about 150 yards down the driving range.
Dudek's drive -- specifically the dedication and promise for renewal it represents -- is why Nicklaus is here outside Tacoma. The golf great is donating his expertise to design what will perhaps be the most appreciated course he'll ever build.
Nicklaus is helping combat veterans by redesigning and expanding the American Lake Veterans Golf Course. It's going to be a one-of-a-kind, 18-hole layout geared specifically for disabled golfers...
9-month deployments, 3 years of dwell favored -- [Army Times]
The Army wants to reduce combat zone deployments to nine months and increase dwell time to three years, Gen. George Casey, Army chief of staff, told Army Times.
"We're actively studying right now the timing and the possibilities of going to nine-month deployments as a standard," Casey said in an exclusive interview...
Victory for WikiLeaks in Iceland's Parliament -- [NY Times The Lede blog]
At 4 a.m. on Thursday, at the end of an all-night session, Iceland's Parliament, the Althing, voted unanimously in favor of a package of legislation aimed at making the country a haven for freedom of expression by offering legal protection to whistle-blower Web sites like WikiLeaks, which helped to craft the proposal...
Korea, War Without End, Casts a Long Shadow -- [AP/NY Times]
Distant thunder rattled the windows as Hong Il-sik, 14-year-old schoolboy, awoke that Sunday. It was the sound of artillery fire, the morning of June 25, 1950, the dawn of a war that never ended.
Looking back, ''I couldn't even have imagined that -- 60 years,'' says the gray-haired ex-university president.
Gen. Paik Sun-yup, on the contrary, is unsurprised by the endurance of Korea's endless standoff.
Knowing the enemy, North Korea's communists, ''we sensed back in the 1950s it could be a very long conflict,'' the sturdy 90-year-old Paik, a legendary Korean War commander, told a visitor to his memento-filled office above Seoul's War Memorial, the huge museum he helped build.
The war without end began that long-ago Sunday when North Korea invaded the south to try to reunify the nation, a liberated Japanese colony sliced in two in 1945 by the U.S. and Soviet victors of World War II...
(Need more? Dawn Patrols Archives are here.)
Welcome to the Dawn Patrol, our daily roundup of information on the War on Terror and other topics - from the MilBlogs and various sources around the world. If you're a blogger, you can join the conversation. If you link to any of these stories, add a link to the Dawn Patrol too and your trackback will be added to the list. Hat Tips to the Dawn Patrol are greatly appreciated.
Updating - Refresh for updates.
US, Afghan forces kill Haqqani Network commander during raid in Khost -- [LWJ - Bill Roggio]
Coalition and Afghan forces killed a Haqqani Network commander who is known to help al Qaeda fighters enter Afghanistan and carry out attacks in the region.
The commander, Fazil Subhan, was killed along with an undisclosed number of Haqqani Network fighters last week during a two-day-long military operation in the eastern Afghan province of Khost, the International Security Assistance Force said in a press release.
Intelligence services are funding, training Taliban...--[France24]
Pakistan's ISI intelligence agency provides funding, training and sanctuary to the Taliban in Afghanistan, according to a study Sunday which claimed to have the strongest evidence yet of their links.
The report for the London School of Economics (LSE), based on interviews with nine Taliban field commanders in Afghanistan between February and May this year, claims their relationship goes far beyond what is currently known.
"Although the Taliban has a strong endogenous impetus, according to Taliban commanders the ISI orchestrates, sustains and strongly influences the movement," wrote author Matt Waldman, a fellow at Harvard University.
"They say it gives sanctuary to both Taliban and Haqqani groups, and provides huge support in terms of training, funding, munitions, and supplies. In their words, this is 'as clear as the sun in the sky'."
Afghan Taliban deny being supported by Pakistan -- [LWJ - Bill Roggio]
The Taliban's executive council has denied a recent report that stated the Pakistani military and government provides direct support to the Afghan group.
In a statement released on it website, the Voice of Jihad, the Afghan Taliban described a study released by the London School of Economics as "a merely baseless propaganda launched to promote British and American interests" and "a dictated drama of the political rulers of the West."
The Taliban claimed that it is fighting the US and Afghan governments with the support of the people in Afghanistan and that it has no need for Pakistani support.
As Afghan Fighting Expands, U.S. Medics Plunge In -- [NY Times - C. J. CHIVERS, embedded in Afghanistan]
...For Company C's detachment in Helmand Province, the recent duty had been harried.
Over several days the crews had retrieved a Marine who had lost both legs and an arm to a bomb explosion; the medic had kept that man alive. They had picked up two Marines bitten by their unit's bomb-sniffing dog. They landed for a corporal whose back had been injured in a vehicle accident.
And day after day they had scrambled to evacuate Afghans or Marines struck by bullets or blasted by bombs, including a mission that nearly took them to a landing zone where the Taliban had planted a second bomb, with hopes that an aircraft might land on it. The Marines had found the trap and directed the pilots to a safer spot.
A few days before the Marine was shot in the skull, after sandstorms had grounded aircraft, another call had come in. A bomb had exploded beside a patrol along the Helmand River. Two Marines were wounded. One was dying.
For hours the airspace had been closed; supervisors deemed the conditions too dangerous to fly. The crews wanted to evacuate the Marines. "I'll go," said Sgt. Jason T. Norris, a crew chief. "I'll walk."
RC South -- [Afghan Quest - in Afghanistan]
I've traveled to the south (Helmand Province) several times now. Much of my time has been spent with the Brits at Camp Bastion, Nad e Ali, and now Lashkar Gah. From a COIN standpoint, while there is work to do, the Brits are doing better. The current Brigadier has taken a quantum step forward with a directive to execute a standardize tool pack that includes an ASCOPE/PMESII crosswalk for each operational area.
Lost Boys: Father's Day Post -- [Rajiv Srinivasan - in Afghanistan]
Explosions are a daily occurrence in the Zhari District. Most blasts are IEDs, some are RPGs or recoilless rifles. Generally, all are followed by machine gun fire or a secondary boom, if not both. The detonations reverberate throughout our combat outpost as we continue our daily grind. Whether I'm out on patrol or within the security of the wire, my eyes roll in exasperation, my pulse hastens, and I thrust my radio hand-mic to my ears, anticipating the call to respond to the emergency.
But every now and then, a ray of good fortune shines upon us, and the explosion we hear is not a planned enemy attack but a failed attempt at one.
Training a Kandak -- [AfghaniDan, Part II - in Afghanistan]
A few days ago I tagged along on a media "engagement" to catch some of a Kandak Validation/Assessment. What the hell am I talking about, you ask? Good question. A kandak, as loyal readers of Afghanidan may recall, is an Afghan battalion-sized unit...and a validation/assessment is a necessary step each one must pass, prior to being deployed in operations. So the kandak is evaluated on its performance in the areas of command & control, training, sustenance, equipment, and personnel...whether it even has soldiers in key positions, for example. To draw back the lens a bit, this critical series of tests lets the Afghan National Army (ANA) leadership and the Coalition know whether a not a kandak is 'fit for duty', something NATO Training Mission Afghanistan is called upon to do.
A Tale of Three Commanders - A Reintegration Parable -- [ISAF - in Afghanistan]
Three battalion level commanders in Afghanistan had very different views on their roles.
The first battalion commander saw his task as killing or capturing the enemy. Issues such as governance, development, and interaction with local leaders and people were someone else's problem.
The ISAF counterinsurgency guidance and other directives were mildly interesting. Reintegration was a waste of time. He was taking the fight to the enemy with the conventional tools at his disposal.
Image
The second commander...
Paying Retail for Peace -- [Quatto Zone - in Afghanistan]
...a recent post on ISAF's Afghan Hands blog by Col. Chris Kolenda makes an important point about Taliban reintegration and the politics of conflict resolution in Afghanistan writ large. The most successful efforts at bringing insurgents back into their communities take place through individual initiatives at the retail level, as does the most effective modeling of official behavior that addresses community grievances that fuel the insurgency. When enough local efforts begin to flourish, momentum starts to shift. Effective national efforts -- rather than being sui generis solutions -- tend to reinforce local success.
The retail aspect of reintegration has important implications for media coverage of Afghanistan.
Can NATO troops ever get their message across to Afghans? -- [Reuter's Afghan Journal - Michael Georgy, embedded in Afghanistan]
I was with Western forces the other day as they tried to persuade a group of Afghan farmers to come to them for help if they saw Taliban militants plant an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) or intimidated them.
A NATO soldier had urgency in his voice. To prove his point, he told the villagers that a Taliban IED had killed a five-year-old boy a few days earlier . Unlike many other NATO soldiers, he had actually taken the time to learn the local language. This made him popular. Many people smiled and shook his hand when he walked through villages - although he was constantly on the lookout for suspicious activity.
He explained why NATO troops had arrived in their troubled country in the first place - to punish the Taliban for sheltering Osama bin Laden and other al Qaeda leaders after the 9/11 attacks. But the farmers said they did not know why Western forces were here - after nine years of war.
Can't Win, Won't Go -- [Strategy Page]
The Taliban are using a traditional method to deal with their enemies; by assassinating Afghan leaders in the government, especially the reconstruction effort.
...Peace talks with the Taliban continue, with the Taliban admitting that they are hated by most Afghans, but pointing out that while the Taliban are unlikely to return to power, they can keep the nation unstable (and unsuitable for foreign investors) for a long time. But in the meantime, the Taliban are hurting. Many individual Taliban gangs are fleeing Helmand and Kandahar provinces for neighboring ones. This causes problems, as the tribes and government officials there must now deal with typical Taliban nastiness (intimidation, kidnapping, murder and extortion.) Not very pleasant at all. But back in Kandahar, many Taliban groups have been ordered to stay and resist the foreign troops. This means putting more pressure on local civilians to not cooperate with the government or foreign forces. This can get nasty,
Karzai, McChrystal in Kandahar to sell military operation -- [CNN - Nic Robertson, embedded Afghanistan]
Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the top U.S. military commander in Afghanistan, say they've secured backing from local leaders for an upcoming military operation in the province.
McChrystal took Karzai and some of his security chiefs to Kandahar, considered the heartland of Taliban country.
$1 trillion USD of.......oh, screw it. -- [Knights of Afghanistan - in Afghanistan]
ISAF military operations, corruption in the government, strategic planning by the Obama administration, the weaknesses of current counter-insurgency theory, and all sorts of other Afghanistan-centered topics generate a predictable response in the blogosphere. Often the commentary is juvenile, hyperbolic or just plain wrong, but generally it barely rises beyond the level of nitpicking among COIN specialists or partisan hackery. There's often an undertone of negativity and defeatism, as the old saying about "bad news selling more papers" applies just as accurately to blog traffic, but no single article usually creates quite the firestorm that seems to have ignited over this article in the NY Times.
...Tomorrow, a sampling of some reactions from actual Afghans to the supposed news that their country holds impressive mineral wealth, along with a few thoughts of my own. In the meantime...
Women of the Afghan Army -- [Shoulder to Shoulder - NTM-A]
Afghan National Army (ANA) Logistics Command's Women's Center Ministry of Defenses' Acquisitions, Technology, and Logistics' Headquarters Logistics Command continues to be pioneers of progress, equality, and opportunity for women by facilitating the union of women in the ANA. These women have become present-day pioneers. They are the future's role models, breaking free from traditional molds. While walking around Log Command, seeing the women work in a military capacity, the future of their role being that of an equal in the ANA is more than just hopeful, it is rapidly becoming a reality.
Kabul's mysterious Obama rug -- [Checkpoint Kabul]
It is one of the most-talked-about rugs in the U.S. Embassy in Kabul.
Hanging outside an embassy conference room is a silk and wool rug with an unusual portrait of President Obama.
...Khan Baba, the Kabul rug maker, says that the images in the top corners are indeed supposed to be one of Obama's daughters. But he can't quite remember which one.
...Baba said four of his kids -- ages 9, 11, 16 and 17 -- spent six months working on the rug to present as a gift to the US Embassy.
The family turned up at the embassy last July 4th to present the rug to US Ambassador Karl Eikenberry. Baba said that embassy officials graciously accepted the rug and told the kids that the ambassador would offer his thanks in person some time soon.
Nearly a year later, Baba said his kids are still hoping that promise will be fulfilled.
Wounded Warrior Returns to Iraq, Finds Closure -- [DVIDS]
When Staff Sgt. Christopher Bain was ambushed in Iraq, April 8, 2004, it was only the beginning of his fight. He died for ten minutes and received four blood transfusions from Iraqi soldiers to stay alive. After the injured sergeant returned to the states, he faced years of torment.
...But Bain is now one-step closer to healing. A recent trip to Iraq with a program called Operation Proper Exit brought Bain back to the place where six years earlier the blast of a mortar threw him yards away from his troops.
War and Remembrance -- [BlackFive - Uncle Jimbo]
Mary Katharine Ham recently took a trip to Iraq along w/ ret. COL Tom Manion who went there to meet some Iraqis who his son 1LT Travis Manion had trained. Unfortunately Travis caught a sniper round while pulling some other Marines to safety, but as the Hammer let's us know he is certainly not forgotten.
Leaving Iraq not as simple as it sounds -- [Korea Times]
Iraq's new parliament met for 18 minutes this week, just long enough for the members to be sworn in and postpone indefinitely their first
Brig. Gen. May departs SC's Fort Jackson for Iraq -- [Chicago Tribune]
They know good and well they are probably going into combat," said May, who has seen his share of the fight in Iraq. In 2004, he was in command of the 2nd
Five killed in Iraq attacks -- [AFP]
BAGHDAD -- Attacks across Iraq claimed the lives of five people on Monday, including a police colonel who was killed by a bomb in the south of the capital,...
State Department wants a mini-army in Iraq -- [Army Times]
... State Department wants a mini-army in Iraq ... So shifting 50 to the State Department could be easily handled as the troops leave
Iraq war crimes case: marine freed -- [The Press Association]
A marine sergeant convicted of murder in one of the biggest war crimes cases to emerge from the Iraq war was allowed to walk free by a US military judge,
Explosives Found In Vehicle At Army Base -- [WSBTV]
Fort Gordon military police said a civilian impersonated a soldier in order to steal military equipment.
Officials said the military police were notified of a suspicious person impersonating a soldier on post around 12 p.m. Tuesday. Authorities located the person's vehicle just before 4 p.m. on post and apprehended the man.
Officers said they believe the man was involved in a theft of military equipment on Fort Gordon in April.
Spokesman Buz Yarnell said an initial search of the man's vehicle uncovered a backpack containing military hand grenades.
Man, Woman Accused of Trying to Enter Fla. Air Force Base Illegally With Weapons -- [FOX News]
Military-style gear and weapons were found inside the vehicle of a man and woman who attempted to gain illegal entry to MacDill Air Force Base in Florida on Monday, the military said.
Gulf oil spill: Obama uses military fervor in Florida speech on leak -- [LA Times]
Hours before he was to speak to the nation, President Obama on Tuesday spoke about the fight against the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico with the same patriotic, military language usually reserved for fighting wars abroad.
...In a televised appearance at Florida's Pensacola Naval Air Station, Obama used the forum of a military base to pledge again that his administration would fight what he called an unprecedented environmental disaster with an unprecedented response of people and resources.
More than 27,000 people and 5,000 vessels are fighting the leak, Obama said as he praised the military efforts to help by putting sandbags in place and even aiding the processing of claims
Cuba preparing for possible arrival of oil spill -- [AP]
... residents for the oil spill fouling the Gulf of Mexico, and a top military official ... US and Cuban officials have put aside nearly 50 years of frigid
Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen in hot seat over Gulf oil spill -- [AP]
The Gulf oil spill spoiling the teeming marshes and white-sand beaches of the Gulf Coast is also threatening the pristine image of the burly, take-charge leader who has become the federal government's go-to guy in a disaster.
Pakistan wants combat copters -- [Washington Times]
Pakistan is seeking advanced U.S. attack helicopters and other weapons as part of a comprehensive arms package to bolster preparations for what its military is calling a "silent surge" of more than 100,000 troops into the mountain lairs of al Qaeda's senior leadership in the country's Northwest Frontier Province. "I have been ambassador here for two years, and all I have to show for it is eight secondhand Mi-17 transport helicopters for a war that requires helicopters to root out al Qaeda and the Taliban," Pakistan's ambassador to Washington, Husain Haqqani, said in an interview with The Washington Times. The ambassador said, "Military operations would have been quicker and much easier to plan and execute if we had the equipment.
US Marines storm Estonian beachhead in exercise -- [AP]
...The head of the U.S. Marine Corps in Europe said it was the first time Marines had carried out such an amphibious landing on the Baltic Sea. It took place just 140 kilometers (90 miles) from the Russian border.
Estonian Defense Minister Jaak Aaviksoo said the drill represented a pledge from the United States and other NATO allies to provide security for Estonia and its Baltic neighbors, Latvia and Lithuania.
N. Korea Warns of Response to U.N. -- [NY Times]
North Korea's ambassador to the United Nations said his country's military would respond forcefully to any Security Council condemnation over the sinking of a South Korean warship.
Iran to send aid ships to Gaza - [Aljazeera.net]
Two Iranian vessels carrying aid supplies are due to set sail for Gaza in the coming week, in a move likely to further heighten tensions in the region.
Iranian news media reported on Tuesday that four tonnes of humanitarian aid, including food, medicine and clothing would be sent to Gaza within coming days.
"This ship will pass through territorial waters of Oman, Yemen and Egypt before it reaches Gaza. It is said that the ship contains only humanitarian aid and there are no peace activists on board," Iran's semi-official Mehr news agency reported.
Terrorism: New warning to US in 'Bin Laden' message -- [AKI]
Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden has purportedly issued a new terror threat to the United States in an audio message posted to jihadist websites. If the US executes the alleged '9/11' mastermind Khalid Sheikh Muhammad and other militants on trial in the US , Al-Qaeda will kill any American citizens it has taken hostage, the message states.
"The day America takes this decision, it will have made a decision to execute whoever is taken captive by us," said the brief 90-second message, which has not been authenticated.
The message accuses US president Barack Obama of escalating the hawkish foreign policy of his conservative predecessor George W. Bush, backing Israel against the Palestinians, and "oppressing" the wider Arab and Muslim world.
Call Him Crazy, but bin Laden Bounty Hunter May Have Been Close -- [At War - NY Times]
By now, you've probably heard the news: a middle-aged construction worker from Colorado was arrested in a forest in northwest Pakistan, carrying a samurai sword and a pistol, looking for Osama bin Laden.
He didn't find him.
Before you chuckle, let me just say: Whatever else we might conclude about Gary Faulkner, our arrested American bounty hunter, we should give him this: He was looking in the right place.
Pakistan: Doctor examines bin Laden hunter from US -- [AP]
"Our military has not been able to track Osama down yet. It's been 10 years," Scott Faulkner told reporters in Denver. "It's easier as a civilian, dressed in the local dress, to infiltrate the inside, the local people, gain their confidence and get information and intel that you couldn't get as an American soldier, Navy SEAL, whoever you might be."
Into the jaws of hate: Soldiers' parade marred by Muslim extremists and far-Right -- [Daily Mail]
Screaming hate and brandishing vile placards, Muslim extremists and far-Right groups clashed yesterday in ugly scenes that marred a parade by soldiers.
Around 40 members of a group called Muslims Against the Crusades (MAC) arrived with inflammatory banners featuring slogans such as 'Butchers return' and 'What are you dying for? £18k'.
They were soon confronted by 100 people, some wearing English Defence League T-shirts, who shouted 'scum' and 'Muslim bombers off our streets'.
...MAC supporters shouted slogans such as 'murderers, murderers' and 'British troops go to hell', while the mainly white crowd opposite, some of whom are believed to have been BNP supporters, threw frozen pork sausages and chanted 'scum' and 'Allah, Allah, who the f*** is Allah?'
Yarmouth High School Students Support The Troops -- [WBZ News]
A big show of support Monday at a Cape Cod high school after an anti-war protest disrupted an assembly honoring seniors who joined the military.
...On Friday, six seniors who are going into the military received plaques at an assembly at the school.
During the introductions, two teachers, Marybeth Verani and Carrie Koscher, stood up and held a sign that said "end war."
When the audience gave the six students a standing ovation, Verani and Koscher remained seated and didn't clap.
What a C.O.W. -- [CDR Salamander]
Bad C.O.W.
I know that chick ... or at least one like her. I don't know who I feel sorry for - her Col. husband or his Brigade.
The commander of Fort Bragg has barred the wife of an 82nd Airborne Division colonel from nearly all interaction with her husband's brigade and the unit's families after an investigation found her influence "detrimental to the morale and well-being of both."
Sworn statements from the investigation, ordered in January by Lt. Gen. Frank Helmick, accuse Col. Brian Drinkwine's wife, Leslie Drinkwine, of using her husband's position as leverage to repeatedly harass and threaten soldiers and their families.
Report: Most Philadelphians Not Fit For Military -- [Philadelphia Region Local News]
A nonprofit group says that up to 90 percent of young Philadelphians are ineligible for military service because of criminal records, obesity or lack of education
Pennsylvania-based Mission: Readiness released its report Monday. It says 1 million Pennsylvanians are ineligible for the same reasons.
They're Back - [A Little Pink in a World of Camo - Gold Star Wife]
Advon came back last night. Jonny would have been advon. I should be sitting on my porch with him this very moment. Or doing other activities, but either way with him. But I'm not. I took it pretty hard. Luckily last night I had friends here with me to occupy me and keep me company. But this morning when everyone had gone home, I was left with myself, my thoughts, and that sinking feeling in my stomach.
Getting on the Bus -- [Red Bull Rising]
"Daddy, are you going to a war yet?"
I'm getting Lena, 5, and Rain, 3, ready to go out the door to daycare. We haven't yet told the kids about my deployment to Afghanistan. Partly, that's because I didn't want them to get confused during my Annual Training. I wanted to avoid telling them that Daddy would be leaving for a long time, only to have him come back after 3 weeks. Luckily, I suppose, Lena doesn't wait to let me answer her question.
"Is it because you're not tall enough? Because, I think you're pretty big."
It's another one of those ball-peen hammer moments. I blink a couple of times, not feeling very big at all.
Soldiers who left together, will return together -- [Knoxville News Sentinel]
... the 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment won't get a mass welcome home this summer ... The first troops start coming home this week - nearly six months ahead ...
Maryland Welcomes Home Soldiers, Airmen From Iraq And Afghanistan -- [Gov Monitor]
The Governor began at Fort McHenry with a welcome home to 112 Army Reserve ... in our power to fully equip and train our troops with whatever is needed to
Michael Yon- Proudly violating OPSEC -- [BlackFive - Uncle Jimbo]
There are few things more dangerous than publicizing our security procedures, but publicizing any lapses in them sure qualifies. That is exactly what Mike Yon is doing and congratulating himself for. He published an email from a troop in Afghanistan complaining about some supposed lapses in security at his base. The email contains numerous violations of Operational Security (OPSEC) and anyone with an ounce of common sense would have emailed the kid back and told him to take it up w/ his chain of command or if they ignore him then the Inspector General. But not Mike, oh no the great speaker of truth to power publishes it and there are plenty of details about which guard towers are unmanned and response times for air support and which base it is to constitute a huge violation. But you see Mike is above petty concerns like that he simply announces our weaknesses to the world.
Moving on ... -- [armyhousehold6]
There have been some changes in the Munson household lately -- of course SGT Daddy coming home has been the most important. We are all doing very well. It has been a very easy transition for us , thank goodness. I've alluded to the BIG announcement on Facebook and Twitter so if you follow me over there you know what I'm about to say. Several months ago, SGT Daddy decided to NOT re-enlist to continue his career in the Army. Today, he officially started with ACAP (Army Career and Alumni Program) as part of our transition out of the army. Yes by the end of the year, we will no longer be an Army family. The BIG Announcement is that as of today I will not be continuing with my ArmyHousehold6 blog.
Afghanistan email -- Follow-up from last night: -- [Michael Yon Facebook]
"Well Michael I know we probably messed with the bee's nest
... and crossed the line on OPSEC but guess what. Great news
this FOB its running like a real one now security improved
100% since you published the issue. Someone higher is keeping close eye on you and
your work. As for me what can I say I took the risk to tell you and give
you the ok to publish the issue knowing the consequences (UCMJ) but sometimes we have to take drastic measures in order to keep our unit and fellow
soldiers safe!!!! Thank you and again keep up the great job"
Michael Yon- The end game -- [BlackFive - Uncle Jimbo]
If you are sick of this topic, trust me I am with you but when someone starts exposing our security vulnerabilities to the world I can't just ignore it and hope it goes away. Yon published an email chock full of information that had no business being discussed in a public forum. I wondered just what his standards were, or if he had any. Then the next day he published another email from a troop in Afghanistan w/ more complaints about the rules they are forced to fight under by Yon's nemesis McChrystal. He didn't publish the kid's name, but in the interest of fair play I will, along w/ Mike's response to him.
An open letter to Mike Yon -- [Greyhawk]
...In the future, If you get more emails like this one you claim is from Afghanistan (and I suspect you will) it might be a good idea to check with the folks on scene who know the answers before you publish them. Give them a chance to verify accuracy and correct problems before you publish something that may or may not be true, may or may not include OPSEC violations, and may get troops killed. If for some reason you can't do that, forward them to someone like Jeff Shogol at Stars and Stripes. He's not in Afghanistan, but his journalistic insight and contacts are obviously useful at separating fact from fiction. His efforts at running down the truth about an earlier email are exemplary - think how much better it would have been for all involved in that case if you had turned to him first. Or me, whose experience at this sort of thing is exceeded only by my concern for the lives of troops. Either of us can provide you with that much needed filter, do a bit of fact checking, get problems solved with no risk to the troops (I'd be perfectly happy to credit you with that result), and save you from potential embarrassment.
Michael Yon: The Decider -- [Villainous Co]
Back in 2006 I criticized NY Times editor Bill Keller for using suspected lawbreaking and his distrust of George Bush to justify his own deliberate law breaking.
In that post I tried to point out the problems with Keller's argument. First of all, justifying your own wrongdoing by saying, "But he did it first!" is a non-starter. Two wrongs do not make a right. But more importantly, Keller tried to justify leaking sensitive information on the grounds of exigency. Mere suspicion of wrongdoing justified the illegal disclosure of sensitive national security information. Never mind that the law provides a legal mechanism for handling such allegations. That didn't matter.
The Sound of Guns -- [Greyhawk]
"More than 170 media representatives are expected to be embedded with military units in southern Afghanistan this summer," says Tadd (Quatto) Sholtis, "a statistic that is at best a mixed blessing for public understanding of the war."
Slander From Uranus -- [Castle Argghhh!!!]
It seems that they have "discovered" that the U.S. Army is crawling with Neo-Nazi's and West Coast Gang-Bangers. Buried in his piece, by his own admission, out of 1.6 Million U.S. service personnel that have cycled through Afghanistan and Iraq during these past eight years, 203 (two-hundred and three) veteran soldiers are "supposedly" Neo Nazis.
The HORROR!
The following video is chock-full of full blown lies, innuendos and distortions, for me grace the author with a response. I am however very concerned that as this leftists "news" organizations have taken root all throughout Europe and here in North America, the filth that comes out of his mouth is taken as gospel by many in the Western World.
Republicans focus on terrorism at confirmation hearing for deputy attorney general -- [Washington Post]
Republicans renewed their criticism of President Obama's national security policies Tuesday, using a confirmation hearing for a top Justice Department official to argue that the administration is failing to aggressively fight terrorism.
The latest flare-up of the politics of terror centered on Obama's nomination of James M. Cole as deputy attorney general, a critical position that has been vacant for months. Cole is a white-collar defense lawyer and longtime friend of Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. and has held numerous jobs in government, including serving 13 years at the Justice Department.
...But the partisan exchanges showed that the debate over where terrorism suspects should be tried and whether they should be read their Miranda rights against self-incrimination is not ending. During the hearing, the staff of committee chairman Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.) distributed a document backing federal court trials and saying that "military judges and lawyers have little experience with complex terrorism cases.''
Cole would handle far more than terrorism in the deputy attorney general post,
Why are so many Lefties AWOL on Afghanistan? -- [Hot Air]
Cohen's remaining rationale is that "in contrast to the war in Iraq, liberals generally support the objectives of the war in Afghanistan--and for a good part of the past seven years have been calling on the U.S. to devote more attention to the war there, rather than Iraq." How does that square with the facts on the ground? Congressional Democrats were threatening a one-year deadline last year. Both the Obama administration and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had to twist Democratic arms to pass the emergency war-spending bill in the House by eight votes. Pelosi later said that Obama would have to make the case himself to the Democratic caucus for votes to support a "surge" in Afghanistan this year; those votes are going to be hard to find. Furthermore, two-thirds of Democrats do not think the Afghanistan mission has been worth its costs. It seems doubtful that liberals would be more committed to the mission than Democrats generally.
Kirk's military service controversy: 45% of voters say Kirk not truthful, PPP poll shows; Green Party looms as factor -- [Chicago Sun-Times (blog)]
Mark Kirk (D-Ill.) is taking a hit from disclosures he embellished his military record, the first polling since the controversy broke shows.
Pentagon: Kirk mixed politics with military duty -- [AP]
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- The Pentagon said Republican Senate candidate Mark Kirk has been cautioned twice for improperly mingling politics with his military
Petraeus hedges on Afghanistan withdrawal -- [Washington Times]
Gen. David H. Petraeus on Tuesday softened Obama administration rhetoric that a U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan would begin in July 2011, telling a Capitol Hill panel that such a move would be "based on conditions." "July 2011 is not the date where we race for the exits," the general told the Senate Armed Services Committee. "It is the date where, having done an assessment, we begin a process of transition of tasks to Afghan security forces." Gen. Petraeus gave the testimony moments before he slumped at the witness table and excused himself from the room. The general returned about 20 minutes later, but committee Chairman Carl Levin, Michigan Democrat, postponed the rest the hearing. A spokesman for Gen. Petraeus, commander of U.S. Central Command, which oversees all U.S. forces in Afghanistan, said the general was likely dehydrated and jet-lagged from recent travels.
US insists exit strategy for Afghanistan is on track -- [AFP]
US President Barack Obama's top military planners on Wednesday defended their exit strategy for Afghanistan, saying that despite setbacks US troops could still begin withdrawing by July 2011.
Under questioning from senators, General David Petraeus, the commander of US troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, repeated his support for Obama's goal of transferring security duties to Afghan forces starting in July 2011.
"But it is important that July 2011 be seen for what it is: the date when a process begins, based on conditions; not the date when the US heads for the exits," he told the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Petraeus back on Capitol Hill, clarifies July 2011 (Video) -- [NECN]
Gen. David Petraeus returned to Capitol Hill on Wednesday, a day after he fainted before a Senate hearing on Afghanistan.
Lawmakers had questioned President Barack Obama's plan to start withdrawing troops in July 2011 if conditions on the ground allow. Senators argued that Afghans see the date as the timeline for U.S. troops to abandon the fight in Afghanistan.
Gen. Petraeus said the date is the beginning of a process of withdrawal, not a hard date for complete troop removal.
David Petraeus returned to Capitol Hill on Wednesday, a day after he fainted before a Senate hearing on Afghanistan. Lawmakers had questioned President ...
Happy Birthday to the US Army -- [BlackFive - Uncle Jimbo]
235 years young and hardly looks a day over two centuries. I have said before that our military is one of the great forces for good ever on this planet and the Army has a huge role in that. A big Hooah to all those wearing the uniform now and to those, including several of our authors here, who wore it previously.
War and History, Ancient and Modern -- [Michael Totten]
I recently spoke with military historian and former classics professor Victor Davis Hanson in his office at the Hoover Institution on War, Revolution, and Peace at Stanford University. He is the author of more than a dozen works of history, and his new book The Father of Us All: War and History, Ancient and Modern was just released by Bloomsbury Press.
We discussed military history, Peace Studies programs, warfare in the ancient and modern Mediterranean, the Arab-Israeli conflict, Iran's push for hegemony in the Middle East, and the Obama Administration's foreign policy.
(Need more? Dawn Patrols Archives are here.)
Welcome to the Dawn Patrol, our daily roundup of information on war and other topics - from the MilBlogs and various sources around the world.
Always updating - refresh for updates.
The press, the shakeup & a TV moment -- [Afghani Dan - in Afghanistan]
Yesterday I attended a press conference in the morning, and by evening was shown on Afghan television channels alongside three of my colleagues. In between, the Minister of the Interior (whose department held the unrelated-but-later-much-quoted conference) tendered his resignation...
Back to the departure of Minister Atmar, while trying to steer clear of the politics involved: I think it's unfortunate, and not just because he's the only key government figure who I've personally witnessed in action. He was presiding over enormous improvements in the training of national police, gendarmarie, border patrol, highway patrol and other units, and it seemed he was making progress in curbing the rampant corruption that impedes progress for the people everywhere...
The Heat Is On -- [Free Range International - in Afghanistan]
It is 88˚ Fahrenheit during the day in Jalalabad making this the coolest start to summer in memory. Unfortunately the number of security incidents in Jalalabad and around the country have started climbing like the temperature normally does. Yesterday, for the first time since a one-off attack in 2008 the villains struck at the U.S. army inside Jalalabad City...
Marines face continued ambushes around Marjah -- [Dan Lamothe/Marine Corps Times]
With the sun dropping lower on the baked horizon, two squads of Marines pushed north into the countryside here, uncertain what dangers were ahead.
Stepping out May 24 from Combat Outpost Reilly, the Marines knew a firefight was possible. The night before, insurgents used 82mm mortars and accurate sniper fire to repel a 100-man force of British troops from a nearby village, the Marines said. Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 6th Marines, out of Camp Lejeune, N.C., planned to patrol a few miles farther north than normal, an experiment to see how stiff resistance was in another part of Helmand province.
The answer came at 6:11 p.m., nearly two hours after the second of the two squads left the wire...
Marjah: 'It's like a petting zoo in hell' -- [Dan Lamothe/Marine Corps Times Battle Rattle blog]
Marines on patrol regularly pass sheep, goats and cattle grazing through the area....
Not long after a group of Kilo Company 3/6 Marines we were traveling with east of Marjah were ambushed, I was surprised to see a 6-year-old girl slit the throat on a chicken, assumedly to prepare it for dinner. Five minutes later, she stepped on her pet dog's head to keep it from moving as Marines patrolled by...
NATO death toll hits 24 in June -- [AP/Washington Times]
Two American troops were killed by a roadside bomb and a British soldier was fatally shot on patrol Tuesday, raising the NATO death toll in Afghanistan to two dozen in little more than a week.
The bloodshed spiked ahead of a major NATO operation in the Taliban's southern heartland. U.S. commanders have warned of more casualties as the alliance gears up to clear Kandahar, the biggest city in Afghanistan's south and the former headquarters of the Taliban.
Afghanistan Strategy Shifts to Focus on Civilian Effort -- [Rod Nordland/NY Times]
The prospect of a robust military push in Kandahar Province, which had been widely expected to begin this month, has evolved into a strategy that puts civilian reconstruction efforts first and relegates military action to a supportive role...
NATO helicopter shot down in Afghanistan -- [AP/Army Times]
A NATO helicopter was shot down in southern Afghanistan on Wednesday, killing four troops, the alliance said.
The helicopter was brought down by hostile fire in volatile Helmand province, NATO said in a statement. It gave no other details.
Taliban spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi claimed responsibility on behalf of the insurgents, saying militants shot down the helicopter with two rockets.
Gates: Progress in Afghan war must come this year -- [AP/Stars and Stripes]
Public support for the war in Afghanistan will evaporate unless the nations leading the fight against insurgents can show by the end of this year that the eight-year war is not locked in stalemate, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Wednesday.
"All of us, for our publics, are going to have to show by the end of the year that our strategy is on the track, making some headway," Gates said ahead of meetings with NATO allies long weary of the war.
In Afghanistan's North, Ex-Warlord Offers Security -- [NY Times]
MAZAR-I-SHARIF, Afghanistan -- In a country still gripped by war, the families picnicking around the azure-domed shrine in the central square here are perhaps the clearest sign that this northern provincial city has distinguished itself as one of the most secure places in the country. An estimated one million people visited Mazar-i-Sharif for Afghan New Year celebrations in March and in the weeks after without incident.
It helps, of course, that Mazar-i-Sharif and the surrounding Balkh Province lie far from the Pakistani border and the heartland of the Taliban insurgency in southern and eastern Afghanistan. But there is something else that sets Mazar-i-Sharif apart, almost everyone here agrees, and that is the leadership of the provincial governor, Atta Muhammad Noor.
Afghans burn pope effigy over proselytizing claims -- [AP/Stars and Stripes]
MAZAR-E-SHARIF, Afghanistan (AP) -- ...U.S.-based Church World Service and Norwegian Church Aid deny spreading Christianity. The government suspended them last week while investigating allegations in an Afghan television report.
More than 1,000 people marched Tuesday in the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif, demanding organizations that proselytized in Afghanistan be banned.
The crowd roared approval as protesters doused the effigy of the pope in kerosene and lit it.
They shouted: "Death to America! Long Live Islam!"
Flight Home & Scary Questions -- [Kandahar Diary - in Afghanistan]
...Significantly, I've begun thinking about why I'm there and whether the whole thing is worth it. Is there any point in my being there? Do we make a difference and is Afghanistan worth it all? Frankly, right now, I answer 'no' to all of the above. I just can't see the point. The country is a basket case - always has been and always will be. It seems to me the government does not have popular support, and Karzai spends more time criticising the West and 'reaching out' to the Taliban than he does prosecuting the war. Warlords run the country and pose as significant a risk to overall stability, and to the security of my convoys, compound and men, as the Taliban. Everyone knows what will happen to this place when the west pulls out - at best, continued fighting as warlords and their factions vie for power and, at worst, all-out civil war. I'm no expert but I simply cannot imagine a scenario that includes a peaceful, stable and prosperous Afghanistan.
It just seems to me, right now, that it's all a gigantic waste of time, money and lives...
I'll be signing off for a while. ...
Tough Questions -- [Knights of Afghanistan - in Afghanistan]
The anonymous author of Kandahar Diary asks some tough questions of himself and his mission while waiting for a long-anticipated leave flight home...
I confess to thinking the same thoughts all too often...
Ice Cream Music -- [Knights of Afghanistan - in Afghanistan]
During the summer months in Kabul, street food is available in large quantities on many major roads. In addition to the fixed stalls and shops, wandering vendors push carts of fruit, vegetables and nuts through every neighborhood. Some of the more ubiquitous vendors are the ice cream men...
I'm considering buying all of his ice cream tomorrow in exchange for him leaving the neighborhood permanently. Failing that, I may finally crack and shoot him...
Destination Kabul -- [Ismene/A Handful of Dust]
...Afghanistan, in particular, with its stunning landscapes has much to offer the Himalaya/Karakorum trekking crowd. Sign me up for September!
Still, I think that opening a B&B in Kabul might be a bit premature. Beyond the obvious problems of the security situation (nobody wants his adventure holiday to turn into an actual adventure), I think that the underlying cultural forces which have fuelled the conflicts in the Middle East and Central Asia will prevent a mass tourist industry from gaining a foothold anytime in the near future. Nobody likes to say it - and liberal academics like me are not supposed to say it - but...
Epic Taliban Fail -- [Starbuck/Wings Over Iraq]
These are the people that have been resisting invaders since Alexander the Great? I've seen better coordination and tactical prowess from ROTC cadets.
Iraqi Kurds seek help to halt Iranian incursion -- [Reuters]
The Kurdish regional assembly unanimously adopted a memorandum calling on the Iraqi government, the United Nations, the United States and other powers "to press Iran to stop its bombardment of Iraqi border villages and to end its occupation of a position inside Iraqi Kurdistan."
...Iranian forces frequently clash with rebels from the Party of Free Life of Kurdistan (PJAK), an offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) which took up arms in 1984 for an ethnic homeland in southeast Turkey.
Iran considers the PJAK a terrorist group.
Iranian troops building fort in Iraq -- [Los Angeles Times]
A small Iranian force crossed into the Kurdish-controlled region of northern Iraq on Thursday after a bomb attack that killed several Iranian soldiers. The assault was carried out by the Party for Free Life in Kurdistan, an Iranian Kurdish militant movement based in northern Iraq that is known by its Kurdish acronym, PEJAK.
About 35 Iranians remained behind, in an area near the Perdunaz border crossing, and have since been observed building a fortified structure high on a mountain, said the Kurdish regional government's defense spokesman, Jaber Yawer.
From a nearby Kurdish observation post, two bulldozers, alongside a small tank, can be seen digging fortifications.
Iran also retaliated with artillery strikes, which last week killed a 14-year-old girl. There was renewed shelling of the area Tuesday, but most civilians have fled the area and no one was killed, Yawer said...
Iran denies pursuing Kurds over Iraq border -- [Reuters]
On Wednesday, Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region demanded the central government in Baghdad take steps against an incursion into its territory by Iranian forces. A Reuters witness saw Iranian soldiers manning a small position some two kilometres (1.2 miles) inside Iraqi Kurdistan.
In a report by Iran's semi-official Mehr news agency, Ambassador Hassan Kazemi-Qomi denied such military manoeuvres...
U.N. Is Set to Vote on Iran Sanctions -- [NY Times]
The United Nations Security Council is scheduled on Wednesday to impose new sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program, taking aim at the financial might of the Revolutionary Guards Corps as well as Iran's military and nuclear industries with the addition of 41 enterprises to the blacklist.
U.N. Security Council Passes New Sanctions Against Iran -- [NY Times]
The United States, moving firmly away from the Obama administration's previous emphasis on wooing Iran, pushed through a new round of United Nations sanctions against the nation on Wednesday...
The new sanctions, a modest increase from previous rounds, took months to negotiate but still did not carry the symbolic weight of a unanimous Security Council decision. Twelve of the 15 nations voted for the measure, while Turkey and Brazil voted against and Lebanon abstained.
Beyond the restrictions imposed by the sanctions themselves, the vote sets stage for harsher measures that the United States and the European Union have promised to enact on their own once they had the imprimatur of the United Nations. European leaders are likely to discuss new measures at a summit meeting this month...
Susan E. Rice, the United States ambassador to the United Nations, said the body had "risen to its responsibilities" by approving the measure, and that "now Iran should choose a wiser course."...
Mexico anger high as US Border Patrol kills teen -- [AP]
CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico - Mexicans are seething over the second death of a countryman at the hands of U.S. Border Patrol agents in two weeks, an incident near downtown El Paso that is threatening to escalate tensions over migrant issues.
U.S. authorities said Tuesday a Border Patrol agent was defending himself and colleagues when he fatally shot the 15-year-old as officers came under a barrage of big stones while trying to detain illegal immigrants on the U.S. side of the Rio Grande...
Administration Delays Release of Report Tying Meth to Mexico -- [NY Times]
In an apparent effort to minimize diplomatic turbulence with the Mexican government, the Obama administration has been delaying for weeks the release of a Justice Department report that describes a "high and increasing" availability of methamphetamine mainly because of large-scale drug production in Mexico.
The report, obtained by The New York Times, is called the 2010 National Methamphetamine Threat Assessment by the National Drug Intelligence Center of the Justice Department...
Methamphetamine Threat Assessment -- [U.S. Department of Justice/National Drug Intelligence Center]
Russia Urges Global Struggle Against Afghan Heroin -- [Voice of America]
Speaking at an international anti-drug forum in Moscow, President Medvedev issued a call for a common global fight against narcotics, saying the entire world is threatened by drug-producing countries, especially those that make hard drugs - narcotics that are more addictive and damaging.
He said Afghanistan does not have the resources for a breakthrough in the fight. He said ongoing efforts by various international organizations, including the United Nations, NATO and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, are not enough...
Mr. Medvedev told the forum that nearly one-million people under the age of 35 have died around the world in the past eight years from Afghan heroin. Russia's federal drug control agency says the country loses about 30,000 people to heroine abuse each year...
The United Nations says Afghanistan cultivates 92 percent of the world's opium poppies...
Russian-Afghan trade needed in fight against drug trafficking -- [Ria Novosti]
Bilateral trade and economic cooperation between Russia and Afghanistan could reduce drug trafficking from the war-torn state, a deputy Russian economics minister said on Wednesday.
"We think that besides military and political efforts, a whole complex of measures are needed to develop the Afghan economy," Igor Manylov told the international anti-drugs forum in Moscow.
Communities bid Guard armories farewell -- [USA Today]
The closing of the small, aging facility and many like it across the USA is the result of shifting demographics, tight state budgets and changes in the way America's citizen soldiers are being trained and deployed, says Sgt. Katherine Perez, a National Guard public affairs officer.
More than 100 armories nationwide have closed or been targeted for closing in the past five years -- many in smaller communities -- and more are closing this year, USA TODAY research found. Some are being replaced by larger joint Army National Guard, Army Reserve and Air National Guard Readiness Centers.
U.S. hopes to share prison with Afghanistan -- [Los Angeles Times]
The Obama administration wants to retain the ability to hold terrorism suspects from other countries at its largest prison in Afghanistan, even after it hands control of the facility to the Afghan government next year, according to U.S. officials.
If Afghan officials agree, it would give the administration a place to interrogate terrorism suspects captured in countries such as Somalia or Yemen. President Obama made a high-profile pledge to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, after taking office last year. But that would leave the administration without a lockup for those suspected of plotting attacks against the United States...
JROTC guy for... -- [Jules Crittenden/Forward Movement]
So ... JROTC guy for govenor. If someone as politically inept and tone-deaf as Deval Patrick has been for the last four years can leap to the head of that race, how hard could it possibly be? How about JROTC guy for Congress? Worcester is currently represented by U.S. Rep. James McGovern, D-Caracas. Heck, JROTC guy for president. What, you have a better idea? What, you think some guy with virtually no political experience no one's ever heard of before can't do it?
Army Fires Top Two Administrators Over Mismanagement of Arlington Cemetery -- [Fox News]
Army Secretary John McHugh has fired the top two officials overseeing Arlington National Cemetery over allegations of mismanagement, including burying a service member's body on top of another, Fox News has confirmed...
Innocent until Proven Guilty -- [Bouhammer]
"The Army said Friday that Spc. Jeremy Morlock had been charged with three counts of premeditated murder and one count of assault."
...To read this and especially to write about it is very tough. As a soldier it is tough to see other soldiers even be accused of it. However I have a personal connection to Jeremy's family and in fact I know this soldier and knew him as a young boy. His family has been through a lot already and this does not help...
Family, friends welcome Lewis-McChord soldiers home -- [NWCN.com]
It was an early morning homecoming in Tacoma for hundreds of soldiers.
About 300 soldiers from two battalions of the 3rd Stryker Brigade returned to Joint Base Lewis-McChord around 5:30 a.m.
...This is their third tour of Iraq since 2003. Their last deployment was in 2006-07, which involved hard combat that lasted 15 months. This time, their area of operations was in the Diyala Province, which is a quieter area.
About 1 in 10 Iraq veterans develops a serious case of PTSD, researchers say -- [L.A. Times]
It's well known that combat takes a toll on the mental health of soldiers -- for instance, studies of people who served in the ongoing conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan have found that those who experienced combat were two to three times more likely to develop post-traumatic stress disorder than their counterparts who remained out of harm's way. But studies have been less consistent in determining how many soldiers develop PTSD and other mental health disorders after deployment.
So a group of experts from the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command examined 13,226 anonymous surveys completed by veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom...
Junger's War , Review by Karaka Pend -- [Small Wars Journal]
That is one question Junger, nor the soldiers of whom he writes, seems capable of answering. In the end Junger poses the question to the nation these men serve: how do we welcome home men who long for a bullet-stained combat outpost? How does one heal from that wound? (Excellent comment thread here.)
The Vet Question -- [Greyhawk/MVG]
...the question any company in America should be asking isn't "golly - should we hire vets?" It's "how soon can you start?"
But again, if you don't ask those questions, someone else will.
Army Leak Suspect Is Turned In, by Ex-Hacker -- [NY Times]
...So the former renegade, who in 2004 pleaded guilty to hacking into the internal computer system of The New York Times, did something he had not expected when Specialist Manning first contacted him: He turned him in.
On Monday, the Department of Defense announced that Specialist Manning, of Potomac, Md., had been arrested and was under investigation...
In the interview on Monday, Mr. Lamo said he had contacted the Army about Specialist Manning's instant messages because he was worried that disclosure of the information would put people's lives in danger. He said that Army investigators were particularly concerned about one sensitive piece of information that Specialist Manning possessed that Mr. Lamo would not discuss in more detail.
"I thought to myself, 'What if somebody dies because this information is leaked?' " he said.
In Twitter messages on Monday, Wikileaks denounced both Mr. Lamo and Kevin Poulsen, a co-author of the lengthy Wired Threat Level blog post, as "notorious felons, informers & manipulators" and said that "journalists should take care."
...Mr. Lamo said he had promised the F.B.I. he would testify against the specialist. "I'll keep my word, but I won't do it happily," he said. "I hope that his parents can forgive me. I'm sorry about what happened to their boy. But I was backed into a corner ethically."
In Twitter messages on Monday, Mr. Lamo continued the theme. "I outed Brad Manning as an alleged leaker out of duty," he said in one. "I would never (and have never) outed an Ordinary Decent Criminal. There's a difference."
In another Twitter message, Mr. Lamo said: "I know what it's like to be 22, scared, and in shackles too. I've been there. I hope none of you ever have to make a choice like this."
After Mr. Lamo pleaded guilty to hacking into The New York Times -- he had also hacked into Yahoo, WorldCom and Microsoft -- he was sentenced...
"Hysteria" vs. Inability to Read -- [Cassandra/Villainous Company]
Here's a suggestion for Mr. Smith: if he feels the need to respond at such length to a post which only mentions him tangentially, he would do better to read it carefully. That might help him avoid making a lot of accusations that, given what I actually said, seem... how shall I say it?... a bit overwrought...
Iraq/Afghanistan fatigue in the book industry -- [Matt Gallagher/Kerplunk]
About once a week, I receive an email from an enterprising writer looking to publish his (or her) war tales from Iraq or Afghanistan, seeking advice on how to accomplish such a goal. Of those that share some selections, most really are excellent - after nine or so years, a lot of insanity has ensued that needs to be shared with the larger world.
The problem though, is the marketplace is "fatigued with Iraq and Afghanistan stories." (I could attribute this quote to about ten different people in the publishing or literary industry). And for everyone not named Sebastian Junger (whose book, WAR, I loved) it can be a struggle to get the right people to read their manuscript, let alone purchase it.
The obvious question is - why is the marketplace fatigued? It's certainly an indictment on American society in general, but that's nothing new. In times of economic turmoil, people don't tend to like being reminded that others are suffering far more than they are...
Human Rights Watch Film Festival -- [Small Wars Journal]
Via e-mail from Sterling Yee of Human Rights Watch:
The Human Rights Watch Film Festival returns to New York, 10-24 June. This year we are proud to present two astounding documentaries that focus on the obstacles the Afghan citizens and US military face during times of war and rebuilding...
The State of COIN 2010 -- [Andrew Exum/Abu Muqawama]
It seems as good a time as any, then, to write a "State of COIN" post, which I have been meaning to do for quite some time. When this blog started, in February of 2007, counterinsurgency was very much in the ascendant, but the U.S. community studying it was still improbably small given the nature of the wars the U.S. military was fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. So very much has changed in the years since. For one, this blog is now less about counterinsurgency and more about national security and the Middle East (and Central and South Asia) more broadly. For another, counterinsurgency and its defenders are no longer the plucky underdogs in the national security community.
A few weeks ago, I was at USIP listening to the secretary of state speak with Hamid Karzai, and Sec. Clinton, at one point and in response to a journalist's question, went on at length about the theory and practice of counterinsurgency operations. It struck me then - but not for the first time - that the things theorists and proponents of counterinsurgency had wanted in 2005 have largely come to pass...
The Heat Is On -- [Free Range International - in Afghanistan]
Talking with the American soldiers is always a treat for me. Paratroopers from the 101st are now in charge of RC East and they seem to be a confident, cocky bunch which is exactly the right attitude. One of the sergeants told me they get out all the time doing COIN which he describes as talking to and being friendly with the people instead of hunting down and killing bad guys. He said their pre-deployment training stressed that the Afghan people generally remain friendly towards Americans which he said he didn't really believe until he saw us pop out of the crowd wearing casual western clothes; smiling at and joking with the men around us as we passed through. I told him to always smile warmly when greeting Afghans and to learn four cuss words and two mullah jokes in Pashto. Those modest skills will make him a hero wherever he goes as long as he stays out of the Korengal and Pech valleys in Kunar Province. He thought that was a great heads up and laughed and laughed as he told his buddies the sage advice I had imparted to him. I love being around good infantry and these guys have the look of world class fighters.
Here is the thing; the soldiers, through no fault of their own, really aren't doing COIN...
The CENTCOM Af-Pak Conference: Lessons from a Failed Military Conference -- [Anonymous/Abu Muqawama]
Over the last two days we posted reports on CENTCOM's AF-PAK COE conference at a friend's blog under the collective pseudonym "The Conference Guys." In doing so, we learned that some people closely associated with that blog were, like us, government employees (the blog is remaining officially nameless). We became concerned that our posts might put them in an awkward position, so we used another venue: Ghosts of Alexander. The following post is our last from the conference, and gives some overarching takeaways concerning U.S. Military outreach to non-military parties, as opposed to the more specific and substantive critiques in our previous posts.
So some of us got together and talked about the reports we've been posting about CENTCOM's Afghanistan-Pakistan Center of Excellence (COE) conference in Tampa. We couldn't help but notice that we've painted a pretty bleak picture of the Army's attempt to leverage the expertise of academia, NGOs, think tanks, and other non-government sources to help address various aspects of the Central Asian conflicts.
Serving Pork Chops at a Bar Mitzvah: Some Thoughts on Aid in COIN Operations -- [Colonel Gary Anderson/Small Wars Journal]
Just as a mid-term election in the United States can force an American president (as well as Congress) to change course, many American soldiers and State Department civilian officials in Afghanistan believe that a large number of local successes against the Taliban will force change within the Karzai regime - that Karzai and the national government will feel pressured by rising local stars to reform from the bottom up.
Until then, the most our tactical commanders and Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) leaders can do at the local / tactical level is use combat power to provide security and buy time for the Afghans to create effective security mechanisms and use aid in a way that best enhances the COIN fight by convincing the population that there is a viable alternative to what the Taliban offers...
Gobar Gas -- [Greyhawk/MVG]
Or can more bullshit save Afghanistan?
I heard Mike Yon mention this during his call-in from Afghanistan to the milblogs conference, and was hoping to hear more. More is here.
Americans tend to think big, and Afghanistan needs more little things. In Afghanistan we need more thinking like this.
New Cyber Chief: Cyberspace Must Become a National Security Priority -- [defense.gov]
The command will lead the day-to-day defense of all military networks, support military and counterterrorism missions and, under the leadership of the Department of Homeland Security, assist other government and civil authorities and industry partners.
Alexander, who is also the director of the National Security Agency (NSA) and chief of the Central Security Service, said that protecting cyberspace is a national security priority and that the NSA and U.S. Cyber Command will represent the intersection of military, intelligence and information-assurance capabilities.
Recently, a Cyber Joint Operations Center was established to combine the existing staffs of the Joint Functional Component Command for Net Warfare and the Joint Taskforce Global Network Operations.
U.S. Cyber Command also gained service elements that will act as the boots on the ground in support of its mission. These include the Army Forces Cyber Command, the Marine Forces Cyber Command, the 24th Air Force and the Navy's 10th Fleet, Fleet Cyber Command.
Broadening Horizons: Climate Change and the U.S. Armed Forces -- [CNAS Report]
Broadening Horizons is an edited volume featuring four chapters and a capstone piece that explores the dual pressures of climate change and energy on each U.S. military service and combatant command and offers a road ahead to improve the country's ability to promote national security in the face of a changing climate. Authors include CNAS Senior Military Fellow Commander Herbert E. Carmen, USN, CNAS Bacevich Fellow Christine Parthemore and CNAS Research Assistant Will Rogers.
Chapters include:
Broadening Horizons: Climate Change and the U.S. Armed Forces
By Commander Herbert Carmen, USN, Christine Parthemore
and Will Rogers
Climate Change and the Maritime Services
By Christine Parthemore
Climate Change and America's Air Forces
By Will Rogers
Climate Change and U.S. Ground Forces
By Christine Parthemore
Climate Change and the Combatant Commands
By Commander Herbert E. Carmen, USN, Christine Parthemore
and Will Rogers
Sustaining Security: How Natural Resources Influence National Security -- [Christine Parthemore, Will Rogers/CNAS Report]
In the 21st century, the security of nations will depend increasingly on the security of natural resources, or "natural security." Countries around the world rely on the availability of potable water, arable land, fish stocks, biodiversity, energy, minerals and other renewable and nonrenewable resources to meet the rising needs and expectations of a growing world population. Yet the availability of these resources is by no means assured. This report - authored by Christine Parthemore and Will Rogers - points to Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, Mexico and Yemen as examples of how natural security challenges are directly linked to internal stability, regional dynamics and U.S. security and foreign policy interests...
'Lying face to face -- [New Britain Herald]
A member of Attorney General Richard Blumenthal's staff, himself a former major and judge advocate in the U.S. Marines, is calling Blumenthal a liar and disgrace to the Marine Corps for representing himself repeatedly as having served in Vietnam.
Richard Hine, state assistant attorney general and New Britain resident, told the New Britain Herald Tuesday that Blumenthal had lied about his service in Vietnam at least five times. Hine has worked for Blumenthal for more than 20 years but said he felt he had to come forward after Blumenthal's recent actions.
"This has to do with integrity, has to do with qualifications for office and with a very personal conversation back in January or February, 1991," he said.
Surrounded by the mementos of his own life as a Marine, Hine said what Blumenthal did went against the code of being a Marine... (Via)
Jim DeMint gets the kind of opponent candidates dream about -- [Dave Weigel/The Washington Post]
In 2008, the South Carolina Democratic establishment supported attorney Michael Cone for the thankless task of taking on Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.). He raised almost no money and lost, in a massive upset, to an even-lesser known candidate named Bob Conley -- a supporter of Rep. Ron Paul (R-Tex.) who managed to alienate most of his party with hardline conservative stances.
You'd think the local Democratic Party would avoid a disaster like that this year. Vic Rawl, a former state legislator, was not the party's first choice -- he raised about $230,452 and looked set to be the party's sacrificial lamb against Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.). He just went down by a 16-point margin to Alvin Greene. Who is Alvin Greene? A 32-year-old unemployed army veteran who paid the filing fee to run then promptly disappeared. When reached by Corey Hutchins to talk about his campaign, on the suspicion that he was a Republican plant, Greene was incoherent.
Senate candidate facing obscenity-offense felony -- [Ed Morrissey/Hot Air]
Dave Weigel called Alvin Greene the "the kind of opponent candidates dream about," but he didn't know the half of it. Jim Geraghty noted that the new Democratic nominee to run against conservative stalwart Sen. Jim DeMint in South Carolina hadn't filed any paperwork with the FEC on fundraising, but perhaps he just didn't want to get in any more trouble with the law than Greene already faces. The Democratic nominee isn't just "wholly unserious" -- the AP reports that he's been charged with a felony obscenity offense that could get him five years in prison...
I guess this eliminates the whole family-values campaign, then?
S.C. Dems ask Senate nominee to withdraw after felony charge -- [The Hill]
Less than 24 hours after Alvin Greene's surprise win in the South Carolina Democratic Senate primary, the state party has asked him to withdraw from the race because of a pending felony charge...
The party said that as of Wednesday afternoon it had not received a response from Greene.
...Greene stunned observers Tuesday when he won the nomination. He raised no money and put up no campaign website but beat former four-term state lawmaker Vic Rawl 59 percent to 41.
Retrospective -- [Karaka Pend/Permissible Arms]
...The above photograph is from a Foreign Policy article on Afghanistan (Kabul) in the '50s and '60s.
That's the stark difference of fifty years...
USS Constitution Hosts Wounded Warriors During Battle of Midway Ceremony -- [Boston Maggie]
BOSTON (NNS) -- In recognition of the observance of the Battle of Midway, approximately 125 Wounded Warriors from all five branches of the military joined the crew of the USS Constitution for a morning at sea June 4.
"Today we honor Navy history, celebrate past victories at sea and recognize the sacrifices service members have made, and continue to make, in support of our ongoing fight for freedom," said Capt. Key Watkins, program director of Navy Safe Harbor, the Navy and Coast Guard's Wounded Warrior program...
(Need more? Dawn Patrols Archives are here.)
Welcome to the Dawn Patrol, our ongoing roundup of information on war and other topics - from the MilBlogs and various sources around the world.
Always updating - refresh for updates.
Where's Quatto? -- [The Quatto Zone - in Afghanistan]
The long break in the blog has been the result of the practical application of the Department of Defense's social media policy in the Afghanistan theater. Ostensibly designed to expand government transparency, improve information sharing, boost morale and cure cancer, the real local impact of the policy has been to allow military communications specialists to exercise their basest bureaucratic instincts. By declaring that government systems should permit access to social media except in cases where operational security, bandwidth or other considerations require local limitations, the policy has served mainly to identify exemptions that can justify widespread restrictions on access. The exceptions have become the rule, with the result that unofficial bloggers in Afghanistan are forced to turn to a limited number of clogged commercial lines. Where blogs once could be knocked out around 15-minute mental breaks from the daily grind, they're now published in the wee small hours of the morning after 18-hour work days...
Enjoying The Little Things -- [Lt Gorman/A handful of Dust - in Afghanistan]
First of all, I'd like to say hello and welcome to the readers of AHOD. Since LT Wompum had to leave, I contacted Sosostris about joining the blog in his stead. Like Wompum, I'm an infantry officer with a non-infantry mission. I have been in country only a few weeks now and don't have any real job yet other than Gopher LT: running around Camp Phoenix doing various tasks and putting out fires when needed. Hopefully that will change soon enough when they find me a real position, which at least from the chatter I hear, will have something to do with working with the ANA. Either way, though I've only been in country a relatively short time, there are already a few random little things that make life so distinct here.
-The Bazaars: Although we can't actually go out into the "real" bazaars in Kabul, the DOD approved venders on or around FOBs often have the same...
Market Rates -- [Knights of Afghanistan - in Afghanistan]
Proper, authentic booze is anywhere from $75 to $150 USD a bottle, depending on brand. The fake rotgut stuff distilled from Russian brake fluid is cheaper, but you wake up with your intestines in your socks and can't focus your eyes for 36 hours.
Cigarettes, even the premium brands, are dirt cheap, as low as $0.50 a pack for the crappy Afghan/Pakistani brands. Even for the imported high-end smokes like mine, you won't pay more than $2.50 a pack.*
*And by "imported" I mean "fell off a truck in Tajikistan and smuggled across the border in a donkey's rectum." Gives them extra flavor...
Under no circumstances should a Westerner new to Kabul try to buy weapons other than a knife. There are plenty of guns for sale, but...
What it's like... -- [AfghaniDan - in Afghanistan ]
I'm liking the work more than hating it [of course it was easier to say on the lightest day since I'd been here -- Afghans were all on declared holiday due to the 3-day Peace Jirga, so we had work but not the usual volume]. It's very frustrating much of the time, from both sides: Those working at the tactical or technical areas vent of often having to 'babysit' their Afghan counterparts and hold the hands (both figuratively and literally) of grown men through the simple process of talking to their own counterparts. At the same time, we must comply with (and if you have the stones, sometimes rebel against) the droppings from the "good idea fairy" above...well-intentioned but misguided tasks that only get more cumbersome as they roll downhill. But positive signs make our day every now and then, and the fact that we're involved in trying to build something good is still rewarding.
I'm not sure that I can sustain the pace in decent health...
"So what is it, you'd say, you do here?" Allow me to paraphrase a note I sent back to my cousin yesterday for the answer...
What is the Problem Here? -- [Free range International - in Afghanistan]
My son Logan spent the last three months in Jalalabad with me teaching a class on digital photography for the MIT Fab Folk at the Jalalabad Fab Lab. Here is the link to his blog (blogs are required on all Fab Folk missions) and I think it is hysterically funny which was not his intent. This is probably his last visit to Afghanistan - the security situation has degraded to the point where keeping him safe was a major operation. Many thanks to my Afghan colleagues JD and Zaki for devising and maintaining a safety box in which Logan could operate. I'm inserting pictures of Logan and I on the range because it's my way of bragging on my boy. The remainder of the post is from Chim Chim.
With the recent spate of NYT blather about the U.S. Military's use of contractors to conduct intelligence activities, the "official" kneejerk response from the Department of Defense (DoD) was to announce that the original contract was shut down, and that the Department was conducting investigations...
Blood Brothers - A Story of Training Afghanistan's Next Generation Of Life Savers -- [FaST Surgeon - in Afghanistan]
The sun climbs over the eastern mountains near Forward Operating Base (FOB) Shank in Logar Province, Afghanistan. Its an early morning for the 4th Kandak Afghanistan National Army (ANA) medics as they inspect their medical aid bags, ensuring they are ready for the day ahead...
The medical lectures were provided by SGT Fielder of the 173d Airborne BSB and SSG Penn of the 909th FST. But what makes this especially difficult was not just the language barrier, but the fact that many of these Afghan medics also required lessons in basic reading and writing...
The Kabul Marathon -- [AfghaniDan - in Afghanistan ]
The following are shots of some other runners, framed by the most ridiculously steep ramps you could ever include in a road race...it's not the grind up the incline that gets you, though that did suck, but the "Holy crap, I'm not going to be able to turn on a dime when I get to the bottom!" speed you build up on the descent. Avoiding the opposing direction runners in a single-lane-each-way narrow track while banking a turn and feeling your patella bounce around within your knee is an experience you don't wish to replicate, much less knock out 16 times over 13.1 miles.
Do you think the photographers posted near the tunnels must have been male, by any chance? I'm just guessing...
Trending Positive -- [Afghan Quest - in Afghanistan]
The second question had to do with the President's "run away date.". It's not a run away date. It is a date that he hopes to start drawing down from the surge. This has caused some problems domestically, although the Democratic Party leadership is happy; it's what they always demanded from President Bush. It has caused more problems in Afghanistan...
10 NATO Soldiers Die in Afghanistan -- [NY Times]
KABUL, Afghanistan -- Insurgents killed 12 NATO soldiers on Monday, 7 of them Americans, military officials said. It was the worst single day for the foreign forces operating in Afghanistan in over seven months...
Iraq violence set to delay US troop withdrawal -- [The Guardian (UK)]
The White House is likely to delay the withdrawal of the first large phase of combat troops from Iraq for at least a month after escalating bloodshed and political instability in the country.
General Ray Odierno, the US commander, had been due to give the order within 60 days of the general election held in Iraq on 7 March, when the cross-sectarian candidate Ayad Allawi edged out the incumbent leader, Nouri al-Maliki.
American officials had been prepared for delays in negotiations to form a government, but now appear to have balked...
Odierno: Iraq Moves Toward Stability, US Drawdown on Track -- [Voice of America]
The top U.S. commander in Iraq says his forces and Iraqi troops have captured or killed 34 of the top 42 leaders of al-Qaida in the country, significantly hurting the organizations ability to conduct attacks. General Ray Odierno also says Iran is taking a less violent but still destructive approach in its involvement in Iraq.
General Odierno says the number of violent incidents, the number of casualties and the number of high-profile attacks in Iraq are all at their lowest levels since the conflict started...
Soldiers' Angels competing for $50k "Pepsi Challenge" Grant - Need your vote! -- [Soldiers' Angels Germany]
The Pepsi Refresh Project allows ordinary people to vote for their favorite projects that will have a positive impact on the community. Each month brings a new set of projects. This month, Soldiers' Angels is one of the projects.
All you have to do is go to the page for Hire a Hero - Soldiers' Angels Project SAVE Support A Vet's Employment.
Soldiers' Angels is competing for $50,000! Only 10 projects will be selected, so we need your votes, every day, from now until June 30!
General Odierno Nominated for New Job -- [FoxNews/Liveshots blog]
The military announced Monday that President Obama has nominated General Raymond T. Odierno to head Joint Forces Command (JFCOM). Odierno is a four-star general who serves now as the head of US Forces - Iraq.
If confirmed by the senate, Odierno will replace Marine Corps General James Mattis...
Murder charges may spur military to revise soldier screenings -- [Seattle Times]
An Army spokeswoman said Saturday the murder charges against a Joint Base Lewis-McChord soldier accused of killing three Afghan civilians could lead the military to examine its screening of soldiers.
Specialist Jeremy Morlock, 22, was charged Friday with premeditated murder in the slayings of the civilians, which allegedly occurred earlier this year while his unit was assigned to the remote Kandahar province of Afghanistan. He also is charged with assaulting a fellow soldier.
If found guilty of the slayings, Morlock could face the death penalty.
Morlock, who was sent on his first deployment in July, had a history of U.S. criminal charges.
Duty, Honor, Country -- [Soldiers' Angels Germany]
VIDEO
Lt. Dan Berschinski, wounded August 2009 in the Arghandab River Valley of Afghanistan, at his recent homecoming celebration in Peachtree, GA on Memorial Day weekend.
Thanks to Andrea Taber for this abridged version of Dan's speech. The orignal, in two parts (here and here), courtesy of Dan's father. Dan has a blog, too.
Well done, Dan. Much love to you from everyone at Landstuhl.
Loony Tunes -- [Matt Gallagher/Kerplunk]
There's always one.
It seems at every book event that discusses Iraq or Afghanistan, be it mine or someone else's, there's always one individual who turns the question and answer session into their very own pulpit. Sometimes, they're crazy professors who think that my pro-bacon stance in Kaboom is somehow anti-Islam; others are old hippies still angry about the 2003 invasion/Vietnam/life. No matter the type though, they all try to bait the author into saying something sweeping in nature and inflammatory.
My latest dalliance with the bookstore fringe occurred at Politics & Prose in DC, with a Loony Tune of the aging hippie variety...
Since U Been Gone! -- [Jules Crittenden/Forward Movement]
Good clean fist-pumping American Idol/blowing-shit-up pop fun compliments of Rage Company: A Marine's Baptism By Fire.
My rate of reading slowed dramatically due to various issues over the past couple of weeks, but I am back into this and enjoying it immensely. As mentioned before, I had some issues with the title and cover, but it is well worth cracking. The above remark notwithstanding, this is a serious book that is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand what just happened, and what is still going on.
Thomas P. Daly recounts the frustrations of conventional operations followed by an abrupt, unexpected shift to counterinsurgency tactics in Ramadi in 2006-2007, where he was a Marine rifle company's FO and intelligence officer...
Junger's War , Review by Karaka Pend -- [Small Wars Journal]
On May 21, 2010, I saw Sebastian Junger speak on the subject of his book War. It was standing room only, with several servicemen and women present; but the audience was mostly older folks. The parents of Private Misha Pemble-Belkin, one of the soldiers Junger writes about in his book, were present that evening, and Junger took care to welcome them. It was clear from that moment on, even before his reading or before I had the chance to read the book, that Junger had written about people who had come to mean a great deal to him. To understand that is to understand the impetus of his account...
One less blog -- [BruceR/Flit]
Canada's own "milblog", The Torch (aka, toyoufromfailinghands.blogspot.com) has shut its doors, suddenly and apparently permanently. Correspondence with the authors confirms it's over. I'd give a link, but obviously there's no point now. They'll be missed. Best of luck to the contributors in their future endeavours...
Can troops in Afghanistan chamber a round on patrol? -- [Jeff Shogol/The Rumor Doctor/Stars and Stripes]
The Rumor Doctor has seen blogs claiming that U.S. troops in Afghanistan can't have a round in the chamber when they go outside the wire...
"While it is not our policy to comment on the specifics of those force protection measures, I can tell you that individual unit commanders have the flexibility and latitude to increase or decrease their force protection posture as needed and as appropriate for the situation," Master Sergeant Brian Sipp, of CJTF-101 public affairs said in an e-mail.
So Rumor Doctor gave ISAF public affairs the name of the unit in question. Shortly afterward, the soldier on the ground informed the Rumor Doctor that soldiers in his company were suddenly authorized to chamber a round outside the wire.
Phishing for the General -- [NY Times At War blog]
If you get an Internet appeal from Gen. Ray Odierno, the senior American commander in Iraq, asking you to pay lots of money to get your son or daughter out of combat duty, don't believe it. And certainly don't send the $200,000.
General Odierno acknowledged Friday that he is but one more victim of a social networking scheme offering a big -- but fake -- benefit, if you send big amounts of real money...
Scammers hit Gen. Odierno Facebook page -- [AP]
The top American general in Iraq says scammers have been making use of his Facebook page.
Looking at General Ray Odierno's Facebook page, you find out he's an Aerosmith fan -- and that Animal House is one of his favorite movies. If you see a plea for money, though, don't buy it.
Odierno says he's had several scam artists use his Facebook page to ask for money. He says one asks for $200,000 to have a loved one sent home early.
Odierno says Army investigators are chasing scammers who use social networking and mass emails to bilk military families. In the meantime, Odierno has posted a warning on his Facebook page.
He says anybody asking for money in his name is a scammer.
Press Conference -- [General Odierno]
Q There's an e-mail scam going out purportedly from the command sergeant major from USF-I [U.S. Forces - Iraq].
GEN. ODIERNO: Okay.
Q Guy can't decide whether he's a major or a sergeant major, but some people may actually take it seriously. Is USF-I putting out any guidance saying, "If you receive an e-mail from Lawrence K. Wilson that says he has $20 million in Saddam's money, don't trust it"?
GEN. ODIERNO: Yeah. Yeah, we do. And in fact, there's been people scamming my name for money, as well. And this has been going on for quite some time. You know, I've had several scam artists on Facebook use my Facebook page and then go out asking people for all kinds of money: if you pay $200,000, your son can get sent home early and -- you know. So we're constantly going after these scam artists that are out there. And we are very aware of all of these that are going on, and we have a very robust capability to attempt to take care of it.
It's more about notifying people who get these e-mails. I have this big thing on my Facebook that says don't believe -- "If anybody asks you for money in my name, don't believe it," you know. And we do that for everyone else, as well. But it's a problem.
<...>
Because what I have found, and what's frustrated me sometimes inside of Iraq, is we win, we're doing exactly what we need do on the ground and eliminating cells and terrorists. But if you look on their website, what they're telling their people is completely different than what's really happening on the ground. And they have videos that are years and years old, and they keep replaying them and replaying them and replaying them and saying, "We've killed over a thousand Americans in 2010" and "They're lying about their numbers" and, you know, "We're being very successful. We need you to continue to contribute money to the al Qaeda organization. You need to help come, we need suicide bomber" -- I mean, you know, these are all the kind of things that go on. And so those are real challenges to us that we really have to get after as well as scams and other things that go on.
Press Conference -- [General Odierno (con't from above)]
And actually, since you brought that subject up, I will just say -- you know, one of the things -- you asked me about Joint Forces Command, and one of the things -- one of the things that we have to really continue to work hard is the change that's occurred in terms of global communications and access to global communications and impact on warfare, impact on asymmetric warfare, impact on counterinsurgency, impact on future warfare. It's significant.
We've just stood up a cyber command, which I fully support. I think it's extremely important that we've stood up this command. It's the guy who gets that who they support out in the field. It's absolutely essential that we start really taking a hard look at how we're going to deal with these very difficult issues. And it makes it difficult, because you've got to figure out: How am I going to deal with this issue and still sustain the rights that we want of freedom of expression and information? It's very tough issues that we have to continue to work through here.
IED beam could change face of war -- [Jim Michaels/USA TODAY ]
Anti-bomb technology carries risk to civilians
The military has developed technology that uses a high-tech beam to detonate hidden IEDs, an insurgent weapon responsible for the deaths and maiming of thousands of U.S. servicemembers in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Some in the military caution that widespread use of the weapon could cause civilian casualties when the beam triggers improvised explosive devices.
"This is an offensive capability that will change the face of this war," said Marine Gen. James Mattis, head of the U.S. Joint Forces Command that looks to transform military capabilities. Mattis, a supporter of the technology, acknowledged that civilians could be killed if the weapon is activated over widespread areas. But ultimately the technology would save lives, he said. "A lot more innocent people are going to die if we don't do it," he said...
Broadening Horizons: Climate Change and the U.S. Armed Forces -- [CNAS Report]
Broadening Horizons is an edited volume featuring four chapters and a capstone piece that explores the dual pressures of climate change and energy on each U.S. military service and combatant command and offers a road ahead to improve the country's ability to promote national security in the face of a changing climate. Authors include CNAS Senior Military Fellow Commander Herbert E. Carmen, USN, CNAS Bacevich Fellow Christine Parthemore and CNAS Research Assistant Will Rogers.
Chapters include:
Broadening Horizons: Climate Change and the U.S. Armed Forces
By Commander Herbert Carmen, USN, Christine Parthemore
and Will Rogers
Climate Change and the Maritime Services
By Christine Parthemore
Climate Change and America's Air Forces
By Will Rogers
Climate Change and U.S. Ground Forces
By Christine Parthemore
Climate Change and the Combatant Commands
By Commander Herbert E. Carmen, USN, Christine Parthemore
and Will Rogers
Sustaining Security: How Natural Resources Influence National Security -- [Christine Parthemore, Will Rogers/CNAS Report]
In the 21st century, the security of nations will depend increasingly on the security of natural resources, or "natural security." Countries around the world rely on the availability of potable water, arable land, fish stocks, biodiversity, energy, minerals and other renewable and nonrenewable resources to meet the rising needs and expectations of a growing world population. Yet the availability of these resources is by no means assured. This report - authored by Christine Parthemore and Will Rogers - points to Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, Mexico and Yemen as examples of how natural security challenges are directly linked to internal stability, regional dynamics and U.S. security and foreign policy interests...
The ARPA Net, Granddaddy of the Internet -- [Cold Fronts/Jack Sharp]
...At first, AFGWC commander Colonel Danny Mitchell was dubious about Global becoming a node on the Net. His fear was that someday, somewhere, some graduate student would run a program that would clog the network, no matter how fast it was transmitting, but he agreed anyway to put Global on-line. In a real sense, Colonel Mitchell was anticipating the damage that computer hackers would one day wreak with their viruses.
It didn't take long for AFGWC's Development Branch to begin sending preliminary versions of a true global model plus necessary canned test data through the ARPA Net to various universities where they would be run on large scientific computers which would have otherwise sat idle overnight. As envisioned, the ARPA Net made resource sharing a reality on a national scale.
A few years later the DoD began looking for sponsors for their pioneering communication network within the civilian community and eventually found some. The ARPA Net would eventually grow to become the Internet - the Information Super-Highway - and my son Douglass would go to work for Microsoft, participating in the development of the tools necessary to unleash the potential of this complex wiring system that encircled the globe mimicking the human nervous system, the World Wide Web...
The best information available -- [Greyhawk/Mudville]
"Three things are certain concerning the Forecasts for D-Day," writes James R. Fleming: "1) the invasion was postponed on June 5, 1944; 2) the invasion occurred under marginal weather conditions on June 6; and 3) the German meteorologists decided that the weather conditions were too poor to permit an invasion attempt. That is about all that is certain."
Regardless of the forecast, the actual weather was good enough. But success, of course, has no shortage of fathers - more from Fleming...
Army Gen. Odierno Raises Internet Concerns -- [ExecutiveGov]
Odierno is one of several military leader to voice worries about how online communications could potentially undermine security efforts. Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, commander of Multinational Force Iraq before becoming commander of U.S. Central Command in October 2008, communicated similar apprehensions during budget hearings on Capitol Hill earlier this year.
Meanwhile, in Marja -- [Starbuck/Wings Over Iraq]
In case you missed it, milblogger CJ Chivers had an article in the New York Times which chronicled many of the difficulties ISAF is facing in the town of Marjah. Among ISAF's woes are perennial issues with the Afghan National Police, including this gem:
"The police also said that establishing connections with residents had been difficult. Part of their problem, they said, was that many sergeants are Tajik, and do not speak Pashto, southern Afghanistan's dominant language..."
As much as I despise PowerPoint (and believe me, I do), I always think back to a presentation made by the late Captain Travis Patriquin which touches upon this very issue...
The Long March -- [Sosostris/A Handful of Dust]
As our readers know, LT Wompum is an ANA trainer in Kabul and even though he is currently on hiatus from the blog, ANA training is a topic of particular interest to the authors of AHOD. LT Gorman also has the privilege of working with the ANA on a consistent basis and has his own views on the force he will be sharing in upcoming posts.
Today I wanted to pass along a policy paper that delves into the details of building the Afghan National Army...
More Bullets vs Bigger Bullets -- [Knights of Afghanistan - in Afghanistan]
Obviously, in a modern counter-insurgency fight, pinning the enemy down with a high volume of supressing fire and then anihilating them with airstrikes is problematic. Even before the new restrictions on close-air support and indirect fire, U.S. and British troops were having a very hard time successfully engaging the enemy without leveling half a village in the process. Now that the restrictions are in place, many engagements consist of a brief firefight in which the Taliban fire a few volleys from long-range and then disappear before ISAF troops can close and destroy them. We take a few casualties and the Talibs melt away. So, the thinking goes, re-equip our guys with longer-range weapons so that they can effectively engage the enemy at 300+ meters without having to rely on tactical air or artillery.
All well and good, but the article propogates a particularly annoying falsehood...
Obama talks with Gen. Odierno about Iraq -- [The Oval/USA Today]
White House spokesman Bill Burton provides us with this readout of today's meeting between President Obama and Gen. Ray Odierno, who is moving on from his post as top U.S. commander in Iraq...
(Need more? Dawn Patrols Archives are here.)
Welcome to the Dawn Patrol, our ongoing roundup of information on the war and other topics - from the MilBlogs and various sources around the world.
Updating - Refresh for updates.
Kabul to meet you -- [Afghani Dan - in Afghanistan]
That would be the flag of the United States Marine Corps high over the multinational camp at Kabul's airport...naturally, among the flags of other nations with contingents here. Yep, that's jes' how we roll. Here's more from my first day in the capital...
A Can of Coke and a Close Recce -- [Kandahar Diary - in Afghanistan]
...As the worker and his partner glanced at them, one of the three men accidentally dropped his blanket from his shoulder to reveal chest rigging and AK magazines...
Campaign Season, 2010 -- [Knights of Afghanistan - in Afghanistan]
Now that it's June, the campaign season for 2010 is fully upon us. Not that the bad guys waited for June, they actually got started a little earlier with a series of high-profile attacks across the country just to remind everyone that they're still here.*
*Not that anyone had really forgotten...
Jalala-Not So Bad and Not So Good -- [Free Range International - in Afghanistan]
Security incident rates around Afghanistan are skyrocketing and this year it appears that Jalalabad is, for the first time, going to get its fair share of attention. This unfortunate fact is forcing outside the wire implementers to spend an inordinate amount of time tea drinking and jaw jacking with various local officials and ISAF people in order to get a handle on just how safe we are. My assessment? We're in for a bad summer...
1st Recon to aid in Marjah fight -- [Marine Corps Times/Dan Lamothe - in Afghanistan]
CAMP LEATHERNECK, Afghanistan -- The Marine Corps will send elite reconnaissance Marines to the former Taliban stronghold of Marjah to buttress combat operations already underway by two conventional infantry battalions there, a top officer here said.
..."First Recon, before they even left [the U.S.], were training in more of a ground combat-type of role," Osterman told Marine Corps Times...
Flag ceremony marks new command and control structure in southern Afghanistan -- [Defence News (UK)]
Changes to the command and control of ISAF forces in southern Afghanistan that sees the current Regional Command (South) split in two come into force today, Tuesday 1 June 2010.
The changes, which were announced on 21 May, are based on the military advice of ISAF commanders on the ground and reflect a number of significant changes over recent months...
Maybe the CF could stay in Afstan post-2011 after all -- [The Torch]
Looks like some politicos may be getting reasonable; a ball with considerable pressure may end up in grumpy Stephen's court--can he do a 180? From Matthew Fisher of Canwest News...
Afstan: Brits de-wobble, eventual shift to Kandahar still possible? -- [The Torch]
But don't always put that much stock in The Economist's musings: The wars over the war
A new government gets to grips with another foreign-policy priority
...Officials said the Chequers meeting was not a "review" of policy, but only a "seminar" intended to "take stock". Mr Cameron, it is said, told the gathering that his government was not about to change course, and would support America's war. On the same day, the prime minister called the Afghan president, Hamid Karzai, for what officials say was a "warm" talk about the "peace jirga" being held in Kabul, and about preparations for military operations in Kandahar...
"Restrepo" - from The Kitchen Dispatch -- [FaST Surgeon (in Afghanistan)]
Most of these men and women start off just out of high-school and get injected into Army "medic school". They are the 2nd most common specialty (68W) in the Army (the most common is 11B - Infantry). Once they're trained up, they're pushed out into some of the most intensely challenging life-and-death scenarios most of us can never imagine. We ask them to be "docs" in the field. Its a heck of a thing to ask of someone so young. They continually strive to learn as much as they can, as fast as they can. They meet the challenge. So once again - Here's to the combat medic. Hooah.
The things they carry in Afghanistan -- [Denver Post/David Fennell - in Afghanistan]
David Fennell of Littleton is a major in the U.S. Marine Corps. He is stationed in Marjah, Afghanistan, as head of the Civil Affairs Group there. Before that, he served a tour in Iraq. His father, Denny, asked David to sum up his experiences as he nears the end of his deployment.
Although I've gotten used to things around here, this place can wear on you. Don't get me wrong, I truly believe in our mission and its importance to both the Afghan people and security back home. Still, southern Afghanistan is a hard place.
The question Marines ask themselves most when talking with folks back home is "Where do I start?" There are no easy answers.
Sand, moon dust, terrain, weather, enemy...
Memorial -- [Rajiv Srinivasan - in Afghanistan]
My Platoon Sergeant and I saunter behind the massive formation of Attack Company soldiers heading towards the Chapel on FOB Ramrod. Heads hang low under a somber overtone. There are no drums to synchronize our steps; we march only to the beats of our heavy hearts. The chapel is a hideous building with tawdry colors and chipped paint. A large gravel patch forms a courtyard outside the chapel's entrance. Around its edges are twelve Strykers, stylistically postured to add a military touch to the scene and create a closed setting in the Kandahar desert...
Memorial Day Weekend -- [Ramblings from a Painter - just back from Iraq]
Now it's the Memorial Day weekend. I observed it a few days ago, on the 25th. That's the anniversary of the date that two of my friends were killed in Fallujah by a roadside bomb. I had never had any friends lose their lives during my career in the Navy, so Memorial Day was a meaningful but not personal event. Now it's personal, and for me it will always be on May 25th...
Catching up with ... Hot Wheels -- [Matt Gallagher/Kerplunk]
One of the soldiers I'll be thinking of is Corporal Matt Wheeler - known as Hot Wheels in the Kaboom universe - a Gravedigger critically injured in a 2008 fire during our deployment to Iraq. Still at the Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC) in San Antonio, Texas, where he's preparing to receive his honorable discharge, Wheels was kind enough to answer some questions for the interwebz.
The last many readers heard from you, was June 2008, after you got hurt. Walk us through your recovery process since then - where have you been, who have you worked with, and how has the experience gone for you?
A Farewell to the Green Zone -- [Anthony Shadid/NY Times/At War]
Perhaps it is inevitable, the way momentous beginnings have small endings.
The destruction of the Salam Palace was big, wrecked by the Americans as they invaded in 2003 and established the Green Zone. With the yet-to-be-rebuilt palace as its backdrop, the ceremony Tuesday to mark the formal American withdrawal from the last checkpoints it helped staff in the zone was a subdued affair...
Drawdown in Iraq: The Lights Are Going Out -- [Eric Rudie/NY Times/At War]
There's an eerie silence settling over our Forward Operating Base. The generators are shutting down one by one, and every night there are fewer lights.
The hundreds of people that made the base a cozy, bustling, American outpost have left, taking their equipment with them, leaving only abandoned buildings. Our unit is the last out, manning the guard towers, defending a quiet shell. In a few days, we'll turn the lights out at our command post, our battalion commander will make a short speech and shake hands with an Iraqi general, and we'll get in our waiting trucks and drive away.
Until that time, we have the place to ourselves. Or we would, if it weren't for the imagined presences that haunt any place that was once alive, but is now deserted and quiet...
Remembering Iraq -- [Henry Brewster/NY Times/At War]
Reports from Baghdad after a coordinated attack by Al Qaeda on May 10 were grim. The bombing was the latest in a series of large-scale attacks by Sunni extremists that began last August after a long and uneasy period of relative peace in the capital. The news of this and the previous attacks held importance for me. For nearly a year, my men and I patrolled areas fewer than ten miles from where Iraqi emergency personnel sifted through the smoldering remains...
DOD Identifies Army Casualty -- [Defense News]
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Spc. Stanley J. Sokolowski, III, 26, of Ocean, N.J. died May 20 in Kirkuk, Iraq, in a non-combat related incident. He was assigned to Special Troops Battalion, 1st Brigade, 1st Armored Division, Fort Bliss, Texas.
DOD Identifies Army Casualty -- [Defense News]
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Staff Sgt. Amilcar H. Gonzalez, 26, of Miami, Fla., died May 21 in Ash Shura, Iraq, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit with small arms fire. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment, 2nd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga.
DOD Identifies Army Casualty -- [Defense News]
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Maj. Ronald W. Culver Jr., 44, of Shreveport, La., died May 24 in Numaniyah, Iraq, when insurgents attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 2nd Squadron, 108th Cavalry Regiment, Shreveport, La.
DOD Identifies Army Casualty -- [Defense News]
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Pfc. Alvaro R. Regalado Sessarego, 37, of Virginia Beach, Va., died May 30 at Brooke Army Medical Center, Fort Sam Houston, Texas, of injuries sustained April 18 from a non-combat related incident at Dahuk, Iraq. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 36th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, Fort Bliss, Texas.
NKorean Official Says War Possible at 'Any Moment' -- [NY Times]
A senior Pyongyang official has warned that the Korean peninsula could see ''all-out war'' as tensions mount from North Korea's believed sinking of a South Korean warship.
North Korea's deputy ambassador in Geneva, Ri Jang Gon, accuses Washington and Seoul of causing the crisis...
U.S. Commander Says Korea War Unlikely But Prepared -- [Reuters/NY Times]
Admiral Robert Willard, head of the U.S. Pacific Command, said there were no signs North Korea was preparing a nuclear test or moving troops toward the South, a major U.S. ally.
"Right now we're not seeing indications that North Korea is intending the next provocation," Willard told reporters in Singapore on the sidelines of a major security conference.
"The rhetoric from North Korea is not unusual..."
Canadian general sacked for hanky-panky within the rankys -- [Starbuck/Wings Over Iraq]
A few months ago, military blogger Michael Yon leveled a number of accusations against Canadian Brigadier General Daniel Bernard, the commander of Canadian (and a contingent of American) forces in Southern Afghanistan. Among them were accusations of an improper relationship with a subordinate soldier...
First woman picked to lead carrier air wing -- [Navy Times]
Cmdr. Sara Joyner, who was selected for promotion to captain, is the first women selected to head a Carrier Air Wing, according to Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead
Roughead made the announcement Thursday at the 23rd annual Women's Leadership Symposium in Washington.
Announcing my
latest project: -- [The Returned Warrior/Sgt Danger]
Three weeks ago, I left Afghanistan. I signed my DD214, flew home to Utah, walked into my living room, played with my kids, and then slept with my wife. I'm no longer SGT Danger. I'm Drew, Brother Dangerfield, and Daddy. Instead of escorting Afghan truckers or guarding plots of dirt, I've been eating at Del Taco, pulling weeds, visiting my shrink, and planning a family road trip. The transition to the 'real world' - all 22 days of it, so far - has been just fine.
But returning from a combat zone is not like waking up from a dream...
Goodbye Deployment Mode! -- [Semper Fi Wife/SpouseBuzz]
This morning as I was going through emails, my daily blog reads and facebook updates, the doorbell rang. Unexpectedly. And for a moment, my heart raced as I pictured a Marine in dress blues standing there.
Then I remembered. The Dark Prince was upstairs sleeping and NOT in Afghanistan.
I think, just as it takes us a little while to get into the mode, it takes time to get out of it...
Forscom Chief Retires After 40 years -- [Defense News/AFPS]
FORT McPHERSON, Ga. , June 3, 2010 - After 40 years of service dating back to the Vietnam War, Gen. Charles C. "Hondo" Campbell, commander of U.S. Army Forces Command, will relinquish his command and retire today during a ceremony here.
Campbell took over the Army's largest command Jan. 9, 2007, becoming Forscom's 17th commander. When he turns over command and steps into retirement, another chapter in the legacy of the Vietnam War comes to a close, because Campbell is the last continuously-serving general officer who saw action in Vietnam to leave active duty.
Veterans' job numbers improve in May -- [Rick Maze/Military Times]
The job market for veterans appears to be improving, with the veterans' unemployment rate falling to 7.8 percent in May, down from 9.1 percent in April.
Younger veterans -- those discharged since 2001 -- continue to have a higher unemployment rate that the national average...
I Hate to Love Blogging (and Love to Hate it) (and such) -- [Matt Gallagher/Kerplunk]
...I mean, Christ, I owe my entire writing career (whatever that means) to blogging and the benefits of reaching a mass audience instantaneously. Write quick, descriptive pieces, then move on to the next one when something happens worth telling. And that style worked for Kaboom, even in book form, because war is nothing else but a collection of insane episodes that shouldn't - and don't - fit together. Don't trust a combat memoir that flows too smoothly - fa rizzle.
But as I've taken up the keyboard again...
Change Step, March! -- [Red Bull Rising]
It's been a few years since Sherpa had to concern himself with spit-and-polish problems such as calling the cadence, drill and ceremony, and marching up and down the square. Still, in shifting my battle-blogging rhythm in preparation for field duty, I was reminded of a little trick from Army Field Manual 22-5 (now renamed FM 3-21.5).
The trick is the change-step...
LT Wompum Will No Longer Be Blogging -- [Sosostris/A Handful of Dust]
The title says it all. Rest assured he is fine and well and still serving in Afghanistan but unfortunately he has been told to stop blogging...
Meet LT Gorman -- [Sosostris/A Handful of Dust]
In an effort to replace LT Wompum who was forced to take a hiatus, we have recruited another Army infantry officer currently serving in Afghanistan to take his place...
Film Review: Restrepo -- [The Kitchen Dispatch]
The movie ended, but I couldn't move. Sebastian Junger and Tim Hetherington had just taken the mantle from Ken Burns as documentary makers extraordinaire with Restrepo. This war documentary is a gripping chronicle of the lives of a platoon through some of the heaviest fighting in the Korengal Valley, Afghanistan.
"You can't tame the beast," shouts the late PFC Juan Restrepo, the late Army medic for the 2/503 Battle Company, 173rd Airborne. He says this with the bravado one would expect of a twenty year old, early on in the filming. It's the beast within, which binds this platoon as they set to deploy to place described by CPT Dan Kearney as "where the road ends and the Taliban begins."...
Review: Restrepo -- [Red Bull Rising]
Our unit's public affairs officer wanted a couple of Joes' reactions to the film, to see whether they thought it a potentially useful pre-deployment learning tool for our Red Bull soldiers. We've got a good mix of experiences and specialties in the TOC, he knew, and certainly no shortage of opinions.
About 90 minutes later, even the combat veterans among us called the film "eye-opening."
Trending Positive -- [Afghan Quest - in Afghanistan]
A couple of commenters on the post "Trending Positive" deserve answers. I'm going to take them in logical instead of chronological order. So the first question is, "Is this (COIN) what we our troops should be doing?".
Yes. The why of it requires an answer that spans a number of subjects ranging from the purpose of having armed forces to the dangers of foreign national/regional instability in the era of globalization. We have, in part, created this very situation with our own might. By that I don't mean that our various "nefarious plots" are coming home to roost. I mean that we are too strong for others to take on toe-to-toe with any reasonable assurance of possible success.
Insurgents are not insurgents because they always aspired to be insurgents. They are insurgents out of weakness in the face of vastly superior physical strength...
CF-18 Hornet replacement update: Can Canada afford the F-35? (Can anyone?) -- [The Torch]
...Neither of those estimates seems to include in-service costs. But at $133 million--without those costs--65 for our Air Force would be some $8.7 billion (then there's the future exchange rate). That's already awfully close to our $9 billion which includes in-service costs.
Meanwhile others interested in the F-35 are having price problems...
Virginia will not let military use HOV lanes -- [AP/Military Times]
Virginia has lost its bid to exempt uniformed active-duty military members from high-occupancy vehicle lane restrictions in Hampton Roads.
The Federal Highway Administration rejected the state's request to allow military members traveling to and from a base or other facility to drive alone in HOV lanes.
The federal agency said specific criteria must be met before a vehicle transporting only a driver is allowed to travel in the HOV lanes.
Legislation passed earlier this year by the General Assembly had sought the exemption.
The Gulf War:
Send military to fight oil spill, Florida senator urges Obama -- [CNN]
Last week, Nelson told CNN that if the "top kill" operation to stem the oil leak did not work, the president must not only take more control, but use the military to do so. In the letter, Nelson urges the president to enlist the military to "augment the massive public and private response to the growing oil spill in the Gulf."
"While the Coast Guard, under the Department of Homeland Security, and the National Guard both are involved, it is my belief that the broader assets and command and control capability of the Department of Defense could better translate your directives into prompt, effective action," Nelson wrote...
Disaster in the Gulf of Mexico: Military Supports Federal Oil Spill Response -- [Special section/defense.gov]
Sen. candidate misstated Navy record -- [AP/Military Times]
CHICAGO -- Senate candidate Mark Kirk apologized Thursday for making inaccurate statements about his service in the Navy Reserves, while acknowledging more discrepancies.
"I apologize to everyone for these errors," the Illinois Republican said. "They were my responsibility entirely and I will fix them."
The five-time U.S. representative, who is competing with Democrat Alexi Giannoulias for the Senate seat once held by President Barack Obama, also acknowledged new incidents where public statements didn't match reality about his service.
Kirk said a letter sent by his congressional district office last year described him as a veteran of Operation Desert Storm, the first Persian Gulf war, but he did not participate in that operation.
Calif. congressman corrects info on Army stint -- [AP/Military Times]
The staff of Republican Rep. Gary Miller of California has taken steps to correct biographical information that misstated his military service.
Miller went through Army boot camp in 1967 and then was honorably discharged for health reasons in his seventh week of service because he had ulcers as a child, according to an Army document provided by Miller's office.
However, several publications over the years have reported that Miller served in the Army in 1967-68, the peak of the Vietnam War. The official House website contains the correct information, and Miller's own congressional website doesn't mention his Army stint.
The error in Miller's biography was first reported this week by Harper's Magazine...
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