Getting the Range

An image like the one below was necessary in longer range naval warfare:

As discussed here.

WHAT WOULD YOU SAY?

OMV Letters From Home....Support YOUR Marines!!

What would you say to a warrior deployed to Iraq if you could chat with him? You might say "Thanks for protecting us", or "We support you", if you were somewhere in passing. But what if you were sitting down, sharing your feelings over dinner? Then what would you say to him? Think about it, because you now have that opportunity.

Scam Alert

The lowest of the low:

Military families misled by Red Cross impostor

A scam using the American Red Cross brand is conning military families into believing that a loved one in the service has been injured overseas so that the perpetrators can steal personal data or ask for a donation to the charity.

The nonprofit's Office of Investigations, Compliance and Ethics says the caller contacts a spouse or another family member of a person in the military and identifies himself as a representative of the Red Cross. The caller then states that the service member has been injured while on duty in Iraq and is being, or will be, airlifted to Germany for treatment and care. The OICE warns that the caller may ask for additional information about the service member, such as date of birth or Social Security number.

In subsequent calls, the caller updates the family member and asks for a donation to the Red Cross to help cover the cost of the airlift and medical care.

The Red Cross warns that its representatives do not contact military members or military dependents when a service member has been injured or killed in action. Family members should know that the service member's command or the casualty assistance branch of the respective service contacts the primary next of kin when a service member has been injured or killed in action.

The Red Cross urged military families not to give out any personal information or money over the phone, or even confirm that a family member is deployed, if contacted by unknown or unverified individuals. Report any such calls to the local Family Readiness Group or Military Personnel Unit.

We're #1!!!!

...but I suspect that if we we're running the country instead of simply winning its wars our popularity would plummet. I mean, probably not as low as 12%, but a bit. So I'm keeping the plan for establishing the junta in the drawer. For now.

Kudos to the guys who came up with the mind-control satellite, though. That's obviously paying off in a big way.

Shocked, I am

..shocked, I tell you, to read this.

In fact, don't click. Don't read. Just scroll on. I shouldn't have even clicked "post." Don't know what I was thinking. Scroll on.

NY Times Sends Reporter to Iraq

I'm not sure what to make of this:

Campbell Robertson, the dogged Times journalist who has worked his way up from office clerk to gossip reporter to Broadway-beat man, is headed to Iraq.

“We were out last night and he was picking my brain on Iraq,” said Times Baghdad bureau chief Jim Glanz in a telephone interview on June 17. “He said that people have been asking him when he’s going to Iraq. And he said he’ll go once the Tonys are over!”

More from the Observer:

“Look, he’s an untraditional war correspondent the way a lot of us are,” said Mr. Glanz, who was a science writer before leaving for Baghdad four years ago. “He’s coming from a different background and point of view from everyone else there. And right now, we can use some fresh ideas and perspectives.”

Senior MilBlogger Candidate

Here:

I am thankful that I was protected during intense indirect fire starting Easter Sunday and several weeks following.

In Sadr City, the battle went from kinetic (shooting) to non-kinetic (reconstruction) over night as the Iraqi Army progressed through the City block by block. As each block went non-kinetic, Iraqi Army and Coalition Forces were right there with water, food, clothing, first aid and other humanitarian assistance. Next came the Amanat Baghdad (Public Works Department) repairing water and sewer pipes, restoring electricity and picking up trash. Now the markets are restored and commerce flourishing in Jamila Market. Not everything is perfect but normalcy is being restored.
<...>
This past week, I had the opportunity to visit and talk with a young soldier. He was recovering in the Combat Hospital adjacent to our compound. He was injured in the lower legs an attack. During our conversation he was grateful to be alive and was committed to the mission he was on. He was proud of the role his unit played to support the Iraqi Army and together, with the Iraqis in the lead, win the battle of Sadr City.

Via the Dawn Patrol, natch.

And More Change

Time:

Today's equivalent of Weinberger's Soviet Military Power booklet is titled simply Human Performance, and it was written by the JASONs, a band of top scientists that advises the Defense Department. Completed in March, it has surfaced thanks to Steven Aftergood, who issues a weekly compendium of interesting government documents for the nonprofit Federation of American Scientists. The report warns that potential foes — none is named, although there is a backwards nod to "East German Olympic athletes" — could put better troops on the battlefields of tomorrow through medication, surgery and mind training. While such changes are not imminent, the study says, the science behind them needs to be monitored carefully so the U.S. military can anticipate what it might face in a future war.

Of course, we at MilBlogs are fully aware of our own government's Secret Program For Gentically Modified Celtic/Native American Psychic Ultimate Warriors, and reconize this latest bit of "news"as an attempt to throw others off the trail...

More Change

James Taranto: "Back in the Vietnam era, patriots like John Kerry depicted American servicemen as baby killers. Now Kerry's heirs are depicting them as babies."

My own thoughts on the draft haven't changed since my first tour in Iraq.

After the Charge

Some thoughts here.

From Mike Yon

"I have left the United States and am heading back to the war."

He adds this postscript: "No Senators have taken me up on the offer to act as a tour guide in Iraq, but the offer stands."

At least two of them missed an even easier (and therefore less forgivable) opportunity just last week.

Stuff...

...I didn't know airplanes could do.

And here's another video.

Once Again

A Fathers Day song by Kat from the Castle.

June 14th, Flag Day

Happy Birthday Old Glory

A recent proclamation has been made for June 14th.

These proclamation are often made by Presidents but I had a funny thought, and I know this is old news but if Obama wins the Presidency, do you think he'll follow this or amend it?

And When will Google start showing some patriotism

More here

233 Years

HOOAH! to the men and women of the Army, Happy Birthday.

Con't here

Another day...

...another new twist on old stories.

USA Today:

Army wants to see officer cleared of charges back at work

A congressman on Monday protested the return to duty of an Army officer who was cleared more than two years ago of killing two Iraqi civilians, saying he deserves more from the military that falsely accused him.
U.S. Rep. Steven LaTourette, R-Ohio, wrote a letter to Defense Secretary Robert Gates to ask that 1st Lt. Erick Anderson's return-to-duty order be reconsidered.

"It is unconscionable that after all Anderson has been through — at the hands of the Army no less — that the Army thinks he should give it another go as if all is fine and all is forgiven," LaTourette wrote. "This young man lost almost two years of his life defending himself against scurrilous and false murder charges."
<...>
The officer must report to Fort Benning in Georgia on Aug. 3 and could be sent back to Iraq. Puckett said he will offer medical evidence that Anderson suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and should not serve again.

Anderson was a platoon leader in an infantry regiment in August 2004. Four men in the 36-member platoon were convicted of murdering unarmed Iraqis during operations near Sadr City.

On Dec. 5, 2005, the Army dropped murder charges against Anderson, who was accused of giving soldiers in his platoon permission to kill two Iraqi civilians. Anderson could have gotten life in prison if convicted.

Fathers Day

Proposed "new" conventional wisdom: "In all this, we should be clear on one thing: Even if the optimistic scenarios prevail, this war was a mistake from beginning to end."

Before I went off to Iraq last year as part of the surge I was told that it had failed. While there I learned that few Americans cared what General Petraeus had to report from Iraq. On top of that, now that I'm back I discover that it wasn't worth it.

Happy Fathers Day.

Change you can believe in or not

Some of you may have noticed my ongoing Genesis series over at Mudville - a look back at four years of efforts to enlist the support of the residents of Anbar (to include organized insurgent groups once hostile to our cause) in the battle with al Qaeda - and the development of the strategy behind the surge. That history is obviously pertinent to the current political argument (albeit completely uninteresting to most folks involved in that argument) of whether just one or both of those developments is significant to the current level of violence/recent successes in Iraq. More on that in the continue reading section. Here I just want to highlight this side issue/talking point from a June, 2005 interview (the main focus of which was the revelation of ongoing negotiations with Anbar Sunnis) with Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld:

FOX NEWS SUNDAY' HOST CHRIS WALLACE: We had Secretary Rice on last week, and she tried to make the same argument I think that you are, sir, that while the political progress -- and there's no question there's been political progress. There's been an election, there's been the forming of a government, the forming of a constitutional committee.

But while all that's going on, the insurgency...

RUMSFELD: There's still violence.

WALLACE: ... seems to actually be on the increase.

Well, the purpose of the surge was to provide a secure space, a time for the political change to occur to accomplish the reconciliation. That didn’t happen. Whatever the military success, and progress that may have been made, the surge didn’t accomplish its goal.

Lately there's been both reduced violence and political progress - and the "credit the Iranians" argument has been tried - thus far to zero traction. But if all else fails and Iraq becomes peaceful and prosperous (or even just continues down that road this summer) a new consensus is waiting in the wings: "In all this, we should be clear on one thing: Even if the optimistic scenarios prevail, this war was a mistake from beginning to end."

So neener neener neener once again.

YOU DESERVE BETTER!

Where are the reporters now? Is it blood and guts they want to see? Iraq is a brutal country. But perhaps we need to inform reporters and “News” stations that “its’ not about gore, its about progress and success. How come we don’t have embedded reporters here now in Iraq? Has anyone else noticed their absence? Where are the “Special Reports” on Iraq during prime time TV? Are our service members lives any less important now compared to when the embeds were here? Does the news agency think this is a less important time in Iraq or for that matter in Afghanistan? The actions of the news station says yes. Sex and gore sell, US service members winning, kids getting fed and democracy doesn’t.

The Sheik's Three Wishes

...and the third wish was the most unlikely of them all...

So, how was your morning.

Mine was slightly odd.

Tea Leaves?

LA Times:

Gen. Norton A. Schwartz has a background in transportation and cargo flights. His nomination is seen as a message that the Air Force must focus on ground war needs.

He participated as a crewmember in the 1975 airlift evacuation of Saigon, and in 1991 served as Chief of Staff of the Joint Special Operations Task Force for Northern Iraq in operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. In 1997, he led the Joint Task Force that prepared for the noncombatant evacuation of U.S. citizens in Cambodia.

But somehow quotes from Barack Obama's Minister of Defence have made it in to just about every news story on the topic:

Tony McPeak, the retired general who was Air Force chief of staff during the first Gulf War in the early 1990s, said in a telephone interview Monday that he welcomed the selections of Schwartz and Donley.

To the Fallen - SA Tommy Stanley

To the Fallen Records has brought us a number of talented service member, including my friend Cliff Hudson.

Now To the Fallen artist Seaman Apprectice Tommy Stanley has made it to the final 12 on Nashville Star

Check out the show and make sure you vote for Tommy Stanley.

To vote for Seaman Stanley call 1-866-978-2702.

Murtha for SECDEF; he'll do it.

Check out #4 on the "Turn the Page in Iraq." One hopes for a hoax, but methinks not.

A Weekend Read

This has been linked here and there around the milblogosphere already, but if you haven't read Col H.R. McMaster's comments at AEI yet, you can now.

Daniel's Big Trip

Meet Daniel. He's a retired Army Capt. wounded in Afghanistan (lost his arm from the elbow down). He is driving across the country with his dog Rockstar, to meet the people that supported him while he was deployed (camping or sleeping in his truck when he has to). He's funding his trip w/donations through his blog.

He has some great travel stories had some tales of torment along the way with his truck named The Pinto Bean (ya think it's name means it's a gas producer? Not by the looks of it) For all the misadventures Dan has kept a lighthearted attitude. His post are quite entertaining and an adventure you must follow.

He currently is in Reading, Pennsylvania now working his way to Maine. If Dan is in your area, offer him a place to stay or a hot meal and throw his dog a bone. Or hit his paypal button. He definitely deserves our support.

HT: Chuck Z

Re: Start

Ahhh, so much I could say, but so little time.

It's almost sad to think I might not get much more use out of this:

Wired has a good review here.

There were many factors, many potential straws that broke etc. but I think this was the ongoing irritant. (Or maybe this, he said jokingly).

The shot across the bow was fired weeks ago.

But now that I think about it, perhaps with that potential "USAF-friendly" SECDEF in the wings I'll get a bit more mileage from that image after all...

For all but the resolutely sightless, it is now obvious that air combat determines the outcome in modern war. In the early hours of March 20, the salvo aimed at [Saddam Hussein] himself was preceded by nearly a month of air attacks in and around Baghdad -- to say nothing of a decade or so of bombing in connection with enforcing the no-fly zones.
<...>
Because of this aerial preparation, Iraq's air defenses stayed mostly silent and our aircraft were able to begin reducing opposing ground forces immediately. Army and Marine Corps formations, judged by "experts" to be much too small for the job, captured Baghdad in just 22 days, and with comparatively light casualties. Not only did coalition air power systematically disorganize Iraq's ground forces, it did so at small cost.

Update: Here's the New York Times coverage of USAF incompetence that led to the firings. And we already know the official USAF position on the New York Times:

"Basically," said Maj. Henry Schott of the command’s plans and requirements section, "if it’s a place like The New York Times, an established, reputable media outlet, then it’s fairly cut and dry that that’s a good source, an authorized source."

A good start

Strong medicine, well needed. I hope those involved with Navy shipbuilding follow.

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. T. Michael Moseley and Secretary Michael W. Wynne were forced to resign Thursday during hastily arranged meetings with their Pentagon bosses.

Moseley was summoned to an early morning meeting with Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to discuss a report on the Air Force’s problems handling nuclear weapons. The report, by Navy Adm. Kirkland Donald, director of naval nuclear propulsion, convinced Defense Secretary Robert Gates that senior officials should be held accountable.

Moseley resigned in response.

More Huge News

MARINE ACQUITTED IN HADITHA CASE

CAMP PENDLETON, California (AP) -- A military jury acquitted a Marine intelligence officer Wednesday of charges that he tried to help cover up the killings of 24 Iraqis, including women and children.

Cheers erupted as the seven-officer panel cleared 1st Lt. Andrew Grayson, who was the first of three Marines to be tried in the biggest U.S. criminal case involving Iraqi deaths linked to the war.

The judge, Maj. Brian E. Kasprzyk, admonished those in court, telling them: "There will be no more of that."

The verdict came five hours after deliberations began.

Grayson, who maintained he did nothing wrong, was not at the scene of the killings on November 19, 2005, in Haditha, Iraq. He was accused of telling a sergeant to delete photographs of the dead from a digital camera and laptop computer.

Grayson was acquitted of two counts of making false official statements, two counts of trying to fraudulently separate from service, and one count of attempt to deceive by making false statements.

Huge news, Right?

Phillips: [Esquire magazine writer] Tom Barnett made it appear that you were the only man standing between the president and a war with Iran. Is that true?

Fallon: I don't believe for a second President Bush wants a war with Iran.

This will certainly big big news, I'm sure. And it will undoubtedly put a stop to any future references to that Esquire story (and the subsequent Fallon was forced out coverage) as factual.

Transition

The surge in pictures.

Yup

Sad.

Time to go hunting- for wascally pirates

Time to dust off the hunting boots.

The UN and the putative government of Somalia say it's Open Season on Somali Pirates

And, as set out here - if you can catch them between the colored lines, there's no bag limit.

Good hunting.

Comments & Thoughts

Comments and thoughts from www.OneMarinesview.com
• "Eighteen American soldiers died in May, the lowest total of the war and an 86 percent drop from the 126 who died in May 2007."
• It will be an interesting campaign if the Dems continue to pull the get out of Iraq because we are losing schpeel - - just wonder if any journalist will have the guts to say, "Um, excuse me, last we checked, we're winning."
• The surge didn’t work in Iraq…………….no really, they said that, or should I say continue to say that.

Games We Play

Perhaps your introduction to naval tactics was something like this:

Or maybe it had red and white pegs. Or was electronic.

Still the same game, though, no matter how it is dressed up.

As set out here.

From Maj Pain In Iraq

Missions are going very well for us. We have detained several bad guys and corresponded warrants for them. The weather has been hot, then full of sand as the movie like sandstorms roll into our area. As we conduct our partnered American and Iraqi missions, we compliment one another as they can notice things we cant and we can bring a hell storm to the scene in a blink of an eye. I know you arnt hearing anything about how well the Iraqi’s are doing but they are doing great things, every day. They are listening to us, learning and when we see them make several small strides we know we are on the right path. Some working for free, only to make a difference. They are making a difference!

Springtime for Nouri

The Washington Post:

THERE'S BEEN a relative lull in news coverage and debate about Iraq in recent weeks -- which is odd, because May could turn out to have been one of the most important months of the war. While Washington's attention has been fixed elsewhere, military analysts have watched with astonishment as the Iraqi government and army have gained control for the first time of the port city of Basra and the sprawling Baghdad neighborhood of Sadr City, routing the Shiite militias that have ruled them for years and sending key militants scurrying to Iran. At the same time, Iraqi and U.S. forces have pushed forward with a long-promised offensive in Mosul, the last urban refuge of al-Qaeda. So many of its leaders have now been captured or killed that U.S. Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker, renowned for his cautious assessments, said that the terrorists have "never been closer to defeat than they are now."

Iraq passed a turning point last fall when the U.S. counterinsurgency campaign launched in early 2007 produced a dramatic drop in violence and quelled the incipient sectarian war between Sunnis and Shiites. Now, another tipping point may be near, one that sees the Iraqi government and army restoring order in almost all of the country, dispersing both rival militias and the Iranian-trained "special groups" that have used them as cover to wage war against Americans.

Here's how I said it last October:

We've won the war.

Lt. Gen. Odierno is absolutely right to note: "it only takes three people" to construct and detonate a suicide car bomb that can "kill thousands". And John Kerry was wrong when claiming (in an effort to undermine homefront morale in another war) that no one wants to be the last man to die for a mistake. In fact, al Qaeda will always have someone eager to prove him wrong.

Yes, they could pull off a "Tet". Hell, they could manage something like their own version of the battle of the bulge, but the reality is they're whipped.

They brought ass, we kicked it.

If Barack Obama (per WaPo urging) and Hillary Clinton could rapidly re-work their withdrawal policy the last hope for terrorist victory in Iraq would be crushed. Not sure Obama is positioned to do that any time soon though - his withdrawal from his "church" might be all the "change" he can afford this week.

But we can surely "hope".

Nan's Kampf

Ooops:

Ms. Pelosi: What I hope we don’t hear from General Petraeus next week is any glorification of what has just happened in Basra and a presentation that says that the Iraqi forces went in there, did the job, violence is diminished, mission accomplished, because the fact is there are many questions that arise in relationship to Basra.

...they [Iraqi troops] weren’t winning this engagement on their own. It wasn’t until the U.S. came in to help that the resolution came about.

Whatever the military success, and progress that may have been made, the surge didn’t accomplish its goal. And some of the success of the surge is that the goodwill of the Iranians-they decided in Basra when the fighting would end, they negotiated that cessation of hostilities-the Iranians.

See also here and the posts immediately below.

Re: Maysan

...which is actually the topic of another post at Major John's.

There's an excellent document titled "The Calm before the Storm: The British Experience in Southern Iraq" available here. It's from February, 2007, but while not "current" it's a great backgrounder.

I'd also recommend the article Forgotten Iraq - The War in Maysan Province.

Maysan promises to be a tough nut to crack. Should Maliki turn his focus in that direction I predict another round of "failure" stories coupled with examination of how Iran is benefiting tremendously from the effort. That story cycle might run a bit longer than the Basra news.

By the way, loved this picture:

I've used the "money quote" reference here before, but that picture is worth a thousand words.

All done!

Why I fight - in pictures

Don't waste any anger on the downbeat tone of the writing, but instead - give credit to the WaPo for letting the world see these images. They tell, in better elequence than a hundred blog posts of my writing, of why I am here helping the Iraqi Army .