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The Quality Of Troops
September 7, 2006
(AP Photo/Brennan Linsley, Pool)
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From a frequent reader of the webzine.
The quality of troops. For the most part, it seems to me like the troops are great; however, you know they have lowered the standards, and with that, I believe there are some trends.
For example, I believe there is a percentage that have, what I refer to as, the “street mentality”. I think the syndrome shows itself in several areas..ie. disrespect for life, authority, …sort of survival of the fittest concepts… at least that is what I gather from discussions with commanders, and some of the leaders.
They(low quality troops) are a drag on the unit because many of them are pushed out administratively... Because of the pressures of being politically correct many of those in leadership positions believe that is a real kick in the butt. The age of the Stockade for the most part is no more…meaning that commanders don't put soldiers in jail like they use too. They simply throw them out of the service.
Re: Read article about Low Quality Troop Steven Green: Psychobabbling Crime
Name withheld for obvious reasons.
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A Soldier's Sitrep II(Situation Report) From Iraq
September 6, 2006
(AP Photo/Samir Mizban)
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FROM A COMMANDER IN IRAQ.
This has been a good week for the Squadron. We made a lot of progress with the local population and they are starting to provide us information. This is really the only way we can get ahead of the game.
It seems counterintuitive that being nice to the population is key to winning, but once they trust us they start giving us information that leads to successful operations.
We've had several walkups this week that led to confiscation of lots of equipment and avoidance of roadside bombs. I hope we continue to get more tips as we go along. The biggest find came out of and adjacent to a mosque. Can't share all the specifics, but we've been watching this mosque for a while and knew they were up to no good. Finally worked the process to get permission to go in and we found a lot of weapons, explosives, and roadside bomb initiating devices. So much for being a house of worship for a religion of peace. The good news is that one mosque won't be causing problems for a while.
I met the "imam" (preacher) of this mosque at a community meeting and he was a very angry man...a wahabi sunni...the most extreme Islamist sect based out of Saudi Arabia. He wasn't at the mosque, but I bet he's really mad now!
Name withheld for obvious reasons.
Sitrep I from Commander Below
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A Soldier's Sitrep(Situation Report) From Iraq
August 29, 2006
(AFP/File/Mauricio Lima)
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FROM A COMMANDER IN IRAQ.
Can't give all the details, but we are doing our share of catching
terrorists. Not sure they were the ones you read about (probably not), but
we keep chipping away.
I must tell you when we catch one of these guys, I
know is bad and responsible for the death of multiple people, I feel a
strong desire to administer justice on the spot.
These guys are so evil, so
ruthless, and such cowards...they only attack the weak and innocent to make
a point or exert their own power. But in the face of stronger power, they
tend to cower in fear. It's easy for me to see how soldiers get to the
point of total disgust with their enemy.
Things are going pretty well operationally. We are having some successes,
although they tend to come after a lot of hard work.
Most of the time, I'm
as much a detective and police officer as an cavalryman. I'm always
bolstered by the feedback from the Iraqi people. They continue to express
great appreciation for us being here and recognize that we are the only
power in the area that attempts to be fair and impartial. They trust us
more than they trust their own government and law enforcement.
I had a
conversation with an Iraqi man that was so frustrated he said, "We should
kill everyone in the Iraqi government and start over! They are all so
corrupt and it hurts the people while they continue to get rich!" I can't
help but think that at the tactical level, this war is a lot like Vietnam.
I look forward to talking with you about that sometime.
Name withheld for his protection.
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(AFP/Gali Tibbon)
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Way to go Brits for spoiling this heinous murderous and cowardly plot to bring down airliners on the way to America resulting in the potential deaths of hundreds, maybe thousands.(re: British police claim to foil massive terrorist plot
I say again: we are not going to wake up one morning and the war on terrorism be over. It is not going to end. Just not going to happen!!!!!!
Someone said to me not long ago, "There have to be reasonable people in the Middle East." Of course, there are reasonable people, but the fanatical terrorists don't listen to them. Just think about the acts of terrorism since it became a way of life in the world.
Because of 9-11, terrorism has become reality for people living in the United States. In Europe, they have been dealing with terrorism for a long time. For the Brits, and until the somewhat recent past, terrorism was centered almost entirely on the conflict in Northern Ireland and this conflict was almost typically British gentleman terrorism. Innocent civilians were never targeted; and, most of the time, there was some hint of what was to come: "we are going to blow up such and such, everybody get out." Innocent civilians did occasionally die, but by accident most of the time.
The ever present terrorist cowardly acts target innocent civilians for a variety of reasons: revenge, hatred of Israel, punishment of infidels. The terrorist views basically follow misguided religious views. Who knows the real reasons for their acts? Present day terrorism is rooted in uneducated and fanatical Muslim extremists. Who can deny it?
So, what can we do?
(AFP/USMC/Graham A. Paulsgrove)
| Here are a few thoughts. Accept that terrorism is not going away. Prepare as best we can and then simply go on with our lives. After 9-11, we knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that it would change us forever, and consequently, all those connected to us.
The one group that terrorism was probably going to change more than any other were those of Middle Eastern heritage-Arabs who were Arab Americans, ex-pats from Iran, anybody in the country from the Middle East. Think about it, up until 9-11, the United States was about as open as it could be. Students from the Mideast flocked here for school, work, whatever. No more.
The suspicion attached to Arab Americans is real and it is not going to go away. When we get on a plane, walk the streets, take a cab, we might say that we don't look or get asked if we think we see people of "Middle Eastern" descent, but we lie. There are no easy answers, no answers. We have a pretty sorry history with our own suspicions and acts. We have done some terrible things to African Americans for which we still hang our heads; Japanese were sinking merchant ships off the California coast and we imprisoned innocent Japanese living in America. We were scared. Understandably, but we regret that we did it.
Terrorism is a situation that we are trying to figure out. We have not reduced terrorism by Iraq or Afghanistan and have probably increased it. So, again, what can we do?
The most recent potential act was planned by homegrown Brits with parents and relatives that immigrated from Pakistan. What do the Brits do about it? Are we to believe that parents, relatives, friends knew nothing about the plot? I doubt it.
(AFP/Patrick Baz)
| Here's a possible drastic solution and controversial one which probably will not fly. But, in a situation like we're in, to continue on with no new courses of action is not the answer either. I first got this idea from one of my heroes, Jack Bauer, from the TV show, 24. In one case, Jack caught the terrorist and needed him to give up the whereabouts of the bomb or whatever, but the terrorist refused. Jack finally created a scam where he made it appear that he was going to do harm to the terrorist's child and guess what? The terrorist gave it up. He was willing to die for his misguided cause, but was not willing for his family to suffer the same fate.
Well, we are not going to do a "Jack Bauer." However, we are confronted with an impossible world scenario. We know that the line for suicide bomber candidates is endless. With a look to martyrdom and scores of virgins, they are ready to claim the prize. Their own death or life for that matter, means nothing as compared to their ignorant belief. So, what do we do? We involve their families. We have to say to the terrorist, "when you do this or we catch you, your family is deported; citizenship is revoked, your family is on a plane to Pakistan tomorrow. And, you are the blame for this, but you have made the choice."
Are my ideas drastic? Are they feasible, Will they work? Well, who knows, but what we are doing now is not working, let's think outside the box.
As my bud, Kinky Friedman, running for the governor of Texas says," May the God of your choice bless and keep you." kt
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| Judge Don Stephenson Presents 101st Membership Card
 Judge Don Stephenson(pictured far right) presents the prestigious 101st Airborne Division Association membership card, appropriately numbered, 101, to the Don F. Pratt Museum at Fort Campbell Kentucky.
The card belonged to General William C. Lee, subject of the recently published biography,
General William C. Lee, Father of the American Airborne. The card was discovered in the personal papers of General Lee and was thought to exist but had been lost for years.
Thank you, Judge Stephenson, for all your effort in promoting General William C. Lee's legacy.
MG.(Major General) Lee truly built this Division (101st Airborne) from the ground up, and led it to the eve of Normandy when fate and a heart attack put him down. Having researched him extensively, I can truly say the success of the Division was not his successor's leadership but from the outstanding, sharp instrument that he was handed by MG Lee.
1SG John E. Foley,
Don F. Pratt Memorial Museum;
Fort Campbell, Kentucky
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Tributes To Fallen War Heroes |
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American Casualty Report in Iraq
Thanks to Keyvan Minoukadeh
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Commentary