Anthony Hopkins to Play Odin in Thor! - Superhero Hype!

Anthony Hopkins to Play Odin in Thor! - Superhero Hype!: "Anthony Hopkins has been cast as Norse god Odin in Marvel Studios' Thor, to be directed by Kenneth Branagh starting January."

Morale: Commuting To War Backfires

Morale: Commuting To War Backfires: "The U.S. Air Force is having some unique morale problems with their UAV operators. It all has to do with the fact that these pilots are going off to war, and returning home to their families each night. In the past, pilots said goodbye to their families, went off to a combat zone, and lived with combat full time. But now, it’s been discovered that the stresses of combat and family life do not mix well at all."

Attrition: Rich Kids At War

Attrition: Rich Kids At War: "At the same time, the old, Vietnam era, myth that only the poor and uneducated joined, persisted, even though it was never true. Even when the draft was in effect, the military only accepted the above average kids. This was even more true as time went by. Thus even the recruits from the poorest families, tended to be healthier, and better educated (had graduated from high school and done well on the standardized test all recruits take) than all of their peers (of the same age and gender). But now, kids from the wealthiest families are edging out those from the poorest ones, when it comes to getting into the military. In the last decade, the recruits from the poorest families has gone from about 20 percent, to about ten percent. Meanwhile, those from the top 20 percent of families (in terms of income) has gone from under 20 percent, to about 25 percent."

Mexico: Total War Succeeds

Mexico: Total War Succeeds: "Mexico continues to improve its federal police forces, with the FBI as its model. The government has concluded that training and education key to improvement and for the past year the federal police have made an effort to recruit college graduates. Increasing pay (to deter the allure of bribes) is another reform. Improving the federal police, according to government leaders, will have a “trickle down effect” on state and local police – at least that's the idea. The program is another example of President Calderon's “systemic war” (also called systemic reform) to modernize Mexico."

Afghanistan: Things Don't Look Very Good At All

Afghanistan: Things Don't Look Very Good At All: "Casualties for foreign troops this month have been hitting record highs (nearly 70) and the annual totals are headed for 450. This is still lower than the Iraq peak of nearly 700 killed per 100,000 troops per year. The Afghan loss rates are also less than a third of those experienced in World War II or Vietnam. Even with the many impressive explosions, the Taliban and drug gang gunmen cannot hurt the foreign troops in a militarily successful way. For example, the Russians, during their 1979-89 war, had far fewer Afghan allies, and suffered a casualty rate three times what the NATO and U.S. troops are enduring now. While the Russians had most of the population against them, the U.S. has most of Afghan aiding them (against the few Pushtuns who want to restore Taliban rule, and the establishment of a narco-state that will fund itself with heroin sales.) Russia never had a realistic expectation of defeating the rebellious (against Afghan communists trying to run the country) tribes. The U.S. does, because most of the tribes are opposed to the Taliban and the drug gangs. But religious fanaticism and drug money are powerful weapons, especially since the Taliban and drug lords are fighting for their very existence."

Attrition: Marines Looking Out For Marines

Attrition: Marines Looking Out For Marines: "Many countries have their armies operate like the marines, with the army owning and controlling the jets that specialize in ground support. Air force generals believe it's more important to save money by having the air force control everything that flies. Economies of scale and all that. But the troops on the ground die to make those economies of scale possible, and it's a problem that the senior generals, by mutual agreement (to not start a fight that will hurt everyone in the bureaucracy) avoid confronting."

Murphy's Law: The F-22 Overwhelms

Murphy's Law: The F-22 Overwhelms: "Meanwhile, the new F-35, is built to allow for more efficient maintenance techniques. This includes components that are easier to get to, and greater use of computerized diagnostics, just like most automobiles in the last decade. All this reduces the number of man hours required per flight hour. That means fewer people to send overseas, and maintain (at great expense) in the combat zone. With all this, the maintenance required per hour of flight is now getting down to five. In the 1950s is was 30-40 hours, although that was about cut in half by the 1970s. The F-16 requires about 19 hours of maintenance per flight hour, and the F-22 will be under ten hours. This proved not to be the case, because the F-22 used a lot of exotic technologies for which there was no maintenance track record."

Valour-IT 2009

UPDATE:  Valour-IT began Monday.  This is a great opportunity to support woulded troops.  The project purchases and donates specially equipped laptops to wounded troops that are not able to use a regularly configured computer.  As has become traditional, we compete for donations along service lines.  Please support Valour-IT.  Support Team Army while you're at it.

Army is edging the Marines, but only just.  At !2:53 CST, we're ahead by $5!

 

KMBZ - Amendment Would Let Kansas Opt Out of Potential Health Reforms

KMBZ - Amendment Would Let Kansas Opt Out of Potential Health Reforms: "Kansas Senator Mary Pilcher-Cook of Shawnee, along with colleagues in the Kansas House from Wichita and Emporia, is planning an attempt to amend the Kansas Constitution, should Congress pass health reforms that mandate everyone carry health insurance. The amendment would allow the state to basically opt-out of such legislation. Cook tells KMBZ it would need the support of two-thirds of lawmakers, and then a thumbs up from the Kansas people on the 2010 ballot."

Leadership: Strangers No More

Leadership: Strangers No More: "The IA (Individual Augmentee) work involves six, or, more usually, twelve month assignments. Most of the IAs possess skills similar to those performed by soldiers. The IAs get 17 days of training at an army base, to familiarize them with army procedures, weapons, and the specific dangers they will encounter. Most of the IAs never get out into combat, but concentrate on support tasks in well protected bases. This ranges from maintenance to handling logistics. Many navy and air force EOD (Explosives Ordnance Disposal) technicians serve in the danger zones, taking care of roadside bombs, and other dangerous devices. But mostly, the IAs free up army personnel for things like base security. The IAs also help army morale, as they make it possible to not send key technical people overseas so much. Most IAs volunteer because they want to get involved. As the old saying goes, 'it's the only war we've got,' and this one does not involve a lot of work for the navy and air force."

Attrition: Winning The Mind Games

Attrition: Winning The Mind Games: "In Afghanistan, about two-thirds of those roadside bombs were spotted and disabled before they could go off. The U.S. and British troops had transferred their Iraq counter-IED (Improvised Explosive Device, or roadside bomb) techniques and technology to Afghanistan. Meanwhile, the Taliban found that they were not as good at this IED stuff as the Sunni Arab terrorists in Iraq were. In 2005, when there were far fewer IED/suicide bomber attacks, 130 foreign troops were killed in Afghanistan. The foreign troops are the principal Taliban target, as it's a big deal for the Taliban to 'cast out the infidels (non-Moslems).' Failure has been constant. Increasing the IED attacks this year by about twelve times the 2005 level has yielded 250 dead foreign troops."

Information Warfare: China Will Outsmart You

Information Warfare: China Will Outsmart You: "China plans to disrupt the American military, not destroy it. China takes for granted that they will be on the defensive, and forced to deal mainly with American air and naval forces. Methods discussed include attacks via the Internet (hacking and such) and electronic warfare (jamming and deceptions). China has been very active in controlling its domestic Internet users, and an increasing number of hacker attacks on U.S. military targets are being traced back to China. There, the government denies everything. Yet their professional journals talk about all the opportunities in this area. There are similar discussions of electronic warfare opportunities. In addition, the professional journals are full of exhortations to develop insights into the details of how the American armed forces operates, and adapt Chinese tactics to take care of any U.S. weaknesses."

Why the vote in Afghanistan is a waste of time - The Globe and Mail

Why the vote in Afghanistan is a waste of time - The Globe and Mail: "Why have you declined?
I would say in Iraq, the main reason I did decline was the elections were being held prematurely. In addition, I was not comfortable with the safety and security in the country at the time. In Afghanistan, obviously the safety and security question arises, but much more, I just feel that, to put it bluntly, it's a waste of time at this point by focusing on elections when the country is not ready and not capable of democratic government.
Can you elaborate on that?
My problem is, from what little I know of Afghanistan,"

And right there is where the interview should have ended for lack of all credibility.

Conservatives Maintain Edge as Top Ideological Group

Conservatives Maintain Edge as Top Ideological Group: "Conservatives continue to outnumber moderates and liberals in the American populace in 2009, confirming a finding that Gallup first noted in June. Forty percent of Americans describe their political views as conservative, 36% as moderate, and 20% as liberal. This marks a shift from 2005 through 2008, when moderates were tied with conservatives as the most prevalent group."

Dollar Touches 14-Month Low as Recovery Signs Spur Risk Demand - Bloomberg.com

Dollar Touches 14-Month Low as Recovery Signs Spur Risk Demand - Bloomberg.com: "The dollar reached a 14-month low versus the euro as stocks advanced around the world on confidence that the global economy is recovering, increasing demand for higher-yielding assets."

My Way News - FACT CHECK: Health insurer profits not so fat

My Way News - FACT CHECK: Health insurer profits not so fat: "Quick quiz: What do these enterprises have in common? Farm and construction machinery, Tupperware, the railroads, Hershey sweets, Yum food brands and Yahoo? Answer: They're all more profitable than the health insurance industry. In the health care debate, Democrats and their allies have gone after insurance companies as rapacious profiteers making 'immoral' and 'obscene' returns while 'the bodies pile up.'"

U.S. troops hope Afghanistan sacrifices not in vain - Washington Times

U.S. troops hope Afghanistan sacrifices not in vain - Washington Times: "While the Obama administration debates whether to send tens of thousands more U.S. troops to Afghanistan and Afghans prepare to vote for president for the second time in four months, some of those already braving rockets and bombs worry that their mission has lost the support of the U.S. public and that their sacrifices - and those of their fallen comrades - have been in vain.
'What about the troops who died giving their lives for this mission?' Sgt. Coble asked as she waited for the rocket alert to finish."

POLITICO CLICK: President Obama ties George W. Bush on golf - Patrick Gavin

POLITICO CLICK: President Obama ties George W. Bush on golf - Patrick Gavin: "President Barack Obama has only been in office for just over nine months, but he's already hit the links as much as President Bush did in over two years.
CBS' Mark Knoller — an unofficial documentarian and statistician of all things White House-related — wrote on his Twitter feed that, 'Today - Obama ties Pres. Bush in the number of rounds of golf played in office: 24.
Took Bush 2 yrs & 10 months.'"

Air Transportation: Ospreys Over Afghanistan

Air Transportation: Ospreys Over Afghanistan: "For the first time. a U.S. Marine Corps MV-22 Ospreys tilt-rotor squadron (10-12 aircraft) will arrive in Afghanistan by the end of the year. Three of these squadrons have already served in Iraq (one after another.) Earlier this year, the first MV-22 squadron was based on an amphibious ship. VMM-263 is shipping out, with ten MV-22s, on the 41,000 ton LHD USS Bataan."

Information Warfare: What Was Going On With The Media

Information Warfare: What Was Going On With The Media: "As with Iraq, the troops in Afghanistan (no matter what country they are from) know, from their own experience, that their service there matters. Many of their countrymen back home do not, and the media does little to change this opinion. The main reason given by the media is that the soldiers just don't understand what they are experiencing, and fail to see the 'big picture.'"

Japanese firms to develop small nuclear reactors

Japanese firms to develop small nuclear reactors: "Toshiba Corp. is developing an ultra-compact reactor with an output of about 10,000 kilowatts and has started procedures for approval in the United States, the Nikkei business daily said."

Winning: Operation War Criminal

Winning: Operation War Criminal: "Since their victory plan failed, Hamas fell back on their Plan B ('Operation War Criminal.') The Palestinians cranked up the spin machine, and accused the Israelis of war crimes and genocide. Israel responded with a media campaign featuring aerial videos of Hamas fighters setting up mortars and rockets next to schools and residential neighborhoods. This didn't stop the usual alliance of leftists, anti-Semites and Islamic radicals from calling Israel names. While the mud didn't stick nearly as much as in the past, the UN sided with Hamas. The Israeli campaign was seeking to humiliate and discredit Hamas, as much as it was to destroy military and government assets. But that was seen by many as a use of excessive force. Thus the Hamas propaganda efforts did enable allies in the UN to conduct a biased war crimes investigation of the conflict which, to no ones surprise, concluded that Israel had committed war crimes. But this was a hollow victory, because Hamas was, in reality, the big loser."

A Tale of the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Senate Judiciary Chairman, Both of the United States, and the United States Constitution: Sworn to Protect and Uphold. [JHoward]

A Tale of the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Senate Judiciary Chairman, Both of the United States, and the United States Constitution: Sworn to Protect and Uphold. [JHoward]:

"In two acts."

Leadership: Nothing Is Safe Anymore

Leadership: Nothing Is Safe Anymore: "During the Cold War, such cancellations were rare. The conventional wisdom was that, once a new project got a 'budget line,' cancellation was pretty much impossible. Meanwhile, the 96 largest military procurement projects in the United States total $1.6 trillion in development and manufacturing costs. Each year, the U.S. government calculates how much these projects have gone over their original budget. Last year, the 96 projects were 35 percent over their original budgets. The year before (2007), it was 26 percent. Currently, procurement of weapons and major equipment make up about 36 percent of the defense budget. There will be more cancellations."

Forces: Why The Afghan Army Can't Grow

Forces: Why The Afghan Army Can't Grow: "The training center NATO has set up is reorganizing so that it can up the number of soldiers trained from 4,000 a month, to 5,000. This is being done by condensing the training and cutting the course length from 10 to 8 weeks for enlisted troops, and 25 to 20 weeks for officers. But there is a persistent shortage of foreign trainers. There should be about 8,000, but there are only about half that many. The shortages are made up by using (often inexperienced) Afghans, which lowers the quality of the training."

Air Defense: More THAAD

Air Defense: More THAAD: "Three years ago, there was a successful test of THAAD (a SCUD type target was destroyed in flight) using a crew of soldiers for the first time, and not manufacturer technicians, to operate the system. Each THAAD battery has 24 missiles, three launchers and a fire control communications system. This includes an X-Band radar. The gear for each battery costs $310 million. The 18 foot long THAAD missiles weigh 1,400 pounds. This is about the same size as the Patriot anti-aircraft missile, but twice the weight of the anti-missile version of the Patriot."

Procurement: Yet Still More Stryker

Procurement: Yet Still More Stryker: "The protection on the Strykers has been up to the job, but the troops, and hostile Iraqis, have also noted that the Strykers were faster, and quieter, than other armored vehicles. This turns out to be a battlefield advantage, something American troops had forgotten about. The last large scale use of wheeled armored vehicles by American troops was in World War II. Some of the details of how those vehicles could be used had apparently been forgotten. A wheeled armored vehicle can more quickly move out of an ambush, or any other kind of trouble. Wheeled armored vehicles also make a lot less noise. The track laying system is inherently noisy, wheels are not. Strykers can sneak up on the bad guys, an M-2 Bradley or M-1 tank cannot."

Afghanistan: Fighting The Wrong War

Afghanistan: Fighting The Wrong War: "The lower level of foreign troop casualties in Afghanistan is largely due to the lower skill levels among terrorist leaders. Despite much money and effort, the roadside bomb campaign in Afghanistan is not nearly as lethal as the one in Iraq was. The Taliban apparently misread the experience with roadside bombs in Iraq (where they failed to dislodge the foreign troops), and persist in their belief that every bomb casualty weakens the resolve of the foreign governments, and will eventually lead to the withdrawal of the foreign troops. You'd get this impression by paying attention to the foreign media. But in the long run, those foreign governments have a more troublesome problem with Afghanistan, and that's the growing quantity of heroin coming out of there. This is causing more and more grief in the West. Leaving Afghanistan alone means doing nothing about the heroin supply, and this will eventually become politically unacceptable. Most Western politicians are aware of this, even if the media that reports on them is not (or, at least, is not admitting it yet.)"

Army to Field New Plate-Carrier Vest

Army to Field New Plate-Carrier Vest: "The vest will carry standard hard armor plates for vital ballistic protection, but cover less of the Soldier's body than the Interceptor Body Armor system. The Army chose this solution concept, officials said, because the technology does not yet exist to make the hard and soft armor components more lightweight."
"We have listened to Soldiers, and we understand that in certain operational environments such as the mountains of Afghanistan, mobility is key to Soldiers' effectiveness against the enemy," said Brig. Gen. Peter Fuller, Program Executive Officer Soldier.
"It's a lot to ask for Soldiers to conduct missions in hilly, rocky terrain at high altitudes, wearing the full complement of body armor," Fuller said. "The plate carrier will give the commanders of those units a more lightweight alternative for their Soldiers."
The full-up plate carrier (including front and side hard armor plates) represents a weight reduction of 10 to 15 pounds compared with the full-up Improved Outer Tactical Vest with front and side hard armor plates.

Stimulus II: For Vets, Disabled and Elderly

Who's going to vote against this? Just a cynic like me?

Vets May Get Another Stimulus Check: "Millions of veterans could get another $250 stimulus check next year if President Barack Obama can convince lawmakers that the move is needed to help the economy.
The plan would follow the economic recovery checks sent out this spring to senior citizens, disabled workers and some veterans as part of the broader stimulus package."

Support: It's Only A Useful Illusion

Support: It's Only A Useful Illusion: "After September 11, 2001, the army got a lot more money for this sort of thing. After the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the video game technology enabled the army to quickly develop training simulations to help troops learn how to deal with roadside bombs and all manner of new dangers they encountered while fighting against al Qaeda and Iraqi Sunni terrorists. The army went onto develop realistic video game type simulations to aid recruiting ('America's Army') and infantry combat."

Infantry: A Parachute Fit For Big Guys

Infantry: A Parachute Fit For Big Guys: "U.S. Army has ordered 45,000 radically new parachutes. The T-11 ATPS (Advanced Tactical Parachute System) is replacing its half century old T-10 parachute. The new and improved model is urgently needed because, in the last half century, paratroopers, and their equipment, have gotten heavier. The current T-10 was designed to handle a maximum weight of 300 pounds (a paratrooper and his equipment.) In practice, the average weight is now closer to 400 pounds. This meant that the troops were hitting the ground faster and harder using the T-10, resulting in more injuries. Since World War II, the average injury rate for mass parachute drops has been 1.5 percent, but all that extra muscle and gear has pushed it to over two percent."

Dems seek cover to boost debt limit - Manu Raju - POLITICO.com

Dems seek cover to boost debt limit - Manu Raju - POLITICO.com: "The Senate must soon increase the national debt limit to above $13 trillion — and Democrats are looking for political cover.
Knowing they will face unyielding GOP attacks for voting to increase the eye-popping debt, Democrats are considering attaching a debt increase provision to a must-pass bill, possibly the Defense Department spending bill, according to Democratic and Republican sources.
Adding it to the defense bill would allow Democrats to argue that they voted for the measure to help troops in harm’s way — and downplay that their vote also expanded the limit for how much money the country can borrow."

The Associated Press: Romer: Impact of stimulus will level off

The Associated Press: Romer: Impact of stimulus will level off: "A top White House economist says spending from the $787 billion economic stimulus has already had its biggest impact on economic growth and will likely not contribute to significant expansion next year."

Rahm Emmanuel is a Liar

Recently on CNN's State of the Union with John King, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emmanuel had this to say:  (Lies in Bold, my emphasis and judgment)

You have literally got into a situation, is there another way you can do this? And the president is asking the questions that have never been asked on the civilian side, the political side, the military side, and the strategic side. What is the impact on the region? What can the Afghan government do or not do? Where are we on the police training? Who would be better doing the police training? Could that be something the Europeans do? Should we take the military side? Those are the questions that have not been asked. And before you commit troops, which is -- not irreversible, but puts you down a certain path -- before you make that decision, there's a set of questions that have to have answers that have never been asked. And it's clear after eight years of war, that's basically starting from the beginning, and those questions never got asked. And what I find interesting and just intriguing from this debate in Washington, is that a lot of people who all of a sudden say, this is now the epicenter of the war on terror, you must do this now, immediately approve what the general said -- where, before, it never even got on the radar screen for them. That -- everything was always about Iraq.

 I was deployed, twice, to Afghanistan, and specifically for the Afghan National Army training mission.  That mission has been going on since the first Special Forces units arrived in country.  You can't run a training mission without answering those questions. 

An interesting thing to point out is that te answers to to those questions have sometimes changed over time.  It's always been a multi-national effort.  When I was there in 2003-04, the NCO academy was run by the British, the Officer training by the French, Artillery training by the Mongolians, Tank and automotive training by the Bulgarians, marksmanship by the Romanians.... 

One of Mr. Emmanuel's specific questions was about police training.  In 2003, the police were being trained by the Germans.  When I came back in 2006, a decision was made that the US would take that over, and it became a specifically National Guard mission utilizing Guard troops with civilian police experience, much like the Agricultural mission which leverages our National Guard farmers.  I wonder if Mr. Emmanuel is even aware of it.


I have a specific answer to one of Mr. Emmanuel's other questions that he posed later in the interview:

Are there different grades of a Taliban?

First there's the grammar.  "Taliban" is plural, so you can't have "a Taliban."  But that aside, yes, there are "grades" of Taliban.  Moderate Taliban don't prevent girls from attending school.  They wait until after classes are over to kill and rape them.

We are 'worried' about weak dollar: Eurogroup chief

We are 'worried' about weak dollar: Eurogroup chief: "The 16 countries that use the euro single currency are 'worried' by the weakness of the dollar on currency markets, the head of the eurogroup said on Monday."

Below: The three people who are NOT worried about the weakness of the dollar.

The Associated Press: Obama to announce help for small banks, businesses

The Associated Press: Obama to announce help for small banks, businesses: "President Barack Obama wants smaller community banks to have greater access to the government's $700 billion financial rescue fund to assist small businesses that are still suffering from a prolonged credit crunch."

Hmmm. Let me fix that:
President Barack Obama wants greater access to smaller community banks and will use the government's $700 billion financial "rescue" fund to make them beholden to the government or fall prey to a prolonged credit crunch.

How about, instead, we raise interest rates and watch people and businesses save more, which will increase banks' liquidity as well as start reigning in inflationary pressures which are about to explode.

UCLA Study: The Internet Is Altering Our Brains - Biology | Astronomy | Chemistry | Physics - FOXNews.com

UCLA Study: The Internet Is Altering Our Brains - Biology Astronomy Chemistry Physics - FOXNews.com: "Adults with little Internet experience show changes in their brain activity after just one week online, a new study finds.
The results suggest Internet training can stimulate neural activation patterns and could potentially enhance brain function and cognition in older adults."

Democrats lock Republicans out of committee room - TheHill.com

Democrats lock Republicans out of committee room - TheHill.com: "Rep. Edolphus Towns (D-N.Y.) locked Republicans out of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee room to keep them from meeting when Democrats aren’t present."

Higher jobless rates could become the new normal - Salt Lake Tribune

Higher jobless rates could become the new normal - Salt Lake Tribune: "Here's why:
-- The auto and construction industries helped lead the nation out of past recessions. But the carnage among Detroit's automakers and the surplus of new and foreclosed homes and empty commercial properties make it unlikely these two industries will be engines of growth anytime soon.
-- The job market is caught in a vicious circle: Without more jobs, U.S. consumers will have a hard time increasing their spending; but without that spending, businesses might see little reason to start hiring.
-- Many small and midsize businesses are still struggling to obtain bank loans, impeding their expansion plans and constraining overall economic growth.
-- Higher-income households are spending less because of big losses on their homes, retirement plans and other investments. Lower-income households are cutting back because they can't borrow like they once did."

Here's how to fix all of this. The trouble with this plan is that it would hurt, a lot, but only for a short while, and then the growth that will come of it will be deeper and more lasting than any "stimulus."

The missing essential truth is that more spending is not growth. Its just more spending. The stimulus plans are only able to increase spending (sometimes) and not growth.

To increase growth, the first step would be to raise interest rates. Everyone, from businesses to households, need to build up their own liquidity and they do that by saving. Low interest rates, however, discourage saving. And government stimulus desires spending, not saving. In addition it will make the Dollar a more attractive investment and we'll regain ground in the value of the dollar, and foreign investors willing to support our debt.

Additionally, taxes have to be lowered. Tax revenue is NOT dependent on the tax rate. It is dependent on the size of the economy. (Tax revenue is pretty consistenly about 18 - 20% of GNP.) Growing the economy is the only way to grow tax revenue. Lowering taxes will NOT lower revenue. It will allow greater investment, which is what actually spurs growth.

Everyone has to go on an austerity policy for a while, from the government to the smallest households. Quit borrowing. Lay off the credit cards. Make due with what you have and pay off the debts you already have.

They bring a credit card, you bring a pair of scissors. They put one of theirs on account, you put one of yours in the bank. That's how you get out of a recession.

The danger of Obama's dithering -- latimes.com

The danger of Obama's dithering -- latimes.com: "Obama is no Harry Truman. At best, he is reprising Jimmy Carter. At worst, the real precedent may be Ethelred the Unready, the turn-of the-first-millennium Anglo-Saxon king whose reputation for indecisiveness and his unsuccessful paying of Danegeld -- literally, 'Danish tax' -- to buy off Viking raiders made him history's paradigmatic weak leader."

Weapons: Jammed Rifles And Other Obsessions

Weapons: Jammed Rifles And Other Obsessions: "The mass media reports soon were talking about American assault rifles overheating and jamming. Some of the reports displayed a remarkable ignorance of how military rifles operate. One report had the American M4 rifle barrels white hot with heat. That's a physical impossibility, because of the metal used for these rifles. Long before the rifle barrels turned any color from heat, rounds would automatically fire ('cook off') from the heat, and the barrels would fail (split apart). The reporters also seemed unaware of how automatic weapons handle heat. Assault rifles are built to fire about once every four seconds for hours, without any heat problems. Machine-guns do have heat problems, and are designed with easily removable barrels, so you can switch in a fresh barrel. In short, any automatic weapon will overheat if you put too many rounds through it in too short a time. The troops are taught all about this, and are impressed with the fact that they must either cope with it, or risk death."

U.S. Congressman Sam Johnson : Serving the 3rd District of Texas

U.S. Congressman Sam Johnson : Serving the 3rd District of Texas: "In the recent court opinion by the U.S. District Court in Washington, Judge Rosemary M. Collyer denied a motion to dismiss filed by the secretary of health and human services and the Social Security administrator. The plaintiffs in Hall v. Sebelius, formerly Brian Hall et al. v. Michael Leavitt et al., claim the federal government has no right to force them into Medicare while holding their hard-earned Social Security benefits hostage."

Leadership: Votes That Kill

Leadership: Votes That Kill: "The U.S. Congress is again under fire for fiddling with the defense budget. This time, the legislators are accused of cutting $3.1 billion from the Operations and Maintenance budget (O&M) for 'earmarks' (pet projects that help politicians get reelected). In addition, there is also the Congressionally mandated procurement of expensive items the military does not want, but whose continued production will help some people in Congress keep their jobs. Congress denies all this, and has their staffs prepare a blizzard of PowerPoint briefings that make it all look good.
The current budget was supposed to have $237 billion for O&M. The cuts amount to less than two percent, and most legislators don't see this as a problem. So what if it takes a little longer for vehicles to get repaired, or that the crews of ships, aircraft and tanks spend less time training as a result? There will be a bit of noise over this, but nothing will change."
...
"Watch how quickly the current flap fades from the news, and public memory. But the troops have to live, or die, with it every day."

Murphy's Law: A Smart Bomb With A Heart

Murphy's Law: A Smart Bomb With A Heart: "Britain revealed that, last month, the pilot of a Harrier jet, maneuvering a Paveway IV laser guided bomb towards a moving vehicle carrying a Taliban leader, moved the bomb away at the last minute. This was because the Taliban vehicle suddenly stopped near some civilians, and the new ROE (Rules of Engagement) mandated that civilian casualties be avoided at all costs. The bomb went off in a nearby field, causing no injuries. The Taliban vehicle then sped away and was not caught again until several days later. At that point, a bomb took out the target. The Taliban leader had been under observation for weeks, and several opportunities had been lost because of nearby civilians."

Iran: The Revolutionary Guard Turns On Its Masters

Iran: The Revolutionary Guard Turns On Its Masters: "U.S. and Iraqi intelligence believe that Iranian support for Iraqi Shia militias has greatly diminished in the past two years. The Iraqi defeat of pro-Iranian Shia militias in Basra last year was a serious setback for Iranian radicals. The Quds Force (which is in charge of stirring up trouble in foreign countries) had been talking up the power of the Iraqi militias Iran was subsidizing. But the Iraqi offensive rolled right over these outfits, and U.S. and Iraqi troops are continuing to find caches of Iranian supplied weapons. Many pro-Iranian Iraqis hid their weapons last year when they realized that the Iraqi army was more than they could handle. For many pro-Iranian Shia, these hidden weapons might eventually be used in a civil war, or to make some cash on the black market. But as the Iraqi police extend their control in Basra and other pro-Iran areas down south, more people are willing to tip off the cops about where weapons may be hidden, or who used to be a pro-Iran terrorist."

76 days since request for more troops, Obama accused of stalling - Times Online

76 days since request for more troops, Obama accused of stalling - Times Online: "IN Afghanistan they would call it a shura, the traditional tribal way of listening to elders’ views before reaching a consensus. In Washington, where President Barack Obama has now held five war councils, they are starting to call it dithering"

Korea: There Is Great Fear Upon The Land

Korea: There Is Great Fear Upon The Land: "North Korea has, for most of the year, been deliberately irritating South Korea. Despite the looming famine in the north, North Korea is mostly obsessed with imaginary foreign plots to undermine communist rule in the north. They refuse to believe that the biggest danger to communist rule is their own disastrous decision making. This drives China and South Korea mad, especially when they find they can't even get the northern politicians to even admit that they have some leadership problems. But the food shortage problems are real, and now North Korea is offering South Korea more reunions of families separated by the Korean War (1950-3), but only if South Korea supplies lots of free food. South Korea is holding out for concessions on nuclear weapons."

The Korean War was the first, of only two times since its founding that the UN has attempted to fulfill it's mandate. That it utterly failed, is the origin of the problmes that exist in the region today.

Instead of Texas-OU Weekend

Maggie and I are at a policy boot camp. This is a great event.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Modern Day Nagumo?

Between 3 and 7 June 1942, the US and Japanese navies clashed over Midway Island, a strategic fueling point for US operations.

The Japanese did not know that the US knew that they planned to strike at Midway, but the US was able to read parts of the IJN codes and so were prepared. Admiral Fletcher, placed 3 US carriers, to Midway's northeast and conducted scouting operations to catch the Japanese assault fleet, expected to come in from the Northwest. It did and Fletcher's plan worked. Scouts found the Japanese carriers and US torpedo planes took off from Midway before the Japanese strike could arrive. Despite that the Midway forces were unable to do direct damage to the opposing ships, the Midway defenses, being forewarned, were ready for the assault. The Japanese air commander recommended another aerial assault. At about this time, Japanese scouts finally spotted, the completely unexpected, US carriers and the Japanese assault commander, Admiral Nagumo, had to make a decision.

Japanese naval doctrine stated that half of a carrier's aircraft should be kept ready for anti-ship operations, that is, armed with torpedoes rather than bombs, intended for land-based targets, and Nagumo had complied. When the recommendation to re-strike the island came in, the order was given to re-arm the planes with bombs for that mission. But now, it was known that US carriers were in the area! Not only had Nagumo missed the opportunity to destroy these ships at Pearl Harbor, but ignoring them would be far too dangerous. So new orders go out to re-arm, yet again, and put the torpedoes back on the planes.

In this dithering, it became impossible to launch, one way or the other, as the returning assault planes had to land. Then came the American carriers' attack. Caught so poorly prepared, refueling, re-arming, Combat Air Patrols pulled out of position by earlier strikes, and no most importantly, no clear or timely decisions being made, the US attack left the Sōryū, Kaga, and Akagi in flames. Only one Japanese carrier Hiryū, remained undamaged. The next US assault will catch this ship with its pilots having supper.

Today, in Afghanistan, we have a commander-in-chief who seems to be trying to reprise Nagumo's dithering. In March we were told there would be a new, more aggressive strategy, and the commander at that time was relieved. In August the new campaign commander, GEN McChrystal made recommendations for that more aggressive strategy, yet now the reassessment, it seems, must be reassessed. Had Nagumo made one decision and then applied his will to make it stick, he might have overcome the superior US intelligence, the only clear advantage of US forces at the start of the battle. Successful land assault could have enabled the Japanese to use the island for further operations against the US fleet, or promptly abandoning the assault to take on the US carriers, might have allowed the stronger Japanese force to resume against Midway at leisure. Half of November is now gone and the President still has not made a decision.

Afghanistan: Pay To Play

Afghanistan: Pay To Play: "The damage in Helmand has caused the drug gangs to try and expand their operations to provinces in the north, closer to the 'Russian Route' that moves heroin through Central Asia, Russia and to Europe and North America. Russia is also an increasingly important source of the chemicals needed to refine opium into heroin. These conditions are the cause of all the sudden Taliban activity in the north. The call for more U.S. and NATO troops is to counter the drug gangs attempt to find a place to set up show elsewhere in Afghanistan. Without the drug money, the drug gang gunmen disappear, as do most of the Taliban fighters. Suddenly, Afghanistan becomes a much less violent place."

Electronic Weapons: Naked In The Jungle

Electronic Weapons: Naked In The Jungle: "A U.S. Department of Defense program to develop a foliage penetrating radar, that can detect people, vehicles and structures underneath trees and other foliage, recently completed twenty successful flight tests, which included over 50 hours in the air. The FORESTER (Foliage Penetration Reconnaissance, Surveillance, Tracking and Engagement Radar) system was carried on a A160T helicopter UAV. Foliage penetrating radars were developed from ground penetrating radars, and use powerful computers and software to sort out what is underneath the foliage. This is a major military advantage, as ground troops have traditionally been able to hide from aerial reconnaissance by going into forests."

Dollar loses reserve status to yen & euro

Dollar loses reserve status to yen & euro: "'The economy is addicted to the cheap interest and liquidity.'
Economists warn that a jump in rates will clobber stocks and cripple the already stalled housing market.
'Bernanke's other choice is to keep rates at zero, print even more money and sell more debt, but we'll see triple-digit inflation that could collapse the economy as we know it.
'The stimulus is what's toxic -- we're poisoning ourselves and the global economy with it.'"

With friends like this, who needs enemies?

"Does the U.S. Army need to step up its game when it comes to technology or are we keeping up with our sister services?"

The following is my answer to that question, which was posted at NCO Net on BCKS. If you are an Army NCO, you should also be participating in the BCKS forums.

We embrace a lot of technology that has a high gee-whiz factor--it looks splashy and sexy and everyone can see that it's expensive when it's placed front and center.

We fail, majorly fail, to leverage the technology we already have that can do so much more to really help us to accomplish our missions. If you aren't sure about that, do a little study as to what capabilities are built into Microsoft Office, or even just Outlook, and then decide if we even scratch the surface in using tools that are loaded on almost every PC and server across the Army enterprise.

What we forget is that technology is both a tool and a trap. We need to maximize the tools we already have, before digging deeper into the trap presented by all those gee-whiz, high profile things.

I explain the technology trap like this: Technology is a big box that all its users live underneath, while the box is propped up by a stick. While the stick is in place, we are free to enter and exit the box. Almost no one is aware of the string that's tied to that stick, however, and it dosen't matter if the string is yanked on, or somoene just trips over it, when the stick is pulled free, everyone under the box is stuck inside. As an IT pro, my job is to keep shoving sandbags under the edges of the box, in hopes that I'll still be able to lead others back out, after the trap is sprung. I also have to arrange comfortable seating inside as well.

For what I hope is a clear example of this, has everyone looked at the new SICPS suite? Transit cased servers and routers and switches. VOIP phones and GPS. Fire control computers and encryption transfer devices. What do we do when the batteries die? Are we preserving the capability to do our jobs with stubby pencils, acetate overlays, and compasses?

Will we still have that capacity in a generation or two (and military generations are about half that of social generations)? The SICPS thing scares me to death. It's a big sexy, gee-whiz failure looking for really bad place to happen. It's also poorly architected--all the bells and whistles--no safty features. No backup. No redundancy. No high-availability solutions. None of the sand bags I try to provide all my civilian customers.

This is a long way around of saying that I don't know if the otehr services do it better. If better just means more, then the answer is probably--it sure seems that way. But if better means smarter--I have no direct comparison, but from what I know of what we are doing now, then it's almost certain.

Attrition: Huey Retires After 50 Years

Attrition: Huey Retires After 50 Years: "The U.S. Army has retired its last UH-1 ('Iroquois', or 'Huey') helicopter. Over 16,000 UH-1s were built, and over 4,000 were lost during the Vietnam war. Over two thousand UH-1s are still in service. The 4.3 ton UH-1 could carry two crew and eleven troops, and was the first military helicopter to use gas turbine (jet) engines. This allowed a lighter helicopter to carry more weight. The UH-1 served the army for fifty years, although since the 1990s, most served in reserve units."

Morale: Armed And Anxious Alcoholics Anonymous

Morale: Armed And Anxious Alcoholics Anonymous: "The stress of repeated trips to combat zones has caused the number of U.S. Army soldiers diagnosed as having an alcohol abuse problem to double, since 2003, from about 1,200 per 100,000 troops. Further research led the army to conclude that the problem was actually much greater, with perhaps several percent of the force struggling with an alcoholism problem. In response, the army now allows troops to anonymously seek treatment for alcoholism. Sort of like Alcoholics Anonymous, but with the army explicitly keeping any mention of the treatment out of the soldiers records. This is a big deal, because getting openly noted as an alcoholic (those who do are forced to undergo treatment) lessens ones promotion prospects and basically dogs you for the rest of your career. Many troops drink heavily, without it obviously interfering with their work. But that sort of thing can easily cross over into alcoholism, and career threatening problems with your bosses. So the anonymous angle appeals to the majority of heavy drinkers who are not obviously, to their commanders, getting in trouble with booze."

First M-ATVs Deploy to Afghanistan

First M-ATVs Deploy to Afghanistan: "The M-ATV supports small-unit combat operations in highly restricted rural, mountainous and urban environments that include mounted patrols, reconnaissance, security, convoy protection, communications, command and control, and combat service support. It is designed to replace the up-armored Humvee in Afghanistan. The M-ATV will carry up to five personnel: four plus a gunner."

I don't know that I'd want it. Look at that tiny rear door and window. That seems to me to be egress issue and zero visibility, not only for passengers, but also for the driver and TC to anything behind the vehicle.

Information Warfare: Hit The G Spot and Stream Video

Information Warfare: Hit The G Spot and Stream Video: "The U.S. has developed a new ('G') version of its widely used AN/PRC-117 military radio. In use since the 1990s, the 17 pound (with the two lithium ion batteries) G version adds the ability to send and receive high speed data, enabling the user to share video in real time. The AN/PRC-117 has a 16 kilometers range with VHF, and is limited to line-of-sight for FM. The radio can also link to a satellite communications system. The radio uses encryption and frequency hopping, and can communicate with a wide range of other radios"

Surface Forces : USVs No Longer Improvised

Surface Forces : USVs No Longer Improvised: "The U.S. Navy is developing a new USV (unmanned surface vessel) that is designed from scratch as a USV, not just the usual practice of taking existing small boats adapting them for remote and autonomous control. The AMN 1 is flat bottomed, so that it can better operate in shallow coastal waters, and up rivers. The navy is developing navigation software for tricky situations, like having the radar (in this case, laser based lidar) being able to detect a bridge as something it can go under, and not an obstacle to further movement. AMN 1 is equipped with most of the equipment that current USVs have been successful with."

Information Warfare: Share And Share Alike

Information Warfare: Share And Share Alike: "Joint Capabilities Release (JCR) is new troop tracking software undergoing field testing by the U.S. Army and Marine Corps. It is designed to provide more options to the current Blue Force Tracking system, which displays positions of U.S. forces, using blue icons on maps displayed on laptop computer screens. It is also expected that JCR will lead the way to an improved Blue Force system known as Joint Battle Command Platform, which is to be ready next year. At that point, 120,000 army vehicles and 20,000 marine vehicles will begin outfitting with new hardware and software."

Murphy's Law: Fried Foods Win The Air War

Murphy's Law: Fried Foods Win The Air War: "Recent U.S. Air Force studies have shown that pilots that eat high fat (lots of butter and oil) diets perform better in tests of alertness, and mental performance in general."

Intelligence: China Tech Theft Effort Under Attack

Intelligence: China Tech Theft Effort Under Attack: "In the United States, the FBI arrested three Chinese citizens (Zhen Zhou Wu, Yufeng Wei and Bo Li) for trying to illegally export American electronic components that can be used in missiles, warplanes and space vehicles"

Armor: Bradley 2.0

Armor: Bradley 2.0: "The Block 2 is planned as a major upgrade of the M-2. It will include a more powerful (800 versus 600 horsepower) engine, a more powerful gun (30 or 40mm) and lighter armor (or protection systems that shoot down anti-tank missiles and RPGs). Improved sensors are planned, plus vidcams to give people inside the vehicle a 360 degree view of what's outside.) More electronics, including one that would allow variable power, and fuel consumption, from the engine. More safety features are planned as well, including an improved fire extinguisher system. For better protection against mines and roadside bombs, the body of the vehicle would be 18 (46 cm) inches off the ground, instead of the current 11. With more armor on the floor, and seats that absorb some of the blast, the Block 2 would have protection approaching that of an MRAP. New fuel tanks would be less prone to causing fires (using protection similar to that found in aircraft fuel tanks)."

Afghanistan: Cultural Insensitivity

Afghanistan: Cultural Insensitivity: "Many foreign politicians are trying to justify leaving the Taliban alone and just getting out of Afghanistan (where it is very expensive to maintain troops, and very difficult to justify to opposition politicians and angry voters). What has not yet become an important topic, is the impact of the growing flood of Afghan heroin. Because of the steady, and massive, supply of heroin going out of Afghanistan, there is a sharp increase and spreading use, of heroin in the West. The much cheaper opium is the cause of a growing number of addicts in Afghanistan and surrounding nations. This is why the heroin and opium production is restricted to a small portion of Afghanistan (centered around Helmand province in the southwest). This is going to be the next big story, and political crises regarding Afghanistan."

First rate analysis

Watch CBS News Videos Online

...At least of facts on the ground. I differ with teh idea that individual Soldier's can be reassured that the President "isn't taking this lightly." That's just not true, to begin with. Everything from the Olympics to breaking in his new basketball court is more important apparently, and ditthering about making a decision is not reassuring in any way.

Appologies for the Ralph Nader bit at the end. It's about New Orleans, so you can skip it without any fear of missing any correct information.

Leadership: The Impossible Dream In Afghanistan

Leadership: The Impossible Dream In Afghanistan: "Another advantage the Afghans have over the Iraqis is a warrior mentality. It’s easier to make the Afghans understand that for an army to work, troops must learn how to use their weapons (and take good care of them), and stand and fight. While Iraq has produced some good soldiers, most Iraqis want nothing to do with fighting. However, with good training and NCOs, just about anyone can be turned into an effective soldier. But you need competent NCOs to create more competent NCOs. The police have a lot of inexperienced leadership. These men are more prone to corruption, as well as incompetence. The experienced paratrooper teams are going to find out how much they can change that in a year, especially for the police, but also for the army."

Armor: Goodbye To The Heavies

Armor: Goodbye To The Heavies: "The U.S. Army is converting two of its Heavy Brigade Combat Teams (HBCT) into Stryker Brigade Combat Teams (SBCT), which will replace tracked vehicles (M-1 tanks and M-2 infantry vehicles) with wheeled Stryker Infantry Vehicle."