RAW CHIPPY..! Or the Pirate..!
Send it in and our judges will tell you if YOU have what it takes to receive a PASS on the grueling Q COURSE..!!
Posted on 10/24/2017 4:27:14 PM PDT by markomalley
Army records show that the U.S. soldiers killed during a recent ambush in Niger had little to no combat experience prior to their deployment.
A joint patrol of U.S. and Nigerien forces was attacked by approximately 50 Islamic State-affiliated fighters along the Niger-Mali border in early October, taking the lives of four soldiers and wounded two. Prior to the deployment, three had only been deployed once, and one of them had never been deployed abroad, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Additionally, none of them had received the Army's combat infantry badge or combat action badge, awards given to those who have encountered action with an enemy.
Although it is unclear if the troops had been involved in combat during this deployment, all four soldiers went through a thorough Army Special Forces training package, according to the Pentagon. The training is intended to prepare for conflicts like the one in Niger.
The troops were reportedly gathering intelligence information concerning a terrorist leader, according to CNN.
The soldiers were attacked as they were returning to their operating base following a visit to a village, Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said on Monday. He added that air support had been requested approximately an hour after the attack and probably hadn't been requested earlier because soldiers thought they didn't need it. "We shouldn't conclude anything by that one hour," Dunford said. "I've been in these situations myself where you're confronted with enemy contact, your initial assessment is you can deal with that contact with the resources that you have, and at some point in the firefight, they concluded they then needed support, and so they called for additional support."
Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain, R-Ariz., met with Defense Secretary Jim Mattis on Friday to ask questions about the ambush amid criticism from lawmakers concerning the transparency from the Pentagon about the attack. The Department of Defense is conducting a probe into the four soldiers' deaths.
The U.S. has approximately 800 troops in Niger and 6,000 conducting missions throughout Africa. At least 20 Americans have lost their lives serving the nation since January.
Gotta start somewhere!
that’s exactly what I was going to say
I don’t believe I have seen such a non story all afternoon.
They were/are superbly trained.
Sounds like fake news.
I’ll bet they were more prepared for combat than Ambassador Chris Stevens or information officer Sean Smith was, but the media was never concerned about Obama abandoning them now were they..
So now we know that that wacko lady from Florida helped to craft the legislation that set up the mission in Niger, that Barack Obama created specific parameters for that mission that hamstrung it and made the soldiers that far more vulnerable to what eventually did happen and led to the deaths..who knows what more will be revealed and that is probably going to make Democrat operatives who got this ridiculous phone call story going look even more stupid.
Oil, Soros, Obama, Hillary, Moslems, France.
From a back-of-magazine challenge I DREW CHIPPY, thereby passing the Q Course, to my surprise.
Look into it, it’s a new deal they’re running.
My buddy got a Ranger Tab out of a box of Cracker Jacks.
If you have no combat experience, the only way to get it is in combat. Stupid article.
Oh, and I forgot one.....
Saudi Arabia
Sgt La David Johnson was a wheeled vehicle mechanic.
RAW CHIPPY..! Or the Pirate..!
Send it in and our judges will tell you if YOU have what it takes to receive a PASS on the grueling Q COURSE..!!
The problem with combat is that the other side gets to do whatever they can do.
In this case, they hit you when you think you’re safe.
I’m not a big fan of running patrols in Toyota pickups.
Someone wrote that Obama had restricted the equipment that could be used in Niger.
If that’s the case, than old Obamabozo owns this one.
Diana ought to stick to covering high school proms, or something.
She has not the foggiest idea how the world works.
Drones not Troops next time? What/Where was the Recon or Surveillance?
Condolences to the lost soldiers families. This was not a textbook nor routine mission.. none are these days.
Are resources stretched too thin?
Or are our troops asked to do too much in too many places?
Is the intel bad?
Are regional commanders in over their heads?
Yeah, that’s how it works.. yeah that’s the ticket..
And frankly many awards come from doing amazingly dumb stuff.
True, and an ambush always starts with an advantage for the attackers. Even experienced soldiers who have superior weapons and air support can have a terrible time in an ambush by less experienced and less well armed opponents.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.