Posted on 10/28/2004 6:20:50 PM PDT by tomnbeverly
In the lead up to the war in Iraq each of the main component commanders PACOM, ACOM and CENTCOM (Pacific Command, Atlantic Command and Central Command)(note: each component just listed is made up of the Army, Navy, Airforce Geographic Commanders and they work for the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the Pentagon) were told to come up with numbers of troops to augment the main forces that were already deploying to Kuwait (the main fighting forces). The main contingent was in place to march on Baghdad and the augmentees were in the back field in standby reserve status. Because we did not know how hard Sadaam's army would fight. This Augmentation force some 50-100 thousand strong made up of Reservists, Guard, and servicemen like me that were stationed in CONUS shore commands, was deployed into the areas around Iraq in a stand by status.
So for every pundit that is out in the media today saying that there were not enough troops on the ground for Tommy Franks to use to secure weapons caches, etc, it is just simply a non-factual statement. I know because I was there.
After the fall of Baghdad the Generals were asked to reassess their need to have all of these augmentees to remain on station surrounding Iraq. The decision was made in May 03. To send us home. The decision was primarily based on the fact that there was little or no resistance on our March to Baghdad.
I don't know where John Kerry gets this information that Gen. Shenseki said we needed 100's of thousands of troops. If Gen Shenseki said it then he said it as part of the build up to war and not after the augmentation forces were told to go back home and if Shenseki's comment was made for the build up then it is exactly what we had in place. Why don't we see the General Stumping with Kerry?
Another point is that John Kerry seems very un-educated in the new war planning models that the military uses. We fight with smaller more lethal, better connected and better trained troops. We don't need the 1000's of troops to take on battles like we did in Vietnam. Our elite forces are the envy of the world and all he can do is put them down and say they are not doing their job properly.
Throwing more troops into a battle is not very smart in todays warfighting scenarios. In John Kerry's Tora Bora statement he said we didn't have enough troops. We learned from the Russians loss of over 100,000 troops in their 10 year war in Afghanistan that throwing a bunch of troops into the Tora Bora mountains is suicide. The war planners and the troops on the ground know what they are doing despite what John Kerry says.
In 1999 I participated in an exercise off of the San Francisco coast called Urban Warrior. The situation was a training scenario to take a large Urban city full of protesters using a small elite force. These are the lessons of warfighting in the 21st Century and they are in play in Iraq today.
While John Kerry still fiddles with dreams of jungle warfare in Vietnam and massive troop deployments to take imaginary hills it is apparent to me that he has lost all concept of how we fight wars today.
The Bottom line is that because of the media the public is somewhat ignorant to how well we are actually doing in Iraq today. If the Press really wants to run a story run one on warfighting in the 21st Century or run one on the scary coincidence of the rise of the Iraqi insurgency and how it relates to US Politics. If anyone really noticed the insurgency started gaining ground when our Democratic primaries and the Anti-War message started flowing out of the US. Terrorists aren't dumb. Just like the vietnamese in 1971 they pay attention to the American attitudes towards war, because we sent the wrong message then we need to make sure we send the right message now. If we fail to learn the lessons of history they will be repeated.
Final Thought if you want a perfect war you have to wait to see it in a Hollywood film.
John Kerry doesn't know much about 20th century war fighting either. His specialty is pacificsm and turning coat on his fellow soldiers and veterans.
C'mon, he actually invented one of the more interesting military maneuvers of the last century. We can call it the "Swift Rassmann Turn." When you see the enemy, you make a high speed turn to the rear and flee. This sends Jim Rassmann flying into the river. As a bonus, when you go back to fish poor Rassmann out of the water, you get a medal.
The other Swift Boats did not use the Swift Rassmann Turn. They stayed at their station and did their duty.
The title should have ended on the word "Little".
bump for reference.
This was one of the best written vanities I've seen on FR in my many years of being here.
I don't have a lot to add, but I wanted to congratulate you on a very nice job indeed.
I've read several books that say essentially the same thing (one about the special forces in Afghanistan and Tommy Franks' autobiography).
I'm not going to say that I think reporters should be compelled to serve in the military or anything like that, but it sure would be helpful if some of them had military experience or at least some sympathy for it. I think most of them are just scared to death of the military and that frames their entire viewpoint, even if they're genuinely trying to be impartial.
I don't have military experience and knew virtually nothing about the military before the Iraq wars started, but now that I have more understanding I have a lot of admiration for today's military and its operations.
D
This was one of the best written vanities I've seen on FR in my many years of being here.
I don't have a lot to add, but I wanted to congratulate you on a very nice job indeed.
I've read several books that say essentially the same thing (one about the special forces in Afghanistan and Tommy Franks' autobiography).
I'm not going to say that I think reporters should be compelled to serve in the military or anything like that, but it sure would be helpful if some of them had military experience or at least some sympathy for it. I think most of them are just scared to death of the military and that frames their entire viewpoint, even if they're genuinely trying to be impartial.
I don't have military experience and knew virtually nothing about the military before the Iraq wars started, but now that I have more understanding I have a lot of admiration for today's military and its operations.
D
(Sorry for the double post; it looked like it didn't take the first time).
D
LOL.
John Kerry majors in two things. Lies and playing. If it were not for Satan he would be no where. How does any sane person explain the rise of such an unattractive, totally unqualified man who has a core of deception?
Kerry was a LTjg in Viet Nam and was in charge of six Sailors for 3 1/2 months. He is imminently qualified to override the war planning of Generals with thirty years experience.
Sarcasm off.
Another point is that John Kerry seems very un-educated in the new war planning models that the military uses. We fight with smaller more lethal, better connected and better trained troops.
Hanoi John’s model of Everything Good is France. The last good general the French had was Napoleon. It stands to reason that that despicable, self aggrandizing, lying, backstabbing seditious traitor would believe that Napoleonic Tactics are state of the art.
He, like those bilious bastards from the Saturday Evening Post, knows about as much about real battle as he does about fornicating!
Causing your own wounds, lying about combat operations, writing up your own citations, claiming a self-congratulatory "defense of country" for 4 months of phony duty, and mounting scathing and false attacks against your fellow soldiers from a position of complete safety are nothing but the acts of a coward and traitor.
This a mega understatement if I ever saw one.
The North Vietnamese and Viet Cong commisars paid more attention to our daily press than to American firepower! Cruise the middle-east press and all you see is news from America... POLITICAL NEWS.
Any arab who religiously reads a newspaper is more informed about our politics/policies than many Americans!
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