Posted on 09/24/2009 3:19:19 AM PDT by kingattax
When enemy action kills our troops, it's unfortu nate. When our own moral fecklessness murders those in uniform, it's unforgivable.
In Afghanistan, our leaders are complicit in the death of each soldier, Marine or Navy corpsman who falls because politically correct rules of engagement shield our enemies.
Mission-focused, but morally oblivious, Gen. Stan McChrystal conformed to the Obama Way of War by imposing rules of engagement that could have been concocted by Code Pink:
* Unless our troops in combat are absolutely certain that no civilians are present, they're denied artillery or air support.
* If any civilians appear where we meet the Taliban, our troops are to "break contact" -- to retreat.
These ROE are a cave-in to the Taliban's shameless propaganda campaign that claimed innocents were massacred every time our aircraft appeared overhead. (Afghan President Mohammed Karzai and our establishment media backed the terrorists.)
The Taliban's goal was to level the playing field -- to deny our troops their technological edge. Our enemies more than succeeded.
And what has our concern for the lives of Taliban sympathizers accomplished? The Taliban now make damned sure that civilians are present whenever they conduct an ambush or operation.
So they attack -- and we quit the fight, lugging our dead and wounded back to base.
We've been through this b.s. before. In Iraq, we wanted to show respect to our enemies, so the generals announced early on that we wouldn't enter mosques. The result? Hundreds of mosques became terrorist safe houses, bomb factories and weapons caches.
Why is this so hard to figure out? We tell our enemies we won't attack X. So they exploit X. Who wouldn't?
It isn't just that war is hell. It's that war must be hell, otherwise why would the enemy ever quit?
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
C-26, 3/4 Cav, 25th Inf.
C27, 1/10 Cav, 4th Inf
Tank in A troop was hit with 6 rpg’s..did not burn..I liked the shape of the turret and the front..the sides had foam that absorbed the rpgs..we added extra metal plates on the bottom for mines..the track was easy to break down..we placed rpg wire in front at night, maybe 10 claymores and some trip flares..on the side we dug a hole, filled sand bags..placed a 60..I slept on a cot..when not on lp..or guard..man what a life that was..
Does anyone note the apparent logical inconsistency in a strategy that dictates a concentration of military effort to defend civilian enclaves, but prohibits any active engagement in the vicinity of civilians? This move to static passivity will IMO prove to be an ignominious failure. It takes our highly mobile and aggressive forces and turns them into a stationary mall security force, which in turn will result in any artillery or air support actually being expended CLOSER to sensitive civilian areas.
It simply stretches credulity that these people could conceivably be reviving distant political micro-management of tactical warfare after the experience of VN.
Thanks to both of you for your service. One of my missions today is to go have a word with a local film crew who was rude to a Vietnam vet at our local senior center. I hope that a brief history lesson about why we Americans are free will suffice...
That’s what I call beging a thinker.
Replace McCrystal with Petraeus.
We had the asbestos gloves - I don’t care how hard core a man was, they were needed for the .50. We grabbed the 60 barrel by the tripod.
I did like the flechette rounds, we had buckshot rounds for our M-79. There was one Coronado operation in the Delta in December 67 when they would have come in handy but the 155 battery we supported didn’t have them. We dropped off five 155 self propelled howitzers with 200 tons of ammo apiece. Returning the next morning with another 200 tons each and they were down to the rounds in their turrets. They had fired all night at 0-0, 0 elevation and 0 time on the fuses. The round blew when it left the barrel. They had been hit by an infantry assault - intelligence said to expect a few mines and sniper fire! I turned out to be a sizable fight and the 9th Div was hit heavily.
Addendum - we set head space and timing by simply screwing the barrel in all the way and backing it out three clicks. Worked great - we had no gauge.
If they’re fans of Walter Cronkite it won’t do much good.
You're being too kind to the Illegal Alien. The ROE are not "recklessly negligent." They're deliberately murderous monstrosities intentionally hatched by a communist, secret Mudslime, traitor WH occupant who bitterly hates America, Americans, and, especially, the American military, with the explicit purpose of creating a bloody meat grinder that will get as many of our fine troops and Marines killed as possible. This is why pubbies should refuse to fund any of the war unless the ROE are rescinded.
DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY
Headquarters, United States Army Vietnam
APO San Francisco 96375
23 August 1969
GENERAL ORDERS
NUMBER 3274
AWARD OF THE DISTINGUISHED SERVICE CROSS
1. TC 320. The following AWARD is announced posthumously.
CARLSON, GARY W. CAPTAIN ARMOR United States Army
Troop C, 3d Squadron, 4th Cavalry, 25th Infantry Division
Awarded: Distinguished Service Cross
Date action: 19 June 1969
Theater: Republic of Vietnam
Reason: For extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations involving conflict with an armed hostile force in the Republic of Vietnam: Captain Carlson distinguished himself by exceptionally valorous actions on 19 June 1969 as troop commander during a reconnaissance-in-force operation. When the troop came under fire from a well-concealed enemy force, he immediately led his men in an assault on the hostile fortifications. Realizing that the crossfire was impeding the movement of his troop, he single-handedly assaulted and destroyed the most strategic hostile position. He then directed his fire against another enemy position, silencing it with hand grenades and rifle fire. Spotting a wounded comrade lying exposed to the enemy barrage, Captain Carlson braved the fusillade to move the man to safety. He then returned to the center of conflict to evacuate another casualty. As he returned to his vehicle, he was knocked to the ground by a rocket-propelled grenade which rendered his command vehicle inoperative. Braving a hail of fire to reach another vehicle, he resumed control of his troop. It was while he was directing this assault on the enemy that he was mortally wounded by enemy fire. Captain Carlson’s extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty, at the cost of his life, were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army.
Authority: By direction of the President under the provisions of the Act of Congress, approved 25 July 1963.
He was one of our CO’s. I was lead tank in this battle..began early in the morning and lasted during the night..
Sun Tzu would not do it this way.
BUMP!
Was just getting ready to ping you
ROE Ping
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