Secrets Galore -Hackworth Defending America

WND ^ | May 20, 2003 | David H. Hackworth

[eno_]

I'm not defending Hackworth. But Hackworth is not the issue. If Joe Klien, Sid Blumenthal, and Satan Herself (Hillary, natch) had brought up the same issue, it would be just as valid: Why clamp down on the Jessica Lynch story? And, for that matter, the extent to which our tanks, armored vehicles (and Apaches) got shot up is also an interesting question. And those Sea Knight helicopters actually make Osprey look like a good idea. Stuff that gets Americans dead bears looking into.

[Norse]

Hackworth in prison? I don't necessarily agree with the man, but Hackworth is one of America's greatest all-time heroes who YOU should have RESPECT for, "sarasmom." Your statement is absolutely rediculous and if anyone should be in jail, it should be you. But, why should anyone expect that a female know anything about maintaining an effective fighting force? I don't blame you, I blame your gender and complete 100% ignorance.

[milemark]

"Then a retired Army officer called in. He claimed that his active-duty son told him that the Army knew everything that had happened during her capture within 48 hours of her rescue. They knew everything, and it was promptly classified. All of it.
He claimed that the Army wouldn't be talking, she wouldn't be talking, and nobody else would be talking about it either."

"within a week or so of her rescue, someone that claimed to know things called up a radio station and claimed that the Army classified the details of her capture and imprisonment."

Any idea why this story would be considered an important military secret?

[Claire Voyant]

He's done a "Scott Ritter".

[TheDeacon]

The truth is.....shh......aliens!

[section9]

Hackworth took the long way to get there, but his central point about the Stryker vehicle is well taken. That piece of wheeled garbage shouldn't be allowed outside of a recon platoon.

The Kornet would have eaten Strykers for breakfast.

Be Seeing You,

Chris

[section9]

It's not generally known, but the Tank works developed a work around for the Kornet-in-the-ass problem. Apparently, if you've seen the Tiger sequence from Kelly's Heroes, the Abrams suffers from the same problem. Hit it in the ass, and it's in need of repairs, at least.

What really impressed me about the Abrams was its ability of people to get the Abrams back into the fight after being hit.

Be Seeing You,

Chris

[Copernicus]

Can't say much about Hackworth's interpretation pro or con.

I do believe, however, the story of Private Lynch is the story of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Gender Neutral Military.

A bunch of goof ball mechanics who can fix things were driving around in the desert with no back up or support and found themselves facing real trouble in a real bad way.

Their weapons training hours were likely to be limited to the absolute minimum, so it is unlikely they knew how to effectively use their equipment even if it worked as designed.

Ditto their tactics and combat readiness training courses.

When trouble started moments of extreme panic were likely interspersed with moments of outrageous and in some cases foolhardy and counterproductive heroism.

The fact anyone lived to tell a tale is a testimony to the arbitrary and capricious nature of warfare.

At the end of the day, the Pentagon said they would deliver victory in Iraq at the lowest possible cost and they have done so.

For what it is worth.

Best regards,

[Copernicus]

Posted to *bang_list

[eno_]

Well, yes.

So if the worst that could have happened was a candid view of how well or poorly a support platoon fared in combat, what's the freakin' big deal? The coverup is already a bigger deal than the event could possibly ever have been, even imagining the worst in cowardice and incompetence. All kinds of Bad Things happen under fire. As you said, it's a wonder they weren't wiped out completely.

[PISANO]

What the hell has happened to Hack?

[TheErnFormerlyKnownAsBig]

Would it be so hard to believe that the Pentagon is covering up how Lynch was raped morning to night (as a possible example of what could have happened) and had her limbs broken repeatedly as a method of torture so the American public wouldn't be swayed against having women in combat?

I heard, as probably many of you heard, that Lynch was the only carrying on the fight after the ambush because the others didn't maintain their weapons properly and they jammed. That would be another reason to cover up what happened.

[Copernicus]

what's the freakin' big deal?

Who knows?

The Pentagon moves in mysterious ways.

[sarasmom]

I tend to go straight to the point, and I rarely buy into self-produced bios.
Hackworths actual record seems to be a bit less than stellar, based on several reports by his peers.
Regardless,he is not in the loop on this one.
My gender has little to do with my attitude.
My status as a USAF veteran,and my horror of remaining ignorant and gullible might impact on my viewpoints.

MB26, Please attempt to educate a few more people with your "gather round children" position of actually knowing the posturing "hero" in action, that this poor dumb female is supposed to have great respect for.

[MindBender26]

Couple of incidents: You are an USAF Vet [ The Air Force, America's Largest Para-Military Organization! ] Just kidding.... but use your own experience here....

Seriously, how many officers did you know who got into fistfights on a regular basis with other officers, NCOs and EM? Reality check here. Hack describes it as happening between him and others on a rather regular basis.

#2. Good friend and 'Nam buddy is retired RVN, Panama & DS SF E-8 medic. He also holds Masters in nursing, etc. He was Tiger Force medic in RVN. Has sworn in writing he was there and saw/heard Hack give order to 1LT Gardiner re: the infamous "Hi Diddle Diddle, Straight Up The Middle" charge that resulted in many deaths, including Gardiner's. Hack claims it was someone else unknown.

#3. I operated in III Corps both tours (Plenty of action, VC, PAVN, Kymer Rouge, KKK (yes, KKK were local Cambodian bandits) in Fishhook area. (Great duty. Anytime you felt like a Bad As* and wanted to get it on with the Bad Guys they were there, and Saigon was 30 min away by Helo when you wanted some trim.)

Hack's reputation as a big reputation got as far north as we were, and the IG at LBJ confirmed thet could he was running the Steam and Creams throughout IV Corps. Don't get me wrong. We all ensured that we ran the local Steam and Creams so the girls all had their shots and no VC got in and cut off our weenies, but Hack was taking a cut from the girls. Bad Wa.

Also, when was the last time you saw one of his Doom and Gloom, "Only I, Mr. Infantry knows the truth" predictions pan out?

Hack - Slack

[sarasmom]

Thanks for showing up.
Back in the old,cold days,I coordinated a meeting of Army Air Defence grunts who thought it was SOP to "shoot to kill" any airplane operating in the theatre, friend or foe, with the pilots and targeteers of the sky, and we had a "welcome to reality" moment.(language censored for diplomacy)
Hackworth has less standing as an "expert" than I do.And I claim none, on todays military ops.

Would you agree that trash talk about PFC Lynch should be discouraged?
I could care less who thinks what about the relative merits of women in combat,but I have a real nasty opinion of people who want to use a female combat veteran as a poster child for public pollitical points.
This is not thereotical, this is a,Thank God,still living soldier.
I say leave her be.
Aint none of our business the gory details, unless she decides to make it public knowledge.She will not, if history is any indication.
No official "secret" cover-up is going on, as Hackworth suggests to the uneducated civilian public.
People who want to know exactly how many times, and in what positions, PFC Lynch was probably raped, do not want to hear about how many times, and in what positions, her male compatriot POWs were raped.War is hell.
Leave them all be.
And anyone who thinks Hackworth is worthy of being a spokesman for combat veterans of 2003, is sniffing glue for a living, IMNSHO.
I say again,to everyone, get your minds and your mouths off PFC Lynch.
(MB26, most of the above was not directed at you, thanks for showing up here.)

[Richard Axtell]

I appreciate the grim realities of any full telling of what happened to Lynch and her fellow soldiers, but that is not the point. Hackworth was inferring that he subscribed to Scheer's idiotic charges that the Special Forces rescue operation that saved Lynch and her comrades was really just a put up job... a staged event... and that none of the participants are worthy of the hero status they have been awarded. This story was best analyzed and dissected by Hugh Hewitt on Monday... perhaps there is still a link to his commentary at his web page. Also, sparing the public and Lynch's parents and friends the broadcasting of the horrific details of her ordeal is not exactly a cover-up, in what the term has come to mean. A cover-up would be an attempt by the government to conceal embarrassing or egregious failings, or outright crimes,... which this hardly applies here. No, I would call this a matter of compassionate discretion, and not a cover-up. If Hack is truly is falling for the leftist bilge about this affair, then he is a sap and a dupe, and deserves to be ignored.

[eno_]

Both of you have an unhealthy appetite for swallowing The Party Line.

Our government routinely lies to us. Here, something is obviously being supressed. It is a good and healthy pursuit to uncover it, and to do a political takedown of the people doing the supressing.

[eno_]

I think you probably guessed right. But it could have been the conduct of these soldiers under fire, or a number of other things.

I don't see why keeping an atrocity, or a screw-up, or whatever it was, away from the public helps.

[MindBender26]

What you are forgetting about Hackworth is that Hackworth has one goal = Hackworth.

People like Rush, Hanity, Savage, even Alan Combs are honest about it. The purpose of their show is to make money for THEM. It is not to protect the Republic, find truth, justice or the American way. The purpose of their show is to be entertaining, and make money for the entertainer, them.

Hackworth is different. He makes money trying to convince people that he only cares about the grunts, (which is why he brags about beating so many of them up in his book!) BS. He is in it for the bucks. In many ways, Hackworth is like the man at your door saying, "I'm from the government and I'm only here to help you."

In addition, look at his predictions about every operation in the last 12 years. He has predicted doom and gloom failure every time and he has been wrong, every time.

Finally, most folks on active don't even know or care who he is. They know he is just another credential inflating blowhard.