FReeper Foxhole - Military News in Review - April 28, 2003

various

[snippy_about_it]

Dear Lord,

There's a young man far from home,
called to serve his nation in time of war;
sent to defend our freedom
on some distant foreign shore.

We pray You keep him safe,
we pray You keep him strong,
we pray You send him safely home ...
for he's been away so long.

There's a young woman far from home,
serving her nation with pride.
Her step is strong, her step is sure,
there is courage in every stride.
We pray You keep her safe,
we pray You keep her strong,
we pray You send her safely home ...
for she's been away too long.

Bless those who await their safe return.
Bless those who mourn the lost.
Bless those who serve this country well,
no matter what the cost.

Author Unknown

.

FReepers from the The Foxhole
join in prayer for all those serving their country at this time.

.

.................................................................................................................................

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Operation Iraqi Freedom

Mission Objectives

1. End the regime of Saddam Hussein

2. Identify, isolate, and eliminate Iraq’s WMD, systems, and facilities

3. Capture or drive out terrorists sheltered in Iraq

4. Collect intelligence on terrorist networks and on Iraq’s illicit WMD activity

5. Secure Iraq’s oil fields and natural resources for the Iraqi people

6. End sanctions and immediately deliver humanitarian relief and assistance

7. Help the Iraqi people rapidly transition to a representative form of self-government that does not threaten its neighbors and is committed to the territorial integrity of Iraq

Progress to Date

April 24

For the first time since military operations began, oil began flowing from Iraq’s southern fields, and electrical power has been restored to parts of Baghdad.

175,000 barrels of oil per day are now being pumped from the oil fields near Rumaila to an oil refinery in Basra and various power plants in the vicinity.

In the next day or two, it is expected that another 60,000 barrels per day will be pumped into the Baija refinery from oil fields in the north.

One gas well in the north is also operational. Gas is critical to the operation of the gas turbines which drive most of the electrical power grid in the Baghdad area.

Under the direction of retired Lt. Gen. Jay Garner, the Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance is up and running.

Coordinators have been appointed for humanitarian assistance, reconstruction, as well as for the country’s northern and southern regions. Gen. Garner also has two deputies, one for policy and one to coordinate international aid and other ctivities.

American Power Moves Beyond the Mere Super

Stealth drones, G.P.S.-guided smart munitions that hit precisely where aimed; antitank bombs that guide themselves; space-relayed data links that allow individual squad leaders to know exactly where American and opposition forces are during battle — the United States military rolled out all this advanced technology, and more, in its lightning conquest of Iraq.

No other military is even close to the United States. The American military is now the strongest the world has ever known, both in absolute terms and relative to other nations; stronger than the Wehrmacht in 1940, stronger than the legions at the height of Roman power.

For years to come, no other nation is likely even to try to rival American might.

Which means: the global arms race is over, with the United States the undisputed heavyweight champion. Other nations are not even trying to match American armed force, because they are so far behind they have no chance of catching up.

The great-powers arms race, in progress for centuries, has ended with the rest of the world conceding triumph to the United States.

Now only a nuclear state, like, perhaps, North Korea, has any military leverage against the winner.

Paradoxically, the runaway American victory in the conventional arms race might inspire a new round of proliferation of atomic weapons. With no hope of matching the United States plane for plane, more countries may seek atomic weapons to gain deterrence.

North Korea might have been moved last week to declare that it has an atomic bomb by the knowledge that it has no hope of resisting American conventional power. If it becomes generally believed that possession of even a few nuclear munitions is enough to render North Korea immune from American military force, other nations — Iran is an obvious next candidate — may place renewed emphasis on building them.

For the extent of American military superiority has become almost impossible to overstate. The United States sent five of its nine supercarrier battle groups to the region for the Iraq assault. A tenth Nimitz-class supercarrier is under construction. No other nation possesses so much as one supercarrier, let alone nine battle groups ringed by cruisers and guarded by nuclear submarines. More...

Army Co-Sponsors Transformation Wargame

The Army and U.S. Joint Forces Command have entered into a partnership and will co-sponsor the latest in the Army's annual series of its premier transformation wargame, which will be conducted at Carlisle Barracks, Penn.

Unified Quest 03 will last from April 27 until May 2, and it will be a capstone event in a yearlong series of wargames, experiments and seminars.

The theme of the exercise is, ‘Expanding the Power of Coherent, Joint Operations.’ This year’s exercise will focus on solutions to address current interoperability issues as well as planning for future capabilities, which is a significant change from previous exercises. MORE

Miscellaneous Current Military and Veteran News

TRICARE Complying With Stricter Rules on Healthcare

TRICARE, like all other healthcare providers nationwide, is working under stricter rules when it comes to protecting patients' rights and the privacy of their health information. More...

Certain Veterans May Be Eligible for Copayment Refunds

Veterans insured by the Hartford Life Insurance Company or the USAA Life Insurance Company may be eligible for a refund of their VA copayments. More...

Study Needed Before Force 'Footprint' Changes in Gulf

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates, April 27, 2003 – The footprint of U.S. forces in the Persian Gulf region will change in the coming months, but it is too soon to say how, defense leaders said following meetings with leaders of the United Arab Emirates today.

Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and Army Gen. Tommy Franks met with Shaykh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, and Lt. Gen. Muhammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the chief of staff of the armed forces of the United Arab Emirates, on the first day on the secretary's visit to the region. Franks heads U.S. Central Command and has led Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Franks said that in each place the secretary and he visit, there is an understanding that with the regime of Saddam Hussein gone, "that in the days and months ahead there will likely be a rearrangement of the footprint in the region."

Forces, for example, are no longer needed for operations Northern Watch and Southern Watch. But Franks said this does not necessarily mean U.S. forces will be reduced. More...

South Fla. Army Reservists Build POW Camp They'll Guard

CAMP BUCCA, Iraq — When the 724th Military Police Battalion arrived at the coalition’s temporary holding facility here, a plan was already in place for the nearby semi-permanent facility they’d be guarding - complete with electricity, plumbing, more space and better tents.

The only problem was, it hadn’t been built yet. And so last week 18 soldiers assigned to guard part of the new facility found themselves put to work laying down the very concertina-wire fence line they’d soon be patrolling.

Spc. Jose Lopez cheerfully grumbled, “You know the joke about what MP stands for - ‘multi-purpose.' You name it, we do it. We’re out here pulling shifts in the towers and along the perimeter, waiting for this camp to be done so we can start doing what we came here to do, and now they want us to build the thing ourselves.” More...

Navy MWR Announces New Discounted Travel Program
Release Date: 4/26/2003 12:00:00 PM

By Ingrid Mueller, Navy MWR Communications Group

MILLINGTON, Tenn. (NNS) -- Navy Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) has established a partnership with the Government Armed Forces Travel Cooperative (GAFTC) to provide a wide range of discounted travel opportunities to active-duty and Reserve personnel, military retirees, and Department of Defense employees and their family members.

“This program gives our authorized patrons access to significantly discounted travel opportunities,” said Karen Fritz, program manager for Navy MWR’s information, Tickets and Travel (ITT) Section. “Using this program is also beneficial to Navy MWR, because vendors pay a commission for every booking placed by Sailors. That money goes directly back into Navy MWR programs for Sailors and their families at the local base level.”

The GAFTC Web site -- govarm.com – allows users to shop for hotel rooms, airline tickets, car rentals, cruises, golf packages and travel insurance. The Web site features access to more than 50,000 hotels, hundreds of airlines, 24 car rental companies, all major cruise lines, 400 golf vacations and the leading travel insurance companies in the world.

More

Homeward-bound crew thankful for support

4/26/2003 - WASHINGTON -- Among the many missions B-52s flew during Operation Iraqi Freedom, crewmembers aboard one Stratofortress said their most eagerly awaited sortie was the one they were on April 24.

The crew spoke to reporters at the Pentagon via a radio-to-telephone connection as they flew home to Minot Air Force Base, N.D. From their position at more than 30,000 feet above the Irish Sea, the crew of “Ironman 1” said they were glad to be on the last leg of their journey.

"I can tell you for the eight guys on board right now, we are all very excited to be headed home," said Lt. Col. John Stuwe, the aircraft's commander.

After the nearly nine-hour flight home, the crew will be given some well-deserved down time before going back to work, Stuwe said. He said the crew already has plans for how they will spend that time. More

[snippy_about_it]

28 April 2003

What went right?

Kim Burger JDW Staff Reporter, Nick Cook JDW Aerospace Consultant, Andrew Koch JDW Washington Bureau Chief, Michael Sirak JDW Staff Reporter

With the regime of Saddam Hussein soundly defeated by overwhelming military force, coalition leaders are analysing what initial lessons can be drawn from Operation 'Iraqi Freedom'.

A high-level Pentagon team is already sifting through the data. The team-members will be aware that their conclusions will be leapt upon by proponents of two quite disparate camps: those who will use the war to bolster the process of the military's transformation from a Cold War-era fighting force to one that is lighter, more flexible and technology-reliant; and those who believe that transformation in a highly uncertain global security environment is as much a threat to the military as it is a positive force for change.

Arthur Cebrowski, a retired vice admiral and director of the Department of Defense (DoD) Office of Force Transformation, said he expects analysis of operations in Iraq will reveal a "new air-land dynamic: the discovery of a new 'sweet spot' in the relationship between land and air warfare and a tighter integration of the two. The things that compel that are good sensors networked with good intelligence disseminated through a robust networking system, which then yields speed. Speed turns out to be a very, very important factor," Cebrowski said.

The war was also notable for how 'psyops' - psychological operations - was brought to bear on the enemy in new and unusual ways. Psyops against the Iraqi military included the dropping of more than 40 million leaflets prior to hostilities and during the conflict itself. These leaflets, which urged Iraqi commanders not to use weapons of mass destruction and for front-line troops to desert, appeared to have had the desired effect.

Vice Adm Timothy Keating, head of US naval forces in the Gulf, said on 12 April that the fact that Iraq launched no 'Scud' surface-to-surface ballistic missiles during the war may have been directly attributable to this aspect of the campaign. Others state that it may simply have been because Iraq had no 'Scuds' or that the regime was dissuaded from launching them by the persistence of coalition 'eyes and ears' in the air and on the ground. Psyops also involved the direct 'piping' of propaganda into Iraq via platforms like the US Air Force's (USAF's) EC-130E Commando Solo aircraft.

Special operations forces (SOF), like those who shape psyops strategy, traditionally remain in the shadows, but the degree to which SOF operated in the open in 'Iraqi Freedom' was also unprecedented.

US special forces and intelligence paramilitary forces have been more vital to the overall success of 'Iraqi Freedom' than in any other large-scale conflict, US defence officials say. They were also used in considerable numbers: as many as 10,000 are thought to have been deployed during the course of the war. Their tasks ranged from gathering intelligence on Iraqi troop positions to directing airstrikes and severing enemy lines of communications - a factor, along with the disruption caused by coalition airstrikes, that proved critical in isolating Iraq's heavily centralised command structure from front-line commanders. More

[ppaul]

Song for a Marine

[snippy_about_it]

Jen likes planes, I like ships. Here is one of the Nimitz you just reported on.

[SAMWolf]

PsyOps and Special Forces will be the untold story behind this war.

[SAMWolf]

Thanks for the Link PPAUL

[larryjohnson]

Thanks for the Military news. I get USAF news in my mail each day but I know there is more than air superiority. I went on my first long bike ride(10mi) since the snow first flew. It was to my breakfast place, The White House in Jonesboro. Remember the Laugh In person who fell over on his tricycle?. That was me at the only stopsign. My feet were locked in the styrips(sp). I am now icing elbow and knee.

[Eastbound]

Front and center, snippy. Great idea! Thanks. At ease.

[SAMWolf]

LOL! I remember him. I just got this mental picture of you doing that this morning. Thanks for the smile.

[SAMWolf]

1944 Exercise "Tiger" ends with 750 US soldiers dead in D-Day rehearsal after their convoy ships were attacked by German torpedo boats

To be covered in tomorrow's Foxhole, interesting story and not very well known.

[snippy_about_it]

Oh you poor thing.lol. ouch!

Good to see you lj. There really is a lot of stories out there and difficult to decide what to post so just let me know if you have any ideas. Bike riding 101?

[snippy_about_it]

Thank you!

[Pippin]

Good Afternoon, Larry!

[Pippin]

Hi, Sassy!

you have a great day too!

[Pippin]

Okay!

Now to find GailA's coffee pot graphic! :O)

[snippy_about_it]

Hello SassyMom.

[Johnny Gage]

Air Power
EC-130E Commando Solo

The EC-130E Commando Solo (initially known as Volant Solo) is available to commanders for localized targeting of specific avenues of communication. The EC-130E exists in Comfy Levi and Rivet Rider versions. Senior Hunter aircraft flying the SENIOR SCOUT mission support Commando Solo aircraft. A multi-purpose asset capable of conducting both PSYOP and EW, the EC-130E, Commando Solo, is an airborne platform "primarily designed for PSYOP." Commando Solo can conduct psychological broadcast missions in the standard AM, FM, HF, TV and military communications bands. Missions in Bosnia were flown at maximum altitudes possible to ensure optimum propagation patterns. Highly specialized modifications had been made to the latest version of the EC-130E. These included enhanced navigation systems, self-protection equipment, and the capability of broadcasting color television on a multitude of worldwide standards throughout the TV VHF/UHF ranges.

This weapon system is the mainstay information operations aircraft for peacekeeping and peacemaking operations and humanitarian efforts which comprise a large percentage of today's military missions. Commando Solo conducts psychological operations and civil affairs broadcast missions in the standard AM, FM, HF, TV, and military communications bands. Missions are flown at the maximum altitudes possible to ensure optimum propagation patterns. The EC-130 flies either day or night scenarios with equal success, and is air refuelable. A typical mission consists of a single-ship orbit which is offset from the desired target audience. The targets may be either military or civilian personnel. Secondary missions include command and control communications countermeasures (C3CM) and limited intelligence gathering.

With the capability to control the electronic spectrum of radio, television, and military communication bands in a focused area, the Commando Solo aircraft can prepare the battlefield through psychological operations and civil affairs broadcasts. These modified C-130Es provide broadcasting capabilities primarily for psychological operations missions; support disaster relief operations; and perform communications jamming in military spectrum and intelligence gathering. One oversized blade antenna is under each wing with a third extending forward from the vertical fin. A retractable wire antenna is released from the modified beavertail, with a second extending from the belly and held vertical by a 500 pound weight.

Capabilities include:

Reception, analysis, and transmission of various electronic signals to exploit electromagnetic spectrum for maximum battlefield advantage Secondary capabilities include jamming, deception, and manipulation techniques

Broadcasts in frequency spectrums including AM/FM radio, short-wave, television, and military command, control and communications channels.

Rivet Rider modification includes: VHF and UHF Worldwide format color TV Infrared countermeasures [chaff/flare dispensers plus infrared jammers] Vertical trailing wire antenna Fire suppressant foam in fuel tank Radar warning receiver Self-contained navigation system

The modification added a pair of underwing pylon mounted 23X6 foot equipment pods, along with X-antennae mounted on both sides of the vertical fin. Six aircraft have been modified to the Rivet Rider configuration by the contractor, Lockheed Martin; Ontario, California.

Commando Solo and Senior Scout operations may be long or short range missions with extended orbit delays planned at the aircraft operating ceiling, and may require one or multiple air refuelings. Some missions may require a combat profile, with a low altitude profile enroute to the mission orbit area. The electronic environment may be hostile, with enemy ability to jam all communications radios and electronic transmission systems; to intercept and use intelligence information transmitted over nonsecure electronic systems and radios; and to pinpoint the position of the aircraft emitting any electronic transmission or signal.

C130J-30 Aircraft
Max Take-off Weight - 155,000 lb
Operating Altitude - 29,000 ft
Time on Station - 11.5 hrs
Unrefueled range - 2800 NM
Runway Length Required - 2,800 ft

AN/APS-145 Radar
Coverage of a 6 million cubic mile cylinder from sea level to 100,000 ft. 360 degree coverage in 10 seconds
IFF: Continuous detection and tracking of air and surface targets

[SAMWolf]

Comfy Levi and Rivet Rider versions

Interesing version names, I get a picture of the Levi edition of the AMC Gremlim in my mind.

Thanks Johnny.

[snippy_about_it]

It's a few weeks old but I like it.

Paratroopers of 2nd Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division remain vigilant, even by moonlight, while pulling perimeter security Thursday morning on the outskirts of the village of Khar Bolah, Afghanistan. Elements of the 504th and 505th PIRs searched the village for weapons and anti-coalition forces Wednsday. (Photo by Pfc. Charles D. Meseke)

[Diver Dave]

Great presentation today, snippy. Appreciated the work you put into it.

I'm heading down to the forward mess decks -Time for more coffee...

[SAMWolf]

Members of the 101st Airborne of the California National Guard display an American flag before the start of the NASCAR Winston Cup Series Auto Club 500 at California Speedway in Fontana, Calif., Sunday, April 27, 2003. (AP Photo/Will Lester)