Undocumented Moslem (Democrat, al Qaeda):
"My work here is now done."
But not everyone is convinced. "This Stryker parade won’t fool anyone in Moscow," says retired Army Colonel Douglas Macgregor. "The Russians don't do many things well, but they have been subverting, destabilizing, invading and conquering their neighbors since Peter the Great. And what's our response: a small unit of light armored trucks."
Viewed by many of his colleagues as one of the most innovative Army officers of his generation, Macgregor, a West Point graduate with a Ph.D. in international relations ("he can be pretty gruff," a fellow West Point graduate says, "but he’s brilliant"), led the 2nd Cav's “Cougar Squadron†in the best-known battle of Operation Desert Storm in February 1991. In 23 minutes, Macgregor's force destroyed an entire Iraqi Armored Brigade (including nearly 70 Iraqi armored vehicles), while suffering a single American casualty. Speaking at a military "lessons learned" conference one year later, Air Force General Jack Welsh described the Battle of 73 Easting (named for a map coordinate) as "a stunning, overwhelming victory."
In the wake of the battle, however, Macgregor calculated that if his unit had fought a highly trained and better armed enemy, like the Russians, the outcome would have been different.
In early September he circulated a PowerPoint presentation showing that in a head-to-head confrontation pitting the equivalent of a U.S. armored division against a likely Russian adversary, the U.S. division would be defeated.
"Defeated isn't the right word," Macgregor told me last week. "The right word is annihilated." The 21-slide presentation features four battle scenarios, all of them against a Russian adversary in the Baltics - what one currently serving war planner on the Joint Chiefs staff calls "the most likely warfighting scenario we will face outside of the Middle East."
"Macgregor scares the hell out of the Army," says a senior Joint Chiefs war planner. "What he has proposed is nothing less than the dismantling of the Big Green Machine, getting the Army to embrace a future of lighter, more agile forces than the big lumbering behemoth which takes forever to spool up and deploy. I'll bet the armor and airborne guys are furious. Reform my ass: Macgregor has walked into the zoo and slapped the gorilla."
Undocumented Moslem (Democrat, al Qaeda):
"My work here is now done."
Under our current CIC we could not defeat Italy, for Pete’s sake.
Lighter and more agile makes sense though.
Where? We go there or they come here? They come here I doubt it very much even if the Child-In-Chief told Americans to stand down.
If he really wanted to smash America right before leaving office, starting a needless war with Russia would be really innovative.
Only the gays and women. The rest can go head to head.
I totally agree. It will asymmetrical. They will attack the economy. They will disrupt the internet. they will attack satellites. They will use EMPs, then conventional nukes.Yellowstone will be the target. The entire continent and 99% of its inhabitants will be destroyed within 96 hours. Then on to Israel.
ROE alone would do it.
Our current “Commander” in Chief has decimated the command, control, and logistics of the military to the point that we have less than the capability we had when we entered WWI. The brave men and women of the military are doing the absolute best they can under the abhorrent circumstances. God bless them.
This is a major part of his fundamental transformation of the USA.
Russia is about aggression and firepower. The US is about rules, obedience, and precision. Russia would win.
Your Commie has no regard for human life, not even his own. And for this reason, men, I want to impress upon you the need for extreme watchfulness. The enemy may come individually, or he may come in strength. He may even come in the uniform of our own troops. But however he comes, we must stop him. We must not allow him to gain entrance to this base. Now, I’m going to give you THREE SIMPLE rules: First, trust NO one, whatever his uniform or rank, unless he is known to you personally; Second, anyone or anything that approaches within 200 yards of the perimeter is to be FIRED UPON; Third, if in doubt, shoot first then ask questions afterward. I would sooner accept a few casualties through accidents rather losing the entire base and its personnel through carelessness. Any variation of these rules must come from me personally. Any variation on these rules must come from me personally. Now, men, in conclusion, I would like to say that, in the two years it has been my privilege to be your commanding officer, I have always expected the best from you, and you have never given me anything less than that. Today, the nation is counting on us. We’re not going to let them down. Good luck to you all.
Who’s the legendary Army commander? I don’t see him.
A lighter more agile strategy is the way to go. It worked perfectly when the British paratroopers landed on top that Panzer Division at Arnhem.
COL Macgregor came down to Fort Lee, VA, to speak to my Command and General Staff College class last October/November. Fascinating guy with a lot of interesting contrary thinking as compared to what you normally see/hear from the brass.
He told us that Russia’s involvement in Ukraine wasn’t our problem (”It will be Putin’s ulcer.”) and that ISIS is generally a bunch of clowns in pick-up trucks who aren’t worth the time or effort on our behalf.
His real concern was Iran due to a real military capability and significant asymmetric capabilities as well as a rapidly developing nuclear program.
It’s not a hat trick. If we had only spent the time and money on research and engineering instead of Iraq...
Any infantry armed with a Stoner designed rifle versus the current Kalashnikovs in 5.45 would be rolled up and cut down. I have no doubts about that.
And while that was happening (the annihilation of our forces in E. Europe), the Chinese and Russians would be sinking our carriers in the Pacific, China would invade Taiwan, and the North Koreans would move on to South Korea with Chinese and Russian air support.
I imagine the state department and Department of Defense moles alone are enough.
Why is the Baltic such a powderkeg? And what Baltic nation (besides Poland) is worth fighting for?
River Crossings are tough military operations.
The Atlantic Ocean and Pacific Ocean are two might big rivers to try and get across and attack the United States.
The reverse of that is hard for us. That’s why we propositioned heavy equipment in Germany for all those years. We did transport in advance.
Let’s face it. The Democrats are counting on the Atlantic and Pacific while they use tax money to buy votes for the Democrat Party.
WHAT AN IDIOT! WE CANNOT LOSE.
Why, because we spend more on our military than Russia spends on theirs...therefore we are INVINCIBLE.