Asymmetric Military

When I attended Army Engineering school (BOLC 3-formerly known as OBC) for the Army in 2007, a colonel with the 130th EN Brigade came to class to speak about his experiences. He was one of the most interesting, certainly amongst the smartest, people I've ever had the pleasure of hearing. His explanation of the situation in Iraq, and remember that Bush had just announced the Surge strategy, was riveting.

Most of the points he made are moot now, but he did mention that the soldiers with whom he deployed during OIF I- that is, the first group of soldiers to enter Iraq, the ones who fought against Saddam's Army, were the best trained and most highly motivated soldiers he's ever worked with.

I don't know if I saw Engineering the Victory the same day the colonel gave his speech, but I remember liking it enough to have it transferred to my thumb drive for future use on Asymmetric. It's a photographic diary of the 130th's adventure in Iraq. It's OK as far as these things go.

I knew that when the people who made the video say, "victory," they were referring to their success in liberating Iraq, but it still seemed a little inappropriate at the time, and I never used it.

Well, now with the agreement between the Iraqi and American governments on a glide path for American troop withdrawal almost assuring a second (no comma) legitimate "mission accomplished," I think it's safe to broadcast. Enjoy.

1. American veterans have participated in both the defense of the nation and, in some cases, wars of aggression (open a page of Howard Zinn at random).** Without both types of actions, the United States, quite literally, wouldn't exist.

2. We honor veterans because we're grateful to people who do difficult things for our benefit. Most people reward such actions with money, but for those in certain jobs, where an appropriate financial compensation is impractical or impossible, appreciation is part of their paycheck. It's why Blackwater guards get more money than G.I. Joe and we don't have "Mercenary Day." It's why we have "Mother's Day" and not "Daycare Worker Day" (although I appreciate them as well).

3. It's both a duty (for those capable) and a privilege to serve in the military. I thank God that I'm able to help the country that's given my parents and children such wonderful (and rare, in the world) opportunities. God bless the USA. God bless those across the world who wish to live free.

4. There are many other, equally important, ways to serve one's country. Raising one's children to be good citizens comes to mind. My blog software has a word per post limit so I simply can't enumerate all of the others.

5. As a veteran, I'd like to thank the hundreds of Americans who have approached me to offer their gratitude. I'd also like to acknowledge every other veteran who pledged their service to our country. Your sacrifices humble me daily.

6. John Kerry notwithstanding, even people whom I suspect feel otherwise can't disparage veterans in public.

7. I'm glad I'm part of the only two or three free countries in the world willing to fight other nations for good reasons that may or not be in our immediate interests.

**Yes, I know it's a gross over-simplification.

Link: http://www.military.com/Recruiting/Content/0,13898,rec_splash,,00.html

I teach at a high school and many students ask me whether they should join the military. I have come up with an easy, if oversimplified, formulation. There are two reasons to join the military: The first reason to join the Army is if you are an individual who loves military stuff: You like guns, marching, physical exercise, and the smell of Kiwi; you've watched Blackhawk Down 23 times and didn't realize there was another station besides the History Channel; you read Victor David Hanson and Sun Tzu; and you like the PX as much as Bob Vila likes Home Depot. You need to join the Army or else you will suffer from soldier envy for the rest of your life.

Black Hawk Down

The other reason to join the military is if you're patriotic or believe in a particular cause. Your commitment to the mission and goal of the military will allow you to tolerate the many unpleasant tasks and non-compromising treatment that, unless you are also joining for reason number one, you will not enjoy.

I'll discuss my reasons tomorrow.

If you've never been in a military classroom, you've never experienced that delicate combination of boredom and fear perfected by the United States military over 232 years.

Those classes would torture any normal human (Where's the ACLU when you need them?), but for somebody suffering from a severe, non-diagnosed (not that they'd care) case of attention deficit syndrome, like myself, Army engineering classes required a mental gymnasticism worthy of Shawn Johnson to keep me from passing out.

Like I couldn't do that.

Anyways, one day the Army made the mistake of handing out something semi-interesting, this "Smart Card," written first for the Marines and then used by the Army (the Navy one included the phrase, "Hey..." OK, no Navy jokes.) and called the "Guide for Cultural Awareness." I took it out at around the 100th power point slide of one particular lecture and read it for the rest of the day.

It was fun. During breaks, I'd put together phrases and say them to the Arabic-speaking students from Egypt and Saudi Arabia, Aala kay-fek, in-baT-ah, "Calm down and lie on your stomach" (Army humor isn't very sophisticated.). I think it's unclassified. If it's not, I'll find out soon, I suppose. You can download it here. or just scroll down.

CNN.

HONOLULU, Hawaii (AP) -- Animal-rights activists want the United States to stop using animals as subjects to help train its military, calling the medical and trauma exercises cruel and a disservice to the troops.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals sent a letter Monday to Defense Secretary Robert Gates asking him to replace the use of animals with non-animal methods such as human simulators.

PETA seems reasonable this time. If the Army can use an alternative, it should; we shouldn't use animals just for fun.

I was wondering about this battle, in which nine brave (overused sometimes, I'm sure, but not here) Americans lost their lives defending an outpost, after I heard it in the news. Here is its recounting. The last paragraph, first and then the rest under the fold:

"It was some of the bravest stuff I’ve ever seen in my life, and I will never see it again because those guys," Stafford said, then paused. "Normal humans wouldn’t do that. You’re not supposed to do that — getting up and firing back when everything around you is popping and whizzing and trees, branches coming down and sandbags exploding and RPGs coming in over your head … It was a fistfight then, and those guys held ’ em off."

Stafford offered a guess as to why his fellow soldiers fought so hard.

"Just hardcoreness I guess," he said. "Just guys kicking ass, basically. Just making sure that we look scary enough that you don’t want to come in and try to get us."

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Today's the 233rd birthday of the Army (They don't look a day over 214!). Blackfive has Sergeant Major of the Army Preston's message.

Here's a tribute to the US Army in German. When you're appreciated by somebody outside of your organization, I think, in a way, it's more meaningful.

Here's the Old Guard drill team from the 3rd Infantry Division, the ones who guard the tomb of the unknown soldier. I had the privilege of seeing them carry out their duty at Arlington (I'll dig up the video.) a couple of years back. It's very hard stuff and something I could never do very well.