WJPBR Email News List [EMAIL PROTECTED] Peace at any cost is a Prelude to War! ARTICLE 3 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ U.S. To Sell Egypt Defense Systems ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ed.: Why do we keep selling non-NATO allies sophisticated ATTACK weapons that our own forces cannot afford? Is it good security policy or defense greed? One of these days, we might be looking into our own guns. An AP report, many of you might have missed. **************************************************************************** The Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) - The Pentagon plans to sell Egypt $882 million in military equipment and support services to upgrade its air defenses. The deal includes improvements to 35 of Egypt's Apache attack helicopters, equipment to distinguish friendly and enemy aircraft, radar systems and support and training personnel, Defense Department officials confirmed Saturday. In a statement, the Pentagon said the proposed sale will give Egypt better capability to attack armored vehicles, defend vital installations and provide better close-air support for its ground forces. It said the deal wouldn't affect the region's basic military balance. Last October, the Pentagon agreed to sell Israel 24 AH-64 Apache attack helicopters converted to the latest model, called the Apache Longbow, equipped with more sophisticated targeting and radar systems. ============================================================== ARTICLE 4 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Special Forces Medics may not be so Special? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ed.: This report indicates that the SF leadership is taking shortcuts to produce more medics. One could almost make the connection why they could have thought about pushing women into the SF medic specialty. *************************************************************************** By W.D., Special Ops Soldier The problem of easy wrong vs. the hard right has infected more than the recruit processing centers. At Ft. Bragg, the JFKSWC course that produces Special Forces soldiers has eagerly joined the numbers game. While the Special Forces Qualification Course is no "cake walk," the path to becoming a "Green Beret" medic is by far the toughest. A-teams are considered non-deployable without at least one medic, so there is a great deal of command interest in the graduation rate. In the past, this interest manifested itself in proactive measures to insure that the highest standards of testing and professionalism were maintained, i.e. no good ole' boy washouts or headhunting. But that interest has mutated into a shell game to increase the number of graduates regardless of their capability. SWC regulations state that an individual will be tested, and if their performance is found to be substandard, they will receive retraining and ONE (and only one) retest. This regulation is now violated at every turn by holding secret re-retests, and if the lack of numbers require, re-re-retest on individuals that are deemed marginally salvable by the command. Col. (P) Remo Butler's legacy of mediocrity has forced officers of little or no moral fiber to go along or no longer get along. The 18 series officers making these decisions have no medical experience and, at most, only 16 to 18 months on an operational A-team. The A-MEDD regiment doctors justifying this degradation are not S.F. qualified, have no Spec Ops combat experience and are therefore clueless, but both groups have a boat load of staff time and they know whose butt to kiss. In an effort to stop the madness, the NCO instructors requested the command to simply state, in writing, that standards were secondary to numbers and to dictate how many people were needed and they would select the best of the "herd" and meet that number. For example, if the command needed 40 graduates, the instructors would test a class of 75 and pick the 40 best. Of course this would end the premise of only the very best becoming Green Berets and the force would transition from outstanding into being "pretty good." Needless to say this solution was deemed subversive and not in the best interests of the Army. A few marginal NCOERs were handed out (instant career death in a zero defect Army), the trouble makers were reassigned and the covert re-re-retests continue to this day. While the officer corps may choose to play ostrich, the NCO corps understands one thing very clearly. We are being betrayed by a field grade and general officer corps that will gleefully cause our deaths in order to get promoted. On the Special Forces tab, the word special and average have the same amount of letters, so the change won't cost the Army very much. =============================================================== ARTICLE 5 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Training Staffs versus the Troops ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ed.: A sharp observation by a junior NCO. The training centers are focusing more on unit staffs than small unit combat skills. If the trend continues, former USMC General Sheehan might be right: "We could be come the world's best trained staff ever to be kicked off a hill by a Third World country." Hope this troop is considering OCS - he could make a difference. **************************************************************************** By F.T., a junior NCO stationed in Europe I would have to completely agree with you on your analysis of training and NTC. My only experience has been with the Combat Training Center in Hohenfels, Germany and I can say to you that it is somewhat of a joke for the lower echelon soldiers. The poor "Joe," besides being criminally overloaded with armored vest, MOPP gear and the ridiculous MILES gear, has to suffer at the hands of outlandish Rules of Engagement (ROE) and overweight, condescending Observer Controllers (OC) who look like they have been away from the line too long. Instead of fostering initiative, innovation and tough training for junior leaders and NCOs, the rotation generally seems to be more focused on staff training in the Ops Centers, than actual ground combat training. Hell, Joe can't even dig fighting positions, something he will definitely have to do in the real scenario. As a lower ranking NCO who is dedicated to the infantry, I find it ludicrous that units are designated as trained,. if they do a rotation in Grafenwoehr and Hohenfels. One wonders who is actually being trained -- the team leaders, squad leaders and platoon leaders who definitely need the training, or the senior officers and NCOs who put on a fine Powerpoint presentation of the battles. I think we need get back to the task of decentralizing command and placing more responsibility in the hands of squad leaders, etc. In the end, it is they and not those hiding out at the TOC, who will be the ones who eventually decide the fates of battles. ============================================================= ARTICLE 6 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Marines - No room for COO ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ed: Straight talk from a retired former Marine Infantry NCO. Never forget that your primary mission is preparation for combat. *************************************************************************** By James Craig, MSgt USMC Ret I am no longer on active duty, having retired after 23 years service. I spent much of my time as a combat Marine. I can tell you that on my first tour of combat duty, I was very well acquainted with the men of my Platoon. As a squad leader, I had been Best Man at one of my men's wedding, and we spent social time with each other's families. It was very difficult to lose a man you knew that well. As a leader, it was very difficult to make objective decisions about who performed certain duty. Whom should I pick to be on Recon? Point man? Booby-trap/mine clearance etc? Knowing your men's very personal lives and secret desires makes it nearly impossible to command in an objective manner. All I really wanted to know about my men were there training status, and experience level. I did not give a crap if they were budding poets or authors, or were excessively emotional and sensitive to criticism etc. Did they know their skills? Could they move shoot and communicate? That is all I cared about and all I needed to know. Everything else was just in the way. War is War, not a charm school. It is not pleasant, it is not sensitive and my men had better be able to lay down sensitivity and take the fight to the enemy. That is how we win a war or a skirmish. ============================================================== ARTICLE 7 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Attack of the Dreaded Fairy Shrimp ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ed.: Environmental protection and combat realistic training must go hand in hand but today, overzealous environmentalists and compliance fanatical commanders are threatening the balance and are jeopardizing our troops' preparation for war. **************************************************************************** By McRae, Capt USMC Near the top of the long list of threats to the viability of our armed forces stands the San Diego Fairy Shrimp. As if the lowering of standards at recruit depots, the rampant social engineering mandated by those in power, and the erosion of the authority of NCOs and junior Officers weren't enough, the Department of Defense has been set upon by yet another advocacy group, the environmentalists. Ask any Marine from 29 Palms about the Desert Tortoise. Ask any Marine from Kanehoe Bay about the Red-footed Booby Bird. Ask any Soldier or Marine that has trained at Schofield Barracks about the Oahu Tree Snail. Go to any base where any live fire training is conducted in the DoD, and I will bet my next pay check that there is some life form that exists there in such dwindling numbers that either the EPA or the Fish and Wildlife Service will publicly castrate the next serviceman who shoots, burns, touches, or verbally taunts it. Now, I want to go on record here as saying that I do not, in any way, shape, form, or fashion, advocate wholesale slaughter of harmless endangered woodland creatures. In fact, I recognize the responsibility of the armed forces to minimize impact on the land that we train on. From a tactical aspect, it's just good tactics for any unit training realistically to leave nothing behind, i.e. brass, trash, ammo residue, etc., which would give the enemy any information as to the strength, disposition, and weapons types of friendly units. From an environmental aspect, most of us acknowledge that these are the only training areas that we are likely to get, and we generally treat these lands accordingly. I have yet to meet anyone in the military who thinks otherwise. Yet, the enviro groups continue to wheedle away at what few training areas are left to us to train on. According to the 16 July edition of the North County (CA) Times, the Fish and Wildlife Service is asking that 70,000 acres aboard Camp Pendleton be declared a wildlife refuge for the California gnatcatcher and the San Diego fairy shrimp. 70,000 acres, which may be taken away from the Marine Corps to protect species, which may, in all probability, be the victims of Darwinism in the first place. The Pentagon released a report to Congress this week, which claims that: "Encroachment on DOD ranges and training centers presents a serious and growing challenge to force readiness." Translated out of the forked tongue, that means that our enviro-watchdogs have succeeded in placing restrictions on land usage that have made the planning process prohibitively complex, and has rendered the training unrealistic. As a possible solution, the report contends that: "By using instrumentation to better replicate the realities of combat, we can minimize potential environmentally destructive aspects of training," Translation: less live fire training. Instrumentation in this age of technical wonders may be impressive, but nothing can replace the absolute necessity for live fire training exercises. It seems like every time I go to a Range Control to set up training, there is an environmental department somewhere nearby that has the final say on which training evolutions are environmentally sound enough to be executed. This is a clear example of lunatics running the asylum. The main mission of any military base is to train servicemen. The organization that facilitates training is Range Control. Therefore, it seems logical that Range Control, with subordinate environmental advisors, should be the ultimate arbiter of any proposed training. Restricting the ability of Range Control to facilitate realistic training is directly counter to its mission. While protecting the environment is important, it should not be the primary focus of effort on a military base. As an institution, the military must take a stand on this issue, put the horse back in front of the cart, and make these departments answer to those who train servicemen to fight. ============================================================ ARTICLE 8 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Battle for Nevada Cities ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ed.: Navy editor requests your help to shed light on forgotten battles of the Korea War. **************************************************************************** ** By Herb Renner Jr. Navy Editor There was a battle in Korea, fought entirely by Marines and Corpsmen, on the ground, that was once described as one of the bloodiest battles the Marines had ever fought. The battle was short. Lasting only 5 days and nights. Hundreds were either KIA, WIA or MIA. Little attention was paid to the subject in the States, because the truce talks were the major headlines. The battles later became known as the battles for the Nevada Cities, but, during the actual conflict or shortly thereafter the battles were known as the fights for Reno, Carson, and Vegas, three hills that the Chinese Communist Forces (CCF) wanted in order to push the Marines back closer to the Main Line of Resistance (MLR). The hills were designated Combat Outposts (COP's). Each had been fortified with various weapon emplacements within encircling trench works and manned with a squad or two of mud Marines, an Officer, and a Corpsman. Things had been quiet on this section of the Western front for a number of weeks with only a few patrol clashes at night. At 1900, almost sharp, on March 26, 1953, the CCF launched a massive attack on all three hills and a smaller rise called Reno Block. Reno was lost forever, Vegas was retaken, and I believe the Carson defenders were never dislodged completely. The ground-pounders were battalions of the 5th and 7th Marines, mostly, to my memory and what I've read. The unit I was in was Easy Company, Second Battalion, 5th Marines (E/2/5) and we were in reserve, having served our 60 days on the line, doing mostly night patrol jobs, like ambush, recon, and combat patrols up and into the CCF outposts. At least one Corpsman went on every patrol. We were called out of reserve for blocking action in case there was a break-through by the CCF, and a bit later we were thrown into the attack to retake Vegas, which, with the help of heavy weapons like tanks used as artillery, artillery and rockets launchers, air strikes with bombs and napalm, we got to a military crest and held on. I remember the lone prisoner, a Chinese litter bearer (I later found out) that was dug out of a collapsed bunker, that had a leg wound I dressed. Killed and wounded were everywhere and attempts were made to have the South Korean Labor Battalion people (we called them Chiggy-bearers) carry some of them out. Eventually all were evacuated when things quieted down. Marines never left a soul if they could be found. Of course, some were blown apart and never found or were captured. These were discovered at roll call. I am trying to compile first-hand stories and gather somewhat non-tactical events of these battles to put into book form, before those of us that were there are long gone and forgotten. The book will be dedicated to the Marines and Corpsmen that were there, those that were awarded the Medal of Honor, the Navy Cross, and lesser medals, both living and posthumous. Anyone having records, pictures, stories, info, data, reliable hearsay or anything else related to the period 26 March to 30 March, 1953, can send them to me for inclusion. Roll calls before and after the battles would be greatly appreciated. Copies of letters from the military establishment to those that lost love ones, are needed. Any scrap no matter how small is very important to me. When the book is complete, which I hope will be within the next few years, those that send material will receive a loose bound copy without charge. Just remember to ask for one by email in case I or the computer loses your address. I will answer all inquiries and send a note of appreciation to those that contribute. Please attach an address where I can reach you. Herb Renner, 406 Mt. Rainier Place, Ridgecrest, CA 93555, E-Mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Note: the letter following the "m" is a Q) Phone: 760-499-6368 *COPYRIGHT NOTICE** In accordance with Title 17 U. S. C. Section 107, any copyrighted work in this message is distributed under fair use without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for nonprofit research and educational purposes only.[Ref. http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml ] Want to be on our lists? Write at [EMAIL PROTECTED] for a menu of our lists! ****************************************************************************** ******************* A vote for Bush or Gore is a vote to continue Clinton policies! A vote for Buchanan is a vote to continue America! Therefore a vote for Gore or Bush is a wasted vote for America! Don't waste your vote! Vote for Patrick Buchanan! Today, candor compels us to admit that our vaunted two-party system is a snare and a delusion, a fraud upon the nation. Our two parties have become nothing but two wings of the same bird of prey... 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