-Caveat Lector- WJPBR Email News List [EMAIL PROTECTED] Peace at any cost is a Prelude to War! SOLDIERS FOR THE TRUTH "DEFENDING AMERICA NEWSLETTER" 20 December 2000 - "Training and Preparing for War" "When we assumed the Soldier, we did not lay aside the Citizen." General George Washington, New York Legislature, 1775 "Our militia will be heroes, if we have heroes to lead them." Thomas Jefferson Soldiers For The Truth Foundation, PO Box 63840, Colorado Springs, CO 80962-3840 HTTP://WWW.SFTT.ORG *********************************************************** TABLE OF CONTENTS: SITREP from the President HOT BUTTONS! Hack's Column: A Good Man Backed Up By A Cardboard Tiger "Through Zman's Gun Sight" Article 1 -- You Can't Brief Yourself To Victory The Big Picture: Article 2 -- Marine Corps Osprey Suffers Another Fatal Crash Article 3 -- Army Leases 'Eyes' To Watch Balkans Article 4 - US General Downplays Russia Incident Voice of the Grunt: Article 5 -- Army Basic Training Severely Lacking Article 6 -- Where Was The Frontline In Somalia General Barret? Article 7 -- USAF Training SITREP Article 8 -- Navy SITREP - Basic Was a Joke Article 9 -- Time For a Strategic Attitude Change Article 10 -- A New And Real View To Veterans Help Article 11 -- More Voices from the Frontlines Article 12 -- Troop Health Issues: "Bad Order and Discipline" G.I Humor: Article 13 -- GI HUMOR - WWII: Escaping the British Way Medal of Honor: Article 14 -- CRAWFORD, WILLIAM J., WWII SITREP: A. Main topics: 1) Combat Training 2) A Changing World 3) Veterans' Health 4) Voices from the Front... B. CHRISTMAS 2000 AND THOUGHTS FOR THE NEW YEAR * Santa has brought us a new President - finally! For the new administration there will be many opportunities to build a better and safer future for our country and the world. My best wishes and prayers go out to them with a hope that they will not be blinded by their official powers and that they won't just boil up the shallow glories of the Gulf War. In this week's column, Hack emphasizes his confidence in the President's pick as Secretary of State. From a younger generation's viewpoint, I am a bit reluctant to give credit too early. Powell is a decent choice but has learned to cover up and is a master of the media spin. What was his involvement in the Somalia decisions? One statement in his co-authored biography gives me special concern: "Release facts slowly, behind the pace at which they are already leaking out to the public. Don't tell the whole story unless forced to do so. Emphasize what went well and euphemize what went wrong. Become indignant to any suggestion of poor judgment or mistakes. Disparage any facts other than your own. Accuse critics of Monday-morning generalship." Just with all the other appointments, I'll be from Missouri -they have to show me! As we were blessed with another year of relative stability and peace, I would like to send my best wishes and thanks to all our troops around the world, who stand ready to face any aggressor. They have once again accomplished their mission. Thank you from all of us. We hope you have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, even if you can only be home in your dreams, as Bing Crosby's old song reminds us every Christmas season. For the year 2001, I pledge to continue the fight for readiness and our little warfighters, no matter who is in charge in Washington. Good and evil exist side-by-side and power, especially too much of it, can easily corrupt. The new team in Washington must soon prove that they are up to the challenge to shape the future. We're ready to help but we're also prepared to address their shortcomings. "MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL SFTT WARRIORS, WHEREVER YOU MAY SERVE" Zman C. Other Issues: * I am thinking about a special article covering the "Platoon Sergeant/Section Leader" perspective to give senior leaders an idea/unbiased feedback of what's going on. If you can't say it in a training meeting, say it through SFTT! * ??? Tell me three things you want fixed in your service or branch of service. * I don't plan on producing a full-length newsletter during the week 25-31 December to give everyone a well-deserved holiday break. * Fellow troops, we still need your financial support. We're still saving to rent us a full time small-office headquarters with administrative support by mid next year and to become more aggressive on radio shows. We want to be able to buy time and hit the airwaves like the BBC in WWII. * Please continue the comments on the army Light concept. Feel free to send me hot topics directly if you can't get through the admin/log net -- [EMAIL PROTECTED] D. The WEBPAGE. Webmaster, John Cloven is continually working on improving the site. Thanks for your feedback. E. Keep the mail coming!!! We won't reveal your true identity unless you give us your approval. We know how vindictive the "system" is. F. How You can help: !!! Credit Card donation via our WEBSITE at www.sftt.org. !!! If you think we HIT a target, forward the newsletter to TV, radio and your local papers. YOU are the frontline recruiters and intel gatherers for SFTT. Check or Money order: Send to and make payable to: Soldiers For The Truth Foundation, PO Box 63840, Colorado Springs, CO 80962-3840. Important: Your donation is tax deductible! SFTT is a 501 (c) 3 non-profit educational foundation, IRS # 31-1592564. If you send us an E-MAIL address with your donation we can immediately mail you a RECEIPT. Multiple contributions: Please remind us when you submit your donation. We will send you a cumulative statement. Prepare for Action -- "Crew Ready! -- LOAD SABOT - DRIVER MOVE OUT!" R.W. Zimmermann President SFTT [EMAIL PROTECTED] ======================================================= Hack's Column ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A Good Man Backed Up By A Cardboard Tiger ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ By David Hackworth A Good Man Backed Up By A Cardboard Tiger Dubya's first pick out of the Cabinet box was a winner. Colin Powell as Secretary of State is like holding a royal flush in a no-limit poker game. Few Americans have his unique qualifications in war and peace; he has the right stuff to steer our nation with a steady hand through the dangerous shoals and violent storms we'll face. Powell, who brings enormous hands-on experience to the job, actually did not have a standout soldier's career until 1972, when, after a second tour in Vietnam (where he learned the hows and whys of fighting a losing war the hard way) and a shot at advanced schooling, he became a gofer in the White House. There, the high-stakes players were impressed enough by his horse sense, style and substance to ID him as a water-walker, someone who'd go to the top unless he pulled an Oliver North. Next he attended the National War College, where the best and brightest of our future generals, admirals and State Department whiz kids are trained, learning from great thinkers present and past, such as the 19th century's Karl "War is nothing but the extension of politics by other means" von Clausewitz. Powell went on to key positions in the Carter and Reagan administrations, where he worked closely with such big boys as Frank Carlucci and Caspar Weinberger. When Reagan -- with whom he developed a special relationship -- tapped him to be the National Security Advisor, he got to apply Clausewitz's theories while rubbing elbows with the power brokers who run the world. As an example, he was a key player in the Reagan-Gorbachev summit that resulted in the treaty to destroy all intermediate-range nuclear weapons. In August 1989, President George Bush made him Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, where he proved brilliantly adept at both the infighting within the D.C. Beltway and the tough slogging in situations like the 1989 invasion of Panama, which for him confirmed all the Clausewitzian lessons. Powell wrote: "Have a clear political objective and stick to it. Use all the force necessary and do not apologize for going in big if this is what it takes. Decisive force ends war quickly and in the long run saves lives." A year later, he was tested again when Iraq grabbed Kuwait. Powell told the nation what he would do to the Iraqi army: "First we're going to cut it off, then we're going to kill it." He got it half-right; he did cut it off, but also committed his first and only big-time blooper when he went along with President Bush and let the Father of All Bullies, Saddam Hussein, and his army escape. For sure, he learned from that bad call. Ten years later, the war that made him as high profile as Ike still grinds on. Ironically, it will be one of the many sticky problems he'll be taking over from the Clinton administration. But these days the Desert Storm force he skippered in 1991 is on its knees, barely capable of a desert shower. Like another successful soldier-turned-diplomat, George C. Marshall, Powell isn't quick to slap leather. If anything, as with most who've experienced war, he's almost reluctant to turn to the military solution. But because of Madeleine Albright and her team's numerous bad calls over the past eight years, he'll be busy from Day One with all the problems on boil that have been botched, blinked at or band-aided -- the Middle East, the Gulf, Red China, Colombia, nuclear-armed Hatfields and McCoys in India and Pakistan and mad terrorists armed with weapons of mass destruction who are all too ready-and-willing to do a nasty number on us. Powell will be dealing with a world where our embassies are battle-rattled and bunkered, our foreign policy is in tatters, and where old allies have lost confidence in made-in-Arkansas leadership. With a Europe that wants to defend itself, and where "Yankee Go Home" is now chanted around the globe far more than "Drink Coca-Cola." Colin Powell hopefully will repair the damage done by the Albright amateurs. But he won't be able to perform at personal and political best until our new president pumps up our military and gives this steady man the Clausewitz kind of muscle to smack the bad guys hard when push comes to shove. *** Http://www.hackworth.com is the address of David Hackworth's home page. Send mail to P.O. Box 5210, Greenwich, CT 06831. (c) 2000 David H. Hackworth Distributed by King Features Syndicate Inc. =========================================================== ARTICLE 1 - "Through Zman's Gun Sight" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ You Can't Brief Yourself To Victory ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ By R.W. Zimmermann President Soldiers For The Truth (SFTT) 12/18/00 Much has been said and written about the state of readiness of our forces and what the new President can do to repair the ailing US military. One of the top priorities should be realistic and tough training at all levels. Combat training remains the key to readiness. It determines how prepared individuals and units are for their wartime missions. How do you achieve quality in training? First, you need outstanding trainers, adequate training time and resources, good equipment and troops who want to be part of an elite. Realistic and rigorous combat training should occur at every level. Leaders must enforce it and every predictable combat scenario should be drilled. Repetition makes the expert. Every trooper, including cooks clerks and mechanics, must learn to fight as an infantryman and develop the physical stamina to survive for extended periods, with little sleep and minimum support. This hasn't been a training priority for a while now, with the exception of the elite units, such as Rangers, Special Forces, the Marines and a few others. Reading armor history, I came across the biography of one of the toughest Panther Tank commanders of WWII, Ernst Barkmann. In one of his statements, he stressed that his combat instinct as a tanker had had its origins in a past life as an infantryman. Barkmann had earned his Infantry Assault Badge (similar to the CIB) after three required direct-fire engagements. He always wore the badge as a reminder of the tough grunt life and always did his best to support his infantry comrades when they needed armor support. Once the individual completes basic combat training, then weapons proficiency as crews and squads, are a priority. Tank crews, for example, must gel into close-knit teams, for a good crew is only as strong as its weakest member. Good crews and squads mature over time and must be kept together as long as possible. That's the nest way to make them integral parts of their machines and weapons. It's confidence and proficiency that prevent training accidents and not the repetitive safety briefings that actually make the troops fear their gear. Troops at all levels must be exposed to realistic and unpredictable combat situations and live fire scenarios under all conditions. When I took command of an armor battalion in 1997, I studied the training methods of one of my all time tanker heroes, Creighton Abrams. Abe prepared his crews for combat with live fire drills during which tank crews engaged each other with on-board machine guns. He also insisted on night attacks during all weather conditions. To spice up our canned tank gunnery, I directed tank platoon battle runs to be conducted with surprise scenarios. The tanks were uploaded and ready to engage even before they reached the administrative ready line. When the lead platoon entered the "combat zone" it was immediately confronted with an enemy recon patrol without tactical pause. Although all company commanders knew the general scenario, 95% of the tank crews froze and waited, even when the targets fired at them. It took several iterations to build confidence in everyone's ability to rapidly identify enemy versus friendly targets and to eliminate the threat with the proper weapon. For the next level of proficiency, we shot scenarios at night and during inclement weather. The combat situations even included the loader's machine gun against enemy dismounts, a weapon normally neglected during training. To the new masters of the Pentagon, I suggest they examine what's really being accomplished on our training battlefields, compared with what is briefed on fancy slides. The new bosses should approach all "shows" with Abe Abrams' suspicion of rehearsed briefings. Abe used to stop the briefing wizards with an abrupt: "Cut the crap and get on with it!" Instead of wasting millions on berets and uniforms, we need to create stable units that train for maximum combat proficiency. This requires adequate funding for fuel, ammo, and repair parts and some supplemental simulation resources. Hands-on training in mud, snow, rain, and desert heat must remain the norm for our combat troops, to ensure they learn what their sophisticated gear can and cannot accomplish. Simulation can't replicate that and it oftentimes provides much too positive feedback. Before we sink money into fancy gadgets, let's make sure that all major training centers are fully funded and manned by the most experienced field leaders we have. The best thing we can do for our military is: "Cut the crap and get on with training." And never underestimate quality training as a major recruiting and retention factor. (c) R.W. Zimmermann, LandserUSA [EMAIL PROTECTED] ============================================================ ARTICLE 2 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Marine Corps Osprey Suffers Another Fatal Crash ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ed.: It's time for a program review, before this machine kills more good Marines. Maybe a new administration can bring this project to a better conclusion. As far as I remember, Osprey was designed to land like a chopper and not like a rock. I add my deep regrets and sincere sympathy for the families and loved ones of our dead troops. ******************************************************** By Charles Aldinger WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Marine Corps faced new questions Tuesday about its tilt-rotor MV-22 ``Osprey'' aircraft after one crashed in North Carolina Monday night, killing three Marines and leaving a fourth missing and presumed dead. No cause was immediately determined for the accident in a wooded area north of the Marine Corps New River Air Station in southeastern North Carolina. It was the second fatal training crash this year of the revolutionary MV-22, which uses rotating wingtip engines to take off and land like a helicopter. The Navy recently postponed for several weeks a decision on whether to go into full-scale production of the first of 360 MV-22s, built by Boeing Co. and the Bell Helicopter division of Textron Inc., after a Pentagon report criticized maintenance problems in the aircraft. That initial production contract to be signed next spring would be worth up to $1 billion for 20 aircraft. But the long-range value of production could be $30 billion including sales to the Marine Corps, Navy and Air Force Special Operations. The Marine Corps itself plans to buy 360 of them at a cost of more than $44 million each, although a recent report by Philip Coyle, the Pentagon's director of test and evaluation, worried that the cost could escalate sharply. Another of the hybrid helicopter airplanes crashed on a training mission in Arizona last April, killing all 19 marines on board. That crash was blamed on pilot error. Defense Of The New Aircraft The MV-22 is designed to replace the Marine Corps CH-46 medium-lift helicopter first bought in 1964, and both the Pentagon and Marine Corp recently defended the new aircraft despite Coyle's report. Monday night's crash occurred during a training mission, the Marine Corps said. Rescuers reached the crash site in a heavily wooded area about 10 miles (16 km) north of the Marine Corps New River Air Station in the southeastern part of North Carolina. Marine spokesman Capt. James Rich said rescuers located the remains of three crewmembers but were unable to immediately identify them, and were searching for the fourth. The crewmembers were Lt. Col. Keith M. Sweaney, 42, from Richmond, Va.; Maj. Michael L. Murphy, 38, from Blauvelt, N.Y.; Staff Sgt. Avely W. Runnels, 25, from Morven, Ga.; and Sgt. Jason A. Buyck, 24, from Sodus, N.Y. The aircraft belonged to the Marine Medium Tiltrotor Training Squadron 204 based at New River. Coyle said in his recent report that the MV-22 was effective for its intended mission of delivering Marine troops ashore. But he said there were troublesome and potentially costly maintenance problems. ``I don't agree that the V-22 is a troubled program ... it is a maturing program,'' Marine Brig. James Amos told reporters on Nov. 30 in response to questions about the Coyle report. Both Pentagon spokesman Ken Bacon and Amos, deputy director of aviation for the Marine Corps, stressed at the time that while there are always maintenance problems with new aircraft, those are ironed out and fixed over time. Amos said problems with attaching cables and wires to the carbon airframe of the V-22 had been fixed along with some initial difficulty in folding the propellers and wings to make the aircraft better fit aboard navy launch ships. ``In terms of the costs of making the plane operate, the costs of keeping the plan operating, it (the Coyle report) does conclude that they could be lower,'' Bacon said. ``And the Marines are confident that the costs will be lower, and that they will get lower as they begin to get this into the force and they begin working on the plane.'' *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? 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