-Caveat Lector- WJPBR Email News List [EMAIL PROTECTED] Peace at any cost is a Prelude to War! SOLDIERS FOR THE TRUTH "DEFENDING AMERICA NEWSLETTER" 10 January 2001 - "Common Sense and Readiness" "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 Note: This Newsletter contains articles and editorial comments that are copyrighted to SFTT and require the Chief Editor's or author specific authorization before further dissemination. *********************************************************** TABLE OF CONTENTS: SITREP from the President "Through Zman's Gun Sight" Military Uniforms Show Lack Of Practical Sense HACK's Target for the Week: The Party's Over The Big Picture: Article 1 -- Six Gulf Nations Sign Defense Pact Article 2 -- General Dynamics Offers Russia Arms Contract Article 3 -- U.S., S. Korea OK Troops Rules Voice of the Grunt: Article 4 -- SFTT Question - How To Deal With Our Southern Front Article 5 -- Army: The Interim Brigade Combat Team Article 6 -- We CAN Do It! Article 7 -- The Sergeant's Corner - "Ruck Up And Move Out!" Article 8 -- Navy: No Basic Training For Naval Reservists? Article 9 -- Army: About The Chief's Baby - The LAV Article 10 -- Self-inflicted Welfare Article 11 -- Navy: Russian Fighters Buzz The Tower Article 12 - Troop Health/Useful Programs: Spain Soldiers Checked for Radiation G.I Humor: Article 13 -- GI HUMOR - The Ensign Medal of Honor: Article 14 -- *VAN VALKENBURGH, FRANKLIN SITREP: A. Main topics: 1) Working For Change 2) Training 3) The Border 4) Useful Programs B. HOT BUTTONS: * Thank you for all the great responses on the questions from last week. I'll sort through them one by one and try to respond to most. I tried to summarize the responses to our question about border security in Article #4. * Questions for next week: (1) Are your service and work uniforms functional and decent looking? (2) Are our weapons and communications equipment becoming too complex and is the equipment reliable enough for extended field use? (3) USS Cole: Do you agree that no one is held responsible for the terrorist bombing of the destroyer? * Please continue to support us in 2001. We're getting closer to be able to rent us a full time, small-office space with administrative support by mid 2001, to become more aggressive to spread our message. We also want to be able to buy radio time to hit the airwaves like the BBC in WWII. !!! Feel free to send me hot topics directly if you can't get through the admin/log net -- [EMAIL PROTECTED] C. The WEBPAGE. Webmaster, John Cloven is continually working on improving the site. Thanks for your feedback. D. Thank you for your continuing support. Your donations are helping us to get the word out. Thanks for supporting an organization that stands for the Truth, even if it questions the rules of political correctness. 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] ======================================================= "Through Zman's Gun Sight" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Military Uniforms Show Lack Of Practical Sense ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ By R.W. (Zimm) Zimmermann President Soldiers For The Truth 01/09/01 It's amazing how General Shinseki's decision, to put a black wool patch on every soldier's head, has gotten more attention than weapons, reorganization, spare parts or training. It all shows how superficial we are. We worry more about looks than substance or practicality. The superficiality about appearance reminds me of a butt chewing I received from a battalion commander during a move-out alert in Germany. One of my mortar grunts hadn't yet shaved at 5 AM, his fatigues were rumpled and he had oil stains on his shoulders and in the face. The irate commander never bothered to find out that the grunt had been first in his arms room and that he carried the bulk of the platoon's machine guns and mortar tubes to their combat vehicles. I gave the guy a three-day pass. As stated in other opinion pieces, I am not a proponent for a universal black beret, and wasting of money on senseless uniform changes. Nonetheless, over time, our ludicrous uniform line-up should be simplified and made more useful. Take the Class A or dress uniform. Produced in multiple shades of green to speed replacing it, it's a cheap-looking business suit. Worn with black plastic shoes (patent leather) that make your feet sweat in the summer and give you frostbite in the winter, it resembles a Christmas tree with all the colorful ribbons the Army is constantly adding. But like any overloaded Christmas tree, you can barely move in it, because all the little gadgets keep popping off. Adding to the discomfort, you wear the suit with a Russian looking dress cap that doesn't fit in any pocket. The Greens deserve a thumbs-down and should be replaced with an outfit of better material, a functional hat (beret?), and quality leather shoes, befitting the troops of the world's richest military. Then there is the Class B, the "Chaplain's Special." With its black sweater and black West Point style windbreaker, it is the true Pentagon Battle Dress, but few other people wear it when traveling. This "half-dress" uniform should be canned immediately. Replace it with sturdy shirt and pants, an OD military sweater and the option of combat boots. The troops should also be allowed to wear it with a field jacket so they can travel in inclement weather and visit troops in the field. The Brits and other allies have had this combination for decades. The BDUs were a vast improvement over the green fatigues of the 60's and 70's but still need better pockets and an improved camouflage pattern. The Army should also drop the mindless sleeve drill that demands rolled-up sleeves to show the camouflage pattern outside. Also, cut out the excessive use of "I love myself badges" and add little US flags on the shoulders. Our combat boots must also be sturdier with the rough leather outside, to eliminate time-wasting "spitshine drills." Troops should spend their time in training and the motor pool, not "painting" shoes. Our airborne troops and vehicle crews also deserve better. Why can't the Army issue versatile crew coverall with cold weather liners and a sewn in pistol pocket? The last thing an armor crewmember needs is a BDU uniform with load-bearing equipment that restricts his mobility. My dad, a WWII tanker, always stressed to me the need to be able to enter and exit the "iron coffin" as quickly as possible. To improve his mobility, he wore blackened tennis shoes and only carried an assault rifle, lots of ammo and one canteen. Our paratroopers deserve an improved jump uniform with functional pockets, knee protectors and a comfortable and aerodynamic Kevlar helmet. Heck, the Germans had a more practical jump outfit in WWII. Why can't we afford one for our elite troops today? The Navy and the other services are facing similar dilemmas. Our sailors would like more practical shipboard uniforms. In cold weather, stocking caps should be standard, replacing the white spit-bowls. Modern cargo pants with secure pockets and zip-off legs for warmer climates could easily be adapted for Navy use. The bottom line to the dress insanity is that we aren't listening to the grunt level and most uniform decisions are made by senior NCOs and generals, who are suffering from a common military disease -- nostalgia. If you really want to improve military uniforms and raise pride, reduce the number of uniforms required, make'em more functional. Spend saved maintenance time on more and tougher training. (c) R.W. Zimmermann, LandserUSA [EMAIL PROTECTED] Note: This article is copyrighted by the author and requires his approval for other than newsletter further dissemination. =========================================================== HACK's Target for the Week: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Party's Over ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ed.: A parting shot at Cohen & Co... *********************************************************** By David Hackworth Secretary of Defense William Cohen has spent four fun-filled years wasting our money like no other public servant except Bill Clinton, who set the standard by blowing more than a billion dollars on presidential junkets alone. Here we foolish citizens have been thinking the two bits from every tax dollar the Internal Revenue Service rips out of our hides to fund the Pentagon was spent defending America, not paying for Cohen & Cohorts' pleasure tripping. Well, think again! Because Cohen's been lapping the world like a dot-com CEO, staying at five-star palazzi while rubbing elbows with the rich and famous and throwing lots of power parties. One of those we popped for cost $290,000, according to the Pentagon, but a Pentagon general says, "BS, $750, 000 is closer to the mark." Cohen has used the fleet and the rest of our forces as though they were his private toys and boys. Last month when he took a bunch of pals -- entertainers, sports stars, war heroes and old buddies -- to Europe to "entertain the troops," the aircraft carrier USS Harry Truman was turned into Radio City for a day. A pilot whose flights were canceled said, "It was damn the hot operational missions, Cohen's USO Show must go on." Meanwhile, Cohen and wife played MC in their matching, tailored "Top Gun" costumes that cost the country a cool two grand, chump change when compared with the millions we've contributed to run the Cohen Circus. "Hollywood Cohen used U.S. warships like they belonged to the New York Yacht Club," says ex-tailhooker Mark Crissman, who quit the Navy because of such shenanigans. "He's done more to 'Pearl Harbor' the fleet than any SecDef and is clearly more concerned with photo ops and self-promotion than protecting America." Sure, Cohen runs a $310 billion corporation that burns through money as fast as a drunken oil sheik playing no-limit baccarat in Monte Carlo. But that doesn't mean he's entitled to the same perks as a sheik or the CEOs of General Electric or General Motors, who are at least accountable to their shareholders. The years of being an inside-the-beltway taker on the government's teat seem to have addicted him to the fast lane. He's plumb forgotten he's a civil servant whose obligation as SecDef is to make sure every buck we give him goes toward our nation's fighting capability, not his playing Globo Host. If he'd have set the example and not hogged it up, maybe, just maybe, our generals and admirals would've followed suit instead of also acting like American royalty entitled to first-class everything. Then maybe our military would be shipshape and combat-ready rather than just a heartbeat away from stroking out. If the troops had received even a portion of the dough Cohen's run through, morale wouldn't be at the bottom of the septic tank, and there'd be no need for him to dash from Beverly Hills to Bosnia to try to pump everyone up. Our troops need everything from toilet paper to aircraft and vehicle spares and money for training to sharpen their dull combat edge, which when push come to shove is what keeps them alive. They don't need Al Franken, Jewel or Jerry Bruckheimer to thank them for "keeping our country strong" when they know they're out there hanging without the right stuff to pull off another Desert Storm. Had Cohen looked at the homes and barracks at Fort Benning, Ga., and almost every other U.S. military base, he'd have seen how the other half lives. Had he gotten his nose out of the VIP room and talked to the troops, he'd have found out in a GI minute just how burned out and ragged the force is. At least Donald Rumsfeld, earmarked to replace Cohen-of-the-flying-costume, can slip on his "Top Gun" flight suit and wear it with pride because he earned it and those gold wings the hard way. But Rumsfeld's track record shouts that the party days are over and the Pentagon had better brace itself for a much-needed overhaul. It can't happen fast enough for all our good troops and their long-suffering families. How ironic that the absentee ballots of our warriors who've been so badly treated in the Clinton years cost Cohen and cronies their jobs. Many troops say, how sweet it is! *** Http://www.hackworth.com is the address of David Hackworth's home page. Send mail to P.O. Box 5210, Greenwich, CT 06831.(c) 2001 David H. Hackworth Distributed by King Features Syndicate Inc. ============================================================ ARTICLE 1 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Six Gulf Nations Sign Defense Pact ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ed.: A step in the right direction to stabilize a potential powder keg and the possibility of big bucks for US contractors to settle Arab security paranoia with a missile warning and defense system. A recent AP Report. ******************************************************** By ADNAN MALIK MANAMA, Bahrain (AP) - A group of six Gulf nations signed their region's first defense pact on Sunday, pledging to come to each other's aid in the event of attack. The pact comes a decade after the 1991 Gulf War, when the six countries - Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman and the United Arab Emirates - realized that their small armies could not do much alone to ward off an adversary such as Iraq. But in practice, the area will continue to rely on the United States for its defense. In a summit communique ending two days of meetings, the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council said the defense pact will take effect after being ratified by each member nation. The GCC states also discussed an early warning system for possible missiles fired from Iraq or Iran. Kuwait was invaded by Iraq a decade ago, and the United Arab Emirates is locked in a territorial dispute with Iran. The United States has proposed a missile defense system for the region that could identify chemical or biological agents involved in an attack. The cost of the early warning system has been estimated at $70 million; a project to link the armies of GCC countries in one communication network would cost $80 million. The council also discussed increasing a rapid deployment force formed in 1986. The force currently numbers about 5,000 soldiers, and officials have talked about raising it to 22,000. The Gulf Cooperation Council was formed in 1981 as a loose political, economic and military alliance. All six GCC countries rely largely on protection from the United States and other Western allies. The council also called on Iraq to renew cooperation with weapons inspectors to assure the world it has surrendered weapons of mass destruction, respect Kuwait's security and sovereignty and release all prisoners held since 1990. In addition, the group said it was rethinking its strategy after Iran refused to cooperate with a GCC committee trying to mediate its territorial dispute with the United Arab Emirates. The dispute is now before the World Court in The Hague, Netherlands. The council also expressed support for ``Palestinian brothers'' who are being subjected to ``ruthless aggressions'' by Israel, saying comprehensive peace in the Middle East can be achieved only when the Palestinians have an independent state with Jerusalem as its capital and Israel withdraws from lands occupied during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. On the financial front, the council called for reducing oil production to ``preserve market stability and achieve targeted prices.'' Saudi Oil Minister Ali Naimi later told The Associated Press that the production cuts will likely be implemented by members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries at their Jan. 17 meeting to discuss oil prices, which have been falling recently. Bahrain's foreign minister, Sheik Mohammed bin Mubarak Al Khalifa, told reporters after the meeting that the leaders agreed to take steps toward establishing a single currency. Kuwait, which pegs its dinar to a basket of currencies, would join other GCC members in pegging its currency to the U.S. dollar, Sheik Mohammed said. He did not give a time frame for introduction of the single currency, but said much preparatory work was required. The GCC countries, which were discussing ways to implement a unified custom tariffs early - perhaps by 2003 - decided to keep the 2005 deadline. The long-discussed move is hoped to bolster the region's position in trade talks with European and other nations. =================================================================== ARTICLE 2 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ General Dynamics Offers Russia Arms Contract ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ed.: First, berets made in China, now reactive armor from the Russians -- anything to make a buck, without concern about becoming overly dependent on foreign (non-allied) products and technologies. Using Russian armor also means that they and others, who have bought it before us, will know how to defeat it. A good deal for General Dynamics, could become a deadly one for the troops. UPI Report, 12/30/00. ************************************************************ MOSCOW, Dec. 30 (UPI) -- A U.S. defense contractor, General Dynamics, has offered Moscow an unprecedented contract to produce high-technology armor for U.S. tanks, the Russian Itar-Tass news service reported Friday. The contract would pay for what is known as active armor for 3,000 Abrams tanks as well as other platforms, according to sources identified as both military and diplomatic. The two types of armor, called "Arena" and "Canopy," would have be tested at U.S. firing ranges, a requirement that has triggered Russian apprehension about the loss of production technology to the West, one source said. According to the report, Russia has supplied arms mostly to only two major regional markets, India and China. Now a Russian arms trading company has been formed to export armaments to Western markets under commercial contracts. =========================================================== ARTICLE 3 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ U.S., S. Korea OK Troops Rules ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ed.: Times are changing. South Korea is demanding a Status of Forces Agreement that's been in effect in Europe for several decades. A recent Associated Press report. *********************************************************** By SANG-HUN CHOE, the Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - South Korea has received the right to detain American servicemen suspected of rape and murder as part of a revised agreement governing the 37,000 U.S. troops stationed throughout the country. The new accord, reached Thursday after 11 rounds of talks since 1995, resolves one of the most contentious disputes between the two allies. Under the old Status of Forces Agreement, first signed in 1966 and revised in 1991, American troops accused of a crime were detained in U.S. military custody until convicted in the South Korean judicial system and all appeals were exhausted. Calling it too lenient and an infringement upon its sovereignty, South Korea sought revisions to the agreement, which governs the legal treatment of U.S. troops stationed there since 1954 as protection against communist North Korean aggression. Activists said the accord discriminated against South Korea compared to similar arrangements the United States has with Japan and Germany. Under the revised treaty, U.S. soldiers accused of murder, rape, arson, drug trafficking and eight other serious crimes would be turned over to South Korea upon indictment. In murder or rape cases, South Korean police would have the right to arrest and detain U.S. military suspects. South Korea, in return, promised to protect and strengthen suspects' rights to legal counsel and speedy trial. The new agreement also called for enhanced safeguards for accused U.S. soldiers regarding detention facilities and media exposure, said Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Frederick Smith, who signed the accord with his South Korean counterpart, Song Min-soon. The rights and responsibilities of the U.S. troops stationed here is a politically sensitive subject among South Koreans. Many were enraged by the handling of a murder case involving a U.S. soldier accused of killing a South Korean waitress. Under the old agreement, the soldier was detained by the U.S. military but fled the base hours before he was to stand trial in a Seoul court. Eventually apprehended by Seoul police, he later was sentenced to eight years in prison. Environmentalists also blasted the U.S. military for dumping 24 gallons of formaldehyde into the Han River, a main source of drinking water for Seoul's 12 million people, earlier this year. The U.S. says the chemicals did not pose any risk to public. President Kim Dae-jung urged Washington to revise the treaty as quickly as possible to prevent anti-American activists in Seoul from using the issue to demand that all U.S. forces leave South Korea. The new agreement calls for U.S. troops at 85 facilities nationwide to respect South Korean environmental regulations. It also boosts the labor rights of South Koreans working for the U.S. military, and calls for joint quarantine inspections on animals, plants and other products imported by U.S. forces. Civic groups welcomed the changes in custody but accused the U.S. and South Korean governments of failing to offer concrete measures to prevent or compensate for environmental damage already caused by American forces. ``The revision is full of lip service and lacks substance,'' they said in a joint statement. *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 HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! 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