-Caveat Lector- WJPBR Email News List [EMAIL PROTECTED] Peace at any cost is a Prelude to War! Defending America Newsletter Situation Report - 28 March 2001 "Command Responsibility" "The Drumbeat for Change" TABLE OF CONTENTS SITREP From The President - 28 March 2001 Through Zman’s Gun Sight - U.S.S. Greenville Incident HACK’s Target For The Week - Mr. Rumsfeld... Drumbeats The Big Picture: Article 1 - U.S. Expresses Support for Macedonia Article 2 - U.S. Planes To Fly PLA to Taiwan? Article 3 - Powell Delivers Stern Warning To Russia, Iran Voice of the Troops: Article 4 - NATO's Failure and Macedonia Article 5 - Out of Kosovo in Two Years? Not Damn Likely! Article 6 - Basic Training Feedback Article 7 - USMC: No Incentive to Stay In Article 8 - Navy: Navy Decay Visible Article 9 - Senior NCOs Celebrate Changes of Command Article 10 - Reserve Military Intelligence Article 11 - Movies: A Glimpse of Hell Article 12 - Military Health Care - Incontinence and Irregularity! Beret Update: KLA Wears Spiffy Black Berets Too! G. I. Humor: Article 13 - Going Postal Medal of Honor: Article 14 - WARD, JAMES RICHARD, Dec 7th, 1941 Admin / Log Net Editors Note - Article Submission - Contacts - Service Editors Donations - Subscribe - Unsubscribe - Archives Text Only - Printer Friendly Version SITREP: SITUATION REPORT: 28 March 2001 A. Main topics: 1) Command Responsibility 2) Kosovo/Macedonia 3) Basic Training 4) Navy Leadership 5) Healthcare B. HOT BUTTONS: * Thanks for the interesting responses to our recent questions. It looks like SFTT is gaining momentum on all fronts through the active involvement by many readers who are forwarding the message to their political representatives and the media. Please keep up the fight, so that the guys in power never forget who sent them to Washington. * Question of the Week: Are you concerned that our anti-drug involvement in Columbia could grow into another Vietnam? Do you approve of the use of US mercenaries to fight this undeclared war? * WE NEED YOUR CONTINUED FINANCIAL SUPPORT TO KEEP US IN THE FIGHT FOR THE LONG-TERM. THANKS to all SFTT warriors who are support for fuel ammo and beans. !!! Feel free to send me hot topics directly if you can’t get through the admin/log net – [EMAIL PROTECTED] * Keep the mail coming!!! We won’t reveal your true identity unless you give us your approval. We know how vindictive the "system" is. * How you can help: - DONATE HERE - All donations to SFTT are tax deductible. Secure Credit Card donations via the web at: www.SFTT.org/donations.html !!! 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. Mail Check or Money order 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 E-Mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Zman Through Zman’s Gun Sight A Ground Pounder’s View: Greenville Incident Could Reveal More Than Just Sub Commander’s Shortfalls By Ralf W. Zimmermann President, Soldiers For The Truth (SFTT) SFTT Dateline USA - 28 March 2001 To the surprise of the Navy brass and many of the public, Navy Commander Scott Waddle, skipper of the U.S.S. Greenville, which sank a Japanese fishing vessel, accepted full responsibility for his actions and mistakes and those of his crew. Waddle did the honorable thing to bring closure to all who lost friends and relatives in the incident. He also upheld the honor code that once was standard for military and public officials but which in today’s no fault, "someone else made me do it" society, has been trampled by many in positions of power. Just recall how Bill Clinton evaded accountability for blatantly lying to the American people. The Navy and its brass seem happy with the current outcome and Navy investigators outlined five factors that may have contributed to the accident: Improper staffing; broken equipment; number and location of civilian guests; rushing preparations of the drill; and the command climate. Without hesitation, the TV media used the announcements to crucify Commander Waddle. MSNBC experts even accused him of leaking classified secrets to the visitors. Somehow it’s painful to listen to people who never bore the burdens of command for anything larger than their household and pets rush to judgment. As Waddle has admitted full responsibility, the Navy can now proceed into court with much lower media attention, although I hope the public and some more alert lawmakers won’t stop looking for the more hidden truths. There is more to be found in the shadows of the Greenville collision, like critical readiness and leadership problems that are cancers in all services. Was that sub crew really combat-trained and ready for a complex surfacing maneuver? I wouldn’t be surprised if many crewmembers weren’t as well trained or were "newbies" to the Greenville’s crew. A great majority of military units experience a 30% turnover in personnel every three months. When in command of my tank battalion, our turnover rate was paralyzing. Every six months, at least 40 of our 54 tank crews were not combat certified together. Our military’s single-minded focus on individual career progression destabilizes trained units for reasons of transfers, schools and positional moves. You’re damn lucky to have 75% stability in a 600-man battalion just to go through one National Training Center (NTC) rotation. As soon as you’re done there, your unit disintegrates and you can rebuild from scratch once again. This sounds nonsensical especially since a National Training Center rotation is a graduation training exercise, which certifies battalions and brigades for combat operations. It would be logical, once a unit is certified it should stay together for 6-12 months, to serve as a deployable contingency outfit. But as in decades past, the brass prefers shell games. As long as you have the right number of people, no matter how untrained, you’re good to go! The papers look good and the rest is "your problem, commander!" As long as there isn’t a real war going on, nobody finds out. Why did Commander Waddle cancel training, but did accept a visitor tour? I’ve been on the receiving end of many of these "nuisance taskings." Unfortunately, most are high visibility pet peeves of some senior officer who tries to impress his handlers. Maybe the Greenville inquiry shouldn’t just focus on the command climate on Waddle’s boat but scan a few levels above him. Who approved the tasking to the Greenville? Was Commander Waddle "urged" to accept the pleasure cruise? Then, what was the role of the Navy Captain who accompanied the tour group? Could he have assisted policing the visitors in the cramped space inside, thus helping ease routine functions? And what was the maintenance status of all critical detection gear? There is much more to be learned from the upcoming courts martial and I sincerely hope that we won’t be satisfied with just butchering Waddle as the sacrificial lamb. Although he as skipper is responsible, it doesn’t make sense to me that the Navy readily lynches Waddle, while the skipper of the Cole sails on. Having worked with submariners, I know that although most couldn’t pass an Army or Marine physical fitness test, all are highly dedicated and extremely bright individuals. You don’t make it through nuke school if you don’t have a good head on your shoulders. Commander Waddle has shown us officer honor and integrity with his acceptance of responsibility. Now it’s up to the Navy brass, to show the same, or will they use the Greenville’s skipper to smoke the rot that is eating our proud and ready military? © 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 HACK’s Target For The Week - Mr. Rumsfeld: Listen To The Drumbeat Written by David Hackworth Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is marching in the right direction by challenging the Pentagon's tired mindset of fighting tomorrow's battles with yesterday's thinking. But he shouldn't only lock onto weapons systems and probable opponents. He should also factor into his study that people are always the most important element of warfare. Because SecDef Robert McNamara believed smart weapons and systems analysts were the answer, he never talked to the troops. If he had, he would've gotten the word that neither Gen. William Westmoreland's Vietnam strategy nor all our superpower wonder weapons were ever going to beat an army of Third World warriors wearing sandals made from discarded tires. Between myself and members of Soldiers for the Truth (www.sftt.org), we como daily with more than a thousand defenders -- regulars and minutemen, grunts and grease monkeys, sailors and spooks -- from our armed forces. Common concerns are: They don't trust their bosses; and they're thinking of turning in their dog tags. Here are the top 12 reasons: *NOTHING EVER CHANGES. Countless surveys, endless sensing sessions, more after-action reviews than empty beer cans on payday -- and the brass still won't accept that our warriors aren't ready for war and are unhappy. *WE DON'T TRAIN, WE PERFORM. Big training exercises don't prepare warriors to destroy the enemy -- they only demonstrate a big unit's ability to move stuff around a training field and impress the top brass. Brigades that might dazzle in combat air-assault drills too often can't cut it when they're down on the ground -- with squad leaders who can't lead ... or read a map. *TRAINING AND EQUIPMENT DON'T MEET MISSION REQUIREMENTS AND ARE UNREALISTIC. Warriors today have to master many more pieces of gear and skills than 30 years ago -- yet the length and structure of the training cycle remain unchanged. *MANY SKILLS NEED FIELD TRAINING AND AREN'T GETTING ANY. Army aviators don't get survival training like USAF pilots. Supporters at Infantry Brigade level don't get combat training such as patrolling and defensive techniques. This sort of negligence will leave the REMFs hanging out there when the bullets sing. *WHITEWASH BY THE GALLONS. Show is more important than go. Camouflage paint, for instance, is no longer applied to break up a soldier's facial outline in a wooded area -- it's part of the projected image in case there's a TV ambush. *THE RANGER BLACK BERET. This is viewed as an insult to every soldier -- those who deserve it and the majority who feel they don't. Nothing shows more clearly how completely out of touch the top brass are with the troops at the bottom. *BABY-BOOMER DOWNSIZING SURVIVORS (MAJORS AND COLONELS) -- aka BDSM&Cs -- WILL THROW YOU UNDER THE BUS TO SAVE THEIR CAREERS. These field-grade survivors of 10 years of downsizing will destroy anyone who makes them look bad or puts their careers in harm's way. *THE BDSM&Cs DON'T LISTEN. They've driven over so many people to make it, they can't tell a pedestrian from a fireplug and don't care. *NO TWO-WAY COMMUNICATION. In today's military, the BDSM&Cs believe disagreement means disrespect. *THE BDSM&Cs ARE DRIVEN BY FEAR. That accounts for most of the micromanagement in today's military. They fear the generals and admirals, the family support groups, sailors' and soldiers' wives, congressional inquiries, the minorities, uniformed women and anyone from the media. They believe the slightest scratch on their fender will end their quest for making it to the top. *MENTORING AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT DON'T HAPPEN. The BDSM&Cs are so concerned with making it, they don't have time to put down their mirrors and brushes and look after their subordinates. *I DON'T WANT MY SOLDIERS' OR SAILORS' BLOOD ON MY HANDS. Almost all the leaders who've contacted us love their soldiers and sailors and serve because of their strong sense of patriotism and duty to country. But all say they're considering quitting because they can't ensure that their charges are properly equipped, trained and led. Army Major Don Vandergriff's upcoming career-killing book "Spirit, Blood and Treasure: The American Cost of Battle in the 21st Century" provides the answers to how to fix our broken military. Hopefully, Mr. Rumsfeld will read it -- or better yet, have the brave major brief him eyeball to eyeball. David Hackworth's home page is at - http://www.hackworth.com Send mail to P.O. Box 5210, Greenwich, CT 06831. *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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