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------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -- ARTICLE 06 – Feedback: Readers Respond to Hack Columns on U.S. Army, Marines ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -- I agree with David Hackworth that today's U.S. Army is bloated and redundant, that its enlistment and training standards have been reduced to intolerable levels and that the Army's new PR campaign rings hollow. However, there are positions in his column (“The Marines Have Landed – Again,” Nov. 28) that I find contradictory. In the column, Hack lambastes the Army for being stuck in the Cold War mindset and for being tied to “fleets of ships and planes to move them, and it takes months to ... get to the battlefield, not to mention the massive tax-dollar load to outfit and maintain it,” while he simultaneously praises the USMC for being “flexible, agile, ready and deadly.” Then later in the same column, he seems to criticize the Army for “forming light brigades strikingly similar to USMC units" by ridding itself of heavy armor, which he next suggests makes them vulnerable to Somalia-type operations. What gives? Does Hack want an Army that has heavy armor or does he want one that is “lighter, leaner” like the Marine Corps? It seems Hack is asking the Army to be deployable like the Marines without exchanging the protection and firepower of heavy armor. Unless there's some sort of miracle-chariot that the Army should be using that provides M1-level armor protection and firepower, but is light enough to be carried into battle by a Blackhawk helicopter, then the Army is going to have to restructure its units and equip them differently. As for the heavy lift assets required for moving the Army, one should remember that it is not the Marines – but rather the Navy – that is sailing those large amphibious warfare ships. The whole reason the Marines are on these Navy ships is so they can respond quickly to events throughout the world. The Marines are the 911 police force of the nation, ready to react to hostilities or disasters, courtesy of the U.S. Navy. The CONUS-bound Army is stuck at home because most of it's former forward bases have been closed down for lack of business in those areas and as a result must travel aboard Air Force planes and Navy ships in order to respond to military crises. But Hack critiques the Army for it's reliance on these heavy-lift assets, yet still suggests the Army should somehow still manage to “get thar the fastest with the mostest” without the use of those very assets. How then should the Army attain this mobility without sacrificing its robustness? It does not matter if you have a “flexible, agile, ready and deadly” U.S. Army or an old hide-bound, Cold War Army: The Army will still need those heavy-lift assets to perform its mission. Perhaps the topic of the Army’s future force structure and deployment capabilities should be a topic for SFTT members to address. -- Jason Iversen Marines are Overexposed In response to Hack’s column (“The Marines Have Landed – Again,” Nov. 28), we have over 1,000 men in the middle of nowhere in southern Afghanistan without proper overhead cover, others riding around in rubber tired LAV-I armored cars just asking to roll over a mine or unexploded ordnance. The U.S. Army is ready, but its senior leaders are not. We can fly an 82nd Airborne paratrooper brigade cross-attached with a light-tracked M113A3 unit from USAEUR into Afghanistan right now, with no train-up necessary. We did the almost same thing two years ago for Kosovo, it was called Task Force Hawk, remember? But no one then hounded the Marines for why they couldn't get to the fight, did we? No, we hounded TF Hawk for what it did once it was there: which was little because of the AH-64A Apache helicopters taking so long to get here, then crashing during train-ups. Now we have Marines in Afghanistan doing nothing in criminally deficient fighting positions without overhead cover and doing nothing, and this is some kind of triumph? The reason why the Army is not holding the airfield in southern Afghanistan is because if they used pararoopers and M113A3s, the lie that the Army needs to buy expensive and less-capable 19-ton LAV-IIIs for [Chief of Staff Gen. Eric] Shinseki's rubber-tired armored car “transformation” would be revealed. -- Mike Sparks, former Marine enlisted and officer Army Too Soft on Recruits In response to Hack’s column (“It’s Time to Set the U.S. Army Straight,” Nov. 21), I remember when I first came in August 1960, the only promise was that I was going to catch hell during training at Fort Jackson and I did but it made me an excellent soldier and person. I had a friend serving as a drill sergeant who told me that the worst trainees today are coming from Fort Jackson and the best from Fort Knox. His observation was that the new troopers cry about anything to cause a change from the drill sergeant. With all the fuss about caring, the drill sergeant has to ease up on them. The way the Army is doing business since the VOLAR Army came into being is weakening the entire force. I am a retired NCO and Vietnam veteran who passed on a master sergeant promotion because I just could not stand it anymore. I have never seen so many highly competent NCOs getting out because of the unnecessary things they have to perform. It cost a heck of a lot of money to train one of ours but we lose them as soon as a contractor convinces them that life out there is better. As long as the Army keeps promising college to recruits instead of hard, rough training, all we are going to get is terminal soldiers, a commitment of four or so years for so many years of college education. -- Adolfo Cruz Hack Is on Target As to be expected, David Hackworth’s observations and comments are concise and on target (“It’s Time to Set the U.S. Army Straight,” Nov. 21). The Marines, as usual, are doing an outstanding job wherever they go. Hopefully, and for the grunts, more of the Army is becoming acclimated to the changes. For the lives of the grunts, we can only hope that [Chief of Staff Gen. Eric Shinseki] has had sufficient time to make sufficient of the much needed changes. I recently had a conversation with a West Point graduate from the late 50's who served seven years then resigned to enter the private sector. He said the Army was finally getting around changing its organization and formations, much of which had not changed since Napoleon's time. In my experience as a JCS “purple suiter” in the late 1960s, the Army and Navy – while composed of many fine men and officers, and in services of great and often times hoary traditions – appeared to be near ramrod rigid in their thinking. The Marines were at least always willing to listen. Having grown up in the Air Force from 50's to 70's where change was the norm, it was an illuminating, and at times near mind-boggling experience to encounter some the traditional thinking in the Army and Navy. I think is both rewarding and challenging to see the deployment and engagement of the UAVs (Predator and Global Hawk) and the good sense of someone to use “things” instead of grunts. Eventually, to take Osama bin Laden from the scene, a bunch of GI boots are going to have to go on the ground and destroy the evil. Our best hope is that when they do, the grunts are well-trained and equipped for the task at hand. -- Col. Bob Daniels USAF (Ret) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -- ARTICLE 07 – Feedback: One Guardsman’s Mobilization Tale ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -- As an NCO in a National Guard Infantry unit with over 13 years of service, I am writing in response to the request by DefenseWatch responses on how military training and operations have changed since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Like many Americans on Sept. 11, I sat dumb-founded in front of a television as I watched the aftermath of the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, and the failed attempt that ended in Pennsylvania. I thought that at a minimum my Guard unit would be called up for security duty somewhere in our state. As news reports began to state that National Guard and Reserve units around the country were being called up, I decided I'd phone my unit and find out what, if anything, was going on. It was the first of three calls I'd make that day, always getting the same answers – “We haven't heard anything yet .... Thanks for the call .… We'll let you know …. ” Sept. 15-16 was our scheduled drill weekend, so I arrived over an hour early in the hopes of finding out what our mission might be in order to get things rolling for my men. I was somewhat dumbfounded to hear that nothing had come down from “higher” as of yet. Except for a few troops at the front gate half-heartedly checking ID's, it seemed it would be a normal drill weekend. It wasn't until late in the day on Sunday that word started to circulate that people would be needed to help guard all armories as well as an Army Aviation Support Facility (AASF) in the state. By the end of that day I and four other Guardsmen were told to report to our HQ armory the next morning and prepare for travel to our state headquarters where we would receive a full day of training in preparation for guarding the AASF. Upon arrival at the headquarters on Monday, Sept. 17th, we received four hours of training from troops of our battalion who had recently returned from a peacekeeping mission overseas. During the training, we were told we would all qualify with 9mm pistols and that would be our weapon for the guard duty. But later that night, we were told it would be a day or so before the pistols would be issued due to ammo shortages and logistical reasons. The message finally came down that our uniform would include kevlar, flak vest, LBV and riot batons. But pistols – it was decided by “higher” – would not be issued. The first few days were somewhat intense: eight hours on the front gate, eight hours on roving patrols and eight hours off. We settled into our routine, but changes began coming in: Our shifts were changed to 12 hours on, 12 hours off, the number of men per team shrank from four to three, then to two. The military van we were given for travel from HQ to the AASF was taken away, so we were forced to drive our own vehicles. Even the MRE rations we were given for the first few days ran out and we were told to “live off the local economy and you'll be reimbursed.” When I questioned the officer in charge how we were to defend ourselves or the AASF in case of an emergency with only riot batons (I had to interrupt the movie or video game he was watching on his laptop) I was given advice such as “work with what we have” or “throw the baton and run.” I was proud to serve my country and my state in such a stressful and unknowing time. However, it was very difficult to feel I was doing much good when the people we were guarding asked us how much we could do in the event of an actual attack with only riot batons and flashlights. I began to wonder about my own safety and that of the troops under my command. -- A Concerned Guard NCO ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -- ARTICLE 08 – Medal of Honor Recipient – ROEDER, ROBERT E., Capt. USA ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -- Rank and organization: Captain, U.S. Army, Company G, 350th Infantry, 88th Infantry Division. Place and date: Mt. Battaglia, Italy, 27-28 September 1944. Entered service at: Summit Station, Pa. Birth: Summit Station, Pa. G.O. No.: 31, 17 April 1945. Citation: for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at risk of life above and beyond the call of duty. Capt. Roeder commanded his company in defense of the strategic Mount Battaglia. Shortly after the company had occupied the hill, the Germans launched the first of a series of determined counterattacks to regain this dominating height. Completely exposed to ceaseless enemy artillery and small-arms fire, Capt. Roeder constantly circulated among his men, encouraging them and directing their defense against the persistent enemy. During the sixth counterattack, the enemy, by using flamethrowers and taking advantage of the fog, succeeded in overrunning the position. Capt. Roeder led his men in a fierce battle at close quarters, to repulse the attack w ith heavy losses to the Germans. The following morning, while the company was engaged in repulsing an enemy counterattack in force, Capt. Roeder was seriously wounded and rendered unconscious by shell fragments. He was carried to the company command post, where he regained consciousness. Refusing medical treatment, he insisted on rejoining his men. Although in a weakened condition, Capt. Roeder dragged himself to the door of the command post and, picking up a rifle, braced himself in a sitting position. He began firing his weapon, shouted words of encouragement, and issued orders to his men. He personally killed two Germans before he himself was killed instantly by an exploding shell. Through Capt. Roeder's able and intrepid leadership his men held Mount Battaglia against the aggressive and fanatical enemy attempts to retake this important and strategic height. His valorous performance is exemplary of the fighting spirit of the U.S. Army. Editor’s Note: If you know of any MOH recipient who is hospitalized or has passed away recently, please email DefenseWatch Deputy Editor J. David Galland at [EMAIL PROTECTED] *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! 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