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Peace at any cost is a Prelude to War!
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ARTICLE 06 - Feedback: Missile Defense is Not a Maginot Line
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By Richard T. Boverie
I disagree with Gary Stalhut's argument that we should not build a missile
defense system which, he alleges, would have the same conceptual weakness as
the Maginot Line ("National Missile Defense and the Warrior Spirit,"
DefenseWatch, Jan. 9). A key implication of Stalhut's asserted Maginot Line
analogy is that if we build a missile defense, adversaries would simply step
around it with terrorist-type attacks, like the Germans stepped around
France's Maginot Line.
However, there is no parallel between the Maginot Line and national missile
defense. The French did not have a serious defense in place against a German
march around the Maginot Line. However, we have in place major
counter-terrorism efforts which are being accelerated and deepened and will
not be abandoned, and which will not permit a free-ride step-around of a
missile defense system.
It would be rash and unwise to defend against one threat but not the other.
We need to defend against both. Vulnerability is not a virtue.
Ballistic missiles have been around more than a half-century. There is
nothing mysterious about acquiring or building ballistic missiles or
extending their range. The Sept. 11 attacks confirm that extremists who wish
us ill would not hesitate to use missiles armed with weapons of mass
destruction against us if and when they have such missiles, resulting in the
death of many millions of Americans.
Stalhut alleged: "The more our military comes to believe in a false sense of
security centered around our advanced technology, the more our troops will
lose their warrior spirit." The inference seems to be that the United States
should deliberately remain vulnerable to attack by missiles with weapons of
mass destruction lest we lose our warrior spirit. In my view, that is neither
logical nor responsible. It does not make sense to intentionally remain
vulnerable in a major way and it does not automatically follow that a missile
defense will diminish the warrior spirit.
In every war we have fought, we have used the most advanced technology
available at the time, and our warrior spirit has not been diminished because
of it. To the extent that there might be future degradation of the warrior
spirit, I personally believe the principal problem is posed by cultural
matters, not technology. But that, of course, is a separate subject.
Boverie is a retired U.S. Air Force officer.
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ARTICLE 07 - Feedback: Raise Army Priority for Marksmanship
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By William F. Sauerwein
I would like to add my two cents worth to Col. Hackworth's column on the Army
marksmanship problem ("Let's Lock and Load Now," DefenseWatch, Oct. 17). The
reason for this problem is very simple: Nobody gives a damn.
All the officers throughout the chain of command are focused on maneuvering
their units across the field. They are further obsessed with developing the
detailed plans that support these highly complicated maneuvers. As such, we
have the best-trained commanders and staffs in the world, according to BCTP
standards. But whether they can actually kill the enemy after performing
these maneuvers is another story.
These commanders are greatly concerned about the effectiveness of their main
gun systems, like the M1A1 Abrams tank and the M3 Bradley IFV. Great pains
are taken to ensure the correct bore-sighting of these systems before they
fire one live round. These heavy units all have master gunners, whose main
job is ensuring the qualification of their units.
But marksmanship with individual weapons is not given the same emphasis, even
in combat infantry units. First, sending troops to the range does not require
the sophisticated planning of battalion maneuvers, and is not "sexy." Second,
some bean counter - probably in the Pentagon - determined how many rounds a
unit is allowed for marksmanship training.
A soldier goes to the zero range where he/she is given nine rounds to zero.
Then that soldier is shuttled to the qualification range and given 40 rounds
to qualify. The emphasis is on speed, not accuracy, and getting the soldier
zeroed and qualified as soon as possible.
Another problem is a "train the trainer" problem because a majority of NCOs
do not know marksmanship training techniques. They do not know how to watch
their soldiers for the old "eight steady hold factors" for improving
marksmanship. The only school that trains NCOs in these shooting techniques
is the drill sergeant school. Senior NCOs with drill sergeant badges could be
a great tool in creating unit marksmanship programs. But since everything
else has priority over individual marksmanship, do not look for any changes.
In basic training, it is assumed that the trainees do not know how to shoot.
Basic training units have a week of firing their weapons before they qualify,
which enhances their familiarity with the weapon. This length of time allows
you to identify the weak shooters, and give them remedial training.
Competitions are established at platoon, company and even battalion level for
high marksmanship scores.
If a TOE unit has not live fired for six months, we must assume they do not
know how to shoot. They need time for reinforcing the shooting techniques,
and becoming comfortable with firing live ammunition. You cannot identify
weak shooters, or improve their marksmanship capabilities, in one day.
Since minimal emphasis is placed on marksmanship, the soldier feels it is
unimportant. Since no effort is made to improve the marksmanship of weak
shooters, the trend continues.
The marksmanship problem is intensified with combat support (CS) and combat
service support (CSS) units. Many of these soldiers feel that going to the
range hinders the performance of their "real job." My question is, do they
worry about their "real job" when they take leaves and passes? Adequately
training these support troops presents a special leadership challenge, but
meeting challenges is what leaders get paid for.
One answer is, every combat unit deploys with a CS and CSS "slice." Why not
have these troops "piggy-back" off the combat unit for marksmanship training?
We can debate all the problems and propose solutions for the Army's
marksmanship training, but will it change? The answer is no, unless the
perfumed princes who populate the Pentagon puzzle palace admit a problem
exists. Anyone down the chain of command, officer or NCO, who disagrees with
the party line is branded a troublemaker. But something must be done to
correct this problem before we encounter our next "Task Force Smith" combat
disaster.
The choice is between paying for bullets for improving training - or SGLI
payments for widows and orphans.
Sauerwein is a retired U.S. Army 1st sergeant.
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ARTICLE 08 - Feedback to Hack
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Expose National Guard Waste
With all of the talk about the back-filling of the active-duty forces with
the Reserves such as the National Guard, why hasn't anyone (other than Col.
Hackworth) raised any issues about the political nature of the Guard's
organization and its generally abysmal levels of training?
Billions of dollars have been flushed down the Guard "commode" since World
War II with little apparent use of the force. As a former Guardsman and
active-duty soldier, I was dismayed more with the levels of incompetence of
so many of the senior officers (most of whom joined in the mid-1960s) and the
senior NCOs (same lack of training and BPED) than the lower ranks, which of
course at least have to have some exposure to the active Army. In Texas, the
Guard talks about its stint in Bosnia like they just won World War II, rather
than enjoying an opportunity for so many unemployed getting a nine-month
federal government employment contract.
Thanks for your good work! No one else seems to have the moxie to point out
the issues that you do.
--Mike D
Thanks from a Marine
A Marine friend of mine just forwarded David Hackworth's article ("The
Marines Have Landed - Again," DefenseWatch, Nov. 28), and as a retired Marine
it is nice to know we haven't lost focus. I agree 100 percent with his
evaluation of the problem. I was privileged to serve with Army Rangers in
Grenada. They liked riding our helos for some reason. The problem doesn't
rest with the troops but with the leadership. The troops are smarter, fitter,
and have more common sense and soldering smarts then ever.
The Army needs to get rid of some generals and let the captains and
lieutenant colonels run their companies and battalions. Thanks again for the
kind remarks and I Always look forward to Col. Hackworth's appearances on TV,
as some of these other guys don't have a clue (the kindest way I could phrase
it).
--Ron Garnes, 1st Sergeant, USMC (Ret.)
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ARTICLE 09 - Medal of Honor Recipient - URBAN, MATT, Capt. USA
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Rank and organization: Lieutenant Colonel (then Captain), 2d Battalion, 60th
Infantry Regiment, 9th Infantry Division, World War II.
Place and date: Renouf, France, 14 June to 3 September 1944.
Entered service at: Fort Bragg, North Carolina, 2 July 1941. Date and place
of birth: 25 August 1919, Buffalo, New York.
Lieutenant Colonel (then Captain) Matt Urban, United States Army, who
distinguished himself by a series of bold, heroic actions, exemplified by
singularly outstanding combat leadership, personal bravery, and tenacious
devotion to duty, during the period 14 June to 3 September 1944 while
assigned to the 2d Battalion, 60th Infantry Regiment, 9th Infantry Division.
On 14 June, Captain Urban's company, attacking at Renouf, France, encountered
heavy enemy small arms and tank fire. The enemy tanks were unmercifully
raking his unit's positions and inflicting heavy casualties. Captain Urban,
realizing that his company was in imminent danger of being decimated, armed
himself with a bazooka. He worked his way with an ammo carrier through
hedgerows, under a continuing barrage of fire, to a point near the tanks. He
brazenly exposed himself to the enemy fire and, firing the bazooka, destroyed
both tanks.
Responding to Captain Urban's action, his company moved forward and routed
the enemy. Later that same day, still in the attack near Orglandes, Captain
Urban was wounded in the leg by direct fire from a 37mm tank-gun. He refused
evacuation and continued to lead his company until they moved into defensive
positions for the night.
At 0500 hours the next day, still in the attack near Orglandes, Captain
Urban, though badly wounded, directed his company in another attack. One hour
later he was again wounded. Suffering from two wounds, one serious, he was
evacuated to England. In mid-July, while recovering from his wounds, he
learned of his unit's severe losses in the hedgerows of Normandy. Realizing
his unit's need for battle-tested leaders, he voluntarily left the hospital
and hitchhiked his way back to his unit hear St. Lo, France.
Arriving at the 2d Battalion Command Post at 1130 hours, 25 July, he found
that his unit had jumped-off at 1100 hours in the first attack of Operation
Cobra. Still limping from his leg wound, Captain Urban made his way forward
to retake command of his company. He found his company held up by strong
enemy opposition. Two supporting tanks had been destroyed and another, intact
but with no tank commander or gunner, was not moving. He located a lieutenant
in charge of the support tanks and directed a plan of attack to eliminate the
enemy strong-point. The lieutenant and a sergeant were immediately killed by
the heavy enemy fire when they tried to mount the tank.
Captain Urban, though physically hampered by his leg wound and knowing quick
action had to be taken, dashed through the scathing fire and mounted the
tank. With enemy bullets ricocheting from the tank, Captain Urban ordered the
tank forward and, completely exposed to the enemy fire, manned the machine
gun and placed devastating fire on the enemy. His action, in the face of
enemy fire, galvanized the battalion into action and they attacked and
destroyed the enemy position.
On 2 August, Captain Urban was wounded in the chest by shell fragments and,
disregarding the recommendation of the Battalion Surgeon, again refused
evacuation. On 6 August, Captain Urban became the commander of the 2d
Battalion. On 15 August, he was again wounded but remained with his unit. On
3 September, the 2d Battalion was given the mission of establishing a
crossing-point on the Meuse River near Heer, Belgium. The enemy planned to
stop the advance of the allied Army by concentrating heavy forces at the
Meuse. The 2d Battalion, attacking toward the crossing-point, encountered
fierce enemy artillery, small arms and mortar fire which stopped the attack.
Captain Urban quickly moved from his command post to the lead position of the
battalion. Reorganizing the attacking elements, he personally led a charge
toward the enemy's strong-point. As the charge moved across the open terrain,
Captain Urban was seriously wounded in the neck. Although unable to talk
above a whisper from the paralyzing neck wound, and in danger of losing his
life, he refused to be evacuated until the enemy was routed and his battalion
had secured the crossing-point on the Meuse River.
Captain Urban's personal leadership, limitless bravery, and repeated
extraordinary exposure to enemy fire served as an inspiration to his entire
battalion. His valorous and intrepid actions reflect the utmost credit on him
and uphold the noble traditions of the United States.
Editor's Note: If you know of any MOH recipient who is hospitalized or has
passed away recently, please email DefenseWatch MOH Editor Jim H. at
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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