-Caveat Lector- WJPBR Email News List [EMAIL PROTECTED] Peace at any cost is a Prelude to War! ARTICLE 4 The Combat Armor Badge Ed.: A lively discussion for which many veterans came up on the net. Please send copies of your letters to the Armor School and the Army Chief of Staff. You’re Preaching To The Choir Jim Phipps, Tank Veteran I think that you are preaching to the choir other than the dude running the Armor Center The tanker's jacket needs to exist, tanker's coveralls, a decent small submachine gun (take your pick, there are plenty), a shoulder holster that doesn't get hung up every time you exist a hatch, decent magazine pouch for the pistol that is compact, a CVC helmet that doesn't give you a headache, an intercom that is 99% reliable, and etc. I am tickled that they finally grabbed a coax that worked after many years of a joke called the M73 and M219. If the M240 had never happened, many of us would have welcomed a Browning derivation. The Combat Tankers Badge or other similar term is an old argument that has been around a long time. The Armor School never had the fortitude at the Command Level to champion it. Typically the warriors rarely made to the Command Level post WW2 with a few key exceptions. Also, while I am on my band wagon, why is it important for a RA Armor Officer to attend Jump School, Pathfinder School, and Ranger School? It is a great Ph.D. thesis project to see what % of commissioned armor officers ever served a true blue Ranger. Also, how many combat (not training drops) have their been of light tanks by any U.S. Airborne unit? Air landing yes, but airborne, never. These are old arguments that old tankers gripe about. If anything, send every tanker (officer) to a challenging Scout Course and teach true recon in the air land battle. The Germans new this in WW2 as did, to a large extent the U.S. Army later. Lastly, create a true "Top Gun" program that is mandatory for new Platoon Sergeants and Platoon Leaders to re-learn gunnery and tactics to survive in tomorrow's battle. Also include new company commanders, S-3's and Battalion Commanders who have been out of tanks for 2 years. If I'm off base so be it, but the Army never needs Armor until after the 1st shot is fired and that is historically after young Grunts die in the dirt. Recognize Tankers Bob Murphy sends It's absolutely mind boggling how the US Army's timid leaders just can't get their minds around the great slashing pincer movements of the Wehrmacht, and later the Soviet Army. It takes balls and competency and the support of the system to allow such tactics. The US Army is lacking on all counts. I remember a senior Pakistani Armored General saying the US was going to be embarrassed by how quickly Saddam Hussein's army would fold when the fighting started after the way the US had huffed and demonized him and built him up in order to justify the huge, massive, dumb way they fought that war. He was proved right. Tankers should get the same sort of recognition for bravery under fire that infantrymen do. I was a 11B.2P in V Corps LRRP Co (Abn) from 1964-67 in Germany and I strongly support a CAB. The prattling General and his comments about non-combat troops feeling bad about not having a CAB is insane. Soldiers are there to kill the enemy. There is no test, no way to prove they can do what soldiers are supposed to do without them having done it. Having done it successfully, they are worthy of recognition. It is our duty to recognize that, and encourage people who put their butts on the frontline for our country. The Other Perspective: We’re All Soldiers MAJ Thomas E. M. - Soldier, US Army Isn't "the right thing to do" simply being proud to be a soldier? I'm not all that old but my initial service was as an enlisted Marine when the only ornament on the utilities was an iron-on eagle-globe-anchor and USMC on the pocket. Later, when I went to Air Assault school as a soldier in Hawaii, some Marines attended our class. They graduated and learned the same stuff we did but didn't put the wings on. They weren't authorized to. I think that shows a desire to learn the craft of war, not simply being enrolled in ‘badge-finder' schools. I haven't had any personal conversations with the Army Chief of Staff but I'm thinking he was trying to accomplish something similar with the beret issue. Isn't it odd that people claiming to be "old soldiers" of the "old Army" are attacking the Chief when they are the same who complain about a lack of discipline and respect with the "new Army?" Think about it I won't debate the Chief's decision. He made it. We execute. It doesn't matter, whether I like it or not. I learned along time ago that you don't have to 'like' the leadership but you damn well better respect the position and demand that your subordinates respect that authority as well. I am very fortunate (perhaps unfortunate is some viewpoints) that in over 25 years in uniform (USMC Artillery and USA Infantry), I have never been on the two-way rifle range. Do combat soldiers, regardless of MOS, deserve recognition? Certainly. That's why the Army has right shoulder patches and campaign ribbons. Perhaps the mistake was made when the Army waived the minimum of "30 days under fire" for the CIB. It is very sad to hear soldiers from Desert Storm refer to the CIB as "carried in Bradley." Too bad we can't suspend future issue of CIBs in recognition of the fact the all branches are exposed to combat. It is unfortunate the we emphasize special skill schools, tabs and badges when in reality, that intensity and quality of training should be in EVERY war craft we teach. I remember as a young LT the rumor about sending all Infantry LTs to Ranger School. Wouldn't it make more sense to simply make the Infantry Basic Course as tough and challenging as Ranger School? Guess I'm mixing together combat badges and badges in general in this discussion. My point is simply this. We should be proud of being a soldier first. Not necessarily a Tanker, Infantryman, Mechanic or Cook. I firmly believe that properly developing our subordinates is a better indicator of our craft and skill than the wearing of any tab or badge. ARTICLE 5 The CIA's, Hired Albanian Army Ed.: Thoughts on mission creep and lessons ignored -- from our observer in Europe. By J. David Galland It may not be Cuba, perhaps not the fertile fields of the Phoenix Program in Vietnam, and it may not be the Contras in Central America, but it the best war that we presently have going on. War you ask, America at War? Perhaps most of the world cannot see through the very thin veneer of clandestine grass roots insurgency, promulgated by our friends at The Central Intelligence Agency, and their cronies, but that is what you have, my fellow Americans, it is war! Yep!…Believe it or not, the CIA, and America, has been caught with their dirty little hands in the cookie jar, again. As if we didn't know that the United States has been secretly supporting the ethnic Albanian extremists, which are behind the grass roots insurgencies in Macedonia and Southern Serbia. Their primary mission was to "defeat" Slobodan Milosevic and gang. What is wrong with that, you ask, better to pay a bunch of mercenaries than see American soldiers die, right? Sure enough, however now the "army for hire" has no real mission and is out of control. The folks at the CIA cannot seem to be able to get their stellar warriors under control and “we have a bit of a problem, here Sir!” Where have I ever heard this before in my life? Of course, in true form, the United States has issued executive order that U. S. soldiers who are currently stationed in the "swill hole" known as Yugoslavia, may not encroach into Serbia to chase after the "ethnic Albanian Force", guess why? In the past week, ethnic Albanian guerillas have intensified their campaign of attacks in two areas, Southern Serbia, and the Macedonian border. This puts American soldiers, right on the firing line, for the first time, in the Balkans. One might ask, why would a secret CIA army shoot at Americans? Where does the reader think that the CIA found these guys, I can tell you it was not at an Eagle Scout convention. I have known more than a handful of people in my life, who would gladly change their names to "Zoran" for a $20,000.00 a month paycheck. As for this gang of military prostitutes in uniform, being out of control, with the sense of believing that they are proceeding with U. S. backing, well dear readers, power corrupts! Breaking news reports indicate that with the presence of U. S. support to the "ethnic Albanian Force" has driven a broad wedge between European and U. S. Military missions and goals. Numerous European military officers are furious that the Americans have allowed, and encouraged guerrilla armies in their particular sectors, while these guerrillas smuggle arms and ammunition and launch cross border attacks. A senior European military commander complained, "the CIA has been allowed to run riot in Kosovo with a private army designed to overthrow Milosevic". Now that Milosevic is gone, the U. S. State Department appears incapable of reining in its bastard army". The United States and the CIA have been conducting their own little secret war in Yugoslavia right under the noses of their allies without telling any of them about their sidebar antics. U. S. policy was and still is out of step with other NATO allies, according to a number of close sources of mine. The State Department has blamed the last administration for this problem, citing that there has now been a "shift of emphasis". I say, "wash our hands in this ethnic civil war and get out now, before we have 58,000 soldiers die in this one, too!" ARTICLE 6 Political Legitimacy Depends on Ethical Use of Force Ed.: In response to my article about our ill-conceived Iraq strategy and about the responsible use of force. By Lyman C. Duryea You are right on with this one, from the pomposity of claiming victory to the loss of the moral high ground. I am revolted when a military commander seeks the spotlight. In the service, you do your job, keep a low profile, and keep your mouth shut. If we aren't willing to put troops on the ground, if the objective does not warrant such a risk, then it is plainly unethical to drop high explosives on people from airplanes. As you note, it strengthens them. I would contend that it weakens us morally, ethically, and politically. Further, as you state, it is not legitimate to kill people and break things over a diminishing resource, and one that we guzzle as if the resource would last forever. The oil age will end. The way we are going now, the Arab world may very well hate us. I have heard the term "sand niggers" used to describe Arabs. That shows how little we have learned and how much of the leadership has its feet in quicksand. We still have "a little brown people" mentality. Sun Tzu understood the primacy of political and moral legitimacy. Clausewitz would probably think we are losing some of our marbles. We, unfortunately, do not learn very well from our own experiences (and we have had enough to have learned better from them), are intellectually hollow way high up the chain, and good common sense gives way to political pressures that often do not reflect our national interests. When was the last time a senior officer acted in some way other than for his own best interest? I am a retired Colonel with a Ph.D. in military history. My specialty is revolutionary theory. I spent sixteen and a half years serving in various garden spots. Political legitimacy, the center of gravity in revolutionary war, depends upon the ethical use of force. To use force callously in any conflict sets the stage for political disaster, particularly in this age of instant information. ARTICLE 7 Murphy's Law - An Army of What? Ed.: Steven Francis Murphy, formerly of the U.S. Army 1989 to 1993 writes for the campus paper at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, the University News. Steven takes another look at the army of one and still recommends joining. The article appeared in his campus paper. By: S. Francis Murphy - March 2001 Ten years ago, it was an Army of approximately 500,000, not "An Army of One.” We were the "Be All You Can Be" Army, which even Bill Murray took the time to join in the movie Stripes. It was the "Be All You Can Be" Army that ejected Iraq from Kuwait and reminded the family of nations that the U.S. Army wasn't going to let Vietnam or journalists cramp its style. "The 'Army of One' campaign focuses on the strength and teamwork of the U.S. Army as a united force of many soldiers, while reinforcing the concept that each individual makes a unique contribution to the Army's success," Secretary of the Army Louis Caldera explained in a Jan. 10 memorandum to the U.S. Army. "Today's youth want to feel empowered to make a difference individually and as a group." The New York Times stated in an article, which came out the same day, that the Army's decision was motivated by research, which showed that "young people view military life as dehumanizing." This writer would assert that most Americans were dehumanized long before they graduated from high school. For instance, examine your wardrobe. Once you are done with that, take a look at your circle of friends. You might notice some similarities, such as a similar taste in footwear, hairstyle, chunks of metal protruding from the cranial and nether regions of the body. Perhaps it is tattoos or a specific style of music that unites you with your friends. This writer asserts that individuality, while much praised in civilian society, is an exceedingly rare commodity in practice. Today's American civilian, raised on a daily diet of mass consumerism and multimedia, has much more in common with cattle than the American soldier. There are many things that will happen to recruits when they go to boot camp or to Army ROTC at UMKC. But losing your individuality will not be one of them. You will probably hate your drill sergeants, as this writer still hates his ten years later. You may lose 20 pounds of fat and gain five extra pounds of muscle mass, but you won't be brain washed. Service in the Armed Forces surrounds one with the very aspects of cultural, political and personal diversity on a level most politically correct universities could only dream of. The only thing that unites everyone in the barracks is their common cause, symbolized by their camouflage green. Most everyone who had joined the service was there not just out of a sense of patriotism, but out of a desire to improve their individual lot in life. This improvement may have been as simple as escaping the unemployment lines or earning the right to use the Army G.I. Bill for college. To this writer, we were being all that we could be. Similar to Star Trek's Borg characters, one can almost hear the robotic battle cry of tomorrow's U.S. peacekeeper, "We are An Army of One. Resistance is futile. Have an M.R.E. (Meal Ready to Eat)." Service in the United States Army, in spite of my criticism, still has my recommendation. But if you are going to do it, go talk to Major McCloskey over in the ROTC department. You push a lot more paper and a lot less dirt as an officer. *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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