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I want to let all of you know that starting on Friday, Aug. 29th, my good buddy CJ from soldiersperspective.us will be hosting his first real production You Served Podcast.Below is the content of an email that he sent me which describes what is going on on the next two shows. He has some pretty important guests lined up, to include GEN Petreus eventually. In addition to the email below, you can check out www.blogtalkradio.com/youserved and more specifically check out www.blogtalkradio.com/youserved/2008/09/11/September-11th-Memorial-Show-11-Sep which describes who will be on the special 2-hour September 11th show, to include yours truly. Yes, the Bouhammer will be on the 9/11 podcast and I am very excited about it.
If you have iTunes, you can subscribe to this podcast so even if you miss it live, you can listen to it later.
Just a reminder that the first show of the You Served podcast, hosted by yours truly (CJ), begins tomorrow night (AUG 29th) at 2200 CST. After that the shows will air at 1800 CST each Thursday. Our guest list is quickly populating. For tomorrow’s show:
A little about military voting. We’ll discuss what is and is not authorized political activity in and out of uniform and get your opinions as well. I’ll also give you “A Soldier’s Perspective” about fighting a counter-insurgency – time permitting. We’ll also have SGT Freedom as our guest on this week’s show. He puts out regular videos geared towards political and military topics. You can learn more about SGT Freedom at www.sgtfreedom.org.
I’ll also be playing an interview with Florida National Guardsman, CPT Jeremy Hopkins, who will talk about his unit’s involvement in assisting victims of Tropical Storm Fay. These Soldiers are amazing!
I would also like to discuss the military health care system. If you think socialized medical care is the way to go for this country, wait until you hear what I have to say. Depending on how this show goes, I may have to bump this to next week.
Speaking of next week, make sure you mark your calendars. I will have an interview with Retired Marine Major General Fred Haynes. MG Haynes was a member of Combat Team 28, the unit that raised the flag on Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima. A Captain at the time, MG Haynes is the last surviving officer in CT28 intimately involved in planning and coordinating all phases of the Team’s fight on Iwo Jima. It’s an interview you won’t want to miss!!
Below is the first episode that CJ recorded last week. It was a test run that is 58 minutes long. The first 10 minutes is setting up, getting audio correct, etc. The rest of it has some great content.
This is an awesome story. If you only have time to read one blog today, don’t read mine anymore beyond this one post. Instead, go immediately to www.blackfive.net/main/2008/08/the-reason-to-d.html and read it RIGHT NOW.
So my boy (not) Karzai continues to piss me off and not win points with me. Now his government is calling for a review of the rules of engagement followed by US and coalition troops. If you check out www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/08/26/2346361.htm you will read…
“The Afghan Cabinet wants to review the “limits of authority and responsibilities” of international troops…”
You have got to be kidding me? Hey bozos, we saved your country, we got rid of the rapist and murdering Taliban, we made it possible for you to be put in office and have a job. We are out there, halfway around the world, putting out lives on the line, away from our loved ones, trying to kill an enemy that most of your country harbors and tolerates.
The Afghan govt has little to no influence and authority outside of Kabul. The rest of the country is led by the thugs, governors, or drug-lords that have the most guns. The entire country is corrupt from the 7 year old boy who beats up his sister to take candy away from her up to the highest (and I mean the very highest) levels of government.
The US military and our coalition suffers the amount of casualties that we do becuase we have rules of engagement, becuase we don’t follow the doctrine of Al-Queda, The Taliban, or even the Russians when they were in Afghanistan. We don’t roll into a village and lay waste to everything. We spend millions on research and development of very smart weapons that can snake its way through a chimney or a window to kill the enemy and spare nearby civilians. The limits put on our soldiers by rules of engagement in not only Afghanistan, but all over the world would shock the normal American. Most of the time the hands of a soldier and their immediate leaders are tied by media-scared, politically correct, and very political leadership. Any more tighter rules of engagement would cause soldiers to not even have bullets in their weapons.
I got a good rules of engagement for you Afghan Cabinet and President…how about we all start pulling out today and then you won’t have to worry about us accidentally killing you supposedly “innocent” civilians. They you can maintain your own security and allow your own police and army forces to kill your civilians. See, I saw it first hand, I saw Afghan Army commanders authorize the shooting of weapons into civilians, even mortars into civilian areas that were of no threat (all for a show of force and to make themselves feel good). I saw Afghan soldiers just a few feet away from me shoot into a town of civilians. I have seen Afghan Army soldiers beat innocent civilians without remorse becuase they “thought” the person was bad.
We have a saying in the great USA. “He who lives in a glass house, should not throw stones.” What the means is that before you point fingers at us and accuse us of anything, you better clean up yourselves first. You live in a war zone, this is where people die. It sucks for a true innocent to die, it really does. It also weighs heavily on a soldier that may have caused it…trust me. But that is a fact of war and is what makes war so ugly. If you don’t want your citizens to die as a result of war, then stand up, pull up your bootstraps, eradicate the corruption in your country, hold your own forces accountable and aggressively go after the enemy without coalition forces pushing you to do so.
This mentality is as bad as a welfare mother standing in line to get free money and then complains becuase it is all in one dollar bills instead of two fifty dollar bills.
I am curious how a President of a country gives a pardon and then does not know about it and launches an inqiury. If I was a citizen of that country, I would be a little nervous as to who is really running the country.
Bouhammer Note* What is interesting about this news release is that a while back one of my regular readers who is currently deployed in this Area of Operation wrote me an email and we had several emails go back and forth about what 2/7 Marines was really doing in country. Officially I was being told they were ANP mentors, while this reader was telling me that no, barely any of them are doing ANP mentoring. He told me that most of them were conducting full-spectrum combat operations. Well, hats off to you fine sir becuase it looks like you were 100% correct.*
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Aug. 14, 2008
RELEASE #013
Task Force 2/7 raids Taliban headquarters
Article and photos by Cpl. James M. Mercure
Task Force 2d Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, Combined Joint Task Force Phoenix
HELMAND PROVINCE, Afghanistan – U.S. Marines conducted their first major assault on a Taliban headquarters in NowZad, Afghanistan.
The Marines’ major accomplishments of the raid were the destruction of several enemy buildings, fighting positions, IEDs (improvised explosive devices) and the capture of a Taliban fighter.
Although the Marines of Company F, Task Force 2d Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, part of Combined Joint Task Force Phoenix, have operated here in support of Operation Enduring Freedom since early April, this offensive represents TF 2/7′s more prevailing mission of carrying out full spectrum operations with a focus on police training and mentoring the Afghan National Police.
The task force and coalition forces are bringing the fight to the enemy’s doorstep.
“We far exceeded our objectives. Our goal was to just reach the Taliban headquarters, but we actually had the opportunity to exploit it,†Company Gunnery Sgt. Hogan Kindrick said. “We had the opportunity to implode their fighting positions to make them useless to the enemy.â€
After various engagements with the enemy, the Marines have learned the Taliban quickly removes its dead and wounded from the scene where the fighting has taken place. But, during this raid, they captured a wounded enemy fighter.
“In my entire time here, I never thought we would capture one of the enemy,†said Capt. Ross Schellhaas, company commander. “After he was detained, we did everything we could to take care of him.â€
The enemy prisoner of war had serious head trauma that was treated on site. Once the Marines got the prisoner back to their forward operating base, he was medically evacuated for further treatment.
“You can kill a lot of enemy forces, but when you bring one of theirs back, it hits close to home for them,†said 1st Sgt. Eric W. Rummel, company first sergeant. “Whether they know he’s dead or alive, it doesn’t matter. It’s still a huge blow to their morale.â€
To clear the path for the raid, TF 2/7’s combat engineers platoon swept with mine detectors and breached the enemy’s walls with explosives enabling Fox Company to push through and accomplish its mission.
“The enemy knows it can’t match us toe-to-toe in a firefight, so it uses mines and IEDs to try and slow us down and limit our movement,†explained 2nd Lt. Patrick Caffrey, combat engineers platoon commander.
After Fox Company overran the Taliban stronghold, anything useful to the enemy was either destroyed or captured. The Marines then returned to their forward operating base.
“There is a line of enemy troops with bunkers and firing positions. We know where the enemy is and where the supply routes are,†said Capt. Schellhaas, who added that his Marines are very capable of removing the Taliban’s presence in NowZad.
With additional support, the Fox Company commander said his Marines could certainly remove the Taliban’s presence in NowZad.
“Our original mission was to train the ANP, but the mission changed and we’ve adapted to it,†said Lance Cpl. Brandon W. Besendorfer, an infantryman assigned to 1st Platoon. “The Taliban here are trained fighters. That’s why we need reliable close air support and some additional firepower. That would help us get rid of the Taliban here for good.â€
20080801- M-9581M-319
Lance Cpl. Michael Molesta, an infantryman assigned to 1st Platoon, Company F, Task Force 2d Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, climbs to the top of a destroyed building in a Taliban headquarters to post security for his platoon. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. James M. Mercure)
20080801-M-9581M-269
Combat engineers of Task Force 2d Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, run back to a safe position after placing a wall charge to breach a Taliban headquarters.
(U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. James M. Mercure)
20080801-M-9581M-342
A Marine assigned to Company F, Task Force 2d Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, posts security after his platoon breached a Taliban headquarters in recent fighting in NowZad. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. James M. Mercure)
Not that this is new news, or surprising but it does highlight the fact that it is a challenge and I am not sure there is an easy answer. Living a year on natural juice (adrenalin) is an awesome experience. I have talked about it many times in my blog and what a powerful drug adrenaline can be. I have also talked about how “boring†life is after first getting back from combat because of the lack of a thrill in every day, mundane life.
This is the reason soldiers come back and take on high-risk activities like extreme sports, motorcycles, and even drinking and driving. As of Aug 15th 43 soldiers have been killed in the Army on motorcycles alone. This is a huge jump over last year (37 in all of FY2007 and we still have 2 months left in this FY) and is a problem recognized by the Army, including the highest levels. SMA Preston has sent out several All-Army messages talking about motorcycle safety, etc.
As much as there is a rush of adrenaline that must be weaned out of the system, there is also physical and emotional pain, memories, and other thoughts that need to be dealt with or suppressed in some cases. It is these issues that are sometimes dealt with by consuming large amount of alcohol or even legal or illegal drugs.
Now all of this is an issue with any soldier coming back that has experienced ‘real’ combat first hand, but it is even worse among reserve component (Reserves and National Guard) soldiers. This article highlights something I have been saying in military circles since 2004, while most of my company was in Iraq. Having gone to war before while on Active Duty I recognized that there was really no mobilization (pronounces mobe) or de-mob time. No mob time is fine as Active Duty soldiers are training all the time since that is their full time job. No de-mob time outside of a mandatory 14 day block leave was fine too, because as soon as we got back from leave, we were all still around each other. We could talk about our experiences, the things we saw, the smells, the feelings, etc. We de-mobed within the unit and with each other. We recognized issues with certain guys and we either handled it ourselves or referred them to professional help if we thought they needed it.
While my company was in Iraq in 2004, I realized that they would not have that time. Originally the Army was calling for a 1-3 month demob time where the soldiers would stay on active duty, go through extensive medical and mental de-mobing and even do some training to ensure they were still at the level of soldiering needed to perform as a National Guard soldier. However not long after they left, we got word that because of the op-tempo of units the de-mob time would be cut down to one week, if that (another problem of the one year and go deployment doctrine). Of course after being gone for a year away from family and friends, that was fine with the guys. They were ready to get away from war and even the military for a few months. It was while they were gone that I started raising this issue with higher command, with the veteran counselors and even with the families themselves (during FRG meetings). It was clear to me that reserve component soldiers aren’t afforded the same “natural†de-mob time that active duty soldiers are afforded.
As soon as a National Guard soldier is released from Active Duty, they are without income. Because of the laws on the books protecting reserve component soldier’s jobs, they are not required to return to work for 90 days after being mobilized for 180 days or more. However, most cannot afford to take 90 days off without pay. So they usually take 2-3 weeks off and then they are back to the work place. Typically 4 weeks after walking out of a combat zone and being armed to the teeth where people are trying to kill them, they are back working in a cube, driving a UPS truck, selling clothes in the Gap, or whatever they did. They are back among civilians who have no idea what that person gone through and cannot even relate if they tried. They are back among a country that is so great and powerful, it has not really sacrificed at all while that soldier has sacrificed every friggen day for the last year. A county at the mall, while that soldier has been at war.
So the soldier is on his/her own, trying to cope, trying to deal with a severely drastic re-adjustment back into civilian life, trying to live every day like status quo. The soldier wants to get home, and they will take the fastest track to do that. This means saying they have no medical issues and they are fine, that emotionally and mentally they are fine and they can be handed back over to society. While this is great for the soldier and the people close to the soldier in the short term, it is not always good in the long term. The demons will start to come out of the shadows around the 30-45 day mark. The honeymoon will be over, reality will set in that they are not going back, that this is not R&R leave and that they must face life of a-hole drivers, oil changes, paying bills, and nagging significant others (wives, girlfriends or even parents).
This is why I know we have the problems highlighted in this article and other problems that are known in the military community, but not necessarily known by the civilian populous. I am not sure of the correct answer or way to fix this, and I am not sure anyone else is either. I think the right answer would be to get back on the path that the military initially promised of 90 days of continual active duty in order to help soldiers naturally de-compress amongst each other. However almost nobody, including me when I got back, would like that. We want to just go home and spend time at home, not going to formations, or reporting into the armory every day.
I got this from my buddy CJ over at soldiersperspective.us and I felt it was appropriate for this site. This is written by JD Pendry and I think he has put a lot of facts together to build this. He is not blowing hot air or making stuff up, just simply reciting history.
The Russians invaded the sovereign nation of Georgia, a free country with a democratically elected government. Where in the hell are Cindy Sheehan, Code Pink, Congress and 99 percent of Hollywood? Code Pink is probably still standing on the streets in front of Walter Reed Army Medical Center harassing wounded American Warriors and their families. The remainder is probably too busy admiring the great show put on by the communist Chinese.
I am curious. Senator Dick Durbin, is this conduct reminiscent of the “Nazis, Soviets in their gulags, or some mad regime — Pol Pot or others — that had no concern for human beings?” Congressman Jack Murtha, is there anything here that angers you? Do you reckon “they killed innocent civilians in cold blood?” They certainly tried it appears. Senator John Kerry, it looks to me like Vlad Putin’s fine communist soldiers “randomly shot at civilians, [and] razed villages in fashion reminiscent of Genghis Khan….” What do you think? Do you reckon they are “terrorizing kids and children, you know, women?” Speaker Nancy Pelosi, is this Putin’s war? Are you going to demand that “He has to answer for his war?” Declare that “He has dug a hole so deep he can’t even see the light on this?” Will you say, “It’s a tragedy? It’s a stark blunder?” Or are these displays of courage and characterizations that you reserve for America, American Soldiers, and your own President?
Presidential contender, Senator Barack Obama places the US invasion of Iraq on same level as the Russian invasion of Georgia. According to him, we needed to be a better example. In other words, it was America’s fault that Russia invaded Georgia. Why did he not say this about the Russians? “[They] ended up launching a war that should have never been authorized and should have never been waged…”, which was his characterization of the Iraq war. I do not recall that Georgia was in violation of a cease fire agreement or in violation of more than a dozen of the United Nations’ feckless resolutions when the Russians invaded them. I also do not recall that the Georgian government was thwarting United Nations inspectors, operating rape and torture rooms, mass murdering their own citizens or paying money to the families of suicide bombers for killing Jews. I do not recall airliners, piloted by Islamic terrorists, crashing into the Kremlin and killing thousands of Russians- airliners piloted by killers that any sensible government similarly attacked would not stand by on the hope that Sadaam Hussein would not come to the aid of their terrorist colleagues.
The Senator would also like us to believe that Communist China has a vastly better infrastructure than does the United States. Do you recall in the lead up to the Olympics how the media was talking about China’s human rights violations, Tibet, Darfur, forced abortions for population control, and how the President should not attend? Then, right after they witnessed a few thousand commie-bots put on a show all we heard was just how grand and magnificent everything is in Communist China. In some minds, everything is a fantasy movie script. Unfortunately, the world is real. A dolled up Peking and a performing robot hoard is not, although it sold well to the world and obviously some influential Americans too.
The media has already trotted out Gorbachev to defend the Russians. Our liberals love him. They give him the credit for ending the cold war. I believe our liberals are partial to communists in general. Gorbachev, like Putin, hopes mother Russia will once again be a major power on this planet. With the wrong people in charge in Washington, they will achieve that goal. Political cranial rectal inversion syndrome could prove fatal.
