Strangled!

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As has been the topic previous blog entries, Kim of North Korea , his recent killing of his uncle hardly an isolated incident within in the historical context, an attempt to exert absolute and sole control as the ruler, a dictator whose powers are unchallenged and unrivaled.

Elimination of any possible pretender to the throne by execution

Other historical examples of such behavior to include and of course not limited to what I have described as the "oriental" despot. "Oriental" classically defined as not of European origin.

1. Octavian [Augustus Caesar]. Ordering the execution of Caesarion. The son [it is alleged] of Julius Caesar and Cleopatra. Biological progeny in contrast to Octavian, the ADOPTED son of the divine Julius. Caesarion STRANGLED.

"Ptolemy XV Philopator Philometor Caesar [Caesarion] . . . He was killed on the orders of Octavian, who would become the Roman emperor Augustus. He was the eldest son of Cleopatra VII, and possibly the only son of Julius Caesar, after whom he was named."

2. Royal and institutionalized fratricide of the Ottomans. Killing and execution of all brothers and other "pretenders" to the throne. ONLY a strong and resolute man able to rule and having the gumption to do the difficult and take matters into his own hands deemed as an able and fit ruler.

"In the Ottoman Empire a policy of judicial royal fratricide was introduced by Sultan Mehmet II whose grandfather Mehmed I had to fight a long and bloody civil war against his brothers (which brought the empire near to destruction) to take the throne. When a new Sultan ascended to the throne he would imprison all of his surviving brothers and kill them by strangulation with a silk cord as soon as he had produced his first male heir. The largest killing took place on the succession of Mehmed III when 19 of his brothers were killed and buried with their father. The aim was to prevent civil war."

See previous blog entries regarding Kim, North Korea and the ritual of succession among rivals:

http://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2013/12/jang.html

http://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2011/12/succession.html

Kim as I have noted has two older brothers. Both of them be wary. Very wary!!

coolbert.

Survive!

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From the StrategyPage article, most pertinent extracts with comments:

"Leadership: Things You Need To Know To Survive Combat"

I strongly suggest:

* If you are serving officer, incorporate these ideas into all training.

* If you are a serving non-commissioned officer, make a copy of this article and pass around to all your subordinates.

* If you a serving enlisted man, be keenly aware of and practice all these tips and suggestions.

From the current era of the Iraq and Afghan counter-insurgencies [COIN] a number of hints and tips that go a long way to allow for survival on the battlefield. NOT ONLY for the combat arms soldier, but for any soldier in particular, regardless of branch. "Lessons Learned" that indeed can prove to be vital. Here with the list in no specific order or precedence.

* "in combat the safest form of driving is fast and, to peacetime sensibilities, reckless"

* "sending troops to the weapons range several times a week"

[for combat arms this is easy, for those other units, not so easy, ammo and time at a premium.]

* "Emergency Action Drills. These are the things you do when there is an emergency"

[each commander for whatever branch needs to decide what action drills are germane to his command, formulate a list, and practice measures to be taken.]

* "[while driving] like a madman, you have to practice hard so you can change tires like one as well"

* "you must learn how Mister Grenade can be your friend"

[different types of grenades, how many to carry and when to use]

* "Troops must also learn how to carefully plan each trip on the roads"

* "Especially when outside your base, always have your weapon (usually an assault rifle or pistol, or both) with you at all times."

[weapon loaded and on safe when off base, carrying a loaded magazine with an unloaded weapon while on base.]

* "Always wear you[r] Kevlar helmet, and your armored vest when outside the base."

* "Practice basic combat operations, like changing magazines."

[be able to use the M-16 firing from behind a barrier either right or left handed, loading and unloading from either position.
]
* "Practice shooting at long range (800 meters.)"

[the USA and USMC has dedicated marksmen embedded in each COMBAT unit properly prepared to engage an enemy at long range. Distances such as found during battle in Afghan might not be the case in future war.]

* "Make sure your first aid gear, and skills, are always up to snuff"

[know what expedient methods are most likely to save a life of a wounded troop, quick and dirty but effective measures. Practice made difficult:"battlefield first aid. It’s difficult to provide many troops with realistic training"]

 * "Always be ready to return fire when on the road."

[and the attack can come from either the right or the left or both simultaneously.]

* "Don’t throw candy to the kids while you are on the road."

* "If you are in a firefight and you wound one of the enemy, don’t let him crawl or limp away to safety. Kill him."

* "If you are in a firefight, take cover behind concrete or steel."

[the engine block or the tires of a vehicle are very resistant to small arms fire. Hide behind them and be prepared to use your weapon from either the right or left side without exposing your body.]

And in addition!

Lieutenant Marm, having been awarded the Medal of Honor [MoH] for his heroics at the Ia Drang Valley in a much more prior war [Vietnam], also suggesting that each and every NCO in the U.S. Army regardless of branch needed to be able to perform three functions and do them all well. To include:

* Organize a defensive perimeter.

* Operate a radio in two different nets.

* Employ indirect supporting fires.

With regard to the last item, in the modern context, direct all supporting fires period is more correct, those fires to include an AC-130 or Huey Cobra gunship.

Devoted readers to the blog can suggest more war fighting measures that work n the modern battlefield. Those that have experienced combat in Iraq or Afghan for instance? Let me hear from you.

coolbert.

Mafia!

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Here with an excerpt from the book: "The Guns at Last Light" by Atkinson

Describing the invasion of southern France [Dragoon] by the allied armies during the latter part of the Second World War [WW2], the chase northward, the formation of the allied 6th Army Group, and the shortage of critical supplies that quickly became manifest:

"Six hundred thousand men and almost a million tons of material had come through Marseille and Toulon and across the Cote d'Azur beaches by early November. But a long trek to the front, various miscalculations, and a thriving black market in the French ports - - 20 percent of the cargo unloaded in Marseille was stolen, often by Army freebooters - - made for shortages of food, ammunition, and fuel."

[my emphasis in all cases!]

Army "freebooters" and the French mafia! Freebooters often defined as genial pirates. Men whose business is extortion and theft but the crime done in a cordial and for the most part humane manner.

Theft nonetheless! Depriving your own men and the war effort of essentials. And those participating profiting in a major way in the process.

That loot diverted to the black market. That French civilian population severely deprived for a period of four years prior now having at their disposal for the proper price tires, gasoline, food.

Refer to my prior blog entry regarding Luciano, the American mafia, and the guard of the docks in New York City during WW2.

The American mafia given the task of preventing German sabotage and work stoppages. That latter as accomplished by the control of the unions.

It also tacitly understood that the mafia as part of the deal more or less "allowed" to steal a percentage of the whatever cargo was being loaded on merchant vessels for overseas shipment. About 10 % the norm under peace time conditions. Contraband for the thriving black market also to an extent existing during the United States during the war.

coolbert.

Kurz & Volkssturm.

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Some miscellany regarding the intermediate Kurz round and the German Volkssturm.

1. The Kurz intermediate round. Ammunition as fired from the VG1-5 and StG-44.

Kurz a round larger and more potent than a pistol round but less powerful than a conventional high-power military round. Allowing the troop to fire an assault rifle on automatic from the shoulder and do so in a controlled manner.

Kurz adequate as a man-stopper out to about 200 meters. Nothing more than that needed. A compromise that met requirements deemed as appropriate.

"the Kurz round was substantially shorter and delivered less recoil than full-length 7.92x57mm, but was still as effective when engaging targets at typical combat ranges of 300 m (328 yd)."

"7.92x33mm Kurz, is a rifle cartridge developed in Nazi Germany prior to and during World War II . . .  It was specifically intended for development of an automatic carbine (assault rifle). The round was developed as a compromise between the longer 7.92x57mm rifle and the 9x19mm Parabellum pistol rounds, and is known as an intermediate cartridge"

2. Volkssturm. German militia of the World War Two era.

Comprised of middle-aged men beyond draft age, those members of the Hitler Youth, and persons previously deemed as physically unfit for military service.

Volkssturm greatly resembling [?] the levee en masse from the time of the French First Republic.  Conscripted men issued a weapon and the most rudimentary training, relying on sheer numbers and overwhelming mass to defeat the conventional enemy on the battlefield.

"The Volkssturm . . . more figuratively 'people's army' or 'national militia' was a German national militia of the last months of World War II . . . It conscripted males between the ages of 16 to 60 years who were not already serving in some military unit as part of a German Home Guard."

Volkssturm on parade. Middle-aged men beyond draft age. Carrying lots of anti-tank rocket propelled grenade [panzerfaust], and in the foreground one man hoisting over the shoulder a general purpose machine gun. Volkssturm beyond small arms not possessing any heavy weaponry at all.

This elderly Volksstrum volunteer learning how to fire a panzerfaust. An anti-tank rocket propelled grenade. NOT much more effective than when fired at a target less than thirty meters away! That armband if worn uniformly by all the Volksstrum would qualify for prisoner of war status and fair treatment under the Laws of Land Warfare if captured.

Thanks to LoneSentry we have this allied intelligence appraisal of the Volkssturm:

"At present any turnout of the Volkssturm is likely to present a rag-tag-and-bobtail appearance, in dress as well as armament. The only item of clothing or insignia currently issued is a black arm band with the lettering 'Deutscher Volkssturm' in a light color and with the word 'Wehrmacht' directly underneath this. The Nazis have asserted that this arm band officially makes the Volkssturm members a part of the Wehrmacht (Armed Forces)."

Under the right conditions the Volksstrum could have given a good account of themselves? Especially in the type of close-quarters city fighting the use of heavy weaponry negated.

Primarily, the issuance of weapons to middle-aged and older men and also Hitler Youth was a clear and obvious signal to the German people that the end of the war was at hand. Extreme conditions call for extreme response that indicate trouble not ameliorated by conventional means.

coolbert.

VG1-5.

This is coolbert:

From that previous blog entry:

"Barnitzke (designer at Gustloff, responsible for the VG1-5)"

That German assault rifle form the era of the Second World War [WW2], the StG-44 not an unqualified success.

ONLY produced in numbers as not to make a significant difference.

German design and machining TOO GOOD. German standards of excellence not allowing for mass production of the StG-44 on the gigantic scale as needed.

An expedient assault rifle seen as desirable, those weapons to be issued en masse to those elements of the German "People's Militia" [Volkssturm].

"At the end of 1944 the war was going against Germany. They had lost entire armies to the advancing Russians and Western Allies. As a countermeasure the Volkssturm was mobilized – a German national militia. These needed to be armed but there were not enough rifles to go around. For this reason the Primitiv-Waffen-Programm ('primitive weapons program') was initiated. It called for weapons that were very easy to produce. Several companies came up with designs, all very basic in design and crude in finish."

And entire series of such weaponry devised, to include the VG1-5.

More correctly designated as the Gustloff Volkssurmgewehr. The VG1-5.

A weapon that could be made quickly, cheaply, and issued to the troops in profusion.

Crude but effective as is the adage!

"The Volkssturmgewehr 1-5 ('People's Assault Rifle') is a set of 5 rifle designs developed by Nazi Germany during the last months of World War II. They were very simple designs, derived from the Mauser 98k, but with poor quality parts and a rough finish."

Referred to as a "carbine". Uses that same magazine as the StG-44 and fires the same round, but much more crudely made. And inaccurate at range but nothing more intended than that. Volume of fire more important than accuracy.

The Volkssturmgewehr having many attributes of the modern assault rifle. Included in the design:

* Semi-auto fire.

* High capacity magazine.

* Firing an "intermediate" round.

That Volkssturmgewehr also lacking:

* A pistol grip stock.

* And that selective fire option. [semi-automatic or full auto mode]

"The Gustloff Volkssturmgewehr was designed by Karl Barnitzke of the Gustloff-Werke for the Primitiv-Waffen-Programm ('primitive weapons program') in 1944 and was intended to be used by the Volkssturm. Production of the Gustloff Volkssturmgewehr occurred from January 1945 till the end of the war; roughly 10,000 were made."

One version of the Volkssturmgewehr evidently possessing a pistol grip. German designation MP 507 no pistol grip, the MP 508 having the pistol grip.

"This gun was initially called MP 507. The MP 508 was fairly similar except it had a pistol grip."

The Soviet designers such as Kalashnikov obviously realizing the need for an effective assault rifle that could be manufactured cheaply, quickly, and in great numbers. That experience of Barnitzke in this regard most essential.

coolbert.

Slocum Glider.

This is coolbert:

All of this sounds too good to be true.

But is REAL, not pie-in-the-sky or on-the-drawing-board technology. Is a good example of fly-before-you-buy type procurement.

NOT for aviation but rather for a submersible.

A naval drone, an unmanned and underwater vehicle.

The Slocum Glider.

NOT [so far] a submersible having a combat capability. That glider used almost exclusively for reconnaissance, intelligence gathering, patrolling, etc.

"The Navy’s Amazing Ocean-Powered Underwater Drone"

"If Santa can harness reindeer to fly the globe, the Navy can use 'hydraulic buoyancy' to wage underwater war"

"While you were out shopping Sunday for those last-minute holiday gifts, the Navy pushed ahead with its own vision of an underwater sugar plum: a fleet of “long endurance, transoceanic gliders harvesting all energy from the ocean thermocline.”

. . . .

"Unlike their airborne cousins, Navy gliders are not powered by aviation fuel. Instead, they draw energy from the ocean’s thermocline, a pair of layers of warm water near the surface and chillier water below."

This image shows the Slocum Glider. With a human for the perspective of scale. Looks kinda like a cruise missile but operates of course strictly under the water. This particular glide in the image used for Antarctic research. Cannot surface from under the ice to send data remotely to a research facility but must find open water first?

 The glider having a capability for five year [???] missions operating totally autonomously and ABLE TO GAIN FURTHER ENERGY FOR A CONTINUING MISSION FROM THE SURROUNDING WATER ITSELF. AUTONOMOUS IN A MANNER NOT EVEN THE AERIAL DRONES CAN EVER ATTAIN!!

The oceanic thermocline [that differential of temperature found at various depths] through some process and mechanism the source for re-charging the glider.

Gliders also again already a proven technology and relatively [much less] cheap compared to other military systems. Naval forces will be able to proliferate the oceans of the world with these "vessels" in profusion, the loss of some for whatever reason not even a matter within the overall scheme of things.

coolbert.

AK & StG-44.

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Thanks to the ForgottenWeapons web site we have that comparison being made between the AK-47 and the German World War Two [WW2] StG-44 assault rifles.

It needs to be fully understood that Kalashnikov did not merely COPY the design for the AK from the German earlier StG-44 assault rifle.

Avtomat Kalashnikov. AK.

"AK and StG – Kissing Cousins"

"When people see the AK-47 and the StG-44 side by side an know nothing about their internal mechanisms, the nearly universal assumption is that one is a copy of the other. The overall layout of the two rifles is strikingly similar, and one would reasonably make the assumption that Kalashnikov got his hands on a captured StG and simply rebuilt it in 7.62×39. This is, of course, not true."

AK the top image, StG-44 below. That AK not merely a simple copy of the StG!

The two assault rifles however sharing important features that DOES distinguish them as "assault rifles" as that term ordinarily, commonly, and generally understood.

Features to include:

* Pistol grip stock.

* High capacity magazine.

* Selective fire [semi-auto or automatic].

* A big bore but sub-caliber cartridge.

That round more correctly referred to as an "intermediate". A round as used having about half the power and energy between that as fired from either a pistol and a hi-power military rifle. INTERMEDIATE!

That M1 Garand of WW2 fame or even the M14 rifle not qualifying as "assault rifles" again as that term understood by the experts.

Perhaps that sub-caliber round [7.62 mm X 39] that most significant development. A round with less effective range, smaller in size but lethal nonetheless. Ranges at the maximum for firefights between infantrymen on the battlefields around 200 meters. Firing a round having an effective range beyond 200 meters not so desirable. Long range and carefully aimed shots by an individual rifleman an exception on the modern battlefield.

Here yet more examples of the German diaspora in the aftermath of WW2. German weapons designers continuing their work for various parties willing and able to avail themselves of superior expertise.

"at least four important small arms designers were brought into Russia after the war to work . . . These four men were Schmeisser (primary designer of the MP-28 and StG-44), Horn (working on a simplified assault rifle at the end of the war), Barnitzke (designer at Gustloff, responsible for the VG1-5), and one of Barnitzke’s assistants"

Doing what they do best!

coolbert.

Winfield Scott.

This is coolbert:

"How do you think he does it? What makes him so good?"

 

"the greatest living general." - -  the Duke of Wellington referring to Winfield Scott.

 

"'All the tactics you will ever need,'" - - Joe Collins also referring to Winfield Scott and the march on Mexico City.

The American general officer Winfield Scott somewhat overlooked by history but a combat commander in the same league as a Julius Caesar, a Napoleon, or even a Wellington?  

That campaign [the march from Vera Cruz to Mexico City] of the Mexican-American War [1846-1848] resulting in a conclusion to the war favorable to the American side. A somewhat stalemated and inconclusive war brought a quick and dramatic end

"President James K. Polk ordered Scott to take an army south by sea, capture Vera Cruz, and march on Mexico City . . . Scott took the city after a twenty-day siege."

Further victories continuing:

* Cerro Gordo. 
* Contreras.
* Churubusco.
* Molino del Rey.
* Chapultepec Castle.

Six battles fought and six won. All the while the American army fighting on enemy territory and doing so outnumbered.

Read the entire account here:

"The Birth of American Operational Art: Winfield Scott’s Mexico City Campaign during the Mexican-American War of 1846-1848" by Kenneth A. Starskov

The Mexico City campaign shown by inset. NOT so visible. American naval forces able to project power during the war both in the Pacific and the Gulf of Mexico and do so basically uncontested..

"Scott was a well-read and experienced commander. His studies of military theorists such as Thucydides, Machiavelli, Napoleon, and Jomini"

Jomini in particular characterizing the campaign of Scott and his army as "brilliant".

Those victories of Scott and his army a combination of rapid movement, logistics obtained locally from a population treated with respect, in a benevolent and enlightened manner. Scott employing what might be termed in the modern context measured audacity.

coolbert.

Kalashnikov.

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Thanks to the BBC and the tip from Freeper we have the obituary for Mikhail Kalashnikov.

Designer of the famous AK-47 assault rifle.

Kalashnikov through his weapons designs can be properly thought of as one of this most significant persons of the last one hundred years?

"AK47 assault rifle designer Kalashnikov dies at 94"

"The inventor of the Kalashnikov assault rifle, Mikhail Kalashnikov, has died aged 94, Russian officials say."

"The automatic rifle he designed became one of the world's most familiar and widely used weapons.
Its comparative simplicity made it cheap to manufacture, as well as reliable and easy to maintain."

Some comment regarding the AK and Kalashnikov:

* About 100 million AK having been manufactured and in service total. Compared to about 10 million of the American M-16.

* An AK as purchased through the international arms market, legal or otherwise costing about $60 American. An abundance of ammunition also available at low price.

* Kalashnikov perhaps even better known in Russia for his PKM design. That 7.62 mm general purpose machine gun now also used world-wide.

* That debate lasting for decades, which is better, the American M-16 or the Soviet AK, never properly resolved and perhaps never can be. I think the experts give a slight edge to the AK as the "better" weapon for a variety of reasons.

Regrettably so, the AK and the PKM are a prominent factor in many low-intensity conflicts where the participants are only one generation beyond the bows and arrows stage of development. Populations now having at their disposal small arms with tremendous destructive force and used in an indiscriminate manner for the most part, firepower not only available but used without regard to consequences.

coolbert.

Green.

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From Breitbart and the tip from Freeper the story of the kinder and gentler U.S. military.

Ecologically friendly.

NO MORE pollution from the use of full metal jacketed small arms rounds that have a lead core.

"'Green Bullets' Overtaking Lead Thanks to EPA, State Regs, Military"

"Thanks to EPA regulations, state regulations, and military goals, traditional lead ammo is on its way out and 'green bullets' are on their way in."

And also the closing of the ancient and venerable Herculaneum, Missouri, USA shot tower and factory for producing lead and lead rounds for ammunition.

"the military has set 2018 as its target date to have troops operating lead-ammo-free. 'Green bullets' have been under testing at Picatinny Arsenal since 2010, and the Army plans to issue 'a lead-free version of the 7.62 mm rounds fired from M-14 rifles... in 2014.' The Army already switched to a greener 5.56 mm 'enhanced performance round' in 2010."

. . . .

"Does the new ammo perform as well as the old? That is one question that has yet to be answered."

Well, that is the question, isn't it? Five hundred or more years of military firearms using lead or jacketed lead projectiles and now is the substitute going to work as well?

And what is the substitute for the lead core anyhow? That is not specified.

Trajectory for a variety of weapons will be the same? That is a concern? What else?

Devoted and regular readers and followers to the blog can comment in a serious way about this?

coolbert.

Roger Casement.

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Here also another man most controversial. From that era of the Great War [WW1].

NOT a military man but within the context of the Great War, the Irish Easter Rebellion, and connivance with Imperial Germany, a personality the military dimension of which is clear.

Sir Roger Casement.

English diplomat from the British elite and knighted for his humanitarian works.

Also in secret an Irish nationalist and fomenter of rebellion and war.

Roger Casement.

As with Fawz el-Kaukji in all likelihood Sir Roger not an adherent to the German cause, but it league with same nonetheless. "The enemy of my enemy is my friend".

Sir Roger again a fomenter of armed rebellion and treason. WAR!

As with John Amery during the Second World War [WW2] Sir Roger attempting first to recruit and organize a military unit of Irishmen, prisoners-of-war as held by the Germans. Irishmen willing and able to join forces against what was perceived as the English oppressor.

A recruitment effort that was for naught, only ONE POW volunteering his services to the German cause. As it was with John Amery so before was it also with Sir Roger.

Sir Roger then hoping to smuggle large numbers of German arms into Ireland via submarine. Raise and army and fight a guerrilla war. Once more, in league with the German and detrimental to the British war effort.

Arms shipments that were sent to the Irish nationalists by the German paltry and insignificant, almost non-existent.

Sir Roger in the aftermath of the failed Easter Rebellion captured, tried and hung. Roger Casement executed as was John Amery will all due speed.

Sir Roger his knighthood having been taken away of course.

Roger Casement to this very day almost one hundred years later a subject of controversy.

Roger a humanitarian without doubt but as a practitioner of grand strategy, a recruiter, organizer, and guerrilla leader a failure to be sure.

coolbert.

Fawz.

This is coolbert:

This is the type of headline that creates a stir in some quarters:

"PLO Official: We Supported the Nazis in WWII"

"Former political bureau head of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) removes any doubt over Arab support for Nazi Germany."

Supporters of the fascist Nazi regime in Germany? The Arab?

Not so fast ya'll.

NOT so much supporters of the German and Adolph Hitler but rather seen more as anti-British.

From that time of British Mandated Palestine in the aftermath of the Great War [WW1] until the creation of the State of Israel, various Palestinian leaders in opposition to British rule finding common cause with the German, seeking aid and assistance.

But not necessarily pro-Nazi.

This man in particular receiving very prominent mention in the book by Leon Uris: "Exodus".

Fawz el-Kaukji. [various spellings of the name exist.]

"Fawzi al-Qawuqji . . . was Arab nationalism's leading military figure in the interwar period, based in Germany during World War II, who served as the Arab Liberation Army (ALA) field commander during the 1948 Palestine War."

Fawz a man with a degree of military training and experience. Commander of the Arab Liberation Army [ALA] in 1948. The ALA irregular fighters combating the State of Israel in 1948.

A man who indeed associated with Nazi higher-ups during the Second World War [WW2], but hardly to be described as a Nazi or even a Nazi sympathizer.

Fawz as a military commander hardly even effective, rather the opposite.

From Trevor Dupuy:

"Fawz el Din el Kaukji . . . To some Arabs who served with him, Kaukji is remembered as a courageous and inspirational leader; other have called him 'an unprofessional clown'. There seems to be truth in both thumb-nail descriptions. However, on balance his performance was generally poor."

"Whatever Kaukji's combat experiences with the Turkish Army may have been in World War I, they had certain not equipped him to be the organizer, administrator, or strategic planner of a guerrilla army."

"He was unable . . . to instill discipline in, or impose order on, a collection of highly individualistic Syrian, Palestinian, and Bedouin Arabs."

This from both the period of the Arab Rebellion against British rule [1936-1939] and the once more during the Israeli War of Independence.

Kaukji and others similar not necessarily seen as fascists or Nazi adherents?

Rather, the attitude was "the enemy of my enemy is my friend". Meaning Germany as in opposition to the English.

[P.S. Devoted readers to the blog be aware this entry originally posted as a raw draft. Corrections having been made, my apologies to one and all!]

coolbert.

Jang.

This is coolbert:

To the extent that a state of war still exists between the forces of North Korean and United Nations contingents to the south, this blog entry is borderline germane.

Most everyone familiar at least by now with the arrest and execution, most sudden and quick, Jang the uncle [an in-law by marriage] of Kim of North Korea [DPRK].

The brother-in-law of Kim Jong Il [Jang] his arrest done with a flamboyant air, the execution precipitous and unanticipated [?].

Jang and the nephew during a happier and better time. That uncle now gone and for good!

Kim Jong Un behaving in the ancient and venerable manner of the Oriental despot.

Eliminating in a literal sense any and all opposition, consolidating power in a big time way. Opposition real, potential, or even imaginary.

Please keep in mind that Kim also has two older brothers bypassed for the top job. Continual head-rolling to follow?

Kim acting the manner such as has been the way of monarchs since the time of Alexander of Macedon.

Ruthless and complete purging of all pretenders, again, real, potential and even imaginary.

Alexander [The Great] on assuming the throne his first act of rule to have his uncle [paternal] executed. This of course 2,500 years ago!

And now this!

A high level North Korean defection, the foremost aide to the late Jang fleeing for his life.
I bet this guy has a lot of secrets to reveal. Big time!

"North Korea: Aide To Kim's Uncle 'Defects'"

"One of the most powerful men in North Korea is seeking asylum in South Korea after fleeing to China, according to reports."

An aide to the late Jang UNNAMED but knowing his head on the chopping block, escape the only alternative.

As for the two older brothers of Kim be wary! Very wary!

coolbert.

USS Cowpens.

This is coolbert:

"Get out of our way Yankee!"

Some call it freedom of the seas.

Others would call it a push. Next comes the shove.

China, the South China Sea, etc. NO WHERE else other than Freeper did I see this news item covered.

NOR has anything like this occurred at least to my knowledge since the coldest days of the Cold War. The ubiquitous Soviet trawler interfering with U.S. naval aircraft carrier operations.

"Chinese Naval Vessel Tries to Force U.S. Warship to Stop in International Waters"

"A Chinese naval vessel tried to force a U.S. guided missile warship to stop in international waters recently, causing a tense military standoff in the latest case of Chinese maritime harassment, according to defense officials."

"The guided missile cruiser USS Cowpens, which recently took part in disaster relief operations in the Philippines, was confronted by Chinese warships in the South China Sea near Beijing’s new aircraft carrier Liaoning, according to officials familiar with the incident."

. . . .

"According to the officials, the run-in began after a Chinese navy vessel sent a hailing warning and ordered the Cowpens to stop. The cruiser continued on its course and refused the order because it was operating in international waters."

"Then a Chinese tank landing ship sailed in front of the Cowpens and stopped, forcing the Cowpens to abruptly change course in what the officials said was a dangerous maneuver."

Mr. Bill Gertz reporting in this instance. Mr. Gertz a man we are familiar with for better or worse.

Somewhere below the waters too in the near vicinity there are several nuclear submarines American and Chinese both jockeying for position, also testing resolve and determination? I might suspect so.

This sort of stuff can get serious and fast.

Keep your hat on one and all.

coolbert.

Taxation.

This is coolbert:

That United States subsequent to the end of the Second World War [WW2] a radically different society as what existed in 1939.

General societal prosperity of a nature hitherto unimaginable as to scale one result.

Automobile ownership for adult males in the U.S. before the war about 25 %.

By 1947 nearly 100 % of adult American males able to afford and own an automobile.

So in the aftermath of the Depression Era and the end of the war some VERY PROFOUND CHANGES OCCURRING IN U.S. SOCIETY!

This too. The personal income tax.

To pay for the war, increased taxation as might well be expected. NOT however, merely a war-time temporary measure, but something that became permanent.

From "The Guns at Last Light" by Atkinson:

"The entire war had cost U.S. taxpayers $296 billion dollars, roughly $4 trillion in 2012 dollars"

"To help underwrite a military budget that increased 8,000 percent, Roosevelt had expanded the number of those taxpayers from 4 million to 42 million."

That  percentage of working American adults paying income tax about 10 % in 1939 dramatically expanded during the war to include nearly 100 % of working adults by 1945 paying some sort of income tax.

Again, not just persons paying taxes, but paying personal income tax. That was a rarity in 1939, but not so from 1945 onward. And continues unabated even to this very day, as we are all aware.

coolbert.

Sir Hubert.

This is coolbert:

Before there was Indiana Jones in the cinema there was Sir Hubert Wilkins in  real life!

Sir Hubert who organized and led the abortive under-the-water expedition to the North Pole a man who it seems was able to do it all. Even when not succeeding Sir Hubert always in the forefront and leading the way.

"Sir (George) Hubert Wilkins MC & Bar . . .  was an Australian polar explorer, ornithologist, pilot, soldier, geographer and photographer."

Sir Hubert in polar garb.

Sir Hubert also not one to shirk his military duty, twice decorated for battlefield heroism during the Great War [WW1]:

"In 1917, Wilkins [joined] the Australian Flying Corps in the rank of Second Lieutenant. Wilkins later transferred to the general list and in 1918 was appointed as an official war photographer. In June 1918 Wilkins was awarded the Military Cross for his efforts to rescue wounded soldiers during the Third Battle of Ypres. The following month Wilkins was promoted to Captain and became officer commanding No.3 (Photographic) Sub-section of the Australian war records unit. His work frequently led him into the thick of the fighting and during the Battle of the Hindenburg Line he assumed command of a group of American soldiers who had lost their officers in an earlier attack, directing them until support arrived. Wilkins was subsequently awarded a bar to his Military Cross."

And also during the Second World War [WW2] Wilkins volunteering his services:

"Wilkins next offered his service to the U.S. Army which retained him to teach Arctic survival skill to U.S. soldiers."

Sir Hubert a man in the same category and league as a H.H. Munro [Saki], Frederick Selous, Jim Corbett, Edward Steichen.

A man of patriotic fervor while of a rather advanced age [born 1888] willing and able to offer his services during a time of war AND GIVE A GOOD ACCOUNT OF HIMSELF! Most remarkable.

Subsequent to his death his ashes ceremoniously scattered at the North Pole during the voyage of the USS Skate [nuclear powered], the vessel having surfaced, breaking  through the ice to the surface in a manner as had been envisioned by Wilkins when planning the 1931 voyage of the Nautilus!

They just don't make them like Sir Hubert anymore!

coolbert.

Nautilus.

This is coolbert:

As shown on public Broadcast television the other night a polar expedition [1931] with a definite and most surprising military dimension.

This was a totally new one to me. That polar expedition of Sir Hubert Wilkins the goal of which was to reach the North Pole via submarine.

A leased [for $1 per year] American O Class diesel/electric submarine having been refurbished and equipped for the task.

American O Class submersible from the ear of the Great War. Looks kinda like a fish.

"USS O-12 . . . was used in an Arctic expedition by Sir Hubert Wilkins and was renamed Nautilus.

Submerged and all the way to the pole, this as of 1931!

My instantaneous reaction being that such an idea was preposterous!!

At that time submarines not being able to snorkel, nor break through the ice rising from submerged to the surface, totally lacking any sort of air-independent-technology. Recharging the batteries from the diesel engines more or less an impossibility?

That seven hundred mile [1,100 kilometers] voyage under the ice from the edge of the pack ice to the pole impossible given the technology of the day, not even a realization until the advent of nuclear power.

That "renamed" vessel Nautilus NOT successful in achieving the pole. Was submerged and did run for a time under the ice, albeit briefly.

 

That modified vessel Nautilus. The conning tower either removed or retractable?

Important research nonetheless having been carried out, the Nautilus returning to home base relatively unscathed.

It is worthy to note that conditions for the crew on the submarine were deplorable at best, downright dangerous at worst. Those O Class subs designed strictly as defensive weapons systems, coastal huggers for the most part and not designed or intended for use in pelagic [deep] waters.

Again, the vessel extensively modified for the research voyage, those modifications as needed for polar exploration taking into consideration the difficulties as were encountered:

 

One more graphic of the modified O Class submarine. Conning tower retractable?

"Thirty-two new features were added to the boat . . . These included a cushioned guide arm, a cushioning bowsprit 12 feet [four meters] long to act as a bumper, an ice drill to provide access to the surface in case the submarine was unable to break through the ice, an emergency air intake system, and a diving chamber. The original superstructure was removed, and the conning tower and periscope were modified to be retractable . . . also . . . the deck fittings enclosed within a wooden superstructure four feet wide and six feet high, inside of which he installed extra buoyancy chambers, which he considered necessary to prevent loss of stability during surfacing. On top of the superstructure [were] installed iron-shod 'sledge runners' and two cleats at each end"

"[the Nautilus was ] equipped . . . with several clever devices for under-ice operations. One was a mechanical probe, much like a trolley pole, that would scrape along the bottom of the ice cap to indicate how much clearance the submarine had below the ice. Others included drills supposedly capable of cutting through 13 feet (4 m) of ice to reach fresh air. These innovations were tested only cursorily before the boat put to sea."

Those drills not tested obviously to create an opening for fresh air if indeed the submarine COULD NOT SURFACE WHEN UNDER THE ICE!

I would also ask how exactly the Nautilus would have been able to navigate given the instrumentation and techniques as available at the time? Steering a course to the pole and reaching same with any degree of accuracy was an IMPOSSIBLE?

coolbert.

ADIZ.

This is coolbert:

Betcha' didn't know about this one!

From StrategyPage the Chinese having established a ADIZ  [air defense identification zone] in the East China Sea, a second ADIZ also defined in the South China Sea! That former widely reported in the main stream media, the latter NOT at all.

As from StrategyPage:

"December 2, 2013: China announced that it has the right to set up an ADIZ over international air space near the Philippines or even within the Filipino EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zone) that extends 380 kilometers from the coast. The EEZ is recognized by an international treaty that China signed but now ignores by claiming reefs and uninhabited islands off the Filipino coast. The Philippines quickly responded that it would not tolerate a Chinese ADIZ off the Filipino coast. But the Philippines will have to rely on stronger allies to actually thwart such Chinese moves."

Filipino claims in that area of the South China Sea included in the EEZ presumably Scarborough Shoals.

According to convention, ALL aircraft military and civilian entering the ADIZ must have filed a flight plan in advance AND have their transponder turned on. That latter measure for remote interrogation when approached by air defense interceptors.

Those civilian aircraft entering the Chinese East China Sea ADIZ advised to file a flight plan and turn on the transponder, MILITARY AIRCRAFT AS OF THIS DATE BEING TOLD NOT TO COMPLY WITH THE REQUIREMENTS. American, South Korean [?] and Japanese [?] warplanes already having tested Chinese resolve in this regard?

That Filipino having retired the last of their combat fighter warplanes NOT even possessing the possibility of response to the Chinese demands.

Keep in mind the United States and the Philippines have a bi-lateral defense treaty. Any attack upon the Philippines by whatever power is considered to be an attack on the United States and appropriate measures will be taken!

coolbert.

Arms Race.

This is coolbert:

From Freeper some more indications that the arms race in east Asian and the environs of the South China Sea continues. Even escalates.

1. "RI looks to Russia for submarines with multi-role missile systems (Indonesia)"

That Republic of Indonesia [RI] modernizing their submarine force. Antiquated Soviet era submersibles to be replace with more recent and capable Russian designs also firing more recent and capable weaponry.

"Indonesia is in talks with Russia on the purchase of a number of Kilo Class submarines, as the country expands its deterrent capabilities in anticipation of future regional disputes."

. . . .

"Indonesia required 'at least one submarine to cover each sea choke point' (a strategic narrow point of passage)."

"He said in total, the country needed a minimum of 12 submarines, as laid out in the Defense Ministry’s Minimum Essential Force strategy."

That suggests a minimum of SIX choke points to be guarded at all times? Half your submarine force on duty at sea all the time, the remainder in port during refit.

AND those choke points are? May I suggest:

* Malacca Strait [2].
* Sunda Strait.
* Lombok Strait..
* Makassar Strait.

Also those shipping lanes moving through the South China Sea and also approaches from Australia.

2. "Japan asked to share submarine technology (with Australia)"

"AUSTRALIA has asked Japan to consider providing highly advanced propulsion technology to be used in the navy's planned 12 new submarines."

Those "existing" Australian Collins class boats to be replaced by a more current model still on the drawing boards? The front half of the submarine based on American technology 'the same combat system and torpedoes as the US Virginia-class, nuclear-powered attack submarines and near-silent propellers' and the rear half  'back-end' technology based on Japanese innovation?

. . . .

"the use of Japan's extremely effective submarine technology in Australia's future submarine, which is most likely to be an evolution of Australia's existing Collins-class vessels."

. . . .

That  "back-end" technology THE drive train" - the whole propulsion system, from the propeller through to the electric motor and the diesel engine that charges the boat's batteries.'"

The Australian liking what they see in the front-end of the American Virginia class submarine but not needing or even wanting nuclear propulsion going to use the Japanese proven and effective "back end" technology presumably air-independent!

 3. "Vietnam looking to purchase BrahMos cruise missiles"

NOT ONLY the BrahMos missile. More than that.

"Looking to increase defence cooperation with India, Vietnam Communist party general secretary Nguyen Phu Trong also requested New Delhi for conversion training for Vietnamese pilots to fly Sukhoi-30 aircrafts."

"Vietnam formally requested India to supply the Indo-Russian BrahMos cruise missiles at a meeting in New Delhi . . .  adding that the Southeast Asian country was looking at enhancing security cooperation with India."

Enhancing security cooperation as a means to counter Chinese power in the area? This does seem obvious? Unspoken but tacit?

And the various nations of the area also not seeing the United States as a world super-power acting as the "sheriff" on duty in the foreseeable future. Nations having to become more self-reliant for their own self defense and acting accordingly.

coolbert.

ASI.

This is coolbert:

"Rise of the Machines"

Within the context of killer war-making robots, drones, and cyber-warfare, this blog entry is germane.

That day of the "killer" machines [drones and robots] that become:

* Sentient [self-aware].
* Autonomous.
* Replicating [3D printing].

And having made the decision to make war against the creator, the human species, and destroy same, for whatever reason [that can be discerned by mankind] initiates conflict without warning as is now the topic of science fiction movies such as the "Terminator" series of films NOT tomorrow but not that far off according to some futurists.

"Skynet"!

"Our Final Invention: How the Human Race Goes and Gets Itself Killed"

"human researchers may not even know they have created this potent ASI until it is too late to attempt to contain it. An ASI birthed in a supercomputer may choose . . . to hide itself and its capabilities lest the human masters it knows so much about it, attempt to shut it down."

ASI [artificial super intelligence] as defined currently deemed as that most dangerous of threats. We are not there yet and perhaps are a far way off but in historical terms NOT that FAR!

YES indeed. How exactly could the human information technology or compute programmer be able to tell that the various artificial intelligence driven drones and robots have become sentient in the first place? What behavior would have to be watched for and is there consideration given to a monitoring computers and software already in existence?

YES indeed. A computer or computer network that has become sentient practicing concealment does suggest a malevolent intent?

"ASI is unlikely to exterminate us in a bout of Terminator-esque malevolence . . . (But don't rule out a Terminator scenario altogether -- one of the biggest drivers of AI research is the Pentagon's DARPA and they are, quite explicitly, building killer robots"

"future nano-technologies to strip us down at the molecular level, it could shut down our electrical grids and turn the electronic devices we rely on against us"

Destruction and elimination [extermination?] of the human species not from "killer" robots necessarily but rather attack from nano-technology or malware. Cyber-warfare!!

See previous blog entries on the "Skynet" scenario":

http://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2012/09/skynet.html

http://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2012/09/autonomous.html

http://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2012/12/3-dreprap.html

http://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2013/03/ppaml.html

coolbert.

Merrill.

This is coolbert:

The strange case of Merrill Newman has been resolved and this from only a few hours ago too.

Thanks to Freeper the update:

"US war veteran 'deported by North Korea' (Merrill Newman)"

"North Korea has deported a US veteran of the Korean War who had been detained in the country since October, the state-run KCNA news agency reports. It says Merrill Newman was expelled on 'humanitarian grounds' after he confessed to his 'crimes' against the state during the 1950-53 war and 'apologised'. Mr Newman, 85, had been held on charges of 'hostile acts' against the North."

Mr. Newman released and deported, a prisoner-of-war repatriated.

Recall that the Korean War never ACTUALLY ENDED! Only a truce, an armistice, a cease-fire in place, but no end to hostilities or peace treaty as that term understood.

Mr. Newman in my opinion should consider himself to be lucky he got out alive. In the fevered and terribly disturbed mind of the North Korean, events from sixty years ago are never thought to be old news or anything of the sort. That anger and hate as taught from generation to generation never it seems undiminished or unabated.

coolbert.

 

30 Stades.

This is coolbert:

From Professor Al Nofi at StrategyPage and his CIC # 251 we have a description of the Roman Legion training regimen for recruits, circa the time of Scipio Africanus.

As copied in entirety with my commentary:

"The earliest documented instance of actual organized 'basic training' dates from 210 B.C. Having received a large infusion of raw recruits following his capture of New Carthage [Cartagena] in Spain, Publius Cornelius Scipio, later known as Scipio Africanus, established an intensive training schedule for them"

• "Day 1   Running in armor for 30 stades (c. four Roman miles, roughly 3.7 English miles or 5.9 kilometers)."
• "Day 2   Fatigue duties, including care and maintenance of arms and equipment, and so forth"
• "Day 3   Combat drill and a sham battle using overweight blunted wooden swords covered with leather and blunted javelins."
• "Day 4   Rest"

"Each day, Scipio personally conducted an inspection of the troops, taking pains to insure that everyone was properly outfitted. On the fifth day, the troops began again. Each new iteration of the training cycle was more difficult than the previous. Thus, where on the very first day the troops had to run in armor for four Roman miles, but on Day 5, this was supposedly doubled to eight, roughly 7.4 miles or 11.8 kilometers, while on Day 6 they began to learn how prepare the daily legionary marching camp, and on Day 7, a sham battle was fought with heavier blunted arms."
 
"Scipio had the troops carry on this regime for some weeks, each cycle’s training schedule being a little more onerous than the previous one. Thus, he insured that his troops were perfectly disciplined and physically inured to the hardships of campaigning, being able to easily march at least 20 Roman miles, fight a major battle, and then build their nightly entrenched camp, all in one day."

Progressive training WITH REST! The Roman fully understanding that the body cannot gain without pain but also needs time to heal [that fourth day of rest]!

Comments:

* A stades equal to one lap around a stadium as constructed for "games". And that stades roughly the same as an English furlong. [220 yards]

* This sort of training as described BASIC. Keep in mind a person of that period twice as strong pound for pound as a modern.

* Those fatigue duties including the construction of a "camp" as a daily ritual of a Roman legion on the march. That camp to consist at a minimum of a moat and stockade and inner dwellings for the men. Digging, chopping and sawing wood. Good hard physical labor to produce a superior physical specimen.

* That ability of the Romans to march, fight and then build a camp all in one day not only phenomenal but also an institutionalized aspect of their form of warfare. NO wonder the Roman prevailed for as long as they did as well as they did.

coolbert.

I-400.

This is coolbert:

From a variety of sources to include Sharkhuntes, Freeper, and the Daily Mail:

 "Mystery of the lost WWII Japanese mega submarine that could travel around the world 1.5 times before refueling"

"A Japanese submarine [I-400] that was preparing to attack the Panama Canal during World War Two has been discovered off the coast of Hawaii. The 400-foot (122-meter) ‘Sen-Toku’ class vessel - among the largest pre-nuclear submarines ever built - was found by chance in August off the southwest coast of Oahu. It has been missing since 1946 according to scientists at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. The I-400 and its sister ship, the I-401, which was found off Oahu in 2005, were able to travel one and a half times around the world without refuelling."

And now for the rest of the story!

From Harry and Sharkhunters and copied in entirety: [thanks to Harry]

"There is more to this story that they haven't picked up on as yet.  The Skipper of this boat was Korvettenkapitaen Tatsunosuke Ariizumi.  When he was Skipper of I-8, he was guilty of terrible atrocities including having survivors they had pulled from the water, tied their hands behind them and one by one, forced to run the gauntlet on the after deck between two rows of I-8 sailors armed with knives, machetes and clubs, hacking them to death.  If anyone made it through this gauntlet, there was a large Japanese sailor with a rifle with fixed bayonet ready to spear the man and pitch him overboard like a side of beef.  Our [Sharkhunters] Member WILLIAM FLURRY (4183-1995) was one of a handful of those who survived this ordeal when his ship SS JEAN NICOLETTE was sunk and the survivors brought aboard I-8 for this torture.  He and a handful of others survived because after some had already been killed by the crew and their gauntlet, a destroyer came over the horizon and Ariizumi had to dive to escape.  He dived I-8, leaving a dozen or so survivors still on the foredeck, hands still tied behind their backs.  Some, like FLURRY, were able to remain afloat until the destroyer rescued them."

In the aftermath of the war the I-400 captured by the U.S. Navy as a war prize, Captain Ariizumi aboard, his disappearance and alleged death circumstantial and intriguing. Again, thanks to Harry and Sharkhunters:

"An American prize crew took over the boats [I-400 & I-401] but left a small part of the Japanese crew aboard to operate the submarine until they got back to port, now in American hands.  The guys in the US Navy prize crew were not aware of these atrocities as they were bringing these boats back to Japan but the ONI did know, and they were waiting to arrest Ariizumi when the boat docked.  Surprise!  When they went to take him off the boat, Ariizumi was nowhere to be found.  The crew explained that in the previous night, Ariizumi had taken his own life and the crew put his body overboard while they were underway.  A check of the route they took on their return showed that the boat had passed very close to a point of land, giving way to the speculation that Ariizumi had merely slipped over the side and swam ashore."

Ariizumi either have committed suicide and his body disposed of by the crew, or the man having taken his chances with the sharks and tried to swim ashore. Gone but not forgotten, even many decades later.

coolbert.

Definitions.

This is coolbert:

From that previous blog entry:

"strategy, grand strategy or the operational art"

For clarification purposes, the definitions of what exactly constitutes "grand strategy", "strategy", and the "operational art". As would be generally agreed upon by the experts. In this particular case three Englishman, two most senior general officers and one theoretician from that era of the Great War and the Second World War. If anyone would know, be it accepted that they would.

1. Grand strategy. Those means and measures taken to harness in more or less totality the resources of the nation-state for the war effort. Also create favorable alliances with other nation-states during a time of war and commence planning for what will occur in the AFTERMATH of the war.

"[T]he role of grand strategy – higher strategy – is to co-ordinate and direct all the resources of a nation, or band of nations, towards the attainment of the political object of the war – the goal defined by fundamental policy." - -  B. H. Liddell Hart

"Grand strategy should both calculate and develop the economic resources and man-power of nations in order to sustain the fighting services. Also the moral resources – for to foster the people's willing spirit is often as important as to possess the more concrete forms of power. Grand strategy, too, should regulate the distribution of power between the several services, and between the services and industry." - -  B. H. Liddell Hart

"Furthermore, while the horizons of strategy is bounded by the war, grand strategy looks beyond the war to the subsequent peace. It should not only combine the various instruments, but so regulate their use as to avoid damage to the future state of peace – for its security and prosperity." - -  B. H. Liddell Hart.

I couldn't have said it better.

2. Strategy. Those means and measures taken by the military of a nation-state to satisfy policy as determined by the political authority. The planning of which to achieve desirable goals and objectives formulated and agreed upon by the highest military command authority.

"to derive from the [policy] aim a series of military objectives to be achieved: to assess these objectives as to the military requirements they create, and the pre-conditions which the achievement of each is likely to necessitate: to measure available and potential resources against the requirements and to chart from this process a coherent pattern of priorities and a rational course of action." - - Field -Marshal Viscount Alan Brooke.

 "Strategy is the art of distributing and applying military means, such as armed forces and supplies, to fulfil the ends of policy." - -  Field-Marshal Montgomery.

That definition of Montgomery much to be preferred over that of Alan Brooke.

3. The operational art. The movement and maneuver of units on the large scale. Corps [several divisions reinforced], armies [multiple divisions in a single grouping], groups of armies [army group or front]. Movement consisting of both combat arms and logistical support in a coordinated fashion.

"the operational level of war was conceived by the military theorists to describe the movement and logistics necessary for the coordinated concentration of many units for an offensive."

"Formations are of the operational level if they are able to conduct operational movement on their own, that is operating independently, and are of sufficient size to be directly handled or have a significant impact on the enemy's decision-making at the strategic level"

Within the context of A. Hitler as commander-in-chief making all significant war-making decisions obviously the man NOT conversant or knowledgeable in the operational art, or even understanding much less capable of formulating strategy or grand strategy!!

coolbert.

Benny Lee.

This is coolbert:

Captured!

From the Chicago Sun Times today:

"TALLSHIPS FESITVAL"

"Charge: Felon pretended to be Air Force officer at Navy Pier"

Once more we have the regrettable story of the wannabee military man [not claiming to be a hero], the imposter, the prevaricator, the poseur'.

And perhaps in the process of impersonating an officer in the United States Air Force [USAF], also it can be suggested having a more sinister motivation.

A man innocent until proven guilty of course! [already a convicted felon it should be noted]

"When Benny Lee Butler arrived at the Tall Ships Chicago event at Navy Pier this summer, he allegedly was sporting a U.S. Air Force battle-dress, uniform with the rank of major."

[merely wearing of the uniform does constitute a crime. Wearing the uniform and CLAIMING to be a military man is a crime.]

Benny Lee not only wearing the uniform and claiming to be active duty but also in possession of fake documents, ID card and military papers what they are called.

Unmasked and now in the deep doo-doo!

"Butler said he on active duty at Scott Air Force Base in southern Illinois, but kept changing his story until he admitted he was never in the military, according to the complaint. he allegedly said he wore a uniform because he wanted 'to be like you guys' and was trying to 'fit in'."

Mr. Butler as has been noted already a convicted felon with a penchant for uniforms with the intent so it seems to use that mark of authority for very wrong reasons.

"Butler . . . previously pleaded guilty to trying to lure children into his vehicle by posing as a Chicago Police officer."

Enough said. Please Mr. Butler, stop this silliness and learn to behave. Pharmaceuticals perhaps are the answer!

coolbert.

CHASE.

This is coolbert:

As from the DEBKAfile from about three week ago:

"A multinational fleet needed to destroy Syria's chemical arms"

"Destroying Syria's chemical weapons at sea is the only remaining option after no country would agree to host the operation of demolishing Syria's stockpile of 1,300 tonnes of toxic materials." Unable to find a nation willing to host the destruction operation of Syrian chemical munitions. NOT content with disabling the means of production of Syrian chemical munitions. NOT content with destroying those weapons systems capable of delivering Syrian chemical munitions. And the alternative is dumping in the deep ocean. Pelagic waters the final resting place? An idea that has merit. And there is PRECEDENT FOR THIS! Stockpiles as they exist loaded onto a cargo ship, taken out into those abysmal depths of the open ocean - - that merchant vessel then deliberately sunk with cargo also going to the bottom. From decades ago the CHASE program. Both conventional and chemical weapons disposed of and most controversially so when CHASE involved the dumping of NERVE agent. "Operation CHASE (Cut Holes and Sink 'Em) was a United States Department of Defense program that involved the disposal of unwanted munitions at sea from May 1964 into the early 1970s." "The disposal program involved loading old munitions onto ships which were then slated to be scuttled once they were up to 250 miles off shore. While most of the sinkings involved ships loaded with conventional weapons there were four which involved chemical weapons. The chemical weapons disposal site was a three mile (5 km) area of the Atlantic Ocean between the coast of the U.S. state of Florida and the Bahamas." "Most controversially so" nerve agents of the most deadly type dumped but contained in what is assumed to be a secure container the danger of leakage minimal. That was CHASE-10. I remember it all very well. Allegations of possible contamination of the ocean a possible so it was suggested. "CHASE 10 dumped 3,000 tons of United States Army nerve agent filled rockets encased in concrete vaults." That CHASE-10 site monitored for leakage and danger for four full decades now and so far so good, poisoning of the open ocean as far as known either negligible or even non-existent? coolbert.

Newman!

This is coolbert:

This story described as bizarre and baffling. But not so bizarre and baffling considering the mind-set, the mentality, the attitude and fevered imagination of the North Korean.

"Palo Alto's Merrill Newman, North Korean 'prisoner of war'"

"The bizarre and baffling tale of an elderly Palo Alto man who's been detained by North Korea [DPRK] for more than a month grew even more mysterious Saturday as new details emerged about his role during the Korean War secretly training anti-communist guerrillas fighting behind enemy lines."

American retired and elderly [eighty-five] year old Korean War veteran incarcerated as a prisoner-of-war [POW] by the North Korean, sixty years after a cessation to hostilities. An armistice, a truce, a cease-fire holding, a state-of-war still nonetheless existing, Newman technically according to North Korean law [?] still an enemy combatant.

A photograph of this type particularly rankling to the DPRK. Newman posing with South Korean anti-communist partisans as from the war of sixty years ago!.

These "new details" seems to suggest that:

* Mr. Newman indeed was an American Special Forces [SF] officer during the Korean War.

* Mr. Newman indeed active in the partisan operations [guerrilla warfare] directed against the communist forces of North Korea.

* Mr. Newman indeed in continued and on-going AND OPEN communication with those South Korean veterans of that anti-communist partisan campaign.

And after having made a ten day visit [a tourist excursion?] to North Korea [DPRK], Mr. Newman taken off the airplane just prior to take-off and now held captive, having to do the ritual of confession, beg for contrition, etc.

Mr. Newman now a bargaining-chip? That North Korean dictator wants something and will use Mr. Newman as leverage?

If you are an American veteran of the Korean War, please do not make any trips to North Korea. You might find yourself in hot water and in for a very rough time NO MATTER YOUR STATUS!

coolbert.

Incompetent?

This is coolbert:

"Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.” ― Napoleon.

From the Article in Armchair General "Hitler Takes Command!" by Nick Shepley:

"Shortly after the end of World War II, Lieutenant Gerneral Hasso von Manteuffel, one of Germany's most skilled field commander, was asked for his assessment of Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler's military competence. According to Donald Grey Brownlow's biography 'Panzer Baron', Manteuffel revealed 'Hitler had read a lot of military literature, and was also fond of listening to military lectures. In this way, coupled with his personal experience of [World War I] as an ordinary soldier, he had gained a very good knowledge of the lower level of warfare - - the properties of the different weapons, the effect of ground and weather; the mentality and morale of troops. He was particularly good in gauging how the troops felt. I found that I was hardly ever in disagreement with his view when discussing such matters. On the other hand, he had no idea of the higher strategical and tactical combinations. [Hitler] had a good grasp of how a single division moved and fought, but he did not understand how armies operated.'" [my emphasis in all cases]

There it is in the proverbial nutshell.

Hitler NOT knowledgeable in those elements of war that comprise strategy, grand strategy or the operational art. That latter the movement of units on a massive scale and basis to achieve strategic and grand strategic goals.

[Also Hitler during the Great War being evaluated and rated NOT BEING SUITABLE AS OFFICER MATERIAL. Mentally the man not so stable!]

Hitler having assumed command of the German military and in the position not only as political leader but then also acting the function of a generalissimo, commanding and directing with direct order the German armed forces, an incompetent man in control, MUCH TO THE ADVANTAGE OF THE ANTI-FASCIST COALITION FORCES.  [the western allies and the Soviets]

[generalissimo as I understand the meaning of the word slightly in deviation with the dictionary definition. Generalissimo as one wielding both military and political control, actually in direction of the armed forces, moving units around on the battlefield at whatever echelon.]

Von Manteuffel that name literally translated means "Man-Devil". Hasso however seems to have a very distinguished war record without participation in "those things". OH, you know what I am talking about, "those things".

coolbert.

Forty-Eighters.

This is coolbert:

Here with a tentative listing of German nationals during the American Civil War being appointed to flag rank [general officer].

Having include only those men either possessing a formal German military academy education or military experience as a German officer prior to emigration. [German in the sense of Prussian or the armies of the various principalities.]

These men almost exclusively so if not exclusively so adherents to the Federal cause, and also men having left their homeland in the aftermath of the various European 1848 failed revolutions

Germans referred to as the Forty-Eighters.

"The Forty-Eighters were Europeans who participated in or supported the revolutions of 1848 that swept Europe. In Germany, the Forty-Eighters favored unification of the German people, a more democratic government, and guarantees of human rights"

Germans anti-slavery, socialists, republicans. Even some favorably disposed to the theories of Karl Marx.

That not totally inclusive list to include:

1. Adolph von Steinwehr.

2. Alexander Schimmelfennig.

3. August Willich.

4. Franz Sigel.

5. Frederick Salomon.

6. Louis Blenker.

7. Max Weber.

8. Peter Osterhaus.

General officers in the Union army each and every one, and often preferring to recruit regiments of ethnic Germans, fellow immigrants to the United States. German speakers leading units consisting of German speakers.

To what extent these general officers and their enlisted charges were American citizens or resident legal aliens I cannot say.

And my thought originally was that these German-American experienced and formally trained commanders leading units of their compatriots, enlisted German-Americans, would have given a good account of themselves on the battlefield. Perhaps better or even much better than average.

But this does not seem to be the case. NO worse than average, but not much better than average. Just about the equal of those regiments during the American Civil War consisting of native born Americans.

These German-Americans felt a natural affinity to the Union cause during the American Civil War, the fight as they perceived it commensurate with their personal political beliefs. AND willing to put their bodies where their mind and mouth was.

coolbert.

McArthur.

This is coolbert:

That capture of Missionary Ridge and Lookout Mountain during the American Civil War a major event in the conflict and recognized so at the time, in two months the course of the war having changed dramatically to the advantage of the Union.

"A Rebel Waterloo".

"the Union soldiers continued the attack against the remaining lines, seeking refuge near the crest of the ridge (the top line of rifle pits were sited on the actual crest rather than the military crest of the ridge, leaving blind spots). This second advance was taken up by the commanders on the spot, but also by some of the soldiers who, on their own, sought shelter from the fire further up the slope. The Union advance was disorganized but effective; finally overwhelming and scattering what ought to have been, as General Grant himself believed, an impregnable Confederate line."

That charge uphill and the capture of Missionary Ridge spontaneous, impromptu, unauthorized, and perhaps even in disobedience to orders!!

And that man in the lead a junior officer, inspiring and motivating his charges forward, Arthur McArthur Jr. That name McArthur in the aftermath of the war changed to MacArthur. Arthur the father of course of the famous Douglas.

Brevet Colonel McArthur at age nineteen. That family trait of bold combat action even to the point of recklessness and disobedience a family trait?

 "At the Battle of Missionary Ridge on November 25, 1863 during the Chattanooga Campaign, the 18-year-old MacArthur inspired his regiment by seizing and planting the regimental flag on the crest of Missionary Ridge at a particularly critical moment, shouting 'On Wisconsin.'"

"For these actions, he was awarded the Medal of Honor. He was brevetted colonel in the Union Army the following year. Only 19 years old at the time, he became nationally recognized as 'The Boy Colonel'"

Those defending Confederate troops having occupied the topographic crest of the ridge and NOT the military crest, allowing for "blind spots" and voids where Yankee soldier surmounting the ridge could use for cover. A grave error of troop placement!

McArthur Jr. having received the Congressional Medal Honor for his bravery at Missionary Ridge, that decoration only awarded some twenty years later, and then ONLY after intense and prolonged lobbying by the Congressman uncle of Arthur! All that for comportment it can be suggested was fool-hardy and again, perhaps even disobedient. Behavior nonetheless carrying the day in a manner heralded across the nation in the media as it existed at the time.

coolbert.