This is coolbert:
From CIC # 1 by Professor Al Nofi the Bulgarians having within the historical record troops also able to march at speed for distance with load, and MOST IMPORTANTLY HAVING A SMALL PERCENTAGE [LESS THAN 2 %] OF THE TROOPS NOT COMPLETE THE MARCH AS A UNIT.
"During the Serbo-Bulgarian War of 1885, one Bulgarian infantry regiment went into combat after marching 60 miles [100 kilometers] in 32 hours in full kit with a falling out rate of only one man in 70, a record exceeding that of Napoleon's Grand Armee in 1805 and Jackson's 'Foot Cavalry' in 1862."
These Bulgarians not "stripped" bur evidently carrying full load. That "stripped" soldier without full kit perhaps having to be cold, wet, hungry, thirsty, exhausted, etc. BUT that being a part of his soldierly duty and to be accepted. OR am I speaking in the manner of: "those with the loudest voices are often furthest from the scene of the action"?
ALSO only select units trained to such a high degree of fitness and proficiency and those circumstances very few indeed where such extreme marching ability even be needed.
MARCHING TO COMBAT TOO EXPECT A HIGHER PERCENTAGE OF TROOPS TO FAQLL BY THE WAYSIDE! FEAR AS MIGHT BE GENERATED BY THE ANTICIPATE OF CARNAGE ON THE BATTLEFIELD CREATING BODILY WEAKNESS!
coolbert.
Sunday, November 30, 2014
Light Brigade.
This is coolbert:
More info on the historical marching ability of light infantry.
"The forced march of Brigadier-General Craufurd’s Light Brigade to Talavera on 28/29 July 1809 to join Sir Arthur Wellesley’s army is a matter of legend."
"a distance of 42 miles [68 kilometers] in 26 hours, including halts, has become generally accepted."
"The march was conducted in the extreme heat of an Iberian summer on poor roads and tracks with the soldiers carrying heavy packs, their weapons and ammunition"
"On Friday 28 July the Light Brigade set off at around 4 a.m. from Navalmoral at what was to be the start of their forced march of 42 miles in 26 hours . . . By noon, the Brigade had marched 21 miles [34 kilometers] since leaving Navalmoral."
"Craufurd ordered a halt during the heat of the day before setting off on the final 21 miles [34 kilometers] of the march at around 5 p.m. A further two-hour halt took place during the night before the Brigade eventually reached the battlefield at Talavera at dawn (6 a.m.) on Saturday 29 July."
The Light Brigade with band playing and flags flying however ARRIVING TOO LATE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE BATTLE OF TALAVERA.
ALSO that percentage of troops that fell by the wayside during that forced march was? Those individuals unable to maintain the pace and left behind considerable or otherwise. That number of significance too!
I would have thought that the necessity of the Light Brigade being present at Talavera at the insistence of Wellington that those English soldiers made to march in a "stripped" manner.
Carrying only rifle, ammunition, bayonet, canteen filled, and nothing more!
Speed march to the battlefield., further impedimenta dropped and loaded on wagons following behind. Walk a mile, run a mile, walk a mile, run a mile, etc. Continue at that pace until the objective reached. THIS WAS NOT DONE?
coolbert.
More info on the historical marching ability of light infantry.
"The forced march of Brigadier-General Craufurd’s Light Brigade to Talavera on 28/29 July 1809 to join Sir Arthur Wellesley’s army is a matter of legend."
"a distance of 42 miles [68 kilometers] in 26 hours, including halts, has become generally accepted."
"The march was conducted in the extreme heat of an Iberian summer on poor roads and tracks with the soldiers carrying heavy packs, their weapons and ammunition"
"On Friday 28 July the Light Brigade set off at around 4 a.m. from Navalmoral at what was to be the start of their forced march of 42 miles in 26 hours . . . By noon, the Brigade had marched 21 miles [34 kilometers] since leaving Navalmoral."
"Craufurd ordered a halt during the heat of the day before setting off on the final 21 miles [34 kilometers] of the march at around 5 p.m. A further two-hour halt took place during the night before the Brigade eventually reached the battlefield at Talavera at dawn (6 a.m.) on Saturday 29 July."
The Light Brigade with band playing and flags flying however ARRIVING TOO LATE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE BATTLE OF TALAVERA.
ALSO that percentage of troops that fell by the wayside during that forced march was? Those individuals unable to maintain the pace and left behind considerable or otherwise. That number of significance too!
I would have thought that the necessity of the Light Brigade being present at Talavera at the insistence of Wellington that those English soldiers made to march in a "stripped" manner.
Carrying only rifle, ammunition, bayonet, canteen filled, and nothing more!
Speed march to the battlefield., further impedimenta dropped and loaded on wagons following behind. Walk a mile, run a mile, walk a mile, run a mile, etc. Continue at that pace until the objective reached. THIS WAS NOT DONE?
coolbert.
Hike.
This is coolbert:
Some commentary on the marching ability of the U.S. Marine Corps infantry officer while carrying load.
From fifty years ago it was regulation and a retention requirement that each Marine officer on a YEARLY basis complete a fifty mile [eighty kilometers] hike.
That march to be completed during a three day period and carrying fighting load and existence load. SUCH A MANDATED REQUIREMENT IS STILL DEMANDED OF USMC OFFICERS?
Fighting load consisting of:
* Rifle, a basic distribution of ammunition and four hand grenades, bayonet, web gear, first aid kit, full canteen, entrenching tool, uniform to include helmet and boots.
Existence load consisting of:
* Rations, bed roll, shelter half to include pins, rope and pole.
A pace of quick step [120 paces per minute] for an eight hour period allowing the participant to easily complete the march in three days. That eight hours includes rest stops, one ten minute stop each hour.
That era from over fifty years ago during the Kennedy administration seeing the popularity of the fifty mile [eighty kilometers] hike among American high school students. A hike normally to be completed in one day and WITHOUT CARRYING LOAD!!
ONLY one-quarter of modern American youth meeting the physical and mental requirement of induction in the military. And fifty mile [eighty kilometers] hikes I have not heard of in A LONG TIME!!
coolbert.
Some commentary on the marching ability of the U.S. Marine Corps infantry officer while carrying load.
From fifty years ago it was regulation and a retention requirement that each Marine officer on a YEARLY basis complete a fifty mile [eighty kilometers] hike.
That march to be completed during a three day period and carrying fighting load and existence load. SUCH A MANDATED REQUIREMENT IS STILL DEMANDED OF USMC OFFICERS?
Fighting load consisting of:
* Rifle, a basic distribution of ammunition and four hand grenades, bayonet, web gear, first aid kit, full canteen, entrenching tool, uniform to include helmet and boots.
Existence load consisting of:
* Rations, bed roll, shelter half to include pins, rope and pole.
A pace of quick step [120 paces per minute] for an eight hour period allowing the participant to easily complete the march in three days. That eight hours includes rest stops, one ten minute stop each hour.
That era from over fifty years ago during the Kennedy administration seeing the popularity of the fifty mile [eighty kilometers] hike among American high school students. A hike normally to be completed in one day and WITHOUT CARRYING LOAD!!
ONLY one-quarter of modern American youth meeting the physical and mental requirement of induction in the military. And fifty mile [eighty kilometers] hikes I have not heard of in A LONG TIME!!
coolbert.
Saturday, November 29, 2014
Esprit.
This is coolbert:
More correctly, this headline should be A-10 NOT obsolete!
Unless American Thinker knows something I don't know, this is a second contingent of A-10 Warthog close-air-support warplanes being deployed overseas. That previous known deployment of A-10 was to Afghan but this is not the same unit moving to the battle zone?
"'Obsolete' Warthogs head to Iraq"
That amount of firepower as is available form one A-10 immense. In particular that 30 mm round as fired by the rapid-fire cannon AN EXPLOSIVE ROUND AND AS NOTED BY STEINER VERY COST EFFICIENT.
My understanding also of the pilots of the various A-10 squadrons are part-times. Air National Guard aviators that are commercial pilots during the weekday and "weekend" warriors during the weekends. But AIRMEN with a elevated esprit, a developed set of skills and always kept in constant practice, training, and a high state of readiness.
Many years ago I was buzzed by a pair of A-10 while driving south from Chicago on I-65. That must have been planes from the Indiana Air National Guard. Believe me, that is a humbling experience. I might even have been a notional target in their sights at that particular moment.
"At the height of the Iraqi insurgency the Army purchased a vehicle it positively hated: The Mine Resistant, Ambush Protected Vehicle, or MRAP. The MRAP was heavy and tall, with minimal off road capability, but it saved a lot of American lives. The MRAP has no practical purpose outside of counterinsurgency, yet it was worth every penny."
MRAP also the first military project in sixty years from the drawing board from the blueprints to the field. NOT since WW2 had such a thing occurred.
coolbert.
More correctly, this headline should be A-10 NOT obsolete!
Unless American Thinker knows something I don't know, this is a second contingent of A-10 Warthog close-air-support warplanes being deployed overseas. That previous known deployment of A-10 was to Afghan but this is not the same unit moving to the battle zone?
"'Obsolete' Warthogs head to Iraq"
That amount of firepower as is available form one A-10 immense. In particular that 30 mm round as fired by the rapid-fire cannon AN EXPLOSIVE ROUND AND AS NOTED BY STEINER VERY COST EFFICIENT.
My understanding also of the pilots of the various A-10 squadrons are part-times. Air National Guard aviators that are commercial pilots during the weekday and "weekend" warriors during the weekends. But AIRMEN with a elevated esprit, a developed set of skills and always kept in constant practice, training, and a high state of readiness.
Many years ago I was buzzed by a pair of A-10 while driving south from Chicago on I-65. That must have been planes from the Indiana Air National Guard. Believe me, that is a humbling experience. I might even have been a notional target in their sights at that particular moment.
"At the height of the Iraqi insurgency the Army purchased a vehicle it positively hated: The Mine Resistant, Ambush Protected Vehicle, or MRAP. The MRAP was heavy and tall, with minimal off road capability, but it saved a lot of American lives. The MRAP has no practical purpose outside of counterinsurgency, yet it was worth every penny."
MRAP also the first military project in sixty years from the drawing board from the blueprints to the field. NOT since WW2 had such a thing occurred.
coolbert.
Thursday, November 27, 2014
Duelfer.
This is coolber:
From Freeper, The New York Times, and the article by Daniel Clark
The American invasion of Iraq, 2003, as announced in large measure to remove the WMD threat of chemical weapons, that threat even in hindsight so severe as had been expected.
"Gone With The WMD: Recalling the fleeting facts about Iraq"
"The October 14th New York Times story revealing a stockpile of 5,000 chemical weapons in Iraq was not news."
. . . .
"We’re told that all of the al-Muthanna weapons are too badly degraded to pose a threat"
"In addition to those weapons Saddam had declared, hundreds of his undeclared WMDs have been found scattered throughout the country in small numbers."
"Regardless of the weapons’ condition, Saddam’s failure to declare them constituted a material breach of UN Resolution 1441"
"It’s not that no WMDs created since 1991 have been found, it’s just that they’ve been in small enough numbers that the Duelfer Report found them not to be 'militarily significant'”
Saddam possessing chemical munitions as of 2003 but those weapons:
* Insignificant numbers.
* Degraded.
* Scattered.
Key Points:
• "During the Iraq war, 17 American service members found aging chemical weapons abandoned years earlier."
• "These weapons were not part of an active arsenal."
• "Troops who were exposed received inadequate care."
• "Munitions are unaccounted for in areas of Iraq now under control of ISIS."
• "In response to this investigation, the Pentagon acknowledged that more than 600 troops reported chemical exposure, but it failed to recognize the scope or offer adequate treatment."
• "The Pentagon also said it would reconsider Purple Hearts for those exposed."
Rockets containing degraded mustard agent as captured by ISIL numbering about 2,500 rockets still containing toxic and dangerous chemicals. MUSTARD agent degraded but those chemicals contained within the rockets still posing a degree of lethality.
coolbert.
From Freeper, The New York Times, and the article by Daniel Clark
The American invasion of Iraq, 2003, as announced in large measure to remove the WMD threat of chemical weapons, that threat even in hindsight so severe as had been expected.
"Gone With The WMD: Recalling the fleeting facts about Iraq"
"The October 14th New York Times story revealing a stockpile of 5,000 chemical weapons in Iraq was not news."
. . . .
"We’re told that all of the al-Muthanna weapons are too badly degraded to pose a threat"
"In addition to those weapons Saddam had declared, hundreds of his undeclared WMDs have been found scattered throughout the country in small numbers."
"Regardless of the weapons’ condition, Saddam’s failure to declare them constituted a material breach of UN Resolution 1441"
"It’s not that no WMDs created since 1991 have been found, it’s just that they’ve been in small enough numbers that the Duelfer Report found them not to be 'militarily significant'”
Saddam possessing chemical munitions as of 2003 but those weapons:
* Insignificant numbers.
* Degraded.
* Scattered.
Key Points:
• "During the Iraq war, 17 American service members found aging chemical weapons abandoned years earlier."
• "These weapons were not part of an active arsenal."
• "Troops who were exposed received inadequate care."
• "Munitions are unaccounted for in areas of Iraq now under control of ISIS."
• "In response to this investigation, the Pentagon acknowledged that more than 600 troops reported chemical exposure, but it failed to recognize the scope or offer adequate treatment."
• "The Pentagon also said it would reconsider Purple Hearts for those exposed."
Rockets containing degraded mustard agent as captured by ISIL numbering about 2,500 rockets still containing toxic and dangerous chemicals. MUSTARD agent degraded but those chemicals contained within the rockets still posing a degree of lethality.
coolbert.
Wednesday, November 26, 2014
95th Brigade.
This is coolbert:
Raiders of the Lost Ark.
NO! Raiders of Zhitomir! 95th Brigade.
In a war fought primarily or predominantly so by PROXY forces here we have an instance of Ukrainian national army troops demonstrating an admirable fighting ability.
Proxy forces those irregular battalions multitudes as of which deployed by the Ukrainian in opposition to the Russian separatist movement.
That 95th Ukrainian airborne brigade as described rated best in the world by the American military expert Phillip Karber. Best brigade of its kind!
Mr. Karber a professor at Georgetown and by reputation a defense strategist.
"UKRAINE: American military expert considers paratroopers of Zhytomyr to be the best in the world"
"The 95th independent airborne brigade, led by their commander, Mykhailo Zabrodskyi, conducted the longest raid in military history."
“Mykhailo Zabrodskyi and his 95th brigade became a part of military history at the beginning of August. They broke through the separatists’ line of defence, completed a march all the way to Mariupol, and made their way back along the border, destroying several Russian artillery battalions along the way, collecting for themselves their weapons and equipment. These battalions were located on the Ukrainian side of the border. They passed Russian tanks all the way to Luhansk itself, and then they returned to Sloviansk. That’s what makes this raid the longest raid in the military history of the world of an armed formation,”
"the 95th brigade is the best brigade of its kind in the entire world. 'In my opinion, they are the most successful Ukrainian brigade, even having served with the American servicemen in the near East,'" Phillip Karber.
coolbert.
Raiders of the Lost Ark.
NO! Raiders of Zhitomir! 95th Brigade.
In a war fought primarily or predominantly so by PROXY forces here we have an instance of Ukrainian national army troops demonstrating an admirable fighting ability.
Proxy forces those irregular battalions multitudes as of which deployed by the Ukrainian in opposition to the Russian separatist movement.
That 95th Ukrainian airborne brigade as described rated best in the world by the American military expert Phillip Karber. Best brigade of its kind!
Mr. Karber a professor at Georgetown and by reputation a defense strategist.
"UKRAINE: American military expert considers paratroopers of Zhytomyr to be the best in the world"
"The 95th independent airborne brigade, led by their commander, Mykhailo Zabrodskyi, conducted the longest raid in military history."
“Mykhailo Zabrodskyi and his 95th brigade became a part of military history at the beginning of August. They broke through the separatists’ line of defence, completed a march all the way to Mariupol, and made their way back along the border, destroying several Russian artillery battalions along the way, collecting for themselves their weapons and equipment. These battalions were located on the Ukrainian side of the border. They passed Russian tanks all the way to Luhansk itself, and then they returned to Sloviansk. That’s what makes this raid the longest raid in the military history of the world of an armed formation,”
"the 95th brigade is the best brigade of its kind in the entire world. 'In my opinion, they are the most successful Ukrainian brigade, even having served with the American servicemen in the near East,'" Phillip Karber.
coolbert.
Hood & Gonen.
This is coolbert:
That Confederate General in command of the secessionist forces at the Battle of Franklin John Bell Hood:
"John Bell Hood . . . was a Confederate general during the American Civil War. Hood had a reputation for bravery and aggressiveness that sometimes bordered on recklessness. Arguably one of the best brigade and division commanders in the Confederate States Army, Hood became increasingly ineffective as he was promoted to lead larger, independent commands late in the war, and his career was marred by his decisive defeats leading an army in the Atlanta Campaign and the Franklin-Nashville Campaign."
Hood a Texan and undoubtedly a man of the highest degree of physical courage imaginable. During the American Civil War the man lost both an arm and a leg but continued to serve directing his troops with continued and remarkable valor.
Hood too successful in commanding lower echelons of command but not so successful when in charge of units at higher echelons. Good as a brigade or divisional commander but not well as an army commander.
And his entire career marred and most significantly so by the debacle at Franklin.
Again, only at Franklin did a Confederate army during the entire episode of the American Civil War leave the battlefield in a state of rout and disarray.
There is a modern counter-part to John Bell Hood? The Israeli general officer Shmuel Gonen. GORODISH in the familiar form to his Israeli officer colleagues. Gonen also a man of undisputed bravery, wounded five times no less in the Israeli War of Independence.
The hard luck general officer also successful when in command of lesser formations but not doing so well when in command of major formations. Excessive Israeli casualties in the Yom Kippur/Ramadan War of 1973 and lackluster performance of the IDF attributed to Gonen.
In memoriam to John Bell Hood much verse and lyrics devoted to the man:
Stephen Vincent Benét's
"Yellow-haired Hood with his wounds and his empty sleeve,
Leading his Texans, a Viking shape of a man,
With the thrust and lack of craft of a berserk sword,
All lion, none of the fox.
When he supersedes
Joe Johnston, he is lost, and his army with him,
But he could lead forlorn hopes with the ghost of Ney.
His bigboned Texans follow him into the mist.
Who follows them?"
Private Sam Watkins
"But the half of brave Hood's body molders here.
The rest was lost in honor's bold career.
Though fame and limbs he scattered all around;
Yet still though mangled was with glory crowned.
For ever ready with his blood to part,
War left him nothing whole, except his heart."
Bell I. Wiley
"My feet are torn and bloody,
My heart is full of woe,
I'm going back to Georgia
To find my uncle Joe [Johnston].
You may talk about your Beauregard,
You may sing of Bobby Lee,
But the gallant Hood of Texas
He played hell in Tennessee."
Gonen also the subject of dramatic presentation subsequent to the 1973 war, the man and his behavior during the war continuing to be a subject of intense discussion.
Both men living the remainder of their lives in the aftermath of their military careers having the proverbial "cloud" hanging over their heads. And both never redeemed. Both also dying premature deaths unable to recover from what was perceived as battlefield failure.
coolbert.
That Confederate General in command of the secessionist forces at the Battle of Franklin John Bell Hood:
"John Bell Hood . . . was a Confederate general during the American Civil War. Hood had a reputation for bravery and aggressiveness that sometimes bordered on recklessness. Arguably one of the best brigade and division commanders in the Confederate States Army, Hood became increasingly ineffective as he was promoted to lead larger, independent commands late in the war, and his career was marred by his decisive defeats leading an army in the Atlanta Campaign and the Franklin-Nashville Campaign."
Hood a Texan and undoubtedly a man of the highest degree of physical courage imaginable. During the American Civil War the man lost both an arm and a leg but continued to serve directing his troops with continued and remarkable valor.
Hood too successful in commanding lower echelons of command but not so successful when in charge of units at higher echelons. Good as a brigade or divisional commander but not well as an army commander.
And his entire career marred and most significantly so by the debacle at Franklin.
Again, only at Franklin did a Confederate army during the entire episode of the American Civil War leave the battlefield in a state of rout and disarray.
There is a modern counter-part to John Bell Hood? The Israeli general officer Shmuel Gonen. GORODISH in the familiar form to his Israeli officer colleagues. Gonen also a man of undisputed bravery, wounded five times no less in the Israeli War of Independence.
The hard luck general officer also successful when in command of lesser formations but not doing so well when in command of major formations. Excessive Israeli casualties in the Yom Kippur/Ramadan War of 1973 and lackluster performance of the IDF attributed to Gonen.
In memoriam to John Bell Hood much verse and lyrics devoted to the man:
Stephen Vincent Benét's
"Yellow-haired Hood with his wounds and his empty sleeve,
Leading his Texans, a Viking shape of a man,
With the thrust and lack of craft of a berserk sword,
All lion, none of the fox.
When he supersedes
Joe Johnston, he is lost, and his army with him,
But he could lead forlorn hopes with the ghost of Ney.
His bigboned Texans follow him into the mist.
Who follows them?"
Private Sam Watkins
"But the half of brave Hood's body molders here.
The rest was lost in honor's bold career.
Though fame and limbs he scattered all around;
Yet still though mangled was with glory crowned.
For ever ready with his blood to part,
War left him nothing whole, except his heart."
Bell I. Wiley
"My feet are torn and bloody,
My heart is full of woe,
I'm going back to Georgia
To find my uncle Joe [Johnston].
You may talk about your Beauregard,
You may sing of Bobby Lee,
But the gallant Hood of Texas
He played hell in Tennessee."
Gonen also the subject of dramatic presentation subsequent to the 1973 war, the man and his behavior during the war continuing to be a subject of intense discussion.
Both men living the remainder of their lives in the aftermath of their military careers having the proverbial "cloud" hanging over their heads. And both never redeemed. Both also dying premature deaths unable to recover from what was perceived as battlefield failure.
coolbert.
Tuesday, November 25, 2014
Fort Sam.
This is coolbert:
Further info on the man who crashed his car while attempting to enter Fort Sam Houston base, San Antonio.
NO weapons, NO explosives.
The young man a Saudi national however, a student.
The investigation continues?
"College student detained in Fort Sam Houston lockdown, had no explosives in car"
"SAN ANTONIO — Officials with Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston have released a 'local' college student who was detained Sunday following a lockdown there."
Local as a Saudi national attending college in the area.
"The base was put on heightened security measures Sunday and went into lockdown for four hours because of a suspicious vehicle 'that attempted to access the installation without appropriate credentials'"
NO explosives and NO weapons but that auto by itself in the wrong hands representing a weapon! The soldiers in Canada and England both run over first before being killed.
coolbert.
Further info on the man who crashed his car while attempting to enter Fort Sam Houston base, San Antonio.
NO weapons, NO explosives.
The young man a Saudi national however, a student.
The investigation continues?
"College student detained in Fort Sam Houston lockdown, had no explosives in car"
"SAN ANTONIO — Officials with Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston have released a 'local' college student who was detained Sunday following a lockdown there."
Local as a Saudi national attending college in the area.
"The base was put on heightened security measures Sunday and went into lockdown for four hours because of a suspicious vehicle 'that attempted to access the installation without appropriate credentials'"
NO explosives and NO weapons but that auto by itself in the wrong hands representing a weapon! The soldiers in Canada and England both run over first before being killed.
coolbert.
Monday, November 24, 2014
Hashashin.
This is coolbert:
Thanks to Freeper and from only today this has the potential to be very big.
Fort Sam Houston San Antonio Texas.
"Saudi National Reportedly Crashes Car Containing Explosives Into US Army Post Fort Sam Houston"
"A driver who rammed his car into the gates of U.S. Army post Fort Sam Houston in Texas is in custody after the ordeal on Sunday. Police have not provided much information about the situation or the suspect, but the military base, which had been placed under lockdown, has returned to normal operations."
The instantaneous response is that this is the "Lone Wolf" jihadi assassin or a person operating under the auspices of ISIL. The infiltrator, the illegal alien border crosser bent on terrorism.
As we speak no further details available.
coolbert.
Thanks to Freeper and from only today this has the potential to be very big.
Fort Sam Houston San Antonio Texas.
"Saudi National Reportedly Crashes Car Containing Explosives Into US Army Post Fort Sam Houston"
"A driver who rammed his car into the gates of U.S. Army post Fort Sam Houston in Texas is in custody after the ordeal on Sunday. Police have not provided much information about the situation or the suspect, but the military base, which had been placed under lockdown, has returned to normal operations."
The instantaneous response is that this is the "Lone Wolf" jihadi assassin or a person operating under the auspices of ISIL. The infiltrator, the illegal alien border crosser bent on terrorism.
As we speak no further details available.
coolbert.
Sherman & Franklin.
This is coolbert:
From the New York Times you need to read the whole article.
The historical account of Sherman's March to Savannah by the sea continuously under investigation and a consensus having been gaining ground as to the actions of the Army of the West during the advance across Georgia.
"150 Years Later, Wrestling With a Revised View of Sherman’s March"
Hard YES, cruel NOT!
"Sherman’s plan for the systematic obliteration in late 1864 of the South’s war machine, including its transportation network and factories, was destructive but not gratuitously destructive. Instead, those experts contend, the strategy was an effective and legal application of the general’s authority and the hard-edged masterstroke necessary to break the Confederacy."
And has been the observation of Colonel Austin Bay:
"Remaining in Atlanta also entailed serious danger. For supplies, Sherman's troops depended on the single rail line connecting Atlanta to Chattanooga. On a daily basis, Confederate cavalry under Nathaniel Bedford Forrest snapped Union telegraph lines and ripped up railroad track. If Sherman tried to winter in the city, his army might starve."
That danger to the Union supply lines most exemplified by the Battle of Franklin. That Confederate army of John Bell Hood pursuing a retreating Yankee army into Tennessee with the intention of capturing Nashville and making the supply situation for Sherman EVEN THAT MORE ACUTE!!
Franklin from one hundred and fifty years ago now resulting in catastrophic secessionist defeat, THE ONLY TIME DURING THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR WHEN THE TROOPS OF THE CONFEDERACY LEFT THE BATTLEFIELD IN ROUT AND DISARRAY!!
coolbert.
From the New York Times you need to read the whole article.
The historical account of Sherman's March to Savannah by the sea continuously under investigation and a consensus having been gaining ground as to the actions of the Army of the West during the advance across Georgia.
"150 Years Later, Wrestling With a Revised View of Sherman’s March"
Hard YES, cruel NOT!
"Sherman’s plan for the systematic obliteration in late 1864 of the South’s war machine, including its transportation network and factories, was destructive but not gratuitously destructive. Instead, those experts contend, the strategy was an effective and legal application of the general’s authority and the hard-edged masterstroke necessary to break the Confederacy."
And has been the observation of Colonel Austin Bay:
"Remaining in Atlanta also entailed serious danger. For supplies, Sherman's troops depended on the single rail line connecting Atlanta to Chattanooga. On a daily basis, Confederate cavalry under Nathaniel Bedford Forrest snapped Union telegraph lines and ripped up railroad track. If Sherman tried to winter in the city, his army might starve."
That danger to the Union supply lines most exemplified by the Battle of Franklin. That Confederate army of John Bell Hood pursuing a retreating Yankee army into Tennessee with the intention of capturing Nashville and making the supply situation for Sherman EVEN THAT MORE ACUTE!!
Franklin from one hundred and fifty years ago now resulting in catastrophic secessionist defeat, THE ONLY TIME DURING THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR WHEN THE TROOPS OF THE CONFEDERACY LEFT THE BATTLEFIELD IN ROUT AND DISARRAY!!
coolbert.
Confrontation?
This is coolbert:
Reducing the quantity of nuclear warheads over a period of decades those absolute numbers steadily declining while at the same time MAKING THOSE REMAINING ATOMIC MUNITIONS MORE EFFECTIVE not really provocative or confrontational?
"US nuclear upgrade may ‘provoke nuclear confrontation’ with Russia"
"The US decision to spend billions of dollars to upgrade its nuclear forces may 'provoke a nuclear confrontation' with Russia"
"Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel on Friday announced that the Pentagon will increase spending on the management of the US nuclear arsenal by about 10 percent a year for the next five years.
The US nuclear weapons forces already cost over $15 billion annually."
And it is not like since the end of the Soviet Union that the Russian has stood still with regard to making more effective THEIR nuclear strike force.
That total annual cost and expenditure for the U.S. nuclear weapons force including all aspects of the munitions, including dismantling and storage of the radioactive material subsequent to removal from a warhead. So is my understanding.
But a news nuclear arms race as a consequence of the Pentagon decision? NO!
coolbert.
Sunday, November 23, 2014
Floppy Disk.
This is coolbert:
Pentagon planners about to spend billions of dollars to upgrade the American nuclear strike force. Antiquated technology seen as only part of the problem.
"America's Aging Nukes Are as Anachronistic as the Floppy Disks That Control Them"
"Even though America's inter-continental ballistic missile systems run off of impossibly old-seeming 8-inch floppy disks, the problems that led Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel to order a review of America's nukes weren't technical as much as they were cultural and administrative."
Floppy discs for those that are not familiar with that term the original eight-inch programming media that used to be state-of-the-art computer technology in the early 1980's. "Model T" technology by modern standards. NO upgrades to the U.S. nuclear arsenal since that time evidently.
"So while there will be changes to how America feeds and cares for the world's biggest collection of nuclear weapons, the floppies aren't the problem."
NO! NOT the "world's biggest collection of nuclear weapons" for many decades now. The old Soviet Union and then Russia having a much greater quantity of nuclear warheads deployed, that even NOW being the case. American nuclear warhead numbers peaking around the late 1960's and steadily declining since that time.
"Throwing money after problems may fix some technical issues but it is unlikely to resolve the dissolution that must come from sitting in a silo hole in the Midwest with missiles on high alert to respond to a nuclear attack that is unlikely to ever come," - - Hans Kristensen, a nuclear expert with the Federation of American Scientists"
PERHAPS THAT ATTACK IS NEVER GOING TO COME BECAUSE THOSE WEAPONS AND THE CREWS THAT MAN THEM ARE ON A CONSTANT STATUS OF HIGH ALERT AND WILL CONTINUE TO BE SO.
coolbert.
Pentagon planners about to spend billions of dollars to upgrade the American nuclear strike force. Antiquated technology seen as only part of the problem.
"America's Aging Nukes Are as Anachronistic as the Floppy Disks That Control Them"
"Even though America's inter-continental ballistic missile systems run off of impossibly old-seeming 8-inch floppy disks, the problems that led Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel to order a review of America's nukes weren't technical as much as they were cultural and administrative."
Floppy discs for those that are not familiar with that term the original eight-inch programming media that used to be state-of-the-art computer technology in the early 1980's. "Model T" technology by modern standards. NO upgrades to the U.S. nuclear arsenal since that time evidently.
"So while there will be changes to how America feeds and cares for the world's biggest collection of nuclear weapons, the floppies aren't the problem."
NO! NOT the "world's biggest collection of nuclear weapons" for many decades now. The old Soviet Union and then Russia having a much greater quantity of nuclear warheads deployed, that even NOW being the case. American nuclear warhead numbers peaking around the late 1960's and steadily declining since that time.
"Throwing money after problems may fix some technical issues but it is unlikely to resolve the dissolution that must come from sitting in a silo hole in the Midwest with missiles on high alert to respond to a nuclear attack that is unlikely to ever come," - - Hans Kristensen, a nuclear expert with the Federation of American Scientists"
PERHAPS THAT ATTACK IS NEVER GOING TO COME BECAUSE THOSE WEAPONS AND THE CREWS THAT MAN THEM ARE ON A CONSTANT STATUS OF HIGH ALERT AND WILL CONTINUE TO BE SO.
coolbert.
Midway.
This is coolbert:
From the Chicago Tribune of today.
Those banner headlines as was the case on 7 June 1942. Immediately in the aftermath of the Battle of Midway.
"From June 4 to 7, 1942 the U.S. Navy ambushed and the devastated a Japanese strike force near Midway Island. . . . On June 7, six months to the day after Pearl Harbor, a front-page report in the Chicago Tribune hinted at the astonishing secret that enabled the American victory"
"The scoop said that the U.S. had known when the Japanese convoy would sail, where, with what assets . . . Savvy readers knew that the intricate details had to mean Washington had cracked Japan's secret naval code"
From the Tribune article and the headlines:
"Breaking the code on A Chicago mystery from World War II"
"Historians and press advocates ask federal judges here to breach a grand jury's secrecy"
"JAP FLEET SMASHED BY U.S. 2 CARRIERS SUNK AT MIDWAY"
"NAVY HAD WORD OF JAP PLAN TO STRIKE AT SEA"
"Knew Dutch Harbor Was a Feint."
"13 TO 15 NIPPON SHIPS HIT; PACIFIC BATTLE RAGES ON"
During a time of declared war such a deliberation treasonous at best, a secret most tightly held [the navy having the ability to read the encrypted and highly sensitive JN-25 naval code] the betrayal of which seen as a factor that could make moot for American military planners a war winning measure.
And for the rest of the story: NOT IN THE SEVENTY-TWO YEARS THAT HAS PASSED THE DELIBERATIONS OF THE FEDERAL GRAND JURY INVESTIGATING THE MATTER OF POSSIBLE TREASON A SEALED RECORD THE CONTENTS OF WHICH HAVE NEVER BEEN REVEALED.
The sealed records will be unsealed? After seventy-two years perhaps this is a good idea. Colonel McCormick the owner of the Tribune was a noted and intense opponent of Franklin Roosevelt and would do anything in his power to discredit the President, apparently even if it meant disclosing secrets that had the possible of NEGATING a "war winning measure"!!
coolbert.
From the Chicago Tribune of today.
Those banner headlines as was the case on 7 June 1942. Immediately in the aftermath of the Battle of Midway.
"From June 4 to 7, 1942 the U.S. Navy ambushed and the devastated a Japanese strike force near Midway Island. . . . On June 7, six months to the day after Pearl Harbor, a front-page report in the Chicago Tribune hinted at the astonishing secret that enabled the American victory"
"The scoop said that the U.S. had known when the Japanese convoy would sail, where, with what assets . . . Savvy readers knew that the intricate details had to mean Washington had cracked Japan's secret naval code"
From the Tribune article and the headlines:
"Breaking the code on A Chicago mystery from World War II"
"Historians and press advocates ask federal judges here to breach a grand jury's secrecy"
"JAP FLEET SMASHED BY U.S. 2 CARRIERS SUNK AT MIDWAY"
"NAVY HAD WORD OF JAP PLAN TO STRIKE AT SEA"
"Knew Dutch Harbor Was a Feint."
"13 TO 15 NIPPON SHIPS HIT; PACIFIC BATTLE RAGES ON"
During a time of declared war such a deliberation treasonous at best, a secret most tightly held [the navy having the ability to read the encrypted and highly sensitive JN-25 naval code] the betrayal of which seen as a factor that could make moot for American military planners a war winning measure.
And for the rest of the story: NOT IN THE SEVENTY-TWO YEARS THAT HAS PASSED THE DELIBERATIONS OF THE FEDERAL GRAND JURY INVESTIGATING THE MATTER OF POSSIBLE TREASON A SEALED RECORD THE CONTENTS OF WHICH HAVE NEVER BEEN REVEALED.
The sealed records will be unsealed? After seventy-two years perhaps this is a good idea. Colonel McCormick the owner of the Tribune was a noted and intense opponent of Franklin Roosevelt and would do anything in his power to discredit the President, apparently even if it meant disclosing secrets that had the possible of NEGATING a "war winning measure"!!
coolbert.
Saturday, November 22, 2014
Halo & Homer.
This is coolbert:
"China And Russia Team Up To Build World's Largest, Most Powerful Chopper"
"Currently, the largest and most powerful helicopter to have ever entered production is the gargantuan Mi-26 'Halo' of Russian origin, of which many still serve in governmental and commercial roles around the globe. After decades of the 'Halo' being on top, a new record holder is now said to be on the way, with Russia and China joining forces to make it happen."
Mi-26T2 Halo but not merely an improved version but a vastly improved version. Able to lift way more than any other existing helicopter. Think of the Halo as HEAVY CONSTRUCTION MACHINERY as might be found in the building trades. Civilian and military application both.
Devoted readers to the blog will also like to view the accompanying video showing the Homer in action. Called the V-12, only two prototypes made, THE LARGEST HELICOPTER EVER EXISTING AGAIN ONLY THE PROTOTYPE STAGE!
My understanding is that these heavy lift helicopters of enormous size normally have more maintenance problems and preventative care required that makes for a lot of "down-time". NOT so cost efficient to operate such a gargantuan helio.
Perhaps with modern technology such constraints have been overcome?
coolbert.
"China And Russia Team Up To Build World's Largest, Most Powerful Chopper"
"Currently, the largest and most powerful helicopter to have ever entered production is the gargantuan Mi-26 'Halo' of Russian origin, of which many still serve in governmental and commercial roles around the globe. After decades of the 'Halo' being on top, a new record holder is now said to be on the way, with Russia and China joining forces to make it happen."
Mi-26T2 Halo but not merely an improved version but a vastly improved version. Able to lift way more than any other existing helicopter. Think of the Halo as HEAVY CONSTRUCTION MACHINERY as might be found in the building trades. Civilian and military application both.
Aeroflot civilian vesion of the Mi-26 from the Soviet era. Persons shown for some sense of scale.
Devoted readers to the blog will also like to view the accompanying video showing the Homer in action. Called the V-12, only two prototypes made, THE LARGEST HELICOPTER EVER EXISTING AGAIN ONLY THE PROTOTYPE STAGE!
Homer. Largest helicopter made and probably always will be. Persons again shown for scale.
My understanding is that these heavy lift helicopters of enormous size normally have more maintenance problems and preventative care required that makes for a lot of "down-time". NOT so cost efficient to operate such a gargantuan helio.
Perhaps with modern technology such constraints have been overcome?
coolbert.
Surveillance.
This is coolbert:
Open skies and friendly skies!
I had thought the treaty was in abeyance at the insistence of the Russian. This is no longer the case?
"US plane flying over Russian airspace, taking photos of military equipment"
"The US military has conducted surveillance missions over the Russian airspace, capturing images of the country’s military equipment."
"A US observation plane has been flying over Russian skies during the past several days, Stars and Stripes reported on Wednesday."
"The US says the mission was done under the Open Skies Treaty that allows a limited number of observation flights. Russia, the United States and a number of other countries have signed the treaty."
NONE OF THIS BEING DONE IN A SURREPTITIOUS AND COVERT MANNER. LEGALLY MANDATED BY TREATY. Within the context of the Ukraine crisis such over flights can be seen as a good omen. Tensions ameliorating and trust slowly returning? I would like to think so but am somewhat skeptical.
coolbert.
Open skies and friendly skies!
I had thought the treaty was in abeyance at the insistence of the Russian. This is no longer the case?
"US plane flying over Russian airspace, taking photos of military equipment"
"The US military has conducted surveillance missions over the Russian airspace, capturing images of the country’s military equipment."
"A US observation plane has been flying over Russian skies during the past several days, Stars and Stripes reported on Wednesday."
"The US says the mission was done under the Open Skies Treaty that allows a limited number of observation flights. Russia, the United States and a number of other countries have signed the treaty."
NONE OF THIS BEING DONE IN A SURREPTITIOUS AND COVERT MANNER. LEGALLY MANDATED BY TREATY. Within the context of the Ukraine crisis such over flights can be seen as a good omen. Tensions ameliorating and trust slowly returning? I would like to think so but am somewhat skeptical.
coolbert.
Friday, November 21, 2014
March!
This is coolbert:
Colonel Austin Bay at Strategy Page also has taken note that it is now one hundred fifty years since the famous/infamous "March to the Sea". With extracts and commentary.
"Sherman's March to the Sea: Total Impact Warfare"
"One hundred fifty years ago this month, General William Tecumseh Sherman's Union 'Army of the West marched from Atlanta, Georgia, to the seaport of Savannah"
"Remaining in Atlanta also entailed serious danger. For supplies, Sherman's troops depended on the single rail line connecting Atlanta to Chattanooga. On a daily basis, Confederate cavalry under Nathaniel Bedford Forrest snapped Union telegraph lines and ripped up railroad track. If Sherman tried to winter in the city, his army might starve."
This NOWHERE have I ever seen referenced. Sherman almost HAD to make the march. His options were limited. MOVE forward to the sea and replenishment of resources NOT only an alternative but becoming a MUST!
"Sherman had his medical officers cull out sick, weak and overweight soldiers. They were put on the next train to Chattanooga. The result: 60,000 lithe, armed athletes capable of sustaining a forced march pace."
A fit army without any troops unable to maintain a pace, NOT necessarily forced but continuous and unrelenting. A slacker or troop falling out on the march subject to southern marauders and local civilians with his fate most terrible.
"Sherman waged war for total psychological impact and hence political impact. If Southerners wanted to keep their pigs, they could surrender."
NOT so much pigs as cured hams. That civilian population to be unmolested unless resistance was encountered. And for the most part, that preponderance even, NO resistance was offered.
My perception is that of HARD but not CRUEL! It was war!
coolbert.
Colonel Austin Bay at Strategy Page also has taken note that it is now one hundred fifty years since the famous/infamous "March to the Sea". With extracts and commentary.
"Sherman's March to the Sea: Total Impact Warfare"
"One hundred fifty years ago this month, General William Tecumseh Sherman's Union 'Army of the West marched from Atlanta, Georgia, to the seaport of Savannah"
"Remaining in Atlanta also entailed serious danger. For supplies, Sherman's troops depended on the single rail line connecting Atlanta to Chattanooga. On a daily basis, Confederate cavalry under Nathaniel Bedford Forrest snapped Union telegraph lines and ripped up railroad track. If Sherman tried to winter in the city, his army might starve."
This NOWHERE have I ever seen referenced. Sherman almost HAD to make the march. His options were limited. MOVE forward to the sea and replenishment of resources NOT only an alternative but becoming a MUST!
"Sherman had his medical officers cull out sick, weak and overweight soldiers. They were put on the next train to Chattanooga. The result: 60,000 lithe, armed athletes capable of sustaining a forced march pace."
A fit army without any troops unable to maintain a pace, NOT necessarily forced but continuous and unrelenting. A slacker or troop falling out on the march subject to southern marauders and local civilians with his fate most terrible.
"Sherman waged war for total psychological impact and hence political impact. If Southerners wanted to keep their pigs, they could surrender."
NOT so much pigs as cured hams. That civilian population to be unmolested unless resistance was encountered. And for the most part, that preponderance even, NO resistance was offered.
My perception is that of HARD but not CRUEL! It was war!
coolbert.
CBAT/GCS/IA.
This is coolbert:
Read from Strategy Page the full dope on those USAF and USN [air force and navy] personnel deployed to the war zones of Iraq and Afghan but functioning and having a ground combat mission.
1. "Infantry: USAF Cuts Ground Combat Training"
"14,000 airmen a year to be more skilled in ground combat."
USAF and USN airmen and sailor who at least for the air force are graduates of the CBAT and GCS programs.
* CBAT (Common Battlefield Airmen Training).
* Ground Combat Skills course (GCS).
2. "Sailors Serving As Soldiers Has Changed The Navy"
"The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have had an interesting impact on the U.S. Navy. Since September 11, 2001 over 78,000 U.S. Navy sailors have served as 'IAs,' (individual augmentees), overseas, mainly with the U.S. Army, in combat areas. Most (69 percent) served between 2006 and 2011, the periods of most intensive combat in Iraq and Afghanistan."
Missions to include sentry duty, patrolling, convoy protection, EOD when needed.
Relieve trained combat infantry units of onerous duty. Perform a vital mission and leave the actually active and search and destroy combat missions to the combat arms personnel.
Give the USAF and USN high marks in both cases. Highly motivated airmen and sailors and once again BRAVO!
coolbert.
Read from Strategy Page the full dope on those USAF and USN [air force and navy] personnel deployed to the war zones of Iraq and Afghan but functioning and having a ground combat mission.
1. "Infantry: USAF Cuts Ground Combat Training"
"14,000 airmen a year to be more skilled in ground combat."
USAF and USN airmen and sailor who at least for the air force are graduates of the CBAT and GCS programs.
* CBAT (Common Battlefield Airmen Training).
* Ground Combat Skills course (GCS).
2. "Sailors Serving As Soldiers Has Changed The Navy"
"The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have had an interesting impact on the U.S. Navy. Since September 11, 2001 over 78,000 U.S. Navy sailors have served as 'IAs,' (individual augmentees), overseas, mainly with the U.S. Army, in combat areas. Most (69 percent) served between 2006 and 2011, the periods of most intensive combat in Iraq and Afghanistan."
Missions to include sentry duty, patrolling, convoy protection, EOD when needed.
Relieve trained combat infantry units of onerous duty. Perform a vital mission and leave the actually active and search and destroy combat missions to the combat arms personnel.
Give the USAF and USN high marks in both cases. Highly motivated airmen and sailors and once again BRAVO!
coolbert.
Thomas Case.
This is coolbgert:
The fighting airman!!
Here is a combat airman that on several occasions has done himself very proud. During ground combat too.
"Airman Becomes 3rd to Earn 2nd Silver Star"
"As bullets cracked around his head, Air Force Master Sgt. Thomas Case stayed cool and directed pinpoint airstrikes on Taliban positions less than a stone’s throw away."
"With two foreign fighters coming at the commander of the Army unit to which Case was assigned as a joint terminal attack controller, he shielded the officer with his body and took them down with his rifle."
"For his heroism fulfilling both the air and ground aspects of the JTAC’s job during a battle on July 16 and 17, 2009, Case on Thursday became just the third airman to be awarded a second Silver Star medal"
Traditionally the only enlisted air force personnel that might even have the opportunity to see ground combat would be the pararescue jumpers.
Since the time of Iraq and Afghan that has all changed!
Both naval and air force personnel volunteering for ground combat duty in Iraq and Afghanistan and comporting themselves with distinction. Missions to include sentry duty, patrolling, convoy protection. GROUND COMBAT! NOT infantry but nonetheless military personnel carrying a rifle and performing their military service with honor and courage. Bravo to all of them!!
coolbert.
The fighting airman!!
Here is a combat airman that on several occasions has done himself very proud. During ground combat too.
"Airman Becomes 3rd to Earn 2nd Silver Star"
"As bullets cracked around his head, Air Force Master Sgt. Thomas Case stayed cool and directed pinpoint airstrikes on Taliban positions less than a stone’s throw away."
"With two foreign fighters coming at the commander of the Army unit to which Case was assigned as a joint terminal attack controller, he shielded the officer with his body and took them down with his rifle."
"For his heroism fulfilling both the air and ground aspects of the JTAC’s job during a battle on July 16 and 17, 2009, Case on Thursday became just the third airman to be awarded a second Silver Star medal"
Traditionally the only enlisted air force personnel that might even have the opportunity to see ground combat would be the pararescue jumpers.
Since the time of Iraq and Afghan that has all changed!
Both naval and air force personnel volunteering for ground combat duty in Iraq and Afghanistan and comporting themselves with distinction. Missions to include sentry duty, patrolling, convoy protection. GROUND COMBAT! NOT infantry but nonetheless military personnel carrying a rifle and performing their military service with honor and courage. Bravo to all of them!!
coolbert.
Thursday, November 20, 2014
Guam & Bear.
This is coolbert:
NO WHERE else is this reported. It has now become SO ROUTINE is is not worth reporting?
"Russian Bombers Threaten Guam"
"Two Russian strategic bombers [Tu-95] circled the U.S. island of Guam last week in what U.S. defense officials say is the latest in a series of nuclear provocations by Moscow."
. . . .
"Friday’s flights [14 Nov.] were the second time in the past two years that Russia conducted unusual long-range bomber missions around the island. Two Tu-95s circled the island on Feb. 12, 2013 and were intercepted by F-15 jets."
. . . .
"The flights took place a day before President Obama arrived in Brisbane for the summit where he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin."
NOT SO MUCH threaten as these planes on an intelligence and reconnaissance mission? Or more for intimidation sake this is all done?
IN this instance there was not even an intercept response on the part of American fighter aircraft.
coolbert.
NO WHERE else is this reported. It has now become SO ROUTINE is is not worth reporting?
"Russian Bombers Threaten Guam"
"Two Russian strategic bombers [Tu-95] circled the U.S. island of Guam last week in what U.S. defense officials say is the latest in a series of nuclear provocations by Moscow."
. . . .
"Friday’s flights [14 Nov.] were the second time in the past two years that Russia conducted unusual long-range bomber missions around the island. Two Tu-95s circled the island on Feb. 12, 2013 and were intercepted by F-15 jets."
. . . .
"The flights took place a day before President Obama arrived in Brisbane for the summit where he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin."
NOT SO MUCH threaten as these planes on an intelligence and reconnaissance mission? Or more for intimidation sake this is all done?
IN this instance there was not even an intercept response on the part of American fighter aircraft.
coolbert.
EUCOM
This is coolbert:
Some update on more low-profile instructions and orders for military personnel. EUCOM = European Command. Low-profile for American military personnel off base in the U.S. and now Europe also.
1. "EUCOM bars troops from wearing uniforms off base"
"STUTTGART, Germany — U.S. European Command has ordered all troops serving on the continent to refrain from wearing uniforms off base except when they are commuting to work in their personal cars or on base buses. The directive, which was sent to respective service components on Nov. 10, was expected to be in full effect at bases across Europe by Tuesday as part of an effort to ensure the safety of personnel, EUCOM said. In addition, EUCOM recommended that all personnel review their individual social media accounts make sure they don’t reveal too much personal information on their geolocation functions..."
Also that knife attack at the submarine base, Groton CT, USA not a case of amok. Much more mundane and pedestrian.
2. "Man Charged in Knife Attack at Groton Navy Base"
Brunache the accused knife wielder it seems either mentally deranged or extremely angry or just the disaffected individual.
"The man accused of 'swinging a knife' and assaulting officers at the Groton submarine base Thursday evening will remain in federal custody until a detention hearing scheduled for noon Wednesday."
. . . .
"Brunache, who said he went to the base to see his brother, walked from Norwich to the Navy base around 7 p.m. Thursday. He became frustrated when officers at the main gate on Crystal Lake Road wouldn't let him in and began 'swinging a knife' at Officer Brian McCarthy, according to the NCIS officer who filed a complaint against him."
NOT merely swinging a knife. The one guard was indeed STABBED!
coolbert.
Some update on more low-profile instructions and orders for military personnel. EUCOM = European Command. Low-profile for American military personnel off base in the U.S. and now Europe also.
1. "EUCOM bars troops from wearing uniforms off base"
"STUTTGART, Germany — U.S. European Command has ordered all troops serving on the continent to refrain from wearing uniforms off base except when they are commuting to work in their personal cars or on base buses. The directive, which was sent to respective service components on Nov. 10, was expected to be in full effect at bases across Europe by Tuesday as part of an effort to ensure the safety of personnel, EUCOM said. In addition, EUCOM recommended that all personnel review their individual social media accounts make sure they don’t reveal too much personal information on their geolocation functions..."
Also that knife attack at the submarine base, Groton CT, USA not a case of amok. Much more mundane and pedestrian.
2. "Man Charged in Knife Attack at Groton Navy Base"
Brunache the accused knife wielder it seems either mentally deranged or extremely angry or just the disaffected individual.
"The man accused of 'swinging a knife' and assaulting officers at the Groton submarine base Thursday evening will remain in federal custody until a detention hearing scheduled for noon Wednesday."
. . . .
"Brunache, who said he went to the base to see his brother, walked from Norwich to the Navy base around 7 p.m. Thursday. He became frustrated when officers at the main gate on Crystal Lake Road wouldn't let him in and began 'swinging a knife' at Officer Brian McCarthy, according to the NCIS officer who filed a complaint against him."
NOT merely swinging a knife. The one guard was indeed STABBED!
coolbert.
Air Traffic.
This is coolbert:
From Freeper:
"Russian warplanes risking safety of European airliners, says NATO chief"
"Russia is placing civilian flights at risk by dispatching jet fighters and bombers into European airspace without following safety procedures, according to NATO’s secretary general."
"Jens Stoltenberg told the Telegraph that NATO fighters had intercepted Russian military aircraft over 100 times so far this year, compared with 30 such incidents in 2013."
It is not so much that the Russian air force is conducting their various long-range flights in international airspace as they are DOING SO WITHOUT PRIOR WARNING OR FOLLOWING NORMAL PROCEDURES. AS GUARANTEED BY INTERNATIONAL PROTOCOLS THE RUSSIAN IS A SIGNATORY TO.
The Russian too is trigger-happy. At least during the time of the Cold War AS MANY AS FORTY INTERNAL COMMERCIAL AEROFLOT AIRCRAFT BLASTED FROM THE SKIES BY SOVIET AIR DEFENSE, SUCH WAS THE SKITTISHNESS OF THE PVO!
That detail revealed at the time of the KAL007 incident from over thirty years ago now.
coolbert.
From Freeper:
"Russian warplanes risking safety of European airliners, says NATO chief"
"Russia is placing civilian flights at risk by dispatching jet fighters and bombers into European airspace without following safety procedures, according to NATO’s secretary general."
"Jens Stoltenberg told the Telegraph that NATO fighters had intercepted Russian military aircraft over 100 times so far this year, compared with 30 such incidents in 2013."
This particular image shows the amount of commercial air traffic in the skies over Europe at the exact moment of the recent Malaysia Airlines shoot-down.Quite extensive, isn't it.
It is not so much that the Russian air force is conducting their various long-range flights in international airspace as they are DOING SO WITHOUT PRIOR WARNING OR FOLLOWING NORMAL PROCEDURES. AS GUARANTEED BY INTERNATIONAL PROTOCOLS THE RUSSIAN IS A SIGNATORY TO.
The Russian too is trigger-happy. At least during the time of the Cold War AS MANY AS FORTY INTERNAL COMMERCIAL AEROFLOT AIRCRAFT BLASTED FROM THE SKIES BY SOVIET AIR DEFENSE, SUCH WAS THE SKITTISHNESS OF THE PVO!
That detail revealed at the time of the KAL007 incident from over thirty years ago now.
coolbert.
Wednesday, November 19, 2014
Taxation.
This is coolbert:
One hundred years ago the Great War [WW1] after the conclusion of the "Race to the Sea" having degenerated into what is described as "a senseless carve up", the various combatants not willing to give an inch or enter into negotiations, a stalemated and endless trench-warfare protracted conflict without end in sight, the long-haul requiring a new approach to modern warfare as not having before been encountered.
That mechanized and industrial by-the-numbers military machine of all nations requiring resources beyond any pre-war calculations, the AMOUNTS OF MONEY AS NEEDED BY THE CENTRAL GOVERNMENTS EXCESSIVE AND LEADING TO TAXATION OF HITHERTO UNPRECEDENTED LEVELS.
From the article by Hunt Tooley and seen at the Lew Rockwell web site:
"The World At War and the World that was"
"Once the two sides sat and faced each other, the only way out of the situation was breakthrough, either on the Western Front or elsewhere. And any breakthrough was expensive, whether through the use of poison gas or shelling for days or developing tanks or sending expeditions to fight the other side far away. It all cost money in quantities hardly ever imagined before. And this financial need to 'service' the stalemate effected a fundamental shift in the amount of wealth that the modern state transfers from private to public hands. In terms of taxes alone, the rates of most governments moved a similar distance. For example, in the United States, in 1900, roughly seven percent of the wealth of the country was transferred to government at all levels through taxes (actually, half of that to local community government); after the war, the percentage of wealth transfer via taxes had reached fifteen percent. By the thirties, the US government was taking nearly twenty percent."
And as can be understood by the average citizen excises and impositions when decreed ONLY for the DURATION of the war rather becoming the norm NEVER repealed.
Excises and impositions also a removal of wealth from "private to public hands" and spent on non-productive goods and services to the detriment of all.
coolbert.
One hundred years ago the Great War [WW1] after the conclusion of the "Race to the Sea" having degenerated into what is described as "a senseless carve up", the various combatants not willing to give an inch or enter into negotiations, a stalemated and endless trench-warfare protracted conflict without end in sight, the long-haul requiring a new approach to modern warfare as not having before been encountered.
That mechanized and industrial by-the-numbers military machine of all nations requiring resources beyond any pre-war calculations, the AMOUNTS OF MONEY AS NEEDED BY THE CENTRAL GOVERNMENTS EXCESSIVE AND LEADING TO TAXATION OF HITHERTO UNPRECEDENTED LEVELS.
From the article by Hunt Tooley and seen at the Lew Rockwell web site:
"The World At War and the World that was"
"Once the two sides sat and faced each other, the only way out of the situation was breakthrough, either on the Western Front or elsewhere. And any breakthrough was expensive, whether through the use of poison gas or shelling for days or developing tanks or sending expeditions to fight the other side far away. It all cost money in quantities hardly ever imagined before. And this financial need to 'service' the stalemate effected a fundamental shift in the amount of wealth that the modern state transfers from private to public hands. In terms of taxes alone, the rates of most governments moved a similar distance. For example, in the United States, in 1900, roughly seven percent of the wealth of the country was transferred to government at all levels through taxes (actually, half of that to local community government); after the war, the percentage of wealth transfer via taxes had reached fifteen percent. By the thirties, the US government was taking nearly twenty percent."
And as can be understood by the average citizen excises and impositions when decreed ONLY for the DURATION of the war rather becoming the norm NEVER repealed.
Excises and impositions also a removal of wealth from "private to public hands" and spent on non-productive goods and services to the detriment of all.
coolbert.
Tuesday, November 18, 2014
Dabiq.
This is coolbert:
Think of ISIL as being a movement and beyond that an APOCALYPTIC end time movement.
That term "end time" in the Christian sense meaning an END to the world as we know it.
In all cases here thanks to the BBC:
"Why Islamic State chose town of Dabiq for propaganda"
"The small Syrian town of Dabiq, which featured in the latest beheading video from the Islamic State group (IS), has figured heavily in the group's propaganda since July when it named its new English-language magazine after the town."
"The group has focused on the dusty backwater not because of any strategic importance or the size of its population - the Syrian census of 2004 recorded that little over 3,000 people were living there - but for the power of its symbolism."
"Dabiq, which lies around 10km (six miles) from the Turkish border, features in Islamic apocalyptic prophecies as the site of an end-of-times showdown between Muslims and their enemies."
"The Prophet Muhammad is believed to have said that 'the last hour will not come' until Muslims vanquish the Romans at 'Dabiq or Al-A'maq' - both in the Syria-Turkey border region - on their way to conquer Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul)."
"IS has been seeking to bring on that battle by goading the international coalition to confront it there."
NOT ONLY inciting a confrontation but HOPING AND PRAYING for the confrontation and end times to occur. Symbolism very important to ISIL, the Salafists in the manner of those first three generations of Muslims hoping to inspire the umma [world wide Islamic community] as has not been the case in fourteen hundred years!!
coolbert.
Think of ISIL as being a movement and beyond that an APOCALYPTIC end time movement.
That term "end time" in the Christian sense meaning an END to the world as we know it.
In all cases here thanks to the BBC:
"Why Islamic State chose town of Dabiq for propaganda"
"The small Syrian town of Dabiq, which featured in the latest beheading video from the Islamic State group (IS), has figured heavily in the group's propaganda since July when it named its new English-language magazine after the town."
"The group has focused on the dusty backwater not because of any strategic importance or the size of its population - the Syrian census of 2004 recorded that little over 3,000 people were living there - but for the power of its symbolism."
These are the true believers. They not only believe the world as we know it is going to end, they want the world as we know it to end. An apocalyptic vision of the "final days" and all that means!
"Dabiq, which lies around 10km (six miles) from the Turkish border, features in Islamic apocalyptic prophecies as the site of an end-of-times showdown between Muslims and their enemies."
"The Prophet Muhammad is believed to have said that 'the last hour will not come' until Muslims vanquish the Romans at 'Dabiq or Al-A'maq' - both in the Syria-Turkey border region - on their way to conquer Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul)."
"IS has been seeking to bring on that battle by goading the international coalition to confront it there."
NOT ONLY inciting a confrontation but HOPING AND PRAYING for the confrontation and end times to occur. Symbolism very important to ISIL, the Salafists in the manner of those first three generations of Muslims hoping to inspire the umma [world wide Islamic community] as has not been the case in fourteen hundred years!!
coolbert.
Diplomacy?
This is coolbert:
More Russian flotilla stuff from MARCO POLO through Harry:
"The Russian flotilla is headed up by the Slava-class guided missile cruiser Varyag -- the flag ship of the Russian Pacific Fleet -- and includes Udaloy-class guided missile destroyer Marshal Shaposhnikov, a fleet oiler and an ocean tug.
This is an ongoing story!
"Russian naval vessels have previously been deployed in conjunction with major international summits, such as the APEC meeting in Singapore in 2009. A warship from Russia's Pacific Fleet also accompanied former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev's visit to San Francisco in 2010."
. . . .
"Two Australian warships -- Anzac-class frigates HMAS Stuart (FF-153) and HMAS Paramatta -- have been shadowing the Russian flotilla."
Australian P-3 ORION also shadowing every move of the Russian ships I might assume.
The Russians have a big time BEEF with the Aussies? Who would have thought? Also think of the Russian as a PACIFIC power.
NAVAL deployments of major warships a demonstration of strength. The battleship of yore not only a combat vessel but also on occasion functioning as a diplomatic outpost, lavishly equipped staterooms hosting dignitaries and potentates for negotiations. From a conversation with an acknowledged military authority:
"Aircraft carriers fill the role the battleships of old used to: just the sight of one coming into your harbor reminded you of how powerful the party was with whom you were negotiating--and perhaps how weak your position really was."
Thank you MARCO and Harry both!
coolbert.
More Russian flotilla stuff from MARCO POLO through Harry:
"The Russian flotilla is headed up by the Slava-class guided missile cruiser Varyag -- the flag ship of the Russian Pacific Fleet -- and includes Udaloy-class guided missile destroyer Marshal Shaposhnikov, a fleet oiler and an ocean tug.
This is an ongoing story!
"Russian naval vessels have previously been deployed in conjunction with major international summits, such as the APEC meeting in Singapore in 2009. A warship from Russia's Pacific Fleet also accompanied former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev's visit to San Francisco in 2010."
. . . .
"Two Australian warships -- Anzac-class frigates HMAS Stuart (FF-153) and HMAS Paramatta -- have been shadowing the Russian flotilla."
Australian P-3 ORION also shadowing every move of the Russian ships I might assume.
The Russians have a big time BEEF with the Aussies? Who would have thought? Also think of the Russian as a PACIFIC power.
NAVAL deployments of major warships a demonstration of strength. The battleship of yore not only a combat vessel but also on occasion functioning as a diplomatic outpost, lavishly equipped staterooms hosting dignitaries and potentates for negotiations. From a conversation with an acknowledged military authority:
"Aircraft carriers fill the role the battleships of old used to: just the sight of one coming into your harbor reminded you of how powerful the party was with whom you were negotiating--and perhaps how weak your position really was."
Thank you MARCO and Harry both!
coolbert.
Ears.
This is coolbert:
The army of terra-cotta warriors as buried with the Chin Emperor now undergoing further forensic investigation. Forensics as might be used in a criminal investigation and as also found in modern counter-insurgency operations.
Those statutes the facial features at least thought to be based on real individual soldiers and not merely generic models. The debate continues.
"Ears of Ancient Chinese Terra-Cotta Warriors Offer Clues to Their Creation"
"Since then, archaeologists have puzzled over how ancient artisans produced the estimated 7,000 lifelike clay soldiers, right down to their stylish goatees and plaits of braided hair. Some have suggested that the statues were modeled after real, individual soldiers; others think they were assembled from standard clay ears, noses, and mouths, similar to the Mr. Potato Head toy."
"Recently, in a project known as Imperial Logistics: The Making of the Terracotta Army, a team of archaeologists from University College London (UCL) in Britain and from Emperor Qin Shi Huang's Mausoleum Site Museum in Lintong, China, have been using the latest imaging technology and other advanced methods to deduce the design process behind the warriors. The British-Chinese team took detailed measurements of the statues' facial features, focusing especially on the ears. Forensic research shows that ear shapes are so variable among humans that they can be used to identify individuals."
About one hundred faces of the terra-cotta army already having been subject to sophisticated and modern facial analysis software as used by law enforcement at international border crossing checkpoints.
Two thousand years later the saga continues in a manner as the Qin [China] Emperor and his army of bodyguards in eternity could have never imagined.
coolbert.
The army of terra-cotta warriors as buried with the Chin Emperor now undergoing further forensic investigation. Forensics as might be used in a criminal investigation and as also found in modern counter-insurgency operations.
Those statutes the facial features at least thought to be based on real individual soldiers and not merely generic models. The debate continues.
"Ears of Ancient Chinese Terra-Cotta Warriors Offer Clues to Their Creation"
"Since then, archaeologists have puzzled over how ancient artisans produced the estimated 7,000 lifelike clay soldiers, right down to their stylish goatees and plaits of braided hair. Some have suggested that the statues were modeled after real, individual soldiers; others think they were assembled from standard clay ears, noses, and mouths, similar to the Mr. Potato Head toy."
Close up image of the facial features from an actual terra-cotta statue. NOT a replica but the real thing as on exhibit. This particular soldier thought to be a general officer.
"Recently, in a project known as Imperial Logistics: The Making of the Terracotta Army, a team of archaeologists from University College London (UCL) in Britain and from Emperor Qin Shi Huang's Mausoleum Site Museum in Lintong, China, have been using the latest imaging technology and other advanced methods to deduce the design process behind the warriors. The British-Chinese team took detailed measurements of the statues' facial features, focusing especially on the ears. Forensic research shows that ear shapes are so variable among humans that they can be used to identify individuals."
About one hundred faces of the terra-cotta army already having been subject to sophisticated and modern facial analysis software as used by law enforcement at international border crossing checkpoints.
Two thousand years later the saga continues in a manner as the Qin [China] Emperor and his army of bodyguards in eternity could have never imagined.
coolbert.
Monday, November 17, 2014
Oz.
This is coolbert:
From MARCONI through Harry at Sharkhunters:
Oz is Australia.
That Russian flotilla approaching Australia during the G20 conference sailing in the INDIAN OCEAN and not steaming through the Coral Sea as I originally had reported.
"UNFORTUNATELY my Russian isn't very good but I monitored on 8.345 amongst some high speed CW the odd voice chat which included 'Voyage' and 'Shaposhnikov' ( I believe this to be the destroyer 'Marshal Shaposhnikov' and the Cruiser 'Varag 543')"
"Both these ships are based in Vladivostok and are showing off in the Indian Ocean due to both the spat between Oz and Russia over the Malayan Airline Shooting down in Ukraine, and the G20 summit in Queensland ."
"A close watch by the RAAF (P3 Orion), and the RAN frigates 'Stuart' and 'Paramata' who are shadowing them and using Pearce RAAF Base in Perth to report.activities , but so far they have stayed in International Waters."
NO violation of Australian territorial waters and no mention of submarine activity.
Thank you MARCONI and Harry.
coolbert.
From MARCONI through Harry at Sharkhunters:
Oz is Australia.
That Russian flotilla approaching Australia during the G20 conference sailing in the INDIAN OCEAN and not steaming through the Coral Sea as I originally had reported.
"UNFORTUNATELY my Russian isn't very good but I monitored on 8.345 amongst some high speed CW the odd voice chat which included 'Voyage' and 'Shaposhnikov' ( I believe this to be the destroyer 'Marshal Shaposhnikov' and the Cruiser 'Varag 543')"
"Both these ships are based in Vladivostok and are showing off in the Indian Ocean due to both the spat between Oz and Russia over the Malayan Airline Shooting down in Ukraine, and the G20 summit in Queensland ."
"A close watch by the RAAF (P3 Orion), and the RAN frigates 'Stuart' and 'Paramata' who are shadowing them and using Pearce RAAF Base in Perth to report.activities , but so far they have stayed in International Waters."
NO violation of Australian territorial waters and no mention of submarine activity.
Thank you MARCONI and Harry.
coolbert.
Haramayn.
This is coolbert:
The Saudi government well aware of the danger to their rule and having already taken precautions. The importation of foreign military elements and even now guarding the border with Iraq.
It also seems the Caliph is alive and well and engaged in his machinations that have global reach with the ramifications thereof.
"Islamic State sets sights on Saudi Arabia"
"In a 17-minute audio message, purportedly from its elusive leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the group sets its sights firmly on Saudi Arabia, birthplace of Islam and the world's largest oil producer and exporter."
"The speaker does not refer to it as Saudi Arabia, since this is a name derived from the ruling tribe, the al-Saud, whose authority IS does not accept."
"Instead he calls it "the land of Haramayn", the land of the two holy places, meaning Mecca and Medina."
Capture of what the Muslim refers to as the "Holy Places" I might assume very high on the agenda of ISIL. The Salafist capture of Mecca and Medina and that area referred to as the Hejaz the symbolism of which could be hardly lost on the umma [world wide Islamic community].
Disruption to the world oil supply also creating consequences that could never be calculated, anticipated or planned for, THAT BREAKDOWN OF THE EXISTING WORLD ORDER BECOMING A HORRENDOUS EVENT!
coolbert.
The Saudi government well aware of the danger to their rule and having already taken precautions. The importation of foreign military elements and even now guarding the border with Iraq.
It also seems the Caliph is alive and well and engaged in his machinations that have global reach with the ramifications thereof.
"Islamic State sets sights on Saudi Arabia"
"In a 17-minute audio message, purportedly from its elusive leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the group sets its sights firmly on Saudi Arabia, birthplace of Islam and the world's largest oil producer and exporter."
"The speaker does not refer to it as Saudi Arabia, since this is a name derived from the ruling tribe, the al-Saud, whose authority IS does not accept."
"Instead he calls it "the land of Haramayn", the land of the two holy places, meaning Mecca and Medina."
Capture of what the Muslim refers to as the "Holy Places" I might assume very high on the agenda of ISIL. The Salafist capture of Mecca and Medina and that area referred to as the Hejaz the symbolism of which could be hardly lost on the umma [world wide Islamic community].
Disruption to the world oil supply also creating consequences that could never be calculated, anticipated or planned for, THAT BREAKDOWN OF THE EXISTING WORLD ORDER BECOMING A HORRENDOUS EVENT!
coolbert.
Lariam.
This is coolbert:
Having been given while deploying overseas during a tour of duty an experimental drug this is a topic I can speak about with at least a slight degree of authority. This Lariam not necessarily experimental but considered in some circles to be downright dangerous.
"British troops fighting Ebola being given banned drug"
"British troops fighting the Ebola outbreak in West Africa are being given an anti-malarial drug banned in the US, putting them at grave risks, a report said Sunday."
"The British ministry of defence has refused to stop using the controversial drug mefloquine, which is known to cause psychotic disorders, including suicidal tendencies among users, The Independent reported."
"Lariam (the drug's brand name) is among the anti-malarials being given to the 800 British service personnel currently deployed in Sierra Leone on Operation Gritrock."
HALF THE PERSONS ON THE PLANET THATY HAVE EVER LIVED [ABOUT 100 BILLION] REPUTED TO HGAVE EITHER DIED FROM MALARIA OR PERISHED FROM COMPLICATIONS AS ASSOCIATED WITH THE ILLNESS!!
Laraim BANNED but only within the context of American Special Forces soldiers deployed to a tropical area.
I would have to assume the British have made the cold but not necessarily heartless calculation based on statistics that those English military personnel much more susceptible to contract malaria than Ebola while in Sierra Leone, steps and measures taken well thought out even existing with foresight a degree of danger.
I am not sure about England but in the United States MILITARY PERSONNEL BY LAW CANNOT REFUSE MEDICAL TREATMENT, TREATMENT SO BROADLY DEFINED AS TO INCLUDE ANY SORT OF PROPHYLACTIC TREATMENT.
coolbert.
Having been given while deploying overseas during a tour of duty an experimental drug this is a topic I can speak about with at least a slight degree of authority. This Lariam not necessarily experimental but considered in some circles to be downright dangerous.
"British troops fighting Ebola being given banned drug"
"British troops fighting the Ebola outbreak in West Africa are being given an anti-malarial drug banned in the US, putting them at grave risks, a report said Sunday."
"The British ministry of defence has refused to stop using the controversial drug mefloquine, which is known to cause psychotic disorders, including suicidal tendencies among users, The Independent reported."
"Lariam (the drug's brand name) is among the anti-malarials being given to the 800 British service personnel currently deployed in Sierra Leone on Operation Gritrock."
HALF THE PERSONS ON THE PLANET THATY HAVE EVER LIVED [ABOUT 100 BILLION] REPUTED TO HGAVE EITHER DIED FROM MALARIA OR PERISHED FROM COMPLICATIONS AS ASSOCIATED WITH THE ILLNESS!!
Laraim BANNED but only within the context of American Special Forces soldiers deployed to a tropical area.
I would have to assume the British have made the cold but not necessarily heartless calculation based on statistics that those English military personnel much more susceptible to contract malaria than Ebola while in Sierra Leone, steps and measures taken well thought out even existing with foresight a degree of danger.
I am not sure about England but in the United States MILITARY PERSONNEL BY LAW CANNOT REFUSE MEDICAL TREATMENT, TREATMENT SO BROADLY DEFINED AS TO INCLUDE ANY SORT OF PROPHYLACTIC TREATMENT.
coolbert.
Sunday, November 16, 2014
W.T. Sherman.
This is coolbert:
On this day one hundred and fifty years ago it began.
"The March to the Sea". From Atlanta to Savannah-by-the-sea.
The Union army of William Tecumseh Sherman moving from Atlanta in three corps sized columns moving parallel and eastward toward the Confederate bastion and port city of Savannah.
A fifty mile [eighty kilometer] wide path of destruction, any and all objects of military value destroyed, resistance on the part of the secessionist forces almost nil.
See my ten part blog series of entries on the topic beginning here. Extracts and commentary from the E.L. Doctorow book: "The March".
Understand too upon reaching the destination of Savannah and making contact with Federal naval forces the march of Sherman continuing northward into South and North Carolina. Also all objects of military value to the Confederacy destroyed, troops encouraged to "live freely off the land".
Hard but not necessarily cruel. It was WAR!
Sherman offering generous terms of surrender at the conclusion of the war this being accepted by the commander [Joseph E. Johnston] of the Confederate army opposing him.
With regard to Sherman and Johnston:
"He [Johnston] died of pneumonia after serving in inclement weather as a pallbearer at the funeral of his former adversary, and later friend, William T. Sherman."
coolbert.
On this day one hundred and fifty years ago it began.
"The March to the Sea". From Atlanta to Savannah-by-the-sea.
The Union army of William Tecumseh Sherman moving from Atlanta in three corps sized columns moving parallel and eastward toward the Confederate bastion and port city of Savannah.
A fifty mile [eighty kilometer] wide path of destruction, any and all objects of military value destroyed, resistance on the part of the secessionist forces almost nil.
See my ten part blog series of entries on the topic beginning here. Extracts and commentary from the E.L. Doctorow book: "The March".
Understand too upon reaching the destination of Savannah and making contact with Federal naval forces the march of Sherman continuing northward into South and North Carolina. Also all objects of military value to the Confederacy destroyed, troops encouraged to "live freely off the land".
Hard but not necessarily cruel. It was WAR!
Sherman offering generous terms of surrender at the conclusion of the war this being accepted by the commander [Joseph E. Johnston] of the Confederate army opposing him.
With regard to Sherman and Johnston:
"He [Johnston] died of pneumonia after serving in inclement weather as a pallbearer at the funeral of his former adversary, and later friend, William T. Sherman."
coolbert.
Rakish!
This is coolbert:
During that era of the Second World War [WW2], the combat aviators of the various warring nations wearing their headgear in an unconventional and RAKISH manner!
"rakish - - adjective 1. smart; jaunty; dashing: a hat worn at a rakish angle."
YES indeed, a rakish angle! AND having a significance not appreciated by the uninitiated!
And as to the unappreciated angle the significance of which lost on the uninitiated we have from a conversation I have had with an acknowledged aviation expert:
"the whole '50 mission crush cap' for the Army Air Corps was one of those things that became unintentionally 'cool' because of what it meant. Pilots had to wear those 'wheel' caps, as they were called, even on missions. When the headsets mashed the caps down, forming a particular pattern, it was obvious to one and all that the wearer was a serious pilot, not just a garrison commando. So you had to crush the cap to look like you'd been on 50 missions to be cool once people recognized what the crush implied. And woe betide anyone who wasn't a pilot on such missions who artificially made his hat into a 50 mission hat--he'd be laughed off the air base. That 'crush' initially was not 'military'--it was messy and uncool, but couldn't be avoided unless everyone carried an extra hat for missions versus ground wear."
That hat of whatever style worn in the rakish manner or having the unconventional appearance an indication of the combat veteran and not a person to be taken likely.
NOW you know the rest of the story!!
coolbert.
During that era of the Second World War [WW2], the combat aviators of the various warring nations wearing their headgear in an unconventional and RAKISH manner!
"rakish - - adjective 1. smart; jaunty; dashing: a hat worn at a rakish angle."
YES indeed, a rakish angle! AND having a significance not appreciated by the uninitiated!
Erich Hartmann. The all time Ace of Aces and always will be.
Wearing of the crush cap in an unconventional and non-regulation way not unique among combat aviators. Here an image of the German U-Boat captain Kurt Diggins at the periscope during a mission. That cap worn backwards "cool" by modern standards, "cool' as that meaning of the word not understood at time.
Leonard Cheshire VC. Very distinguished RAF WW2 pilot and known also for his charitable and philanthropic endeavors post-war.
American bomber pilot Robert Reeder. That cap the edges deformed from wearing of the headphones on repeated missions. AND an indication of extensive combat experience, many missions flown!!
And as to the unappreciated angle the significance of which lost on the uninitiated we have from a conversation I have had with an acknowledged aviation expert:
"the whole '50 mission crush cap' for the Army Air Corps was one of those things that became unintentionally 'cool' because of what it meant. Pilots had to wear those 'wheel' caps, as they were called, even on missions. When the headsets mashed the caps down, forming a particular pattern, it was obvious to one and all that the wearer was a serious pilot, not just a garrison commando. So you had to crush the cap to look like you'd been on 50 missions to be cool once people recognized what the crush implied. And woe betide anyone who wasn't a pilot on such missions who artificially made his hat into a 50 mission hat--he'd be laughed off the air base. That 'crush' initially was not 'military'--it was messy and uncool, but couldn't be avoided unless everyone carried an extra hat for missions versus ground wear."
That hat of whatever style worn in the rakish manner or having the unconventional appearance an indication of the combat veteran and not a person to be taken likely.
NOW you know the rest of the story!!
coolbert.
Friday, November 14, 2014
BM59.
This is coolbert:
Before there was the M-14 there was the BM59.
The Italian army in the aftermath of the Second World War [WW2] having been given an inventory of the Garand M1 rifle AND the Italians also manufacturing same under license AND also making extensive modifications to the original weapon, there NOT EVEN HAVING BEEN A NEED FOR THE T-44/M-14 PROJECT!
You could even make a case that the Italian modified M1 rifle designated the BM59 SUPERIOR TO THE M-14!
"Beretta designed the BM59, which was essentially a rechambered M1 fitted with a removable 20-round magazine, folding bipod and a combined flash suppressor/rifle grenade launcher. The BM59 is capable of selective fire."
NONETHELESS the conversions cost effective when compared to alternatives?
And as for the Beretta corporation and Italian weapons design in general ALWAYS recall that comment of the GRU defector Suvorov:
"The GRU know that the Italians have very good brains, the brains of great inventors. Few people realize that before the Second World War Italy's technology was at an incredibly high level. The Italians were not especially brilliant in battle, and that obscured the extent of Italian achievement in military technology."
The GRU [Soviet/Russian] military intelligence is of the same opinion today? If you are a GRU officer and read this blog entry please comment. Thank you.
coolbert.
Before there was the M-14 there was the BM59.
The Italian army in the aftermath of the Second World War [WW2] having been given an inventory of the Garand M1 rifle AND the Italians also manufacturing same under license AND also making extensive modifications to the original weapon, there NOT EVEN HAVING BEEN A NEED FOR THE T-44/M-14 PROJECT!
You could even make a case that the Italian modified M1 rifle designated the BM59 SUPERIOR TO THE M-14!
"Beretta designed the BM59, which was essentially a rechambered M1 fitted with a removable 20-round magazine, folding bipod and a combined flash suppressor/rifle grenade launcher. The BM59 is capable of selective fire."
Garand M1 rechambered for the NATO round [7.62 X 51 mm]. Also retaining the grenade launcher option not present with the M-14. That selective fire feature of dubious value.
NONETHELESS the conversions cost effective when compared to alternatives?
And as for the Beretta corporation and Italian weapons design in general ALWAYS recall that comment of the GRU defector Suvorov:
"The GRU know that the Italians have very good brains, the brains of great inventors. Few people realize that before the Second World War Italy's technology was at an incredibly high level. The Italians were not especially brilliant in battle, and that obscured the extent of Italian achievement in military technology."
The GRU [Soviet/Russian] military intelligence is of the same opinion today? If you are a GRU officer and read this blog entry please comment. Thank you.
coolbert.
T-44/M-14/M-25.
This is coolbert:
Having enlisted [1966] in the U.S. Army this was the weapon as was issued to me. Qualifying as a marksman [lowest possible qualification] with the M-14. My memories fond and not so fond.
"The Rise and Fall and Rise of America’s Last Battle Rifle"
"The M-14 wouldn’t surrender" That latest incarnation now called the M-25. In development stage called the T-44. Issued as the M-14.
"The M-14 was the U.S. military’s last battle rifle. It appeared in 1959—the contemporary of the Pentagon’s first jet fighters and ICBMs. With its heavy steel parts and walnut stock, the M-14 looked positively archaic."
"It was hardly a Space Age weapon. And it only endured as America’s battle rifle until 1970, when the M-16 completely superseded it—the shortest service record of any U.S. military rifle in the 20th century."
That M-16 weighing only HALF as much as the M-14. A soldier able to carry TWICE the amount of ammo for the same weight when armed with the M-16 as compared to the M-14. That is significant on the modern battlefield where VOLUME OF FIRE is paramount.
Indeed, the M-14 has the appearance of and is hardly a whole less in design functionality from the M-1 Garand rifle. A few improvements of a mechanical nature, other than that not much more.
Even up unto 1965 American troops being taught the basics of rifle marksmanship using the Garand M-1. By 1966 however, basic trainees issued the M-14. To INCLUDE MYSELF.
"Yet, the M-14 has come and gone and come back again. Its accuracy and power—it fires the 7.62 x 51 millimeter NATO round—have given it a new lease on life as a weapon for snipers and designated marksmen."
The Pentagon having to purchase M-14 rifles from foreign nations to maintain a proper inventory!! That category of designated marksman appreciated by the Soviet in 1959 with the development and adoption of the Dragunov sniper rifle. That latter weapon deemed so deadly it not being legal to import for sale in the U.S.
coolbert.
Having enlisted [1966] in the U.S. Army this was the weapon as was issued to me. Qualifying as a marksman [lowest possible qualification] with the M-14. My memories fond and not so fond.
"The Rise and Fall and Rise of America’s Last Battle Rifle"
"The M-14 wouldn’t surrender" That latest incarnation now called the M-25. In development stage called the T-44. Issued as the M-14.
"The M-14 was the U.S. military’s last battle rifle. It appeared in 1959—the contemporary of the Pentagon’s first jet fighters and ICBMs. With its heavy steel parts and walnut stock, the M-14 looked positively archaic."
American troop demonstrates the M-25 to some Iraqi [?] onlookers. NO sight like that on the weapon during my day!! And in 1966 no sunglasses or gloves either!
"It was hardly a Space Age weapon. And it only endured as America’s battle rifle until 1970, when the M-16 completely superseded it—the shortest service record of any U.S. military rifle in the 20th century."
That M-16 weighing only HALF as much as the M-14. A soldier able to carry TWICE the amount of ammo for the same weight when armed with the M-16 as compared to the M-14. That is significant on the modern battlefield where VOLUME OF FIRE is paramount.
Indeed, the M-14 has the appearance of and is hardly a whole less in design functionality from the M-1 Garand rifle. A few improvements of a mechanical nature, other than that not much more.
Even up unto 1965 American troops being taught the basics of rifle marksmanship using the Garand M-1. By 1966 however, basic trainees issued the M-14. To INCLUDE MYSELF.
"Yet, the M-14 has come and gone and come back again. Its accuracy and power—it fires the 7.62 x 51 millimeter NATO round—have given it a new lease on life as a weapon for snipers and designated marksmen."
The Pentagon having to purchase M-14 rifles from foreign nations to maintain a proper inventory!! That category of designated marksman appreciated by the Soviet in 1959 with the development and adoption of the Dragunov sniper rifle. That latter weapon deemed so deadly it not being legal to import for sale in the U.S.
coolbert.
Groton CT.
This is coolbert:
As reported on the local news this morning BUT NOT REPORTED DURING THE NATIONAL NEWS BROADCAST!
"2 wounded during knife attack at Groton"
"GROTON, Conn. — Authorities say two Navy civilian police officers have been wounded while confronting a knife-wielding man at a Connecticut base."
Rounds fired by police at the assailant wounding the officers. Casualties not from knife stabbing.
"Navy officials say an officer guarding the submarine base in Groton Thursday night fired shots at the man who allegedly had tried to enter through a pedestrian gate."
"Authorities say one officer was injured by the ricochet of bullets. The second officer suffered a minor stab wound to the leg. Both have been treated and released from a local hospital."
The suspect was [?] wounded and apprehended. As mentioned in the article the incident is being investigated.
My intuitive and instantaneous reaction was that this was THE LONE WOLF JIHADI ATTACK!! One can also surmise this might also be an attack by a mentally deranged individual, the disgruntled sailor or civilian employee at the base, etc. NONE of this is certain at the exact moment.
That submarine base at Groton the home to nuclear attack submarines of which there might actually be some in port? NOT ballistic missile firing vessels.
Decades ago the retired SEAL Marcinko related how in an exercise one SEAL team was able to capture totally intact an ARMED submarine while at dock. The sub guarded by a single sailor equipped with a M-14 rifle and no more.
coolbert.
As reported on the local news this morning BUT NOT REPORTED DURING THE NATIONAL NEWS BROADCAST!
"2 wounded during knife attack at Groton"
"GROTON, Conn. — Authorities say two Navy civilian police officers have been wounded while confronting a knife-wielding man at a Connecticut base."
Rounds fired by police at the assailant wounding the officers. Casualties not from knife stabbing.
"Navy officials say an officer guarding the submarine base in Groton Thursday night fired shots at the man who allegedly had tried to enter through a pedestrian gate."
"Authorities say one officer was injured by the ricochet of bullets. The second officer suffered a minor stab wound to the leg. Both have been treated and released from a local hospital."
The suspect was [?] wounded and apprehended. As mentioned in the article the incident is being investigated.
My intuitive and instantaneous reaction was that this was THE LONE WOLF JIHADI ATTACK!! One can also surmise this might also be an attack by a mentally deranged individual, the disgruntled sailor or civilian employee at the base, etc. NONE of this is certain at the exact moment.
That submarine base at Groton the home to nuclear attack submarines of which there might actually be some in port? NOT ballistic missile firing vessels.
Decades ago the retired SEAL Marcinko related how in an exercise one SEAL team was able to capture totally intact an ARMED submarine while at dock. The sub guarded by a single sailor equipped with a M-14 rifle and no more.
coolbert.
Thursday, November 13, 2014
TF 44.
This is coolbert:
From that prior blog entry:
"no [??] Australian military contingents present during the naval battle between American and Japanese forces."
NO! Naval Task Force 44 as commanded by a RAN officer present and active during the Battle of the Coral Sea. I stand corrected. That combined allied contingent, military units of various nations operating in the same formation very rare!
"Task Force 44 was an Allied naval task force during the Pacific Campaign of World War II. The task force consisted of warships from, mostly, the United States Navy and a few from the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). It was generally assigned as a striking force to defend northeast Australia and the surrounding area from any attacks by Axis forces, particularly from the Empire of Japan."
AND as present at the Battle of the Coral Sea TF 44 consisting of:
Ships of the Force [TF 44]:
* "Heavy Cruisers USS Chicago, HMAS Australia"
* "Light Cruiser HMAS Hobart"
* "Destroyers USS Perkins, Whipple, Farragut, Walke"
To all Australian devoted readers to the blog, no offense was given and none should be taken.
coolbert.
From that prior blog entry:
"no [??] Australian military contingents present during the naval battle between American and Japanese forces."
NO! Naval Task Force 44 as commanded by a RAN officer present and active during the Battle of the Coral Sea. I stand corrected. That combined allied contingent, military units of various nations operating in the same formation very rare!
"Task Force 44 was an Allied naval task force during the Pacific Campaign of World War II. The task force consisted of warships from, mostly, the United States Navy and a few from the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). It was generally assigned as a striking force to defend northeast Australia and the surrounding area from any attacks by Axis forces, particularly from the Empire of Japan."
AND as present at the Battle of the Coral Sea TF 44 consisting of:
Ships of the Force [TF 44]:
* "Heavy Cruisers USS Chicago, HMAS Australia"
* "Light Cruiser HMAS Hobart"
* "Destroyers USS Perkins, Whipple, Farragut, Walke"
To all Australian devoted readers to the blog, no offense was given and none should be taken.
coolbert.
Coral Sea.
This is coolbert:
The Battle of the Coral Sea!
"Third Australian warship sent to halt Russian flotilla bound for G20 in Brisbane"
"A THIRD Australian warship has been dispatched to intercept a Russian flotilla steaming towards the G20 summit in Brisbane and a fourth navy vessel is ready to divert to the area."
More Russian machinations of a nature intended to intimidate and "show-off"!
"The replenishment ship HMAS Sirius is heading into the Coral Sea to support the frigates HMAS Parramatta and HMAS Stuart and the frigate HMAS Sydney is preparing to divert from an exercise in New Zealand to join the mission, according to a government source."
"it was unlikely that a Russian submarine is in the area."
OH, I'm glad! NO Russian submarines in the area.
Please Mr. Russian. If you are a GRU officer and read this, please pass along to President Putin that this sort of activity is inane and unwarranted, not necessary, foolish even and totally provocative where such provocation is counter-productive. STOP!
Australia having a holiday celebrating the Battle of the Coral Sea [WW2]. Unique in that respect that no [??] Australian military contingents present during the naval battle between American and Japanese forces.
coolbert.
The Battle of the Coral Sea!
"Third Australian warship sent to halt Russian flotilla bound for G20 in Brisbane"
"A THIRD Australian warship has been dispatched to intercept a Russian flotilla steaming towards the G20 summit in Brisbane and a fourth navy vessel is ready to divert to the area."
More Russian machinations of a nature intended to intimidate and "show-off"!
"The replenishment ship HMAS Sirius is heading into the Coral Sea to support the frigates HMAS Parramatta and HMAS Stuart and the frigate HMAS Sydney is preparing to divert from an exercise in New Zealand to join the mission, according to a government source."
"it was unlikely that a Russian submarine is in the area."
OH, I'm glad! NO Russian submarines in the area.
Please Mr. Russian. If you are a GRU officer and read this, please pass along to President Putin that this sort of activity is inane and unwarranted, not necessary, foolish even and totally provocative where such provocation is counter-productive. STOP!
Australia having a holiday celebrating the Battle of the Coral Sea [WW2]. Unique in that respect that no [??] Australian military contingents present during the naval battle between American and Japanese forces.
coolbert.
Tanks & Drones.
This is coolbert:
Russian military interest in the arctic regions only increases and multiplies. Russian of course having an extensive border on the Arctic Ocean and always recognized as a nation that thrives and does well during winter warfare.
1. "Russia to Open Arctic Military Drone Base 420 Miles off the Alaskan Coast"
"Russia has announced plans to build a drone base for military reconnaissance in a town just 420 miles off mainland Alaska and just over 300 miles off the US state’s St Lawrence Island, Russia’s state news agency reported on Thursday."
A base for drones the orientation is toward Alaska and AMERICAN TERRITORY!
2. "Top secret Armata tank may conquer the Arctic (Russia)"
"The top secret Armata tank, which will be presented to the general public on the Victory Day anniversary parade in 2015, may be deployed in the Arctic. Yevgeny Chistyakov, representative of the Scientific Research Institute of Steel, a developer of the advanced material, said . . . that the new 44S-SV-SH steel armour does not lose its qualities and can be operated at Arctic temperatures."
NOT necessarily a NEW tank but a tank equipped with armor that is able to withstand the very cold temperatures of the arctic regions and not lose any protective properties.
The Russians are coming!
coolbert.
Russian military interest in the arctic regions only increases and multiplies. Russian of course having an extensive border on the Arctic Ocean and always recognized as a nation that thrives and does well during winter warfare.
ĐÑ‚Đ¾ Đ½Đ°ÑˆĐ°! This is ours!
1. "Russia to Open Arctic Military Drone Base 420 Miles off the Alaskan Coast"
"Russia has announced plans to build a drone base for military reconnaissance in a town just 420 miles off mainland Alaska and just over 300 miles off the US state’s St Lawrence Island, Russia’s state news agency reported on Thursday."
A base for drones the orientation is toward Alaska and AMERICAN TERRITORY!
2. "Top secret Armata tank may conquer the Arctic (Russia)"
"The top secret Armata tank, which will be presented to the general public on the Victory Day anniversary parade in 2015, may be deployed in the Arctic. Yevgeny Chistyakov, representative of the Scientific Research Institute of Steel, a developer of the advanced material, said . . . that the new 44S-SV-SH steel armour does not lose its qualities and can be operated at Arctic temperatures."
NOT necessarily a NEW tank but a tank equipped with armor that is able to withstand the very cold temperatures of the arctic regions and not lose any protective properties.
The Russians are coming!
coolbert.
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
BMD.
This is coolbert:
As described by J.E. Dyer more on the April incident in the Black Sea, American warship in confrontation with Russian FENCER Su-24.
"The ‘Half-McNamara': Russian attack jet buzzes U.S. Navy destroyer"
That USS Donald Cook indeed on a special mission what it is called. Ballistic missile defense.
"Donald Cook’s special mission"
"Donald Cook is the first of our permanently forward-stationed ballistic missile defense (BMD) warships, which we’ve been planning to put in the European theater as part of the Obama 'substitute' for the Bush 43 missile defense plan."
Instead of defending both Europe and the United States against missiles launched from South Asia, Obama’s plan defends only Europe [and presumably Israel as well], at least until 2018 and probably until well after.
This is strictly NAVAL BORNE BALLISTIC MISSILE DEFENSE! NOT CAPABLE OF SHOOTING DOWN AN INTERCONTINENTAL BALLISTIC MISSILE!
"Going on the assumption that Iran is the only source of a medium-range missile threat, the Obama plan stations BMD-enhanced Aegis warships in Europe, to rotate through routine patrol positions in the Black Sea and Mediterranean. Four Arleigh Burke destroyers . . . are destined to be permanently stationed in Rota, Spain to conduct most of these patrols."
Mr. Dyer not making any mention of an electronic warfare attack on the Donald Cook or sailors being traumatized.
coolbert.
As described by J.E. Dyer more on the April incident in the Black Sea, American warship in confrontation with Russian FENCER Su-24.
"The ‘Half-McNamara': Russian attack jet buzzes U.S. Navy destroyer"
That USS Donald Cook indeed on a special mission what it is called. Ballistic missile defense.
"Donald Cook’s special mission"
"Donald Cook is the first of our permanently forward-stationed ballistic missile defense (BMD) warships, which we’ve been planning to put in the European theater as part of the Obama 'substitute' for the Bush 43 missile defense plan."
Instead of defending both Europe and the United States against missiles launched from South Asia, Obama’s plan defends only Europe [and presumably Israel as well], at least until 2018 and probably until well after.
This is strictly NAVAL BORNE BALLISTIC MISSILE DEFENSE! NOT CAPABLE OF SHOOTING DOWN AN INTERCONTINENTAL BALLISTIC MISSILE!
"Going on the assumption that Iran is the only source of a medium-range missile threat, the Obama plan stations BMD-enhanced Aegis warships in Europe, to rotate through routine patrol positions in the Black Sea and Mediterranean. Four Arleigh Burke destroyers . . . are destined to be permanently stationed in Rota, Spain to conduct most of these patrols."
Mr. Dyer not making any mention of an electronic warfare attack on the Donald Cook or sailors being traumatized.
coolbert.
USS Donald Cook.
This is coolbert:
From last April and event that caused much consternation in some quarters. American sailors so traumatized they requested reassignment or even discharge? NOR did I even see a single mention in the main-stream-media of this incident.
"What frightened the USS Donald Cook so much in the Black Sea?"
"The State Department acknowledged that the crew of the destroyer USS Donald Cook has been gravely demoralized ever since their vessel was flown over in the Black Sea by a Russian Sukhoi-24 (Su-24) fighter jet which carried neither bombs nor missiles but only an electronic warfare device."
. . . .
"the Russian Su-24 that buzzed the USS Donald Cook carried neither bombs nor missiles but only a basket mounted under the fuselage, which, according to the Russian newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta , contained a Russian electronic warfare device called Khibiny."
. . . .
"According to some specialized media, 27 sailors from the USS Donald Cook requested to be relieved from active service."
A Russian FENCER Su-24 carrying some sort of electronic warfare [EW] pod that was able to DISABLE THE COMPLICATED AND SOPHISTICATED ELECTRONIC APPARATUS ABOARD THE DONALD COOK?
NOT merely electronic counter-measures as that term ordinarily understood, jamming, intrusion, spoofing, etc. BUT DISABLING AND RENDERING THE VESSEL INEFFECTIVE?
This is what occurred? The exact details remain unclear. AND as for those American sailors if this is all true, what ever happened to "I have not yet begun to fight"? Or are the loudest voices often the furthest from the scene of the action.
coolbert.
From last April and event that caused much consternation in some quarters. American sailors so traumatized they requested reassignment or even discharge? NOR did I even see a single mention in the main-stream-media of this incident.
"What frightened the USS Donald Cook so much in the Black Sea?"
"The State Department acknowledged that the crew of the destroyer USS Donald Cook has been gravely demoralized ever since their vessel was flown over in the Black Sea by a Russian Sukhoi-24 (Su-24) fighter jet which carried neither bombs nor missiles but only an electronic warfare device."
. . . .
"the Russian Su-24 that buzzed the USS Donald Cook carried neither bombs nor missiles but only a basket mounted under the fuselage, which, according to the Russian newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta , contained a Russian electronic warfare device called Khibiny."
. . . .
"According to some specialized media, 27 sailors from the USS Donald Cook requested to be relieved from active service."
A Russian FENCER Su-24 carrying some sort of electronic warfare [EW] pod that was able to DISABLE THE COMPLICATED AND SOPHISTICATED ELECTRONIC APPARATUS ABOARD THE DONALD COOK?
NOT merely electronic counter-measures as that term ordinarily understood, jamming, intrusion, spoofing, etc. BUT DISABLING AND RENDERING THE VESSEL INEFFECTIVE?
This is what occurred? The exact details remain unclear. AND as for those American sailors if this is all true, what ever happened to "I have not yet begun to fight"? Or are the loudest voices often the furthest from the scene of the action.
coolbert.
Bear & Coot.
This is coolbert:
As seen at Freeper:
"Russia to send bombers on Gulf of Mexico ‘reconnaissance missions’"
The headline specifically mentions bombers. BEAR we might assume. That Russian BEAR having a reconnaissance and an offensive weapons capability.
"A top Russian official said Wednesday the country plans on conducting patrols with its bombers that extend into the Gulf of Mexico."
“'In the current situation we have to maintain military presence in the western Atlantic and eastern Pacific, as well as the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico,' Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Wednesday in Moscow, The Associated Press reported.
This is foolish and unwarranted tit-for-tat type of gamesmanship that is again foolish and unwarranted. Chest thumping and posturing but nonetheless must be taken serious.
COOT also can find a role here if RECONNAISSANCE AND INTELLIGENCE GATHERING IS THE ONLY ROLE?
And a number of nation s in the Caribbean area are able and willing to provide basing for long range warplanes such as BEAR or even COOT! Mention here Nicaragua, Venezuela and Cuber. Fidel wants to be back in the game much to the detriment of everyone, including himself and his nation.
coolbert.
As seen at Freeper:
"Russia to send bombers on Gulf of Mexico ‘reconnaissance missions’"
The headline specifically mentions bombers. BEAR we might assume. That Russian BEAR having a reconnaissance and an offensive weapons capability.
"A top Russian official said Wednesday the country plans on conducting patrols with its bombers that extend into the Gulf of Mexico."
“'In the current situation we have to maintain military presence in the western Atlantic and eastern Pacific, as well as the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico,' Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Wednesday in Moscow, The Associated Press reported.
This is foolish and unwarranted tit-for-tat type of gamesmanship that is again foolish and unwarranted. Chest thumping and posturing but nonetheless must be taken serious.
COOT also can find a role here if RECONNAISSANCE AND INTELLIGENCE GATHERING IS THE ONLY ROLE?
And a number of nation s in the Caribbean area are able and willing to provide basing for long range warplanes such as BEAR or even COOT! Mention here Nicaragua, Venezuela and Cuber. Fidel wants to be back in the game much to the detriment of everyone, including himself and his nation.
coolbert.
Monday, November 10, 2014
Poetry!
This is coolbert:
German ultra-nationalist poetry of that era prior to the Great War [WW1]. The perception of those English authors engaging in the genre' of what was called "invasion" literature was not entirely without foundation? As seen and extracted from the Al Nofi CIC # 435 and copied in entirety:
"The Hymn of Hate Against England
"In the Captain's Mess, in the banquet hall,
Sat feasting the officers, one and all,
Like a sabre blow, like the swing of a sail,
One seized his glass and held high to hail;
Sharp-snapped like the stroke of a rudder's play,
Spoke three words only: 'To the Day!'
Whose glass this fate?
They had all but a single hate.
Who was thus known?
They had one foe and one alone -- ENGLAND!"
"Take you the folk of the Earth in pay,
With bars of gold your ramparts lay,
Bedeck the ocean with bow on bow,
Ye reckon well, but not well enough now.
French and Russian, they matter not,
A blow for a blow, a shot for a shot,
We fight the battle with bronze and steel,
And the time that is coming Peace will seal.
You we will hate with a lasting hate,
We will never forego our hate,
Hate by water and hate by land,
Hate of the head and hate of the hand,
Hate of the hammer and hate of the crown,
Hate of seventy millions choking down.
We love as one, we hate as one,
We have one foe and one alone -- ENGLAND!"
The English at that exact moment in time forestalling German expansion and the greatest impediment to Der Tag!
And most specifically so the Royal Navy [RN]! Between the High Seas Fleet and world domination was the RN? William Le Queux and his English colleagues were 100 % about the threat as posed by the German. Seems it was so!
coolbert.
German ultra-nationalist poetry of that era prior to the Great War [WW1]. The perception of those English authors engaging in the genre' of what was called "invasion" literature was not entirely without foundation? As seen and extracted from the Al Nofi CIC # 435 and copied in entirety:
"The Hymn of Hate Against England
French and Russian, they matter not,
A blow for a blow and a shot for a shot!
We love them not, we hate them not,
We hold the Vistula and Vosges gate.
We have but one and only hate,
We love as one, we hate as one,
We have one foe and one alone.
He is known to you all, he is known to you all,
He crouches behind the dark gray flood,
Full of envy, of rage, of craft, of gall,
Cut off by waves that are thicker than blood.
Come, let us stand at the Judgment Place,
An oath to swear to, face to face,
An oath of bronze no wind can shake,
An oath for our sons and their sons to take.
Come, hear the word, repeat the word,
Throughout the Fatherland make it heard.
We will never forego our hate,
We have all but a single hate,
We love as one, we hate as one,
We have one foe and one alone — ENGLAND!"
A blow for a blow and a shot for a shot!
We love them not, we hate them not,
We hold the Vistula and Vosges gate.
We have but one and only hate,
We love as one, we hate as one,
We have one foe and one alone.
He is known to you all, he is known to you all,
He crouches behind the dark gray flood,
Full of envy, of rage, of craft, of gall,
Cut off by waves that are thicker than blood.
Come, let us stand at the Judgment Place,
An oath to swear to, face to face,
An oath of bronze no wind can shake,
An oath for our sons and their sons to take.
Come, hear the word, repeat the word,
Throughout the Fatherland make it heard.
We will never forego our hate,
We have all but a single hate,
We love as one, we hate as one,
We have one foe and one alone — ENGLAND!"
"In the Captain's Mess, in the banquet hall,
Sat feasting the officers, one and all,
Like a sabre blow, like the swing of a sail,
One seized his glass and held high to hail;
Sharp-snapped like the stroke of a rudder's play,
Spoke three words only: 'To the Day!'
Whose glass this fate?
They had all but a single hate.
Who was thus known?
They had one foe and one alone -- ENGLAND!"
"Take you the folk of the Earth in pay,
With bars of gold your ramparts lay,
Bedeck the ocean with bow on bow,
Ye reckon well, but not well enough now.
French and Russian, they matter not,
A blow for a blow, a shot for a shot,
We fight the battle with bronze and steel,
And the time that is coming Peace will seal.
You we will hate with a lasting hate,
We will never forego our hate,
Hate by water and hate by land,
Hate of the head and hate of the hand,
Hate of the hammer and hate of the crown,
Hate of seventy millions choking down.
We love as one, we hate as one,
We have one foe and one alone -- ENGLAND!"
The English at that exact moment in time forestalling German expansion and the greatest impediment to Der Tag!
And most specifically so the Royal Navy [RN]! Between the High Seas Fleet and world domination was the RN? William Le Queux and his English colleagues were 100 % about the threat as posed by the German. Seems it was so!
coolbert.
Targeted.
This is coolbert:
"BOOM: ISIS: Leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi Dead"
So is the allegation and unconfirmed at this point. Wounded or deceased none of this is clear.
And too also expect this TO BECOME AN OBJECT OF CONTROVERSY!
This is a targeted assassination of a political leader or the killing of the enemy commander on the battlefield? Such will be the issue.
"Coming after almost a week of speculation following a US airstrike in western Iraq, it now appears that ISIS Caliph Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has died. In a claim circulated through an ISIS website the leader has died."
. . . .
“'We will soon publish details about the killing of the Caliphate Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and the nomination of a new Caliphate for the Islamic State.'”
Read WHY this has the potentiality to become controversial. And also perhaps an item with legal consequences that is now and has been the subject of debate. EVER SINCE IT SEEMS SINCE THAT ERA OF WORLD WAR TWO [WW2].
"Admiral Yamamoto and the Justification of Targeted Killing"
Yamamoto we fully understand WAS AN ENEMY COMBAT COMMANDER IN THE AREA OF HOSTILITIES AND A LEGITIMATE TARGET.
A man such as Al Baghdadi wielding POLITICAL AUTHORITY is the issue generating a degree of debate.
It can be argued that those aviators at that exact moment of executing the mission were unaware that the Caliph was among those in the convoy. That too will be a subject of inquiry.
THIS STORY UNFOLDS AS WE SPEAK.
coolbert.
"BOOM: ISIS: Leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi Dead"
So is the allegation and unconfirmed at this point. Wounded or deceased none of this is clear.
And too also expect this TO BECOME AN OBJECT OF CONTROVERSY!
This is a targeted assassination of a political leader or the killing of the enemy commander on the battlefield? Such will be the issue.
"Coming after almost a week of speculation following a US airstrike in western Iraq, it now appears that ISIS Caliph Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has died. In a claim circulated through an ISIS website the leader has died."
. . . .
“'We will soon publish details about the killing of the Caliphate Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and the nomination of a new Caliphate for the Islamic State.'”
Read WHY this has the potentiality to become controversial. And also perhaps an item with legal consequences that is now and has been the subject of debate. EVER SINCE IT SEEMS SINCE THAT ERA OF WORLD WAR TWO [WW2].
"Admiral Yamamoto and the Justification of Targeted Killing"
Yamamoto we fully understand WAS AN ENEMY COMBAT COMMANDER IN THE AREA OF HOSTILITIES AND A LEGITIMATE TARGET.
A man such as Al Baghdadi wielding POLITICAL AUTHORITY is the issue generating a degree of debate.
It can be argued that those aviators at that exact moment of executing the mission were unaware that the Caliph was among those in the convoy. That too will be a subject of inquiry.
THIS STORY UNFOLDS AS WE SPEAK.
coolbert.
Sunday, November 9, 2014
RC-135.
This is coolbert:
Yet more from intelNews.org another instance this last August of confrontation in the Baltic area. This might have been common during that era of the Cold War but only recently has once more become a common occurrence.
"Russian jet ‘chased US spy plane into Swedish airspace’"
"All of a sudden, however, the American pilot noticed that Russian land-based military radars had begun to track the plane. Eventually, the Russians 'locked' their radar on the US plane, which is usually interpreted as a step before firing at the aircraft. Such a move is not illegal, but is described by experts as 'highly unusual', especially when involving unarmed aircraft flying in international airspace . . . the American pilot became seriously concerned that his aircraft might get fired upon, so he decided to abort his mission as soon as he could. He therefore ended up flying the plane over Sweden’s airspace without approval from Swedish air controllers."
See also those other prior blog entries the topic of which was the Baltic and confrontations of an unusual and most dangerous nature:
http://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2014/10/mystery.html
http://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2014/10/mobilization.html
http://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2014/10/flanker.html
And of course NOW Coot.
Aggressive counter-intelligence quite often an indication of SOMETHING TO HIDE!!
Or merely the Russians flexing muscles for the whole world to see?
coolbert.
Yet more from intelNews.org another instance this last August of confrontation in the Baltic area. This might have been common during that era of the Cold War but only recently has once more become a common occurrence.
"Russian jet ‘chased US spy plane into Swedish airspace’"
"All of a sudden, however, the American pilot noticed that Russian land-based military radars had begun to track the plane. Eventually, the Russians 'locked' their radar on the US plane, which is usually interpreted as a step before firing at the aircraft. Such a move is not illegal, but is described by experts as 'highly unusual', especially when involving unarmed aircraft flying in international airspace . . . the American pilot became seriously concerned that his aircraft might get fired upon, so he decided to abort his mission as soon as he could. He therefore ended up flying the plane over Sweden’s airspace without approval from Swedish air controllers."
See also those other prior blog entries the topic of which was the Baltic and confrontations of an unusual and most dangerous nature:
http://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2014/10/mystery.html
http://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2014/10/mobilization.html
http://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2014/10/flanker.html
And of course NOW Coot.
Aggressive counter-intelligence quite often an indication of SOMETHING TO HIDE!!
Or merely the Russians flexing muscles for the whole world to see?
coolbert.
Coot!
This is coolbert:
Hot flash update. Thanks to Freeper.
Canada stands tall!
That Baltic Sea area now apparently an area of intelligence and counter-intelligence activity as not seen in a long time. Coot spotted and intercepted!!
"Russian spyplane violates Lithuania airspace, Canadian Hornets intercept it"
AND intercepted by NATO warplanes of the Canadian Air Force on routine patrol.
"Two Royal Canadian Air Force CF-18 Hornet jets intercepted and shadowed a Russian Air Force Il-20 Coot over Lithuania. On Nov. 8, two RCAF CF-18 (or CF-188) Hornet jets deployed to Lithuania for NATO Baltic Air Policing mission were radar-vectored to intercept and escort a Russian Ilyushin Il-20 Coot-A plane flying off the Baltic coast."
"According to Canadian media outlets, the CF-18s were conducting a routine training sortie out of Siauliai airbase, when they were re-tasked to visually ID the Russian ELINT (Electronic Intelligence) plane that had violated Lithuania’s airspace (even if some sources say the Il-20 was reached by the Canadian Hornets as it was flying over international waters – hence, in international airspace)".
"The CF-18s shadowed the Il-20 for 5 minutes, took some photographs (not yet released), then were ordered to return to base."
Understand a small nation such as Lithuania has a very small air force with very limited capability. BUT is a constituent member of NATO. Reacting to the COOT intrusion should not been seen as unusual but rather as a measure of resolve.
According to the wiki, Lithuania DOES NOT HAVE IN THEIR INVENTORY ANY COMBAT WARPLANES. Is totally reliant on NATO for air space policing what it is called:
"After Lithuania joined NATO organization back in 2004, its (alongside Latvia's and Estonia's) air space is protected by NATO. NATO members provide usually 4 fighter aircraft, based in Lithuania, to police the Baltic States’ airspace."
coolbert.
Hot flash update. Thanks to Freeper.
Canada stands tall!
That Baltic Sea area now apparently an area of intelligence and counter-intelligence activity as not seen in a long time. Coot spotted and intercepted!!
"Russian spyplane violates Lithuania airspace, Canadian Hornets intercept it"
AND intercepted by NATO warplanes of the Canadian Air Force on routine patrol.
Coot greatly resembles the American P-3 Orion. Stubby little wings with big engines attached. Soviet aircraft design bureau staff greatly admired the P-3 and basically did a clone of same?
"Two Royal Canadian Air Force CF-18 Hornet jets intercepted and shadowed a Russian Air Force Il-20 Coot over Lithuania. On Nov. 8, two RCAF CF-18 (or CF-188) Hornet jets deployed to Lithuania for NATO Baltic Air Policing mission were radar-vectored to intercept and escort a Russian Ilyushin Il-20 Coot-A plane flying off the Baltic coast."
"According to Canadian media outlets, the CF-18s were conducting a routine training sortie out of Siauliai airbase, when they were re-tasked to visually ID the Russian ELINT (Electronic Intelligence) plane that had violated Lithuania’s airspace (even if some sources say the Il-20 was reached by the Canadian Hornets as it was flying over international waters – hence, in international airspace)".
"The CF-18s shadowed the Il-20 for 5 minutes, took some photographs (not yet released), then were ordered to return to base."
Understand a small nation such as Lithuania has a very small air force with very limited capability. BUT is a constituent member of NATO. Reacting to the COOT intrusion should not been seen as unusual but rather as a measure of resolve.
According to the wiki, Lithuania DOES NOT HAVE IN THEIR INVENTORY ANY COMBAT WARPLANES. Is totally reliant on NATO for air space policing what it is called:
"After Lithuania joined NATO organization back in 2004, its (alongside Latvia's and Estonia's) air space is protected by NATO. NATO members provide usually 4 fighter aircraft, based in Lithuania, to police the Baltic States’ airspace."
coolbert.
Major Sinke.
This is coolbert:
Here is one man who will not keep a low profile!!
"Retired Marine gets threats after guarding Canadian war memorial"
A man with dual Canadian-American citizenship and a retired USMC veteran of his own volition taking to guarding the war memorial in Ottawa where the sentry on duty was recently slain.
Evidently that memorial only guarded during hours of daylight. This Major Sinke taking command and doing lone sentry duty before the actual guard with armed escort arrived!
"Sinke is a decorated veteran who did tours in Vietnam and received five Purple Hearts. When Cpl. Nathan Cirillo, a Canadian service member, was shot and killed last month while guarding Canada’s war memorial, Sinke felt obligated to honor the fallen hero"
. . . .
"So Sinke, who lives in Canada, donned his Marine uniform and sword and went to the memorial to stand guard on Friday. He told local media that he came to pay tribute to fallen comrade in arms and he wanted to show that Canadians will not be intimidated."
That question also having been raised if this Major Sinke is for real and not a wannabee war hero. And that question evidently having been categorically answered. YES the man is what he says he is!!
“'Take Your Best Shot', Was The Marine Guarding The Canada National War Memorial Real? "
During that era of the Vietnam War, MORE CANADIANS SERVING IN THE AMERICAN MILITARY THAN SERVING IN THE CANADIAN ARMED FORCES AT THAT EXACT MOMENT!!
Among them and most valiantly so Major Sinke!!
coolbert.
Here is one man who will not keep a low profile!!
"Retired Marine gets threats after guarding Canadian war memorial"
A man with dual Canadian-American citizenship and a retired USMC veteran of his own volition taking to guarding the war memorial in Ottawa where the sentry on duty was recently slain.
Evidently that memorial only guarded during hours of daylight. This Major Sinke taking command and doing lone sentry duty before the actual guard with armed escort arrived!
"Sinke is a decorated veteran who did tours in Vietnam and received five Purple Hearts. When Cpl. Nathan Cirillo, a Canadian service member, was shot and killed last month while guarding Canada’s war memorial, Sinke felt obligated to honor the fallen hero"
. . . .
"So Sinke, who lives in Canada, donned his Marine uniform and sword and went to the memorial to stand guard on Friday. He told local media that he came to pay tribute to fallen comrade in arms and he wanted to show that Canadians will not be intimidated."
That question also having been raised if this Major Sinke is for real and not a wannabee war hero. And that question evidently having been categorically answered. YES the man is what he says he is!!
“'Take Your Best Shot', Was The Marine Guarding The Canada National War Memorial Real? "
During that era of the Vietnam War, MORE CANADIANS SERVING IN THE AMERICAN MILITARY THAN SERVING IN THE CANADIAN ARMED FORCES AT THAT EXACT MOMENT!!
Among them and most valiantly so Major Sinke!!
coolbert.
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