Huge underground bunker discovered in Iraq

[thedrifter]

Huge underground bunker discovered in Iraq <br />
<br />
By ANTONIO CASTANEDA <br />
Associated Press Writer <br />
<br />
<br />
LATIFIYAH, Iraq (AP) -- Hundreds of Iraqi and U.S. troops searched fields and farms Saturday for...

[thedrifter]

Marines train to escape from downed birds
Submitted by: MCB Camp Butler
Story Identification #: 2005652107
Story by Lance Cpl. Will Lathrop




CAMP HANSEN, OKINAWA, Japan -- (June 3, 2005) -- Scenario: a helicopter carrying Marines over the Pacific Ocean malfunctions, and the pilot is forced to set it down in the water. But instead of panicking and floundering about helplessly inside, the Marines aboard rapidly escape using the emergency exits and swim to the surface.
Their prior training took over, and these Marines were able to safely and rapidly escape the sinking fuselage due to the intense “helo dunker” training they received at the Camp Hansen training pool.

Ten Marines and one sailor assigned to elements of Battalion Landing Team 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, spent May 17-18 learning how to egress from a sinking helicopter under the supervision of professional instructors from Survival Systems USA.
The students spent both mornings in the classroom discussing evacuation procedures for the Marine Corps’ two main troop-carrying helicopters, the CH-46 Sea Knight and the CH-53 Super Stallion. They spent the afternoons practicing these skills in the pool during simulated helicopter crashes.

David Stott and Lee Warren, both former reconnaissance Marines who have been with Survival Systems USA since its inception three years ago, led the classes.
“The main points we stress throughout the training is a good, tight brace position and being able to breathe off of the intermediate passenger helicopter aircrew breathing device confidently,” said Warren, a Houston native.

The brace position taught during the course is meant to reduce a passenger’s profile to flying debris during a crash and to stabilize the passenger upon impact. The IPHABD, pronounced Hab-dee, is a small oxygen tank with a breathing regulator that provides an emergency oxygen source.

During the first day of application in the pool, students underwent simulated crashes in the shallow-water egress trainer chair, which simulates how the top-heavy design of helicopters causes them to roll over in the water. Each of the students was strapped into the egress chair and turned over, placing them underwater and upside down. After all violent motion ceased, the trainees unbuckled and quickly pulled themselves from the submerged cage.
After practicing in the egress chair, the students practiced breathing underwater with the IPHABD.

The final event for the day was a ride in the modular aircraft egress trainer, a helicopter simulator that drops into the pool and rotates, simultaneously suspending multiple occupants upside down underwater. They rehearsed jettisoning the emergency exits, pulling themselves out of the MAET, and swimming to the surface.

“When that bird goes under water, approximately 17.1 tons of water are going to rush in,” Stott said. “And if you’re not strapped in properly, you’re going to be like a cat in a washing machine.”

The second day of training focused on survival techniques that should be used after the evacuation in order to keep the survivors together.

Goggles with black lenses were also worn to add the element of blindness, simulating a night egress. Eight participants at a time went into the MAET, with two instructors and two safety divers, and practiced egressing while wearing flak jackets, IPHABDs, self-inflating life-preserving units, Kevlar helmets and rifles.

“Clear the exit and get the heck out of the way,” Stott told his class. “If you’re taking your time pulling yourself out of the aircraft, you’re not only putting yourself in danger, you’re also putting your fellow Marines’ lives in danger.”

To finish off the water portion of the training, the class practiced bailing out of the MAET before it submerged into the dunk tank to simulate an evacuation from a helicopter that has limited hovering capabilities.

Upon completion of the training, the Marines were issued certification cards, however, Warren noted that the real measure of success will be their survival in the event of a real-life helicopter crash into the water.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Grandson discovers vintage guitar isn’t just any old set of strings

By GREG OKUHARA
Eagle Staff Writer

CENTERVILLE — Cecil Henry Keller was a well-known Leon County musician in the 1950s. The former Navy sailor played in several juke joints around town and frequented the live music venues along U.S. 75.

His grandson, Cad Hoyt, heard stories about how Keller would wow the crowds while cranking out blues licks on his old Fender guitar — an instrument he eventually gave to his grandson before he died in 2000.

“ He taught me how to strum a few tunes,” Hoyt, 22, said. “But I never really picked up on it.”

Instead of keeping the guitar, which was taking up space under Hoyt’s bed or closet during the past five years, he decided to see if it was worth selling.

He soon learned that he had a rare 1951 Fender Nocaster that, had it been left in its original condition, could have been worth between $25,000 and $30,000.

“ I was surprised [to find out it was a rare guitar],” Hoyt said. “I always thought it should be worth something since it was old. I only took it out once in a while to show a friend.”

A vintage guitar dealer flew in from St. Louis on May 24 to purchase the guitar, but Hoyt declined to say how much he sold the instrument for.

Hoyt, who finished his service with the Marines in 2004, first brought the guitar to Tommy’s Music in Centerville about a month ago.

“ People bring in old instruments to my shop all the time, and 99 times out of 100, it’s nothing unusual,” store owner Tommy Pierce said. “But the chances of a guitar like this showing up in a little town are so small.”

Pierce said he originally thought it was a 1952 Telecaster guitar, which isn’t worth as much. But to be sure, he took the guitar apart. That’s when he discovered some writing on the neck.

The initials “TG” and the date “8-16-51” were written on the wood. The initials were those of Tadeo Gomez, who built the necks of Fender guitars in the early 1950s.

Pierce called Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Fender, which confirmed the guitar was a rare Nocaster.

“ When they first told me what it was, I thought it was too good to be true,” he said.

The guitar company’s founder, Leo Fender, named his first guitar the Broadcaster, which evolved into the Telecaster that still is sold today.

Another music company, Gretsch, already called one its drum kits Broadcaster and sued Fender.

As a result, Fender cut the Broadcaster name off the decals it had placed on the headstocks — and those guitars became known as Nocasters. Once the decals were gone, so was the Nocaster.

Dave Hinson, a vintage guitar collector from St. Louis, heard about the guitar through a friend at Fender.

He contacted Pierce and said he might want to purchase the rare guitar. Hinson, who said he has been “playing and taking apart” guitars for 30 years, flew into Houston and drove to Centerville to look at the instrument. He ended up purchasing the guitar from Hoyt.

“ People are realizing the stock market isn’t a good place to put your money,” said Hinson, who also is a contributor for Vintage Guitar magazine. “These [guitars] are. They’re as good an investment as anything.”

When he arrived at Tommy’s Music, he found the guitar had been stripped of its original finish and one of the electric pickups wasn’t working properly, further devaluing the instrument.

“ Someone should find Speedy and slap him,” Hinson said, referring to the stamp of the music shop that apparently refinished the guitar’s body.

Hinson said there’s no telling how many Nocasters were made or how many are unaccounted for, and noted that many vintage guitars show up in small towns like Centerville.

After buying the guitar, Hinson said he’s shipping the instrument to Jay Black, a Fender master builder in California who specializes in restoring old guitars.

Black will return the body to its original finish, which is supposed to be a “yellowish butterscotch,” Hinson said, and fix the electronics.

From there, it’s hard to say what will happen to the guitar, Hinson said.

“ I have a soft spot for Tellies [short for Telecasters],” he said. “So there’s a good chance I’ll keep it.”

Hoyt said that because he never really developed a love of playing music, he doesn’t have any reservations about selling the guitar.

He’s getting ready to transfer to Texas A&M University next year to study anthropology. Hoyt said he could use the money to help him get settled as he begins his college career now that his military days are over.

“ It’s not like I was going to hang it up anywhere,” he said. “I like to listen to [music], but I don’t play it.”

Pierce, meanwhile, said he was glad he could make the discovery and help Hoyt. He said there are music dealers who might have taken advantage of someone like Hoyt who isn’t familiar with vintage instruments, but he’s proud that he was honest and up-front with Hoyt.

“ I just couldn’t believe it,” he said. “You could be in the music business all your life and never see a Nocaster.”

• Greg Okuhara’s e-mail address is greg.okuhara@theeagle.com.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Dismissals, short sentences show difficulty of U.S. wartime murder cases <br />
<br />
Tim Whitmire <br />
Canadian Press <br />
<br />
Sunday, June 05, 2005 <br />
<br />
AP) - An American soldier who admitted executing a wounded...

[thedrifter]

Wartime Murder Charges at a Glance <br />
<br />
<br />
Sunday June 5, 2005 6:16 PM <br />
<br />
By The Associated Press <br />
<br />
U.S. soldiers and Marines convicted in connection with deaths of Iraqi civilians since the...

[thedrifter]

Lexington native controls the skies in western Iraq
Submitted by: 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing
Story Identification #: 2005656283
Story by Cpl. Rocco DeFilippis



CAMP KOREAN VILLAGE, Iraq (June 5, 2005) -- Every day Lance Cpl. Clark S. Webb controls the movement and flight of millions of dollars worth of military aircraft.

The Lexington, Ky., native, an air traffic controller with Marine Air Control Squadron 2, is currently supporting air operations with a mobile team of Marine air traffic controllers here.

In June 2003, Webb graduated from Paul Laurence Dunbar High School and a few days later, on June 11, he was standing on the yellow footprints of Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, S.C., for basic training.

“A lot of my friends from high school had left for the Marine Corps when I was a junior,” he said. “From what they told me, I knew that joining the Corps was what I wanted to do.”

After basic training and a month of Marine Combat Training, Webb reported to Naval Air Station Pensacola, Fla., for the air traffic controller’s course in late October 2003.

“I joined under an aviation operations contract,” he said. “When I found out I was going to be in air traffic control, I was excited because I knew the job was an important one.”

During his time in Florida, Webb learned the basics of air traffic control, communications and airfield operations. Following his training in Pensacola, Webb reported to Headquarters and Headquarters Squadron at Marine Corps Air Station New River, N.C.

Webb spent his first year in the Marine Corps with the headquarters squadron learning his trade. In the air traffic control field, Marines are not awarded their military occupational specialty designator without completing two qualifications pertinent to their job.

In October of 2004, Webb was transferred to MACS-2 and completed his required qualifications —ground control, which consisted of directing aircraft around the flightline and taxiways, and clearance data was the final test of a Marine air traffic controller.

“Clearance data is best described as the secretaries of the tower,” he explained. “You pass on all types of data and information to the pilots. Everything from weather conditions and approach patterns, to what other aircraft are in the immediate area.”

On the same day when he completed his final qualification, Webb received word that he and the Marines of his squadron were deploying to Iraq to support Operation Iraqi Freedom.

The Marines of MACS-2 arrived in Iraq in the beginning of January and spread out to man ATC detachments at the various forward operating posts throughout the Marine Corps’ area of responsibility. Webb was assigned to Camp Korean Village and has been managing the skies over western Iraq since.

“I’m glad to be out here doing my part,” he said. “We are supporting the aircraft that are supporting the Marines on the ground. Air traffic control is a vital element of Marine aviation, we keep them safe and give them the information they need to complete their mission.”

Due to return to North Carolina in early August, Webb said he is looking forward to seeing his family and friends again.

“I miss everyone back home, but I know that it’s important that I am here,” he said. “They have been extremely supportive and I can’t wait to see everyone again.”

*For more information about the Marine or news reported on in this story, please contact Cpl. Rocco DeFilippis by e-mail at defilippisrc@acemnf-wiraq.usmc.mil*

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Story Identification #: 2005630234
Story by Cpl. Rocco DeFilippis



CAMP KOREAN VILLAGE, Iraq (June 3, 2005) -- At age 12 Miguel A. Arballo saw something on television that would become a life goal for him.

The image of a Marine in a dress blue uniform stood out in his mind as he told himself, “That’s what I want to do.”

Arballo was born in San Luis, Mexico. In 1989, his family came to the United States, and in 1996, he became a citizen.

“In the recruiter’s office, seeing all those videos on what Marines do, the opportunity for travel and adventure motivated me to become a Marine,” the 2000 Cibola High School graduate said. “They told me about all the training I would receive and the opportunities to see the world, and I saw that as a way to point my life in the right direction.”

On July 25, 2000, at the ripe young age of 17, the Somerton, Ariz., native took his first step to making his dream a reality when he stepped on the yellow footprints at Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego.

Arballo completed basic training three months later and after Marine Combat Training, he attended the Motor Transportation Operator’s School at Fort Leonardwood, Mo.

In Missouri, he learned the basics of operating the Marine Corps’ array of vehicles, including the humvee and larger, heavier trucks.

When the duty station assignments for the Marines of his graduating class came out, Arballo said he was shocked and excited about his new orders. In January 2001, he was stationed in Marine Corps Base, Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii. with the Marines of ‘America’s Battalion,’ 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment.

“That’s where my opportunity to travel started,” he said. “I knew I was going to travel, but two months later we were on our first deployment. I thought to myself, ‘wow’ the travel thing is true, because as soon I got there, we were constantly on the move.”

During his three year tour with 3/3, Arballo traveled to Hawaii Australia, Okinawa, Japan, Korea, main-land Japan, The Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Hong Kong on training evolutions and unit deployments.

“I got what I wanted,” he said. “I have been to almost every country in South East Asia.”

During his first year with the Marines of 3/3, something happened to our nation that Arballo would never forget. The events of Sept. 11, 2001 would change his perspective on his military service.

“Because of the time difference, we were all asleep when the attacks occurred, we found out later,” he recalled. “That’s when I realized, this isn’t just about travel, all that training we have been doing is for something far more important.”

After that dark day, the battalion set its focus on continued training. The Marines had new motivation, and Arballo said the Marines took their jobs a lot more seriously.

“Although I never deployed with 3/3 to support the Global War on Terrorism, the training I received there would help me out a lot when I eventually did,” he said.

Arballo would indeed deploy to support the fight against terrorism. After his tour with ‘America’s Battalion,’ he received orders to Marine Corps Air Station, Yuma, Ariz., to serve with Marine Wing Support Squadron 371.

“They told me that MWSS-371 was a non-deployable unit,” he said. “Seven days later, we were packing for Kuwait.”

Arballo and a small detachment of Marines from MWSS-371 left for Kuwait in February, 2004, to provide heavy equipment and logistical support to unload a flood of gear and vehicles arriving into the country to support Operation Iraqi Freedom.

“Once we settled in, we split up the detachment into two shifts,” he recalled. “For six weeks straight we unloaded cargo from ships. I have never seen so many vehicles and gear in one place. As soon as we finished unloading one ship, there was one to take its place.”

Once he returned from Kuwait, Arballo didn’t find much time to rest. When his detachment returned in April 2004, they began training for a new mission and another deployment to support the stability and security of the people of Iraq.

“When we got back we got right into training,” he said. “Being in motor-T, we focused mainly on convoy operations.”

Arballo was placed on the squadron’s advanced party, and arrived in Iraq on January 31. Spending a few short days at the squadron’s headquarters in Al Taqaddum, Arballo, and a small detachment, came to support airfield and base camp operations here.

“Besides accomplishing our primary mission here, we support the ground forces here and in the surrounding area,” he said. “It’s a great opportunity to support our fellow Marines directly. We trained to do a mission and we are doing it well.”

Since his arrival here, Arballo has been the detachment’s operations chief and platoon sergeant, responsible for the tasking and tracking of missions and the morale and welfare of his Marines.

“I have had a great opportunity to pass on all the things I have learned and been taught as a young Marine to my Marines,” he said. “It’s been a great lesson in leadership. I was blessed with great leaders as a young Marine, and now it’s my turn to lead Marines.”

Recently, he has been serving with the detachment’s explosive ordnance disposal team, providing security for the technicians as they combat improvised explosive devices in the surrounding area.

“They needed a solid leader, because the mission is so important,” he said. “Our EOD team is out there a lot. By providing security for them while they work, it allows them to focus on their mission instead of their security.”

Due to return to his fiancé and daughter in August, Arballo is preparing for his wedding next spring and looking forward to finishing up college and earning a degree in criminal justice.

“The Marine Corps has given me many great opportunities,” he said. “I have been able to see the world, develop leadership skills and serve my country during a time of need.”

*For more information about the Marines or news reported on in this story, please contact Cpl. Rocco DeFilippis by e-mail at defilippisrc@acemnf-wiraq.usmc.mil*

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Sand Sharks bite into mileage <br />
Submitted by: 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing <br />
Story Identification #: 20055303254 <br />
Story by Cpl. Rocco DeFilippis <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
CAMP KOREAN VILLAGE, Iraq (May 30, 2005) -- The role...

[thedrifter]

June 6, 2005

Missives from Iraq
A Marine e-mails home letters.

By MAY LEE JOHNSON
Tribune Staff Writer

This is what one local Marine misses about home: soft green grass, homemade chocolate chip cookies and his family.Jeffery Stapleton is a division chief with the Airframes Division in Western Iraq.

Stapleton is with the Marine Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron 4, working on aircraft.But his time is quickly winding down. Stapleton will return home this summer to Mishawaka, to his wife, Andrea, and their kids, Rachael and Jimmy. The 30-year-old soldier can't wait.Recently, as he has found a quiet moment, the soldier has written a series of e-mails to The Tribune to describe life there. (The e-mails have been edited by a sergeant for sensitive information.)

Here are some excerpts:

On war

"Serving your country is a great honor, but serving during this type of historic event makes it even more of one. I hope I can tell this to my grandchildren one day."

What it's like

"The weather here is getting really hot, it's up to 115-120 degrees and is getting higher by the day. At nighttime it drops to about 90 degrees, which is a large drop from the day, so that's why it feels cold at night. I'm sure it will be up to 130-135 before I leave; that's what it was when I was in Saudi Arabia three years ago.

"The air is really dry, and the wind blows the sand a lot. The sand here is really fine and sticks to everything.

“There is not much to do for fun, other than we have a tent with some gym equipment.The days are so long you barely have time to go to the gym (tent) and then try to get some sleep and pray you don’t get awakened in the middle of the night.

“I don’t get much sleep anyway, fearing the unknown of what’s going to happen next.”

Memorial Day

“The day is not just about barbecues, Indy 500 and family gatherings. It’s a day to be proud of what our country has accomplished, but let’s not forget the price they had to pay.”

Down time

“There is not much time for fun here. I just work and try to let time pass by. I try to e-mail my family when I can to at least let them know I’m OK.”

The mission

“I feel that the work we are doing in Iraq has helped bring a quality of life and security for the citizens. “The aircraft we support protects the ground forces fighting insurgents. I think everybody’s job here is important because what we do contributes to our overall mission. “With everybody doing their part over here, I believe peace, democracy and freedom are just around the corner. “Things aren’t easy over here and the days are sure long, but we are all proud to be a part of bringing democracy, freedom to Iraq, and helping the Iraqis.”

Help from home

“The Marines are motivated and morale is through the roof thanks to all of the support we receive from back home. All of your support is very important to us, and a lot of times it’s what gets us through the day.When everything is going wrong and it seems like the day can’t get any worse, it’s amazing what a letter or package from home can do. ... “Marines, soldiers, sailors and airmen are working hand in hand with the Iraqi people to build schools, pave roads and train police officers. In the process we’re reinstilling the citizens of Iraq with a sense of national pride that years of oppression had smothered. “This is all evidence that the work we are doing as American soldiers is bettering the lives of Iraqi citizens. “I am proud of the work we are doing here in Iraq, and I hope all of your readers are as well.”

Staff writer May Lee Johnson:

mjohnson@sbtinfo.com

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Not Your Daddy's Morse Code <br />
<br />
Monday, June 06, 2005 <br />
<br />
By Molly Bernhart <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
NEW YORK — The Navy (search) locator service once helped parents of servicemen reach their children. Now it only...

[thedrifter]

Marine Unit Sails From Flood to Desert to War to Home
Headed for Baghdad, members of the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit were diverted to fight a different enemy, the December tsunami.

By Tony Perry, Times Staff Writer


CAMP PENDLETON — Marines and sailors of the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit returned home Sunday after a six-month deployment that included patrolling the streets of Baghdad and protecting rural villagers from insurgent attacks.

But the unit's first direct action of the deployment was not in war-torn Iraq but rather on the tranquil island of Guam, where it conducted an assault on an Ace Hardware store.

The Navy flotilla carrying 2,200 Marines and sailors to the Persian Gulf was nearing Guam when word was relayed Dec. 26 that an earthquake and tsunami of unbelievably destructive proportions had just struck the Indian Ocean region.

The ships were ordered to Guam to take on supplies necessary for a massive rescue and cleanup mission to devastated areas of Indonesia and Sri Lanka.

Rather than wait for the normal supply system, the unit's commanding officer, Col. Tom Greenwood, ordered Marines to buy whatever was necessary from civilian stores on Guam.

That led to a high-speed shopping trip to Ace Hardware, where Marines bought more than $50,000 worth of lumber, carpentry tools, chain saws, tarps, shovels, wheelbarrows and other items.

"We cleaned out the shelves," said Capt. Jay Delarosa.

Within eight hours of arriving in Guam, the Marines were back at sea.

By New Year's Day, the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit had joined Marines dispatched from Okinawa to help the international humanitarian effort in the Indonesian cities of Banda Aceh and Meulaboh and the coastal communities of Sri Lanka.

Navy medical personnel put together an ad hoc clinic. Marines and sailors used helicopters and combat landing craft to bring 3.5 million pounds of supplies ashore — mostly rice, water and toilet paper.

Water purifiers provided by the Spanish government were maneuvered into position by U.S. helicopters.

Even military personnel hardened to battle damage were stunned by the extent of the destruction, particularly when viewed from the air.

"It looked like a Christmas village that some giant had stepped on," said Navy Lt. Cmdr. Eric Hoog, a Roman Catholic chaplain.

"The place was one gigantic swamp," said Lance Cpl. Dustin Folkes. "I never walked in so much water and mud."

The Marines were prepared to stay, but after several weeks, the Indonesian government, bowing to domestic political considerations, ordered foreign military personnel to leave.

"It was very frustrating initially," said Lt. Col. Matthew McEwen, executive officer of the Marine unit. "We could have done more for them."

Once they reached the Persian Gulf, the Marines went to Kuwait for a desert training exercise. Orders soon changed, and they were sent to Baghdad to reinforce troops from the Louisiana National Guard.

The shift from the safety of Kuwait to the ever-present danger of Iraq increased the anxiety of family members.

"When they call home, you try to stay brave and not cry until you get off the phone," said Jennifer Haynes, tightly embracing her newly returned husband, Sgt. Shannon Haynes.

Despite Iraqi duty, the 15th suffered no fatalities and only one moderate injury, a Marine wounded by shrapnel.

Marines say the swift shift from a humanitarian mission to war zone duty is proof of the flexibility of the expeditionary unit concept under which ship-borne troops are deployed for months, prepared to respond to a variety of duties.

"We're Marines," Delarosa said. "We do windows."

Ellie

[thedrifter]

In Iraq, Fallujah rises from the ashes of war <br />
By MICHAEL FUMENTO <br />
Guest Commentary <br />
<br />
CRITICS OF the attack on Fallujah last November often invoked the damning (and mythical) utterance from...

[thedrifter]

The Reality Gap
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary by William S. Lind

When people ask me what to read to find an historical parallel with America's situation today, I usually recommend J.H. Elliott's splendid history of Spain in the first half of the 17th century, The Count-Duke of Olivares: A Statesman in an Age of Decline. One of the features of the Spanish court in that period was its increasing disconnection with reality. At one point, Spain was trying to establish a Baltic fleet while the Dutch navy controlled the Straits of Gibraltar.

A similar reality gap leapt out at me from a story in the May 3 Washington Post, "Wars Strain U.S. Military Capability, Pentagon Reports." Were that the Pentagon's message, it would be a salutary one. But the real message was the opposite: no matter what happens, no one can defeat the American military. According to the Post,

The Defense Department acknowledged yesterday that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have stressed the U.S. military to a point where it is at higher risk of less swiftly and easily defeating potential foes, though officials maintained that U.S. forces could handle any military threat that presents itself . . .

The officials said the United States would win any projected conflict across the globe, but the path to victory could be more complicated.

"There is no doubt of what the outcome is going to be," a top defense official said. "Risk to accomplish the task isn't even part of the discussion."

It isn't, but it certainly should be. The idea that the U.S. military cannot be defeated is disconnected from reality.

Let me put it plainly: the U.S. military can be beaten. Any military in history could be beaten, including the Spanish army of Olivares's day, which had not lost a battle in a century until it met the French at Rocroi. Sooner or later, we will march to our Rocroi, and probably sooner the way things are going.

Why? Because war is the province of chance. You cannot predict the outcome of a war just by counting up the stuff on either side and seeing who has more. Such "metrics" leave out strategy and stratagem, pre-emption and trickery, generalship and luck. They leave out John Boyd's all-important mental and moral levels. What better example could we have than the war in Iraq, which the Pentagon was sure was over the day we took Baghdad? Can these people learn nothing?

The Post article suggests the reality gap is even greater than it first appears. It quotes the Pentagon's classified annual risk assessment as saying "that the risk is increased but is trending lower" - - as we prepare to attack Iran. It reports that the Army obtained less than 60% of the recruits it needed in April. Most strikingly, it says that so far in fiscal 2005, which is more than half over, the Army has trained only 7,800 new infantrymen. Fourth Generation war and urban warfare are above all infantry warfare. My guess is that our opponents in Iraq alone have probably recruited 7,800 new fighters in this fiscal year.

Why do our senior military leaders put out this "we can't be beaten" bilge? Because they are chosen for their willingness to tell the politicians whatever they want to hear. A larger question is, why do the American press and public buy it? The answer, I fear, is "American exceptionalism" - the belief that history's laws do not apply to America. Unfortunately, American exceptionalism follows Spanish exceptionalism, French exceptionalism, Austrian exceptionalism, German exceptionalism and Soviet exceptionalism.

Reality tells us that the same rules apply to all. When a country adopts a wildly adventuristic military policy, as we have done since the Cold War ended, it gets beaten. The U.S. military will eventually get beaten, too. If, as seems more and more likely, we expand the war in Iraq by attacking Iran, our Rocroi may be found somewhere between the Euphrates and the Tigris rivers.

William S. Lind, expressing his own personal opinion, is Director for the Center for Cultural Conservatism for the Free Congress

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Beaufort Marines Return Home
Paul Floeckher
WSAV News 3
Monday, June 6, 2005


Four-and-a-half-year-old Kaylub Finch and his three-year-old brother Korbin held a poster that said, "We Missed You Daddy!!" The two exclamation points were dotted with colorful hearts.

They waited anxiously with their mom, Kimberly Finch, at the Beaufort Marine Corps Air Station early Monday morning. Sgt. Shaun Finch was one of about 35 Marines coming home from a nearly seven-month deployment to Afghanistan.

"The wait was horrible," Kimberly Finch said.

Then the much-anticipated moment arrived. The troops from Marine Air Control Squadron Detachment 2 stepped off their airplane, and Sgt. Finch was greeted with big hugs from his wife and sons.

Asked if that moment was everything he thought it was going to be, Sgt. Finch replied, "Absolutely, if not more."

"It's a big relief that he came home," Kimberly said.

Sgt. Finch knows he missed a lot while he was gone. Every month is eventful when your children are four-and-a-half and three years old.

"It's amazing. They've gotten big, real big," he said. "I was very thankful that they did remember me and everything, and just glad that they came running to me and not any of the other camouflage guys."

So now the family is just anxious to make up for lost time.

"We'll go to the beach, play some ball, video games, whatever they want to do. I'm willing to do anything," Sgt. Finch said with a laugh.

This was Sgt. Finch's first deployment to Afghanistan. He called it "definitely an eye-opener."

After seeing the war-torn conditions over there, Sgt. Finch is even more thankful for what he has here.

"Family -- having her and them to come home to," he said, looking at his wife and children. "And everything else -- just freedom in itself."

The Marines were stationed at an air base in Kandahar, providing air defense for coalition ground troops.

Another group of Marines from this squadron is scheduled to deploy to Iraq in about a month-and-a-half. It will be the squadron's third deployment to Iraq -- along with three to Afghanistan -- since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

Ellie