Target Centermass

Author: Gunner

  • Farewell, 49th Lone Star

    49th AD Lone StarEvery unit patch I wore on the left arm of my BDUs is now officially a memory.

    During my nine-year enlistment in the Army National Guard, I wore two unit patches on my BDUs (granted, it should’ve been three, but my time officially drilling as a member of the D.C. Guard was so brief I never received the Capitol Guardians patch). When I signed up in 1990, the Texas Guard had seven M60-A3 battalions, five in the 49th Lone Star Armored Division and two joined with the New Jersey Guard in the 50th AD. My unit, HHC 7/112th AR, was part of the 50th.

    In 1993, the Texas Guard upgraded to M1s but also, as part of the general post-Cold War reduction in force, was reduced to five battalions, all part of the 49th AD. My unit served temporarily as HHC 5/112 before becoming HHC 4/112 AR. Shortly after my return from D.C., I transferred to a line company to become a gunner on an old buddy’s tank. I served out the remainder of my time, including an extended enlistment, in D Co, 5/112 AR. I left the Guard in April 1999. Immediately after that year’s annual training period, D Co was done away with as part of an across-the-board restructuring of armored battalions. My last unit was no more.

    Now, albeit well past the actual occurence, I’ve recently found out that the 49th AD is also no more.

    “We are transforming our Army to better meet the demands of the 21st century,” said Acting Secretary of the Army Les Brownlee. “Today’s re-flagging from the 49th Armored Division to the 36th Infantry Division is representative of these changes.”

    Brownlee and Texas Gov. Rick Perry attended the unit’s re-flagging ceremony, resulting in the National Guards’ loss of all armored divisions. The Guard Soldiers stood reverently as their commanders changed colors July 18 on Camp Mabry’s parade field in Austin, Texas.

    “Transformation is not new to our Army or the Texas National Guard,” said Maj. Gen. Michael H. Taylor, commander of the 36th Inf. Div. “We’ve transformed many times in the past 200 years, especially since World War II. Our job is to stand ready, leave our family and our jobs, augment the active forces to serve our nation. It’s what we do.”

    The 49th was organized after World War II. Since then, it has supported the Berlin crisis, operations in Bosnia, Operation Nobel Eagle and Operation Enduring Freedom.

    The 36th “Texas Division” was originally established at Camp Bowie, Fort Worth, Texas, prior to World War I with units formed from Texas and Oklahoma. The patch is a “T” in front of an arrowhead.

    “It is a patch worn by thousands before you who stood steadfast for freedom, who placed themselves in harms way for liberty and life,” said Perry.

    The 36th Soldiers fought in World War I and it was the first American combat division to land in Europe during World War II. The unit was deactivated in 1968 as part of the Department of the Army program to reduce the number of division-size units.

    “Tough days lie ahead,” Perry said. “The work of freedom is a tough duty. But we must keep our eyes on the goal and remember the reason that you set out.”

    By next year, about 4,000 36th Inf. Div. Soldiers will be in Iraq.

    “Places change, soldiering stays the same,” said Taylor.

    Yes, the 36th ID has a great and storied history. Yes, I may still go back and, if so, I’ll be proud to wear the patch of the 36th. Still, I’ll miss the 49th AD. Farewell, Lone Star.

  • Italians Fall out of Love with ‘Two Simonas’

    The words and actions of the two recently-released Italian hostages have quickly splintered a fawning Italian public.

    Italy’s adoration of the “two Simonas”, the women aid workers abducted in Iraq, began to sour yesterday, as the extent of their sympathy for the Iraqi fight against the allied occupation became clear.

    In their first big interviews given since their release in return for a reported $1 million ransom on Tuesday, Simona Pari and Simona Torretta, both 29, gave their backing to insurgents opposing the allied forces.

    ….

    [Pari said,] “If you ask me about terrorism, I’ll tell you that there is terrorism and there is resistance. The resistance struggle of people against an occupying force is guaranteed by international law.”

    The women’s comments are likely to cause renewed anger in government circles, following their call soon after their release for Italy’s peacekeeping forces to be withdrawn.

    ….

    After they were taken hostage on Sept 7, the two Simonas achieved iconic status in Italy and the conservative government and the opposition put aside their differences to work together for the women’s release.

    But as the Turin newspaper La Stampa said yesterday, national unity has been short lived since their arrival home, wearing kaftans and thanking their captors in Arabic for their release before the cameras of the Al-Jazeera stellite television network.

    When these two were first seized, I pointed out that an al-Jazeera article showed that these two had been specifically targeted. The reason was not immediately obvious. It now is — the terrorists knew they were potentially valuable as mouthpieces for Islamist villainy. Shrewd … and accurate.

  • Britain Extends Citizenship to Gurkhas

    In a move in the well-earned right direction, the Brits have offered serious hope and recognition to some of the globe’s truest warriors:

    Britain has extended full citizenship rights to Gurkha soldiers from Nepal who serve in the British armed forces, Prime Minister Tony Blair has said.

    “The Gurkhas have served this country with great skill, courage and dignity during some of the most testing times in our history,” Blair said.

    “They have made an enormous contribution not just to our armed forces but to the life of this country, and it is important their commitment and sacrifice is recognised,” he said Thursday.

    Gurkhas and their supporters have been trying for three years to publicly shame the British government with the charge it treats these soldiers as good enough to die for Britain, but not good enough to become citizens.

    The announcement that most Gurkha soldiers have won the right to become British citizens follows an 18-month review by Britain’s Home Office and the Foreign Office.

    Gurkhas said they could not wholeheartedly welcome the move because the new provision will apply only to those who were discharged from the forces after July 1, 1997, meaning that around 100 of the estimated 400 Gurkhas currently resident in Britain will not be eligible.

    The Gurkhas have been stout, gallant combatants for the Crown for a long, long time. This is a huge step, but more is needed for these proud warriors and their amazing history.

  • First Debate Analysis

    As I had hoped, Vodkapundit live-blogged the debate. As expected, he made several points with which I agree, and I’ll quote generously from him later.

    First, I didn’t actually live blog, but I did type up ongoing notes, punctuated with an occasional timestamp and comment. I’ve stripped out those portions from my notes to present my personal first debate skeleton.

    8:04 — Initial thought: Kerry doesn’t look orange.

    8:07 — Bush dodges a softball question, one where he had a golden opportunity to correct the misconception about Cheney’s statement.
    On the other hand, Kerry misses a chance to take advantage of this in his rebuttal. [Left this in just because missed opportunities seemed a prolonged theme of the evening]

    8:10 — Kerry states goal is Osama bin Laden. Wrong. It’s more than one man.

    8:24 — So far no discernable important moments.

    8:47 — So far Kerry’s performing better. But a performer ain’t necessarily a leader.

    8:51 — Man, November 3 can’t get here fast enough.

    9:02 — Just cracked my first beer. Went to the fridge, grabbed a Miller Lite, opened it and drank. Practically all during one of Bush’s pauses.

    9:10 — Well, only twenty more minutes, and then the spin can really begin.

    9:20 — All right! Last question.

    9:30 — Initial final impression, no clear winner without the effect of spin applied afterward. Which means a win for Bush.

    Now, to lift some greatness from the VodkaDude, all of which tie to some of my notes:

    “Osama bin Laden doesn’t determine American policy,” or words to that effect. Not well delivered, but the words themselves were perfect.

    ….

    7:45pm. Here’s what we have so far. Kerry is an impressive attack machine. Bush impressively refuses to budge. If I had to guess, the question most viewers will ask is, “In time of war, do I want the debate team captain, or the guy he can’t move?”

    7:48pm. “I will hunt and kill the terrorists wherever they are.” That’s the second (third?) time Kerry has used that line, and it’s a loser. For Kerry, it’s a promise. For Bush, it’s a perceived fact.

    7:50pm. Kerry is hedging, in a nuanced fashion, his promise to withdraw troops. It’s a MEGO moment, and even a junky like me is getting lost in his answer. On the other hand, I’m drinking.

    ….

    7:57pm. We’re almost to the two-thirds mark now, and it looks like a draw. A draw is a loss for Kerry, for reasons I’ll get into around midnight or so Eastern Time.

    ….

    I’m bored with both of these guys, and have been almost from the start. But Kerry just annoys me. And he thinks he’s going to win me over by complaining we aren’t TALKING to North Korea? What’s there to talk about? Clinton exhausted talk with them ten years ago. And what did it get us?

    ….

    8:17pm. Methinks he doth protest too much. Kerry, for the umpteenth time tonight, has said he’s never wavered on Iraq. The record says different and, even if it didn’t, that windsurfing TV ad makes it the public perception.

    ….

    Last question, and neither guy has flubbed anything.

    Some other thoughts from my own hastily-typed notes:

    • I’ll have to check a transcript but I transcribed that Kerry said, “We’ve got weapons of mass destruction crossing the border every day.” If so, where does that leave his no-wmd-wrong-war stance?
    • Bush had an excellent line about knowing when to bring home the troops: “I don’t want to do so for the sake of bringing them home; I want to do so because they’ve achieved their objective. … Artificial deadlines won’t work.”
    • Kerry repeatedly stated the war was wrong. However, when confronted with his “last man to die for a mistake” quote, he acted as if it wasn’t a mistake and we had to stay there. Well, which is it?
    • Kerry is certainly a fan of summits. My impression is that Bush will have them as needed, but Kerry will apparently wallow in them.
    • Kerry should not bring up his protesting of Viet Nam, especially not in a positive light. He is only opening himself up to the Swifties’ POW attacks.
    • Another great Bush line (possibly paraphrased): “That’s totally absurd. You can’t expect to build an alliance when you denigrate the allies standing side by side with our troops in Iraq.’
    • A third great Bush quote: “Every life is precious. That’s what distinguishes us from the enemy.”
    • Another thing I need to check the transcript on: I typed that, as a means of bringing in more allies to the coalition, Kerry said he would’ve taken time to ask other nations what it would take, what he could offer or give to get them on board. And he condemned our current allies as the “coerced and bribed?!!”
    • Fourth great Bush line (again, possibly paraphrased): “Trying to be popular in the global sense, when it’s not in our best interest, makes no sense.”
    • On the question of greatest danger facing the U.S., Bush repeatedly tied WMD-proliferation to terrorists, Kerry merely repeatedly cited nuclear proliferation. A bit of the old unilateral-freeze peacenik shining through? The Bush campaign could exploit this, though it should be done delicately.
    • Thank you, Mr. President, for publicly tying the Beslan massacre to the global war on terror.
    • Kerry actually had the balls to say, “We always have to stand up for democracy.” Ask the victims of the fall of South Veit Nam about that. Ask the Nicaraquans, whose fight for democracy Kerry tried to impair. Ask the Iraqis to match that quote with Kerry’s wrong-war crap.

    In summation, Kerry looked, acted and debated better. Bush was right. Style vs. substance, historical mistakes and newfound stances vs. established views and a track record of decisive leadership.

    The American public has been fooled before, but I hope not this time. The stakes are too high.

  • Initial First Debate Thoughts

    Kerry performed better, but no knockout blows. Kerry had to win the debate and not just the show, though. There were no major gaffes by either Kerry or Bush, and that still leaves Bush in the lead.

    Bush most assuredly had more of the message I wanted to hear. By a long shot.

    More analysis to follow.

  • Welcome to DFW, Hugh

    Just back from a day spent away from reality, gorging myself on junkfood at the State Fair of Texas.

    Before I go surfing around for news, I wanted to point out that I’ve found a new talk radio station has launched in the Dallas area, KSKY 660 AM. To my surprise, the station is carrying the Hugh Hewitt show. Not the greatest time slot (8-11 p.m.), but a big plus for the DFW airwaves.

  • Female Italian Captives Freed, Possibly Ransomed

    It seems the story of the deaths of two Simonas was greatly exaggerated. The pair of Italian women, held hostage since Sept. 7, are now home free.

    Two Italian women aid workers held hostage in Iraq for three weeks have returned home to cheers and tears, with Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi leading the welcome party at Rome’s Ciampino airport.

    Simona Pari and Simona Torretta were freed by their Iraqi captors earlier on Tuesday and were immediately whisked by plane back to Italy, where they have unwittingly become national heroines thanks to their ordeal.

    News of their release sparked scenes of joy across the country, while Italian and world leaders breathed a sigh of relief that the crisis had ended without bloodshed.

    When the women were first seized, I posted a handful of possible outcomes, including the following:

    The Italian government may have to make some hard choices – bail out of the war, deal with the scumbags, or stand firm and risk the lives of women, possibly leading to an upheaval on the home front….

    I then concluded that there may end up being no winners and a “quick release is the only way to prevent losses for all involved.”

    Well, it seems that the Italian government did end up having to face those hard choices and, according to the Reuters article, apparently decided on dealing with the Islamist bastards.

    A Kuwaiti daily said earlier on Tuesday the women’s captors had agreed to free them for a $1 million (550,000 pounds) ransom.

    An Italian political source told Reuters a ransom was paid but it was less than $1 million. Berlusconi himself made no mention of a ransom when he announced the release of the two women to parliament.

    He said the secret services had located their whereabouts earlier this week, but rather than risk using violence to secure their release, the Italian government had preferred to negotiate.

    Italy bought temporary peace at home and secured a far better deal than the Philippines managed in their $6 million wimp-out. One has to ask, though, at what future price? How many deaths can be financed with this ransom?

    Italy is still in the game, but they just handed a lot of chips to the bad guys playing by a different, ruthless set of rules.

  • Abducted CNN Producer Released

    Let me take a moment to pat my own back. Last night, after CNN producer Riad Ali was kidnapped by Palestinian bandits, I posted the following:

    First, Hamas and the Palestinian Authority have to disavow involvement and, if it turns out they have any influence on these bandits, will work to ensure a safe and quick release. They have to avoid biting the hand that feeds them which, in this case, is a friendly international media.

    Today, CNN is reporting that Ali has been set free by his captors.

    CNN producer Riad Ali was released Tuesday, almost 24 hours after he was abducted by armed gunmen, and is now in the custody of Palestinian police.

    ….

    Shortly before his release, a videotape surfaced in which Ali explained he was being held by the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, a militant offshoot of Arafat’s Fatah movement.

    I called it, but it seemed pretty obvious, to be honest.

  • A Worthy Request of Bloggers

    Greyhawk has gone to war. Now, Mrs. Greyhawk has asked a favor

    I call to my fellow bloggers to do what the mainstream media refuse to do, and that is to report the truth about the success of rebuiling Iraq.

    ….

    You know, my husband is over there and seeing that he may be limited to what he can read, I sure don’t want him to read something that makes him feel his efforts are in vain.

    And what of the Iraqi People? If all they see and read focuses almost exclusively on the violence without reports of the monumental progresses being made, what will they think? How will they have the courage to fight the insurgents (terrorist) if they have no hope. If you watch the satellite channels from Arab countries you would imagine there’s no rebuilding going on at all. This is encouraging terrorists and demoralizing those who supported democracy.

    Where does the Blogshere come in? A place to start would be this blog “Chrenkoff“, a Polish Australian blogger who compiles a periodic roundup of “good news from Iraq.”
    Link him, better yet post good news you find on your blog as often as possible, photos a plus. Our soldiers lives and the state of Iraq could depend on it.

    Target Centermass is young and barely visited, but I will do what I can for this good cause. At least I’ll try, which is what our country has asked of Greyhawk (on a vastly different scale, of course). I plan on revising my blogroll in the next day or two, and Chrenkoff is among those to be added.

  • Quote of the Week, 27 SEP 04

    Okay, it obviously won’t always be on Sunday, but here’s this week’s quote.

    Victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory however long and hard the road may be; for without victory there is no survival.

    —Winston Churchill