Target Centermass

Category: Military

  • NATO Sets Training Goals for Iraqi Officers

    Well, it ain’t West Point, but it’s still seems pretty ambitious.

    The Iraqi military academy that NATO plans to set up outside Baghdad should be able to train about 1,000 officers a year, the alliance’s top commander in Europe said Thursday.

    U.S. Gen. James L. Jones said the training mission would likely be smaller than the 3,000 instructors, guards and support troops that his planners have set as a ceiling for the mission in Iraq.

    “Three thousand will be the maximum and it is going to be less than that, I think,” he told reporters at NATO’s military headquarters in southern Belgium. The number of actual instructors is expected to be around 350.

    Jones declined to speculate when the academy would be up and running. Allied military experts presented a detailed operational plan for expanding the training to the 26 allied nations this week but officials said it would likely take at least a couple of weeks before it is approved.

    The United States is pushing for the training center to be operational by the end of this year.

    Jones said at least 16 of the 26 allies had “indicated willingness to contribute troops inside Iraq” for the training mission.

    While the number of instructors may come in well under budget, savings better be allocated towards security, as this would seem a prime target for terrorists. However, an officer academy cannot be delayed from fear, as it is essential for the Iraqi people to continue their progress towards a professional, competent military supporting their pending democracy.

    In a somewhat unrelated aside, how long into the resurrection of the Iraqi government and military expertise do we begin working on the martial aspect needed for eventual success, aviation and air power abilities?

  • North Korea Times Four

    Just as Sept. 2 was Syria’s big news day on Target Centermass, so too is today a big day for North Korea, as news swarmed all around the dictatorship.

    First, its sister to the south is ratcheting up security on its border.

    South Korea is stepping up security along the Demilitarized Zone frontier with North Korea after a hole was found cut in a border fence, the South Korean Defense Ministry said on Tuesday.

    A ministry spokesman told a televised briefing the military could, if necessary, also mobilize reserve forces along the border, which is the most fortified frontier in the world. Any gap in the fence could mean North Korea agents have been infiltrated into the South.

    Because of this border breach, South Korea is also on the hunt for possible infiltrators from North Korea.

    South Korea imposed “Jindogye-1” around Yeoncheon, the highest level of vigilance the military can issue before an actual sighting of a communist infiltrator, said another ministry spokesman, who also refused to be named.

    Domestic media carried similar reports. Jindogye-1 reportedly requires military units to move troops for patrol and combat readiness. Soldiers also join police at checkpoints.

    Ministry officials refused to discuss details of the measures taken Tuesday.

    Police and soldiers tightened inspections in 54 checkpoints on the roads north of Seoul and established 16 temporary checkpoints, South Korea’s national news agency Yonhap reported.

    Meanwhile, the U.S. is working on a resumption of talks concerning North Korea’s nuclear weapons program.

    US Secretary of State Colin Powell has wrapped up a three-nation Asia tour after having won vows from China and Japan to press North Korea to resume stalled talks on its nuclear weapons programs.

    Powell met President Roh Moo-Hyun and other top officials on the last leg of a three-nation Asian tour aimed at forging a joint strategy with Tokyo, Beijing and Seoul to get Pyongyang to return to the table unconditionally.

    Despite success on his first two stops, North Korea shows no sign of dropping its boycott of the talks and is threatening to bolster its military deterrent to counter “hostile” US acts.

    As a show of force for North Korea’s sake, the U.S. and others are conducting a saber rattling by sea.

    Ships from Japan, the United States, Australia and France steamed out to sea under cloudy skies on Tuesday for Asia’s first naval exercise to clamp down on weapons of mass destruction, a drill that communist North Korea has called hostile and provocative.

    The Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) drill in waters off Tokyo is the 12th of its kind in the U.S.-led initiative but the first to be held in the backyard of North Korea, a clear focus of the exercise.

    ….

    “What we’re trying to do is safeguard our innocent civilians from rogue states and terrorist groups trying to acquire WMD (weapons of mass destruction),” [Washington’s main anti-proliferation point-man John] Bolton said as the ship headed for Sagami Bay southwest of Tokyo.

    “We’re sending a signal to everybody who wants to traffic in WMD that we have zero tolerance for that,” he added.

    The anti-proliferation initiative, under which ships and aircraft suspected of carrying weapons of mass destruction can be intercepted, has the support of more than 60 countries, although some legal experts say it could contravene international law.

    Regarding the talks, do not expect any budging on North Korea’s part until the U.S. presidential election is resolved and the commies see what they will be facing over the next four years. Will it be continued international pressure under Bush or bilateral talks (and probably another round of gifts and promises) with Kerry? Powell is playing the game he has to, but certainly he holds no hopes of progress before the electoral cloud has settled.

  • Iwo Jima, Covered by Today’s Media

    From Zell Miller, voicing an argument I’ve held repeatedly of the media and the Dems:

    What if today’s reporters had covered the Marines landing on Iwo Jima, a small island in the far away Pacific Ocean, in the same way they’re covering the war in Iraq? Here’s how it might have looked:

    DAY 1

    With the aid of satellite technology, Cutie Cudley interviews Marine Pfc. John Doe, who earlier came ashore with 30,000 other Marines.

    Cutie: “John, we have been told by the administration that this island has great strategic importance because if you’re successful, it could become a fueling stop for our bombers on the way to Japan. But, as you know, we can’t be sure this is the truth. What do you think?”

    Pfc. Doe: “Well, I’ve been pinned down by enemy fire almost ever since I got here and have had a couple of buddies killed right beside me. I’m a Marine and I go where they send me. One thing’s for sure, they are putting up a fight not to give up this island.”

    Cutie: “Our military analysts tell us that the Japanese are holed up in caves and miles of connecting tunnels they’ve built over the years. How will you ever get them out?”

    Pfc. Doe: “With flame throwers, ma’am.”

    Cutie (incredulously): “Flame throwers? You’ll burn them alive?”

    Pfc. Doe: “Yes ma’am, we’ll fry their asses. Excuse me, I shouldn’t have said that on TV.”

    Cutie (audible gasp): “How horrible!”

    Pfc. Doe (obviously wanting to move on): “We’re at war ma’am.”

    Go read the rest. It’s pathetically believable.

  • Post-Debate Aside on Defeatist Terminology

    While reading through other sites for their debate opinions, I came across this line from Blogs of War‘s live blogging by John Little:

    8:20pm CST – Is it just me or is “Win the peace” one of the most annoying phrases of all time.

    Well, I’ll rank it right up there with “exit strategy,” a phrase I’ve stated my opinion on previously.

    EDIT: Yes, you can plan to “win the peace,” you can plan on every single contingency. However, war is chaos and perfect planning for peace would require paralysis of action. The same with having an exit strategy short of absolute victory. Win the campaign, deal with the actual results; win the war, achieve the established goals and make the peace and exit strategy desired.

  • House Shreds Draft Legislation

    In a maneuver to quash the current draft rumors, the GOP leaders in the House of Representatives forced the proposed draft legislation to face a crushing vote.

    With the Internet abuzz with rumors that a military draft would be reinstated after the November election, House Republicans yesterday forced a surprise vote on the issue and blamed Democrats for scaring young people.

    “We’ll … see who trusts the volunteer military and who is practicing the dishonest politics of fear,” said House Majority Leader Tom DeLay in moving to get lawmakers on record on a bill by Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y. to revive the draft.

    ….

    The final vote was two “yeas” and 402 “nays”, with 29 members not voting.

    Even the primary sponsor of the legislation rallied against it.

    Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) did something a little unusual yesterday. First he protested when Republican leadership scheduled his own bill for a vote.

    Then he sent out a letter encouraging his Democratic colleagues to vote against it.

    Rangel’s bill, which the leadership had placed on the suspension calendar, would create a national-service draft under which all 18- to 26-year-olds would serve in the military or perform two years of national service as determined by the president. Rangel has been advocating a draft for several years, but he argued yesterday that the bill was too important for the suspension calendar, “which is reserved for non-controversial items,” he said in a statement.

    Bills on the suspension calendar cannot be amended on the floor and require two-thirds of the House to clear the chamber.

    Rangel accused Republicans of using his bill to assuage fears that President Bush had plans to reinstate the draft, stating, “The Republican leadership decision to place the draft legislation on the suspension Calendar is a political maneuver to kill rumors of the President’s intention to reinstate the draft after the November election.”

    He went on to urge Democrats running for reelection to vote no.

    “I am voting no, because my bill deserves serious consideration,” his statement continued.

    Rangel is wrong and his crap does not deserve even light-hearted consideration. His support for a draft is based exclusively on class politics, and he gave absolutely zero consideration to the best interests of the military when he proposed this legislation.

    As I pointed out when the Kerry-Edwards campaign first co-opted the internet draft rumors as part of their anti-Bush innuendo, the draft may well be needed again one day, possibly even in the war against the Islamist bastards. However, it is not needed now and there is never a justification for using fear tactics to politicize the military or our national defense interests. Rangel, Kerry and Edwards have been equally disgusting in this affair.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • U.S. to Enter Iraq No-go Zones

    Secretary of State Colin Powell has said the U.S. will soon move to put an end to the “no-go” zones that currently dot several areas in Iraq.

    The U.S. military in Iraq will move into insurgent-filled “no-go zones” to stabilize them in advance of elections in January, Secretary of State Colin Powell said Sunday.

    The Bush administration is hoping free elections will help stabilize the country and build a sense of legitimacy for the new government.

    Administration officials have acknowledged that violence in many parts of the country could make voting dangerous or perhaps even impossible in some places.

    This move, while needed for the long-term success of the Iraqi venture, will most assuredly be bloody and may have an impact on the November U.S. elections. That said, it needs to be done despite this danger for the Bush administration.

    “The major thrust of our political and military and diplomatic efforts over the next several months will be to make sure there are no ‘no-go zones,’” [Powell] added.

    U.S.-led forces have been avoiding those areas of Iraq.

    Powell said the military is putting together plans to “return these zones to government control.”

    The man in charge of winning the war in Iraq, Gen. John Abizaid of U.S. Central Command, said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that “we will have to fight our way all the way through elections.”

    He would not say where U.S. forces would go on the offensive.

    “We never want to tip off our hands about what we want to do,” he said. “It’s clear, however, that, through a combination of political and military action, we will do whatever is necessary to bring areas of Iraq under the control of the Iraqi government … by the January elections.”

    Best wishes to those men in uniform, be they American, Iraqi, or some of our other allies, in this endeavor. On a personal note, this is the kind of steadfastness I honestly don’t expect to see from a possible Kerry administration but it is exactly the kind needed in the long term for our nation’s security.

  • U.S. Navy to Deploy Ships Near N. Korea

    The AP is reporting that the first pieces of the U.S.’s planned defenses against a ballistic missile threat are readying to sail into place.

    In the first step toward erecting a multi-billion-dollar shield to protect the United States from foreign missiles, the U.S. Navy will begin deploying state-of-the-art destroyers to patrol the waters off North Korea as early as next week.

    The mission, to be conducted in the Sea of Japan by ships assigned to the Navy’s 7th fleet, will help lay the foundation for a system to detect and intercept ballistic missiles launched by “rogue nations.”

    Washington hopes to complete the network over the next several years.

    “We are on track,” Vice Admiral Jonathan Greenert, commander of the 7th Fleet, told The Associated Press in an interview Wednesday aboard the USS Coronado, which is based just south of Tokyo. “We will be ready to conduct the mission when assigned.”

    The deployment will be the first in a controversial program that is high on President Bush’s defense agenda. Bush cleared the way to build the system two years ago by withdrawing from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, which banned ship-based missile defenses.

    He said protecting America from ballistic missiles was “my highest priority as commander in chief, and the highest priority of my administration.”

    Cry not for the demise of the ABM Treaty, a piece of trash that only the good guys felt obliged to follow. The article goes on to detail criticism of the defense system on these vessels.

    The project — likened to hitting a bullet with a bullet, only at three times the speed — is exceedingly complex, prompting many critics to argue that it will never be reliable or effective. It is also expensive, with an estimated price tag of US$51 billion over the next five years.

    I see no validity in attacking the cost, especially if ones holds $51 billion to the cost of a successful missile strike on a major U.S. city. Also, I think “hit a bullet with a bullet” comparison is akin to saying there’s no point in attempting something difficult. I disagree with this and would rather put my faith in the growing might of our technology.

    Quite simply, a missile defense can be made to work. It won’t be easy, it won’t be fast, but it won’t be a waste to protect our homeland.

  • Good Luck, Greyhawk

    Happy dragon hunting, and best wishes to those you’re leaving.