Bouhammer's Military Blog

A blog about Military Issues, Afghanistan, and everything in between

Category Archives: Military Strategy

Why are members of Congress listening to idiots like Mike Yon?

I have been largely silent on the recent topic in the news about arming MEDEVACS and removing the red crosses painted on them. This all started with a self-loving douche named Mike Yon.

Let me be clear, Mike Yon was in the Army. He was in Special Forces for a short-time period. Actually his time in the Army was short. He also killed a man in bar-fight right after earning his Green Beret. Good for him for his short service, at least it was service. Shame on him for bringing embarrassment to the Army for killing a civilian in a bar-fight. He never served in combat, but that is ok. There are many that have never served in combat.

So lets look at these credentials. He knows good military training, from back in the day. He also knows how to take another person’s life, granted not for good or justifiable reasons.

He has also been dis-embedded from multiple units in Afghanistan and is pretty much not being allowed back into country now to embed with anyone. It could be because he crosses over to what could be considered as unethical stories. He has been accused of violating operational security. He has also lashed out at any military command that does not allow him to embed (he did this with the Navy after the Japan disaster and the Army multiple times).

But like I said at least he has served. He belongs to a long list of great people that have served this country. However serving does not make you above the law, or perfect, or right in every situation. Just ask Lynddie England, Timothy McViegh, or Bradley Manning. They all have served in the Army. Does that make them great people that deserve respect regardless of what they have done? I think not.

Anyway, for some reason Mike Yon who has never served in combat, but has embedded with many military units in combat is now a subject matter expert on the use of MEDEVACS and how they are marked and what their mission is in combat. I have never played professional football but I have been to many games and have hours playing EA’s Madden football game on my computer and Xbox. That does not make me subject matter expert on how to play or what it is like or what plays to call. Just an analogy there on how stupid it is for anyone to listen to Mike Yon and his full-of-shit opinion about strategy and doctrine. He is nothing more than an arm-chair general who thinks he is in the “know” and is so full of himself that if he could get through life with making love to himself, I think he would.  Continue reading →

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Its all political now

Back in 2001 when we went into Afghanistan, it was for a noble cause. We were attacked as a country and lost thousands of our citizens because Afghanistan allowed the terrorist to train and thrive there. After we eliminated the enemy we began the process of rebuilding the country. It has been decimated starting with the Soviet occupation and then after that as the Taliban took control.

From 2001-2012 we have lost thousands of America’s sons and daughters there, 1891 to be exact. They fell giving their lives for the security of our country and for the good of the Afghan people and the world. The cause of this war was just and appropriate. Regardless of what people feel about why we went to war with Iraq, the war in Afghanistan was warranted.

Photo Courtesy of Bigstockphoto.com

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A cut in pay leads to murder


The Afghan soldier who gunned down nine Americans in a shooting rampage at a military compound in Kabul last April targeted and killed his U.S. mentors after they took away his wings and cut his salary nearly in half because he was unable to learn English, a longtime colleague of the killer has told FoxNews.com.
A second Afghan airman, who was wounded in the April 27 attack, says the gunman, Col. Ahmed Gul, also intended to kill Afghans who were working with the Americans at the base at Kabul Airport. And he said he fears there will be more incidents like it as the war winds down.

Read more: www.foxnews.com/us/2012/01/26/exclusive-flunked-english-class-pay-cut-behind-afghans-shooting-rampage-at-us/#ixzz1kbHdWHGG

I can’t say this is much different from Americans. We hear all the time about fired disgruntled workers who go back into the workplace and gun down their managers, co-workers, etc.

What is surprising in this whole thing is that the Air Force just released their Special Investigation report into this incident and there was no mention of the cut in pay or flying status. Why would that be? It could be that none of it is true, or that it is but the Air Force for some reason is hiding that fact or did not want to make that known for some politically correct reason.

I would say that if this were true, it would be a prime motive of why COL Gul decided to murder. I would hope that the Air Force is not trying to hide this in order to hide the fact that as we mentor and train Afghans to do their jobs and secure their own country that we would and should be holding them accountable and thereby punishing them when needed.

I don’t mean to sound all conspiracy theorist here but lets just say I have seen more than my fair share of covering up of Afghan inadequacies and shortfalls by US military and civilian leadership.

Photo Courtesy of www.bigstockphoto.com

 

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Is NATO that stupid?

I have to wonder what elementary school drop-out is up at NATO running things and making decision? It does not take even a High-school diploma to figure out this is not a good idea or will turn out well.

Taliban militants, who have shunned violence, are being provided monthly cash incentive of £100, besides being given amnesty for all crimes such as murdering children, beheadings and hanging women.

“Members of the Taliban who give up their fight are being paid £100 a month and will be allowed to keep their guns in a new initiative to end the insurgency,” the Sunday Telegraph newspaper reported.

Paying the Taliban not to fight is like giving a rapist free hookers so he doesn’t rape innocent women. Sure it will accomplish what you want in the short term, but over time it will become too expensive and you make them dependent on you.

Once we cut off the payments then they will go back to doing what they have to in order to survive, which means attacking us or the Government of Afghanistan. You cannot buy your way out of a problem like this.

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Yeah we are screwed

The other day I put up a poll titled “Is our new stealth technology lost?” asking people to respond how bad the loss of the Sentinel stealth drone to Iran is to our country. Well I think now that the Iranians are showing the unmanned drone almost completely intact it is beyond being “really bad” and is more like “we are screwed”.

To read the story and see the video of the drone in Iran’s hands go check out www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-16098562

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Pakistani Taliban on the ropes?

I know it has been a while since I posted, but since the crazy Veterans Day weekend in Las Vegas I have been swamped with things on my plate and just physically unable to sit down and write. But now I am able to get back to some blogging and would like to start with this one. 

It seems from some recent stories coming out of overseas news outlets that the Taliban in Pakistan are starting to feel the pressure of US drone and Pakistan Army attacks.

Peshawar, Pakistan – After a deadly campaign of attacks, the Pakistani Taliban are weakened and exploring peace talks with authorities perceived as increasingly at odds with the United States, observers say.
Taliban commanders now say they have started initial talks with Islamabad, mediated by former army officials, in a move that could end years of “holy war” that saw 500 attacks killing more than 4 700 people, according to an AFP tally.
The army and the spokesman for the main umbrella Tehreek-e-Taliban faction, allied to al-Qaeda, strongly denied the claims and low-level violence continues on a near daily basis, as do clashes between troops and militants.
Any negotiations underway need to be taken with a large pinch of salt. Rebel factions are eclectic and nebulous and it remains unclear whether they are united enough to clinch a deal or how long any such deal would last.
Nevertheless, the rhythm of attacks has changed dramatically in Pakistan, with the death toll steadily diminishing in a pattern that continued after US Navy SEALs killed Osama bin Laden in the garrison city of Abbottabad on May 2.
Significantly, there has been no major Islamist militant attack in Pakistan since a suicide bomber killed 46 people at a funeral in the northwestern district of Lower Dir on September 15.
According to an AFP tally, around 800 people have been killed in bomb attacks so far this year, significantly fewer than the 1 360
killed in 2010.
About 556 people died in attacks in the six months before bin Laden was killed and 412 in the six months afterwards.
“TTP was at its peak in 2007-2008. But it has since been weakened and is divided,” said Saifullah Khan Mehsud, an analyst at the FATA Research Centre, a think tank dedicated to the Afghan border areas where Taliban are based.
In 2009, the Taliban marched to within 100 kilometres of the capital Islamabad, sending Western allies into a tailspin of panic, worried that Pakistan’s nuclear weapons could fall into rebel hands.
The army went on the offensive, local anti-Taliban militias proliferated and the rebels were pushed back into the mountains on the Afghan border. TTP founder Baitullah Mehsud was killed in a US drone strike in August 2009.
Islamist militants’ main base, the tribal district of North Waziristan, has been targeted for three years by US drone strikes which “kill TTP militants for the most part”, according to one frequent visitor to the district.
The army has also stepped up searches and checkpoints on the roads linking the semi-autonomous tribal zone to the rest of the country. More and more rebels are also reported to have fled into Afghanistan.
“It is much more difficult for militants to move around. Overall, their network has been disrupted,” said the frequent visitor to North Waziristan.
A number of observers also say the TTP is short of money. Two of its main sources of income – kidnappings for ransom and donations from local traders – have dried up.
Potential kidnapping victims are taking more precautions and people are less inclined to cough up cash when civilians are so often killed in their attacks. …

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Additional Campaign Phase Identified for Afghanistan Campaign Medal


     The Department of Defense announced today that an additional campaign phase has been approved for the Afghanistan Campaign Medal (ACM).   Accordingly, an additional campaign star corresponding to the campaign phase is now authorized for wear on the ACM.

     ACM campaign stars recognize a service member’s participation in DoD-designated military campaigns in the Afghanistan Campaign Medal’s area of eligibility.

     Service members who have qualified for the ACM may display a bronze campaign star on their medal for each designated campaign phase in which they participated. The stars are worn on the suspension and campaign ribbon of the campaign medal.

     The additional ACM campaign phase and associated dates are:

  • Transition I  July 1, 2011 through a date to be determined.

     The four previously approved ACM campaign phases are:

  • Liberation of Afghanistan – Sept. 11, 2001 to Nov. 30, 2001
  • Consolidation I – Dec. 1, 2001 to Sept. 30, 2006
  • Consolidation II – Oct. 1, 2006 to Nov. 30, 2009
  • Consolidation III – Dec. 1, 2009 through June 30, 2011.

      Service members should contact their respective military departments for specific implementation guidance.

 

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