tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4320479736034351430.post6560016694155361855..comments2023-10-03T07:01:41.144-05:00Comments on Always On Watch: Semper Vigilans: What's going on with our generals? Always On Watchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08192688822955022541noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4320479736034351430.post-43312582559035710322021-09-21T14:49:31.000-05:002021-09-21T14:49:31.000-05:00CI: I did note your comment. " Shed teats&quo...CI: I did note your comment. " Shed teats" was indeed a classic.Silverfiddlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13541652236676260219noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4320479736034351430.post-8987540091325664492021-09-21T14:05:54.744-05:002021-09-21T14:05:54.744-05:00Though there is robust debate within military circ...Though there is robust debate within military circles, we are actually fairly proficient in counter-insurgency tactics....far better at least, than in 2001.<br /><br />In fact, professional debates of late have centered around our relative lack of readiness to defend/defeat engagements with peer competitors.CIhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07261660740601698500noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4320479736034351430.post-90564984371933425522021-09-21T13:51:34.277-05:002021-09-21T13:51:34.277-05:00I'm just not sure we have a lot of options. I&...I'm just not sure we have a lot of options. I've argued here and elsewhere that if the "leaders" have issues, they need to resign <b>in the moment</b> or keep quiet.<br /><br />The Boltons, Kellys, et al of the Trump Admin have done America wrong, if they truly believed what they said after leaving the Admin, keeping quiet til the books came out, etc.<br /><br />That said, how should we fight wars these days?<br /><br />There is a group of Americans who believe we should bomb people back "to the stone age". And others who think we should be able to kill only the bad guys and never lose a civilian.<br /><br />I was disgusted to see the Kabul drone strike called a massacre in some news outlets. Was it bad? 100%. Was it intentional? Not at all like My Lai. My Lai was a massacre. Kabul, a cluster you know what.<br /><br />All that said, our military knows how to fight a war. We train them to kill and we can do it well. But that model seems designed for a massive attack on the US by a specific enemy whom we can identify and is led by a central authority.<br /><br />How do generals steeped in a hierarchy of fighting that does not exist, lead an army in the 21st Century and do it effectively?Dave Millerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16777087329254991970noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4320479736034351430.post-1755972793368812462021-09-20T23:07:54.296-05:002021-09-20T23:07:54.296-05:00Ducky are you equating Biden with Jim Jones?Ducky are you equating Biden with Jim Jones?EastBayLarryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03474580902467424920noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4320479736034351430.post-47936523765273166362021-09-20T21:34:06.926-05:002021-09-20T21:34:06.926-05:00So, we are left with an age old question: What do...<i>So, we are left with an age old question: What do senior generals do when handed an impossible mission cooked up by the ignorant fools appointed over them?</i><br /><br />Basic training should involve calling in artillery and airstrikes on obstacle courses that can't be walked around. (((Thought Criminal)))https://www.blogger.com/profile/17311656184275255223noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4320479736034351430.post-40630914847171826562021-09-20T18:01:15.684-05:002021-09-20T18:01:15.684-05:00The bureaucratic infighting has already begun on t...The bureaucratic infighting has already begun on the drone strike. CNN Reports:<br /><br /><b>CIA warned children were possibly present seconds before US missile killed 10</b><br /><br />I doubt we had the assets in place to get this right. We'll never know the truth...Silverfiddlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13541652236676260219noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4320479736034351430.post-346176833274782982021-09-20T14:25:37.249-05:002021-09-20T14:25:37.249-05:00What happens when you have a CIC who thinks the wo...What happens when you have a CIC who thinks the world is his own little Jonestown?Ducky's herehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14608115001116619877noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4320479736034351430.post-67894083442172309072021-09-20T10:40:55.780-05:002021-09-20T10:40:55.780-05:00The recent drone strike in AFG is a good example, ...The recent drone strike in AFG is a good example, but we have to remember that only certain strikes have POTUS level approval criteria [such as strikes against state-backed militia's in Iraq & Syria. That is rarely the case in AFG, though admittedly, I'm not aware if that GO/NO-GO decision process had changed during the withdrawal.<br /><br />Too often, when the general public rails against the upper echelons of the DoD, implying unprofessional subservience or insubordination to a political leader, it's without the benefit of knowledge of where actions reside in the chain of command.<br /><br />I know that you know how it usually works, but I shook my head and sighed when people came out of the woodwork and claimed - for example - that "Biden ordered X, Y or Z".....knowing that the delegated authority and decision point lay with someone like Gen McKenzie, ADM Vasely or MG Donohue.<br /><br />This does not excuse flag officers who have indeed lost their way, and forgotten their oath....but our public criticism would be much better informed if we had a media that sought to inform vice sensationalize.CIhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07261660740601698500noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4320479736034351430.post-9700583977302079842021-09-20T10:31:08.352-05:002021-09-20T10:31:08.352-05:00The line between projecting defense-in-depth.....a...The line between projecting defense-in-depth.....and inventing/inheriting fruitless and unsolvable international problems, has bedeviled nations since the epoch of foreign policy.<br /><br />Once civilian control of the military became SOP in industrialized and [relatively] free nations.....it only exacerbated the dilemma.CIhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07261660740601698500noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4320479736034351430.post-17080646725006881762021-09-20T10:27:46.271-05:002021-09-20T10:27:46.271-05:00Few could explain an officer’s duty better than Do...Few could explain an officer’s duty better than Douglas MacArthur, whose <i> Duty, Honor, Country</i> speech is a gemstone for understanding our expectations of military leaders. You can read MacArthur’s address here:<br /><br />https://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/douglasmacarthurthayeraward.html.<br /><br />It isn’t necessary to fawn over MacArthur; the man had his flaws (we all do), but we are foolish not to think about what he said on the eve of his retirement, particularly, “ ... an old soldier who tried to do his duty, as God gave him the light to see that duty.” Duty. Honor. Country. No military leader has an obligation to obey any order that they believe is unlawful or stupid. Of course, there are consequences to such refusals, but I am speaking now of duty vs. political favor or opportunity. I don’t know anything about what happened with Milley, beyond what I’ve read in the press. I’m not sitting in judgment. I’m simply suggesting that too many of our senior-most officers have forgotten (if they ever knew) what their duty requires of them. It requires unshakeable integrity. I fear that far too many of our flag officers have decided not to allow duty/integrity to get in the way of a much coveted promotion.<br /><br />The drone strike that killed ten Afghanis who, as it turned out were not Taliban — again, I have no facts — but if it is true that the military commander advised against the attack on the basis of his low confidence in available intelligence, but was ordered to proceed anyway, that commander had this option: “No sir. Not under my watch. If you insist, here’s my resignation.” That, IMO, would be a demonstration of courage under (political) fire. I think it would be far easier to live with oneself having refused to obey a stupid order than to live with the consequences of killing innocents. To answer your question, then, “What’s going on with our generals?” — They are failing to do their duty. Mustanghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06388694472897425202noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4320479736034351430.post-48458103971273263802021-09-20T10:20:54.415-05:002021-09-20T10:20:54.415-05:00As always, in this hyperpartisan environment, almo...As always, in this hyperpartisan environment, almost all commentary is now shaded and tainted by partisan ideology. That is why I included that Yahoo article the basically says what CI linked to. That Millie didn't just make that phone call on his own, he was following orders<br /><br />As I said, I didn't write this to damn any of those men. My point really was summed up in the last short paragraph. It's an eternal question that will never be solved. ImoSilverfiddlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13541652236676260219noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4320479736034351430.post-49660123385963665202021-09-20T08:53:56.770-05:002021-09-20T08:53:56.770-05:00An interesting article that considers the catalyst...An interesting article that considers the catalyst for Milley contacting his Chinese counterpart, having been instigated by civilian leadership [Esper]:<br /><br /><i>Jonathan Swan of Axios is inarguably one of the most respected reporters in Washington today. He is trusted across parties and has incredible sources. According to his reporting, Trump’s secretary of defense, Mike Esper, received intelligence reports the Chinese expected Trump to attack. According to Swan, Esper knew the Chinese intelligence was flawed and feared they might make a preemptive strike of their own.<br /><br />Esper requested his deputies use back channels to ensure the Chinese knew we knew what their intelligence said and that their intelligence was wrong. Esper further ordered a postponement of some American naval activities in the Pacific so the Chinese did not get spooked. Milley was one of the people who worked back channels to defuse the situation.</i><br /><br />https://tinyurl.com/fueaatewCIhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07261660740601698500noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4320479736034351430.post-72632122332263566062021-09-20T07:50:47.660-05:002021-09-20T07:50:47.660-05:00What do senior generals do when handed an impossib...<i>What do senior generals do when handed an impossible mission....</i><br /><br />Advise civilian leadership, offer alternative course of action, mitigate adverse consequences.....dust off their resume.<br /><br />The American Mind OpEd is a level of hyperbolic garbage unfit for birdcage lining...but it will appeal to the emotionally driven, low-information reader that seems to make up a large majority of the electorate.CIhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07261660740601698500noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4320479736034351430.post-62464097751117929262021-09-20T06:52:44.540-05:002021-09-20T06:52:44.540-05:00What do senior generals do when handed an impossib...<i>What do senior generals do when handed an impossible mission cooked up by the ignorant fools appointed over them?</i><br /><br />Resign, is what they SHOULD do.Thersiteshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15751286903359745316noreply@blogger.com