Old_Trapper70
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Dec 17, 2014
- Messages
- 2,383
When trying to assess the condition of our military one has to take several factors into consideration. While the numbers of those who are serving has declined from 1.4 million to 1.3 million, the numbers of special op “seek and kill, or capture” troops has expanded from 40,000 to 70,000. And the deployments have vastly increased as have the numbers killed, and the numbers of suicide.
And while some of the increase in utilizing these troops must fall upon Bush43, and Obama, it is now the responsibility of trump, and he is not reducing the use of special ops, he is increasing their use, and their numbers. This is leading to more battle fatigue among these elite troops, less tactical information given to them for their actions, and a Congress that is kept in the blind about what is happening.
From the article in general there were three discussions that were troubling to me.
http://time.com/5042700/inside-new-american-way-of-war/
The first was this topic. First off, if the Republicans were to be consistent they would be demanding an investigation of this matter just as they are still insisting one be made into Benghazi. Why were there no support contingencies for these troops? Why was there not accurate information? Why were they not adequately armed? Why did Congress not even know this was a theater of operation?
“The convoy of weather-beaten trucks and Toyota Land Cruisers kicked up dirt as it streaked across the wooded West African terrain toward the hazy horizon. A joint team of 12 U.S. Army Special Forces and 30 Nigerien troops were making the trek back to base after a two-day reconnaissance mission to a remote area along Niger’s border with Mali.
The weary commandos had just spoken to elders near the village of Tongo Tongo after sifting through a deserted campsite, seeking intelligence on an elusive terrorist operative. But it was a dry hole; whoever was there had since moved along. As the mid-morning sun bore down, the commandos settled in for the 110-mile drive.
Then gunfire erupted. About 50 militants on motorcycles and in trucks swarmed the convoy, pinning it down. Unable to advance or retreat–to “get off the X” in military parlance–the Special Forces took incoming fire from rocket-propelled grenades and mortars. Over two hours of fighting led to the deaths of four U.S. soldiers.
When news of the Oct. 4 ambush broke, the reaction in Washington was shocked surprise. What were Special Forces doing in Niger in the first place? And why did the U.S. military have a dozen of its most elite, highly trained soldiers in a country that most Americans couldn’t find on a map and where the U.S. is not known to be at war?......”
Here is the second question. Home for 89 days out of 9 years? Give me a break. Congress, and the military, should be ashamed of themselves for this. I can guarantee you that none of them have so little time at home.
“U.S. Army Command Sgt. Maj. Chris Faris’ daughter stood in his bedroom doorway and demanded an answer. It was 2009, and Faris was packing his bags for yet another six-month deployment to Afghanistan. With her 18th birthday approaching, she asked if he remembered the last birthday he was present for. “No,” Faris replied. “I was 10,” she said, and turned and walked out the door.
A former member of the Army’s secretive Delta Force, he had no fixed deployment cycle. Between 2002 and 2011, Faris estimates he was home a total of 89 days. The rest of the time he was on constant covert kill-or-capture operations around the world. While the manhunting campaigns were viewed as a success in the field, they were less so on the home front. Faris couldn’t sit at the dinner table and tell his family how his workday went. Nor could he take seriously the trivial, everyday problems that annoyed his wife and kids. “What are you going to do? Come home and say: ‘We killed another 25, 30 people. We captured another 50,'” Faris says. “I mean, that went on every single night for years.” Faris’ wife said he became more like a guest in their house. The distance pushed them to the brink of divorce.......”
Trump promised (although we know he lies about everything) that he was going to build up the military. Instead he has expanded their operations, and plans on doing even more. And again he is allowing operations based on sheer ignorance as in the Tongo-Tongo event. And a large number of these incursions are ending in failures.
“The expansion has continued under Trump. One of the first moves the Republican made in office was to loosen the reins on the operations that commandos could purse in Yemen. In his first week, he authorized a raid on an al-Qaeda compound in the country, but the predawn operation with forces from the United Arab Emirates went bad. The militants were prepared and took up arms, and the SEALs had to fight their way out. Navy SEAL Chief Special Warfare Operator William “Ryan” Owens, 36, died. Three other service members were injured in the raid. More than a dozen civilians were killed as well. Two months later, Trump signed off on an aggressive campaign against al-Shabab militants in Somalia, in East Africa. Navy SEAL Senior Chief Special Warfare Operator Kyle Milliken, 38, was killed and two other SEALs were wounded in a May 5 raid.
Special Operations forces now make up nearly all U.S. combat casualties, despite making up less than 5% of the total force. Commandos died in greater numbers than conventional forces for the first time in 2016. And again in 2017.......”
And while some of the increase in utilizing these troops must fall upon Bush43, and Obama, it is now the responsibility of trump, and he is not reducing the use of special ops, he is increasing their use, and their numbers. This is leading to more battle fatigue among these elite troops, less tactical information given to them for their actions, and a Congress that is kept in the blind about what is happening.
From the article in general there were three discussions that were troubling to me.
http://time.com/5042700/inside-new-american-way-of-war/
The first was this topic. First off, if the Republicans were to be consistent they would be demanding an investigation of this matter just as they are still insisting one be made into Benghazi. Why were there no support contingencies for these troops? Why was there not accurate information? Why were they not adequately armed? Why did Congress not even know this was a theater of operation?
“The convoy of weather-beaten trucks and Toyota Land Cruisers kicked up dirt as it streaked across the wooded West African terrain toward the hazy horizon. A joint team of 12 U.S. Army Special Forces and 30 Nigerien troops were making the trek back to base after a two-day reconnaissance mission to a remote area along Niger’s border with Mali.
The weary commandos had just spoken to elders near the village of Tongo Tongo after sifting through a deserted campsite, seeking intelligence on an elusive terrorist operative. But it was a dry hole; whoever was there had since moved along. As the mid-morning sun bore down, the commandos settled in for the 110-mile drive.
Then gunfire erupted. About 50 militants on motorcycles and in trucks swarmed the convoy, pinning it down. Unable to advance or retreat–to “get off the X” in military parlance–the Special Forces took incoming fire from rocket-propelled grenades and mortars. Over two hours of fighting led to the deaths of four U.S. soldiers.
When news of the Oct. 4 ambush broke, the reaction in Washington was shocked surprise. What were Special Forces doing in Niger in the first place? And why did the U.S. military have a dozen of its most elite, highly trained soldiers in a country that most Americans couldn’t find on a map and where the U.S. is not known to be at war?......”
Here is the second question. Home for 89 days out of 9 years? Give me a break. Congress, and the military, should be ashamed of themselves for this. I can guarantee you that none of them have so little time at home.
“U.S. Army Command Sgt. Maj. Chris Faris’ daughter stood in his bedroom doorway and demanded an answer. It was 2009, and Faris was packing his bags for yet another six-month deployment to Afghanistan. With her 18th birthday approaching, she asked if he remembered the last birthday he was present for. “No,” Faris replied. “I was 10,” she said, and turned and walked out the door.
A former member of the Army’s secretive Delta Force, he had no fixed deployment cycle. Between 2002 and 2011, Faris estimates he was home a total of 89 days. The rest of the time he was on constant covert kill-or-capture operations around the world. While the manhunting campaigns were viewed as a success in the field, they were less so on the home front. Faris couldn’t sit at the dinner table and tell his family how his workday went. Nor could he take seriously the trivial, everyday problems that annoyed his wife and kids. “What are you going to do? Come home and say: ‘We killed another 25, 30 people. We captured another 50,'” Faris says. “I mean, that went on every single night for years.” Faris’ wife said he became more like a guest in their house. The distance pushed them to the brink of divorce.......”
Trump promised (although we know he lies about everything) that he was going to build up the military. Instead he has expanded their operations, and plans on doing even more. And again he is allowing operations based on sheer ignorance as in the Tongo-Tongo event. And a large number of these incursions are ending in failures.
“The expansion has continued under Trump. One of the first moves the Republican made in office was to loosen the reins on the operations that commandos could purse in Yemen. In his first week, he authorized a raid on an al-Qaeda compound in the country, but the predawn operation with forces from the United Arab Emirates went bad. The militants were prepared and took up arms, and the SEALs had to fight their way out. Navy SEAL Chief Special Warfare Operator William “Ryan” Owens, 36, died. Three other service members were injured in the raid. More than a dozen civilians were killed as well. Two months later, Trump signed off on an aggressive campaign against al-Shabab militants in Somalia, in East Africa. Navy SEAL Senior Chief Special Warfare Operator Kyle Milliken, 38, was killed and two other SEALs were wounded in a May 5 raid.
Special Operations forces now make up nearly all U.S. combat casualties, despite making up less than 5% of the total force. Commandos died in greater numbers than conventional forces for the first time in 2016. And again in 2017.......”
