A Fighting Force of One?

"When people struggle to make sense of why the United States still isn’t winning the war in Afghanistan after 16 years, they often blame the rules of engagement, which dictate when, and at what, soldiers can shoot. American troops are some of the most highly trained and best-equipped warriors on the planet. They have enormous firepower at their disposal. They have helicopters, gunships, drones, night-vision, and MOABs. Their adversaries wear sandals into battle. Yet somehow, the U.S. military seems even further from victory over the Taliban now than it was when NATO first drove the group from Kabul in 2001."

-- Adam Linehan, "Task & Purpose" journalist 

- October 04, 2017

Due to the subject matter, I've opted to leave God out of this one.

A while back, mid-2014, I was in a nightclub at two in the morning.  I'm never in a nightclub, especially at two in the morning.  My reasons will become evident.  I was talking with several, very young, military enlisted troops that were three sheets to the wind - polluted.  But, being so, this made them perfect candidates for "intelligence" gathering as alcohol in large quantities loosens the tightest lips if you know how to manipulate a conversation.  Unfortunately, the only thing I learned from them, this night, was about fear.  This is what I found out.

They're scared.  They are very concerned about what they might be called up to face overseas.  These are supposed to be part of the strongest, best-equipped fighting force in the world and they are scared and concerned.  "Best equipped" has little to do with mental preparedness.  They're scared of the sociopathic insanity the current spate of terrorists has to offer, and they're concerned because the military isn't mentally preparing them to deal with it.  These boys are going into a war zone they feel ill-prepared to handle, and I wasn't surprised to hear it.  Few were prepared for Vietnam, in the 60s, over 50 years ago.  Not much seems to have changed.  The enemy is now totally insane, and we had ridiculous "rules of engagement" we were ordered to adhere to.  We were putting forth a kinder, gentler, face in lieu of the "shock and awe" which combat demands.  For me, kinder and gentler meant dropping a tactical nuclear weapon to prevent the senseless American deaths which these so-called "rules" were going to create.

When you're wounded and left on Afghanistan's plains,

And the women come out to cut up what remains,

Jest roll to your rifle and blow out your brains 

An' go to your Gawd like a soldier.

-- Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936), from "The Young British Soldier"

One of them looked me square in the eyes, well, as best he could considering he was seeing several of me.  He asked me, "What are we supposed to do, Sarge?  How do we handle the fear?"  How the hell would I know?  This is why I went into the intelligence field.  I took ol' "Blood & Guts" Patton at his word.  I wanted to make the other poor, dumb, bastard die for his country, preferably after some good old fashioned interrogation, and perhaps some torture. 

This is where I said something stupid that put the young troop right up in my grill.  I very calmly said, "You have to let it go.  Let go of the fear or it will consume you."  To which he rightly responded, "What the f*** kind of advice is that?"  He was shaking with anger, frustration, and, of course, fear.  He deserved to be; he was a kid and I was old enough to be his grandfather.

And now I going to be pretty blunt and piss a lot of people off that read my blog.  I do so without apology.  As I remind you at the end of each of my posts, this is an opinion.  It is supposed to piss you off and make you think.  Whether you agree or disagree is not important to me, however, it should be very important to you.

Men historically went to war because we were stronger physically, and emotionally, to handle everything it had to throw at us.  We buried what we saw, along with most of our comrades, and came home to pick up our lives and move on.  We didn't talk about what happened, what we saw, what we did, that was the stuff of movies and newsreels.  It was horrible.  Vietnam was more horrible.  Iraq was bad, Isis was worse, and fighting in Afghanistan, well, the British troops learned many lessons during the Second Anglo-Afghan War (1878-1880), and probably the First and Third as well.  Rudyard Kipling's poem, "The Young British Soldier" (1890), eludes to saving a bullet for yourself lest you be captured by Afghan women; a fate so much worse than the death ultimately awaiting you.  I understand not much has changed there, either.  The Vietcong used women and children as bomb carriers to the sympathetic American soldiers.  ISIS and the Taliban aren't much nicer, and now we have the IED (Improvised Explosive Device) to watch out for.  How do you let go of fear?

There will always be, please God let us hope, a good percentage of our young people that have been given an upbringing appropriate to a military mindset.  The perfect soldier should be capable of, without desiring to, kill them all and let God sort them out.  At the end of the day, one hopes they'll also move the bird's nest full of eggs safely out of harm's way before the start of the battle.  It is a difficult balance between a strong father's influences tempered by a gentle mother's love.  One has to have the mind to do what is required and the heart to not necessarily like it.  They also need to know how to let go of any guilt, especially as a survivor.  Most of the time, our guilt is what separates us from them.

We used to raise men to be men; to eat raw meat and howl at the moon; boys will be boys and such.  When they got out of line, it was time to fetch a switch and head for the woodshed where some attitude adjustment was performed.  Nowadays, if you raise a hand to your child Protective Services are called by the child and the parent is arrested for trying to strengthen society.  Personally, I think the legal establishment and bleeding hearts in our country have forced us into raising cowering pussies.  I'm not sure why any of them would want to volunteer to serve their country unless they really have no clue what they're volunteering for.  From this all-volunteer force of patriotic young men and women, a force of emotionally ill-prepared children, we must do what their parents have failed at through no fault of their children, and we have to do it in two and a half months - create a fighting force we can send into battle.  The Marines take three months.

Our military training is driven by politics and the almighty dollar, and success or failure is driven by the individual's ability to learn, adapt, and cope.  It might not be perfect, but it is the best they can do with what they're given to work with.

Let's learn the kinder, gentler, military recommendations for how to survive Army boot camp.  I gleaned this from the following site, Tips For Surviving Military Boot Camp.  My humble comments are below each point:

1. Run, run, run. The better shape you are in the easier boot camp will be. Be in shape before you get there.  Gee, ya think?  Makes me wonder how the rampant obesity we allow for our children shakes out in all this.  By the way, boot camp shouldn't be easy, even if you are in good shape.  You should be forced to fail, then fail again, then repeat.  We learn through failure.

2. Bring your game face. Get up for it. It can be the greatest time of your life. Don't show emotion; it's part of the game. Don't be a wimp.  Game face?  The one they use for chess, or on the computer against their unseen opponents?  God knows kids don't interact face to face anymore.  Let me text you my "game face" and see if it's intimidating enough.  And, what the hell are we to take away from  the "it can be the greatest time of your life" comment?  War is not Disneyland!  It is emotional, so choose one.  I recommend controlled hate and anger, followed by the revenge which the first two will help fuel. 

3. Check your attitude. Drill sergeants and instructors want you to learn because it may save your life someday. Fighting the game wastes energy.  First of all, your attitude had better be that this is not a game, and they should never refer to it as a game.  This is life and death - deal with that, or get out. 

4. Take care of your wingman. Take care of the person next to you. Remember boot camp is a team sport.  Team sport?  Again, please don't let your buddy who is depending on you to cover his ass, think that you are looking upon this as some sort of sport.  Not winning can mean he will physically lose his head... or yours.  People die in combat, folks.  Don't candy coat it, be honest about it! 

5. Its only temporary. Basic training doesn't last forever. There's is a goal. You'll have down time and do things that are fun. Your military career won't be like boot camp.  That's right; it lasts until you come home alive from whatever conflict you're thrown into.  Work hard and play hard, and never forget, in your military career you become your own training instructor.  If you let up for one second, it can get you or someone else killed.  If they train you not to expect it to last forever, they are already putting you in a body bag.  

6. Know your Benefits. You have free medical care, if you're hurt or sick, go to sick call.  Do not make this a high priority on your "I Want to Survive" list.  Make use of all the benefits while you can.  Be sure to ask combat vets with missing arms and legs how that "free" medical is working out after they're discharged. 

7. Study early. Know the phonetic alphabet and other military knowledge before you go.  For the Army, know the Initial Entry Training book and the Army general orders.  Ya know, this is the best advice out there.  This should be recommended for all branches of service, not just Army.  They should also include photos of soldiers blown apart so as to prepare the kids for reality.

8. Run with the pack. Don't draw attention to yourself. This is not the time to satisfy your need for attention.  No, you've had plenty of time to satisfy that, at home, from your parents.  Now it's time to live in the real world of dog eat dog, your pack against another - the enemy.  If you have need of attention, go to some bleeding heart university, or stay home with mommy. 

9. It isn't personal. Don't take basic training personal, it's the instructor’s job to stress you out. It is all part of the game. The winner knows this in advance.  What?  Not personal?  I would take not being trained to take it personally, very personal.  This is your life they're playing with, so take it personal if you think they're training you to play with it.  If you don't feel like you're being prepared the reality of kicking some ass and killing in order to protect yourself, your comrades, and your country, I'd sure as hell be telling someone their program seriously sucks. 

10. Don't be a loner. Make friends because you are in it together. Keep in touch with family and friends at home too. Don't let others in your unit be loners.  Finally, some advice that makes a lot of sense!  After your friends die in battle, remember to make that personal.  Pay back is always a bitch, and it is going to be up to you to make it so.  Just saying. 

(Note:  My apologies to Military.com for having to correct the spelling and grammatical errors on their web page.  Obviously, editors are not a priority in the military, but one would think someone would know how to use spell and grammar check on their computer.)

This attitude of "c'mon in, we'll all have some fun" is why I find myself in a bar in the wee hours of the morning with patriots that are questioning their ability to not die on the battlefield scared shitless.  It is also one reason many volunteers say the recruiter lied to them.  No shit.  It isn't like they say it's going to be, it's worse.  It has to be.  If you don't understand that, then you're an idiot.  It's all about life and death, yours or the sociopathic lunatic's who is trying to kill you.  In my own humble opinion, twelve weeks is not enough time for training to stay alive or stay sane.  I think our warriors should all be trained to the level of "special forces" perfection.

It is of little wonder to me we have PTSD running rampant throughout the returnees of these conflicts.  And now we ask these men and women, after a full eight to twelve weeks of basic training, bringing them from pussy to full-fledged life takers and heart breakers, to go up against a force of insane, bloodthirsty, lunatics that have no concept of the Rules of Armed Conflict, the Rules of Engagement, or the Geneva Convention.  If our men and women are captured there will probably be no POW camp or repatriation unless they are of some monetary or trading value.  They will have their heads sawn off of their necks, or be burned in a cage, on camera, while their parents and their country watch in horror.  Back in the days of Woodstock, Country Joe McDonald sang this:

"Well, come on mothers throughout the land,
Pack your boys off to Vietnam.
Come on fathers, don't hesitate,
Send 'em off before it's too late.
Be the first one on your block
To have your boy come home in a box."

"You have to let it go."  This was all I had to offer.  "What the f*** kind of advice is that?"  Perhaps the kind of training you should have gotten in boot camp, if they had the time and if you were serious about paying attention.

I have no doubt that these young men, when called forth, will go into battle and try to do their damnedest. I have high hopes of watching film footage of one of them with the cigar butt between his teeth, standing up in the midst of enemy gunfire and exploding ordnance, waving forward at his squad with his chain fed weapon while yelling, "Follow me, boys!"

One can only hope that when they come face to face with the enemy they become hardened to reality.  Trust no one because they all look alike.  Do not expect to see a uniform.  Women and children are easily brainwashed to do their dirty work.  When faced with the option of showing mercy, remember mercy is a concept the enemy does not practice.  I have to offer up a quote from retired Army commander, Lt Col Ralph Peters when he said the following concerning our tactics against ISIS:

"That is not the way to defeat terrorists who behead Americans!  We should have gone in, in the morning, gone in heavy, and killed - let me give you the measure of success in air strikes against ISIS.  It is not knocking out windows.  It is acres and acres of dead terrorists!  That is tactical success!" 

"And I'm sick of hearing pundits in Washington who've never served in uniform say, 'Victory is impossible in the 21st century.'  NO!  Victory is always possible if you're willing to pay the price.  If you're willing to be ruthless and ferocious and are willing to do what's right for our security and win!" 

"The only way to deal with Islamic State - these bloodthirsty, blood-drunken terrorists - is to kill them, keep on killing them, until you kill the last one, and then you kill his pet goat"

There comes a time in battle when, in order to win, you have to drop a nuclear weapon.  You have to become at least as "ruthless and ferocious" as those you are fighting... or more so.  But, when our young men and women come home from the "new age" battlefield, a new war where they must mount the heads of our enemies on stakes to show them we're not afraid to take them on, will our young people then be mentally prepared to come home and move on with life?  Will they be able to "let it go" so it doesn't consume their soul?

I love our military men and women.  I think they are the greatest fighting force the world has to offer. They always have been, even when their hands were tied by their own government.  Having said this, it really chaps my ass when I hear they don't feel they are getting the 100% they feel they're giving.  I hate thinking they're headed down range without the proper ammunition, the tools, to survive.

I experienced this same issue when I found out from a short, black female navy seaman guarding the President's communications aircraft during a SALT meeting at Sigonella Naval Air Station, Sicily, that the Navy had outfitted her with an empty shotgun.  Not an automatic weapon, an empty shotgun.  Probably good it was empty because the first round would blow her backward about six feet.  Naval security?  This was kind of like leaving the front door to the White House unlocked and with a petite guard named "Shorty" armed with a steel pipe and a falsetto.  If "Shorty" stands her ground like a true patriot, it still won't end well.

Editor's Note

(Re: disclaimer cum "get out of jail free" card)

Before you go getting your panties in a bunch, it is essential to understand that this is just an opinion site and, as such, can be subjected to scrutiny by anyone with a differing opinion. It doesn't make either opinion any more right or wrong than the other. An opinion, presented in this context, is a way of inciting others to think and, hopefully, to form opinions of their own, if they haven't already done so. This is also why, occasionally, I will present an "opinion" just to stir an emotional pot. Where it may sound like I agree with the statements made, I'm more interested in getting others to consider an alternate viewpoint. 

It is my fervent hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and while engaging in peaceful and constructive discussion, in an arena of mutual respect, concerning those opinions put forth. After over twenty years with military intelligence, I have come to believe engaging each other in this manner and in this arena is the way we will learn tolerance and respect for differing beliefs, cultures, and viewpoints.

We all fall from grace, some more often than others; it is part of being human. God's test for us is what we learn from the experience, and what we do afterward.

Pastor Tony spent 22 years with United States Air Force Intelligence as a planner, analyst, briefer, instructor, and senior manager. He spent 17 years, following his service career, working with the premier, world renowned, Institutional Review Board helping to protect the rights of human subjects involved in pharmaceutical research. Ordained 1n 2013 as an "interfaith" minister, he founded the Congregation for Religious Tolerance in response to intolerance shown by Christians toward peaceful Islam. As the weapon for his war on intolerance he chose the pen, and wages his "battle" in the guise of the Congregation's official online blog, The Path, of which he is both author and editor. "The Path" offers a vehicle for commentary and guidance concerning one's own personal, spiritual, path toward peace and the final destination for us all. He currently resides in Pass Christian, Mississippi, where he volunteers as lead Chaplain and Chaplain Program Liaison, at the regional medical center.