A Fighting Force of One (Updated from 10/5/2014)

 

"Two years after the fall of Kabul and Joe Biden’s botched withdrawal from Afghanistan, the world is less safe, our enemies are emboldened, and our allies are questioning America’s commitments," a statement from Haley's presidential campaign said.

"Two years ago, the world watched in horror as Joe Biden withdrew from Afghanistan in a way that betrayed our allies and emboldened our enemies," added Haley. "Disaster followed. Thirteen American service members were killed, China grew increasingly aggressive toward Taiwan, Russia invaded Ukraine, and terrorists took over Afghanistan with the help of American equipment and supplies." The Biden campaign and White House did not respond to Fox News Digital's requests for comment.

-- Jessica Chasmar

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

A while back, in 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 (e.g., 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.  The following is what I found out.

They're scared.  They are very concerned about what they might be called up to face the enemy overseas.  These "men" are supposed to be part of the strongest, best-equipped fighting force in the world, but they are scared and concerned.  "Best equipped" has little to do with mental preparedness.  

These men are scared of the sociopathic insanity the current spate of terrorists has to offer, and they're concerned because the current 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, unfortunately, I wasn't surprised to hear it.  

Few were prepared for Vietnam, in the 1960s, over 50 years ago.  Not much seems to have changed.  The enemy is, now, totally insane, and we have ridiculous "rules of engagement" we are ordered to adhere to.  We are putting forth a kinder, gentler, face in lieu of the "shock and awe" that combat demands.  For me, kinder and gentler means dropping a tactical nuclear weapon to prevent the senseless American deaths that these so-called "rules of engagement" are going to create. But, then, nuclear destruction was part of my job description.  I excelled at it.

"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

One of the "men" 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 painful torture. 

Well, my answer is something stupid that put the young troop right up in my grill.  I very calmly told him:

"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 approaching old enough to be his grandfather.

And now, I'm 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.  As 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. So, here it is:

"Men" historically went to war because we were stronger physically, and emotionally, to handle everything war 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, or 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 during 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 in that part of the world.  In Vietnam, the Vietcong used women and children to take bombs up to the sympathetic American soldiers.  Boom!  ISIS and the Taliban aren't much nicer, and now we have the hidden IED (Improvised Explosive Device) to watch out for.  With all of this, how do you let go of fear?

There will always be, let us hope, a good percentage of our young people who have been given an upbringing appropriate to a military mindset.  The perfect soldier should be capable of, without desiring to, killing them all and letting God sort them out.  At the end of the day, one also hopes they'll 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 simply trying to strengthen society.

Personally, I think the legal establishment, and the 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.  The military has to create a fighting force we can send into battle.  The Marines take three months.

Unfortunately, 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 this 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 much 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 supposed to take away with the comment, "It can be the greatest time of your life," comment?  War is not Disneyland!  It is emotional. I recommend they choose controlled hate and anger, followed by 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 admit that this is not a game, and nobody should ever refer to it as a game.  This is life and death.  You need to deal with the reality of this... 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. It's only temporary. Basic training doesn't last forever. There's a goal. You'll have downtime 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 basic training 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 rule 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 for them 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.  You know, this is the best advice out there.  This should be recommended for all branches of service, not just the Army.  They should also include photos of soldiers blown apart just 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.  Oh. hell 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 wolfpack against another - the enemy.  If you need attention, go to some bleeding heart university, or stay home with mommy. This is war we're dealing with. 

9. It isn't personal. Don't take basic training personally, 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, as very personal.  This is your life they're playing with, so take it personally if you think they're training you to "play" with it.  If you don't feel like you're being prepared for 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 their deaths personal.  Payback 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 no longer a priority in the military, but one would think someone would know how to use spell and grammar checks 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 while scared shitless.  It is also one reason many volunteers say the military recruiter lied to them.  No shit.  It isn't like they said it's going to be.  It is so much worse.  It has to be.  If you don't understand that reality, then you're an idiot.  It's all about life and death, your life, and the death of the sociopathic lunatic trying to kill you.  In my own humble opinion, twelve weeks is not enough time to train to stay alive or stay sane.  I think all of our warriors should be trained to the level of "Special Forces" perfection.

It is of little wonder we have PTSD running rampant among the returnees from these conflicts.  And now we ask these men and women, after a full eight to twelve weeks of basic training, bringing them from pussies to full-fledged lifetakers and heartbreakers, 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."

This lengthy dissertation brings me back to my answer which was something stupid that put the young troop right up in my grill.  "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 advice 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 hope they try their damnedest to survive, as well as win. 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 his squad forward 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 will become hardened to reality.  Trust no one, because they all look alike.  Do not expect to see a uniform.  Women and children have been brainwashed to do the dirty work.  When faced with the option of showing mercy, remember that "mercy" is a concept the new 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 wonder if Ralph Peters is right?

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.  It really chaps my ass when I hear they don't feel they are getting the 100% they're giving.  I hate thinking our young men and women are headed downrange without the proper ammunition and the tools to survive.

I experienced this issue when I questioned a short, black female, navy seaman, tasked with guarding the President's communications aircraft during a SALT meeting at Sigonella Naval Air Station, Sicily.  I learned from her that the Navy had outfitted her with an empty 12-gauge shotgun.  Not a fully loaded automatic weapon, but an empty shotgun.  Probably good it was empty. Her first shot would have blown 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 female guard named "Shorty" armed with a falsetto and a steel pipe.  If "Shorty" stands her ground like a true patriot, it still won't end well, God bless her.

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 view any more right or wrong than the other. Opinion, presented in this context, is a way of inciting others to think and, hopefully, to form their own opinions, 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.

I fervently hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions while engaging in peaceful and constructive discussion in an arena of mutual respect concerning those opinions offered. After twenty-three years of military intelligence, I believe that engaging each other in this manner, and in this arena, is a 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. Following his service career, he spent 17 years working with the premier and world-renowned Western Institutional Review Board, helping to protect the rights of human subjects involved in pharmaceutical research. He also served 8 years on the Board of Directors for the Angela J. Bowen Foundation.

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 a weapon for his war on intolerance, he chose the pen. He 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 personal, spiritual path toward peace and the final destination for us all. He resides in Pass Christian, Mississippi, where he volunteered as the lead chaplain at a regional medical center.

Feel free to contact Pastor Tony at: tolerantpastor@gmail.com