RANGER AGAINST WAR: Designated Loser <

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Designated Loser

These days I'm feeling all right
'Cept I can't tell my courage from my desperation

--Local Hero
, Bruce Springsteen

Well, I stand up next to a mountain

And I chop it down with the edge of my hand

--Voodoo Chile
, Jimi Hendrix


When you go up on the mountain top

And you look out across the sea

And you know there's another place perhaps

A young man can be

--It Ain't Easy
, Three Dog Night

A man hanging on the ropes in a helpless state,

with his toes off the ground, shall be considered down
--Marquess of Queensbury Rules

____________

A continuation of "Dak To, Redux," following news that "U.S. and Afghan troops have abandoned a remote outpost in eastern Afghanistan where militants killed nine American soldiers this week (U.S. Troops Pull out of Afghan Base After Attack.)"


Dak To turns out to be the perfect analogy to this unnamed action, for after the battle for the hills around Dak To the famous Army Airborne Infantry regiments pulled up stakes and moved to greener pastures. This, after expending good lives on both sides on meaningless real estate.


In past wars terrain was purchased with blood, but
every fight led one inch closer to victory, unlike then and now. At least at Dak To the paras gave as good as they got, which is the best that can be said for the valor and dedication of these wonderful U.S. soldiers.

But why did nine soldiers die on a worthless piece of terrain in a worthless country in a worthless phony war? It just doesn't add up in any rational tally.


"Sunday's attack by some 200 militants armed with machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades and mortars was the deadliest for the U.S. military in Afghanistan in three years. Rebels fought their way into the newly established base, wounding another 15 Americans and suffering heavy casualties of their own, before the defenders and warplanes could drive them back.

"Some 50 officers were headed to the area to try to regain control, said Ghoolam Farouq, a senior provincial police official."

So the anti-coalition forces kick the U.S. Army out of the area and we are to believe 50 Afghan cops are going to successfully walk that beat. Let's get real. This is not a fantasy Survivor episode -- this is actual death.


"The assault underlined how Islamic militants appear to be gaining strength nearly eight years after the ouster of the Taliban, and the difficulties facing foreign and Afghan forces trying to defeat them."

False.
It has nothing to do with their gaining strength; they never lost it. They merely husbanded their strength. It IS however a clear indication that U.S. forces do not know how, when, where or why they are fighting, and that our actions violate the very basics of infantry combat, minus COIN considerations.

The basics have gone missing -- mutual support, escape routes, and most importantly, the assessment of significance of any combat action in the COIN environment. Ranger will bet the farm that the village of Wanat was actively supporting the militants. Those villagers that weren't were doing so passively.

As an aside, it is interesting that the anti-coalition forces are called "militants," but our soldiers are called "soldiers." Aren't they the same thing?

"NATO said the post, which lies amid precipitous mountains close to the Pakistan border, had been vacated, but insisted that international and Afghan troops will 'retain a strong presence in that area with patrolling and other means.'"

Translation: We will hand out a bunch of Purple Hearts and Silver Stars and call it a victory. That is, after we have turned tail and run. Nobody asks: Why did we occupy that terrain in the first place? Why did our soldiers die? Did a Division, Brigade or Battalion commander need his ticket punched?

In the Civil War and the Napoleonic tradition the Army that vacated the battlefield was designated the loser. At Gettysburg, Lee left the field to the Union forces, ergo the North is viewed as the victor. By that yardstick, the U.S. is a loser, and 23 Purple Hearts richer. This is enough to break a heart. In memory of battles past, I nominate this action be called "Heartbreak Ridge."

This strikes Ranger as playing soldiers rather than warfighting.
And a soldier is a terrible thing to waste.

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31 Comments:

Blogger FDChief said...

When you get right down to it, pretty much every poor bastard from the Western armies who goes home in a bag from this graveyard of imperialism is a waste. Why we think that with a couple of divisions we're going to remake the face of Central Asia I don't know, but somewhere the shades of Alexander's and Tamerlane's men are laughing.

With these guys, you basically nuke 'em (or butcher 'em), you bribe 'em or you leave 'em alone. Genghis figured that out, but by all accounts he was smarter than anyone with a big black stripe down his Class A pants we have at the moment...

Thursday, July 17, 2008 at 2:38:00 PM GMT-5  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

So, that happy horseshit about the battle underlining how the militants in the area had progressed??? What the fuck? So now we get guys in over their heads and killed to gather some over-obvious INTEL? Dak To, Phu Bai....I am sure many other names will spring to mind before the current goat fuck in a sand storm is over with and done.

Thursday, July 17, 2008 at 2:54:00 PM GMT-5  
Blogger rangeragainstwar said...

FDC,

I will reply to your yesterday's comment now - the US types probably didn't dig in b/c they couldn't. It was probably a rocky area. Only my guess.

Indeed more than a few divisions would be needed to change anything in the AO, but then for what reason?

My black stripe mind can't figure it out.

jim

Thursday, July 17, 2008 at 5:06:00 PM GMT-5  
Blogger rangeragainstwar said...

Labrys,

I don't know what to do with both yours and MB's mouths. It's time for some couth refresher training for the two of you :) That or I'm ginna revoke your good conduct medals, or take your chaplain's chit away from you.

The 1st major Army battle of the VN war comes to mind-LZ XRAY. It's all meat from the same bone. Then as now we claim heavy enemy losses AND WE DON'T HAVE A CLUE as to their casualties. It's all guess work- a fine way to run an army. Afghanistan, VN . . .little difference.

jim

Thursday, July 17, 2008 at 5:15:00 PM GMT-5  
Blogger FDChief said...

"...didn't dig in b/c they couldn't. It was probably a rocky area. Only my guess."

Ranger: Good guess, but as a heavy/J-series MTOE type I might have an advantage on you on this one. The thing is the 12-series gang have a trick little gadget just for this: it's a portable drill-and-shoot rig that attaches either to a CEE or even, in a pinch, to a HUMVEE. It hammers a little 2-inch airdrill into the rock, you drop in the charge, get a couple of husky privates to tamp it, fire-in-the-hole and boom, instant foxhole. You usually have to have a bunch of sandbags to rebuild the sides - the charge blows out as well as up - but it's slicker than water off a cat's ass.

Which brings us back to how this whole clusterfuck is Murphy's wet dream. What do you bet some MAJ(P) sitting in the TOC tent dreaming of conquest jabbed a finger onto a map and said "Go THERE, men, go forth and slay!". No IPB, no intel of any sort, I'll bet, no engineer assets with the first chalk on the ground, zip, dick, bupkis, just a bunch of GIs milling about smartly. They were probably told that the area was "largely pacified" and that all they had to do was run it like a highway checkpoint or something.

Fuck me runnin'.

Thursday, July 17, 2008 at 5:43:00 PM GMT-5  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

My mouth, lol? But that was perfectly fine field language! Oh, I don't have a chaplain's chit....."godless heathen" that I am and all! And on that note, I am starting my weekend early!

Friday, July 18, 2008 at 9:42:00 AM GMT-5  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

i worship at your altar my friends, you warm-hearted historical prognosticators. someday maybe you will be able to look right now as well as behind you. but one place i guarantee you cannot see is ahead of you, because if you could, all you would see is me. forever. get all greased up and ready because soso jr.is coming home.

Friday, July 18, 2008 at 10:34:00 AM GMT-5  
Blogger rangeragainstwar said...

FDC, with your cmts i'd add - where is the normal arty spt a infantry opn should have. where was it?One can dig fighting positions in rocky terrain but the ricochets and fragments of flying rock due to rpg's etc.. is really a killer.
My 1st planning consideration is ALWAYS escape route, e&e which seems to be missing in all the ops we've discussed.And these are always tied to arty concentrations along the route of escape.It must be mighty lonely out on those mountain tops. What are we teaching as tactics these days?I can't seem to find any coherence in this pwot. jim

Friday, July 18, 2008 at 11:02:00 AM GMT-5  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

This comment has been removed by the author.

Friday, July 18, 2008 at 12:56:00 PM GMT-5  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

were you a ranger in the battle of yellowstone?

vietnam was for pussies...in the sixties i ripped the throat out of a rabid bison with my bare teeth at mammoth hot springs lodge. that, that was some shit.

so don't expect me to bow down to your conformist command structure because if you start some shit my brothers in the national park service will be on your ass like deer ticks.

fuck you very much.

RARAW

Friday, July 18, 2008 at 1:02:00 PM GMT-5  
Blogger FDChief said...

"where is the normal arty spt a infantry opn should have. where was it?"

At the risk of sounding like a smartass, it was wandering down some crapass little alley in Tikrit or Baquoba carring an M-4 wishing the hell he was back at the FOB and every so often trying to remember how a site stick works.

The rape of my branch is, as much or more than anything, what gives me such a case of the atomic red ass about this PWOT. The lack of tube artillery in Afghanistan has been remarked on repeatedly. This Clusterfuck's Last Stand just reminds us that nothing has changed.

But then again, that's nothing compared to the fear inspired by a rabid Park squirrel.

Friday, July 18, 2008 at 1:57:00 PM GMT-5  
Blogger rangeragainstwar said...

FDChief,

I believe the entire problem starts with contracting out on the war. When you remove the CS and CSS units then it's easier to turn all remaining assets into straight leg Infantry, even if they're not.

Since you're Artillery, I ref. "Gunner Palace." One further problem with the contracting and the simplification of the branches is that it seems that the normal Division, Corps and Theatre artillery support functions are blurred or nonexistent. Therefore, the artillery assets are lacking b/c the gunners are acting as school crossing guards, as you point out.

It's not Arty. branch being misused; it's the entire Army.

[Personal note: all this time I thought you were Navy, until you start throwing around words like "12" and start talking about the other TO&E's.

FWIW: I make my comments as former 4.2" platoon member.]

Friday, July 18, 2008 at 2:20:00 PM GMT-5  
Blogger rangeragainstwar said...

labrys,

You're no longer exempt. Wiccans have full membership in the Army religious pantheon now. Lock those heels!

Friday, July 18, 2008 at 2:28:00 PM GMT-5  
Blogger FDChief said...

"Since you're Artillery, I ref. "Gunner Palace."

GREAT fucking flick - I loved the rapping gunners, reminded me of my own homies back in the FD shack. Good times.

Get some, brother mortar maggot! That's how I got my start, as computer and then fire direction chief on an 81mm platoon. When the ORARNG finished converting to the light infantry MTOE I was offered the choice of going over to field artillery or becoming chief of a 60mm mortar section. When I looked at the UBL for a 60mm mortar section sergeant...

My pop will be tickled to hear you thought I was a squid. He was a Navy flier back in the Good War - says he was four weeks away from the Pacific and getting kamikazied when we dropped the bombs. Every fall we get to bet on Army-Navy and I get to sneer at the kaydidiots. Good times.

Friday, July 18, 2008 at 4:53:00 PM GMT-5  
Blogger HopeSpringsATurtle said...

So hard to read here Ranger but it is important reading. Just talked to a medic friend who got back 2 weeks ago from Bagram. He said the last few months have been really bad, worst he's seen; this was his 3rd deployment.

My husband just left for Balad a few days ago. The Iraqi want a timeline. The president calls it an, " asprirational time horizon."

I can't wait for this to be over. Thanks for your post.

Friday, July 18, 2008 at 9:33:00 PM GMT-5  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Brutal, Ranger, but totally on target. This certainly does bring Dak To and other garden spots to mind. The boys are indeed in the shit once again, and just like with us, ain't no help coming from the politicians or the generals.

Speaking of generals, I'm going to quibble a bit with FDChief about that big black stripe business. I'd suggest he reorient his fires somewhat and look at the crowd that wears two skinny black stripes down the trousers. Last I looked, that's who is in charge of the forces participating in this particular cluster fuck. Gotta focus those fires, Chief.

Arty support? How 20th century you all are. FDChief tells you where the arty support is. It's not needed anymore. Not when you've got an F-22 (which I understand is so good that it's now also an "A") just waiting in the starting blocks to provide immediate assistance.

Damn, this is all so depressing. And you wonder why I don't post so often any more?

Friday, July 18, 2008 at 10:04:00 PM GMT-5  
Blogger rangeragainstwar said...

FDC,

Favorite Gunner Palace line: when a soldier is asked what he liked about his deployement, he thought for a moment, and then his visage brightened considerably: " Well, they give me this gun, and I can shoot people with it," paraphrasing.

I don't know why or how i assumed you were Navy. My father was a basic seaman in WW2 and was on tin cans -- atlantic/caribean and escort to russia. never told me anything about it!

My early experience with mortars was a good teaching point, since you talk of rappers. My entire platoon leadership was black NCO's and they were good except for one who was mentally slow, but still a fine soldier. I was just a dirty white boy from Cleveland.

My chief computer was cocky and smart. The plat sgt/7 was a good teacher. I had just come from an all-white recon platoon that liked to screw their young LTs-never did they try to teach me; it was always gotcha time. So i remember the 4.2 time fondly and felt proficient. This also favorably affected my views on black soldiers.

jim

Saturday, July 19, 2008 at 10:16:00 AM GMT-5  
Blogger rangeragainstwar said...

Publius,

I don't know what brutal means anymore. I'm heart weary writing these entries and if you notice i try to use humor in my replies simply to lighten things up a few notches-but then some fools think this a fantasyland.

Since these actions fall into my AO i will continue to discuss them. I have a long one in the waiting line on Murphy's MOH that is a reply to a Amer Legion rah rah piece. BTW the guy that wrote it is 40 y/o with a BA in Philosophy AND a terrorism expert, and he has never been in the military nor gov't service. Curiously, he has had 2 NYT's bestsellers, among the Coulter crowd, I'm sure.

My day feels empty w/o a reply or comment from you.

jim

Saturday, July 19, 2008 at 10:52:00 AM GMT-5  
Blogger rangeragainstwar said...

Hopeturtle.
It's as hard for me to write these essays as it is for you to read them. Hope the best for the safe return of your husband. jim

Saturday, July 19, 2008 at 10:55:00 AM GMT-5  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Ranger: "My day feels empty w/o a reply or comment from you."

Riiiiight! Why is my bullshit meter going off the charts? But despite your BS, I'll follow up a bit.

Apocalypse Now. Back in the day, almost 30 years ago now, when I was traveling more than half the time doing my thing as a clandestine case officer (yeah, I know, but somebody's gotta do it), I found myself in some backwater (Oklahoma City rings a bell) in the company of a guy I worked with who happened to be there as well. Why we were there, I don't recall. Why I'd ever be in Oklahoma City is beyond me. Anyway, we went to a matinee and saw the flick, which was already being slammed by critics. We'd each already been to Vietnam more than once and we walked out and said, "Shit, man, that says everything." The reason we said that was that the movie really captured just how bizarre and fucked-up Vietnam really was.

During that era, I found myself at odds with some "Greatest Generation" dudes, my father and a bunch of uncles, all of whom had served in combat in WW2. I told 'em they were the guys in charge now, and that they'd just fucked us by going along with the madness that was Vietnam, that there was no point to what I and other guys were doing there. They argued vehemently then, but they all lived long enough to admit I was right.

It was the young people that finally helped put a stop to Vietnam. They ran Johnson out, but fucked up by allowing Nixon, who I always thought was the worst piece of shit ever until GW Bush came along, to ascend to the presidency. The piece of shit Nixon then prolonged the agony by allowing another piece of shit, Kissinger the Hun, to argue about tables and otherwise fuck around forever seeking "peace with honor."

Young people today are different, almost certainly because they don't have to fear actually going somewhere and getting shot at unless they want it. This, along with relatively low mortality rates, is what has prolonged the agony in Iraq and Afghanistan. The so-called "war on terror" has become subsumed into the constant noise we hear in our daily lives. In that, it's kind of like "1984," where the "war" was woven into the daily fabric of society.

That's George Bush's greatest accomplishment. He's made the American people accept war as just another part of the backdrop of their lives. And, inasmuch as few Americans have any personal stake in all of this, they just kind of accept it.

Ranger's points about the inanity inherent in combat losses incurred in defending worthless pieces of terrain are lost on the American people. More to the point, however, they're also lost on military officers, who should know better.

Ultimately, FDChief is right in saying that "pretty much every poor bastard from the Western armies who goes home in a bag from this graveyard of imperialism is a waste."

Just like Vietnam.

Saturday, July 19, 2008 at 10:36:00 PM GMT-5  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Great stuff guys.

Ranger I agree with your comments about contracting out. I remember early in the war seeing a clip where a radio repair man was having to train the contractor hired to do his job after which he was transfered to a line unit.

Publius You nailed it.

George Bush's greatest accomplishment. He's made the American people accept war as just another part of the backdrop of their lives.

The draft has it's virtues after all!

Sunday, July 20, 2008 at 12:26:00 AM GMT-5  
Blogger rangeragainstwar said...

Publius,

My guess is that your bullshit meter got stuck in the red a long time ago and you're getting a false reading :). Seriously there are so few of us that I draw power from all of you guys -- no exceptions.

As for Apocalypse Now, I especially liked the boat scene that ended with everybody dead and Cpt. Willard saying- "I told you not to stop." This captured the tension perfectly. I also liked the Navy chief saying: "Capt. I don't know where you're going, but just looking at you tells me it's bad."

I also liked, "Frenchy was strung too tight for Vietnam. In fact, Frenchy was strung too tight for anywhere." Great moments in war cinema.

IMO, "Gardens of Stone" and "In Country" are good examinations of the VN war, with a social focus.

History clearly indicates the Nixon/Kissinger delayed the peace process to gain reelection. Huns don't like to give up on a good war.

jim

Sunday, July 20, 2008 at 9:21:00 AM GMT-5  
Blogger rangeragainstwar said...

tw,

In "Gunner Palace," one of the first documentaries out of Iraq, it's clear that arty units were being used as light infantry.

I've read reports of Navy and Air Force personnel being trained for ground combat operations, and these are not SOF assets, either.

(personal: Hope your NY trip went satisfactorily, and that you are settled back in.)

Sunday, July 20, 2008 at 9:24:00 AM GMT-5  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

look jerky it all comes down to implied powers, i.e. federal fascism. replace gwb and his neocons with washington and his federalists (hamilton et al), and you have the same problem, de facto military dictatorship under the jurisdiction of the commander in chief. it just wasn't a problem until technology reared its iron head in the 1900's.

so my solution is that we take to the woods. you can bicker all you want about this or that strategic blunder, but until implied powers can be held in check, until our presidents are limited in their ability to do everything the constitution DOESN'T say they CAN'T do, i'll be living off the land here in jackson hole with my dogs and homemade explosives. and i can rig a dog to run up to you and explode if the feds so much as set foot within fifty miles of the big titty mountains.

fuck you very much.

RARAW

Sunday, July 20, 2008 at 9:46:00 AM GMT-5  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Ahhh - Jackson Hole!!! Home of Deadeye Dick Cheney and all of his Hollywood buddies.

Rumor has it that Cheney got shooting lessons from Robert Redford, but my elk hunting buddy from Casper says the smart money is on Glenn Close being Cheney's marksmanship mentor.

Sunday, July 20, 2008 at 1:42:00 PM GMT-5  
Blogger Lisa said...

mike,

"the smart money is on Glenn Close being Cheney's marksmanship mentor."

Brings to mind the brilliant Lone Biker of the Apocalypse who “was especially hard on the little things, the helpless and the gentle creatures.”

Bunnies do not stand a fighting chance against those two.

Sunday, July 20, 2008 at 2:10:00 PM GMT-5  
Blogger rangeragainstwar said...

raraw, you can be as foolish as you want and play with raw BUT be advised that you have admitted to playing with homemade explosives and i will have to pass this information to Homeland Security and ATF@E. you can screw with me all you want but i hope you enjoy your new relationship with the expressed power of federal law. have a wonderful day. jim

Monday, July 21, 2008 at 2:20:00 PM GMT-5  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

This comment has been removed by the author.

Monday, July 21, 2008 at 9:01:00 PM GMT-5  
Blogger The Minstrel Boy said...

in a bit over eight years service, i only got one fucking good conduct medal. . .

now you want to take it away.

just 'cause i talk like a sailor.

squidly pride ruffled and stuff. . .

Monday, July 21, 2008 at 9:45:00 PM GMT-5  
Blogger Lisa said...

MB,

He's a bit of a prig, eh wot?!

This is joint operation, and you keep your good conduct medal. It's expected you should speak appropriate to your branch :)

Monday, July 21, 2008 at 9:58:00 PM GMT-5  
Blogger rangeragainstwar said...

MB, you and i know that you would not have gotten that GCM if they had caught you. jim :)

Tuesday, July 22, 2008 at 7:27:00 AM GMT-5  

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