Vet 0369

This! I saw a definition of hero one time that went something like “A man might be a hero when he has dry socks, is warm, and well-fed, but a coward when he has wet socks, is cold, and hungry!” In other words, basically everyone can be a hero or a coward depending on their condition.

February 24 is next Thursday. Perhaps they are planning to present Putin with an “Anniversary” present?

So Russia has only about 50 some percent of the U.S. population of about 310,000,000? Of course as a 2022 estimate, it would now be somewhere nearer to 142,000,000.

I probably should have used the term “of the Russian Federation” instead of Russia. I seriously doubt that the entire population from Europe to the Pacific Ocean and from the Arctic to the Black Sea is only 25% rural.

I’m beginning to think that the troubles the Russian population will face will, overall, be handled the same way that rural residents in the U.S. handled the problems and effects of the “Great Depression.” Interviews or Most farmers, ranchers, etc, many stated that didn’t even realize they were in an economic depression. They simply continued to grow and breed their provisions, and eke out their “hard scrabble” lives as they always had. The Depression mainly affected the urban populations because they had trouble paying their loans and mortgages, and getting food. The vast majority of the Russian people are rural, and already know how to produce and barter for food, shelter, and everything they need to survive. I seriously doubt the sanctions are given more than a passing thought by them. The ones affected are primarily the urban residents who are mostly unable to do that.

And, as a “full Colonel.” significantly outranks “The_Capt.”

I get the feeling that there is a public misperception of how combat casualties are treated and when. Disclaimer, it’s been almost 50 years since I was in the USMC infantry, but unless things have changed, what you see in the movies (mainly for visual dramatic support) and in the mass media, of IV bags, bandages, and other first aid debris, are the “aftermath” of the fight. “Standard Operating Procedure” in the USMC was that during an assault, no one stopped to give aid to the wounded! You assaulted through the enemy position, consolidated the captured position and reformed your lines to repel a counterattack, and redistributed ammunition and if necessary, weapons. Only after that would you send volunteers back to recover the fallen. If you were lucky enough to have a Corpsman or two with your platoon, they would begin stabilizing the fallen during the consolidation phase. For what it’s worth, the “typical” structure for a Marine Platoon assault would be in threes, an assault element, (typically a squad of 12 Riflemen and the Squad leader), a base of fire that would hopefully include support weapons such as an M2 60mm mortar section (three tubes with four man teams, one team for each tube), an M-60 machine gun squad (two gun teams of four Marines each), and one squad of Riflemen in reserve. The Platoon Commander and Corpsman would “typically” be with the Reserve or the base of fire with the Platoon Sgt. Leading the assault. That was the SOP from 40 plus years ago, and I doubt if it has changed significantly. As I said previously, that was the “typical assault formation.”

Ah, this observation brings back very fond memories in the USMCR of when I was the Section Leader of a 60mm mortar section that was attached to a Reinforced Rifle Platoon in the mid to late 1970s. Our mortar teems were so good that the gunners were capable of just jamming the ball on the bottom of the tube into the ground during a “hasty” fire, and then firing and adjusting the rounds by “Kentucky windage. “They were however highly-trained Marines. We never understood why the Army looked down on “60s” with distain. They are perfect for rapid support of aggressive, fast-moving Infantry. Being embedded with the Rifle Platoon, although we were subordinate to the Company Weapons Platoon, the Rifle Platoon Commander could get permission to use os as a base of fire during an assault. That functionality is priceless to the “Grunts.”

How can you tell wen politicians are lying? Their lips are moving. The term “politics” is from two words, Poly, which is derived from a Greek word that means “many,” and ticks, which are “blood-sucking insects.”

If I’m not mistaken, there is only one “private” Regiment left in Scotland, it is based at Atholl Castle. It was authorized by Queen Victoria. I saw it on a show called “Great Railroads of Scotland” or something close to that.

Classic combined arms tactics! My long-time gaming opponent learned about this the hard way from me when he was playing the Soviets against my Germans while playing “The Library” scenario in Stalingrad, way back in CMBB CMX1. He hasn’t duplicated his error again since then.

And, there’s that”shoot n scoot “ maneuver again. Looks like it’ becoming pretty consistent Standard Operating Procedure (SOP). Killer drone defense?

Very interesting “shoot and scoot” maneuver. I wonder if it’s been developed to make it more difficult for a drone to target them.

I don’t doubt that the U.S. Marine Corps has fewer. If I’m not mistaken, they gave up all their long-range artillery (along with their Abrams) to better align with the next threat they perceive, the South China Sea.

Not quite sure of this. Perhaps it is meant only for intelligence on “signals.” I’m sure that with Alaska and the contiguous U.S. and Canada being overflown, the signal traffic must be substantial. I remember many incidents in the 1960s of Soviet “Bears” flying just outside of U.S. and Canadian airspace, and watching Soviet “Trawlers” just 3 miles off the east coast of Massachusetts whose sole purpose was to gather signal intelligence. Not an uncommon practice. The Chinese ballon might be for the exact same purpose. What we don’t know about is whether or not it is “manned.” The payload is the size of three buses, so that is a distinct possibility. Additionally, I have heaRd a report that there is also one overflying South America, so perhaps they have two “errant weather balloons?”

My knowledge base and background is based on the fact that I worked for the U.S. Executive Branch for 22 years. My job was as a Senior Technical Writer for Policy and Regulations. Virtually everything I wrote had to be approved by our legal staff and published in the Federal Register. “Congress passes laws. The Constitution states it’s the President’s job to “ensure those laws are faithfully executed.” So, Presidents often use Executive Orders to direct federal workers on how to enforce existing laws, sometimes changing direction during times of war or other emergencies. Executive Orders do not create laws or give the President new powers. “They are going back to the original documents, back to the statutes, back to the Constitution,” explained Gillespie. “Presidents can’t execute any laws that don’t already exist.”” In each “new” Administration, every Executive Order (E.O.) must by signed (reissued) by the new President or it no longer exists. Bolding is mine. I hope this is seen as an attempt to educate, and not as derailing this topic. Nough said. I will not respond to this subject any further.

At the risk of derailing the thread by continuing political statements, (in order to be non political, it should have been worded as “the United States, not “Bush doctrine,”) believe that “doctrine” was put in place by Clinton as a result of an Al Quadra bombing in Africa. Clinton ordered a cruise missile attack on a AQ training camp, well before Bush was elected. Please try to keep things politically neutral unless it is necessary for context. For what it’s worth, I’m not a Republican or a Democrat.

In most cases, beer is made from grain. Grain is a cereal. Therefore, if it’s acceptable to have cereal for breakfast, then it’s acceptable to have beer “on” your cereal! Wait a minute, Scotch whiskey is from the same grain as beer! I’m a genius!

And, why do you assume they haven’t started some time ago? Again, that type of info isn’t something a military puts out for public information. Unless of course, you want to scare the crap out of Russia and cause them to do something hasty or not completely thought through.

Because if the explanations take longer than a 30 second sound bite, or it doesn’t fit the viewer’s political philosophy, then the majority of viewers/readers/listeners just go on to something more appealing to them. Up until the early 1970s, I’d venture to say that most males, at least in the U.S, had at least a smattering of military tactics, and the knowledge that if you provided your opponent with an idea of what you were going to do, that opponent would be much better able to “kick the crap” out of you. If I’m not mistaken, the U.S. military and politicians made a point of publicly stating that it wasn’t going to supply South Korea with heavy tanks because the Korean terrain wouldn’t support their use. In fact the real reason was that they were afraid Pak would invade the North.. The result was when the North invaded, they led the invasion with heavy T-34s that simply rolled over the U.S. light and medium tanks, and the 2.5 inch bazookas just bounced off the T-34s. that is the main reason that you don’t declare your intentions no matter how many of the public and Media want to satisfy their curiosity.

I will always remember R. Lee Ermy’s term for the M1 Abrams “A can opener with an attitude!” Rest in peace Gunny!

How does one say “Spread out, one grenade can get you all” In Russian?

As a Marine Grunt, about the only thing I know about armor is to stay the hell out of it’s way, but the Abrams question might simply be due to fear of the technology getting into the “wrong hands.” When I was a USMC F4 Phantom II mechanic in Japan in 1971 (I had two jobs in the USMC, Air Wing and Infantry) it was very safe duty because the U.S. Navy prohibited our F4-Js from being used in VietNam because they were too new and too technologically advanced. Perhaps it’s the same thought for the M1A1s or what ever they have. And yes, I have no idea about the configurations of the ones they “gave” to Iraq or Afghanistan. I’m pretty sure that we even “de-tech” platforms that we sell to our staunchest Alliies.

Thank you for your clarification. First, the letter from Ted Cruz. Cruz is a Senator from Texas, and a blowhard also. He has absolutely no authority to threaten a foreign official or commercial entity with Sanctions or anything else unless possibly there are already sanctions in place by the U.S. Government. Second, “steep taxes on German cars” is known as increasing the Tariffs on a product if it is determined that the target Country is”dumping” products at artificially low prices to get a larger share of the market. This is common practice in the world markets, and have nothing to do with the Nord2 question.

Not defending Trump, I can’t stand the blowhard, but a State’s Governor is NOT part of a U.S. Federal Executive Branch Administration, e.g., Trump or Biden, so I don’t understand the relationship of the “blackmail” to the Trump Administration. A State can engage in contracts with Foreign Entities such as businesses and locals, but I’m not sure I understand how they can blackmail a foreign government entity such as a local Mayor, or whatever the official is called.