Vet 0369

That return fire was definitely small arm fire which tells me that the Russian infantry was very close already. I suspect that the Javelin teams didn’t properly reconnoiter the area to make sure it was free of Russian troops. Very bad move. If I was the Russian leader, I’d have my men immediately area-fire in the direction of the very audible launch. You should always be able to assume the AT weapon is in the best concealment it can find.

I have always felt the Soviet/Russian paranoia is based on the facts that the French (Napoleon), the Germans (through the Middle Ages and WWI and WWII), the Swedes, the Finns, the British, and the U.S. have all invaded them (joint British/U.S. expeditionary force at Arcangel in support of the “White” Russians, and is probably just as justified as the fears of all their neighbors and the rest of Europe. However, Putin’s statements that he’s looking to rebuild the former Russian Empire and that Sweden and Finland were part of Russia lends credence to the concerns of all the countries that at any time were ruled by Russia. Of course he conveniently fails to note that the name of his country is derived from the name of the Swedish tribe (the Rus) that settled Kyiv and Novograd. 

One of the most important observations of an NCO or Staff NCO has to be that complaining and grumbling are normal for any “good order” units. What you look for and pay attention to is when they stop complaining. That means that they’ve given up any hope of anything being changed. That’s when there’s trouble brewing and you have to correct the root causes.

I have always felt the Soviet/Russian paranoia is based on the facts that the French (Napoleon), the Germans (through the Middle Ages and WWI and WWII), the Swedes, the Finns, the British, and the U.S. have all invaded them (joint British/U.S. expeditionary force at Arcangel in support of the “White” Russians, and is probably just as justified as the fears of all their neighbors and the rest of Europe. However, Putin’s statements that he’s looking to rebuild the former Russian Empire and that Sweden and Finland were part of Russia lends credence to the concerns of all the countries that at any time were ruled by Russia. Of course he conveniently fails to note that the name of his country is derived from the name of the Swedish tribe (the Rus) that settled Kyiv and Novograd. 

One of the most important observations of an NCO or Staff NCO has to be that complaining and grumbling are normal for any “good order” units. What you look for and pay attention to is when they stop complaining. That means that they’ve given up any hope of anything being changed. That’s when there’s trouble brewing and you have to correct the root causes.

One of the most important observations of an NCO or Staff NCO has to be that complaining and grumbling are normal for any “good order” units. What you look for and pay attention to is when they stop complaining. That means that they’ve given up any hope of anything being changed. That’s when there’s trouble brewing and you have to correct the root causes.

Absolutely awesome video! It reminds me of a story a friend and coworker (a retired U.S. Army Lt. Col helicopter squadron Commander) told me one day at lunch. When he was a brand new Lt., during our Invasion of Grenada, he had just landed his Blackhawk helicopter at a U.S. Marine position in support of a Marine mission. He had walked over to the Marine Commander, a Major for his mission briefing, when some snipers began firing at them. My friend ran back to the helicopter while the Major just stood there and watched him. The Major asked “ Is there a problem Lieutenant?” To which my friend said”Sir, they’re shooting at us!” The Major replied “Yes, they are. I expect my Marines will take take care of it shortly.” A minute or two later he heard a couple of bursts and the incoming fire stopped. My friend very sheepishly walked back to continue the mission briefing by the Major who didn’t say another word regarding the sniping. My friend said he learned more about leadership from that Major in those few minutes than he learned at West Point in the four years he attended there. He told me it was a number of lessons that he never forgot. Those soldiers in the video might have been TD force, but they were definitely soldiers, veterans, and warriors. Slava!

Absolutely awesome video! It reminds me of a story a friend and coworker (a retired U.S. Army Lt. Col helicopter squadron Commander) told me one day at lunch. When he was a brand new Lt., during our Invasion of Grenada, he had just landed his Blackhawk helicopter at a U.S. Marine position in support of a Marine mission. He had walked over to the Marine Commander, a Major for his mission briefing, when some snipers began firing at them. My friend ran back to the helicopter while the Major just stood there and watched him. The Major asked “ Is there a problem Lieutenant?” To which my friend said”Sir, they’re shooting at us!” The Major replied “Yes, they are. I expect my Marines will take take care of it shortly.” A minute or two later he heard a couple of bursts and the incoming fire stopped. My friend very sheepishly walked back to continue the mission briefing by the Major who didn’t say another word regarding the sniping. My friend said he learned more about leadership from that Major in those few minutes than he learned at West Point in the four years he attended there. He told me it was a number of lessons that he never forgot. Those soldiers in the video might have been TD force, but they were definitely soldiers, veterans, and warriors. Slava!

Standard negotiating tactic. I used to do it even when I was in the USMC and I was ordering supplies. If you need 200 units of supplies, request 400 and settle for 300.

Standard negotiating tactic. I used to do it even when I was in the USMC and I was ordering supplies. If you need 200 units of supplies, request 400 and settle for 300.

Please stop feeding the troll. He is craving attention, and if everyone just ignores him, he’ll eventually become so vitriolic that he’ll get a “vacation.”

Not too stray OT, but the war in Viet Nam was also being run by the politicians instead of military commanders, with the politicians looking more at “poll numbers” than actual objectives. Most people don’t know that the FIRST country to recognize North Viet Nam was the U.S. North Viet Nam lived up to it’s obligation to hold free elections, but South Viet Nam didn’t. After the Viet Cong began fighting the South as a result of the South’s Government reneging on the agreement, the U.S. got involved because of the Politicians rabid fear of Communism and the “Domino Theory.” It was a debacle from the start, and the U.S. should have just stayed out of it.

Not too stray OT, but the war in Viet Nam was also being run by the politicians instead of military commanders, with the politicians looking more at “poll numbers” than actual objectives. Most people don’t know that the FIRST country to recognize North Viet Nam was the U.S. North Viet Nam lived up to it’s obligation to hold free elections, but South Viet Nam didn’t. After the Viet Cong began fighting the South as a result of the South’s Government reneging on the agreement, the U.S. got involved because of the Politicians rabid fear of Communism and the “Domino Theory.” It was a debacle from the start, and the U.S. should have just stayed out of it.

Not too stray OT, but the war in Viet Nam was also being run by the politicians instead of military commanders, with the politicians looking more at “poll numbers” than actual objectives. Most people don’t know that the FIRST country to recognize North Viet Nam was the U.S. North Viet Nam lived up to it’s obligation to hold free elections, but South Viet Nam didn’t. After the Viet Cong began fighting the South as a result of the South’s Government reneging on the agreement, the U.S. got involved because of the Politicians rabid fear of Communism and the “Domino Theory.” It was a debacle from the start, and the U.S. should have just stayed out of it.

Third reread? Amateur!👍I’ve reread LOTR every two or three years since 1966! It is probably my favorite novel ever. I apologize for straying from the thread, but with all the LOTR references, I couldn’t help myself!

Maybe they’re off looking for washing machines and little boys and girls.

And a huge Tolkien fan to boot! Haiduk, you continue to amaze me! My respect grows daily.
I’ve read all of the books by JRR. The only one I couldn’t finish was “Horn of Hurin” because it was just too dark and depressing for me. And now, I drop the Tolkien adoration. Sorry.

Third reread? Amateur!👍I’ve reread LOTR every two or three years since 1966! It is probably my favorite novel ever. I apologize for straying from the thread, but with all the LOTR references, I couldn’t help myself!

And a huge Tolkien fan to boot! Haiduk, you continue to amaze me! My respect grows daily.
I’ve read all of the books by JRR. The only one I couldn’t finish was “Horn of Hurin” because it was just too dark and depressing for me. And now, I drop the Tolkien adoration. Sorry.

Third reread? Amateur!👍I’ve reread LOTR every two or three years since 1966! It is probably my favorite novel ever. I apologize for straying from the thread, but with all the LOTR references, I couldn’t help myself!

Third reread? Amateur!👍I’ve reread LOTR every two or three years since 1966! It is probably my favorite novel ever. I apologize for straying from the thread, but with all the LOTR references, I couldn’t help myself!

Third reread? Amateur!👍I’ve reread LOTR every two or three years since 1966! It is probably my favorite novel ever. I apologize for straying from the thread, but with all the LOTR references, I couldn’t help myself!

Third reread? Amateur!👍I’ve reread LOTR every two or three years since 1966! It is probably my favorite novel ever. I apologize for straying from the thread, but with all the LOTR references, I couldn’t help myself!

You are very welcome.  However the real hero we have had on this thread and deserves the thanks is @Haiduk.  He stayed in country, scoured Ukraine social media, and translated from day 1.  Without that contribution, along with all the others who have been scanning open source, we would have been blind on all this.

Should we all be referring to Kyiv as Minas Tirith?