War Games

Here is a video that I recorded with my flip. It is a small conflict between myself, my friend (Dexter), and my other friend (Jason). Jason has a very powerful and superior gun, so Dexter and I teamed against him with our slightly inferior weapons. Enjoy!

Operation Anaconda - Shame on the Command

In March of 2002, the eyes of the world were on America, who had recently dispatched thousands of troops into Afghanistan. Because of frustration between the military and press about the slow moving progress in Afghanistan, the Pentagon presented a new American offensive. This plan included truck convoys driving deep into the Shah-i-Kot Valley, where a large number of Taliban and AL Qaeda fighters had gathered in the previous months. The command placed in charge of the operation, CENTCOM, did not want to use Air Support to severely weaken the entrenched Taliban fighters, before sending ground forces in. After a dispute between the Marine and CENTCOM commands, CENTCOM agreed to use some small amount of air power, but not the large amount that could have been used, and needed to be used. Still, the Marine command was very anxious about landing troops on the exposed positions indicated, and desperately requested more air support. It was denied. According to Seymour M. Hersh, writer of the book Chain of Command, General Franks [leader of the operation], simply did not want to use air power. Either this man's ego was too big, or he saw some odd obstruction to air power in the valley, the former is most likely. The excuse offered by General Franks? CENTCOM didn't want to lose the element of surprise; this is simply ridiculous, as the Air Combat Command in Virginia noted, 'it was already known throughout the region that an attack was coming.'
On March 2, 2002, the 10th Mountain division and the 101st Airborne Divisions were to be landed at certain chopper landing sectors while truckloads of American trained Afghan fighters, were to head directly up the highway into the valley. The events that followed justified the caution of the Marine command. The first trucks up the highway, packed with Afghan fighters were obliterated by mortar fire at a fixed point on the road. The Al Qaeda fighters had been waiting for them. The subsequent waves refused to advance, as they knew the first wave had been completely blown away. The American joint ground and helicopter assault fared no better. The soldiers were supposed to jump from helicopters which would then proceed to provide fire support. The Taliban and Al Qaeda would then have been caught between Afghan land forces [the ones that were obliterated by mortar fire] and American troops. Instead, terrorist fighters fired on the American troops as they tumbled from the helicopters, they knew that they were going to land in the area, and there had been no American air support to wipe them out. Right at that point, there was, according to a former C.I.A. counter terrorism official, "A complete breakdown at the tactical level. It was a disaster." A Marine officer added, "The chain of command froze. Young soldiers cried and threw down their weapons. There was a total unit failure." The attack was a complete failure with the landing zones littered with weapons, backpacks, supplies, and radios as the panicked American troops fled down the mountain to safety. The result was fourteen American casualties and large numbers of wounded before helicopters and coalition troops were permitted to rescue them. Had Australian S.A.S. commandos not left their mission and driven off the Afghan troops, a former Marine officer says, "we would have lost the entire team." Not only is this operation a shame, but reports indicate that most of the soldiers in the 10th Mountain Division were not even prepared for combat.
The soldiers who fought in Operation Anaconda were valiant men placed in the wrong situation. In this case, the greatest soldiers in the world were given horrible leadership and training. They were not prepared for the situation they were sent into and neither were their commanding officers. I wish to forever memorialize the valor and sacrifice that those men made, and to forever remember the pathetic efforts of their commanding officers, who were willing to sacrifice the soldiers of the United States of America in the way that they did.

Odyssey Dawn

Well, after a series of unsucessful threats, Libya has been struck. As much as I hate the idea of military action while we are already engaged in a very expensive war, I have to say: eat it, Libya. This operation, awesomely named Operation Odyssey Dawn, has seriously damaged Libyan forces. I do not know all of the details, but I do know that this operation was performed expertly. Not only were ground forces not engaged, which would have been a dangerous gamble, but my USAF theory was semi-proved right! Backed by naval Tomahawk Missles, United States (and coalition, but... mostly United States) planes utterly crushed Libyan airpower and military resources. This is, in my opinion, exactly the kind of operation that the United States should engage in. Why put large amounts of American lives in danger when we can make the enemy eat the damage and the casualties. The ground forces that were used also operated in a very admirable fashion; they rolled in, rescued two pilots whose plane had malfunctioned, and rolled out. The US passed complete control of the Operation to NATO, but while we may no longer be leading the strike, we led and coordinated the initial Operation. Despite this, our units are in the extreme majority.

                    The USS Barry firing a Tomahawk Missle. E pluribus unum.

The Architecture and Irrigation Conspiracy

Does anyone ever wonder, when driving casually down a road in either the city or the country, how easy it would be to fortify? Think about it, if you look at any city road, there is usually elaborate walls, hedges, and sometimes even statues and sunken parks all around them. Then take a country road, think about how, most of the time,  irrigation ditches ride along both sides.
If there ever was an invasion of America, I am assuming that the Americans would take up arms (I know I would) and assist the military. What better place to fight then along these roads??? Cover everywhere, you've constantly got an architectual wall, a ditch, a fence, a hedge, to hide behind!
Is this the work of the government? Did they plan this? IS THERE AN IMPENDING INVASION OF AMERICA????? I don't know, but if I had to fight off an invasion of the homeland, it seems like it would be awful convenient.
*This is a ridiculous post, I just felt like posting something like this. It does seem kind of interesting though... next time any of my readers are driving, look along the roadsides and see if there is ever anywhere where one could take cover, I'll bet you'll see quite a few.

This is a picture of me in front of a bridge called 'Le Merderet' in Normandy, France. On June 6, 1944, this bridge was occupied by American paratroopers and there was a very heavy battle, including tanks, bazookas, and machine guns, all around it. In the end, the handfull of American paratroopers managed to hold off large numbers of Germans and four tanks. If you look closely, you can see the ground sloping away from the road, forming a small irrigation ditch, which leads into the stream that the bridge crosses. In 1944, this ditch was much bigger and wider and, during the battle, it was filled with American troops. The American troops won the battle, and their side of the stream had the ditches... does that say anything about my theory?

The Neglect of the U.S.A.F.

I am not the most knowledgeable military strategist in the world, not even close, but I am sure of one thing: air superiority is always the key to victory. If an army has control of the air, they can obliterate any ground unit in sight. In World War II, the Air Force, while not given much credit, saved the lives of thousands of soldiers by hitting the Germans before they could hit us. According to Lt. George Wilson, veteran and author of the WWII novel If You Survive (which is a great book, by the way): "I wonder if the Air Force ever received enough credit for its awesomely effective job. One can only speculate how many infantry lives the Air Force saved. For all that, I am willing to admit that I always resented the extra pay and comfortable living of the Air Force boys. I am now prepared to declare my deepest, most profound appreciation for the work they did and for the incredible risks they took every time they were in the air." There it is, straight from the mouth of a veteran of one of the most vicious wars of the 20th Century; the Air Force has protected the lives of thousands of soldiers in the past, and continue to do so now.
However, now that we have addressed the value of the Air Force, I wish to go one step further and elaborate on a theory of mine concerning the Air Force's role in modern day warfare. Today, the Air Force spends millions of dollars on drones, high tech fighter jets, etc, however their budget is diminutive compared to the Army's. The Army spent 243.9 billion dollars in 2010 to update, control, and maintain their equipment. However, the Air Force, in my opinion, a much more important unit, spent 170.6 billion dollars to update, maintain and operate their equipment. There is a difference of just over 100 billion dollars there! Now, according to the EOD Memorial Foundation, 12 airmen have given their lives in the current War on Terror. Let us compare, according to Wikipedia, a whopping 4,392 men of the U.S. Marines and Army have killed in action, not to mention the 31,827 men wounded. While Wikipedia may not be the best source, we can still see the difference in loss of life for the Air Force and the U.S. Army and Marines. Just in terms of men killed and wounded, the Air Force is a much more efficient unit, but let us go one step further. If U.S. planes swarmed the skies of Iraq and Afghanistan during the day and night, the insurgents would be afraid to leave their caves. One may say that they could still operate effectively as terrorist organization in their caves, but then I will answer with this: if we cut 100 billion dollars from the Army and restrict them to just defense of America herself, give 50 billion of those dollars to the Air Force, and then put the remaining 50 billion dollars into U.S. border protection, the security of the U.S./Mexican Border would increase, and terrorists would have a much more difficult time getting into the country itself. Not just this, but the U.S.A.F. would have a huge surge of funding, and therefore of technology. The U.S. would be foremost in air superiority, not to even speak of the potential innovations that would result. Also, with Marines and Army pulled back out of combat zones, U.S. casualties would plummet, and many more people would support the War.
This is my theory concerning the potential power of the U.S.A.F, and while it is immensely powerful now, I believe the unit could become the best fighting force in the world if we just give it some funding.
Thanks for reading everyone! I know I have one U.S.A.F. veteran among my readers but if there are any others or U.S.A.F. enthusiasts please tell me if you think this theory has potential or is simply ridiculous. By the way, no offense to any Army or Marine soldiers, I just happen to believe the U.S.A.F. is a more valuable unit when comparing firepower and casualties.

This video does not contain open violence, but it does show a vehicle being blown up. If you are sensitive to this, do not watch it. This video shows U.S. Marines pinned down in a street by the vehicle down the road. They are in Mosul, Iraq. If you listen you can hear the Marines talking to each other and the cracks and pings of bullets hitting their Humvee. This camera was mounted on the bumper of the armored vehicle that they are firing from. This video shows the awesome power of the Air Force. If you pause it at 0:25, you can see the missile coming towards the vehicle. After watching it, consider how long it would have taken for the Marines to do the same job the F-16 did in seconds. This does not even bring into consideration the potential wounds and loss of life that may have ensued. Enjoy everyone!

Why Is Everyone Afraid of the Military?

One of my premier interests is chemical engineering - however I am very passionate about the military. As a result, if I go into the chemical engineering field, I will probably be working with or for the military. However, when I mention this to my homeschooling friends, many of whom are very well educated, the majority of them recoil in astonishment or surprise. I have yet to meet a homeschooling family that supports or even understands my passion. This is unfortunate, because what the modern military needs are innovative thinkers, people who can anticipate and understand situations, then react to them before anyone else can. No offense to any schoolers who read my blog, but the best thinkers of this generation have been coming from homeschoolers. Why then, are homeschoolers so afraid of the military?
What I have come to believe is that the military scares people. Despite their advertisements pushing 'honor' and 'duty,' the military cannot really distract people from the casualty list. Yet, there are approximately 2,278,895 soldiers serving in the United States Armed Forces as of September 2010. Of these troops, 68,000 are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. (Info. from U.S. Department of Defense.) That's only 33% of American forces. That is a big percentage, but it becomes even smaller if you consider the number of men who actually go into combat. If you sign up, there is a better chance that you will end up manning base in the U.S. then fighting in Afghanistan.
I, for one, am determined to help support my country by serving or helping those who serve. I have subscribed to the National Defense magazine, and after doing this I have become even more caught up with the military. Not only do you work with thousands of other men and women towards a common goal, but if you stay in long enough, you could potentially change the way America itself functions. This is appealing to me, as America indeed needs change, and only the new generation of thinkers and politicians can do this. Although I do not intend to fight on the front lines of American liberty, I do intend to help those who do. Perhaps some of the homeschoolers who previously recoiled in distaste at my decision will understand why I think the way I do, and maybe even consider a career involving the military.

Don't worry! That's not me manning a bunker, that's just me posing for a shot in Normandy. By the way, if anyone has specific reasons why they dislike the military, please post a comment as to why. Thanks!

Inception Deception

Unfortunately, this blog post will not be about the movie Inception, as I have not seen it. However, it will be about an equally exciting topic: deception.
From the earliest of times, deception has been used to defeat the strongest of enemies. From biblical times to modern day, the generals have deceived their enemies to achieve a victory. However, one of the most interesting examples, to me, is that of Julius Caesar's actions during a particular battle of the Gallic Wars. Now, many people think of Julius Caesar as the statesmen assassinated by his friends, or maybe even the canned dog food featuring a pristine white dog on the cover, but, Julius had an extensive and successful career before he got into politics, or the dog food industry.
Julius Caesar was marching with his legion somewhere in France enjoying the lovely weather, tasty wine, and fanatical tribesmen... fanatical tribesmen? Indeed, he was constantly attacked by armies of Gauls, but this particular army was much bigger than any of those he had faced before. However, Caesar did not lose hope, instead, he selected the most advantageous position for a camp he could find, and began scheming. His first move was to shrink the size of his camp. He made men share tents and he reduced the widths of the roads within, causing the Gauls to believe he commanded a much smaller army then he actually had. After he did this, he ordered all of his men to feign confusion and disorder. When the Gallic army arrived, they found a tiny camp populated by seemingly terrified soldiers. Once they observed this, they held Caesar and his army in contempt. So arrogant were they, that they sent one division of cavalry out to confront the fort. Caesar replied by sending out cavalry who were specifically told to break and flee in terror after a minute's worth of combat. This done, Caesar made an extravagant show of bracing all of his walls with earth, including, so the Gauls thought, the gates. The Gauls, thinking that Caesar had piled earth against his gates, by doing so hemming himself in, began to act very reckless, assuming that Caesar was trapped within his fort. They took up a disadvantageous position and began to stroll about without their weapons. Finally, they attacked with a portion of their army, thinking that Caesar's army was very small, and very demoralized. Instead, they met with brutal resistance, and as they attempted to scale the walls, Caesar and most of his camp burst out of the supposedly blockaded gates. Caught by surprise, the Gauls were mowed down before Caesar's army. After a short battle, the entire Gallic army fled into the forests.
As you can see, this episode of deception was carried out with such skill so as to trick an entire army and eventually defeat them. This, while not the inception of deception is still one of the best early examples of a small army deceiving a much larger one, and by doing so obtaining victory.

    This is a photo of the town of Sancerre, in central France, taken by me when I went to study French there.
As you can see, the geography of the area involves extensive forests, and if any of my readers are wondering why Caesar let any of this large Gallic army escape, you now know why. Thanks for reading!