BattlelandAfghanistan
War (Business) Is Hell
Nifty contract solicitation posted Friday by the U.S. Special Operations Command. You know, the guys who got Osama bin Laden. They need local Afghan security guards to protect their “(firebases, village stability platforms, etc.)” as the U.S. special forces go about their business. You may recall that Afghan President Hamid Karzai …
BattlelandSuicide
Never Mind…
Major General Dana Pittard, who blogged that soldiers who kill themselves are selfish, has had second thoughts. Battleland’s own Ron Capps, who served under him, said the comment was”probably the first dumb thing he’s said or done in his career.” Like lawmakers on Capitol Hill who get verbal do-overs all the time, the two-general now …
BattlelandTroops
Of Memorial Days, and Sons and Daughters
With the holiday upon us, a friend recently asked me how I planned to teach my children about the importance of Memorial Day. As a former Marine and veteran of two tours to Iraq, the question surprisingly caught me off guard. I …
BattlelandAuthor Q&A
The Aftershocks of War
We’ve had a flurry of books written by troops recounting their battles in Afghanistan and Iraq. Now come the books detailing the battles fought once they got home.
Mike Scotti served with the Marines in both Iraq and Afghanistan, and saw war’s horrors up close and personal. When he came back home, he gradually felt himself being …
BattlelandProcurement
Real Lessons From an Unreal Helicopter
The Army’s RAH-66 Comanche helicopter was going to be totally awesome, dude. This super-stealthy light attack helicopter, bristling with advanced sensors and communication gear, was going to perform loads of armed …
“Got Ya Covered…”
BattlelandWar Story
“If You Ever Wonder What a Deployment Is Like, Go to Prison”
Some soldiers get along, and others don’t. It’s the latter that make for the most interesting tales when they speak of their time at war. Army Major Ryan Ussery is a logistician – the guy who keeps the beans, bullets and boots coming to the troops on the front lines (motto: Sustinendum Victoriam). He has pulled three tours in Iraq, …
BattlelandSouth China Sea
Clock Ticks On China-Japan Islands Dispute
TOKYO – Japan has one year, maybe two, to resolve the ownership dispute over a tiny group of islands or risk an honest-to-goodness shooting war with China. Unfortunately, neither Japan’s diplomats nor public seem to realize …
BattlelandMilitary Health
The Miracle Manufacturers: Limb Salvage and the IDEO Team
In this week’s dead tree edition, I have a piece about a small medical team at Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC) in San Antonio who are having incredible success helping limb salvage patients return to an active life, and many …
BattlelandNational Security
Refixing the Pentagon. Again.
The professional nitpickers over the Center for a New American Security have just issued a report saying the Defense Department remains welded to the past:
…the Pentagon still has not enacted the types of reforms that we believe are necessary to sustain U.S. military pre-eminence into the future. Too many DOD structures, processes,
…
BattlelandVeterans
The President Wants Your Help in Re-Upping
President Obama’s campaign rolled out this “Sacred Trust” ad Wednesday. His re-election effort says it “highlights the President’s strong commitment to honoring our veterans.” It’s part of a $25 million, four-week ad buy in nine states: Colorado, Florida, North Carolina, Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania and …
BattlelandVeterans
Wait-Watchers
Despite the fact that the Department of Veterans Affairs Budget has more than doubled – to about $120 billion – since 2004, it and the Pentagon are falling further behind in assessing whether or not veterans are due disability benefits. This chart, from a Government Accountability Office statement released Wednesday, tells the …
