BattlelandVeterans
Before I introduce myself, I want to thank all of the readers of this column for your kind words about my first post. David Self was a wonderful person and a dedicated NCO. Men and women like him are the backbone of our armed forces; they do the tough business in training and in combat. We lose them far too often and it’s always …
BattlelandNational Security
Soldiers aren’t the only thing surging in Afghanistan. There are now 18,919 hired guns — aka “private security contractor personnel” — working for the U.S. military in that country, according to a new report from the Congressional Research Service. “The number of PSC personnel in Afghanistan has more than tripled since June 2009,” …
BattlelandNational Security
In a primitive land where women have been suppressed for centuries, the U.S. military and NATO are trying to change that. Jack Kem, a top NATO trainer, said he and his team are trying to bring “gender mainstreaming” into Afghan society. That’s a stiff challenge, given this story by TIME’s Aryn Baker last year.
Kem, on leave from the …
BattlelandNational Security
So, you think we’re going to start withdrawing U.S. forces from Afghanistan this summer? Here’s something that might give you pause: you’ve just spent $130 million building a better gas station for aircraft at the huge U.S. military base at Bagram Airfield, just north of Kabul. Bagram is the central pit stop for the U.S. war effort, and …
BattlelandNational Security
Apparently the U.S. military doesn’t only have a surplus of generals (see earlier post), but colonels as well.
Army Reserve Col. Lawrence Sellin offers a keen peek at what happens inside the headquarters running the war in Afghanistan.
The blog Danger Room reports he has already been booted for his observations.
BattlelandNational Security
General James Conway, the Marine commandant, told reporters at the Pentagon Tuesday that his 202,000 Marines are “pretty macho” compared to the 1.2 million Americans in the other services. He might just as well have been speaking about himself and his willingness to say what he thinks. After all, the Marines are the smallest — and like …
