By Steve
White
September 11, 2001 is one of those days that will “live
in infamy.” A day for which each of us will be able to recall exactly
where we were and what we were doing when the news of the attack reached
us. One of those sad days like the attack on Pearl Harbor, the
assassination of John F. Kennedy, or the explosion of the Space Shuttle
Challenger.
My heart goes out to all the victims and their
families. To the fire fighters and police that perished in the line of
duty.
I rage at the my inability to contribute more
than money, blood and prayers to the war which we must now wage to protect
our families, country, and way of life. Would that I was 20 years younger,
so that I could once more bear the honor of our country’s defense.
I fear that we Americans won’t have the
stomach to sustain the protracted war of many fronts that we have
enjoined. Perhaps our (TROA) mission should be to ensure that our fellow
Americans keep faith in the President and the government and maintain
resolve to bring this conflict to a successful end, no matter how long it
may take
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By
Richard Kidd (from the Internet)
(This is some very good reading to understand the
Afghan situation and some insight on how to fight this war from someone (a
West Point grad) who spent a lot of time in that country. This is a letter
he sent to his classmates. Editor.)
Dear Classmates:
Many of you are probably not aware that I was one of
the last American citizens to have spent a great deal of time in
Afghanistan. I was first there in 1993 providing relief and assistance to
refugees along the Tajik border and in this capacity have traveled all
along the border region between the two countries. In 1998 and 1999 I was
the Deputy Program Manager for the UN's mine action program in
Afghanistan. This program is the largest civilian employer in the country
with over 5,000 persons clearing mines and UXO. In this later capacity, I
was somewhat ironically engaged in a "Holy War" as decreed by
the Taliban, against the evil of land mines, and by a special proclamation
of Mullah Omar, all those who might have died in this effort were
considered to be "martyrs" even an "infidel" like
myself. The mine action program is the most respected relief effort in the
country and because of this I had the opportunity to travel extensively,
without too much interference or restriction. I still have extensive
contacts in the area and among the Afghan community and read a great deal
on the subject.
I had wanted to write earlier and share some of my
perspectives, but quite frankly I have been a bit too popular in DC this
past week and have not had time. Dr. Tony Kern's comments were excellent
and I would like to use them as a basis for sharing some observations.
First, he is absolutely correct. This war is about will, resolve and
character. I want to touch on that later, but first I want to share some
comments about our "enemy." Our enemy is not the people of
Afghanistan. The country is devastated beyond what most of us can imagine.
The vast majority of the people live day-to-day, hand to mouth in abject
conditions of poverty, misery and deprivation. Less than 30% of the men
are literate, the women even less. The country is exhausted, and
desperately wants something like peace. They know very little of the world
at large, and have no access to information or knowledge that would
counter what they are being told by the Taliban. They have nothing left,
nothing that is except for their pride.
Who is our enemy? Well, our enemy is a group of
non-Afghans, often referred to by the Afghans as "Arabs" and a
fanatical group of religious leaders and their military cohort, the
Taliban. The non-Afghan contingent came from all over the Islamic world to
fight in the war against the Russians. Many came using a covert network
created with assistance by our own government. OBL (as Osama bin Laden was
referred to by us in the country at the time) restored this network to
bring in more fighters, this time to support the Taliban in their civil
war against the former Mujehdeen. Over time this military support along
with financial support has allowed OBL and his "Arabs" to co-opt
significant government activities and leaders. OBL is the "inspector
general" of Taliban armed forces, his bodyguards protect senior Talib
leaders and he has built a system of deep bunkers for the Taliban, which
were designed to withstand cruise missile strikes (uhm, where did he learn
to do that?). His forces basically rule the southern city of Kandahar.
This high-profile presence of OBL and his "Arabs" has, in the
last 2 years or so, started to generate a great deal of resentment on the
part of the local Afghans. At the same time the legitimacy of the Taliban
regime has started to decrease as it has failed to end the war, as local
humanitarian conditions have worsened and as "cultural"
restrictions have become even harsher. It is my assessment that most
Afghans no longer support the Taliban. Indeed the Taliban have recently
had a very difficult time getting recruits for their forces and have had
to rely more and more on non-Afghans, either from Pushtun tribes in
Pakistan or from OBL. OBL and the Taliban, absent any US action were
probably on their way to sharing the same fate that all other outsiders
and outside doctrines have experienced in Afghanistan-defeat and
dismemberment.
During the Afghan war with the Soviets much attention
was paid to the martial prowess of the Afghans. We were all at West Point
at the time and most of us had high-minded idealistic thoughts about how
we would all want to go help the brave "freedom fighters" in
their struggle against the Soviets. Those concepts were naive to the
extreme. The Afghans, while never conquered as a nation, are not
invincible in battle. A "good" Afghan battle is one that makes a
lot of noise and light. Basic military skills are rudimentary and clouded
by cultural constraints that no matter what, a warrior should never lose
his honor. Indeed, firing from the prone is considered distasteful (but
still done). Traditionally, the Afghan order of battle is very feudal in
nature, with fighters owing allegiance to a "commander" and this
person owing allegiance upwards and so on and so on. Often such allegiance
is secured by payment. And while the Taliban forces have changed this
somewhat, many of the units in the Taliban army are there because they are
being paid to be there. All such groups have very strong loyalties along
ethnic and tribal lines. Again, the concept of having a place of
"honor" and "respect" is of paramount importance and
blood feuds between families and tribes can last for generations over a
perceived or actual slight.
That is one reason why there were 7 groups of Mujehdeen
fighting the Russians. It is a very difficult task to form and keep united
a large bunch of Afghans into a military formation. The "real"
stories that have come out of the war against the Soviets are very
enlightening and a lot different from our fantastic visions as cadets.
When the first batch of Stingers came in and were given to one Mujehdeen
group, another group-supposedly on the same side, attacked the first group
and stole the Stingers, not so much because they wanted to use them, but
because having them was a matter of prestige. Many larger coordinated
attacks that advisers tried to conduct failed when all the various Afghan
fighting groups would give up their assigned tasks (such as blocking or
overwatch) and instead would join the assault group in order to seek
glory. In comparison to Vietnam, the intensity of combat and the rate of
fatalities were lower for all involved.
As you can tell from above, it is my assessment that
these guys are not THAT good in a purely military sense and the
"Arabs" probably even less so than the Afghans. So why is it
that they have never been conquered? It goes back to Dr. Kern's point
about will. During their history the only events that have managed to form
any semblance of unity among the Afghans, is the desire to fight foreign
invaders. And in doing this the Afghans have been fanatical. The Afghans'
greatest military strength is the ability to endure hardships that would,
in all probability, kill most Americans and enervate the resolve of all
but the most elite military units. The physical difficulties of fighting
in Afghanistan, the terrain, the weather and the harshness are all weapons
that our enemies will use to their advantage and use well. (NOTE: For you
military planner types and armchair generals--around November 1st most
road movement is impossible, in part because all the roads used by the
Russians have been destroyed and air movement will be problematic at
best). Also, those fighting us are not afraid to fight. OBL and others do
not think the US has the will or the stomach for a fight. Indeed after the
absolutely inane missile strikes of 1998, the overwhelming consensus was
that we were cowards, who would not risk one life in face to face combat.
Rather than demonstrating our might and acting as a deterrent, that action
and others of the not so recent past, have reinforced the perception that
the US does not have any "will" and that were are morally and
spiritually corrupt.
Our challenge is to play to the weaknesses of our
enemy, notably their propensity for internal struggles, the distrust
between the extremists/Arabs and the majority of Afghans, their limited
ability to fight coordinated battles and their lack of external support.
More importantly though is that we have to take steps not to play to their
strengths, which would be to unite the entire population against us by
increasing their suffering or killing innocents, to get bogged down trying
to hold terrain, or to get into a battle of attrition chasing up and down
mountain valleys.
I have been asked how I would fight the war. This is a
big question and well beyond my pay grade or expertise. And while I do not
want to second guess current plans or start an academic debate, I would
share the following from what I know about Afghanistan and the Afghans.
First, I would give the Northern Alliance a big wad
of cash so that they can buy off a chunk of the Taliban army before
winter.
Second, also with this cash I would pay some guys
to kill some of the Taliban leadership making it look like an inside job
to spread distrust and build on existing discord.
Third I would support the Northern alliance with
military assets, but not take it over or adopt so high a profile as to
undermine its legitimacy in the eyes of most Afghans.
Fourth would be to give massive amounts of
humanitarian aid and assistance to the Afghans in Pakistan in order to
demonstrate our goodwill and to give these guys a reason to live rather
than the choice between dying of starvation or dying fighting the
"infidel."
Fifth, start a series of public works projects in
areas of the country not under Taliban control (these are much more than
the press reports) again to demonstrate goodwill and that improvements
come with peace.
Sixth, I would consider vary carefully putting any
female service members into Afghanistan proper-sorry to the females of our
class, but within that culture a man who allows a women to fight for him
has zero respect, and we will need respect to gain the cooperation of
Afghan allies. No Afghan will work with a man who fights with women.
I would hold off from doing anything too dramatic in
the near term, keeping a low level of covert action and pressure up over
the winter, allowing this pressure to force open the fissions around the
Taliban that were already developing. Expect that they will quickly turn
on themselves and on OBL. We can pick up the pieces next summer, or the
summer after. When we do "pick-up" the pieces I would make sure
that we do so on the ground, "man to man."
While I would never want to advocate American
causalities, it is essential that we communicate to OBL and all others
watching that we can and will "engage and destroy the enemy in close
combat." As mentioned above, we should not try to gain or hold
terrain, but Infantry operations against the enemy are essential. There
can be no excuses after the defeat or lingering doubts in the minds of our
enemies regarding American resolve and nothing, nothing will communicate
this except for ground combat. And once this is all over, unlike in 1989
the US must provide continued long-term economic assistance to rebuild the
country.
While I have written too much already, I think it is
also important to share a few things on the subject of brutality. Our
opponents will not abide by the Geneva conventions. There will be no
prisoners unless there is a chance that they can be ransomed or made part
of a local prisoner exchange.
During the war with the Soviets, videotapes were made
of communist prisoners having their throats slit. Indeed, there did exist
a "trade" in prisoners so that souvenir videos could be made by
outsiders to take home with them. This practice has spread to the
Philippines, Bosnia and Chechnya were similar videos are being made today
and can be found on the web for those so inclined. We can expect our
soldiers to be treated the same way. Sometime during this war I expect
that we will see videos of US prisoners having their heads cut off. Our
enemies will do this not only to demonstrate their "strength" to
their followers, but also to cause us to overreact, to seek wholesale
revenge against civilian populations and to turn this into the world wide
religious war that they desperately want. This will be a test of our will
and of our character. (For further collaboration of this type of activity
please read Kipling). This will not be a pretty war; it will be a war of
wills, of resolve and somewhat conversely of compassion and of a
character. Towards our enemies, we must show a level of ruthlessness that
has not been part of our military character for a long time. But to those
who are not our enemies we must show a level of compassion probably
unheard of during war. We should do this not for humanitarian reasons,
even though there are many, but for shrewd military logic.
For anyone who is still reading this way to long note,
thanks for your patience. I will try to answer any questions that may
arise in a more concise manner.
Thanks, Richard Kidd
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By Steve
White
TROA National is asking members to urge Legislators to
adopt the Senate Concurrent Receipt Proposal
Now is the time to contact your legislators to ask them
to do everything in their power to ensure House and Senate conferees
retain the Senate’s concurrent receipt initiative in the final FY 2002
Defense Authorization Bill. This is important because the Senate bill
would remove the disability offset to retired pay as of October 1, 2002.
The House bill expresses support for doing that, but specifies it will
actually happen only if the President puts funding for it in the FY2003
budget, which appears unlikely to happen.
If this inequity is to be addressed this year, we need
to pull out all the stops to urge Congress to adopt the Senate proposal.
TROA offers you two ways to act:
1. Visit TROA’s Web site at http://capwiz.com/TROA/home/
and click on the Action Alert link to send a TROA-prepared message to your
legislators.
2. Use TROA’s toll-free hot line to Capitol Hill
(1-877-762-8762) to telephone your elected officials. Just ask the
operator to connect you with your legislator’s office and give the
following message to your legislator’s staff:
“I urge my representative and senators to do
everything they can to ensure the final Defense Authorization Bill retains
the Senate proposal to end the disability offset to military retired pay.
Disabled retirees already paid a physical penalty for spending a career in
service. It’s long past time to stop imposing this additional financial
penalty on them. Keep the Senate concurrent receipt proposal in the final
Defense bill.”
It’s especially important to send this message to the
senior House leadership and the members of the House and Senate Armed
Services Committees. You can find this information at http://capwiz.com/TROA/dbq/officials/directory/directory.dbq?command=congdir
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By LCDR
Dan Shanower (from the Internet)
Editor's Note: Commander Shanower was killed in the 11
September 2001 terrorist attack on the Pentagon. This article has been
shortened to fit the available space.
In an era of downsizing and tight budgets, it’s easy
to let the issues of the day and our different cultures and traditions
distance us from our peers in the other military services. Memorial Day is
one day of the year when those differences seem insignificant, when all
service members reflect on the one defining experience many of us have
felt that sets us apart from the rest of society—the loss of close
friends in the defense of our nation.
Late on the evening of 22 November 1987, the last cycle
recovered on board the Midway but without our EA-6B Prowler. I remember
walking into the ready room that night. Shock written on every face, the
remaining air crewmen busied themselves computing the aircraft’s
possible maximum time aloft, in the hope that the Prowler had just lost
use of its radios and soon would be “in the groove.” It had been an
emissions-control launch and recovery, so no radar operator could have
seen a blip disappear from his screen. No emergency call had been heard,
and no other aircraft reported seeing an explosion. We assumed the worst
and broke out the gouge for dealing with an aircraft accident.
Assignments were passed out, and as I headed back to BK
10 to seal the wall lockers of my three bunkmates, I noticed a large cake
sitting in front of the commanding officer’s ready room chair. It was to
have been his 1,000th trap. The Navy lost four fine officers that evening.
Despite an extensive search, no wreckage was ever located.
These four men have been dead ten years. I miss their
friendship, but I believe that because they died in the prime of their
lives in the service of our country their sacrifices take on a special
meaning. I think, however, that to a man, what really would have impressed
them was to know that to their shipmates they had come to personify the
virtues that we salute on this national holiday.
The military loses scores of personnel every year in
training or operational accidents. Each one risked and lost his or her
life for something they believed in, leaving behind friends, family, and
shipmates to bear the burden and celebrate their devotion to our country.
I’ll never forget them, and I’ll never forget the
day I learned that freedom isn’t free.
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By Al
Garcia
One month has gone by since the horrendous, barbaric,
events of September 11th. We are today involved in a very
serious task of answering the terrorists declared war on America and the
freedom-loving world. The responsibility of performing the mission of
winning a war is placed mainly on the shoulders of the military. We,
members of TROA, have been there in the past. We have answered the call to
"duty" and can well empathize with our comrades-in-arms and
their families as they deploy to foreign lands.
The motion made by Bill Vincent during our last
membership meeting that "all members of the Chapter volunteer to get
back in uniform," seconded by Dr. Hall, graciously approved
unanimously, expresses our feelings and support of President Bush's
decision to "Declare War on Terrorism." I know that each of you
feel the urgency of protecting our Country and the freedoms it provides to
its citizenry. We stand ready to do what will be required of us. I believe
that one of the things we need to do is to commend our military and its
leaders to God through fervent prayer.
We all know that sacrifices are required from all of us
when our country is at war. We need to be prepared to do our part
especially as we go about our daily activities. Our country is vulnerable
to enemy attacks from agents within our borders. It behooves us all to
support our community's efforts to defend against any surprises.
The Holidays are fast approaching. Thanksgiving is just
around the corner with Christmas on its heels. These Holidays will be sad
for many families who have members participating in the war effort
overseas. We should pledge to find members of our community who have loved
ones in harms way and befriend them. Any Suggestions?
There is an article and a picture in the RETIRED
OFFICERS magazine regarding our Chapter. They used an old photo of our
float in the Aztec Veteran's Day parade on November 11, 2000. Hope you all
had a chance to read this item on page 50.
The Scholarship Committee will make an initial report
at our next membership meeting on October 19. I am excited to start
creating a scholarship fund. Hope you are too.
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