This ain't Hell, but you can see it from here

Author: Operator Dan

  • Trouble in my old AO

    I was very saddened to see that a series of bombings in the city of Hit in Iraq killed eight including the family of Lt. Col Suleiman (the BBC says he was a major but he wasn’t), the leader of a counter-terrorism unit in Hit. After my battalion left Ninawa province, my company was assigned an AO that stretched from the western outskirts of Ramadi all the way up to the city of Haditha. In the middle of that AO was the city of Hit, which was about six klicks south of the COP we were posted at. During my time in Hit, there wasn’t a lot of insurgent activity. There were weak attempts at placing IEDs that targeted convoys moving from Al Asad Airbase along MSR Bronze and of course the occasional pot-shot at our posts and helos flying into our COP. RKG-3s, like everywhere else in the country at the time, were also a problem. One of the reasons why Hit, which at one point was literally controlled by insurgents, was so quiet during my time there was because an effective Iraqi police and counter-terrorist force had been trained and deployed in the city, which was led by Lt. Col Suleiman. The Iraqis were able to do most operations on their own and almost never requested our help. Iraqi forces even had an EOD capability in our AO, and on one occasion were able to defuse a complex magnetic IED on their own, without any assistance from our Navy EOD attachment. Of course, it wasn’t perfect in Hit. The mayor was extremely corrupt and used money the Americans gave him to hold parties that resembled something out of Miami Vice at his home along the Euphrates River. Some of the local IPs were related to known insurgents and were helping them elude American and Iraqi forces. But the progress made in just a short time is amazing and shouldn’t be ignored.

    When most media outlets report these incidents, they seem to relish in the carnage they cause. For years most of the chattering class in the media predicted and even cheered on complete failure in Iraq. When the surge worked and violence subsided, many media outlets turned to magnifying isolated attacks or political failures in an attempt to show that Iraq was on the verge of coming apart. I remember when I was in Iraq on several occasions reading New York Times and Washington Post articles about bombings in Baghdad, Mosul or up the road in Ramadi and the writers implying that the whole country was on the verge of coming apart. There were was a lot of this type of hysteria in the lead up to the June 30th deadline to withdraw from the cities, with many predicting that once the Americans left these cities would explode. Of course this never happened, and for the most part, Iraqis were able to fill the void left by departing American forces.

    The bombings in Hit do not mean that the city will come apart and explode into violence, as some people predict and secretly want. The Iraqi Security Forces (most likely with little or no American help) will attempt to track down the savages who committed these acts of violence down and if they catch them, well, lets just say that the Iraqis’ version of GITMO is a hole in the desert. Take that last part however you want…

    090326-M-7997R-027

    Iraqi Army rehearsing for a raid in Hit

  • I Hope This Story Has Legs

    Senator Harry Reid is in trouble. Despite the fact he is the Senate Majority Leader and one of the most visible Democrats in the country, he is trailing in most polls behind potential Republican challengers. He has even been labeled as the most vulnerable Democratic incumbent in the Senate by the Cook Political Report.

    Of course, all this was before this story came out today:

    Washington (CNN) – Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid apologized Saturday following reports he had privately described then-candidate Barack Obama during the presidential campaign as a black candidate who could be successful thanks in part to his “light-skinned” appearance and speaking patterns “with no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one.”

    It should come as no surprise that this came out on a weekend. If you don’t want a story to have legs, you try and get it released on a weekend when nobody is paying any attention or is too drunk/hungover to take it seriously. The media did the same thing with the Edwards affair story in 2008 in an attempt to kill it before the Democratic Convention.

    The Trent Lott story lasted for weeks and killed his attempt to become majority leader again. Anybody want to take bets on whether this has the same effect for Reid?

  • Happiness Is A Belt-Fed Weapon

    Around the time I was seperating from the Marine Corps, there was a lot of talk in infantry units about how the Marine Corps was trying to replace the SAW in line infantry fireteams with a project called the Infantry Automatic Rifle (IAR). Last month, the Marine Corps selected what is essentially an HK-416 with a longer, heavier barrel as the IAR. The Marines Corps says that it will not completely phase out the SAW from its inventory, keeping it around for tasks such as base security and for use on vehicles. Some of the stuff I have read on the IAR has stated that the SAW will still be in an infantry battalion’s T/O &E, but it wasn’t clear on how it would be employed. Even though the Commandant has expressed doubts about the program, the IAR is waiting on approval for production from Congress. The Army will not be participating in the IAR program.

    I think the Marine Corps is making an incredibly stupid decision pursuing the IAR as a replacement for the SAW. The intent behind removing the SAW from the rifle squad is to increase the mobility and speed of the squad by replacing the “heavy” and “cumbersome” SAW with something lighter. According to the Marine Corps Times, when Marines pushed into Baghdad in 2003, the average fighting load was about 50 lbs. Now that is what I call a “Quantico stat” (meaning it came from some pogue’s office in Quantico) so I am going to add 20 lbs to that number. In 2009, Marines were going into battle in Iraq and Afghanistan with close to 90 lbs (110 lbs) of gear on average. Every grunt that has deployed to either OIF and OEF in the last couple years knows damn well that the majority of that weight increase has come from the increased weight of body armor and other personal protective equipment (PPE). E-SAPIs, side SAPIS, neck protectors, groin protectors (I’m not opposed to this one), nape protectors… I’m sure there is other people here that could add to the list. All these things have added a tremendous amount of weight to the grunt’s fighting load. Not to mention that the Modular Tactical Vest (MTV), which replaced the Interceptor in Marine Corps service last year, is two pounds heavier than the Interceptor and restricts movement more than the Interceptor and is much more difficult to put on. Some units are deploying with lighter plate carriers to Afghanistan but almost everybody heading over to Helmand still has to haul their MTV. So whats weighing down the rifle squad more? 60 lbs of PPE per Marine or 2 or 3 17 lb SAWs with about 30 lbs of ammo each distributed among the squad?

    The SAW is not perfect. It is heavy and anybody that has humped one knows its a beast. It is a lot harder to maintain than an M4 or M16 and it is definitely a lot less reliable. Nobody can dispute however that the SAW, when properly employed, can dish out an incredible amount of firepower and adds a lot of lethality to a rifle squad. The Marine Corps understood this when it introduced the SAW and that is why over the last twenty years the Marine Corps has built the rifle squad and fireteam around the SAW. Removing the SAW from the infantry will require that the Marine Corps completely rethink how the fireteam is employed and retrain infantry unit leaders. More dangerously, it will reduce the lethality of Marines operating in Afghanistan where often the only thing that has saved Marines from being overrun is a massive amount of fire superiority, which the SAW provides.

    The IAR is unforunately just another bullet on a list of bad decisions that Marine Corps has made about gear over the last few years. The Lightweight Helmet, while superior to the old PAGST, is still heavier than the Army’s MICH and has a lower cut which makes it harder to shoot in the prone (which is while most Marine Corps Sniper and Recon units use the MICH). The ILBE pack, while probably great for hippies hiking the Appalachian Trail, doesn’t work well with body armor. Worse the Marine Corps has recognized this and is going back to the MOLLE which the Marines Corps replaced years ago because of its crappy plastic frame. I’ve already talked about the MTV.

    If the Marine Corps wants to reduce weight and increase mobility, invest in developing lighter body armor and synthetic materials to use to build new SAWs which are lighter than current models. The Army is already doing it with the 240 and other weapons. The Commandant thinks this is a stupid idea, but since he is playing politics with this decision just like he did with the MTV, he is just going to sit back and let System Command make the decision.

    No doubt replacing the SAW will increase speed and mobility. It will also make it easier to run away from a fight when you are  outgunned.

  • Thoughts on New TSA Rules

    I’m sure that most of you saw that Michael Yon was arrested (or detained) yesterday in Seattle for refusing to disclose his personal income to TSA screeners. Basically what happened was is Yon was taken aside for further screening (which he should considering his travel patterns) and was asked about his income. When he refused to answer, he was handcuffed.  I can’t think of any valid reason why income would be an issue when it comes to screening airline passengers, but I guess some “analyst” or “security expert” thought it was pertinent question to ask airline passengers. I am assuming these are the same “analysts” and “security experts” who are coming up with all the new rules and regulations for airline security in response to the Christmas Day underwear bomber.

    My fundamental problem with the TSA implementing new rules is that is quite clear that the old rules and regulations were not being properly enforced prior to this bombing attempt. If the old rules weren’t being follow, what makes anybody believe that the new ones will? This is not like 9/11 where the hijackers exploited loopholes in lax airline security rules. By no measure under TSA and Northwest Airline rules, should have the underwear bomber been allowed to even get near the plane. This was a failure in several different agencies (State Department, CIA, TSA, etc.) and in the airline itself.

    The problem isn’t a lack of rules, its the people enforcing them.

    Last thing: we need to be careful about “profiling”. I don’t have a problem with the TSA pulling aside people who are coming from countries like Yemen, Sudan, Iraq, or Afghanistan for extra screening. These countries obviously are having problems with terrorism, but also are having issues with stability and naturally can’t be expected to have the same quality of security as would other nations. However, Al Qaida is a very dynamic organization and they will find ways around this, just like with everything else. The TSA needs to make sure they can stay one step ahead of them and remain flexible (and flexible doesn’t mean coming out with stupid new rules everytime they get a threat), but I fear they are too bureaucratic to do that.

    They should also looking into giving their employees some Combat Hunter training.

  • Presidential Vacations and the Media: From Outrage to Pity

    Of the many things President Bush was criticized for was the amount of vacation he took as President.

    Here is another article from the end of Bush’s Presidency along the same lines.

    Contrast these attacks on President Bush with this article from the AP in regards to Obama’s holiday in Hawaii.

    Here are some excerpts:

    WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama returned Monday to the White House he never really escaped.

    Obama and his family took an overnight flight from Hawaii, capping an 11-day holiday vacation sure to be remembered more for the botched attempt to blow up a Christmas Day flight than the hours spent on golf courses or at luaus. The failed terror attack refocused the president’s trip from R&R on the island of Oahu to a river of memos from homeland security aides.

    Even though it was called a vacation, the trip to Obama’s childhood home was hardly the holiday most people seek. Between golf outings, he phoned his homeland security secretary and counterterrorism adviser for regular updates. Rather than restaurant recommendations, the president was handed thrice-daily updates from the White House Situation Room. And an attack that killed seven U.S. intelligence officers put him on the phone with the CIA director before heading to the island’s North Shore for a party with high school friends.

    Its almost like the author of this article is more pissed off at the fact that the President’s vacation was interrupted than the fact that Al Qaida tried to murder hundreds of Americans. A President is never really on vacation. Everyday he still has to get briefs and is followed by literally tons of comm gear that enable to run the country from anywhere. It doesn’t matter if he is in Washington, Camp David, Hawaii, or Siberia. He still runs the country and he is still accountable for what happens, vacation or no vacation.

  • The Story That Won’t Go Away (and Why It Shouldn’t)

    Today I saw a story on my Yahoo homepage about a third party crasher getting into the White House state dinner last November. The Secret Service hasn’t released the party crasher’s name yet, but has said that it was a male with the Indian delegation and that he didn’t get close to the President or First Lady.

    When this story broke, I got very interested in the details behind it and not because I am a huge fan of The Real Housewives series, polo, or Virginia wine (I wouldn’t be caught dead near any of those three things). As I mentioned in my first post, I spent the first part of my enlistment serving as part of the Marine Security Company at Camp David. I worked a lot with the Secret Service and developed a respect for their professionalism and skill. I also know and served with one of the Marines that was photographed with the Salahis. When information about how the Salahis got into the White House started to emerge and when the White House started to try and throw the Secret Service under the bus, naturally I got a little suspicious about the story the White House was putting out about how the Salahis got in.

    Lets first go over some things about the Salahis that haven’t been widely reported.

    1. Tareq Salahi was a member of the Virginia Wine Board and eventually was appointed its chairman by Governor Warner. When Tim Kaine was elected governor of Virginia, he appointed Salahi a member of the state’s tourism board in the hopes that Salahi would help attract wine tourists to the state and that Virginia would develop the equivalent of California’s Napa Valley. Tim Kaine’s inaugural committee even bought $25k worth of wine from Salahi’s now bankrupt vineyard. Salahi also has donated money to both Republican and Democratic politicians in Virginia. Its no secret that Tim Kaine helped Obama win Virigina (and the Presidency) in 2008 and Kaine is now chairman of the DNC.

    2. The Salahis were organizing a polo event with the Indian Embassy and were at a reception at the Indian Embassy two months prior to the incident at the White House. Obviously they would have known a lot of the staff at the Indian Embassy.

    3. Tareq Salahi is a board member of a Palestinian “peace group” that has hosted powerful Democratic and Republican politicians.

    Take these facts into account and its obvious that the Salahis aren’t just social climbers. They have some very real connections in DC, especially in some powerful Democratic circles. So what does this have to do with the Secret Service and what happened at the White House state dinner? Having worked security at VIP events in the DC area, I can tell you that at these events a lot of pressure is put on the security personnel not to “offend” the wrong people by “inconveniencing” them with time-consuming security procedures.  Usually at events like this, members of the social staff put out a list of guests and there is usually a member of the social staff at each security checkpoint, nominally there to greet guests but really there to make sure the Secret Service, Marines, Capitol police, or whoever don’t piss off anybody important.

    So here is what I really think happened: the Salahis show up with all the cameras and hoopla and walk up to the first checkpoint (I guess Katie Couric was there too). The Secret Service has a guest list and they aren’t on the one the Uniform Division has (the people responsible for perimeter security at the White House and other Presidential events). They check with the social staff (which probably included people from the Indian Embassy who had to have known the Salahis) and either they have a list with the Salahis on it (and the White House won’t admit it) or they assume that the Salahis had to have been invited and don’t want to risk offending them (and most importantly their friends). So the social staff tells the SS to let them in (or threatens them if they don’t) and the rest of the story everybody knows by now.

    There is no “smoking gun” to prove that this is what happened at the checkpoint. But most of the blame is being placed on the Secret Service that is unfair to them. The real story here is how the Obama White House is throwing three Secret Service Officers under the bus in order to protect their social staff, most importantly the head social secretary Desiree Rogers.

    So much for looking out for the little guys…

  • Introduction

    Hello all,

    My name is Operator Dan and Jonn has given me the opportunity to post on TAH. I am an infantry Marine (0311) who recently EAS’ed (ETS for you all in the Army) from the Corps. I spent the first two and a half years of my enlistment as part of the Marine Security Company at Camp David. Following my time there, I served as a team leader and vehicle commander in 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines and deployed to Iraq. I am currently waiting to start school at Arizona State where I am planning on majoring in history and drinking PBR.

    I have been a longtime reader and fan of this blog and I look forward to 1.) proving that a Marine grunt can read and write and 2.) proving that a Marine grunt can use a computer.

    S/F,

    OD