What We Need by Barrett Tillman (Book Review)

"What We Need: Extravagance and Shortage in America's Military"
by Barrett Tillman, St Paul, Minnesota, Zenith Press (MBI), St Paul, Minnesota, 2007; 254 pp.
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Every now and then MBI tries to publish a serious book. Not sure how well distributed this one was, another "surface find" at my local Public Library. About half of it is just repeating things most of us already know; The Air Force is failing to manage the future need for Airlift (Some interesting details I had not known); The F-22 and similar programs are unaffordable, yada, yada.

And there was a significant amount of coverage on the subtle problems that there really should be no excuses for five years into a major conflict. A shortage of (Small arms) range time and Ammunition?

Plus a plea for the NRA to be recognized (Encouraged?) to play it's original role in pre-training manpower in individual marksmanship skills. Kind of a contrast to the high level issues in other parts of the book, I agree, we need to revitalize the NRA and the Civilian Marksmanship Program.

OK; Say Two and a half stars.

Somali Pirates

Are back in the news;

At least two things at work here, the cost shifting of "capitalism", the well documented destruction of the US Flag Merchant Marine. These VERY expensive capital assets (Merchant Ships) are crewed by the minimum number of third world Mariners, there simply is no slack in the labor force to stand security watches.

And the Europeans have a cow at the suggestion they (Merchant ships) be armed anyways. Sheesh folks, put a couple of squads with Machine guns on any ship transiting the area (Enough for 24/7 watch standing). Let the Europeans do it, it's a lot closer to them than us.

High seas Piracy has ALWAYS been a Capital Crime. Any "catch and release" program, they'll just go get new boats. The FAILED governance of Somalia is NOT our problem.

("our" = The developed, trading world community)

Five Books

This is something in the nature of a background post. Long ago and far away, I was er, chastised for having the audacity to suggest that entry level enlisted Military Intelligence specialists (96B, now 35F)should actually read five (Only five...) Non-Fiction books as an introduction to the field. Way too ambitious, I remember one of them was Military Misfortunes by Cohen & Gooch.

And every now and then I peruse the recommended "Professional" Reading lists; Most are WAY to ambitious.

So this is a "Package" of five books that are all in one way or another directly relevant to my "Skills Knowledge and Abilities"; At one point, I really hoped to get a job where I would have a desk where it would have been appropriate to display them. The goal being to "Impress" people, but I am so tired of the clueless people I deal with regularly, I would settle for "Intimidated" at this point. Credit to the "professional help" I received at the VA for clarifying my position on this issue.

Charles Perrow. "Normal Accidents." A very interesting work on the Sociology of Organizations.

Robert Serber. "The Los Alamos Primer: The First Lectures on How to Build an Atomic Bomb" University of California Press, 1992. I walked into Borders and plucked this one off the shelf. Let's be realistic about this technology transfer issue, even if according to wikipedia the physics in this particular title is obsolete.

David M. Glantz. "Companion to Colossus Reborn." The data appendix to his basic work, the latest word (In English) on the subject.

Christopher Bassford. "Clausewitz in English" A really cool book of Military Intellectual History. Anyone in the target audience should recognize the title. I found it surprisingly readable and accessible.

Roger Morris. "The Devil's Butcher Shop: The New Mexico Prison Uprising" All about one of the worst prison riots in American History, February, 1980 (No, I wasn't there at the time, but I did work there in 1991-92). There are worse places than the Sunni Triangle, and most of the members of my "target audience" will find this absolutely engrossing.

Extra Credit:

Ralph Peters. "Fighting for the Future" Stackpole, 1999. Unfortunately, the original (Thermal Paper) receipt for the purchase (Pre 9/11) faded to illegibility. See page 70.

"The Bully of Bentonville"

Evidence on why the American Economy is a shambles....

Syrian Border Operations

OK, call me clueless (I should have written this two weeks ago...)

But, the whole point to having CIA Paramilitaries and Delta is "Plausible Deniability"; Otherwise, we could use Rangers, who cost a LOT less to train/maintain.

Do I have to spell it out? What Black Helicopters? Unidentified Black Helicopters dropped unidentified individuals who left NOTHING but standard (Eastern Block preferably) Brass behind? Gee, we know nothing; Are you saying there were some people we both don't like (You do want off the supporters of state terrorism list someday don't you?) there, and someone did a mischef to them. No, not us. We don't have any Black Helicopters.

Sheesh. But the basic point is the first paragraph. And they SHOULD be operating on the ground along the Afghan/Pakistan border (They have been intensively training in the relevant languages for the last four years, haven't they? And if not, whoever FAILED to demand that should lose their career).

But what do I know.

James Bamford

Has a new book, all about the NSA surveiling us. At least that is the only aspect the media has brought to my attention. (I'll fill in details later)

Oh gee; More proof of the importance of understanding the sociology of organizations, they do what they know.

As serious as these allegations of assaults on our civil liberties are, how likely is intercepting English language communications to uncover serious terrorist plots?

THAT should be our serious concern. Yes, what they (NSA) are "really" doing on these issues should be some of our most closely guarded secrets. (White House leaks about cell phone intercept capabilities anyone?) Programs and problems like this divert attention from the real issues and threats, and NO ONE in the "National Security" leadership seems to have noticed and quashed the kind of fishing expedition that gets the attention of the Media.

Agrestic

OK, I've been remiss; This insight happened about three weeks ago....

Watching Weeds Season 1, (HBO), I noticed that the military was played strictly as a minor plot point. This accurately reflects the upper middle class setting of the series. Military service is something for other people.


Admittedly, the Andy Botwin character is described (accurately) in a second season episode as an "Irresponsible Morally Bankrupt Degenerate." But that is the point of my complaint, in the alternate universe of Hollywood, only useless shits (The military does teach a more economical use of language) like him are even considered "suitable" for Military service.

I'll admit, this is in accord with the Anglo Saxon military tradition, Wellington's "Scum of the Earth, who enlisted for drink." (Gee, maybe we should try that ;).

But, it represents an important social divide in our supposedly classless society. And an explanation of the apathy and unreality in the upper echelons of both parties.

That is one of my biggest personal issues, the inability of many veterans even recognize how intellectually handicapped and oblivious most Republican apparatchiks are about the military; All those chicken hawks on the White House staff are not any better (or more interested/qualified) on the real issues than your average Democratic staffer. There are exceptions, but they just prove the rules. Even John McCain; Sure, the service academies are an important part of our Military tradition, but that background handicaps people like him who have no real grasp of the issue of immediate concern to National Guard junior enlisted. They literally live in a different world than ANY he has ever experienced.

Sudan & Darfur

My opportunity to vent in public on this. The only way to "stop" this is to put someones ass out there on the line (Just like in Iraq & Afghanistan); I'm really tired of the liberal whines about how we should "do something."

The locals are just practicing their traditional culture. Only a well equipped (and funded) First world military presence could stop the tragedy. Er, all the Anglo-Saxon armed forces are kind of busy right now, and I don't even see the French or Germans stepping up to the plate in Afghanistan.

Besides, real "peacekeepers" would just provide them with foreign targets- another traditional activity, whinging about how it is all the colonial oppressors fault (See Zimbabwe). So encouraging the underemployed young men to attack them (The Alleged Colonial Oppressors), rather than engaging them in constructive activities.

As for "Local Traditions" (Customs?); One of the inspirations to found this blog was the death of Charlton Heston. The 1966 Movie, Khartoum, even got a passing mention in a couple of the obituaries. Go rent it, The Sudan has been a problem for "Western" culture since we first linked it to the wider world in the 19th Century.

You can't "negotiate" with them.

Red Moon Rising by Matthew Brzezinski

One of my purposes here is to write about some of the books I read, at least the ones related to the main topic. This is a decent account of the beginnings of the Space Race. It is amazing how much cold war history is related to it. Khrushchev and the Secret Speech, the 1956/7 cutbacks in Soviet conventional Forces, etc, etc.

Did General LeMay actually send bombers to violate Soviet (Arctic?) Air Space in 1957? ("Operation Power House"?).

I enjoyed it, not sure how illuminating it is. One of the biggest lessons is how large a role internal (Bureaucratic) politics played on both sides in the decision making. And how important, the domestic US issue of School Integration, was perceived to be at the time. It certainly seems to loom as large in terms of the attention of he Eisenhower administation, and the long term effects on US domestic politics are still ripling though our system today.

The New GI Bill

Lot's of references to this subject in connection with the Memorial Day Weekend; Well, unfortunately, no one has analyzed the real problem. Yes, I agree, VA Education benefits should be more generous. BUT, at one point in the 1980's the eminent sociologist Charles Moskos pointed out that our society has created the GI Bill without the GI. How often do you hear a local politicians promise that every one is entitled to a college eduction?

NOT a good idea (Letting everyone go to college). One problem veterans have NOW, too many of the good jobs that don't require a degree have been destroyed over the past generation. I personally know National Guard and Reserve members people who volunteered to return to Iraq because they could not find a decent job that would support their families.

One of my problems with the "Greatest Generation," they all have nice retirements but when they were middle managers, the current corporate trends of shedding the pension plans, shipping the factory to China, or at best, a two tier wage structure, developed and flourished.

Sure, some of our new veterans will benefit from the opportunity for a University Education. But too many of the corporate first line managers and supervisors are the children (or grandchildren) of people who DID NOT SERVE. They haven't got a clue. And are often (actively) disinterested in learning. They graduated HS, went straight to College, and have continued to march up their career ladder.

I speak from PERSONAL EXPERIENCE. I well remember a job interview in 1980 where I was asked why I had not avoided Vietnam by going to college. (Obviously, that was not a successful job interview). It's more subtle, but just as pervasive as the anti-military bias in the Liberal Arts faculties in academia. Find me the Vietnam era equivalent of E. B. Sledge. And the people with that corporate attitude have set the tone and made the majority of corporate hiring decision since then.

Military Service is seen as a separate (and inferior) choice from the Middle Class career path.

There is a growing literature on BOTH these points. Not everyone is capable of college level work, our society needs to work on creating an economy that provides careers (Not just jobs) for people who don't earn degrees. And make sure this job market is open to veterans, a subject for another post.

The really talented and well prepared working class students are already well provided for by our eduction system. It's the middle tier of potential students, for whom Army Reserve or National Guard service was already part of the college process.

The Battle of Algiers

That Movie has become a cult (?) requirement (Available from Netflix!) among officers deploying to Iraq, the first Muslim Urban Insurgency. Well, every now and then my local Public Library buys something interesting, todays book is:

My Battle of Algiers by Ted Morgan. (Smithsonian Books, 2005); Cool stuff, he was a French Officer in Algeria in 1957.

(Got to love these unhelpful blog stuff; The Text editior won't let me underline a book title; I guess I am supposed to provide a link to Amazon or something; But only If I can get paid)

For the audience this blog is aimed at, it doesn't get much better than this, trust me. A "Street Level" westerern Journalist's memoir of the campaign. (After a brief stint of troop duty, he was working PSYOPS/Propaganda). Very well written (He is a journalist), an account of events from a different world, with background information to illuminate events for the non-specialist interested in the subject.

The Battle of Pea Ridge (ACW)

I attended a talk today at the local public library by the head (and until recently only) Park Ranger.

Pea Ridge National Military Park is one of the best preserved American Civil War Battlefields, and unfortunately one of the least visited. It was a well prepared and informative presentation, major changes are underway in the parks presentation.

The Battle should be of particular interest to Wargamers because of the Command and Control problems experienced by the Confederate Army. The kind of thing that when it happens in a game, people complain about. Briefly, the Commander of one wing (half) the Confederate Army moved forward to make a Personal Reconnaissance and was promptly KIA, While his deputy was off leading a cavalry Charge, also promptly KIA. Thus leaving half of the army leaderless and inert for the rest of the day. (No staff paying attention to the succession plan either, and Hebert, the fourth in line was already a POW). When that kind of thing happens in a game, players complain, loudly.

Anyone with an interest in the American Civil War who is passing through the area should consider visiting. What was shocking was that at least half the (local) audience had not visited, possibly never.

Here we go

People keep suggesting I create a blog, this is my first try at this kind of thing. We will add some content and comments later, but something in current events has brought back things I should have started a couple of weeks ago.