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  1. How come no one has mentioned Heinlein's Starship...

    How come no one has mentioned Heinlein's Starship Troopers? Every junior NCO and officer should read that.
  2. Ken, I might be misunderstanding you, because in...

    Ken, I might be misunderstanding you, because in your later comments, I tend to agree with you. But with all due respect, I think your categorizations above badly underestimate the complexity of the...
  3. We're not succeeding there, either. We'd be...

    We're not succeeding there, either. We'd be doing much better if we could communicate more effectively.



    Ken, these meetings with village elders aren't necessarily taking place at the company...
  4. For he today who fought the FSB for supplies with...

    For he today who fought the FSB for supplies with me
    Shall be my brother;

    I have walked in your shoes, dude. My first platoon had to steal water from the Air Force in Jacobabad, Pakistan. When...
  5. Ken, I'm not trying to smartass you, but what...

    Ken, I'm not trying to smartass you, but what you're describing isn't realistic at all in Afghanistan. Getting "rudimentary military points across" is not enough. This isn't about being able to say...
  6. Here's a horror story, Schmedlap: As contractors...

    Here's a horror story, Schmedlap: As contractors were ferrying in Burger King, etc. to the Green Zone in late summer 2003, my guys were wearing out their boots in northwest Iraq. As XO, I was...
  7. Ken, how exactly would soldiers and marines...

    Ken, how exactly would soldiers and marines conduct COIN without competent interpreters?



    Do we know each other? We started hiring guys off the street that April for $5 a day with cash out of...
  8. You guys are saying that we can't adequately...

    You guys are saying that we can't adequately hire, train, and retain our own translators. At the same time, the AP is reporting--as is IntelTrooper--that troops in the field say the contractors...
  9. The supply isn't there because we haven't spent...

    The supply isn't there because we haven't spent the last eight years training soldiers in critical language skills. Hindsight is 20/20, but in 2001, we could've started offering $60,000/six-year...
  10. We still don't grasp the value of translators

    Writing for the AP, Jason Straziuso published a troubling piece Thursday morning called, "Many translators unfit in any language." Here's an excerpt:



    What I still don't understand is why a...
  11. For the most part, I agree with your analysis of...

    For the most part, I agree with your analysis of the TV news media. That said, I'm not on board with the idea that "'Doing a solid job' and 'being a television media advisor on military issues' are...
  12. No, it won't affect how we get Bergdahl back in...

    No, it won't affect how we get Bergdahl back in this specific case. But mainstream social sentiment is a powerful thing. Remember before Michael Jackson died? He was considered a pedophile who...
  13. According to Wikipedia, he was...

    According to Wikipedia, he was a Military Intelligence officer. However, prior to that--between 1976 and 1980--he was enlisted. Don’t know what his MOS was at the time.



    The problem is that...
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    Yes, I’m speculating. I’m not there on the...

    Yes, I’m speculating. I’m not there on the ground, so there’s obviously a lot I/we don’t know. And like I said, I’d love to be proved wrong. I just can’t think of a context or scenario where...
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    I don't recall anyone forcing you to jump into...

    I don't recall anyone forcing you to jump into this thread, Greyhawk. If you don't like the discussion--or the idea that I brought this topic up--you're certainly free to not participate. But I...
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    Not quite sure what you're saying. You eager to...

    Not quite sure what you're saying. You eager to close the discussion?
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    This is not one of those situations. In context...

    This is not one of those situations. In context or out of context, this is clearly stupid and dangerous. It's something COL Steele would've done. And I'm glad I know about it.
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    Threatening Afghan civilians is probably a bad idea

    Some of you might have seen this story from CBS yesterday about how the U.S. is delivering threatening leaflets in Afghanistan to coerce the release of the captured American soldier:



    The...
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    Good stuff.

    Good stuff.
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    I have no idea why that is, but it's so true. So...

    I have no idea why that is, but it's so true. So I'll expound on the story above a bit: We pulled one guy out of the front passenger seat after the shooting. A 5.56 round had grazed the left side...
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    Umar, Rex, well played. And to think, for nearly...

    Umar, Rex, well played. And to think, for nearly six years I've been wrongly cursing those poor 5.56 rounds.
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    Wish I'd gotten in on this conversation a few...

    Wish I'd gotten in on this conversation a few days ago. Anyway, I never got to use the 77 gr. ammo for the M4 since I was out before they started issuing it. But as an XO, I had to turn down...
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    I'm not following. Based on my read of your...

    I'm not following. Based on my read of your reasoning, either you're suggesting that the Palestinians and Israelis are not technically in a state of warfare, or you're saying one of the armed sides...
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    This information is not easy to come by. But...

    This information is not easy to come by. But with regard to the DoD website, if you're on Twitter, you might want to give your suggestions to this guy: http://twitter.com/pricefloyd. He was at CNAS...
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    When was your platoon mentor there?

    When was your platoon mentor there?
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