Last edited by GorTex6; 02-01-2006 at 09:17 PM.
I believe that this is LtCol John Nagl, who was the Operations Officer of 1st of the 34th Armor - 1st INF DIV in Iraq. I personally enjoy the shameless plug for his own book.
Hmmmm I am guilty of that on here
But I did not start a "list" on Amazon
Tom
I too did a list a while back for Amazon - it does not contain a shameless plug for my book but it also does not have the name recognition of Col Nagl.
Shameless Plug to My List
Mark
Discuss at: The Irregulars Visit at: UW Review
"The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him." - G. K. Chesterton
Tonight, 23 August - The Daily Show with John Stewart (11p - 10c)
Boy, did LTC Nagl ever steal that show.
I saw it. He was very impressive. He made good sense, was understandable and likeable and made a good case for the new strategy.
Youtube link:
Interview | The Daily Show - Lt. Col. John Nagl | 08/23/07
Excellent!
I thought LTC Nagl showed a lot of class!
M
From a trigger puller perspective I thought this was his best remark.
"Be polite, be professional, be prepared to kill."
Great interview and with this venue John may have reached a whole segment of the U.S. population with little understanding of COIN and what it takes to prevail.
A great loss for the army, there are too few officers who really understand the COIN fight.
It's time to move on (I convinced myself the very same 11 years ago). Do I look back ? Yep, nearly every day.
Colonel, time to relax, reflect and start lookin' for work...as your retirement was based on 1960s cost of living guesstimates with generous upgrades every decade or so
Best of luck in your future endeavors.
Respectfully, Stan
PS. Drag Racing is like free adrenaline and fun
If you want to blend in, take the bus
I doubt we've seen the back of LTC Nagl - I have no doubt that whatever Administration takes power in 2009 that there will be an undersecretary or assistant secdef position waiting somewhere if he wants it.
I retired as just an old NCO, not a field grade O, but I certainly don't feel like I've been shortchanged financially by my retirement benefits. Hell, with most of us retiring in our 40's, to expect the government to pay us enough just to sit at home is just plain cussed greed that would end up bankrupting the country. (There's a lot of us old bastards) Anyone "retiring" at that age should expect to work - either a completely new career, or continue to drive along the same path in another sector.Originally Posted by Stan
The exception to my POV on this, as I've stated before, is the lifetime support that this nation must provide to those who have truly sacrificed, and been wounded/injured in service to their country to a degree where they cannot work any longer. For those men and women we have to ensure that they are not scrabbling to make it from day to day.
For everyone else, its Darwin's law. A man can either use his 20+ years in the military wisely to lead up to a successful post-military life, or piss away opportunities and end up hard-scrabbling as a middle-aged civilian. Those individuals have noone to blame but themselves.
Yep, as did I retire as an NCO !
Concur, my GI Bill benefits are adequate (my comments were NOT completely a joke however).
Now, as for greed...sorry. We did not draft our contracts (bankrupting the USG), but I did agreed to it, and signed it...benefits or not.
Been on this 'new' career for 11 years, and perhaps not directly helping the common USA Joe, but I'm doin' my part so others can pass it along when I am too friggin old to compete.
Military Service directly translates into service with a team. Everything the US Military does is a team effort, start to finish, we take care of our own.
If you want to blend in, take the bus
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