Human Terrain & Anthropology (merged thread)

[Ron Humphrey]

I started to write a response to the piece, but ended up blogging about it instead.

I can tell you from my limited experiences if it weren't for those Joke relationships a lot of times somebody would end up getting hurt. It really is a large part of how many soldiers deal with the various issues which confront them.

It's also kinda fun too

[marct]

Hi Ron,

I can tell you from my limited experiences if it weren't for those Joke relationships a lot of times somebody would end up getting hurt. It really is a large part of how many soldiers deal with the various issues which confront them.

It does seem to be a good, and fairly universal, way of staying if not sane, then at east not depressed .

It's also kinda fun too

Oh, definitely!!!

[Darksaga]

Michael was awarded the Defense of Freedom Medal posthumously.

[Kivlonic]

Not sure if this is the proper place to post or if the piece has already been up loaded to the forum, http://http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/mi...st/7496375.stm
I understand fighting an ideology with an reverse ideology, but it seems the main point is that only the State (SA) can authorize jihad...
The ping pong made me laugh though.

sorry hopefully this link works...http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7496375.stm

[Entropy]

Ran across this today.

[BayonetBrant]

I forwarded that list to a retired COL I know who's headed to Iraq with an HTT and he was very appreciative of it. Great find!

[Entropy]

That's great! - I'm glad it's proved useful.

[Darksaga]

Great link.

Thank you.

[davidbfpo]

Found on the Cryptome website: http://cryptome.org/hts-farce.htm

I make no comment and note it is part two of a series.

davidbfpo

[marct]

From what I have heard, the program does have some serious problems but I haven't been able to find out where they stem from. The entire HTS issue is too mired in political infighting for my taste . Personally, I really wish they would bring in an independent audit team to analyze the program.

[selil]

From what I have heard, the program does have some serious problems but I haven't been able to find out where they stem from. The entire HTS issue is too mired in political infighting for my taste . Personally, I really wish they would bring in an independent audit team to analyze the program.

Audit requires standards and practices. Where would those come from? I think the best we could expect is a cursory examination of hiring practices. Nobody on the anthro side is providing options, just yelling "we don't like you".

[marct]

Audit requires standards and practices. Where would those come from? I think the best we could expect is a cursory examination of hiring practices. Nobody on the anthro side is providing options, just yelling "we don't like you".

Some of the standards of practice are available, at least for the field side. On the management, recruiting and training side, there are a LOT of standards (often competing ). You're definitely right about the "We don't like you" whine coming from some people, though .

[Featherock]

that's a horrible piece of 'journalism' over at cryptome. Talk about not having any standards. Don't you just love this disclaimer at the end, about TRADOC not answering the writer's questions fast enough to meet his tight deadline? Deadline? Writing un-sourced blogs for the Web has a deadline?

Speaking

[Featherock]

Hey all you HTT news junkies, my feature story about the first HTT in Afghanistan is now out in the current (Sept.) issue of Harper's Magazine. Most of it will be old hat to those of you who know the subject well; it's written for people for whom COIN is something they carry in their pockets, not an acronym.

[davidbfpo]

Alas the story is on a subscription only basis and my IT skills could not expand the screen pages found via the search option. However this is the link for the "junkies": http://harpers.org/archive/2008/09/0082170

Perhaps Steve can persaude Harpers to allow SWC access, after all he is the author?

davidbfpo

[Umar Al-Mokhtār]

the article has a link to a Mother Jones piece which the author seems to include to cast aspersions upon the reputation of Mitzie McFate. But the article pertains to a Mary McFate/Sapone who lives in FL and there is no mention in the piece of this particular woman's activities with HTS. WTFO!

[Ken White]

Mary McFate Sapone is the mother-in-law of Montgomery McFate.

[Umar Al-Mokhtār]

so since Mongomery McFate's mother-in-law Mary is some sort of double agent/mole for the NRA this is a primary cause for the HTS program to be a waste of resources and totally off track.

That tie in makes absolutely perfect sense to me...

I'm so glad I gave up drinking Burma Shave!

[Ken White]

otherwise it makes your breath smell sort of er, sweet...

OTOH, if we don't drink it at all any more, we'll miss out on the really cool journalism out there...

Come to think of it, if we do miss out on that, we'll probably get smarter.

P.S.

To the squirrels, there need no tie-in other than their absolute knowledge that evil sticks together. Nor does anything have to make sense....

[Umar Al-Mokhtār]

Now that is probably one of the greatest reasons for an edit!

Personally, I ascribe to Cliff Clavin's theory on the intellectual stimulation provided through the consumption of adult carbonated beverages. I found the theory works just as well with distilled spirits as well.