Military News Highlights: December 3, 2010

COIN standards for Afghanistan approved Secretary Gates has approved a COIN skills list (COIN Qualification Standards) for troops in Afghanistan.  It is rather extraordinary for top civilian officials to approve pre-deployment tactical and operational training tasks.  Perhaps this is an effort for General Petreaus to dictate that a certain level ...

Military News Highlights: December 2, 2010

'Progress Made' In Afghanistan's Helmand Province When interviewed by . Generic drugs that do so should have the same therapeutic effect and therefore the same benefits as their brand-name counterparts, but at less cost. “But let's talk a little bit about Marja, because I know that's one you've been following ...

Can US troops wear third-party body armor?

As previously reported on SFTT - ! You can find more information about generic medications here. In August 2007, Arkansas Fourth District Representative Mike Ross sent a letter to the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of the Army requesting clarification.  Secretary of the Army Pete Geren formally acknowledged in ...

Coalition Ramps Up Afghanistan Air War

While General Petreaus attempts to get Afghans to sign a social contract while operating in a state of nature, he continues to hammer the countryside with increasing air bombings and missile strikes.   In October alone, his . We would strongly recommend you to consult your doctor before taking a medication ...

Six US Service Members Die in Afghanistan

The Stars and Stripes reports that while the last vestiges of travelers arrived home from Thanksgiving holidays this past Sunday evening, 8 time-zones away, in Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan, six American service members were murdered by an Afghan border policeman they were training. Just another blue-on-blue incident in the foothills. Just ...

Secretary Gates & Adm. Mullen Discuss Wikileaks

In a Department of Defense ("DoD") News Briefing at the Pentagon, Secretary Gates and Admiral Mullen discussed the latest release of classified documents on Wikileaks. Secretary of Defense Gates’ answer to a Wiki-dump related question was in fact an artful dodge.  There were in fact significant differences on what the ...

Did A.J. Hughes Screw the Troops?

In a solid piece of investigative reporting, WHEC of Rochester, New York reports that local firm A.J. Hughes Screw Products may have supplied defective screws for combat helmets. I-Team 10 Investigative Reporter,  Brett Davidsen, reports that the now defunct A.J. Hughes Screw Products was sub-contracted by Gentex Corporation to make ...

What’s inside a Taliban Gun Locker

In an interesting article published on the New York Times "At War" Blog, we recently had an opportunity to reflect on Want to know what type of small arms the enemy uses to fight us with in Afghanistan?  Specifically in Helmand province?   No one should be shocked at the simple ...

Stryker Afghan War Crimes Probe

Months after allegations and the start of UCMJ proceedings, investigations have finally been started of Stryker Brigade officers and leaders of those Stryker soldiers suspected of committing war crimes in Afghanistan.  The focus of the probe is determine whether the leaders of the 5th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division should have ...

Growing steroid problem in the US Army

New evidence emerges that the Army is facing a growing steroid use problem.  Well the cat is out of the bag.  What has been known for a long time in the ranks is finally being made public.  Troops have been using steroids to “get stronger” and prepare themselves for the toils of ...

Tanks to Afghanistan, a Soldier’s Perspective

A recent blog post picked-up by the New York Times entitled Tanks to Afghanistan, a Soldier Writes provokes some interesting perspective by SFTT on the promotion prospects of officers deployed after 9/11. If you want to talk tanks, talk to a tanker.  LT Rajiv Srinivasan, a US Army Armor officer has been ...