On the Army’s effectiveness testing of body armor for the troops, a 2009 GAO report concluded: “Overall reliability and repeatability of the test results are uncertain.” To that, Army Brig. Gen. Peter N. Fuller, Program Executive Officer of the Soldier Systems Center at Ft. Belvoir said:
Continue Reading →Military News you may have missed: Oct 27, 2010
Policy – Corruption Perceptions Index 2010
Key Highlights:
- The 2010 Corruption Perceptions Index measures the perceived levels of public sector corruption in 178 countries around the world.
Afghanistan is 176 of 178 and scored a 1.4 on the index.
- Iraq is 175 of 178 and scored a 1.5 on the index.
Analysis: After almost 10 years of war in Afghanistan and almost 7 years after the US toppled the Saddam regime we have these lovely ...
Continue Reading →Military News you may have missed: Oct 26, 2010
Policy – A Firefight Exposes Afghan Weakness
(Wall Street Journal – Pay to View: Article Obtained via OSINT)
Key Highlights:
- An account of the six-hour siege on the U.S. agency on July 2, drawn from interviews with witnesses and survivors and an internal investigation by the aid agency, shows an Afghan force that appears ill-equipped to take over national security from their foreign counterparts.
- About 15 to 20 minutes after the attack began, the Afghan army and police occupied a ...
Military News you might have missed: Oct 25, 2010
Policy — 8 Enemy Deaths, 46 Shootings: War by the Numbers
Key Highlights
- He’s done laundry twice, mailed five letters and received two. He’s spent 378 hours on post and 256 hours on patrol. He’s crossed 140 miles (230 kilometers) of thorny bomb-laced farmland and waist-high trenches of water on foot. Along the way, he’s ...
Military News you may have missed: Oct 23, 2010
- *Military* contractors' epic overcharging
Just the tip of the iceberg.
- SEN. DORGAN: DOD IG REPORT CONFIRMS PENTAGON DROPPED THE BALL ON *…*
Very disturbing. Why does it take so long to learn the truth when we are trying to protect the ...
Military News you may have missed – Oct 22, 2010
Policy – General Sees Progress in Counter-IED Fight
Key Highlights:
- Despite an increase in incidents that tracks with the build-up of forces in Afghanistan, Oates said, “my assessment is we’re making progress” in the fight against IEDs. The growing number of forces in the country and increased fighting caused the number of roadside-bomb incidents in Afghanistan to spike to 8,994 in 2009 -– from 2,677 in 2007 — and to nearly 10,500 so far this year.
- Officials hope to model their ...
Bloody Sunday: 16 (US Troop Casualties) vs. 6 (NFL Player Casualties)
I follow football. High School, College, Professional – all levels, all kinds. It’s a blood sport. So there was no way I could ignore the blaring RSS feed headlines on Monday morning announcing that this past weekend’s games will be forever known as “Bloody Sunday.” Sports Illustrated football analyst Peter King reported that “Last Sunday could go down as a seminal moment in NFL history,” because of the injuries sustained on the playing field and the impact on future play, ...
Continue Reading →Military News you may have missed – Oct 21
Policy — Taliban’s Elite, Aided by NATO, Join Talks for Afghan Peace
Key highlights:
- Taliban Quetta and Peshawar Shura and Haqqani Network are participating in Afghan peace talks
- NATO/ISAF is providing transport and security to delegates from safe-havens to Kabul
- Delegates are senior members
Analysis: These talks have become a necessary component of an overall strategy to obtain a political solution because a viable military solution does not exist – we cannot “kill/capture” our way to victory in Afghanistan.
Policy — Petraeus rewrites the playbook in ...
Continue Reading →Rules of Engagement and the Taliban: Blind Man’s Bluff?
In a revealing article published today (October 20, 2010) in the Washington Examiner, Sara A. Carter, National Security Correspondent reports that “Troops Chafe at Restrictive Rules of Engagement” and reported talks with the Taliban.
As reported earlier, frontline troops in Afghanistan have not been entirely pleased (read “pissed off”) at current Rules of Engagement which govern military action by U.S. troops in Afghanistan. As readers of SFTT are aware, retired General McChrystal, then commander of military forces in Afghanistan, radically modified the ...
Continue Reading →Goverment Approved Body Armor: Catch 22?
A week ago, SFTT received a request from a concerned parent (whose son is expected to deploy shortly to Afghanistan) inquiring whether a service member is obligated to wear “US government approved” equipment or is free to use protective gear and combat equipment purchased from other firms.
The question is in response to numerous reports from the field that suggest that “non-authorized” equipment may be confiscated and, in fact, life and heath insurance benefits may be forfeited if a service member is wounded or killed ...
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