Costly coalition plan to recruit thousands more Afghan forces draws concerns

The initial U.S. end strength goal of Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) by October 2011 is approximately 300,000.  A new plan entails hiring an additional 73,000.  The bill to Uncle Sam is an additional $6 billion with unknown future budget outlays.  But before another shekel is spent, don’t you think we should gauge the quality of the current force and assess capabilities.  You know, take the training wheels off, make sure Kabul maintains its balance, etc, before we add a bell on the handlebar and a basket behind the seat? Did someone in “Happyland” pull out the COIN manual and review “insurgent to counter-insurgent ratios” and realize how underesourced and undermanned NATO/ANSF really is according to doctrine?  And we really can’t afford to cut corners on how many US/NATO grunts we need on the line versus using line units to become trainers for this new batch of recruits, which would further stress out an all-ready stressed out 24-7-365 fighting formation.  Pull out the abacus and do the math – it doesn’t add up.  So why then are we rushing to failure?

On final tour in Iraq, daily grind combines with goodwill missions

Hey trooper, be careful what you ask for, you just might get it there in good old Iraq.  No need to wish to see the elephant in Afghanistan, because things are predictably heating up in Babylon (i.e. everyday suicide bombings, the return of Mookie, and an ever increasing disenfranchisement of the Sunni minority) and you’ll get slapped out of your deployment doldrums here sooner rather than later.  Stay vigilant, especially during 90-minute mind-numbing Power Point presentation.

Bank apologizes for overcharging troops for mortgages

I really don’t make this stuff up – a bank overcharged 4,000 military families for their mortgages.  Not a handful, not a dozen, nor a hundred or two, but 4,000.  Really?