tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8755035051021414780.post6624922846512867129..comments2023-11-17T03:55:40.736-05:00Comments on Ink Spots: I guess this is what they meant by "an Army of One"Lilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18373158801523577733noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8755035051021414780.post-79401489821106137492009-07-31T23:34:57.486-04:002009-07-31T23:34:57.486-04:00Elf found the Georgians good shots.
As long as yo...Elf found the Georgians good shots.<br /><br />As long as you hid under your cots.<br /><br />I wish more to rhyme, but am out of time. <br /><br />Good nite, and in morrow more bots. <br /><br />[lame]Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8755035051021414780.post-64414270112140732622009-07-31T23:32:23.983-04:002009-07-31T23:32:23.983-04:00@SNLII,
"Now, about the Ugandans..."
P...@SNLII,<br /><br />"Now, about the Ugandans..."<br /><br />Peace, oh angry Colonel.<br /><br />For there is a secret within the Kernel. <br /><br />For in truth, the Ugandans cleaned up our goof.<br /><br />And scared straight the local wildlife with their culinary journal. <br />===========<br /><br />[IOW I'll eat you, you little shit}Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8755035051021414780.post-70572723969635680922009-07-31T05:50:52.373-04:002009-07-31T05:50:52.373-04:00The Georgians helped retrain IA 1-10 in Wasit. IA ...The Georgians helped retrain IA 1-10 in Wasit. IA 1-10, originally "trained" by the Brits, was arguably the worst brigade in the entire IA; just as 10th IAD was the worst division in the entire IA. Georgians also helped train the IA in 81 mm and 120 mm mortars. {Possibly 60 mm mortars too? Although I don't have confirmation on this.}<br /><br />The Wasit IP are pretty good quality at the moment. Suspect the Georgians contributed to that too.<br /><br />All in all, the Georgians played a signficant role in training the ANSF.Anandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03040200275831896147noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8755035051021414780.post-92189892264820591172009-07-30T11:11:10.765-04:002009-07-30T11:11:10.765-04:00Let's try that without the typo...
Army War C...Let's try that without the typo...<br /><br />Army War College is filled to the rim,<br />All those lifer CSMs can't even get in,<br />But theres a place not so lacking in slots,<br />Taken by privates and their gut shots,<br />In every WOunded Warrior battalionAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8755035051021414780.post-49976246420340641392009-07-30T11:10:14.071-04:002009-07-30T11:10:14.071-04:00"The Army War College, Sergeant Majors' A..."The Army War College, Sergeant Majors' Academy, etc. are all suffering from a paucity of slots "<br /><br />Army War College is filled to the rim,<br />All those lifer CSMs can't even get in,<br />But there's not so lacking in slots,<br />Taken by privates and their gut shots,<br />In every WOunded Warrior battalion.<br /><br />SNLIIAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8755035051021414780.post-87608086916489763682009-07-30T11:07:52.372-04:002009-07-30T11:07:52.372-04:00" They did more than check ID cares in the Gr..." They did more than check ID cares in the Green Zone"<br /><br />Now, about the Ugandans...<br /><br />SNLIIAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8755035051021414780.post-37351281122775615272009-07-30T10:14:03.832-04:002009-07-30T10:14:03.832-04:00Oh, by the way, Greyhawk: excellent poem!Oh, by the way, Greyhawk: excellent poem!Gulliverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12558335790019565924noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8755035051021414780.post-9781878209925536372009-07-30T10:13:40.246-04:002009-07-30T10:13:40.246-04:00Talking with a Georgian major in Baghdad in late 2...<em>Talking with a Georgian major in Baghdad in late 2007, one of the big factors in Georgia joining the coalition was not just a down payment to NATO ascendancy. In the shorter term, they were looking to get access to US military schools. Apparently the Georgian officer development program is nonexistent, but because they pushed a brigade into Wasit, they were able to send officers to US Army captains' courses and I think one guy to a war college. They just didn't have any formal schooling other than a mountain warfare school.</em><br /><br />Don't get me wrong, I completely understand how this is a big boon for them. The Army War College, Sergeant Majors' Academy, etc. are all suffering from a paucity of slots (and a huge overload of countries that want to send their guys), and this is definitely a way to help ensure access. And I also think that professionalization of partner militaries is a good thing for the U.S.; in fact, it's a stated policy priority for DoD.Gulliverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12558335790019565924noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8755035051021414780.post-23444175655212871092009-07-30T09:27:43.606-04:002009-07-30T09:27:43.606-04:00I can't speak to the Georgians' ability to...I can't speak to the Georgians' ability to conduct insurgency being a factor. Talking with a Georgian major in Baghdad in late 2007, one of the big factors in Georgia joining the coalition was not just a down payment to NATO ascendancy. In the shorter term, they were looking to get access to US military schools. Apparently the Georgian officer development program is nonexistent, but because they pushed a brigade into Wasit, they were able to send officers to US Army captains' courses and I think one guy to a war college. They just didn't have any formal schooling other than a mountain warfare school.<br /><br />Obviously, this had no effect on their little spat with Russia. It is helping them develop a more professional army in the long run. <br /><br />But Greyhawk's correct. They did more than check ID cares in the Green Zone and did conduct combat ops in and around Al Kut. The ID card mission was pretty much reserved for Angolan mercs and the Togoan army (both these groups were some bad mother effers by the way).Jason Fritzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18335313679058470722noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8755035051021414780.post-30701745004448282572009-07-30T03:00:39.938-04:002009-07-30T03:00:39.938-04:00Or
There once was a Brigade in Iraq
That suddenly...Or<br /><br />There once was a Brigade in Iraq<br />That suddenly had to go back<br />"Oh no!" Putin cried<br />"My goals are denied!"<br />That all makes sense (if you smoke crack)Greyhawknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8755035051021414780.post-29176107158827723212009-07-30T02:49:57.186-04:002009-07-30T02:49:57.186-04:00NY Times - sorry, that was obvious but I was not. ...NY Times - sorry, that was obvious but I was not. I inferred from your comment that you knew they did more than card check, clumsily clarified that a bit but clearly muddied the waters as to "blame". It's not on you.<br /> <br />I'm not sure why a potentially reasonable account (again - the NY Times piece) needed that bit of "snark". (Hate the term, but unless the reporter actually has no idea what the Georgians did in Iraq that's what it was. Either explanation forces me to question the rest of the piece.)<br /><br />As for your question, I can't imagine how it could have. One look at a map* pretty much answers that. There's no strategy or tactic that's going to "succeed". Under the circumstances the Georgians certainly had to recall the Brigade from Iraq, but I don't think anyone in the decision process believed they would be a "game changer" - I'm fairly certain they didn't get home before it was over anyway.<br /><br />*Okay, some understanding - and mine is limited - of the loyalties of the population in the contested provinces is useful, too. By that I mean no insurgency ala Soviet-era Afghanistan was or is likely in those regions. <br /><br />So I suppose a long-shot case could be made that "the Russians didn't overrun the rest of Georgia because they feared the Georgian Army had learned too much about <em>conducting</em> an insurgency while in Iraq" - but while that argument could conceivably be presented in a convincing (to those who want to be convinced) way the idea that it was considered by the Russians in the first place seems unlikely.<br /><br />I've never heard that claim made before - and while I may have just originated it (though I credit you as co-creator for making me think) I also believe it to be <em>batshite crazy</em>. But as crazy as it is, it's more sensible than any claim that the Georgians learned to confront massed armor and infantry in Iraq.Greyhawknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8755035051021414780.post-48763083121969248832009-07-30T00:23:23.979-04:002009-07-30T00:23:23.979-04:00Greyhawk -- the given description by whom? Me, or ...Greyhawk -- the given description by whom? Me, or the <em>New York Times</em>?<br /><br />(And hurt feelings aside, <em>did</em> the Iraq deployment aid the Georgians in their efforts to defend their own territory? I mean this in a tactical or operational sense, of course -- I'm not referring to the fact that Tblisi's contribution perhaps helped win political support for arms sales and training missions.Gulliverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12558335790019565924noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8755035051021414780.post-44250318483726562282009-07-30T00:14:39.118-04:002009-07-30T00:14:39.118-04:00All right, it's hinted at here in your comment...All right, it's hinted at here in your comment but worth noting the Georgians did a bit more than check ID at the green zone. Not to over emphasize their contribution or even approach characterizing how well they performed, but the given description is understatement delivered with a sneer.Greyhawknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8755035051021414780.post-80775697162134817722009-07-29T14:37:45.412-04:002009-07-29T14:37:45.412-04:00Come on. Who else was going to download all those...Come on. Who else was going to download all those trucks full of vegetables from Iran? We get some help in Wasit province, access to the largest petruli crop in the world (there are so many reasons that is important), and in return they may get the Russians off their back some day. Looks like we win.<br /><br />Did you hear about the boys from Georgia who dug a tunnel under a PX in Kuwait to rob it blind? Love those guys. But not as much as the Estonian water purification team! Those guys came through in a pinch.Jason Fritzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18335313679058470722noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8755035051021414780.post-91870955163080828522009-07-29T12:48:05.296-04:002009-07-29T12:48:05.296-04:00There's Army Strong,
And there's Army Wron...There's Army Strong,<br />And there's Army Wrong,<br />There's the Army of One,<br />But only if you've got a gun,<br />And will work for a song.<br /><br />SNLIIAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com