On this Veterans Day, here’s a reminder of war as seen through modern eyes:
We will remember them.
Category: Military
Out Of The Past
Longtime Readers will remember that many years ago, I attended Boomershoot with the Son&Heir, and took the 2-day training course delivered by Gene Econ and two kids from the unit he was training, Adam Plumendore and Walter Gaya. As a result of that meeting, we (I plus my Readers) kind of “adopted” Adam and Walt, and when they told me they needed some gear (scopes and rangefinders) for their upcoming deployment, we raised the money and bought them the gear. (As I recall, it took about three days to raise the $25,000-odd, because as I’ve said before, I have the best Readers on the Internet,)
Anyway, the kids went off to Iraq. Two months later we heard that Adam had been killed by an IED, and Walt had been badly wounded in a different engagement.
I told you all that so I could tell you this. Walt and Adam’s CO at the time was Col. Erik Kurilla, a man of incredible bravery and outstanding leadership. He himself was wounded in Iraq (shot three times in the legs when ambushed by some assholes in, I think Mosul).
It will therefore come as no surprise to anyone when I tell you that Colonel Erik Kurilla is now General (4-star) Erik Kurilla. You can learn all about him here. It makes for some interesting reading. Just the other units he’s since commanded makes me quite awestruck, but I bet he left them better than how he found them. He’s that kind of man.
I had a chance to chat with him once, some time after Adam was killed, and when by way of introduction I told him how I’d met Adam and Walt, and about the gear we’d contributed, his immediate response was “Oh, I know all about you, Kim, and your group, and how you helped us.”
He was not then, and I doubt very much whether he would ever be one of those remote, office-bound types who doesn’t take care of his men. With men like him in the Army, there may still be some hope for our future.
I feel extraordinarily privileged to have known him, even as slight as that acquaintance may have been.
Synchronicity
…or what we Olde Pharttes used to call “coincidence”*.
Last week I posted a query from a Reader (read it here) about relocating a grandson, and there were a number of comments from other Readers on the topic.
So later in the week, I found this little snippet (via Kenny):
Only 37% of respondents would encourage their family to serve in the military, while 63% would not, according to the poll. Several branches of the military have been plagued with recruiting and retention problems in recent years as the Pentagon continues to look for solutions.
Of those who would not encourage their family members to join the military, 57% said they felt that way because it is “too dangerous,” according to the poll. Approximately 45% cited the “failed wars in Iraq and Afghanistan” as the reason not to join.
Funny thing, that. I always thought that joining the military would entail some kind of physical risk, but that probably just shows how out of touch I am with the modern world.
*I know there’s a substantial conceptual difference between synchronicity and coincidence.
Bombs Away
I can earnestly recommend Lord HardThrasher’s series on the Allied bombing campaign in WWII Europe. (He sounds exactly like Mr. Free Market would sound, if Mr. FM could be arsed to do a show about the military.)
He spares nobody, and I mean nobody. (Ignore the occasional anti-Trump digs; he’s just swinging his saber indiscriminately.) He is, of course, especially scornful of the Nazis.
Greatest Living English Historian? I report, you decide.
Wings Of Clay
…or, an unvarnished look at the WWII German Messerschmitt 262.
Along the way, this screamingly-funny chap slaughters all sorts of sacred cows, e.g. that the Me262 could have won the war for the Nazis, that Albert Speer was a genius, that German technology was superior to that of the Allies, and that Herman Goering was an incompetent asshole.
Okay, that last one happens to be true, as historian Lord HardThrasher sets about him with a cricket bat, calling most of history’s revered sources a pack of liars and completely debunking the myth of Germany’s technocrats, e.g. Willi Messerschmitt (yeah, the guy who designed the Me109).
Along the way, he proves that Allied bombing actually worked better than today’s naysayers would have you believe, and that bad things happen when you allow the reigns of power to be wielded by simpletons and incompetents.
But you all knew that.
There is plenty of bad language, but as Readers of this here website, you should be used to that by now.
…And For This One
Talking about the Huns fiddling with the numbers when the results aren’t to their liking:
The German army’s accuracy has again been mired in controversy as it was revealed in a classified report the testing for their latest rifle was lowered.
The G95A1 rifle failed to pass trials with military-standard ammunition so the Bundeswehr – the German army – lowered the standards of the test, the report stated.
The manufacturers of the rifle – Heckler and Koch – were allowed to test it with civilian ammunition and at room temperature rather than in extreme heat and cold.
The classified report read: ‘Current testing by the army in laboratory conditions shows that the weapon doesn’t meet army standards when loaded with combat ammunition.
‘The army requires an assault rifle that is sufficiently accurate under real conditions with its combat ammunition.’
The rifle was ordered to replace the G36 – also made by Heckler and Koch – which was dropped after it was found to become inaccurate after sustained firing.
The G36’s inconsistency was down to a plastic channel that support the barrel would become soft when the gun heats in a quick succession of firing.
The fault was first discovered when German soldiers serving in Afghanistan complained their guns were not shooting straight after a bout of heavy fire.
As we all know, when the facts are uncomfortable and/or do not conform to the theory, they must be changed. (I don’t know how that sounds in German, but I bet it’s lovely.) Also:
Their 180,000-strong army is due to be receiving new weapons next year after it was reported that they only had enough ammunition to fight for two days.
However, the new gun’s accuracy is up to scratch according to Germany’s elite KSK troops who have been equipped with the G95A1. [as long as you only shoot it indoors — K.]
A 2015 survey of German soldiers found that only 8 per cent of Bundeswehr soldiers trusted their weapons.
Somewhere out there, Paul Mauser is spinning in his grave.
I bet they’d even do better with one of these instead…
Looks like it’s not just German cars that are starting to suck.