Monthly Archives: April 2005

US Marines – Marines From Iraq Sound Off About Want of Armor and Men

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New York Times – In returning home to the US from Iraq, Marines have chosen to break an institutional code of silence and tell their story, one they say was punctuated not only by a lack of armor, but also by a shortage of men and planning that further hampered their efforts in battle, destroyed morale and ruined the careers of some of their fiercest warriors.
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History – Lessons from a Successful Counterinsurgency: The Philippines, 1899-1902

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Parameters – The United States topples an unsavory regime in relatively brief military action, suffering a few hundred fatalities. America then finds itself having to administer a country unaccustomed to democratic self-rule. Caught unawares by an unexpectedly robust insurgency, the United States struggles to develop and implement an effective counterinsurgency strategy. The ongoing US presidential campaign serves as a catalyst to polarize public opinion, as the insurrectionists step up their offensive in an unsuccessful attempt to unseat the incumbent Republican President. These events-from a century ago-share a number of striking parallels with the events of 2003 and 2004. The Philippine Insurrection of 1899-1902 was Americaís first major combat operation of the 20th century. The American policy of rewarding support and punishing opposition in the Philippines, called “attraction and chastisement,” was an effective operational strategy. By eliminating insurgent resistance, the campaign successfully set the conditions necessary for achieving the desired end-state.

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US Navy – Communications Gap Hampers Relations Between Congress, Navy

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Sea Power – There is a communications gap between the Navy and Congress that appears to grow wider each day, as service officials testify on the 2006 shipbuilding plan, and congressional leaders attempt to steer the Navy in a direction different from its current course. It is unlikely the gap can be closed by more discussion, studies or memos, because it was not caused by the lack of attempts to communicate. The problem is that the Navy has for years been sending a message that Congress does not want to hear. Changing national security requirements, a Navy that is far more productive than even a decade ago and the application of new technologies to future platforms mean the service will need different kinds of ships and fewer of them. The Navy is putting an emphasis on war-fighting capabilities rather than numbers of platforms; the fleet is shrinking and the service is cutting its personnel ranks by almost 10 percent. Over time, that means fewer ships to build and fewer jobs in the shipyards to build them. But powerful lawmakers from states that boast large but struggling shipyards keep asking the Navy for a different message containing different numbers.


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