https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/ukraine-offensive-kursk-russia
Unlike last summer’s failed counteroffensive in Kharkiv, Ukraine launched the Kursk operation without first informing Washington of its plans. In fact, Zelenskyy waited a week to break the remarkable operational secrecy that had enveloped the operation.
In fact, earlier this week the chair of the Ukrainian Parliamentary Committee on National Security and Defense, Roman Kostenko, explicitly referenced the Israeli example in a televised interview. “So Israel announced that they would take the advice of their partners very seriously but would afterward make their own decisions in the best interest of their own national security. I think that we can simply mirror that approach in our own case.”
I definitely wondered about the wisdom of announcing an offense. Who does that?
Around the same time, WSJ reports that drunken sailors blew up the NordStream pipeline. Are we supposed to read without laughing?
The “leaders” of a country which is totally dependent on the kindness of strangers for financing its war – and for padding their retirement accounts.
Thus the Ukraine has put its A-team on public relations, with the willing assist of MIC-supported Western media. Announcing future military moves is good for keeping the positive buzz going – no matter who dumb that might seem to the poor grunt who has to lead the attack against a prepared enemy.
Ukrainian Patriot downed Ukrainian F-16?
And all the smart people said that Patriot missiles were useless! It is unfortunate that they seem to work best against US planes. And doubly unfortunate that we US peons are paying for both the missiles and the planes.
Relevant details:
It appears to be a continuation of a anti-tank solution from 60s:
The missile is guided to the target by means of a joystick, which requires some skill on the part of the operator. The operator’s adjustments are transmitted to the missile via a thin wire that trails behind the missile.
One shouldn’t get too comfortable with this “solution”. Wire-guided missiles have been used as anti-tank weapons for some time. The usual response is to take out, or at least force distraction on the controller. That they can fly the drones unmolested may be true momentarily, but any decent fighting force will quickly recognize what needs to be done. It’s a lot like how you deal with a sniper (and why German 88 batteries in WWII learned the hard way that they could set up and fire a fast volley or two, then de-de-mau outta there before the P-47’s arrived to demolish them).
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Isn’t that how it has always been in warfare? One guy invents the sword; his opponent invents the shield.
The take-away is that if some group of ne’er-do-well “leaders” is intent on starting one or more wars, the first thing on their agenda should be to make sure they have more industrial capacity than their proposed opponents, and full control of their supply chain from raw materials to finished weapon. And then they could think about training!
The sad thing is that the ne’er-do-wells always have *personal reasons * for starting the war but others always do the fighting and dying. I believe that was @jabowery ’s point. The young men fighting and dying rarely have much use for the war.
That certainly is the characteristic of modern warfare. Almost makes one long for the good old days of Feudalism, where the king had to get on his horse and lead those young men into battle. Now that was skin in the game!
Since economically the West is returning to a form of Feudalism, perhaps we could hope for a return to that obligation of military Feudalism also? But when we look at history, even having the king required to lead the troops from the front did not seem to cut down on leaders love for warfare.
It’s the characteristic of moderneverything! ?Tried to work on your car lately. ?How about any other thing. TV, cable, computers, cars, homes - all are now kind of out of the hands of “regular guys”. I stand amazed at the guys on Corvette Forum who dive into their cars, yank engines, trade front clips, manufacture braces to accept some modification they dream up of. I remember cars where when you opened the hood, you saw daylight all around the motor. Today routine service of a 911 required you pull the engine/tranny out! For things like changing plugs, for goodness sakes. So it’s not hardly surprising that warfare has become more complex - AND more expensive.
But look at what the services are doing - even the Marine Corps. They are pulling out the best and brightest LT’s and Capt’s and sending them off to “finishing schools”, after which they can expect a whole roll of postings - to the Pentagon, the Hill, the White House - ALL political postings. Meanwhile the poor grunts are being led by the “bottom of the list” so to speak. No wonder most thinking Marines - and other services - are disgusted with their officer “leaders” and opt out of continuing service for a career. So it’s no wonder we got guys like Milley as Commander of the Joint Chiefs.
Interview with the Captain of the USS Eisenhower after their rotation back home from the Middle East. Not a deep interview, but can help orient people who are unfamiliar with USN operations. The Eisenhower has been unfortunate in it’s leadership over the years, if this guy carries out the things he says he does, hopefully the streak is broken.
Interesting interview. This squid gets leadership. I think his biggest point was keeping everyone informed on decisions. It is my firm belief that a good leader takes every opportunity to explain what is going on and why you are doing what you are doing. That way, when things get hot and you need immediate response, you simply order it - and the troops recognize that IF you had the time you would explain, so this has to be done right now. It’s trust that the leaders know what they are doing AND keep people involved. The other part is to give both authority and responsibility down the chain for the right using level to make the decisions that need to be made. If you don’t, when you need them they will be unprepared to act to everyone’s satisfaction.
One thing I’m curious about is the section on sleep. Historically part of the problem in the USN has been the traditional watch schedules (often 5 on and 10 off), making it difficult to get good rest. I want to know if he got authorization to change this, or if the Navy has been fixing it, or if he somehow managed to make it work with the standard schedule.
A redditor outlines his life working a six and six schedule then later a “five and dimes” watch schedule.
https://www.reddit.com/r/navy/comments/6uz5hj/uss_john_mccain_collides_with_merchant_ship/dlx2esb/
There have been initiatives, but limited uptake
Here’s one section, where he takes a policy and interprets it in a constructive way:
DRIVE DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION
One of the things I love most about America is
that we are crazy diverse. I think it’s beautiful. We have
people on this ship, for example, from dozens of other
countries, from distinct cultures inside and outside
America, and people who speak a ton of different
languages and dialects. It does not matter where you’re
from, what color skin you have, what your sexual
identity or preference is, or what your religious beliefs
are – you are part of the most advanced warrior team in
the modern age, forged together as one crazy family of
brother and sisters in arms. I cannot wait to show you
all off when we go to a foreign port!Our enemies have nothing like this. They don’t
even promote diversity of thought.Our diversity is our secret weapon. Indeed, if we
can bring together representatives from every country
or culture in the world and create an effective combat
team like we have today on this ship, how can we
possibly lose? I think our enemies know this, too.
That said, equal opportunity for all is something
that has not come easily in America or elsewhere. There
are still many fights ahead. It goes without saying that
on this ship we will not tolerate racial, sexual, gender,
or religious offenses against any warrior brother or
sister on this ship. Those who violate these principles
only weaken our secret weapon and diminish our
ability to stomp on bad guys. On this mighty ship, we
will do whatever it takes to eliminate discrimination
and support equal opportunity. We will create an
environment where EVERYONE will be included in the
daily mission. This is the Way of the Warrior Sailor.