Category: Service Ring

Afghan Prisoners are Freed

Posted by Victoria on in Current Events, Military, Special Ops Troops, U.S. Army

operation recently freed about 40 Afghan troops from a Taliban prison in Helmand Province. this does not seem to be significant on the surface but upon further examination the wisdom of this operation becomes apparent. The Afghan  Security Forces needed a de facto victory to help to boost their confidence and morale.

A prison rescue is always a good morale builder because it lets the troops know that if they do happen to be captured they will not be forgotten. Soldiers are more willing to fight and make sacrifices when they know  that their country is standing behind them.

On the other hand this operation should also demoralize the Taliban. Prisons are normally located in secure areas. The fact that Afghan troops could get in and rescue prisoners should cause them to have second thoughts about their own security.

US Special Forces would have instrumental in planning the operation and training the Afghan forces to be able to carry it out. They would have been located in strategic places in order to help to carry out the operation. A few would have accompanied the main force as advisors to help direct the action if the Afghan leadership ran into problems. There were probably other Special forces troops monitoring communications, and assisting and advising the units which supported the raid.

Hopefully Afghan Security Forces will become trained enough to be able to conduct this and other types of operations without any US help at all.

The US has Supplied some Special Troops to Assist against ISIS

Posted by Victoria on in Current Events, Military, Special Ops Troops, U.S. Army

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be to anyone else reading this article either. We know that the purpose of US Special Forces Troops is to train the people of a country how to rise up and fight their captors.

When Indigenous forces are trained to fight they may not be strong enough to defeat the enemy which is oppressing them, but they can certainly cause some major headaches and hinder their operations. This makes the job of the actual military force doing the fighting much easier. They trained civilians become what is known as a force multiplier because they become such an asset for the war effort.

Special Forces troops can and do perform a wide variety of missions but their primary duty is to serve as trainers.

The troops in question have been deployed into Iraq, obviously to assist the indigenous Iraqi people in their struggle against ISIS. We trained the Iraqi Army but in some cases they are having a hard time fending off the Islamic state. The training of the locals may well be the exact thing needed to rapidly turn the tide of the conflict.

The primary mission of Special forces in Iraq is to assist Iraqi and Kurdish Peshmerga forces, and to conduct raids, free hostages, gather intelligence and capture ISIL leaders.”

SF trainers typically try not to get involved in direct combat. They generally accompany the indigenous force on missions and observe. they will fight if it becomes necessary. It is extremely difficult to direct the action when you are involved in the actual conflict which is the reason they don’t want to get involved in the action.

Is Our Navy Overextended?

Posted by Victoria on in Current Events, Military, Navy
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military are overextended to a great degree. Our Navy is no exception with the responsibility to be able to cover all of the oceans and seas in the world. There can never be enough ships, or manpower to be able to keep a lid on all of the potential threats which could happen at any time.

Commanders have to prioritize when it comes to choosing which mission to carry out because of the shortage of equipment and manpower. The average commander walks a tightrope as he juggles mission balls in the air hoping that he doesn’t allow one to fall to the ground. Higher headquarters will throw out requirements with little concern about you get it done. Many times Commanders have to cut corners in order to meet unrealistic requirements and expectations.

I know this because I served I experienced this first hand. We were given requirements that headquarters knew were impossible. They really didn’t care because if we fell through and didn’t meet the minimum the blame would be placed squarely on the shoulders of the Commander who received the directive.

When I was stationed in Fort Stewart GA we never had the equipment that we needed when we deployed to the field, yet were expected to meet mission requirements as if we had it. I was told to go out and find radios which were required according to mission authorization.

When I was stationed in Korea for example, the duty officer had the responsibility of walking the entire compound twice each night. He had to physically check each door to insure that it was locked. This was absolutely impossible and they knew it. It placed any blame which was incurred from a door which was left unsecured on his shoulders regardless of who did it. Every duty officer knew that it covered headquarters at their expense, because if something went wrong he would be blamed for being derelict.

The Navy would probably be able to respond adequately to one situation but if there were several contingencies at once we would be woefully understaffed.

How Good is the Navies New Destroyer?

Posted by Victoria on in Military, Military Equipment, Navy

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When you look at the ship in the photograph here it probably makes you wonder about just what is the Navy doing with their ships right now. Newer ships look absolutely harmless, and just about nothing like the older ships of WWII but they are infinitely more deadly. This thing looks more like a floating wedge as far as I am concerned. The weaponry on modern warships is hidden from sight so if you are not familiar with their construction details you will not realize how they are designed to take care of business.

The Zumwalt is the largest destroyer which the Navy has. all of the weapons and antennas are hidden from view. The hull is shaped to deflect radar transmissions which makes it a super stealthy vessel. It can slip in on you and kill you before you have a clue as to whats happening.

The shape of the hull presents a question mark for the Navy because it can potentially be unstable in rough seas. The upside about it’s design is that it is very stealthy which is a definite plus in modern warfare.

This ship is quite a bit larger than all other warships of it’s kind yet has a much smaller crew because of it’s automation. Computer technology was utilized in designing the hull in order to address the area of potential instability. Navy experts are assured that this ship will perform well in rough seas because of this.

All of it’s technology is the latest and best to include radar, sonar, and rocket assisted projectiles. It is also powered by a quiet, efficient, reliable electric engine.

The Phillipines start to Gear up for Chinese Aggression

Posted by Victoria on in Current Events, Military Equipment, Service Ring, Special Ops Troops, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army, U.S. Coast Guard, USMC

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expansion and aggression in the area by requesting additional military equipment from the United States and South Korea. I know that they have recently received Naval equipment from the US and have secured fighter planes from South Korea. Their military has traditionally been underfunded which leaves them very much dependent on US assistance.

They have seen the increased aggression of the Chinese military in seeking to acquire land and natural resources in the area and recognize the expansionism for what it is and the potential problems that it presents.

I do believe that future conflict in the South China Sea is more than imminent because the Chinese are in desperate need of the natural resources there.

The jets are FA-50’s which are trainers which have been converted to fighter jets. They are supersonic which is an improvement to their arsenal of subsonic aircraft. They have had supersonic aircraft in the past but the F-5 was decommissioned in 2005.

Territorial disputes with China have escalated recently. The Chinese seized a disputed piece of land in 2012 which probably served as a major eye opener to the Philippines. This pushed them to scramble to acquire new navy ships and air force planes.

These fighters are not the only pieces of military hardware that the Philippines have decided to acquire. They have freed up about $936,000,000 worth of military equipment to include two frigates, anti-submarine helicopters and amphibious assault vehicles for the navy, and long-range patrol aircraft, munitions for the FA-50s and surveillance radar for the Air Force.