Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Military News: Medal Of Honor For Staff Sergeant Salvatore Giunta
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Afghanistan: Moving The Goal Post A Little Further For PSC Shutdown And Troop Withdrawal
This is classic. In both of these stories below you can see a dramatic change from the original hardline stance of Obama and Karzai on this stuff. I have mentioned in past blog posts on how both disbanding of PSC’s and troop withdrawals should not be based on some unrealistic timeline. Instead, they should be based on progress and reality on the ground. And guess what? The disbanding of PSC’s by December has changed now to ‘disbanding in stages’, and the July 2011 troop withdrawal date has switched to 2014 for a withdrawal. lol Talk about ‘moving the Goal Post’?-Matt
Afghan security companies to disband in stages
Obama officials moving away from 2011 Afghan date
Afghan security companies to disband in stages
By KATHARINE HOURELD
Wed Nov 10, 2010
KABUL, Afghanistan – After weeks of negotiations, Afghan officials and foreign diplomats have agreed that a shutdown of private security companies in Afghanistan will have to be carried out in several stages, two officials familiar with the talks said Wednesday.
The development indicates a possible compromise over the controversial issue, which has occupied top international diplomats and Afghan officials since President Hamid Karzai in August ordered the closure of private companies that provide security guards in the country.
At the time, Karzai said private security companies would be replaced by Afghan security forces.
But he later backed away from a Dec. 17 deadline for the shutdown, after diplomats said the move threatens billions of dollars worth of reconstruction projects. Up to 40,000 private guards work in Afghanistan, mostly guarding embassies, military convoys and development projects.
An Afghan and a foreign official familiar with the negotiations said Wednesday the two sides now agree the shutdown should be gradual. They said sticking points remain, such as who would be guarding military convoys.
The government must come up with a proposal in five days on the phased shutdown, they also said. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the negotiations are still ongoing.
Many companies on contracts with the U.S. Agency for International Development have said they can’t insure their staff without private guards.
Industry Talk: Veterans Day And Remembrance Day….. For Military And Contractors
So as everyone around the world takes time to remember their veterans and their sacrifice, I wanted to include one more group in this remembrance. That would be the thousands of civilian contractors that have served in this current war, and wars past. Their sacrifice and contribution to today’s war effort, and past war efforts, is worth every bit of respect and honor we can give them. Especially the 2000 plus contractors that have been killed in this current war, and the thousands out there that have been wounded.
It is also important to note that the ranks of contractors in this war are filled with actual military war time veterans. It is quite a thing to work side by side with a veteran of South Africa’s Border Wars, or a veteran of the Vietnam War. Or some veteran that worked multiple tours in today’s wars, both in Afghanistan and Iraq, and here they are, working as a contractor in today’s war. This special class of veteran is the type of individual that stepped up again to put their lives on the line, and give another ounce of flesh to the cause. Wether it be training Afghan police, cooking the food in a DEFAC, building living quarters for the troops, or delivering essential wartime goods on dangerous roads–contractors must be remembered on this day too.
Now to put my military veteran hat on, because many of us contractors have past service and past wars to remember. All of us who have that experience do not not need to be reminded to remember. If anything, this day comes with the hope that others will not forget these sacrifices, both past and present.
Let’s not forget about the families of contractors and military veterans too. They are the ones that count the days while their loved ones are gone, and fear those phone calls or visits that might bring news of death. They are the ones that keep raising the family while their loved one is overseas, and they are also the ones to raise that family alone when their loved one is killed or seriously injured. I salute you for your strength and dedication.
This post is also a dedication to the veterans from around the world who have at one point put it all on the line for their country during time of war. And no matter where or when, that experience is always a horrible sacrifice for all involved. There is nothing uplifting or positive about war, and the only good part about it is when it is over and everyone can go back to living their lives in peace.
So with that sad, I am always touched by the words in the famous wartime poem ‘In Flanders Fields‘, by Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae. This poem says it all and I wanted to put it up here as a dedication to all veterans, both military and contractor, past and present, and around the world–this is for you.-Matt
In Flanders fields the poppies grow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Military News: British Military Expands Links To French Allies
Wow, this is interesting. I won’t say much, because I really don’t have a good feel on how both sides feel about this. Or how this impacts each nation’s psyche when their defenses are so closely tied to another country’s defense. I mean it is pragmatic, and helps increase the defensive or offensive capabilities of each country. But what happens when France wants to use a British asset for something that Britain wants no part in? Or when the politics change in each country, how will something like this last? –Matt
British Military Expands Links to French Allies
November 2, 2010
By JOHN F. BURNS
LONDON — Britain and France signed defense agreements on Tuesday that promised cooperation far beyond anything achieved previously in 60 years of NATO cooperation, including the creation of a joint expeditionary force, shared use of aircraft carriers and combined efforts to improve the safety and effectiveness of their nuclear weapons.
The agreements signed in London by Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain and President Nicolas Sarkozy of France were a landmark of another kind for two nations that spent centuries confronting each other on the battlefields of Europe. While neither leader mentioned Agincourt, Trafalgar or Waterloo, or French victories that included the Norman Conquest in 1066, both stirred a brief whiff of the troubled history of Anglo-French relations into the mood of general bonhomie.
The agreements envisaged a new combined force available for deployment at times of international crisis that is expected to involve about 5,000 service members from each nation, with land, sea and air components, and rotating French and British commanders. The pacts also foresee each nation alternating in putting a single aircraft carrier to sea, with the vessels operating as bases for French, British and American aircraft in times of need.
The nuclear agreement was in some ways the most surprising, since it committed the two nations to sharing some of their most carefully kept secrets. Although the two leaders emphasized that France’s “force de frappe” and Britain’s similar, submarine-based ballistic missile force would remain separate and under the sole control of each government, they agreed to establish joint research centers, one in France and one in Britain, to further research on their stockpiles of nuclear warheads.
The cooperation pact was set to last 50 years and could transform the way the countries project force, fight wars and compete for defense contracts with the United States. One goal appeared to be to give the two militaries greater buying power to support the struggling European defense industry.
Mr. Cameron, who has navigated deep hostilities to European integration and deep skepticism toward France in his Conservative Party, emphasized the budgetary benefits, saying the agreements would contribute savings of “millions of pounds” to Britain’s plan to make deep cuts in its $60 billion defense budget.
Previous efforts at military cooperation between the countries have more often faltered than succeeded. In the late 1990s, Tony Blair, then Britain’s prime minister, and Jacques Chirac, then France’s president, promised deeper defense cooperation, but the understanding was undone by differences over the Iraq war. In both countries, there are significant political forces arrayed against anything that smacks of too close a military partnership with the age-old foe.