Missing equipment

An article in the New York Times today reported that Governors are concerned that the Iraq war is stripping NG units of equipment needed to respond to state emergencies. I have not read the article because I don't subscribe to the online NYT, but I read a couple of references to it.

As I have written, we did leave a good deal of our equipment in Iraq, including weaspons and weaspons systems, radios, night vision equipment, and vehicles. Many of the vehicles we shipped back have been diverted to a Depot Rebuild, and we won't see them again.

So, I guess I'd have to agree that right now we have a vastly reduced capacity to respond to a state emergency, though we're not exactly shorn little lambs, shivering in the breeze.

The picture is of our company motor pool in February, 90 days after we returned, and not a single vehicle in the compound. The other pic shows one of the intangible advantages to being in the Guard. Driving to drill, I got to see this fantastic sunrise, which I otherwise would have slept through.

The Long War

I heard a news report this morning that what was formerly called the Global War on Terror is now called The Long War by the Bush Administration. The folks interviewed made several salient points. You can't really have a war on a tactic (terror); you have wars on countries, groups, etc. Another person said that calling it a long war works because it implies that the military budget can't be cut; you don't cut the military when you're at war.

This person also noted that by far most of the spending is on conventional weapons and programs and very little is budgeted for anti-insurgency efforts. I took his point to be that the military-industrial complex is simply using the Long War as a rationale for defense spending in order to enrich the defense industry. This is a fairly cynical conclusion, though many people seem to reach it. I suppose some folks might support the war for personal monetary gain, but I don't think there's some big conspiracy to conduct war as a means of consumption in order to enrich the suppliers.

Anyway, at last drill, I attended a briefing on the Army's big picture plan. Apparently Guard and Reserve units, and active units with some different wrinkles, are going to be put on a six year plan. The year after a deployment, such as my unit is in right now, the unit will be recovering from the deployment. Manpower will be down and the unit will be missing much of its equipment.

As the unit rebuilds its combat power over the next few years, it gets increased funding, eventualy resulting in a deployment, or National Training Center rotaion, in the 5th or 6th year. Starting year four, the units will start doing 3-week Annual trainings (instead of 2-week).

As I sat there, it struck me that the plan is now for a Guard unit to be deployed every six years. This dovetails with the idea of The Long War.

Turmoil

Our brigade is going through an amazing amount of turmoil, and the next 9 months hold a great deal of uncertainty.

Pretty much all senior leadership has turned over. Brigade cmdr, Bde Cmd Sgt Major, all battalion cmdrs and most CSMs. We have a new S1, S2, S6, S7, Deputy Bde Cmdr, and probably a new S3 (These are the various primary staff officers.) We have a new JAG, and the IG slot is going away.

In addition, we are completely reorganizing the brigade. The M1 tanks are going away, and those soldiers will become MPs and cooks and unmanned aerial vehicle operators and military intelligence types. The support battalion is moving to another part of the state. The truck drivers and material handlers and mechanics are going to become part of a recon and security battalion, driving Bradleys. The combat engineers in north Idaho are going to become the new support battalion. All this is happening in the months after returning from deployment, and leaders are trying to be sensitive to additional demands being placed on soldiers.

The numbers of people qualified in their jobs is going to plummet, and lots of folks will have to go to schools. Some folks will choose not to stay in because they don’t want to leave home again so soon, or because they don’t want to do the new job, and our personnel numbers are going to decline.
Recruiting is going to be a huge push. Idaho is one of five pilot states that will now pay a “bounty” on recruits. If I refer a recruit, I get $1,000 when s/he signs up, and another $1,000 when s/he completes schooling. Pretty much anyone is eligible for the bounty, even civilians.

Reunion

Last night, Friday, we had our first drill with pretty much everyone in attendance. Two things stood out. On a drill before mobilization, we'd show up, mill around, say hello to other soldiers, have formation, then split for our various destinations and duties. Last night was not so different, except the feel of reunion in the air. People were shaking hands and hugging. Many soldiers lingered after formation to chat and catch up. There is clearly a bond among these soldiers that was not there before we mobilized.

I also couldn't help but notice the uniforms. I counted six different uniforms. Some wore green BDUs with beret, some with black boots, others with tan boots. Some wore tan DCUs with beret, or with the field cap. Some wore the new grey uniform. One soldier wore his PT uniform, I guess because he haad to take a PT test. It was a motley crew, and reminded me of the Iraqi Army, which also seemed to wear whatever they wanted.

The reason for our variation is that the new gray uniform is being phased in, while the green one is going out. However, the new ones haven't been issued yet, so any gray ones were self-purchased. Many soldiers have their uniforms still in shipment back from Kuwait, so the tan DCU is the only one they have. Some of our soldiers did not deploy, so only have the green uniform.

This variety in a sense reflects the turmoil the brigade is going through as it adjusts and reorganizes.

Funeral

Here are some pictures, the likes of which you probably won't see in traditional media. This is a "ramp ceremony" for a soldier killed in Iraq.

I had some trouble getting the pictures in order. What you're seeing is the coffin being unloaded from the ambulance. An honor guard, lead by the Brigade Chaplain, carrying the coffin into the aircraft, and the aircrew saluting the coffin as it is emplaced.

Most of the rest of the Brigade is in formation in the background, saluting the fallen soldier.

Drill surprises

I talked to a soldier who has been giveninformation about our upcoming drills that has her upset. By some regulation, we don't have to drill the first 60 days after demobilizing, so our first mandatory drill is next weekend, Feb 11-12. Our equipment hasn't arrived from Iraq yet, so we won't have too much to do in February. It should be here by March.

Traditionally, drill is the first weekend of the month. This may vary for the Superbowl, Mother's Day and opening day of hunting season. Most other weekends don't get much consideration for conflicts. Our April drill is the first weekend, i.e., April 1-2. Turns out that spring break for the school kids is the week of March 27-31. So, the last weekend of spring break will be drill, and apparently we will be drilling a MUTA 5, i.e., Friday night and all day Saturday and Sunday.

I had planned to take my kids on a vacation during spring break. This was to be our big reunion after me being gone for 18 months. I now have to reassess. Being back on Friday instead of Sunday will take some adjustments. The soldier I talked to was very annoyed about this imposition, as she also had plans to travel with her kids. It is not easy to get out of drill, even though the concrete repercussions aren't that severe. It's more a matter of pissing off your boss than specific punishment. Plus, it's bad form for a leader.

Another circumstance also had her irritated, but this story needs a bit of background. When we mobilized in June 2004, a few thousand local soldiers assembled in a local arena for a goodbye tribute. Mayors from 6 local towns showed up, but the mayor of Boise didn't. He is a Democrat, and the rest are republicans. Our Adjutant General, a 2-star (Major General), spoke at the rally. He is the top state Guard officer, appointed by the (Republican) governor. At the rally he took a shot at the Boise mayor for not being there.

This put the Boise mayor on the defensive, and he showed up at our departure to shake everyone's hand and give out a City of Boise lapel pin. He also put together a plan for a big welcome home party, involving local units and many of the larger corporations and businesses.

Since we have the first 60 days off from drill, the party couldn’t be in the first two months if attendance is mandatory. At first everyone is sick of the whole army scene, and probably wouldn’t attend voluntarily. Also, it’s cold and the streets can be slick. So, the party was planned for Memorial Day.

That has a nice connection to honoring the troops, and the weather will be nice. As it turns out, in order to support the party, drill has been scheduled for Memorial Day weekend. So for the third Memorial Day we will be in uniform and away from our families. This is also a MUTA 5, and will pretty much eat up the 3-day weekend.

Many soldiers are not in a happy frame of mind about military service, after Iraq. Such unnecessary impositions will probably contribute to soldiers voting with their feet.

Home Town Humor

A dairy farm operates right next to the new high school. The owner seems to have a sense of humor, as he recently posted this sign next to a drainage pond. The pond drains the milking shed and the feeding troughs, so it's essentially a cesspool. If you can't read the sign, it says "Absolutely No Fishing or Swimming!"

You might notice the houses in background. They have been built in the last month, as Kuna grows, a classic case of coming to the nuisance. The diary farm has been there for years, but not the town has grown up to its edge. Pretty soon, I suppose, efforts to run the farm and its flys and odors off will begin.