Hi Folks,

as promised I'm posting a weekly e-newsletter I get that's written for/by both active duty military and veterans - hope this gives a little more perspective on the situation.

Arlin

----------------------------------------------------- **********KOSOVO: OPERATION JOINT GUARDIAN - DAY 5**** ********** VOICE OF THE GRUNT ********** ********** 16 June 1999 **********

************************************************************************** (To stop getting this newsletter, click the "reply" box, put UNSUB or DELETE in the Subject line, and hit "send." If your address is NOT in our mailing list, a third party is "redirecting" you a copy ~ which we have no control over, are not responsible for, and have no way to remove.)

TABLE OF CONTENTS ARTICLES Hack's Column Kosovo: A Pyrrhic Victory 1 Mac Notes 2 >From The Field: Victory Through Air Power 3 He Deferred Approval To The Vice-President 4 Don't Start The Celebration Yet 5 British SAS Part II 6 It's Official: Training Degrades Readiness 7 The Wildly Revolving Door 8 Medal of Honor: SSgt. Gersch, John G., USA, E Co., 1/327, 101st ABN Div. 9 A Shau Valley, RVN, 19 July 1969 Commentary: MPRI: Military Princes Retirement & Investments 10 No Humor This Week =========================================================== ARTICLE 1 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ KOSOVO: A PYRRHIC VICTORY ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ By David H. Hackworth, 15 June 1999

Wait a military minute. We spend 4 billion bucks, risk our Green Berets' and jet jockeys' lives, and the Ruskies do an end run and march into Kosovo before us?

They get the parades, flowers and cheers that were beamed by television around the world -- and we pick up the tab.

This just doesn't add up. But come to think of it, nothing in the "war that wasn't a war" makes much sense.

Let's review the deal. President Clinton does a peace dance with indicted war criminal Slobodian Milosevic, a guy he called Hitler, in which Milosevic stays the main man. Kosovo still belongs to him. Serb soldiers, the ones who drove out the refugees, will be at the border welcoming them back home.

Humm? Things have changed since President Truman, when Hitler put a bullet in his brain rather than face Harry's stern music. If he'd played war under Clinton rules, he'd have been allowed to give Ike the keys to Berlin while the Nazi army passed in review and then quietly retired to a sunny dictator-friendly South American state.

Had I submitted an outline of how the operation went down as a proposal to a book editor, I'd have gotten the Big R - rejection - with a note saying "We don't do Air Power humor" or "Catch 22's already been written" or "Sorry, your imagination's in overdrive. No military operation could have been this bad."

But that won't be the spin coming out of the White House and the Pentagon until Hillary grabs the headlines by kicking off her pre-2008 presidential election campaign with her go at the Senate.

The veteran Clinton spin team -- which flimflammed Monica into a stalker, Paula into trailer-park trash, and labeled Bill's womanizing and the selling of secrets to China as dirty tricks by right-wing extremists -- will ram a hype hose down the nation's throat and turn the water all the way up.

The war that wasn't a war will be spun into a great victory, a combination of our Revolutionary War, V-J Day and Desert Storm.

But when our flyers and soldiers and sailors start leaking to the press, you'll see a triumph it was not. The conflict was not only badly bungled, it was the military mismatch of history.

It was like a wrestling match between Little Orphan Annie and Jesse Ventura -- the little redheaded kid being Serbia and Jesse being a muscle-bound NATO.

Annie weighed in with a fourth-rate 1960s army, backed by 10 million people from a primarily agricultural state the size of Ohio whose economy pumps out less dough than Coney Island on a rainy day. Jesse hit the scales with the most powerful military machine in the history of the world, 800 million supporters hailing from 19 mostly rich industrialized countries.

After 78 rounds, Annie is still standing and singing "Tomorrow! Tomorrow! I love ya tomorrow!" while Jesse, who has had to spend too much energy preventing his 19 supporters from stabbing him in the back never got in a decisive hit.

When Serbia left Kosovo, its forces going out looked as good as NATO's military machine did coming in. The bombed and blasted Serb Army vehicles and soldiers were parade-ground sharp. Their trucks and tanks were clean and well maintained, and their soldiers' gear, uniforms and haircuts looked ready for a tough first sergeant's inspection. No one looked battle-rattled or had that vacant 1,000-yard stare that comes from a few too many nearby hits.

After all those bombs and missiles and all of NATO's glowing reports about battle damage inflicted on the non-white-flag-waving Serbian Army, 11 MiG fighters rose from an air base in Kosovo on the day the peace deal was final. They wagged their perfect, unruffled wings and headed north. After such a pummeling, how could 11 jet fighters, almost more than Great Britain used in the war, remain unscathed?

Eventually, the analysts will tell us the final score. But one thing for sure is that the Cold War is back and Russia again has a bunch of missiles pointed our way.

Their politicians say they didn't authorize the stealth maneuver to parade in Kosovo. Which means the generals, the guys who control the nuclear-tipped missiles, are really in charge.

Sleep well. Enjoy the "victory" while it lasts. ============================================ ARTICLE 2 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ *******MAC NOTES******* ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Could it have been any more embarrassing for NATO and our illustrious foreign policy team last Friday? All the folks turning out with smiles, flowers and bottles of wine to welcome the Russians into Pristina, Kosovo's capitol, as their deliverers from the evils of NATO. What a joke!

NATO has all the best reconnaissance assets in the world at its disposal, but they never noticed the Russians moving troops and vehicles to the Bosnian/Kosovo border? And we laugh today when we read how a radar officer at Pearl Harbor told his operators not to worry about a large blip moving in from the northwest back on 7 December!

And, sure enough, the crazies in North Korea are now playing "tag" in the territorial waters of South Korea. South Korea has responded by putting its 650,000 man Army on a high state of alert. Last word was that the South Koreans "deep-sixed" one of the North's high-speed "PT" boats. Hope our mega-billion dollar "Intell" community doesn't drop its eyeballs on this one or from watching Saddam.

I find it paradoxical with the Air Campaign over, an agreement being wrangled out and our troops on the ground, we are treated to another Ken Starr story that made the front-page of the Sunday newspapers and was all the rage on television news. It would seem that getting Kosovo off the scope as the lead topic of the news is a high priority. Yeah, let's not answer all the hard questions that Kosovo raises; let's go back to "entertaining" news stories.

On another note, one of our assistant editors is an Army Reserve member and he called last Friday with a very interesting tale. He was mailed a "Lapel Pin" by the U.S. Army; one of those "Proud To Serve" trinkettes.

Well, he opens that package and out falls the plastic bag with his Lapel Pin inside. Tatooed on the bag are the words "MADE IN CHINA." He was floored. It's bad enough that they have our missile technology, but now they're manufacturing trinkettes for the U.S. Army! He also told me that he had heard a story that our combat boots might one day be manufactured in China.

Also, has anyone heard any reports of Special Forces casualties during this Kosovo operation? These would have been guys targeting Air Attacks with targets and getting on the ground "Intell." Please let us know.

Have a good week. Don't bunch up.

Robert L. McMahon Editor rlmcmahon@mindspring.com ==================================================== ARTICLE 3 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Victory Through Airpower (with apologies to Major Alexander P. de Seversky) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The author's 30-year career in the U.S. Air Force included 230 combat missions in Vietnam. He also served as the Air Attache in Moscow and on the Strategy Department faculty at the Naval War College. ************************************* by Colonel George Jatras, USAF (Ret.)

As a former fighter pilot and long-time advocate of air power, why am I not elated with the supposed victory of air power in Kosovo? What "victory?" Nineteen nations, with a combined population of 800 million, pounded on a sovereign nation of 10 million for 78 days, dropping more tonnage on Yugoslavia than Nazi Germany during WWII, and the victory is a negotiated settlement that could have been reached before the bombing began. Look at the facts.

The Rambouillet "Agreement" was an ultimatum clearly designed as an excuse to bomb. It was rejected by the government of Yugoslavia - as it would have been by any sovereign nation. The two unacceptable conditions were (1) a vote for Kosovo independence after three years, and (2) access by NATO troops to all of Yugoslavia, with complete immunity from prosecution for any violations of Yugoslav law, a surrender of national sovereignty. Neither condition appears in the current agreement.

So the non-war was a setup for whatever reason, take your pick: Divert attention from Chinagate, establish Bill Clinton's legacy as a wartime leader, make Yugoslavia an example of what happens when a small country defies the New World Order, or find a new mission for NATO. What were the stated war aims? Pure and simple: Milosevic would sign the Rambouillet Agreement, or else -- no changes and no negotiations, thereby preserving NATO's credibility and preventing destabilization of the region.

As for the conduct of the war, aka the air campaign, anyone with the slightest knowledge of the military can be sure that Pentagon planners advocated a massive buildup and swift, decisive execution, ala Desert Storm. No one would even suggest the kind of campaign we saw initially -- hitting empty buildings and vacated barracks -- unless they were (a) incompetent, which they are not, or (b) were told by the great military experts Clinton and Albright that Milosevic would fold immediately as he had done in Krajina and Bosnia.

Not only did Milosevic not fold, but the Serbian people, hundreds of thousands of whom had demonstrated for his removal only two years prior, closed ranks behind him as the defender of their sovereignty. In addition, Kosovar Albanian refugees poured out of Kosovo by the tens of thousands into neighboring Albania, Montenegro and Macedonia, whether in fear of NATO bombs or driven out by Serb forces. One war aim was down the tubes. Instead of preventing destabilization of the region, NATO had contributed to it.

The bombing was not having the desired effect. Instead of being demoralized, the Serbs were defiant. NATO's response was to broaden the target list and increase the bombing. NATO spokesman Jamie Shea told us that had been the plan all along, while denying or making excuses for the mistaken bombing of apartment buildings, monasteries, churches, refugees, hospitals, schools and embassies. We were even expected to believe than an "old CIA map" which would have shown a vacant lot where the Chinese embassy now stands, was the reason for that SNAFU. The war aim of preserving NATO's credibility was taking some hard hits. One had to be totally callous not to be revolted by Jamie Shea's braying announcement that "NATO had a successful day" when T.V. news was showing children dismembered by an errant NATO bomb. But our president was resolute; he wasn't going to let a few innocent civilian casualties deter him from forcing Milosevic to the negotiating table. Negotiating table? What happened to "Sign Rambouillet, or else?" So, with a new set of war aims we entered the last phase of the air campaign -- deliberate targeting of nonmilitary targets. Meanwhile, in the United States, reserve forces were put on alert and key Air Force personnel were kept from leaving the service. The Pacific Fleet was left without an aircraft carrier. All this to bring Milosevic to his knees -- he certainly is no Monica Lewinsky.

And what is the final outcome? In truth, we don't know. The occupation of Kosovo still has many unanswered questions. But the results of the air campaign are pretty clear. Rather than being the all-powerful force the White House spinmasters are touting to justify Bill Clinton's folly, air power was misused by arrogant, ignorant politicians in a war that violated nearly every principle of war as well as principles of law, sovereignty and decency.

As for our military leaders, I fear that as in the Vietnam War, our generals, faced with incompetent civilian leadership, are too concerned about their careers and their retirement jobs to lay their stars on the table and refuse to be part of a shameful action for which we will pay in blood and treasure for years to come.

A victory for air power? I'm afraid not. The only thing for which we can be thankful is that we had no combat casualties. For that we can thank God, at the same time we ask His forgiveness for the unnecessary loss of innocent lives. ===================================== ARTICLE 4 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "HE DEFERRED APPROVAL TO THE VICE PRESIDENT..." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SUMMARY: A report from a "fly on the wall" at Vincenza Italy. Mel Brooks, Norman Lear and Joseph Heller couldn't make this stuff up. ***************************************** By An Air Force Officer

Managing the Air Campaign was particularly challenging since the strategy was dictated by Gen. Clark. Each day we had a "daily tactical direction" given at the 0945 VTC. This brief bypassed all chains of command -- in one VTC the SAC of all EUR gave specific target selection directions directly to an Army NCO charged with correlating intelligence information and passing flex targets to the battlecab. Of course, the same General in question sat on targets, holding up approval or never submitting specific CAOC requests. When these were submitted, they were sent to POTUS first (as opposed to the NAC), who seemed to be on vacation a lot. And naturally, if it was a particularly challenging or high collateral damage-potential target, our fearless Commander-in-Chief, never one to dodge an issue -- deferred approval to the Vice President. Mr. Gore, understandably, just sat on them. After all, if the strike were to go OK, Clinton got the gravy. On the other hand, if any CD occurred, Mr. Gore's presidential campaign might be set back.

Then there was the issue of where we could bomb. Clark's daily insistence that air power be used almost exclusively to bomb concealed armor interspersed with homes and IDPs created a nightmare scenario that resulted in an average of nearly 30 strike sorties required to "kill" a Serb vehicle. The other sorties planted their bombs in a tree-line, or one of Clark's "assembly areas" (re- "truck park"). It also, in my opinion, stretched the bombing campaign by an extra 30 days -- at least. Incrementalism of target approval and release was a significant factor in extending the air war for no good reason. In the end, the high payoff targets we repeatedly asked for on day 1 through 77 were proven to be the key to breaking Serb will to continue. Had we been given approval to attack IADs and high payoff target systems systematically in the first days of the effort, the Serb defenses and will to continue would have broken. The conflict would have been much shorter, we may have prevented some of the genocide (which the Serbs continue as I write), and the collateral casualties would have been much lower.

In short, there wasn't much missing from a comparison between this effort and the worst of Vietnam (Lady Bird and "wanna see my scar"), except for the fact that despite the seemingly deliberate effort to misapply air power, it succeeded in forcing a recalcitrant Serb leadership back to the bargaining table. Where they got about the same deal they were offered at Ramboulliet four months ago. ============================================= ARTICLE 5 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ DON'T START THE CELEBRATION YET ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SUMMARY: This officer reminds us that the tough job is only beginning. ************************************ By An Army Officer

Recent developments in the NATO-Serbia row promise to offer a welcomed end to the wholesale death and destruction perpetrated by both sides, but don't start the celebration just yet. While our politicians spout self-congratulatory speeches for CNN, we in the military need to focus on our Serb adversaries' capabilities and intent.

Having spent four years as a Bosnia analyst, including a year in theater, I believe the Serbs are attempting to dupe NATO in the hope we'll let our guard down long enough for them to strike at our weak underbelly-public support. The Washington Post recently interviewed one of General Wesley Clarke's senior staff officers. In that interview the officer states that a senior Serb official had told him the Serb leadership understands very clearly that it was the death of a few Rangers that changed public opinion and ultimately drove the U.S. from Somalia. Could it be that the Serbs have merely moved into another phase designed to lull NATO into complacency and then strike?

Let's look at recent history. In Bosnia, the Serbs conducted an aggressive campaign of ethnic cleansing against the Muslims and Croats. Along the way, they took UN soldiers hostage and committed genocide in the Muslim enclaves of eastern Bosnia. A devastating explosion in a Sarajevo market (allegedly perpetrated by the Serbs) finally precipitated a NATO military response, "Operation Deliberate Force." This air campaign disrupted Serb command and control, allowing the Bosnian Federation forces to drive the Bosnian Serb Army to its knees and eventually to the peace talks at Dayton. The political lines drawn at Dayton clearly defines political responsibility for each of the former warring factions, which allows blame to be directed toward the appropriate entity in the event of an attack against NATO forces. NATO has operated without a direct military confrontation with the Serbs and no deaths at Serb hands.

Now look at the situation in Kosovo. Unlike Bosnia, Kosovo presents NATO the challenge of operating in an area where there are no clearly defined political borders. Granted, Kosovo remains a province of Serbia, but NATO's insistence that all Yugoslav Army and Interior Ministry forces depart the area removes these Serb elements of power from the chain or responsibility. NATO may soon find itself in the middle of a low intensity conflict, where NATO soldiers can be targeted by the KLA, the Serb "Black Hand" terrorist group, ethnic Albanian civilians, Serb civilians, or all of the above. Any of these groups might adopt the tactic of attempting to inflict NATO casualties while placing the blame on another group in order to provoke a NATO response against their adversaries. Milosevic knows that casualties will create a rift in NATO unity. He was unable to inflict casualties while NATO stuck to an air campaign. With NATO soldiers on Serbian soil, Slobodan may see the opportunity he's been waiting for. It may not even require direct action against NATO. Even now, Serb troops are probably placing booby-traps and laying additional mines in every area of Kosovo they vacate. NATO must remain more vigilant than ever. ================================================ ~~> more articles in Part B ~~>

VOICE OF THE GRUNT, 1999-06-16-B ================================================ ARTICLE 6 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ BRITISH SAS LEADER: PART II ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ****FLASH****FLASH****FLASH Subject: SITREP, SAS Commando, SOMEWHERE - BALKANS Time and Date: 1805 HOURS (GMT), 10 June 1999

Kosovo Calling:

We were supposed to go back in, but we were held back when the peace deal was signed. Instead, we were launched, and in the air, because the Russians were trying to get there first, they were going to drop us in front of them, near Pristina, and "hold" the Russains by ourselves, until British Paratroopers could get to us. However the Russians say they will stop at the border.

Anyway, I am in Blace (Macedonia/Kosovo border) right now with the rest of the boys. The Brits were ready to go yesterday, but the US Marines were ill-prepared. Consequently, everything has been put on hold until they sort themselves out. We will be going into Pristina tonight to secure it. We will be going in with the Paratroopers. We are going regardless of the US Marines being ready.

The British troops really feel let down by the US so far, hopefully they will get it together shortly. We might have to "liquidate" renegade units after securing Pristina. Hopefully the Russians won't start anything. We will be keeping our "eyes" on them. The British Paratroops are just dying for a fight, as are the Ghurkas. Our new tasking is to find the landmines once we are all in. We know where the majority of them are. Then we are going to guide the Top Brass to the mass graves -- they are great hiding places! A bit quiet though; even the birds don't go there. No sound, no nothing.

Everybody knows we are going in tonight, they are asking us to leave some "fun" for them. Word is we might be home in a month, but the rest of the British soldiers will remain; wonder where I will go next. Hopefully they might let me return to some wine, women, and a normal life.

Watch CNN if you're into disinformation!

SAS Warrior ================================================== ARTICLE 7 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ IT'S OFFICIAL - TRAINING DEGRADES READINESS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SUMMARY: Remember all those Newsreel films of maneuvers in 1940? The ones where a truck had a sign on it "labeling" it a tank and the grunts were using wooden machine-guns? That'll be the next step. Part of the oath is still "to serve protect and defend the constitution" right? How do we maintain that oath by having "paper readiness"? ************************************************ By Ranger "D"

I write you this day with a heavy heart, my tour in the Special Operations Community is coming to an end. I served five years with the 2nd Ranger Battalion, two years with the 3/87 Infantry, and six years with the 5/19 Special Forces as a Voice Interceptor. I have been and NCO since the late 80's and have served our country in combat with the 2nd Rangers in Panama.

Given my SRB I believe that I have a certain amount of knowledge to pass on to new soldiers; knowledge that will keep them alive if ever sent into combat. However, the current status of our armed forces has forced me to walk away from my position as an active Army National Guardsman.

In the past four years, I have been unable to train my men in any way. Each time that I have organized a live-fire exercise, the training is canceled at the last minute to support such events as battalion inspections and change-of-command ceremonies.

When I try to requisition weapons to take on our parachute jumps, I am told that we cannot jump weapons. If the weapons are broken on a jump or lost, it decreases our unit's "readiness" on paper. Never mind that some of my men have never jumped with their weapons.

During a garrison drill I scheduled a field exercise and was told that we'll stay in the barracks and complete our monthly inventories in order to improve our "readiness." Never mind that my team has not worked together on a simulated combat operation for over a year.

When I want to take my men on a nighttime foot movement, I am told that an injury will lessen our "readiness." Never mind that my team has lost the ability to move and navigate at night.

When I request live ammunition for an exercise, I'm told that it's too much trouble to plan and seek approval for such training. Never mind that some of my men have never fired a live round outside the sterile confines of a rifle range.

Everything that enhances our unit's "readiness" is, in actuality, the Army deems detrimental to actual readiness. I've been able to tolerate much in my thirteen years of service. If I could enjoy just 1 day in 5 of military service, I'd be willing and eager to continue serving. It's just that all the skills and experience that I picked up while on Active Duty will just deteriorate in this environment. Does the Army want us to view all that time as a waste? I can't even give subordinates reason to stay in the Army!

Having these feelings, as a professional NCO, I must resign my active position with the Army National Guard. I will transfer to the Inactive Reserve and eagerly await a change in the current status of our armed forces. As I previously stated, I love being a soldier. In the Army today, I am doing anything but. I hope you will find it in your heart to pass this information along to anyone who might listen.

Thank you for your time sir. Rangers Lead the Way! ================================================= ARTICLE 8 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ THE WILDLY REVOLVING DOOR ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SUMMARY: The author writes of the one of the biggest links in the Military Industrial Congressional Complex: the General officers who retire to industry and keep all the percs and power structure whirring around them; and at our expense. *************************************************** By Sheriff Justice

I've been thinking about this. I've been around it for a long time. When I wasn't commanding artillery units, I was in the weapons test business. If you don't want to make General, that's the thing to do. Ha Anyway when you're close to it, sometimes you don't see it, if that makes sense.

But take a small step back and man it hits you in the face. Short story. The last time I saw MG Lewis (Ret) was during a ride to the Pentagon. I was the XO to General Cianciola and awaiting orders for ADEA, my second 06 command. As I said before, he was trying to get me not to take the job. HE was going to "kill" ADEA. Anyway, he said if you don't take that job I'll have you assigned as the head of combat developments for field artillery. Of course I knew his buddy and later business partner MG (Ret) Halada was the CG of Sill and all Lewis would do was call his stooge.

But what he was really telling me was that if I did that I get back in the "family" and get promoted to BG, as "they" controlled the board. I'm not saying I'm anywhere near the patriot you are, but as we stopped at the South entrance, I got out and told Lewis "no thanks," I wouldn't work for that sorry bastard regardless of what happens to me. Well, "they" got me and that's the end of the story but "they" (in a much larger sense) have gotten so many more.

You see in the weapons development business, promotions are tied to "fielding of systems." When you "gore" a favorite cow, man all hell breaks loose and it becomes very personal. Hell, I was as stupid as to believe all we wanted was what best for the Army. Wrong answer; what we want is what is best for the Generals and who their buddies are in industry so they can get a job when they get out.

We should do a survey of Lockheed, Hughes, Raytheon and all the rest. Right off the top, almost nine years removed from the "process," I can name twenty Generals "working" the "building." The ones I know are connected to the other Generals and they're all working the "system" together.

Wish we could get their salaries, but I know for a fact none of them goes for less than 200k. How they operate is by using the people they "helped" promote, when they were on active duty, and then the person who was used, in turn, thinks that he'll have a job with that General when he retires. It's a cycle. It's a system. It's a club.

If I can help with your project, please let me know. By the way Dennis has motivated me to do a paper on the counter drug business. I've been involved with that for the past nine years. Left the Army as a Colonel, the next "day" became the oldest rookie deputy sheriff in Florida. None the less, I don't know if you ever met General McCaffrey, but he sure could have done a lot more than what he's done.

You know, there's something much deeper about all this "General" stuff too. I don't profess to understand it all, but it seems that when they retire they still want the power. But to get the power, in the "new" environment, they have to change. The amount they "change" is equal to the amount they sell out. Perhaps I'm all wet about this, but bet I'm not far off.

What's sad is that they should be giving something back to a system that gave them so much. Instead their milking it and selling out to folks who never heard a shot fired in anger their whole lives. ==================================================== ARTICLE 9 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ *******Medal Of Honor******* ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ *GERTSCH, JOHN G.

Rank and organization: SSgt., USA, Co. E, 1/327, 101st Airborne Div. Place and date: A Shau Valley, RVN, 15 - 19 July 1969.

Entered service: Buffalo, N.Y. Born: 29 September 1944, Jersey City, N.J.

Citation: S/Sgt. Gertsch distinguished himself while serving as a platoon sergeant and platoon leader during combat operations in the A Shau Valley. During the initial phase of an operation to seize a strongly defended enemy position, S/Sgt. Gertsch's platoon leader was seriously wounded and lay exposed to intense enemy fire. Forsaking his own safety, without hesitation S/Sgt. Gertsch rushed to aid his fallen leader and dragged him to a sheltered position. He then assumed command of the heavily engaged platoon and led his men in a fierce counterattack that forced the enemy to withdraw. Later, a small element of S/Sgt. Gertsch's unit was reconnoitering when attacked again by the enemy. S/Sgt. Gertsch moved forward to his besieged element and immediately charged, firing as he advanced. His determined assault forced the enemy troops to withdraw in confusion and made possible the recovery of 2 wounded men who had been exposed to heavy enemy fire. Sometime later his platoon came under attack by an enemy force employing automatic weapons, grenade, and rocket fire. S/Sgt. Gertsch was severely wounded during the onslaught but continued to command his platoon despite his painful wound. While moving under fire and encouraging his men he sighted an aidman treating a wounded officer from an adjacent unit. Realizing that both men were in imminent danger of being killed, he rushed forward and positioned himself between them and the enemy nearby. While the wounded officer was being moved to safety S/Sgt. Gertsch was mortally wounded by enemy fire. Without S/Sgt. Gertch's courage, ability to inspire others, and profound concern for the welfare of his men, the loss of life among his fellow soldiers would have been significantly greater. His conspicuous gallantry, extraordinary heroism, and intrepidity at the cost of his life, above and beyond the call of duty, are in the highest traditions of the U.S. Army and reflect great credit on him and the Armed Forces of his country.

*Awarded posthumously ===================================================== ARTICLE 10 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ MPRI - MILITARY PRINCES RETIREMENT & INVESTMENTS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SUMMARY: The author gives us a brief look at MPRI. I really appreciated his observation that the American Sportsman / Hunter is outfitted and armed better, for less cost, than the American Soldier. ******************************************************* By A Retired Army Officer

I know you're very busy but I couldn't help but note your reference to MPRI. Once again you're on target. This outfit is a spin off of Cyprus International, a company that assists defense contractors with bypassing the channels to do business with the DOD.

For years it was run by MG Vern Lewis (Ret). He's a whole story in itself. By association, Cyprus virtually directed development of field artillery systems. Lewis' buddies were Commandants of the Field Artillery School and later his employees or business associates.

He started MPRI and hired high visibility people such as General Vouno, the former IG of the Army (the real fat guy, that help enforce the over weight program that ruined so many careers when it was noted on EERs/OERS that the individual was one or two pounds over weight), the former Commanding General of Fort Sill, etc. Retired Colonels did the "staff" work while these fine folks connected with their old buddies in TRADOC and the State Department.

I felt the wrath of these folks when I was Deputy Commander of ADEA, at Fort Lewis, Washington. Our mission was to find more cost effective ways to get off the shelf equipment for the Services. It was great fun to see how we could get better equipment, in a shorter period of time, for less money. You know the American hunter is better equipped, for less money, than the American soldier.

Anyway, these guys hated us. Ultimately, we were shut down. It was a shame. Strangely enough, after I retired, Cyprus tried to recruit me to go to Bosnia and train folks. That's when I decided I'd never work for a Defense Contractor.

These Generals would sell out for anything. Lewis one time bragged to me (this was in 1987) that he made 880,000 dollars that year. This was before he setup MPRI. God knows what he's made now.

I believe in capitalism but using the "system" and their "rank" for personal profit is wrong, no matter how its explained nor how the laws are written. It's interesting to note that Lewis' prime "stooge," MG Halada (Ret), former CG, Fort Sill and MPRI member, was taken off the three star list for trying to "fix" the BG board.

Its no wonder a lot of folks, former soldiers, has lost respect for the leadership of the Country. With few exceptions, I see no one out there that sets the pace with style and class. =================================================== ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ VOICE OF THE GRUNT Volunteers: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ David H. Hackworth, Taker of Names and Spiritual Leader Robert L. McMahon, Editor and Chief bottle-washer Barry "Woody" Groton, Assistant Editor and Medicine Man Ed "Edgar" Schneider, Copy Editor, Man of Letters and gentleman Larry Tahler, WebMaster Guru and Crack-shot Judy Bowyer Martin, Administration and Brains of the Outfit Kyle Elliott, Book List Editor and Most Over-worked James Higday, MOH Editor and NCOIC =================================================== EDITOR'S NOTE: As a rule of thumb, please try to keep article for possible publication to 700 words or less. We do make exceptions and will not turn away an 800 to 900 word piece, but please make every editing effort not to exceed these guidelines.

If you believe you have a story that is longer than 700 words we will consider running it in parts. Keep the piece focused on the story you want to express, not impress upon the reader.

Thanks to everyone for keeping the communication lines open and the ideas flowing.

Semper Fi, Bob McMahon rlmcmahon@mindspring.com Editor ============================================= ARCHIVED DEFENDING AMERICA COLUMNS: You can now find copies of Hack's previous columns at: http://www.hackworth.com. These are found in the Defending America Section, under Archived Copies. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ GLOSSARY OF MILITARY ACRONYMS: We've had numerous requests from troops in different branches of the military to establish this link so that we will all know how "all you others" talk that talk. Please see below: http://www.dtic.mil/doctrine/jel/doddict/acronym_index.html ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CONGRESSIONAL E-MAIL ADDRESSES

Congressional e-mail addresses can be found by going to (www.hackworth.com) and accessing Congressional e-mails at the bottom of the first page. ********************ORDERING BOOKS*************************

We still have Trade copies of About Face. These are exactly the same as the hardback, except they have a soft cover. Cost for an autographed copy: $26.00 (including handling and postage).

If you are interested in ordering Hack's books (About Face*, Hazardous Duty**, or The Vietnam Primer), check out the instructions at our web page: http://www.hackworth.com.

It takes about 3 weeks to process the book orders. Your patience is appreciated. Please mark on outside if envelope "Book Order" and make check out to:

Twin Eagles Ink PO Box 5210 Greenwich, CT 06831

*About Face available in trade copy. **Hazardous Duty available in hardback. ====================================================

-- Anonymous, June 16, 1999

Answers

Arlin,

I've been thinking about something and I'd love your perspective.

When I was younger I saw a violent little patriotic movie called "Red Dawn." Have you seen it?

We've now made Kosovo occupied territory. The Serbs have "left". Yeah, right.

What if they haven't all left? What if they've only taken their fatigues off, found shelter, and are getting ready to take out some of our peacekeepers? The Serbs can do a whole lot of damage without their uniforms on and who's to blame?

We might occupy the territory right now but how high a cost are we going to pay? willing to pay? And the Serbs have already lost a whole heck of a lot...

If this were a movie it would be a bad one and not one I want to see.

Mike =============================================================

-- Anonymous, June 16, 1999

why yes, Mike, as a matter of fact I *have* seen RED DAWN...also a 1950's vintage black and white movie called IT CAN'T HAPPEN HERE.

you are absolutely correct that the Serbs haven't left - you'll find that the majority of the males in the overall Serbian population have some paramilitary ties of one sort or another, as do the Albanians, Croats, and every other ethnic group in that area...they've been killing each other and every other invader for hundreds of years.

At one point they succeeded in tying down 11 divisions of Nazi troops during WW II - it took the Germans something like 5 divisions [or about 60,000 troops] JUST TO KEEP THE ROADS OPEN. The Germans started executing 100 locals for every German who was killed, and 150 for every major act of sabotage; at which point the numbers of attacks on German troops and acts of sabotage *increased*. Problem is that none of the actual decision makers in the current administration know any military history...and as the saying goes, those who do not learn from history...

Arlin

-- Anonymous, June 16, 1999

Yep, it's the Air guys! We Know Nuttins were right about sompin we Know Nuttin about!

-- Anonymous, June 16, 1999

Interesting.

So, where do you "land" with this Arlin?

Diane

-- Anonymous, June 17, 1999

moi? well on the Kosovo thing the US military is in the wrong place at the wrong time...more generally the original intent of the framers of the Constitution was that the military should only be used defensively - never as an imperial army, which is what it's been since WWII. The problem is that right now, although they've shrunk the military, they're still trying to play imperial games...and sooner or later they are going to get burned...

just my 2 cents' worth, Arlin

-- Anonymous, June 17, 1999

And if you stick Korea in to the mix, you've got a candle lit at both ends...

Critt (Korea DMZ and Berlin when it had a wall around it)

-- Anonymous, June 17, 1999