Wednesday, November 09, 2005

Nuggets In the [Pueblo Chieftain] News — 051109

A couple of interesting items in Pueblo Chieftain’s regular feature, What Others Are Saying.

First item, we have a comment from the Rocky Mountain Snooze on the attempts by the United Nations (UN) to takeover management of the famous internet.

Think of that. The UN thinks we’re doing a ‘bad job’ of managing the internet in our—if you’ll pardon my ‘French’—laissez-faire fashion. So they think THEY should do it for the world.

What a fascinating concept. We’ll turn over the free flow of information to a group of unresponsive, irresponsible, bribe-taking incompetents. THAT will certain improve things. But the question is for whom? Probably the remainder of dictatorial leaders who would rather NOT see their nefarious activities broadcast to the world. That would be a ‘good thing’ for them. And probably a ‘good thing’ for the UN. After all, since Hussein was deposed, they’ve probably had a serious cash-flow problem.

They need to find new sources…..why not the internet. Information for sale, whatever flavor you want, if you’ve got the money to line the UN officials’ pockets.

The third item is interesting too. Here, the Blade, in Toledo, Ohio, cuts itself while shaving.

The fact is that the [National] Guard was never intended to be thrust into the front lines of a foreign war. It was supposed to be a group of well trained citizen soldiers who could be activated in case of weather disasters and other emergencies on the home front.

The REAL fact is that whoever wrote that is totally wrong. The mission statement of the National Guard DOES contain a clause about going to fight in wars overseas. If they doubt that, they should take another block of instruction on American History through their local extension division of the University of Ohio. They obviously slept through their high school classes. Or perhaps it’s that the public education system in Ohio has REALLY ‘slipped’.

They do make a decent point about the utility of the National Guard during a natural disaster. Katrina is a prime example of that. That WAS a gaff. The mechanized infantry brigade of the Louisiana National Guard was out of position to support their own state, their being in Iraq.

The system for employment of the National Guard brigades, such as Louisiana’s is that they mobilize first in their home state and begin training up for their mission. The training continues at various locations around the country, to include such hi-tech sites as the National Training Center and other similar facilities to hone their unit into one of the sharpest combat tools the world has ever seen. Then, after almost six months of training, they perform six months of combat operations overseas.

It’s a VERY good system. However, as with all so many things in the military, timing is VERY important.

I don’t know WHO it was who agreed that Louisiana’s infantry brigade should be overseas during the regularly scheduled hurricane season. I mean, it’s not like they show up at random throughout the course of the year. They occur only during a few months. But, it would have been VERY easy for them to be doing their six months prep-up stateside, during the season. And their six months overseas during the ‘off’ season.

From my perspective, this is a staff foul-up. The Bush administration is not to blame. Rather, I think the Louisiana Adjutant General, his Chief of Staff, the State Area Command (STARC) staff officers for Intelligence, which is supposed to pay attention to the weather, and Operations, who should have asked the Intelligence staff puke about what threats could affect the state while the unit is gone, should all have their [figurative] heads on pikes outside the STARC headquarters, as an example for all others that STAFF WORK IS IMPORTANT and we will not tolerate sloppiness. It’s just too expensive.