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Afgan Stalemate

Rocketman

Rocketman

Rockets Up
Contributor
God help me, as a Marine parent that place scares the living shit out of me. Unlike later day Iraq, my guess is that the rules of engagement for Marines on the ground in Afghanistan are pretty easy to understand. That's a good thing. Marines do simple good.
 
gtxc2001

gtxc2001

See what the monkey eats, then eat the monkey
pilot
Contributor
We probably spent 50% of our time up in Now Zad while we were supporting 2/7 and 3/8. I would wager that it is one of the few places in modern warfare that has a forward line of enemy troops. The "Pakistani Alley" was a recipient of 18 JDAMS courtesy of the USAF one morning while we were flying up there. I'll never forget getting a JTAR telling us not to go down east of a certain point, as friendlies wouldn't be coming out to get us if we did.
 
gaijin6423

gaijin6423

Ask me about ninjas!
There's a lot that could be said about the current situation in Afghanistan, but most of it's probably better left for a better medium. I have a few dozen Marines there now, and I'll be off to join them (again) here shortly. Suffice it to say that Now Zad is just one of many examples in Afghanistan where the fight is very much on, and with a large influx of troops that will likely correspond to an increase in kinetic operations, it's only going to get more intense.

Good article, overall, and I challenge anyone to take a hard look at both the living conditions and what those Marines are doing and shout about not 'being expeditionary'. (Sorry, flashed back to a quote that someone made last summer and got spun up there for a second.) I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Those guys (and gals in some cases) are hunters, and if I had a heart, I'd feel sorry for the fucker that flipped their switch to 'kill'.
 
Swanee

Swanee

Cereal Killer
pilot
None
Contributor
We have a couple instructors at TBS that were talking about this today. They mentioned the bad guys building bunkers 8 sandbags deep. We may have a tough fight on our hands.
 
Rocketman

Rocketman

Rockets Up
Contributor
gaijin6423 said:
There's a lot that could be said about the current situation in Afghanistan, but most of it's probably better left for a better medium. I have a few dozen Marines there now, and I'll be off to join them (again) here shortly. Suffice it to say that Now Zad is just one of many examples in Afghanistan where the fight is very much on, and with a large influx of troops that will likely correspond to an increase in kinetic operations, it's only going to get more intense.

Good article, overall, and I challenge anyone to take a hard look at both the living conditions and what those Marines are doing and shout about not 'being expeditionary'. (Sorry, flashed back to a quote that someone made last summer and got spun up there for a second.) I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Those guys (and gals in some cases) are hunters, and if I had a heart, I'd feel sorry for the fucker that flipped their switch to 'kill'.
Click to expand...

One of my 2 hard chargers just volunteered for his second sandbox IA tour. This time with a LAR Bn headed somewhere out your way later this year. I think I'd much rather have him humpin a ruck in a grunt unit than riding around in one of those RPG magnets.

When Momma Rocketman finds out she is going to kick his skinny ass....
 
gaijin6423

gaijin6423

Ask me about ninjas!
Personally, I would rather be in something with a 25mm cannon on top than say, a HMMWV. One thing that seemed to take the crop of bad guys we had last year by surprise was that the Marines had a disturbing tendency to assault through ambushes, instead of just roll over and take it like some other units they've ambushed. I'm not trying to dog on any particular unit, btw, just stating fact, and there are plenty of guys and gals who've performed admirably under fire there. Regardless, the enemy did not know how to cope with the situation they were faced with. If there's an UNLCLASS version of it out there--and I'm not sure there is--look up 1/6's battle history. The Afghan portion was written by a Shitter driver who was their Air Officer, and is a great American. It reads like an action movie or FPS video game.
 
Rocketman

Rocketman

Rockets Up
Contributor
gaijin6423 said:
Personally, I would rather be in something with a 25mm cannon on top than say, a HMMWV. One thing that seemed to take the crop of bad guys we had last year by surprise was that the Marines had a disturbing tendency to assault through ambushes, instead of just roll over and take it like some other units they've ambushed. --look up 1/6's battle history. The Afghan portion was written by a Shitter driver who was their Air Officer, and is a great American. It reads like an action movie or FPS video game.
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Point taken on the Bushmaster. He was behind a HMMWV's M2 last year so he likes big guns but his mission was pure defensive. If he's going I'd rather have him in the offense, or at least under ROE that supports offense. A year ago this month his unit lost 4 KIA in a defensive role and it was a real wake up call for me as a parent. Every Marine L\Cpl knows the quickest way out of a kill zone is to assault thru the bad guys. In the right terrain I imagine an LAV-25 could be wicked in that role. I will indeed try to look up what 1/6 has done lately.
 
gaijin6423

gaijin6423

Ask me about ninjas!
We used the LAVs to great effect in several roles. Their Plt Cdr was JTAC qualified, motivated as fuck, and had tons of tactical sensibility, which left them able to do a lot of stuff, without draining from any of the other units. There were a few non-doctrinal kinds of things, but a lot of it was straight from the LAR pubs.
 
skidkid

skidkid

CAS Czar
pilot
Super Moderator
Contributor
Read Lester Grau's The Bear Went Over the Mountain. The Russians had much success using their BMPs and BTRs in a support by fire role with the infantry in a separate maneuver element so there is some precedent and the Russian CAS wasn't as good: quote from a Russian company commander -"The engagement took place at night so we knew there would be no CAS."
 
Junkball

Junkball

"I believe in ammunition"
pilot
Rocketman said:
Point taken on the Bushmaster. He was behind a HMMWV's M2 last year so he likes big guns but his mission was pure defensive. If he's going I'd rather have him in the offense, or at least under ROE that supports offense. A year ago this month his unit lost 4 KIA in a defensive role and it was a real wake up call for me as a parent. Every Marine L\Cpl knows the quickest way out of a kill zone is to assault thru the bad guys. In the right terrain I imagine an LAV-25 could be wicked in that role. I will indeed try to look up what 1/6 has done lately.
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If you find any civilian-accessible work, post it please! I'm sure the rest of the board would like a rundown as well. Best wishes for your son(s).

Also, are there any other noteworthy books on the Russian invasion of Afghanistan?
 
Swanee

Swanee

Cereal Killer
pilot
None
Contributor
skidkid said:
Read Lester Grau's The Bear Went Over the Mountain. The Russians had much success using their BMPs and BTRs in a support by fire role with the infantry in a separate maneuver element so there is some precedent and the Russian CAS wasn't as good: quote from a Russian company commander -"The engagement took place at night so we knew there would be no CAS."
Click to expand...

It's required reading by my SPC. I'm about 1/4 way through it. There is also one from the flip side: it's a compilation of what the Afghan "freedom fighters" learned and experienced from their war with the Russians. Both of them come highly recommended.
 
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