NORWALK CT SCHOOLS DROP VETERANs DAY

I bet you dollars to doughnuts these wingnuts celebrate Earth Day - S.L.

Norwalk, Conn. (AP) - A Norwalk city council member with the backing of local veterans groups is asking the city's education board to reconsider its decision to eliminate Veterans Day as a school holiday.

Councilor Kelly Straniti says she contacted the Board of Education after veterans opposed to the calendar change asked her to get involved.

The change was adopted earlier this month at the recommendation of Superintendent Susan Marks, who wanted more classroom time for students. Some of that classroom time would be spent educating students on the importance of Veterans Day.

Alfred Scudder, chairman of the Norwalk Veterans Committee, tells The Hour newspaper that the decision was "crazy."

Board of Education Chairman Jack Chiaramonte says no disrespect was meant and he's willing to listen to the veterans' concerns.

They defended the nation. It is only right and proper to teach our children to honor them.




Today's Bird HERE



.

ONE INCH CLOSER

Hokay Team -

It looks like Kindle is the way to go with this self-publishing thing. I just downloaded the freeware - you can do it too; that way you can read the novel as I crank it out, chapter by chapter.

The entire project is starting to come together and I might actually post the first chapter this weekend - "God willing and the river don't rise."

A question I fired out to my cabal of writer friends & family (I come from a family of writers): "Should I write my novel in the 1st person or 3d person? Conrad wrote Heart of Darkness in the 1st person; MacLean wrote Where Eagles Dare in the 3d person- which is best for my work?"

During alpine training in 10th Group we used to always kid about: "When do we train for doing the ice-axe battle on top of the cable car?


More details to follow as I get my head around the techie side of this project.

Thanks all of you for all of your support -

S.L.


.

SEALs

My good buddy Mark the Feral Ferret - Charter Member of Team STORMBRINGER - sent in THIS:


Subject: Seal team 6

Hey STORMBRINGER

Want to see what Seal Team Six looks like in their business suits?

I wish we could have seen the expression on UBL's face when he saw these guys coming through the door!


I busted him out because these guys are clearly displaying SEAL Team EIGHT insignia. - S.L.

Anybody else spot any discrepancies?


STORMBRINGER SENDS




Today's Bird HERE


.

STOP THE PRESSES

Hokay I figured a cool way to check the history ( Ctrl+H ) found the link to the New York Times article referenced in yesterday's post A MODERN MERCENARY ARMY.


Anyway if you'd clicked on the bold sub-headline it takes you right to the NYT article - D'oH!


If I had time right now I'd go on about the challenges Erik Prince faces in standing up indiginous armies, based on my twenty+ years of experience in this field - subject matter for a future post - all I'll say right now is the hardest thing I know how to do is to manage human beings; everything and anything under the sun will happen right before your eyes and you can take nothing for granted. Erik Prince wants to turn eight hundred Third Worlders into a sort of CAG-for-hire? To that I say good luck in finding eight hundred even if you recruited solely from the modern, industrialized FIRST World - it ain't the same as fielding a security force full of ex-Marine Corps Lance Corporals who actually know the basics of soldiering.

Having said all that, STORMBRINGER wishes the best to Erik Prince and his team in this endeavor.

SEAN LINNANE SENDS


.

7 ITEM CHECKLIST

Here's a set of values you can use as a yardstick when going through the recruiting and selection process for your team; these values work the same whether in business or the security profession (which is, of course, a business):


Dependability


Character


Loyalty


Work Ethic


Finances


Personal Issues


Trust


Here's a useful mnenomic to remember this checklist:

“Don’t Consider Letting Worthless Flaky People Try out”

* * *

When I first got out of the service and started out in security-related business, I became very interested in the application of military leadership principles business applications. It occurred to me that business leadership training exists for the very upper levels of management - they have their MBAs, etcetera - but there is little or no training available for the first-line supervisors and mid-level managers. I wrote a few articles on the subject for trade magazines, and even gave a couple of seminar presentations.

Three years on I am disappointed to report that what I have encountered more often than not is that 'management' is actually 'leadership by committee' - in place of true leadership itself. This is the end result of a business climate where pro-active decision-making is often viewed as incurring risk, and risk-taking is discouraged.

A good article I found that explores the theme of Leader vs. Manager vs. Executive is found in Organizational Behavior & Leadership - an Ezine that covers Business Strategy, Leadership, Organizational Behavior & Organizational Development.

I consulted a family friend; Matt had a long and honorable career as a policeman in Calcutta, an officer with the Gurkhas in World War II, and as a mechanical engineer working on power plants in Bangladesh and Thailand. His advice: "When you first take charge of a new outfit, there will be one guy there who doesn't fit in, who you will have nothing but trouble with. My advice is to find out who that guy is, and get rid of him as soon as possible."

The Leader always sets the trail for others to follow.



CONTRAST AND COMPARE DEPARTMENT

Loyal Reader and Charter Member of Team STORMBRINGER (who wishes to remain un-named) brings this gem to our attention - re-posted from Ace of Spades HQ:


DECIDEDLY DIFFERENT WAYS TO USE "I" IN A SPEECH

President Bush's Speech Upon the Capture of Saddam Hussein

Commenter "Crusty" had a good idea. He went back and looked at George W. Bush's speech after the capture of Saddam Hussein in order to compare it with Obama's self-aggrandizing "I was practically there, man" speech last Sunday. You know, the one where he used the word "I" like a carpenter uses ten penny nails.
Victor Davis Hanson - whom we also follow here at Team STORMBRINGER.
pulled all the first person references:


Obama's speech:

“Tonight, I can report . . . And so shortly after taking office, I directed Leon Panetta . . . I was briefed on a possible lead to bin Laden . . . I met repeatedly with my national security team . . . I determined that we had enough intelligence to take action. . . . Today, at my direction . . . I’ve made clear . . . Over the years, I’ve repeatedly made clear . . . Tonight, I called President Zardari . . . and my team has also spoken. . .These efforts weigh on me every time I, as Commander-in-Chief . . . Finally, let me say to the families . . . . I know that it has, at times, frayed. . . ..”


Compare that with the speech given by George W. Bush on December 14, 2003:


Good afternoon. Yesterday, December the 13th, at around 8:30 p.m. Baghdad time, United States military forces captured Saddam Hussein alive. He was found near a farmhouse outside the city of Tikrit, in a swift raid conducted without casualties. And now the former dictator of Iraq will face the justice he denied to millions.

The capture of this man was crucial to the rise of a free Iraq. It marks the end of the road for him, and for all who bullied and killed in his name. For the Baathist holdouts largely responsible for the current violence, there will be no return to the corrupt power and privilege they once held. For the vast majority of Iraqi citizens who wish to live as free men and women, this event brings further assurance that the torture chambers and the secret police are gone forever.

And this afternoon, I have a message for the Iraqi people: You will not have to fear the rule of Saddam Hussein ever again. All Iraqis who take the side of freedom have taken the winning side. The goals of our coalition are the same as your goals -- sovereignty for your country, dignity for your great culture, and for every Iraqi citizen, the opportunity for a better life.

In the history of Iraq, a dark and painful era is over. A hopeful day has arrived. All Iraqis can now come together and reject violence and build a new Iraq.

The success of yesterday's mission is a tribute to our men and women now serving in Iraq. The operation was based on the superb work of intelligence analysts who found the dictator's footprints in a vast country. The operation was carried out with skill and precision by a brave fighting force. Our servicemen and women and our coalition allies have faced many dangers in the hunt for members of the fallen regime, and in their effort to bring hope and freedom to the Iraqi people. Their work continues, and so do the risks. Today, on behalf of the nation, I thank the members of our Armed Forces and I congratulate 'em.

I also have a message for all Americans: The capture of Saddam Hussein does not mean the end of violence in Iraq. We still face terrorists who would rather go on killing the innocent than accept the rise of liberty in the heart of the Middle East. Such men are a direct threat to the American people, and they will be defeated.

We've come to this moment through patience and resolve and focused action. And that is our strategy moving forward. The war on terror is a different kind of war, waged capture by capture, cell by cell, and victory by victory. Our security is assured by our perseverance and by our sure belief in the success of liberty. And the United States of America will not relent until this war is won.

May God bless the people of Iraq, and may God bless America.

Thank you.



ADMIN NOTE: Yesterday's Post A MODERN MERCENARY ARMY included a link to the New York Times article - 5 pages long - which included much more detail regarding the challenges Erik Prince has encountered in standing up a small army with Special Operations capabilities. A reader pointed out that I failed to include the link; then I was working all afternoon and all night and now I'm having the Devil of a time finding the original NYT article. I will continue working toward providing this information. - S.L.



Today's Bird HERE


.

A MODERN MERCENARY ARMY

Secret Desert Force Set Up by Blackwater’s Founder


This story is amazing . . . S.L.

Erik Prince has a new project.

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — A plane carrying dozens of Colombian men touches down in this glittering seaside capital; whisked through customs by an Emirati intelligence officer, the group boards an unmarked bus and drives roughly 20 miles to a windswept military complex in the desert sand.

Entering the United Arab Emirates posing as construction workers, the Colombians are in fact soldiers for a secret American-led mercenary army assembled by Erik Prince, the billionaire founder of Blackwater Worldwide, with $529 million from the oil-soaked sheikdom.

According to former employees on the project, American officials and corporate documents obtained by The New York Times, Prince resettled here last year after facing mounting legal problems in the United States. He's been hired by the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi to put together an 800-member battalion of foreign troops for the U.A.E.

“The gulf countries, and the U.A.E. in particular, don’t have a lot of military experience. It would make sense if they looked outside their borders for help,” said one Obama administration official who knew of the operation. “They might want to show that they are not to be messed with.”

A satellite image of the camp in the United Arab Emirates built to train an 800-member military unit.


Still, it is not clear whether the project has the United States’ official blessing. Legal experts and government officials said some of those involved with the battalion might be breaking federal laws that prohibit American citizens from training foreign troops if they did not secure a license from the State Department.

Mark C. Toner, a spokesman for the department, would not confirm whether Mr. Prince’s company had obtained such a license, but he said the department was investigating to see if the training effort was in violation of American laws. Mr. Toner pointed out that Blackwater (which renamed itself Xe Services ) paid $42 million in fines last year for training foreign troops in Jordan and other countries over the years.

To help fulfill his ambitions, Mr. Prince’s new company, Reflex Responses, obtained another multimillion-dollar contract to protect a string of planned nuclear power plants and to provide cybersecurity. He hopes to earn billions more, the former employees said, by assembling additional battalions of Latin American troops for the Emiratis and opening a giant complex where his company can train troops for other governments.

Prince has masked his involvement with the mercenary battalion. His name is not included on contracts and most other corporate documents; company insiders refer to him by the code name “Kingfish.” Three former employees, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of confidentiality agreements, and two people involved in security contracting said that in recruiting the Colombians and others from halfway around the world, Mr. Prince’s subordinates follow his strict rule: hire no Muslims.

Muslim soldiers, Mr. Prince warned, could not be counted on to kill fellow Muslims . . .


Read the rest of it HERE




Today's Bird HERE




.

WHERE EAGLES DARE

This film as much as anything inspired me to become a paratrooper. The film opens with a swastika-emblazoned Junkers JU-52 flying through the towering Alps - "Whazzat? That's an enemy bird! Huh ? ? ?" No - those are the Good Guys . . . an early in-your-face shock to the audience.

Just the camouflage scheme on the Junkers transport aircraft itself was enough to give me a hard-on - the scene switches to inside the aircraft; the guys inside are kitted up in parachutes . . . they get up, hook up, the red light turns to green and THEY JUMP OUT - into that mountain snow-hell ! ! !


My first Special Forces Team Sergeant had a lot of flaws, but he was the consummate unconventional warfare planner; he used this film to teach us the nuances of tradecraft, using cutouts, and how an operation can be used to mask a secret mission - within the mission - as Alistair MacLean portrays in this excellent story.

Monday Mystery Babe HERE



.