You all are aware that we are seriously vulnerable right now in regards to National Security, right? You know that Congress left to party and have a great time before renewing the Protect America Act, right? You know that there are no protections in place for companies that help track down terrorists, right? You know that of the 29 Senators that voted against extension of the Protect America Act, 24 took monies from trial lawyers that have sued companies helping to track down terrorists, right? You know all this because our friends in the media make it a point of sharing with you the importance these issues have in relation to our National Security, right?

Sure … right … I know they haven’t, too.

It is sad that the media and Washington’s elite continue to spin their untruths about the Protect America Act. While spinning all this muck, they continue to threaten our security. Just remember, they are doing this for another vote that will net them 4 more years sucking money from we, the tax payers! This is all about their ego, money for free, and power to tell you what they think is right - because you are too dumb to know. Yep, government knows best, we the people are sheep, and things like National Security are too far above our heads to grasp.

There is someone out there that hears your concerns and is aware of how you feel. They have published results from a poll to see just what you all know, and just how far off Washington’s elite and the media machine really are on knowing you, the American people! American Solutions for Winning America asked the Polling Company to cover three key areas: the Protect America Act, protection for companies that help track down terrorists, and the self-interests of Senators who took money from trial lawyers that sued companies that helped track down terrorists. Let’s take each one as a separate issue as well.

In regards to our immediate National Security being at risk, the Protect America Act was due to be renewed a short time ago. Well, our elected free loaders Congress decided to take 12 days off instead of voting to renew the Act. Yep, the “all about me” crowd decided to leave us all exposed instead of doing what is right and maintaining a strong front against terrorism (like this is nothing new, I know). So, the Polling Company asked we, the people, did we think it was right for Congress to leave to party and whoop it up for 12 days before voting to renew the Act. Here is what we, the people, have to say about their deplorable conduct:

Was leaving on a 12 day recess without renewing the Protect America Act best for our safety?

• Should have renewed the Act before leaving: 71%
• Republican: 83%
• Democrat: 63%
• Independent: 68%

As you can see, across the board, everyone says they should have actually renewed the Act. Of course, no one in the media cared to tell us what we already know. They just continue to sweep this under the rug even though OVERALL, more than 60% of we, the people, wanted Congress to DO SOMETHING RIGHT!!!

Moving on …

There is a very important facet to the protection of our beloved country. I fought for our country to continue to be free, as many of you have as well. I also believe that to maintain a strong front against terrorism, one must enlist all resources capable of supporting the effort. This includes those in the private sector, companies, that have a myriad of ways and opportunities to help our government track down terrorists. However, these brave folks in these companies have little to no protection at all from freak-fest lawsuits! These brave souls are out there, with no one to watch their six, and they get routinely stabbed in the back for keeping us safe. Well, how do you all feel about this, and is the media and Washington’s elite share your concerns? Well, here is what we, the people, have to say about this:

If a company helps the government track down terrorists, should these companies be afforded protection from lawsuits?

• Agree with protection against lawsuits: 75%
• Republican: 89%
• Democrat: 65%
• Independent: 77%

Again, the media and Washington just don’t see it. We are greater than 65% behind those companies that help to track down terrorists! What the heck is going on, anyway? Self-aggrandizing politicians and media twits are twisting this against us, and we need to spread the word - they need to tell the truth, now.

Moving on …

Did you know that there are a sizeable amount of lawyers out there that make money from suing companies that help track down terrorists? Did you know that from the money awarded in these cases, $1.5 Million went to our US Senators and other political causes? There were 29 Senators that voted against the extension of the Protect America Act. AND, 24 of those 29 took money from these 66 trial lawyers that donated this $1.5M!!! Yeah, these free-loadin’ Senators who already get paid way more than they should be, also took donations from the trial lawyers suing companies that have helped to keep us all safe!!! Plain and simple this shows that Senators are willing to put their own self-interests over the safety and welfare of all of us - we the people. Yeah, I can just hear the media and Washington’s elite providing us this powerful bit of news, what about you? Well, as before, here is what we, the people, have to say about this:

Senators put their own political self-interests above National Security - and take money from trial lawyers who sue companies that help track down terrorists

• Agree Senators put their own political self-interests above National Security: 58%
• Republican: 74%
• Democrat: 48%
• Independent: 61%

OK, so here is where you can see the true colors of the Democrats polled. If you give them a mulligan, you can still see that greater than 60% of we, the people, know that Senators only care about their own political gains and really care less about our National Security.

Look, the fence isn’t the only thing we need for our own protection. But, wouldn’t you say we all need some protection from our own elected officials and the main stream media? Really, these people are DANGEROUS to our own safety!

Think hard when you vote … bigger changes are needed … I’m gonna keep up on what American Solutions for Winning the Future … you should too!

If you are interested in helping American Solutions, or you are interested in the full data collected from their most recent poll, contact me: Fix4RSO :at: FIX4RSO :dot: com

Ah yes, we now have another back-N-forth issued from within our own borders. This NIE Report, which no one has even read yet, makes more trouble than it is worth. In fact, I believe that this latest NIE Report gives more ammo to scary world leaders like Putin and Ahmadinejad. And now, with “insightful?” commentary from StratFor’s writer George Friedman, proof is now up front that we’ve got a bigger problem listening to the likes of the NIE Report which has little HUMINT data.

Here, these two paragraphs just got me to sit up and read this article carefully:

With this announcement, the dynamics of the Middle Eastern region, Iraq and U.S.-Iranian relations shift dramatically. For one thing, the probability of a unilateral strike against Iranian nuclear targets is gone. Since there is no Iranian nuclear weapons program, there is no rationale for a strike. Moreover, if Iran is not engaged in weapons production, then a broader air campaign designed to destabilize the Iranian regime has no foundation either.

The NIE release represents a transformation of U.S. policy toward Iran. The Bush administration made Iran’s nuclear weapons program the main reason for its attempt to create an international coalition against Iran, on the premise that a nuclear-armed Iran was unacceptable. If there is no Iranian nuclear program, then what is the rationale for the coalition? Moreover, what is the logic of resisting Iran’s efforts in Iraq, rather than cooperating?

The second sentence in the second paragraph is where you should all begin to sit up and take note. If you believe that that sentence leads you to believe that we are wrong for being watchful when it comes to Iran’s nuclear weapons development program, I weep for you …

Be very careful, people - this isn’t just Israel we are talking about. In today’s world, Pearl Harbor is now your own backyard. Weapons can be delivered farther than a series of aircraft that can only reach the Hawaiian Islands. And we are only 2 days away from that ill fated day … take heed.

My older sister sent me this snippet - she knows Teddy and Winston are powerful, insightful, and also quite with the times even today:

“In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person’s becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American…There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn’t an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag… We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language… and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people.”

Theodore Roosevelt, 1907

Gotta tell ya - heard any of the candidates today stumble into words so powerful and true?

[nope - too affraid of going back to when Europe hates us more than now is DANGEROUS, eh?]

Well, just making sure everyone knows I haven’t fallen off the face of the earth. Work had been very busy up until August. I’m now out lookin’ for a new place to work.

In the meantime, as I’ve been on the search, I’ve also been forging ahead on my own company. Software is such a wonderful medium with which to build a business. Plus, I can plow through tons of development with my business partner, remotely! He works at his house, on his own time, I work here at home, on my own time.

We’ll break out into the market early next year - if all goes well.

I’ll post again, soon - that is sooner than this last break!

I’ve been trying a few different things that prove to generate a teensy bit of revenue a year to pay for my hosting fees. I have several domains as well as this domain, Fix4RSO.com. I know that things may seem a bit choppy, and there are these weird ads showing up between posts - I’m experimenting with different ad applications and providers other than those snooty-guys with the $450+ stock price, you know the mega-giant (who shall be nameless)?! I never ever generated anything at all from them, ever! And, the only reason to have ads from Amazon is ’cause I can target my own personal likes in an ad - and if ya like, ya clickee-clickee and maybe buy too!

Recently I posted about Text Link Ads and how they have generated some revenue. This is a start-up group of folks that have been working very hard to give us bloggers some easy tools to use, good content, and some cash! They also started a site called ReviewMe - but I haven’t popped to the surface there at all. And just recently these same crazy ad guys started a new service called AuctionAds! The power is really beginning to dawn on me - I just hope some cash does too!

AuctionAds gives you the power to put eBay auction items on your blog sidebar, in between posts - well, just anywhere ya wanna stuff the code! You can create ad campaigns, giving you the power to analyze and then realize which location gives you the most returns on value via impressions and click throughs. I am trying to use campaigns right now: one tower ad in the sidebar and then individual ad chunks between each post. So far, they’re both easy to install and work nicely.

Again, these folks that started Text Link Ads (TLA) are giving us some very cool tools with which to get a little coin without a bunch of pain to implement, and without mucking up your whole look and feel.

I’m stickin’ with the TLA team, what about you?!

Nothin’ says California like the tail of a C-17 from California’s USAF Reserve at March AFB:

[DVIDS - USAF photo by A1C Nathan Doza]

I saw this over at DVIDS and just HAD to post it!

It’s true, no one wants to have to memorialize anyone that has given the ultimate sacrifice serving their country. But when our brave men and women serving their country,our country, have fallen while performing their duty, they shall be given the respect they deserve.

[DVIDS — USAF photo by Staff Sgt. Michael R. Holzworth]

“Command Chief Master Sgt. Scott Dearduff briefs Chief Master Sgt. Rudy Lopez and Air Force Surgeon General James Roudebush on the Fallen Airman’s Memorial which was created to honor the 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing Airmen that have given the ultimate sacrifice for their country, Balad Air Base, Iraq, Feb. 26. Roudebush came to Balad to meet with 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing leadership and asses the efficiency of the air medical operations in the region.”

Thank God men like these are there to ensure all the fallen are given the respect, praise, and support they and their families deserve.

Now, to those who expend their breath trying to convince us they support those who protect us all, I believe they cheapen memorials such as these. It saddens me when I have to listen to the spew-ridden, soulless, vote-gettin’ politicians, and their cabal of Satan-forgiving main stream media types, trying to make us all believe they support the troops. If you truly inspect the record of those doing this unholy deed (lying to us all) you can see they have quite a history that contradicts their glowing statements of today.

Do you honestly expect me to believe someone like Mike Wallace actually supports the troops? The same Mike Wallace that spent countless hours deriding and destroying those who served in Vietnam? The same, “man”, that put everything on the line to promote an agenda of destruction that to this day has roots so deep I believe continue to choke those who served so bravely and were sold a steaming bag of excrement. Just because they may have served, or may have taken the field of battle to report, does not excuse the destruction they have directed at us all.

Again, one can only take so much - and how much have you checked into the backgrounds of those that say, “I support the troops.”?

OK, you’ve seen my sidebar that has TLA logos, etc, right? Have you actually set up an account and placed your ads along your sidebar? No? Well, get with it!

I’ve had TLA on my site the moment I found out who they were. And, over time, I’ve made a few dollars - not a King’s Ransom, but enough to pay my hosting costs. I just received another check in the mail today!

I want to thank my current TLA Sponsor, TotalTickets.com! Right now they are doing a promo for Sony Ericsson Open Tennis Tournament tickets. In fact, if you are into tennis, they have the most recent tourneys covered, here. And, even if you aren’t into tennis, they began posting this year links for the Super Bowl, and you can even find tickets for concerts - well, all sorts of venues!

So, if you get crackin’ on your TLA account, maybe you can make a few dollars to cover your yearly hosting fees, like me!

Dang, I thought that I had dodged the bullet. Alas, not so … celebrity fever smack down has hit me as well. My wife got slammed about a day before me, so the whole house is a friggin’ sick ward!

If you see this virus hit anyone that your kids come into contact with, or someone you know at your work, then I have one thing to say:

RUN, DON’T WALK TO THE EXIT!!!

Yikes, what an evil virus. And, if you had a flu shot, this one was not on their list. Twits! I never get flu shots anymore as I believe it is a complete waste of time.

Well, we’re back home, early …

Our youngest, who is Type I diabetic (insulin dependent) had a temperature of 104.9! We tried to control it, but ended up going to Eisenhower Emergency (Palm Desert/Palm Springs/Rancho Mirage) just to be sure. That emergency room was like a place I never want to go again. You really do experience the depth to which our medical system has been dragged once you enter California’s emergency rooms. I felt like I stepped into someone’s cruel idea they had in store for those requiring immediate care.

One woman had waited SEVEN HOURS to be seen. For what condition, I have no idea, but at least she was mobile and capable. Our daughter was at 103-105, tired, it was 1am, and people were coughing. By 2am, we asked the triage nurse to check her temperature - if it dropped, we’d go home. It had slipped a bit closer to 102, so the nurse gave us some tylenol, and we took her back to the house.

Yesterday morning, I jammed everything in the car, we topped her off with some more tylenol, and hit the road for the 8+ hour drive home. Both girls were tired, but I think they feel better being in their own home.

For a short vacation, it was a bust … too bad …

We decided to take a short trip to SoCal and left yesterday! There is nothing like a last minute trip to a climate that is warmer than the one you currently are experiencing.

I’ll be adding a few snaps once we return. The one thing on our trip I really wish I snapped a photo of was when we were “buzzed” by a C-17 out on HWY 395, just outside of Adelanto! The crew was practicing TAGs, and they were on their last one.

The girls were rapt - as was my wife!

Gotta ask ya, what possessed Fox News to run this show … ???

Does anyone remember their first time, the first time they heard “War of the Worlds” on the radio? I heard it one sleepy night many years ago while trying to stay awake at a friends house. My friends Dad wanted us to experience SciFi, and he knew this would give us a wonderful experience. I was maybe 12 years old (this really was a long time ago - Creature Features was on TV then, too), and we all tried to stay awake, and failed. I snapped out of it to hear the show in progress - it was ethereal. I listened in astonishment, slowly realizing that this was a story, fantasy, SciFi …

I was dozing after Greta’s show was winding down. I awoke to “Red Eye” on Fox News - ugh! I truly tried to survive through two commercial breaks. I really wish it was something else blaring out of my TV … wow, if this show makes it, then I really do not understand my fellow Fox News watchers.

I cannot wish this show on you. If you must, either choose to take a sharp stick in the eye, share a kleenex with anyone suffering from pink eye, or just flat out jump! Your life would truly be better than to suffer through “Red Eye”.

I upgraded to WordPress2.1 nearly two weeks ago. Things seemed to be working fine, yet I had a post from last night just, disappear … odd.

Well, I’m looking in to what happened, and posted in the help/support forum. So far, no help yet …

Well, just signed my offer letter yesterday, so, I am now once again in the work force. Feels good to get back into the game.

Hmmm … I better get off my keester and get to doing more research for future posts! Time is going to be at a minimum once the new job starts.

So, did you get on the Stand-To! mailing list? No? Hmmm … we need to talk.

The US Army has provided the second part of their discussion of battle command. Again, I’ll help those that are asleep at the switch and haven’t seen today’s installment:

“What continued efforts does the Army have planned for the future? The Army continues to focus on the synchronization of operations, logistics and intelligence in order to provide Commanders and leaders with the most accurate information needed to conduct combat operations and achieve mission success. The Army will use the Army Force Generation (ARFORGEN) process to field robust Joint Network Battle Command capabilities to the units as they prepare and engage in combat operations. The Army will use these new Joint Networked Battle Command capabilities to leverage information from intelligence, logistics, operations and medical sources, improve analysis, enable greater collaboration, to synchronize efforts quicker and reduce Commander’s decision cycles in the execution of operations to include Force on Force, Stability and Security Operations (SASO) and Counter Insurgency (COINS). The Battle Command systems will connect more soldiers to the network, and provide increased throughput, improve security, enhance collaboration, provide situation awareness, unit readiness status and Command & Control analysis. Battle Command will move toward closer integration with Logistics, including the Movement Tracking System. This system automates tracking of continuous, distributed, and Joint focused logistics across the battle space. Battle Command will also add gateways to US Marine Corps, joint, and coalition tracking systems. As with Blue Force tracker, the result will be a better integrated common operational picture.

Why is this important to the Army? Battle Command is an essential Warfighter Mission Area operational capability for both our current and future joint operations. Joint fully networked Battle Command capabilities will bridge to the Future Force and enable the Joint Force Commander to conduct fully interdependent, network-centric warfare. The Army must continue to work with the Combatant Commanders, Joint Forces Command, the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics and the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Network and Information Integration to identify, align and develop Joint Force capabilities relevant to joint operations. Battle Command will align with Joint ground combat capabilities while simultaneously spiraling in proven Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Information, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) technologies.”

Is this approach new to the US Army, or the US Military as a whole? No.

Is there something missing that no matter the good intentions of the US Army and the entire US Military Command Structure, this is all for naught? Yes.

To wage an effective campaign in this 5th Generation Warfare watershed, the media is an integral component to success. Without getting too down on the main stream media (I know, fish in a barrel) an effective holistic campaign can only be waged with communications not just inward but outward. The Milbloggers are behind you and already on board, but multiple media outlets are still not working effectively together with the war. This war on terror is lacking a primary component and we are sacrificing the high ground by not executing in this area.

One can see the net-effect difference by comparing Al Jazeera teamed up with al Qaida and the terrorists currently in the field of battle. In a 5th Generation Warfare command structure, communications between soldiers and communications to the support structure, like the people sacrificing their sons and daughters, results in a highly effective overall campaign. Terrorists have a lock on that, albeit they utilize tactics that should nullify any effort, but theirs works very effectively. We are not to accept or emulate their approach, but it is clear without an outward communications component, all effectiveness is diminished to an unbearable level.

It is a fact that the main stream media is refusing to support our military, our politicians are thrashing to keep their jobs, and the counter-media (Al Jazeera) utilizing propaganda to shift opinion and mold fact to fiction. All of this gives testament to the lack of the US Military’s ability to effectively execute a holistic campaign in the global war on terror. We have technology that dwarfs the competition, yet we cannot use true shock and awe because we all know we’d be set upon by our own media and politicians. It is a given that the European Union is against us, they always will be, so move on, nothing to see here. But the negative energy from within our own boarders is continuously aimed inward thereby reducing the overall effectiveness of waging a true campaign. In the end, it is impossible to be effective in a 5th Generation Warfare watershed until the entire battlefield is conflated. Therefore, our US Military Command Structure needs to gain the high ground on this primary objective, take this last hill and hold it, or we will never be able to effectively field a successful force in battle.

For review, here are my 5GW posts, in order from oldest to newest:

Seems the family has a rift
We Blew Through 4th Generation Warfare!
Boundaries for the Fourth Generation
Clues to the 5th: Shorter Chains?
Yeah, 5GW Means Squat, Right?

Again, any 5GW stuff you find, forward on to me.

Alright, there are a few of us in the blogosphere that follow this crazy stuff. Yeah, I know, we’re like those Area 51-types that see something not really there, just behind that door. And, no, we are NOT all hopped-up on “acid” or “Mary Jane”! Force utilization and the changes and strides made over time are very real, and something that makes some folks just sit up and wanna read more.

Now, when one gets a missive straight from the core area of development in regards to warfare, and the act of prosecuting a war, ya just gotta dig a little bit deeper. This morning, in my regularly scheduled morning memo from the US Army, my inbox gets a jolt! The team at Stand-To! are covering a very germane subject termed battle command. To those of us working and writing about generational warfare, and this aligns with my 5GW posts quite well, their first installment entitled Battle Command - Part One has been posted to those within the US Army command structure - and some of us that read their site and get their daily e-mails.

If you don’t have the time to wander on over to Stand-To!, please take a moment and read their latest sidebar article:

“What is it? Battle Command is the art and science of applying leadership and decision making to achieve mission success. Battle Command leverages technology to achieve information and decision superiority. Battle Command systems enable leaders to gain knowledge to enhance the speed and accuracy of decision making. Battle Command provides Commanders and Leaders with the ability to see first, understand first, act first, and finish decisively.

What has the Army done? Recent combat operations highlight the criticality of beyond line of sight mobile communications, enhanced situation awareness, and synchronization of force application. Battle Command provides improved information systems to make visible actionable information and reduce the cycle time on key commander decisions. The Army has created a better common operational picture with enhancements made to Blue Force Tracking and Force XXI Battle Command Brigade and Below (FBCB2). With Joint Intelligence Operations Capability - Iraq (JIOC-I) the Army has integrated and fused intelligence that is relevant and timely within a specific geospatial area of operation for Commander’s and Leaders. Also, the Army has integrated unmanned Aerial Systems and their imagery feeds, and we have added Biometric enhancements to our Human Intelligence (HUMIT) data collection. The Army’s Joint Battle Command network has increased connectivity with JNN, putting more soldiers on the network with higher throughput, so that they are able to push more Command & Control information to Battalion. The Army also has experimented with collaboration tools such as Information Dissemination Management - Tactical (IDM-T) and Command Post of the Future (CPoF), and information systems similar to Combined Information Network Data Exchange (CIDNE) and FusionNet, which provide valuable information to Commanders. The Army has accelerated the fielding of critical Battle Command systems to standardize capabilities, ensuring interoperability of operational and tactical organizations. These capabilities improve joint interdependency as well as horizontal and vertical situational awareness to the platoon level. The Army continues to work with DOD agencies to bring the Joint community closer to a shared common operational picture.”

Now, what interests me very much is the threading together, within the major FBCB2 (Blue Force Tracking and Force XXI Battle Command Brigade and Below), of joint intelligence, information dissemination, and overall coordination within the command structure. This is where I have been leading us all in my 5GW posts. We are doing a better job and have made significant strides in these areas, but how does our use of 5GW differ from those of our enemy? In fact, how much of what we have done is being borrowed, or emulated, by our enemy. My next few posts are now going to be focused on those two very important questions.

For review, here are my 5GW posts, in order from oldest to newest:

Seems the family has a rift
We Blew Through 4th Generation Warfare!
Boundaries for the Fourth Generation
Clues to the 5th: Shorter Chains?

And, please check out as many resources that you can find where this subject, generational warfare, are being written about, and send on to me. I am a major consumer of this subject - a hobby ya might say.

Well, RIFs (reduction in force) happen all over the country. I have been scooped up in a RIF at my small company. We were acquired back in July and just last Thursday the changes to the company took a personal turn. I’m back out in the job search world …

It’s funny, many years ago I used to take these sorts of things personally. Today, because I am at a Director level, you know that these changes are business decisions, especially when there are obvious overlaps in duties and functions. My previous (since last week, heh) company has 90% of its engineering resources (I direct software quality groups) in another location - and I am not willing to relocate. So, gotta put the boots on and start walkin’.

If you know anyone that needs a Director of Software Quality, drop me a note. I’ve managed teams from 160 personnel and 6 managers to 4 person senior level quality engineer teams, onsite, offsite/onshore, offshore, software, hardware (devices), firmware, enterprise class, shrink-wrap, data acquisition (satellite/signals/video capture playback), government contract supplier, and all kinds of startup to fortune 500 companies. My resume/cv is quite the eclectic collection of jobs and companies.

So, my posts may be frequent and they may be sparse - OK that has been the case lately, I know.

Just about a year ago I wrote a short piece about the 447th EOD finding and destroying weapons caches.

Today, the same squadron has lost three airman, and another is seriously wounded. AF.mil has the short announcement, here. I’ll provide the text here inline because the most disgusting part of this is that it was a vehicle-borne IED:

“SATHER AIR BASE, Iraq (AFPN) — Three Airmen assigned to the 447th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron’s Explosive Ordnance Division were killed Jan. 7 by a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device while performing duties in the Baghdad area.”

“Additionally, one Airman was injured in the explosion.”

This just brings up all sorts of ire in me. When public opinion makes the US Military second-guess their decisions, like protecting oneself from a suspicious looking oncoming vehicle, bad things happen. I just cannot stress how the media, politicians, and ex and current senior officers that gravitate towards a “softer stance” are actually placing our fine men and women in harms way. Add to that those that find appeasement and cut-N-run as viable options are just placing a round in the chamber themselves - in a weapon aimed directly at our brave volunteers.

Step back and think for a moment; truly, search your heart. Do you honestly believe that the rest of the world’s leaders want peace? Yes, the people that live under these iron-fist regimes most certainly want peace. But, they are not in a position of power. Therefore, what option is left for a country, and her citizens, but to use force until those that force themselves on the weak have been vanquished. I can count on just about 2 hands the number of peaceful countries, that have leaders that promote and work towards peace every day, and do not support terrorism or the act of subjugating their people.

Just remember, there are very few countries in Europe today that have such mettle.

I will post an update below, as we find out more information. In the meantime, please take some time to pray for all those in EOD and their families and friends. It is an important job, and one that saves so many lives.

God speed.

The Department of Defense announced Jan. 8 the death of three airmen who were killed Jan. 7 by a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device while performing duties in the Baghdad area supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. The airmen were assigned to the 775th Civil Engineer Squadron, Hill Air Force Base, Utah.

Killed were:

• Tech. Sgt. Timothy R. Weiner, 35, of Tamarac, Fla.
• Senior Airman Elizabeth A. Loncki, 23, of New Castle, Del.
• Senior Airman Daniel B. Miller Jr., 24, Galesburg, Ill.

For further information related to this release the media can contact the Hill Air Force Base public affairs office at (801) 777-6634 or if after 5 p.m. MST, call (801) 777-3001 and ask for the on-call public affairs representative.

Sorry for the confusion, but AF.mil had the squadron as the 447th Civil Engineering EOD, and today’s annoucement states that it is the 775th Civil Engineering Squadron. I am unsure if this is a joint command or if the 447th EOD was in a FOB and assigned to assist the 775th, or if the initial announcement from yesterday was erroneous. I am attempting to contact an internal source to see if I can confirm - or I’ll just wait like everyone else and keep an eye on AF.mil.

Here is the update from AF.mil - and, yes, they were from Hill AFB but attached to the 447th while in Iraq:

“The Airmen were assigned to the 775th Civil Engineer Squadron’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal Flight. While in Iraq, the Airmen were members of the 447th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron.”

God Speed SrA Loncki, SrA Miller, and TSgt Weiner …

And, no, we’re not talking about snow chains for your car or those hanging swag light chains. The 5th is being marked by something very simple, and I’ll just drop a few breadcrumbs to get ya walkin’ in the right direction:

• JTIDS
• JSTARS
• TADIL
• MC2A
• MOP/DSHTW/Big BLU
• JSF
• JDAM
• HDBTDC Thermobaric Weapon
• Metal Storm
• MOAB
• NLOS
• RJ
• SWF
• UAV/UCAV/JUCAS

In the strategic and tactical execution of warfare, the above have enabled or will produce a tectonic change, uncovering the holy grail of warfare: the Shortened Kill Chain.

Really, the dialectically qualitative change has happened, you just need to read the simple signs. Several of the above I’ve seen on Future Weapons. And a couple of these I’ve had the honor of supporting on active duty. I believe that once you tie all the US Military services’ commands, infrastructure, tools, and weapons together you’ll start to see just how much the change is so very real.

More to come. (how ya doin’ so far, eh?)

UPDATE: added the Sensor Fuzed Weapon (SWF) and Direct Strike Hard Target Weapon (DSHTW) as these two truly change the “response” of the enemy on the battlefield. In fact, in Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), the SWF was used and was VERY effective. Oh, and ya can’t leave out the MOAB - she’s got game!

UPDATE 2: added the Hard and/or Deeply Buried Target Defeat Capability (HDBTDC) Thermobaric Weapon, or the BLU-118/B. This is the cave-buster used in Afghanistan that was rushed through development, test, and live fire, to be used live - in less than 67 days (from the woman in charge of the program at Eglin AFB that was interviewed on Future Weapons). Another item to make the enemy, think, before hiding …

To see the beginning of the 5th Generation Warfare watershed we need to define the boundaries of the 4th Generation. Although there are specific cataclysmic events that mark the transition into a new generation, there are several elements of these events that remain true, even in today’s battlefields and training grounds. Mr. Lind dedicates a section of his paper, “The Changing Face of War: Into the Fourth Generation”, to show how each generation utilizes elements from the past and discards those deemed less effective. In the section, “Elements that Carry Over”, Mr. Lind states:

“Earlier generational shifts, especially the shift from the second to the third generation, were marked by growing emphasis on several central ideas. Four of these seem likely to carry over into the fourth generation, and indeed to expand their influence.”

The four areas that Mr. Lind cites as carrying over are:

1. Utilizing Mission Orders
2. Decreasing dependence on centralized logistics
3. Increasing emphasis on maneuver
4. Collapsing the enemy internally rather than from physical destruction

While it is true that all wars waged by formal states rely heavily on structure utilizing mission orders, centralized logistics, formal maneuvers, and to some extent forcing an internal collapse of the opposition, this fourth area wasn’t truly effective until the 4th Generational Warfare watershed. I submit that this one area, or element, is becoming a very integral part of today’s informal state sponsored wars. And it was honed during the end of the 4th Generation and has displayed a dialectically qualitative change to mark the beginning of the 5th Generation.

Let’s provide an overview of the generational warfare watersheds, using the fourth element as the catalyst that marks the entry into the 4th Generation:

• 1GW :: 1648 to 1918 - smoothbore musket, line and column formations
• 2GW :: 1918 to 1940 - rifled musket, machine gun, indirect fire and movement
• 3GW :: 1940 to 1970 - tanks, blitzkrieg, AC-130, maneuverable agile forces
• 4GW :: 1970 to 2003 - collapse the enemy internally

I believe that the end of the 3rd Generation Warfare watershed was around 1970 when the North Vietnamese first utilized one element or weapon in a new and highly effective manner. This element is the defining moment that marks a significant change in how warfare is prosecuted and signaled the beginning of a more powerful tool marking entry into the 5th Generation. Let me use an example from the 4th Generation to make my point, remembering that this element also carries over to today’s battlefield in a new way. Again, this is only one element or weapon of several that mark the beginning and the end of the 4th Generational Warfare watershed.

In my last post I detailed one of the catalysts that marks the beginning of the 4th Generation watershed. The use of the F-105 and the Shrike missile to destroy the SA-2 missiles supplied to the North Vietnamese by the Russians was a positive turning point in the US Military air campaign. One side effect of the tactics and weapons used to destroy the SA-2 was collateral damage to civilians in local villages. The SA-2, being a rocket loaded with rocket fuel, would explode in an enormous fireball ejecting huge amounts of shrapnel into the surrounding area. The North Vietnamese seized this opportunity, with the help of the Russians, to utilize an old weapon in a new way that was powerful and far reaching. The retooled element that played a pivotal role in the final pullout (defeat) of the US Military was: propaganda.

Propaganda was not new, by any means, in the 2nd, 3rd, or 4th generations. The Russians were very effective utilizing propaganda as a weapon against their enemies and their own people, as well as between their politicians and their military leaders. With the help of the Russians, the North Vietnamese used the media to spin lies that the US Military was purposefully targeting civilians. While this was a lie, the media and all the antiwar protestors (especially Hanoi Jane Fonda) broadcast the lies as fact, or on some occasions an alleged instance (albeit the latter was rare indeed). The successful use of communications and the broadcast media in particular was instrumental, and I posit a huge catalyst, marking the beginning of the 4th Generation Warfare watershed. The fact that images and messages could travel worldwide very quickly, in comparison to say WWII communications, the speed and effectiveness of this lopsided propaganda emasculated the US Military from within - collapse internally - forcing the United States to draw down and finally pull out of Vietnam. And while this incarnation of the use of propaganda is a catalyst triggering a major shift into 4GW, it will take on a new form thereby defining the entry into the 5th Generational Warfare watershed.

The effectiveness of the emasculation of the US Military spread like a plague across the United States. It became commonplace for college students, the media, and politicians to continuously frame the US Military and the United States as being inherently evil, baby killing, corporate raiders, with no compassion and very little regard for the world, the environment, and human beings. The vilification of the United States had begun, and she began to crumble from within under the weight of all the negativism and overt attacks to destroy patriotism. To be a patriot was evil and wrong and unless we became like the USSR, we were doomed to failure. Appeasement began to sweep the country and culminated with the Presidency of Jimmy Carter and the inevitable failure of a man driven by appeasement and lack of fortitude. His orchestration of the failed, and deadly, attempt to rescue the hostages from Iran was clearly a result of the emasculation of a nation - not to mention her military.

Fast forward to 1993 … Laurie nailed it when she said that the first attack on the World Trade Center in 1993 was a pivotal moment. Even though it took 10 years to perfect, this new element had it’s humble beginnings on that ill fated day in 1993.

The fall of socialism in the USSR, coupled with the quirky end to the 1st Gulf War, signaled to those out to destroy the United States that there was a simple weakness in these large states just waiting to be exploited. There had not been an attack on US soil since December 7th, 1941, at Pearl Harbor. The Middle East was beginning to form new, non-state sponsored, factions driven to destroy Israel. Since the United States supports Israel, and the population is overwhelmingly non-muslim and thereby infidels, these new factions plotted the second attack on US soil: the attack on the World Trade Center in 1993.

While this attack was unsuccessful in a physically destructive sense, it provides insight into how a burgeoning hate for the United States transformed into an informally coordinated attack. This relatively ad hoc attack had the primary goal of effecting mass destruction within small geographic confines utilizing simple tactics and tools. While communications technology had surged forward at an amazing rate, the architects of the 1993 World Trade Center attack preferred to use only portions of the new technology mixed in with an age old process: person to person communications. With technological advances in listening devices, the attackers knew that as long as they could keep the most secret of information protected, utilizing person to person couriers for written and oral communications, the overall attack would be successful.

The attack was successful in that it gave rise to a new approach of synergizing previously known elements into a central element. This new element, the Neural Attack, would signal the end of the 4th Generation Warfare watershed. The elements that carry forward and later are combined to comprise a Neural Attack are the following:

• Phone, Satellite, TV, Video, Cellular, Radio, and Internet Communications
• Courier and Person to Person (written and Oral) Communications
• Propaganda and Information-based Attacks
• Stealth Aircraft and FAF Munitions (fire and forget)
• Integrated Strategic/Tactical Communications Technologies and Protocols (JTIDS/JSTARS, etc)
• Joint Forces Command Structure and Operations

While the above do not, in any way, enumerate all the elements available, they do constitute a fairly broad list with which a successful Neural Attack can be formed. Once several Neural Attacks are combined to form a Neural Attack Battle Plan, a dialectically qualitative change can be seen. I submit that a battle plan of this type was formed and executed in the 2nd Gulf War, Operation Enduring Freedom, marking the end of the 4th Generation Warfare watershed and propelling us all into 5th Generation Warfare.

With the advent of the Neural Attack, here is the new generational warfare timeline:

As you can see, from the 2nd Generation to today, each major change has been roughly 30 years apart. While technology plows ahead at amazing rates of change, warfare and the art of war progresses at a relatively even pace. Several questions came to mind while I was preparing this post. And one observation was very unsettling: does everyone think I’ve made this all up and spaced things evenly? But, to truly have a dialectically qualitative change one must be engaged in formal war. The 1st Gulf War was more of a police operation because the US and Coalition forces did NOT push through to the final result, a true war. Once Iraq was moved back into and within her own borders, the US Military began to stand down. Another contributing factor was “The Road to Basra” which proved the US Military’s effectiveness at executing a Neural Attack on a small scale. This also resulted in more propaganda than President George H.W. Bush was ready to endure, thereby giving us a “quirky” end to the 1st Gulf War.

In the next series of posts, I’ll lay out what I see are the elements that comprise a 5GW Neural Attack and Battle Plan that resulted in successfully capturing Baghdad: Operation Iraqi Freedom.