Opinion

Basic Training Will Be A Breeze by Following Some Simple Steps

A friend is leaving in a matter of days for basic training, followed by Airborne School and then on to one of our Special Operations Units where, hopefully, after he navigates the Selection and Assessment courses, will get qualified and serve as a member of one of our very best units in the force.

But first comes basic training followed by advanced individual training, i.e. infantry school where they teach the basics of being part of the Queen of Battle. When all is said and done, the vast majority of us who’ve served in Special Operations units look back on the time in basic training as a piece of cake.

But it comes with challenges, mainly, this is all new. These young men and women are leaving home, most for the first time in their lives and are entering a realm that is totally alien to what they’ve been accustomed to. It is a culture shock, something the military plays upon to help integrate the boots into military life. It is an eye-opener for some when you first get off of the bus. “Toto, I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore.”

So, for my friend, and the rest of those young people heading to basic training soon, here a few tips that will make navigating the first gate of your military career an easy walk in the park.

Tip #1 – Embrace the Suck: Trust me, the suck factor in basic is nothing compared to what you’ll experience when you begin your Special Operations journey. It will register about 0.2 on the Richter scale of suck factors. But this is all new and people will be screaming at you from every conceivable direction. Your head will be spinning at first.

For many of our readers, you’ll see that we always say that the breakdown of mental to physical factors for Selection is mental for the vast majority. In basic training, it is even more so. The Drill Sergeants will play a constant mind f**k with the boots. Don’t worry about it, don’t stress about it. It is going to happen regardless. Learn early on to roll with the flow and embrace what they’re throwing at you. It will just make you stronger and better prepare you for what ultimately lies ahead.

Tip #2 – Be a Team Player Now: It is imperative to begin building your military self from Day 1. And in basic, it is all about the unit, the whole, being successful. Another thing we always say is, “you’re always being evaluated.” And that is also true in boot camp. The Drill Sergeants will always look for the lone wolf that is only interested in himself. Don’t be that person.

While you’re all in the same boat, be the guy who helps along his fellow grunts when they need a hand up. They’ll do the same for you. The more your unit shows that they’re looking out for one another and are sticking together, the less mind games BS they’ll throw at you collectively.

The more you use the term “we” instead of “I” in basic, the better life will be. Some of the troops you serve with in basic may indeed become the guy that will sweat, bleed and share his last drop of water with you once you get to your unit.

Tip #3 – Remember, We Defend Democracy, Not Practice It: This above all else will save you untold heartache and massive amounts of pushups in basic training if you remember this one small fact. Much of what you will experience will seem grossly unfair. It may well be just that. But that just follows right along with Tip #1.

Never, ever talk back to a Drill Sergeant or any other member of the cadre. It is a losing proposition and you will lose every single time. A good rule of thumb is to never talk to a Drill Sergeant unless spoken to.

Remember the scene from “Full Metal Jacket”, Pvt Joker tells the Sr. Drill Instructor (The Gunny), “Sir, the private believes any answer he gives will be wrong and the Senior Drill Instructor will only beat him harder if he reverses himself, SIR!”

Of course, there are exceptions to this. If he’s teaching something and he asks for questions or you don’t understand what is going on, then ask. But always do so in a respectful manner and don’t try to sharpshoot the DIs. That won’t end well either.

Tip # 4 – Lead By Example: Now is the time (as stated above) to forging your own military identity. If you desire to become part of the Special Operations community, then you’ll already be familiar with or should be the term, “Quiet Professional.”

Do your absolute best at everything and give 110 percent with everything you do. But don’t beat your chest over every single thing you do correctly. Show the Drill Sergeants that you are a serious-minded individual that they and more importantly your unit can count on.

It could mean that you become a squad leader or platoon guide which puts more on your own plate. Because then you’ll be responsible for not only your own success but the rest of the unit as well. It doesn’t seem like much of a daunting task until the first time you’re put in charge of the group. Don’t run from it, embrace the leadership challenge and learn from it. You’ll be better off in the long run.

Tip #5 – Never Quit or Lose Focus: This is the first of several gut checks you will experience in the military but by the easiest. It may not seem like it at the time, but this is a relatively easy task to excel in. They get progressively harder down the road.

Remember to stay focused on your tasks in the short term. Airborne School? Nope. Selection? No way Jose. Worry about you are doing right this very minute and don’t deviate from that. What seems like a million light years away will be on you much faster than you’d have thought possible.

Everything you do or say is evaluated. Never quit or give in. A drill instructor today may be a leader of a Special Operations team in the future and they will remember the good troops and the poor ones.

Photo: Wikipedia

The Secret to Getting Selected in SFAS? There Isn’t One

I know what you’re thinking,…” here’s this FOG (F***ing Old Guy) preaching again about being in the last hard class.” Okay, first let’s dispense with the myths and get right to the crux of the matter. Every Special Forces guy you will meet, regardless of era went thru the last hard class and everyone since then or before his was an absolute cakewalk.

It is true, ask anyone and you’ll bound to get the same answer. Years from now when some of you do get selected and sent to one of the Operational Groups, you’ll be doing the same thing. I swore back in the day, that I would never, ever do that. But then in my last year or so in the military, I was talking to a good friend of mine who was at the schoolhouse teaching SF medics and he was lamenting the quality of his latest class and we fell into the “man things were sure tougher when WE went thru the course.” Yikes!. “When did we turn into the old MFers that we used to make fun of?” But I digress

Passing Selection is the rite of passage for every Special Operations unit in the world. And that is why we are all here right? The courses are designed to be incredibly hard for a reason and a very good one. The operating environment that Special Operations many times must perform in is often extreme. Carrying a lot of gear on your back in the heat of Iraq, Syria or in the mountains of Afghanistan or 100 other places isn’t a walk in the park. And all the while you’ll have a determined, hardened enemy that is trying very hard to kill you.

So, we get all kinds of email from prospective Special Operations asking about what the secret is for getting selected and the magic elixir that’s required to pass. The short answer is, there isn’t one. It is so simple it is hard sometimes for young troops to get. So we’ll go thru the quick guide again and the first one is probably a total no-brainer.

Be in the Best Shape You Possibly Can Be: We’ve set out the physical training pieces that we’ve felt will help you prepare physically for the challenge that is ahead. And make no mistake you will be challenged. You will get smoked, rinsed off, dusted and do it all over again. There will be plenty of times where you are tired, hungry, beat up and mentally taxed. That is normal, it also is exactly what the course is designed to do, once you show up for selection.

But there is no reason to be in arguably the best shape in your life when you show up for selection. I know at times a lot of guys get hurt during their prep time and they are not all the way back by the time their class date begins. I’ve seen that as a cadre member and the only thing to do in Selection is to just gut it out the best way you can unless you are seriously injured, where you can’t do it. Then try to get your class date changed.

I was levied for SWC (Special Warfare Center), the schoolhouse while on a deployment to Central America back in the day. As soon as I got back, I was assigned to Selection and since I went thru the SFQC (Special Forces Qualification Course) in the days before SFAS, I had to attend the next class…the only issue? While down south I had got a case of dysentery and was still getting over it when reporting in …about 25 pounds light. Carrying the “Sandman” while having the screen door $hits isn’t the best way to go thru the course. So I feel your pain if you’ve had to endure the task with going thru Selection, while not at 100 percent thru no fault of your own.

Leave the Assessing to the Assessors: This is a big one and a total no-brainer. Far too many candidates take a look around themselves and the daunting task that is selection and psyche themselves right out of the course. They become so self-critical that they’ll convince themselves that they are doing terribly. It is a common trait among most successful people and many Special Operators that we are usually our own worst critics. But Selection isn’t the time for that part of your psyche to come out.

One class in SFAS, there was senior NCO who came from an LRSU unit and he positively smoked every run and ruck march during the course. But instead of being back in his unit where he was far out in front of every such event, in SFAS among many equally impressive troops, he wasn’t. He took it to mean he was performing substandardly when the total opposite was true. He self-assessed himself and did a poor job of it. He voluntarily withdrew until “I can get my shit together and come back to do the course right.”

You don’t know what or how the cadre is assessing you at any given time and that isn’t your job. To quote my favorite BB, “Do Your Job”. Let the cadre do theirs. If you’re still giving 100 percent every day and still standing there in the formation, that is all you should be worrying about. If you’re self-assessing yourself, you’ll be looking at a sad face in the mirror.

Remember, You Are Always Being Assessed: This will sound crazy perhaps but many of the candidates get off on the wrong foot on Day 1 and it can end up costing them down the road. Many of the young soldiers coming into Selection are focused on the physical side (which is good) but never forget that everything in Selection is evaluated which means…”everything”. And now I repeat it, (listen for the foot stomp as if in the classroom) “Assessment Never Ends”, you’ll hear this often. Remember it, file it away and don’t ever forget it.

You’ll be asked to take a battery of psychological tests and they’re quite lengthy. Some of the questions will seem odd (they are) and often make no sense. And you’ll get asked the same questions multiple times but it will be worded differently. It is designed that way to see if you’re telling the truth and taking it seriously. It is designed to identify potential psychopathic or sociopathic tendencies in some candidates.

While working at SFAS, there were a few, not a lot of soldiers who took this part of Selection as a joke, it isn’t. This isn’t the time to be cavalier or a smartass with your answers. It matters everything does. Not answering truthfully will raise its head in the test and it may ultimately cost you.

Another thing, from the time you sign in until the time that you sign out and return to your unit at the end of the course, you are being evaluated. Act like it and as if you under a microscope. There is no off time save for the few hours of sleep you’ll get.

Be a Team Player: This one is self-explanatory. Selection is an individual assessment conducted in a team environment. So yes, you’re being assessed as an individual. But part of that assessment and a VERY BIG part of it is how well you work within a team. Being part of a team is the very essence of what makes Special Operations and Special Forces in this case so successful.

Lone Wolves don’t cut it. You can ace every individual event but if you aren’t a team player, the cadre will notice and so will your peers. And peer evaluation can sink a soldier’s chances easily. Certain soldiers will have areas that they’re stronger in than their peers. A team player will recognize this and step up and help their teammates during team events. If they don’t help their teammates, then they’ll ultimately fail.

This is an area where many of the officers not selected ultimately fail. They perform very well when in charge of an event but balk at taking orders from lower-ranking candidates when it becomes their turn to lead an event. And “spotlight Rangers” who thrive when it is their turn in the box while being a leader, but then try to ghost into the background once it is over are easily spotted.

Don’t Be Late, Light, or Last: These three little sins are my favorites will get a candidate washed out and doing the duffel bag drag quicker than any other. And add a 4th, don’t be out of uniform. If there are 150 candidates standing there in PT gear and two guys show up are in fatigues, do you think that would fly?

You’re being assessed on your potential to be in one of the premier Special Operations units in the world. And showing up late ever or out of uniform isn’t the way to impress upon the cadre that you want to be there.

Unless things have changed drastically, at Selection the students are kept in the dark about what event is coming next until shortly before it happens. The cadre will update a dry erase board usually 15 minutes or so before the next event and will have the uniform that the candidates must be in. Most classes learn quickly to have a candidate from each hut placed outside near the board to keep everyone apprised of updates.

Being light is a cardinal sin and there is no excuse for it. Your rucksack has to weigh what they said it must weigh and it is always the weight specified without food and water. The instructors will always use the same scales that the candidates use so there will never be a discrepancy there. If the standard says 45 pounds, then 44 pounds,15 ounces is a fail. That doesn’t mean to go overboard either.

One winter class in SFAS, one candidate came in straggling at the rear. His rucksack weighed 75 pounds! That didn’t curry favor with the instructors, in fact, it had the opposite effect. Be safe, and err on the side of caution and be in the green but don’t overdo it. A pound or two over the limit won’t hurt you physically and gives the psychological reassurance that you’re well within the standards.

Being last is, next to being light the kiss of death in selection. One has to be pragmatic here. Do the math, the failure rate for selection is high, even those who make it to the very end of the course aren’t guaranteed to be selected, so being last in any event isn’t a good thing. But one event isn’t going to sink you or your chances if you do well in everything else.. We’ll expand on this more below but you never, ever want to be the last guy in at anything.

Ignore the Noise: The SFAS “rumor mill” used to kill me. There is something about Selection that turns good, troops into a ladies’ sewing circle. This goes right along with self-assessment. Listening to the rumor mill is an unnecessary drain on your energy and serves no purpose. And invariably the rumors are as wrong as the National Enquirer, to begin with unless you’re a fan of “Men in Black.”

Many nights, my bud Doug P. and I as well as other cadre members would move between the huts dressed as the candidates were and gauged their reactions to the training for the day. And to check to see if candidates were sleeping before lights out or eating in the barracks, (heel stomp…you’re always being assessed back up to #2). By the second week of the course, they rarely if ever noticed our presence as cadre.

And by far, the rumor mill was always the most entertaining. As the course went along the rumors always got better. By Team Week, many of the candidates were so burned out, we’d have long conversations with some and they never knew they were talking to cadre members.

My advice to candidates is to have a book handy. When the rumors start flying, save your energy and brain matter and read a book.

Sounds like a walk in the park right? And yeah, Don’t quit!

Photo: US Army

Book Review – “Murphy’s Law” And the Truth Will Set You Free

I always balk at when someone I know writes something and I’m asked to give an opinion on it. As my circle of friends has grown smaller, I have erred on the side of caution, not wanting to hurt any of my friends’ feelings. Jack Murphy has never had that problem.

Jack has been on a mission, to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. And when you’re blunt, do your homework and research and then write what you believe is the right thing, the truth, you’ll invariably piss some people off. Jack has done that. In fact, in the Special Forces community of which he was a member, many men of the Regiment have a case of the red-ass against him.

Murphy was a member of the Ranger Regiment and deployed to Afghanistan with them. He then moved on to Special Forces, and was on an A-Team in the 5th Special Forces Group, “The Legion”. He deployed again to Iraq with SF. He then decided to leave the military and graduated from Columbia University with a B.A. in Political Science. Murphy is near a perfect fit that the OSS in World War II was looking for.

OSS was the forerunner to both CIA and the U.S. Army Special Forces. General William “Wild Bill,” Donovan said they were looking for “PhDs who can win a bar fight.” Murphy is an Ivy League graduate who was a Ranger and Green Beret.

Along the way, he co-founded the website “SOFREP” which later became “NEWSREP” and developed a ton of aspiring writers who came from military backgrounds and had the itch to write. SOFREP developed a reputation as a hard-hitting journal of military and current affairs that spoke plainly and covered it all. The great successes and the failures with equal attention. It was far from a PR firm or just a cheerleader squad for the military. That was Murphy’s doing. Which brings us to his book.

“Murphy’s Law” is basically a two-part book, the first half deals with Murphy’s military career and the second part, which is the next chapter in his life takes you on the trail with an investigative journalist. But this is one who covers the military with the trained and sometimes jaundiced eye of someone who has “been there, done that”.

This book is an absolute page turner and as with everything that Murphy writes, he covers the “who, what, where and most especially, why” of his experiences. Murphy hardly paints himself as a hero, in fact, he delves into a particularly sensitive subject of a friendly fire incident in the Ranger Bn. That could’ve easily been glossed over, but again, that wouldn’t have been the “whole truth” and Murphy hardly paints himself in glowing light there. That’s part of what makes this so intriguing.

Murphy’s experiences during the Global War on Terror (GWOT), gives his perspective on what has been the United States’ longest war in its history. And like he always does, Murphy tells it like it is. His take on al-Qaeda and their fighters is an instant classic.

“The Iraqi insurgency consisted of hardcore criminals, jihadists, and a ton of foreign fighters looking to get their kill on. These dudes were murderers, members of a death cult called al-Queda. The Nazis, the Soviets, and all the North Vietnamese Army were at least fighting for some twisted vision of a better future. By comparison, al-Queda was, and is gutter trash”.

Awesome stuff there.

After graduating from Colombia, Murphy wasn’t a sit in the office type of journalist. He traveled to the Philippines where his interview with the commanders of the Light Reaction Regiment of the PI’s SOF, while they were actively engaged with Abu Sayyaf terrorist units. He snuck into Syria to report first-hand on the brutal fighting that tore the country apart there.

Murphy wrote about the religion of the Yazidi and Peshmerga peoples of Syria, as in the Middle East religion is everything. Something that I never knew about was that the Yazidis predated both Christianity and Islam. All stuff I’ve never seen anywhere.

I can’t recommend this book more, it is a great take on one man’s life with extraordinary events and people thrown together. Murphy has already written some military novels but this book was different. He was trying to put down the events of his life, thus far and was worried about appearing “douchey”.

As with anything, I have to put an anecdote in there. Our local Veterans Council consists of vets from the VFW, American Legion and unaffiliated veterans. Every year we visit all of the schools in the area at Memorial Day and Veterans’ Day.

We were finishing up a school visit last week when one of our vets named George who was a Major in Army Intelligence who is now a retired attorney asked me, “Have you ever heard of a guy named Jack Murphy?”

“My wife and I were walking thru Barnes and Noble and I saw his book and picked it up. And after scanning thru it for a moment, had to buy it. I brought it home last night and can’t put it down. It is a fantastic read. The guy was a Ranger, a Green Beret…now he’s a globe-trotting journalist. Have you read it?”

After I explained the workings of NEWSREP and SpecialOperations.com and the relationship I have with Murphy, George said, “I think he’d be a great guy to sit down and have a beer with to just be able to pick his brain.”

Yes indeed.

Being so young, Murphy and his wife, who is also an investigative journalist should have plenty of adventures left in their lives for another book sometime in the future. I’d put that one on the reading list, but for now, head to the nearest bookstore and read “Murphy’s Law” asap. You’ll be glad you did.

Photo: Amazon, NEWSREP

Special Forces and Entrepreneurship Can Make the Most of Any Bad Situation

“How the hell am I going to fill 1000 sandbags…and how did get myself into this mess?”

Sometimes life throws her curveballs at you and you have to do your best to sit back in the box and hit it the opposite way. And in doing so, you can take a bad situation and definitely make the most out of it.

Back in the day, the Sandinista regime in Nicaragua was a thorn in the side of the United States, especially the White House under President Reagan. And the U.S. was worried that the Sandinistas would be trying to spread their revolution (with outside help) to their neighboring countries.

And it was justified, with on-going bloody civil wars going on in El Salvador and Guatemala, Honduras had a latent insurgency issue and later we learned that the Nicaraguan government was preparing to aid that along.

While U.S. troop strength allowed in El Salvador was severely restricted and very few SOF troops allowed in Guatemala due to political issues, no such issue existed in Honduras at the time. And the U.S. always had a steady stream of conventional and SOF troops there.

Combat engineers were always building and improving roads, there was a slew of medical and dental units there helping the people. The U.S. constructed an airbase (Soto Cano) in Palmerola that is still in use today. And there were always a ton of 7th Special Forces Group troops on the ground. It always seemed like there was at least a company-sized element of six Special Forces A-Teams and a B-Team in the country at any given time. Many SF guys from that era would have half a dozen deployments to “Hondo” alone at that time, never mind deployments elsewhere.

This one deployment our Group decided to run had several teams from 2nd Bn., 7th SFG working with local Honduran units and our commander wanted to run several base station communication sites from the country, instead of back from Ft. Bragg. So, a bunch of SF radio operators (18E) from 1st Bn. were tasked to augment the Group’s Support Bn, and the Signal CO. to work in the base stations during this deployment.

Author and a high-speed, low drag supply vehicle in Honduras back in the day

We were starting one such base station in La Ceiba at the Honduran air base where they based their fighter aircraft (obsolescent Super Mystere) and then moving it after a few weeks up into the mountains, closer to the Nicaraguan border. So, during the time in La Ceiba, these SF radio operators would fall under the command of the Support Bn Staff. It was not a marriage made in heaven.

The sergeant major was… to put it simply a “Rick” with a silent P. He had a “do as I say and not as I do” attitude and was used to bullying the younger support guys…and girls. They had a gazillion rules that the A-Team guys never had to deal with in past deployments and it was soon apparent that heads were going to bump.

He instituted a “pass” system and a curfew with going downtown for everyone, except himself and his cronies. That didn’t fly with the SF guys. “Hey, that doesn’t apply to us, right?” LOL.

Well, after sampling some of the local nightlife in downtown La Ceiba and hanging out with a number of British schoolteachers from Belize, we arrived back at the base well after the established curfew. One of his little cronies made sure to rat us out…the little cockroach. However, we did beat the SGM back. Imagine that.

The next morning, he was going to make a big deal out of it and called us all in and said, we could be restricted to the base from our remainder of the time there (just a few more days thankfully) or fill sandbags for the Honduran base defenses. Most guys said screw it, they’d remain on base. Another guy and I opted for sandbag detail. Anything to get the hell away from those people.

So, we got a driver, a deuce and a half and 1000 sandbags. We told the driver to pack as many shovels as he had, which got a strange look but he grabbed about a dozen. The driver drove us to the far side of the base where there was a pit of clay that was as hard-packed as granite. “This is where our guys have been filling them,” he said. We laughed and told him we weren’t going to spend one minute there. Directing him out the back gate, we headed back down the highway in the opposite direction of town. After passing by some pineapple fields, we told him to take a dirt road to the right. After passing thru more fields and over a tiny bridge, we ended up on this tiny beach with the best bar you’d ever seen there.

On an earlier trip, one of the scuba team guys had shown this place. It had a fantastic place to dive and the bar was open on three sides that emptied right out on the sand. The driver couldn’t believe it. Nursing hangovers we ordered the hair of the dog from the young girl behind the bar while my partner spoke to her quietly in the corner. Then pulling a hammock out of my ruck, I strung it up between two poles on the open part of the bar and reclined with an ice cold Port Royal while my bud nursed a Salva Vida.

“What are you guys doing,” the driver asked? “Well, we’re going to chill out, catch about a 20-minute power nap and wait for the cavalry to arrive,” we said. About the time that the first beer was gone, the cavalry arrived.

Kids from the nearby village came flocking in, thinking the gringos were going scuba diving again and offering the use of their small boats and their services for whatever we needed.

We explained what we wanted to do, and they quickly agreed, we’d give them each two (2) MREs that we weren’t going to eat anyway. The two oldest kids were going to be foremen and oversee the entire operation. We gave them a five-minute class on how to properly fill sandbags. And just like in Selection, on how full they had to be. The two “foremen” would get five bucks each.

After watching this slew of kids quickly filling up the sandbags for a few quick iterations, my bud and I retired back to the cool shadow of the bar and the hammocks. “Yes, I’ll have another beer, thank you very much.”

In less than an hour, we had 250 sandbags filled. They were loaded on the deuce-and-a-half and we sent the driver back with strict orders to use the rear gate and bring back more cases of MREs. And most importantly, not to breathe a word of this to anyone.

Around noon the kids wanted to take a break for lunch. They planned on eating their MREs. We can do better, we said. The girl at the bar had already been forewarned and we arranged chicken sandwiches and a few burgers for all of them. We sat in the shade of the bar and got those kids sodas. Afterward, it time for a dip in the ocean. Punishment details are hell.

By 2 to 2:30 all of our sandbags were full, in truth, we didn’t have 1000, because they’d thought we wouldn’t be able to fill a 1/10th of those. Our driver asked if we should head back. “Hell no,” we answered. It was time for some MTT. He asked what that meant. “Max Tanning Time”, we answered. So until about four, we laid out in the sun, swam a bit more and bought the kids a coke. There were about half again as many MREs as promised and we said the heck with it. We told them to spread those out evenly as well. It was money well spent. We thought about scrawling on the side of the truck, “7th SFG Sand and Gravel”, but thought better or it. We used UW principles to beat the Pogues at their own game.

We headed back with the final load of sandbags, arriving back at the base where we unloaded the last of the sandbags into the huge pile that the guys had made. Our “pal” the sergeant-major strolled up and gave us a sneer like, “I guess I showed you!” and then glanced at the pile and knew something was up. We jumped down from the truck and smiled a “fuck you very much” look and headed for the showers, ice cold water that could wake the dead.

That weekend our C-130 came in to get us thankfully out of there. And not a moment too soon, but not entirely home free. We moved our base station gear to a B-Team that was famously known as “The Plantation”…ask any of the oldtimers what that was all about.

Little did we know that this was just the beginning. But that is a story for another time.

Photo of Golosón International Airport, La Ceiba (1987): Wikipedia

Catch-22 Comes Close But Doesn’t Quite Stick the Landing

George Clooney takes on Joseph Heller’s dark, satirical novel that he penned in 1961, starring in it, directing two of the series six episodes and producing it as well. Trying to reproduce Catch-22 is no easy feat although the insanity of war and the weird characters that war produces lend itself well to the insanity we see on a daily basis today.

Unlike the novel, and the 1970 film that was directed by Mike Nichols, Clooney and his writers take on a more linear approach and play the events in more chronological order, something Heller himself disapproved of. In an interview he did with Rolling Stone back in the day, he said: “Put the events in chronological order, and you’ll find an uneventful story about a bombardier and a colonel who wants his men to fly more missions than anyone else.”

The problem with it is, like many adaptations, if you have read the book and remember it well, then you’ll be on the fence with it. Filmed mainly in Italy, where Clooney reportedly spends much of his time, the cinematography has a sepia-toned, dusty feel for the B-25 bases during the war.

The cast is excellent. Clooney as the mugging General Scheisskopf (Shithead) who rises from Lieutenant to Lieutenant General is a perfect foil. Kyle Chandler is outstanding as Colonel Cathcart, the tough-talking, an often idiotic commander who keeps raising mission-counts to buck for a promotion. Martin Balsam played the role brilliantly in the 1970 version. But if anything Chandler outdoes him. Hugh Laurie (House), and Daniel David Stewart as the uber-capitalist Milo Minderbinder, who is out to make a profit and doesn’t care where, whether it be from the Allied side or even the Germans. It was a not-so-subtle jab at firms like Haliburton et al in today’s world.

But the film revolves around Yossarian, the bombardier who’s only mission of note is to get out of the war at any price. He’s expertly played by Christopher Abbott. Yossarian takes everything about the war personally and his only way is to complete his mission total. But with the rising mission counts frustrating him, he seeks to plead insanity in a war gone insane that is run by lunatics straight out of the insane asylum.

But, says the camp doctor Daneeka, who delivers his lines like a military Groucho Marx, played well by Grant Heslov, who also directed two of the episodes there is a catch….Catch-22.

“Catch-22. Anyone who wants to get out of combat isn’t really crazy, so I can’t ground him,” says Daneeka.

“Ok, let me see if I’ve got this straight,” asks Yossarian. “In order to be grounded, I’ve got to be crazy. And I must be crazy to keep flying. But if I ask to be grounded, that means I’m not crazy anymore, and I have to keep flying.”

“You got it, that’s Catch-22,” says Daneeka. “Whoo… That’s some catch, that Catch-22,” Yossarian says… “It’s the best there is,” deadpans Doc Daneeka adds.

Giancarlo Giannini is perfectly cast as the old Italian pimp where the horny GIs like to spend as much time as possible. His lines, as a survivor of Italy’s long list of glorious losses in war, are perfectly delivered.

The bombing runs where Yossarian has a non-obstructed, first-hand view of the war, are something that is both beautiful and terrifying. One of my bucket list things to do was to fly in the nose (bombardier position) of a B-17. Of course, flying there in wartime is a very different proposition.

And every time Yossarian flies another mission, it takes a little piece of his own sanity with it. The officers who are insistent on sending the pilots up in the sky full of death are immune to both their suffering and the horrors of it, safely remaining on the ground. And while their bombastic aura of dealing with subordinates is tough sounding, they show their true colors when dealing with superiors of their own.

While satire is often hard to capture on the small screen, the funny lines are often too drawn out and could have benefitted from more snappy timing.

This series with the insanity that is war and the larger insanity of those behind it will lend itself well to the current events as the United States, already in endless wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, while still actively engaged in Syria and elsewhere is rattling its saber with Iran, Venezuela, North Korea and elsewhere.

Hulu, which released “Catch-22” on Friday, is taking aim at both Netflix and Amazon Prime with their original productions put out a worthy effort here. You will enjoy it without being wowed. It is good, because of the stellar cast but just misses hitting it out of the park.

Photo: Hulu

Social Media – Where the First Amendment Takes a Back Seat

Opinion: Sorry to get back on the soapbox again but sometimes events occur that are out of our control. Recently there have been lots of groups and individuals who have been getting their accounts deleted on social media.

Recently our parent site, NEWSREP had their Instagram account deleted. While at times some social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, et al. will delete certain posts which they feel were offensive but in the case of this, the entire account was deleted. It wasn’t a suspension. It was a deletion…permanently.

The only explanation given was the usual drivel that they included in an email. “Your account has been deleted for not following our terms,’ said the email. ‘You won’t be able to log into this account and no one else will be able to see it. We’re unable to restore accounts that are deleted for these types of violations.’”

Supporters of NEWSREP were screaming about the First Amendment being violated while some of the site’s detractors rejoiced over it. And NEWSREP has plenty of both because unlike the vast majority of news sites today there is no inherent bias.

Jack Murphy, who is a lightning rod for criticism from individuals from some of the same units he served in, will never “take the party line” in stories that won’t paint his old units in the best of light. He’ll write about what he sees, good, bad or indifferent. But that is a story for another time. But the same people cheering for NEWSREP’s ban would have a cow over some site that they enjoy being banned. Notice I never used the word hypocrisy there…

While Instagram, like other social media sites, is picking in choosing who they decide to act against, is it a true First Amendment issue? Granted a vast majority of banned sites are conservative or military-related but in reality, this censorship isn’t a First Amendment issue. Why is that, you ask?

Calling it true censorship is a misnomer because there is no such thing First Amendment speech while using sites owned by private companies. However much we don’t like it, it is true. Just like at work, you have the right to exercise your right to free speech about any political cause or issue outside the doors, but inside your place of work that doesn’t always hold true. And in the case of these social media sites, their censorship and skewed sense of fairness is simply the price of admission.

We live in the Age of the Internet and these social media giants have no compulsion, legal or otherwise to stop them from deleting or blocking what they deem as “not following their guidelines.” Your freedom of expression is limited to being allowed to say what they say you can. Does that sound like censorship? Of course, it does. But there is a big difference between the government shutting down a person’s right to expression and a company not willing to put up with your version of the truth.

For people who work in the media, this is extremely problematic. Because if you want your message out there, the vast majority of people are watching and reading on social media. Facebook has 2.7 billion users worldwide. Instagram users top 1 billion today. While arguably the worst social media platform, Twitter has about 326 million people who frequent it.

So if you want your message heard, you have to use these and other social media sites. To cut yourself off from them or to have them cut you off of their platforms is basically the kiss of death for your business.

So are social media platforms allowing an equal and fair expression of thoughts and ideas? That’s laughable. But it is a double-edged sword because you can’t live without them today. Imagine trying to release a breaking news story without using Facebook, Twitter, Instagram et.al.

The companies make all of the right noise about claiming to protect everyone’s right to free speech but in reality, there are no real guidelines, other than the biased views of the owners of each site.

Social media platforms have banned people like Alex Jones and Louis Farrakhan for their extremist views and most people rejoiced at seeing them go. But while the social media companies have the right to ban them, but banning isn’t the answer. And while many Progressives were rejoicing at Jones’ banning, they’re losing sight of the simple fact that this can come back to bite them.

What if some very conservative media types invent a new social media platform that becomes all the rage. And they begin to ban or censor more liberal trains of thought? Banning people and thoughts can be a slippery slope. Of course, there are and always will be exceptions to the rule. If someone is advocating the murder or killing of anyone, regardless of their stance on any political or social issue has no argument for remaining.

First, they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out— because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me

Personally, I can’t stand a lot of what I hear and read on the internet these days. But I choose to click somewhere else. Banning people isn’t the answer. And while Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram can be an absolute sewer at times, they are a necessary evil and yes, we’ll be posting the links on them as soon as we publish.

Am I mad over this unwinnable situation? Of course. But is there another way to survive in the media? Right now no. So you log on and slog on and “do the best you can.”

“Hey did you the crap that ____ just posted on Twitter? There ought to be a law.”

Photo: NEWSREP

Getting Back to the A-B-Cs of Land Navigation – Resection

For the benefit of some of the aspiring members of the Special Operations community, we’ve been going back to the basics of passing Land Navigation. This was after a recent article that stated the Army has noticed a lack of expertise at junior NCOs with a map and compass.

Waiting until one gets to Selection isn’t the time to learn that your Land Navigation skills are not up to snuff and will result in a very long face especially in SFAS once you experience the loveliness of Hoffman. As we mentioned in our piece last week three of the biggest issues that stop candidates from being selected are Physical Fitness Preparation, Rucking, and Land Navigation.

SFAS will combine all three of those issues in the very early days of the course, as candidates will be running for time, rucking and then join the three into the Land Navigation course, known as the Star Course in Hoffman.

Today, we are going to look at the way to find your location if you are unsure of your exact map placement. And before you say “I’ll never get lost that way!” I’ll say this, ‘wait until you get there first.’ There is going to be times in the course that you won’t be certain of your exact location. If you are unsure of your exact location, you can find your location easily if you can pick out some distant landmarks. It is called Resection.

Resection is defined as the method for finding your exact location on a map by determining the grid azimuth to two or more well-defined locations that can be pinpointed on the map. For greater accuracy, the desired method of resection would be to use three or more well-defined locations.

For the purposes of our practical application, we used only two however, obviously, three or more is ideal. There are three methods of using resection, using the map and compass method, the straightedge method and the modified method. In this exercise, we used the map and compass method, but we’ll go over the other methods as well.

Map and Compass Method

Orient the map using the compass and terrain association
Identify two or three known distant locations on the ground and mark them on the map.
Measure the magnetic azimuth to one of the known positions from your location using a compass.
Convert the magnetic azimuth to a grid azimuth.
Convert the grid azimuth to a back azimuth. If the magnetic azimuth is less than 180 degrees add 180. If the azimuth is more than 180 degrees subtract 180.
Using a protractor, draw a line for the back azimuth on the map from the known position back toward your unknown position.
Repeat the same steps for a second position and a third position if desired.

The intersection of the lines is your location. Determine the grid coordinates to the desired accuracy, an eight-digit grid being the preferred accuracy for our purposes.

Straightedge Method:

To accurately find your position, the successful navigator must:

Orient his map using his compass and/or terrain association
Locate at least two known distant locations or prominent features on the ground and mark them on the map.
Lay a straightedge on the map, in this case using the compass and a known position as a pivot point.
Rotate the straightedge until the known position on the map is aligned with the known position on the ground.
Draw a line along the straightedge away from the known position on the ground toward your position.
Repeat the same process using a second known position that you can see from your location.

Where the intersection of the lines meets on the map is your location. Determine the grid coordinates to the desired accuracy. You then should be able to get an eight-digit grid coordinate and find your way to your point.

Modified Method:

The modified method is the least preferred method but is useful in certain situations. If you’re not certain of your exact location but are located on a linear terrain feature such as a road, creek or similar body of water, this can pinpoint your position.

Orient the map using a compass and/or by terrain association.
Locate a point in the distance that can be easily identified on the ground and on the map.
Determine the magnetic azimuth from your location to the distant known point.
Convert the magnetic azimuth to a grid azimuth.
Convert the grid azimuth to a back azimuth, using the add or subtract 180 accordingly depending on the degrees.
Using a protractor, draw a line for the back azimuth on the map from the known position back toward your unknown position.

Your location is where the line on the map crosses the linear feature. Determine the grid coordinates to the desired accuracy, for our purposes an eight-digit grid coordinate.

For our video demonstration, practical exercise, we were moving along our azimuth and came across a railroad track. Just barely visible in the far distance is a wind turbine that sits high upon a hilltop. Once we are able to locate the wind turbine on the map, we take an azimuth, using our compass, and determine the grid azimuth.

Then we draw a back azimuth using the “more than 180 degrees subtract 180 or less than 180 degrees add 180” rule and draw a line on our map. Where the line intersects the railroad line is our exact location.

If this were close to our point during a Land Navigation course, this would be a prime attack point as you’d have a very good place to search for the point. However, if you’re still far from your point, it is a great place to check your exact location and ensure that you’re heading on the correct azimuth.

Check out the short video from two years ago and see how it works out. If anyone has any questions, feel free to email me [email protected] or at my Twitter account @SteveB7SFG

Photos courtesy of DOD, Video: Author

Special Operations Forces Selection PT Preparation Week 10, Day 6

It is Leg Day at the gym. Starting with Squats – (front, dumbbell goblet, and barbell), then some lunges and the weighted sled push.

And then finish the workout with a five-mile run in 40 minutes or less. Mark your progress down in your workout log book and stretch well after the session.

Training:

Continue to prep for the UBRR.

3 x Front Squat 20-15-12 reps (lighter weight)

3 x Goblet Dumbbell Squats 20-15-12 reps (lighter weight)

3 x 10 Barbell Squats

3 x 10 Deadlifts

3 x 10 Dumbbell Lunges

3 x Weighted Sled Push or Fireman’s Carry

3 x 10 V-Ups (Lying on the floor)

5-mile run (40-minute maximum)

Stretch well after completion

Will the Surfaced Video Evidence Clear Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher?

Opinion: In a stunning turn of events, the defense in the upcoming court-martial case of Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher is preparing to release helmet cam footage they say will exonerate their client.

Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA) who has been a very vocal supporter of Gallagher is planning to show members of Congress a video later this week from a Navy SEAL’s helmet camera. Hunter believes the footage will clear Gallagher on war crime charges he faces when his trial begins later this month.

Once again, Kristina Wong, from Breitbart News was the first on the story. On Sunday she spoke with Michael Harrison a spokesman for Hunter and he said, “When other members of Congress see the video as he has seen it, that it’s going to shed light on the situation as a whole and the case that the Navy is presenting against Chief Gallagher.”

The video has been placed under a protective order by the judge as to guarantee Gallagher the right to a fair trial. No one is allowed to see the footage until it is released during the court-martial.

However, Gallagher’s attorney Tim Parlatore was granted an exception to this rule for the purpose of showing the contents to Hunter and any other member of Congress who are taking an interest in this case. Parlatore successfully argued that both the prosecution and NCIS have been suspected of leaking damaging material to Gallagher’s case to the media.

“So many other members of Congress have expressed an interest in this case that they needed to see the full evidence at hand, and Congressman Hunter strongly believes that the video evidence is to Gallagher’s benefit, and not to his detriment,” Harrison added.

Parlatore in describing the video contents to the court says the two-minute clip from the helmet cam shows the wounded ISIS fighter being dragged off the hood of a military vehicle by Iraqi soldiers. Gallagher asks the Iraqis if the fighter is ISIS. When told that the wounded man in indeed ISIS, Gallagher then says, “OK, I got him.” He then cleared away the crowd, gots out his medical kit, and began to treat the wounded man’s leg.

After watching the video, Rep. Hunter was convinced of Gallagher’s innocence.

“Gallagher provided medical attention to an ISIS terrorist,” Hunter said in his Instagram post. “He tried to save his life — that’s what it shows. Eddie Gallagher’s going to be exonerated.”

This is where the story gets interesting. Does the two-minute video go all the way thru the act of Gallagher treating the wounded ISIS fighter until he dies from his wounds?

Because the fact that Gallagher initially began treating the wounded fighter has never been in doubt. Navy Times detailed the events according to eyewitnesses:

Later, another SO1 who was trained in battlefield medicine told NCIS that he remembered watching the other SEAL corpsman treating the detainee, who appeared to have suffered a leg injury and struggled to breathe, possibly from “blast lung,” a condition that often affects those who survive explosions.
He watched as the SO1 inserted a chest tube while Gallagher, using a special kit, performed a cricothyroidotomy — or “cric” — a simple and rapid surgical method for opening up a blocked airway by inserting a tube through an incision in the cricothyroid ligament, according to records provided to Navy Times.
Gallagher also was present when the prisoner received a trachea tube, two chest tubes and a Sternal Intraosseous Infusion, which bores through bone to reach veins when other IVs won’t work, records indicate.
That SO1 told NCIS he left as the other two SEALs continued working on the prisoner, although other interviews and the prosecution’s own legal filings in the case portray a chaotic scene, with memories about the incident often jumbled by all the witnesses.
In his statements to NCIS, the LPO said he later returned to the area, rounded a parked Humvee and spotted Gallagher kneeling on the right side of the wounded teen.
He insisted that he then saw the chief “stab the ISIS fighter multiple times in the right side of the neck” in a manner that “was in no way a medical procedure,” according to an NCIS report.
He described Gallagher’s knife as the same weapon the chief always carried in a leather sheath. He told NCIS it had a blade a few inches long, although photographs of the weapon make it look stubbier.
The LPO told the agent that an SO1 who remained to assist Gallagher with the medical care was “freaking out a little bit over what Eddie just did” but there was nothing anyone could do “because the subject was dead.”

Was the act of what one witness saw the act of inserting a trach or chest tube? Or did Gallagher suddenly go from potential lifesaver to murderer in a split second? His supporters point out that it is inconceivable that Gallagher would go from trying to save the man’s life to kill him with his knife just seconds later. And that much is true. But sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction.

The message that Gallagher sent to another SEAL where he allegedly said that he killed the ISIS fighter with his knife was either just braggadocio on his behalf or an admission of guilt. But another SEAL testified that Gallagher did stab the ISIS fighter, but after he was already dead.

A Marine who was there but declined to assist in the NCIS investigation stated that he saw no stabbings in the neck and chest area and that the ISIS fighter died from his wounds and not anything that Gallagher did.

However, another SEAL said that he was only about a foot away from the prisoner when Gallagher pulled out his knife and stabbed the boy two or three times in the neck.

The truth lies in between there somewhere. Gallagher, his defense team as well as his family believe that these allegations are nothing more than the results of “bad blood” between the senior chief and the younger SEALs who chafed under his leadership style.

Which is why this two-minute video is extremely important to both sides in this case. If it shows everything up to and including the ISIS fighter’s death, then the manner in which he dies will determine Gallagher’s guilt or innocence. And without this conviction, the charges that he shot unarmed civilians will quickly seem like a witchhunt. If it only shows the initial treatment of the wounded fighter, then both sides are back to square one.

“The truth will set you free” or maybe not.

Photo: US Navy

Special Operations Forces Selection PT Preparation Week 9, Day 7

Back in the gym this Saturday morning for a shoulder and back workout. Towel pull-ups if you have no access to ropes or climbing ropes if they are available. Followed by a four-mile run. Log your numbers down in the workout notebook

Training:

More Preparation for the UBRR:

3 x 10 Lat Pulldowns, rear

3 x 10 Barbell Dead Lift

3 x 10 Wide Grip Pull-ups

3 x 10 Towel Pull-ups

3 x 10 Seated Rows

3 x 10 Dumbbell Side Raises

3 x 10 Seated Bent-Over Delt Raise

3 x 10 Dumbbell Shoulder Press

3 x 10 Arnold Dumbbell Press

4-mile run

Stretch well after completion