I’m up in the Shenandoah Valley at James Madison University for a two week course on National Security Policy and Regional Implementation.
Don’t expect to have much time to blog as I’ve got five different authors to review tonight starting with Mearsheimer and Walt “The Israel Lobby” from the London Review of Books (March 2006).
The course focuses on the development, content and implementation of U.S. national security policy; examining the system, state and individual level factors that help to shape national security policy.
Yesterday, we covered the concepts of globalization – and the competing worldviews of Idealism vs. Realism…
Today’s subjects covered the international Political Economy – Globalization and National Security. While it was quite interesting to categorize Globalization into 3 phases; Globalization 1.0 being 1492 to 1800, Globalization 2.0 1800 to the mid 20th century and Globalization 3.0 from 1950 to present, I was disturbed that the instructor didn’t want to address my question of what his opinion of Globalization 4.0 might look like.
Tomorrow we look at organizational process, bureaucratic politics and interagency process…
I’ll try to drop a note, but the course load may get in my way!
This has not been a good couple weeks. Our Civil Affairs community has lost another soldier. MAJ Scott Hagerty was killed in action this week.
Unfortunately, the nature of our missions endangers our CA Soldiers daily by placing them deep into the battlefield with the role providing reconstruction efforts.
IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 480-08 June 05, 2008
DoD Identifies Army Casualties
The Department of Defense announced today the death of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. They died June 3 in Zormat, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when their vehicle encountered an improvised explosive device.
Killed were:
Maj. Scott A. Hagerty, 41, of Stillwater, Okla., who was assigned to the 451st Civil Affairs Battalion, Pasadena, Texas.
Pfc. Derek D. Holland, 20, of Wind Gap, Pa., who was assigned to the 228th Brigade Support Battalion, Pennsylvania Army National Guard, Bethlehem, Pa.
For further information on Hagerty, media may contact the U.S. Army Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations Command public affairs office at (910) 432-2035.
For further information on Holland, media may contact the Pennsylvania Army National Guard public affairs office at (717) 861-8468.
Unfortunately, one more of my past students has fallen in combat. Lt. Ammon graduated from one of our classes and deployed to Afghanistan shortly after. Please remember him and his family in your prayers.
Navy Lt. Jeffrey A. Ammon, 37, of Orem, Utah; assigned to the Commander Navy Region Northwest, Bangor, Wash., and was serving in Afghanistan as a member of Provincial Reconstruction Team Ghazni; died May 20 in Aband District, Afghanistan, of injuries sustained from an improvised explosive device.
Bangor Navy engineer killed in Afghanistan The Associated Press
BANGOR, Wash. — A nuclear submarine engineer has been killed by a homemade bomb in Afghanistan, where he was working with a reconstruction team by making small businesses loans.
The Defense Department says 37-year-old Lt. Jeffrey Ammon died Tuesday from injuries sustained while working with the Provincial Reconstruction Team in Ghazni.
He was attached to Navy Region Northwest at Bangor, where a spokesman, Sean Hughes, says Ammon had been in Afghanistan 14 months.
Been a hectic and long couple weeks since my last post, during that time I’ve grown one year older (somewhere in my forties) and put another rotation of soldiers through the wringer of a field training exercise. Dynamics were much different this time, new contractors, new role-players and new chain of command.
We managed to muddle through the gauntlet of VIPs and their entourages and completed a fairly successful training event.
But, I’m recuperating, need some time to catch my breath. Whew…
The weather decided to cooperate with us this week, dropping below the 90’s for the first time in weeks. It was actually beautiful weather for spending the week in the field.
Team 31 successfully completes training.
Wrapped up a reasonably successful week, but noticed a phenomenon that sometimes appears during our training. It seems, that some soldiers get trapped in the past, unable to escape the comfort zone and muscle memory of tactical “kinetic” operations. (Yes, I know, kinetic is no longer the doctrinally correct term). Getting our students to adapt to new techniques can be challenging, for our concepts are hardly ever right or wrong, but rather shades of gray. They have a tendency to go back to old ways of handling new problems.
“When the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.”
For example, in a previous life, if your military role was combat arms, your weapon is your tool. But, in our world our tool is our gray matter, the ability to analyze civil vulnerabilities and creatively link resources and people to solve problems; something that can’t be done at the end of a flash suppressor. A hammer is a single method tool. A weapon is a single method tool. But, the brain is a multi-purpose one, capable of calculating a variety of ways to solve problems.
The team has just completed its long walk and we’re in recovery day. They all did fine, no categorical disasters…
The little piggie that stayed home sustained some minor blister damage, but Doc says they won’t have to remove the toe. Good for me, I guess. Postings will be light this week as I focus on the tasks at hand; keeping the team working on its deliverable.
As soon as the training week is done and I get back home, I’ll catch up on the latest news and events. Hope it isn’t too busy a week filled with nutroots and conspiracy theorists. See you sometime on Sunday…
My postings have been slim the last week as we prepare to enter our next training phase in the field. I’ll be heading out tomorrow morning bright and early and be gone for most of the week.
So, during this time, access to the Internet is sporadic. I won’t be able to participate much. Hope you all can hold on til I get back. I know the world will keep spinning while I’m gone. There will be loads to talk about when I get back.
We just started our next course and latest training cycle today. And I’m glad to report that this batch of Officers will continue the level of absolute professionalism and competency I’ve witnessed over the last year and 1/2. Most of my students are young, but they bring with them the unfortunate wisdom gained from prior combat experience. But, what has really impressed me was their willingness to undergo this new training to become better Officers and to gain valuable skills in international reconstruction and development.
Many foreign countries will benefit from these new Officers when they complete their training, not only the one where combat operations are being conducted. The Army is doing good and beneficial things for other countries – don’t think that all we do is destroy things.
Anyway, with this new class comes longer hours, my posting may suffer. I’ll continue to do my best to keep you all informed.
Added a blog link recently to a buddy’s site. Seems he’s a die-hard Ducati fan and has a small cycle parts business on the side. He’s also a fellow part time instructor with me, so during our last outing in the Pine Bluff region of Carolina, we talked a little about web pages, blogs and other geeky stuff. I have to admit, the machines he’s pictured on his site are exquisite and probably way beyond my means financially, plus I have no concept of what it means to ride a bike. But, if you do Ducati, pay his blog a visit or try Desmotimes.
The last time I rode a two wheeled motorized bicycle I was 12 or 13 on one of those lawn mower engine powered monstrosity with a centrifigal brake and no shocks. I was scared sh*tless.
We’ve come back in from the field a day early. With this weather front moving through, it was determined that our extreme weather plan was lacking and with the prospect of facing tornados in tents, we decided to pack it in a day early. I’ll be heading back to the office today though, to close out the training and account for all our sensative items. You know how it gets, with over 60 students, someone is bound to lose something.
At least we accounted for weapons last night, couldn’t go to bed without being sure someone didn’t accidently throw their M-4 into a duffle bag.
I’ve lost track of the news; have no idea what crap has been going on in the U.S. or the rest of the world. And you know what? I really don’t mind. It boggles the mind and causes internal unrest to watch too much media, never knowing if what they say is true or pure drivel. And spending my day trying to figure it all out gets exhausting.
Anyway, it was great to sleep in a bed last night. Such small pleasures that the average man takes for granted.
Postings this week will be slim as I fulfill another obligation to the Commander-in-Chief. I’ll be spending the next 7 days in the sandhills of North Carolina preparing a select group of Soldiers to develop their negotiating and adaptive leading skills in Stablization and Reconstruction operations.
Enjoy some of my archived posts until I get back online.
If you’ve got time to waste on Youtube, make it worth your while. You want to know what I do and where I’m coming from? Then get away from your TV set, put down that silly self-help book and spend 10 minutes of quality time to understand the power and influence we as American’s can have on really making the world a better place. This video is what I’m about and what I do.
Ham
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