Day 3

As punishment for posting an AAR the power died at 2200 Thursday and has not come back on yet. So we have been on generator power ever since. Yesterday I had to go to Lawton for gas and the drive was scary. Every tree in the area has been coated in ice and most have broken in half. The temperatures have not gone above freezing yet so no ice has melted except on the roads. All the power and phone lines are sagging nearly to the ground.

But we are ok. My 4400 watt generator is running like a clock. It produces 3500 watts regular with surge capacity of 4400. After reading the guide and some experimentation we have figured out our setup.

One tank of gas (4 gals) gives us ten hours. We can power one space heater, two floor lamps, tv and dvd. We can use our G Foreman grill/hotplate with either the heater or lamp. So we had noodles and vension stew and borscht for supper. We use the garage as the fridge. We also discovered that our hot water heater is well insulated and we have hot water (well warm this morning) so we have able to take short showers too.

I have I'd'd a couple of changes I think I will put in. One, I need to have some items with easier access for plugging in (aka the fridge). Two, I should get the fuzebox modified so I can plug directly into the house instead of running cords. I also need the switch to prevent returning power from blowing up the fuzebox (you turn the house from grid to generator and back). Three, a bigger generator may be in order. 4400/3500 watts does ok, but I can barely use 2 space heaters on this one. A 5500 watt would be able to handle a bigger load so we could use more of the house (more heaters).

The generator is use is a PowerMax 4400. Its made in China originally for RV power and its pretty good. It cost me 450 dollars through Amazon. It was one of their top ten recommended choices and it was a good buy. It was several hundred dollars cheaper than compable models. It is a pull start but it has started on the first pull each time. You can get these models with an electric start and I may do that for my wife's sake next time. PowerMax also makes 5500 models and that will be my next step up.

Being Prepared

Well, I got my fill of being justified today. I have always been someone who believed that if you do something "just in case" then it usually doesn't happen. And if it does, then you are ready for it. However this does tend to make me have a bunch of stuff that usually just sits around gathering dust waiting for that "just in case" moment.

We had that moment starting at 1100 today when the Ice Storm hit Fort Sill. WE have just finally dug out from the huge snow storm and everyone was thinking we were ready for this one. But it occurred to me that this was an ICE storm, not snow, and that is a world of difference.

Good thing I was thinking ahead a bit. Part of my JIC stockpile is a propane camp heater, two lanterns (one battery and one hand crank), and a generator with all necessary items to provide heat, light, coolness (a fan really), power to charge cell phones and even allow me to watch TV should I be bored. I even have a small gas tank (15 gallons). But since we are moving I had drained it and no gas. But I had a bad feeling about the coming storm and took some lunch time to fill a 5 gallon can.

We were released from Sill at 1300 (I left at 1400 due to an emergency in the unit), and the drive home was really making me nervous. Ever tree was coated in 1/2 inch thick ice and many had snapped off or snapped in half. Power lines were also coated. Being from where I am from, I knew this storm was going to screw up the power royally. When I got home I pull out the emergency locker and got ready.

At 1500 our power went out and it stayed off till about 2100 tonight. The power company couldn't give me a definite time so I got to break out the gear. My wife, who tends to give me grief for some of this stuff, has repeatedly stated that she married correctly after I got everything going. My generator worked fine, we had lights and heat and comfort.

What I learned:

1. Know your gear. I initially tried to used a smaller electric generator (think a big car battery with a built in plug set) to power the heater and figured out that it didn't pack nearly enough juice to do anything. However it was great for cell phones and small stuff. I am still needing to figure out how much stuff I can really use on my generator, but it worked great for the basics.

2. Have your stuff set up. My gear was mostly ready to use, but I had to re-arrange my garage in order to get the generator into a workable place (can't keep it indoors due to exhaust), and get the power cords strung. Spent about 30 minutes outside in an ice storm due to this, not fun.

3. Test gear prior to use. I violated this twice, I hadn't tested my generator or my propane heater. Both worked well, but what if?

4. Back up to the back up. I had several light sources ready if the generator didn't work, and two heaters (well, one heater and the other was a small cook stove but in a pinch it could provide some heat).

5. Have the plan ready. I had already figured out how to use what I had for best effect. In this case, one floor lamp and one space heater in the master bedroom with the rest of the house closed off. Heat is trapped in one area, and the floor lamp gives tons of light. Plus I was able to counteract the loss of heat due to having to crack a door for the power cord by running under several other doors which "sealed the leak" in a manner of speaking.

6. Know you emergency. Figure out what are likely problems in your geographical area for preparing. And then figure out what MAY happen and be ready for that too (ICE in Ok? Who would have thought THAT?). This isn't so hard actually, when you boil it down, most emergencies end up needing the same stuff (food, water, medical supplies, power, commo, tools) so in preparing for one, you can in many case prepare for all.

We were able to be warm and do a lot of stuff (I read some important stuff for my next assignment and Tamara worked on some accountancy paperwork) while some other folks were having to stay in their cars for warmth. And being that my wife is pregnant, I don't like the idea of my wife and baby being in an unheated house should this storm linger. So I have some serious piece of mind.

We Win

Just in case you missed it (and since it certainly didn't make MSM I am sure you did). Yesterday the USMC pulled out its final unit in Iraq and handed it's areas of responsiblity over the the US Army and Iraq Military.

Area of Responsibility? Anbar, part of the Sunni Triangle and most heavily fought over area in Iraq (aside from some areas in Baghdad). No explosions, no attacks, no nothing bugged the ceremony. Which was unlike the one we had for FOB Danger, when we had a rocket attack during the handover (missed of course, but a PR coup for the insurgents).

No more Marines in Iraq and the Army will be down to 50,000 troops by summer's end. Hmmm, sounds like victory to me.

Words that make you go "DAMN"

From General Gulzarak Zadran (Afghan Army General and Mujahideen Commander):

"I should mention here that the Russian Army is a worthless military institution and that no professional soldier will give them a high mark in discipline or the will to fight. They are useless."

I took this quote from "The Other Side Of The Mountain" by Lester W. Grau. He made this statement in 1988. There is a lot to be said for an all volunteer force and this quote hits it home. You can't make a professional military when your basic building blocks are fear and brutality.

Book Review: "Hitler's War"

Hitler's War is the latest Harry Turtledove book. The change in history this time is that the war starts in 1938 when Chamberlain DOESN'T appease the Nazis and Czechslovokia is attacked. That and General Franco doesn't become the head of the Nationalist Forces in Spain (the original leader doesn't die in a plane crash).

First off, I have to say that I loved the concept. I have often wondered how something like this would have played out. Turtledove had some interesting twists such as Poland allying with Germany because they were more afraid of Stalin than Hitler in 1938 (and really who can blame them). He also added the twist where the Germans don't have the plane crash with the invasion plans in Belgium so the attack through the Ardennes Forest doesn't happen and we have a conventional attack through the Low Countries and Belgium instead. End result is another almost successful drive to Paris, but the Germans again can't quite pull it out against an intact BEF/French Army that has comparible numbers and tanks. The fun twist is that in 1938 the Germans were tooling around in Panzer 2 tanks armed with 20mm cannons so not only do the Germans have worse tanks but they have a lot less than in 1940 and are still not quite up to Blitzkreig level stuff. They never are able to break through and can only drive the Allies back.

But the counter is that this book wasn't all that well written. I read the Amazon Reviews and they were mostly negative and I can see why. Very disjointed writing and its execution isn't quite up to his better stuff. I am hoping the sequel is better as I love the idea. Stalin is still blundering around shooting everyone, Poland jumped on the Nazis side, and the Germans start the war on much more equal footing and are not the world-beaters they were in 1940. But I think I am going to wait for the paperback on the sequel though.

The Lord's Resistance Army

This is a REDFOR post about a practically unknown group of terrorists/insurgents/guerrilla fighters that are responsible for destabilizing a rather large chunk of Central Africa. The Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) was founded 16 years ago by a guy named Joseph Kony. It was one of the numerous militias that spun up around the time that a lot of the third world dictators left over from the Cold War starting dying off and their countries spun into civil war.

The LRA got its start 16 years ago in northern Uganda. Its roots are tribal (Acholi), and its started with the usual complaints that the government was favoring other tribes over them. Religion also played a part (this area is where Christians, Animists/traditionalists, and Muslims all meet). Kony started up a revolutionary movement that rapidly got nasty. The Sudanese government provided some support to destabilized Uganda and Southern Sudanese rebels and things got out of hand.

While I would normally go into detail about tactics, weapons and capabilities of this organization there isn't much to hit on. Kony's force is estimated to be less than 1000 hard core fighters, but they have had an impact way out of proportion to their numbers. The LRA has raided Uganda, Central African Republic, Sudan, Congo and Chad in its history (and all them in the last 2 years). They have raided for slaves (for their use and to sell on the slave markets in Sudan, yes they exist), child soldiers (they are one of the big users in Africa), food, supplies, and sometimes just blood. In 2007/08 Christmas season the LRA launched a series of attacks in various countries (mostly Uganda) where LRA fighters hacked dozens of people to death in churches (45 in one attack alone).

The LRA was based out of Garamba National Park in the Congo until early 2008 when Ugandan and Congo/UN troops swept the area. Since then the LRA has been constantly on the move hitting anyone and anything they can, usually civilians.

Despite numerous attempts to make peace with this group, the LRA appears to be a group that needs to be hunted down and wiped out. The main reason negotiations have failed is that Kony has been indited on numerous counts of War Crimes ranging from mass murder to using child soldiers. He is looking at life and since he can't get amnisty he appears to want to go down fighting. Uganda and the Congo are refusing to let the criminal charges go, so this won't end nicely.

This is prime example of how Africa was set up for failure when Europe left. One group with ties to various tribes in several areas has moved from place to place causing huge amounts of suffering and disruption. Kony's extended tribe is spread out over at least two countries and he has recruited followers from a total of five countries. He isn't a problem for one country, but for the whole region.

This is also a great example of the MSM's failure to provide real news. The LRA is something that should be front page and should be a major focus of effort to run down. The UN is kinda sorta involved in finding him, but if the US ran this bozo down and killed or captured him, that would do more good in central Africa than any 10 USA For Africa Concerts would. It would make us a lot of friends and do something tangible for regional security. But its Africa and the US MSM could care less.

Learning To Eat Soup With A Knife

Book review time. "Learning To Eat Soup With A Knife" is a book written about COIN operations (COIN: COunter-InsurgeNy) by a US Army Officer (Lt. Colonel at the publishing time). I don't have the book at hand right now so you will have to forgive me on the name.

This book book is a contrast between two counter-insurgency operations, one successful and one not. In this case its the British in Malaya and US in Vietnam. The book was very good and took a hard look at both sides. The final point is that the British were able to win due to them being a "learning organization" where as the US Army (at the time) was not. This book pulled no punches and I have to admit that the US Army really botched it. When we were fighting in Vietnam we (the Army) did a pretty good job, but we totally fumbled everything else. And that is the whole point of COIN in many cases.

The British had their issues as the book shows. But they had a military much more open to ideas and willing to try everything in order to win. Having a military with vast experience in the "colonies" and a police force and political department with equal amounts of experience and the ability to work together were major points. I found it odd that the British were the ones more open to "bottom up" ideas in this case, but then again I am in a different Army than the one my dad was in.

The thing that really stood out for me was the parallels I saw in the book in modern day. But I am glad to say that the US Army I am in seems to be more in line with the British in this book. Not quite (we had some serious infighting to get the COIN experts listened to in order for things like the Surge, and the Son of Iraq created), but definately better than Westmoreland and the MACV. However, I will put out that we need some serious education in other branches of government. We have some work needed there (and in the Army for working with them).

If you want to get an education on guerrilla warfare, this isn't the book. But if you are interested in some (reasonably) clear explanations of COIN, and what works, and what you need to have to find things that do work (there is no one solution to insurgency, every case is different as the book repeatedly explains), this is a great read. The biggest thing I learned is what factors make an organization a "Learning" Organization. If you have that, you have a military (and government) that can probably pull off a successful COIN operation.