The FReeper Foxhole Looks at Lessons Learned from Enduring Freedom(10/2001-3/2002)-July, 11th, 2005

U.S. Naval Institute, Proceedings ^ | July 2002 | Dr. Milan Vego

[SAMWolf]

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Grant them a safe and swift return...

Bless those who mourn the lost.
.

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for all those serving their country at this time.

.................................................................. .................... ...........................................

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What Can We Learn from Enduring Freedom?

The key to success in Afghanistan was U.S. carrier air power—here, an F/A-18C Hornet launches for a combat mission from the USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67). Still, the conflict revealed some serious problems. The U.S. military is in danger of learning some false operational lessons by overemphasizing technology and targeting.

Operation Enduring Freedom was highly successful, accomplishing most of the stated U.S. strategic objectives. The fundamentalist Taliban regime collapsed in a matter of weeks, and the Afghani people enjoy far more freedom now than at any time during the past 20 years. The al Qaeda international terrorist network and its supporting structure in Afghanistan have been seriously, if not fatally, disrupted. Thousands of Taliban and al Qaeda fighters were killed or captured. The U.S.-led victory was relatively quick and achieved at the cost to the United States of only 31 killed and fewer than 100 injured. Yet despite these successes, some serious political and security problems remain in Afghanistan.



Operation Enduring Freedom confirmed that the relationship between policy and strategy remains the most critical factor in conducting a war. Policy always dominates strategy, and clear, militarily achievable political objectives are critical for ultimate success in any conflict. Determining a desired end state is the first and most important step before the use of military sources of national or coalition power. Mistakes made in policy are hard to overcome by strategy and operational art.


Aviation ordnancemen move a 1,000 pound bomb onto the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) in preparation for strikes against al Qaeda terrorist training camps and military installations of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan on Oct. 7, 2001. The carefully targeted actions are designed to disrupt the use of Afghanistan as a base for terrorist operations and to attack the military capability of the Taliban regime.

The operation showed a high degree of professionalism and dedication by all service members. U.S. air power was undoubtedly the key factor—although not the only one—in the U.S.-led victory. Smart munitions, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), satellite communications, and advanced information technologies were used extensively and successfully during the conflict. The operation, however, revealed some potentially serious problems in the application of operational warfare. Moreover, the U.S. military is in real danger of learning some false strategic and operational lessons from the conflict.

Desired End State and Strategic Objectives

Any military action with a strategic objective and intended to end hostilities requires the determination of a desired end state by the highest national leadership. Such guidance should state in clear terms what political, diplomatic, military, economic, informational, and other conditions should exist in a theater after the end of the hostilities. Only afterward can strategic objectives be determined.


Four B-52H Stratofortress bombers taxi for take off on strike missions against al Qaeda terrorist training camps and military installations of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan on Oct. 7, 2001, during Operation Enduring Freedom

The broader the desired end state, the greater one's flexibility to determine strategic objectives and to modify, refine, or alter them in the course of a conflict. Also, by articulating a militarily achievable desired end state, the highest national leadership would be in a much better situation to measure the progress of a campaign or major operation.

The United States had two courses open in determining the desired conditions at the conclusion of Enduring Freedom: the establishment of a commonly accepted central government in Kabul or a country fragmented along ethnic lines. The establishment of a central government would lead to the end of civil war, free elections, and the start of economic reconstruction and recovery. Such a situation, while highly desirable for both political and military reasons, is extremely difficult to create given the country's recent history. A fragmented Afghanistan perhaps is a more realistic ultimate outcome. Yet such a situation most likely would lead to greater instability in the region as the neighboring powers support their proxies and try to carve up spheres of influence in the country. Ironically, a fragmented state would reduce the possibility of the emergence of another radical Islamicist regime that could provide safe haven for international terrorist networks such as al Qaeda. Also, a fragmented Afghanistan would be too weak to pose a serious threat to any of its neighbors, although it would not serve as a buffer between competing powers. Other aspects of the desired end state could include the creation of conditions for the country's economic reconstruction, significantly reducing the production of opium, and the appeal and influence of militant Islam on the Afghani population.


A U.S. Air Force B-1B Lancer bomber takes off on a strike mission against al Qaeda terrorist training camps and military installations of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan on Oct. 7, 2001, during Operation Enduring Freedom

The U.S. national strategic objectives in the war against international terrorism include the destruction of all components of the al Qaeda network worldwide and other radical groups dedicated to attacking the United States and denying the terrorists safe havens and other forms of support. The ultimate objective of these efforts should be to reduce drastically the ability of international terrorist groups to inflict political, economic, psychological, and other damages on the United States and its allies.

The task of Commander in Chief, U.S. Central Command (CinCCent), was to translate these national strategic objectives into strategic objectives for the theater. On 7 October 2001, President George W. Bush announced that the U.S. military action was designed to disrupt the use of Afghanistan as a terrorist base of operations, to attack the military capability of the Taliban regime, to bring bin Laden and other al Qaeda leaders to justice, and to prevent al Qaeda's network from posing a continuous terrorist threat.

Method of Combat Force Employment


Northern Alliance soldiers watch as US air strikes pound Taliban positions in Kunduz province near the town of Khanabad.

Even in an undeveloped theater such as Afghanistan, strategic objectives usually cannot be accomplished in one fell swoop. Therefore, the planners work backward to derive intermediate operational objectives. In a conventional war, the accomplishment of each operational objective would require planning and the conduct of a major operation. The ultimate strategic objective was accomplished through a single major offensive air operation and series of major tactical actions aimed at seizing the northern, eastern, southern, and western parts of Afghanistan. The unique feature of the operation was that each of the four operational objectives on the ground was accomplished through a major tactical action rather than a major operation. Enduring Freedom can be considered a counterterrorist campaign, the first such in history.

Critical Factors and Center of Gravity

In any conflict, the optimal use of one's military and nonmilitary sources of power is achieved by focusing on defeating or neutralizing an enemy's center of gravity (COG). For any military objective, there is a corresponding center of gravity. The higher the level of war, the smaller the number of COGs because there are fewer—although larger—objectives to be accomplished. At the strategic level, there is a single COG, while at the operational and tactical levels normally multiple COGs exist.



A COG always is found among an enemy's critical strengths, never among his critical weaknesses. It cannot be identified in isolation from a specific military objective to be accomplished. Both the objective and its corresponding COG are related closely. Whenever the objective changes, the enemy's critical strengths and weaknesses must be reevaluated as well. This, in turn, would require modification or refinement of the existing COG, or in case of a drastic change in the scope and the content of an objective, identification of a new COG.



For U.S. planners, the enemy's strategic center of gravity was the leadership of al Qaeda and the Taliban—and their will to fight. Because the Taliban regime was largely dependent on al Qaeda for its own survival, bin Laden and his inner circle represented the most important part of the enemy's strategic center of gravity. In many cases, an enemy's will to fight can be degraded seriously by inflicting on him a series of defeats in the field. This is hard to achieve when fighting fanatics such as hard-core Talibans or al Qaeda fighters. The only way to accomplish one's objective is by physically eradicating or capturing the leadership. Reportedly, of the 20 to 25 close associates of bin Laden, so far only one-third have been eliminated or captured. At least 15 top aides of bin Laden are in flight. Most of the 550 al Qaeda members held in Kandahar or Guantanamo are foot soldiers. As long as the leadership is at large, the ultimate strategic objective in Afghanistan will be difficult to consolidate.

In planning and executing a campaign against terrorists, one's efforts should be focused against an enemy's strategic COG. In contrast to a conventional war, an international terrorist network's leadership must be physically eradicated or at least captured. Otherwise, it is difficult to consolidate and exploit one's strategic success.



In Afghanistan, for each of the operational objectives there was a corresponding COG. Initially, the Taliban fighter aircraft and surface-to-air missiles were operational COGs. Subsequently, the Taliban and al Qaeda forces defending the northern, eastern, southern, and western parts of the country also were considered operational COGs.

[SAMWolf]

Geographic Positions and Distances

The conflict in Afghanistan reconfirmed the enduring value of favorable military positions in planning, preparing, and executing major operations or campaigns. The U.S. maritime forces, land-based aircraft, and ground forces and their logistical supplies had to be moved from staging areas—in some instances a dozen of thousands miles away.


U.S. special forces troops are using pack animals to carry equipment as they work with members of the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom

In the initial phase of the operation, the U.S. military lacked adequate host-nation support to insert its ground forces and tactical land-based aircraft into the area adjacent to Afghanistan. Hence, the U.S. Navy's carrier battle groups deployed in the Arabian Sea played a critical role in the initial phase of the operation. They made subsequent successes possible by carrying out the major part of the initial sorties. Without their contribution, the collapse of the Taliban regime would have taken longer. A combination of long distances and the short effective range of the aircraft, however, limited carrier aircraft to an average of 100 attack sorties per day. In addition, they needed a large number of tanker sorties to reach their targets. The carrier-based aircraft flew some 500 miles each way. Similarly, the B-1s and B-52s that flew from Diego Garcia and the B-2s from the United States required heavy use of in-flight refueling and significant diplomatic efforts in securing basing and overflight rights. The B-1s and B-52s had to fly a total distance of some 5,500 miles and each of their trips lasted 12 to 15 hours.


U.S. special forces troops ride horseback as they work with members of the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom

The conflict in Afghanistan confirmed some old lessons, such as the importance of geographical positions and distances on the outcome of a major operation. While information has an ever-increasing effect on the factor of space, one's forces still have to be moved at a relatively low speed and over a large space. They also must be supplied and sustained to overcome the factor of space and time. Hence, it is preposterous to claim that the geography and distances are somehow devalued. The United States was able to project its power over many thousands of miles from home bases and sustain that power for a long time. Even the ability of the United States to project power was limited, however, because of lack of support from host nations and restrictions imposed on its forces based on land. As in the past, the sea continues to provide the easiest access to many parts of the world's land mass. The conflict in Afghanistan was perhaps the first in which carrier-based air power created conditions for subsequent success in the employment of land-based tactical aircraft.

Operational Command and Control

Sound command organization is one of the most critical prerequisites for the successful employment of forces at any level, but especially at the operational and higher levels. During the operation, CinCCent remained in Tampa, Florida. It was explained that the advances in communications and teleconferencing allow atheater commander to control his forces regardless of long distances involved. Also, it was argued that a modern commander does not need to be physically in the area of operations to exercise effective command and control, or to lead and motivate his subordinate forces. Relocating CinCCent's headquarters to Saudi Arabia would have resulted in a symbolically larger U.S. presence in the region that could potentially lead to more political complications and also increase security risks.


British Royal Engineers of Task Force Jacana destroy a cave complex on the border between the Paktika and Paktia provinces in Afghanistan. This was reportedly the largest explosion set off by the Royal Engineers since World War II.

Some experts assert that what matters is whether the commander can be where he needs to be to influence the conduct of the battle. This view, however, misses a key point in modern command and control at the operational level. A theater-strategic commander should remain at his main headquarters so that he can most effectively monitor and control the events in his entire area of responsibility, not just the part of his theater where combat takes place. CinCCent is concerned not only with the conflict in Afghanistan, but also has to be involved in planning and preparation for possible contingencies in other parts of his area of responsibility. Ideally, he should maintain undivided attention to the strategic aspects of the situation. The ability to use advanced communications and information technologies should not be used as a justification for not establishing an intermediate level of command. Distance and time still matter, and the need for a commander to lead and motivate his forces remains one of the tenets of successful operational leadership.

One solution would have been the establishment of a theater of operations (perhaps called the Southwest Asia Theater of Operations). Such a theater command could have been led by a three-star flag officer directly subordinate to CinCCent and headquartered close to Afghanistan. The boundaries of such a theater would have encompassed Afghanistan and adjacent land areas used for basing of U.S. and other coalition forces, the Arabian Gulf, the Gulf of Oman, the Arabian Sea, and parts of the Indian Ocean. There would be significant improvement in control of subordinate forces deployed in the theater, and a great reduction in the amount of information passing on to CinCCent headquarters.



One of the principal tenets of U.S. command and control is centralized direction and decentralized execution. Decentralization of the decision-making process is a prerequisite for giving subordinates sufficient freedom of action. In contrast, a centralized execution leads to lack of initiative on the part of subordinates and forces the higher commander to take over part of their responsibilities in combat. This is not only bad for morale, but distracts the theater commander. The conflicts in Kosovo and Afghanistan reinforced the trend toward further centralization of command and control in U.S. military. Rather than reinforce decentralized command, advances in information technologies have led in the opposite direction.


Special Forces teams on the ground in Afghanistan, such as this SEAL, greatly enhanced carrier air power's effectiveness by spotting targets. This combination of land and air forces was brutally effective in destroying the Taliban.

Perhaps the most serious problem in the U.S. military today is the continued deterioration of the previously successful and well-proven method of centralized direction and decentralized execution of planning military actions at all levels. Advances in information technologies and communications should lead to further decentralization. The theater-strategic commander should focus on his responsibilities in the entire area of operations and leave the planning and execution of a major operation or campaign to a subordinate theater commander. This not only would preclude the theater-strategic commander from interfering with subordinate commanders, but would prevent his being bogged down in tactical details. The U.S. joint doctrine regarding operational command and control is sound and has proven its value. The problem is that it is poorly applied or is not applied at all. This is a potentially fatal flaw that could cost us dearly in a conflict with much stronger and smarter opponent.

[SAMWolf]

Role of Air Power

The use of U.S. air power was the principal factor in the speedy collapse of the Taliban regime. In the initial phase of the operation, U.S. heavy bombers and carrier-based attack aircraft destroyed the Taliban's air defenses, communications, and military installations. It was not until the fourth week of the offensive, however, that air power shifted to the support of the proxies on the ground. The end of the Taliban regime then came rather quickly because of the combination of the punishing air strikes and the offensive of Afghani allies on the ground. The key to success was the availability of Special Forces on the ground to identify and designate targets for the aircraft. Reportedly, in many cases the response time was less than 20 minutes from the moment a target was spotted to its destruction. Fewer aircraft and fewer sorties were required to destroy targets than in the past. Some missions reportedly involved only a pair of bombers or attack aircraft.


Carpet bombing of Tutukhan hill, northwest of Kabul, during 2nd phase of the U.S air war

The role of Navy carriers as a platform of choice was reconfirmed. There should be no discussion of whether we need carriers or land-based air. We need both because their capabilities are complementary. Without carriers in the area, it is difficult to see how success would have been achieved.

Operation Enduring Freedom demonstrated that the effectiveness of air power against enemy forces on the ground was much higher than in other conflicts because of the extensive use of smart munitions and much more accurate targeting information provided by the Special Forces on the ground. This led to a smaller number of air sorties with much higher effectiveness per sortie. Simply because these tactics proved highly successful in Afghanistan, however, does not mean that they could be repeated with the same results in some other conflict against a much stronger and resourceful enemy. Also, inserting Special Forces on the ground to provide timely targeting information would be much more difficult and riskier in the urbanized environment or territory under tight control of the enemy forces. In short, the use of air power in combination with the Special Forces on the ground can be expected to be successful in some counterterrorist operation or campaign in the future, but not in major regional contingencies.


Northern Alliance fighters and other Afghani proxies saved the United States from having to commit a large ground force. This indigenous presence reduced political complications, but also led to missed opportunities for the United States in the field, where bin Laden and his inner circle might have been captured.

The greatest danger of the lessons from Afghanistan is that U.S. policymakers will rely predominantly on land-based aircraft in resolving the next crisis. Air power should be used in combination with forces on the ground and at sea to achieve the best results.

Targeting

The target selection followed a similar pattern to NATO's Allied Force (Kosovo), where the targets were selected and attacked regardless of whether and to what degree they contributed to the accomplishment of a given military objective. Among other things, focusing on targeting makes it much harder to determine whether and when a certain objective is accomplished and leads to a considerable waste of one's time and resources. As Kosovo showed, such an approach to warfare almost invariably leads to a war of attrition at the operational and strategic levels. This might not be important in operations like Enduring Freedom where victory is assured, but it is a different matter in fighting a much stronger opponent.



Another problem in the use of U.S. air power in Afghanistan was a clear overemphasis on avoiding collateral damages. Reportedly, virtually every strike or attack was approved by CinCCent in Tampa. Lawyers were heavily involved in approving the list of targets to be attacked, at all command echelons. The lawyers participated in determining whether a specific target was used for military purposes, evaluating the propriety of using certain type of munitions, and deciding whether a successful attack on such a target was outweighed by civilian losses. Although the commander made a final decision, this process was unnecessarily complicated, cumbersome, and time consuming. Reportedly, on too many occasions excellent intelligence and great advances in shortening the time for carrying out a strike were severely degraded because of the unduly long time for getting approval from the higher commanders. In some instances, the planners were forced to remove some targets from the list because of legal objections, although they were considered important for military reasons. While concern for avoiding collateral damage is critical for maintaining and sustaining public support for war, a better balance should be found so that legal issues are not allowed to adversely affect the success of a given military action.



Objectives and tasks—not targets—should dominate the planning process at any level of command. A targeteering approach is inherently attritional, and thus leads to a waste of time and effort because targets are selected and attacked without regard to their relationship to tasks and objectives. More seriously, such an approach to warfare, especially at the operational and higher level, cannot but lead to the loss of the broader perspective on the situation on the part of the operational commanders and their staffs. Enduring Freedom reinforced this negative trend toward overreliance on technology and tactics of platforms and weapons over combined arms tactics and operational warfare. Target selection and approval is becoming increasingly complex and time-consuming. The resultant loss of military effectiveness cannot be justified by using specious political and legal arguments.

Ground Forces vs. Proxies



In Afghanistan, proxies on the ground proved to be the key for the speedy collapse of the Taliban regime. The Northern Alliance and Eastern Alliance troops forced the Taliban and al Qaeda forces to concentrate, thereby becoming an easy target for devastating U.S. air strikes. The United States was faced with a choice of either relying on the Northern Alliance and other Afghani proxy forces or introducing a larger U.S. ground force. An advantage of relying on Afghani proxies was a significant reduction of political complications and greater chance for success in the post-hostilities phase. A disadvantage was that the Afghani proxies often had different objectives than the United States. In contrast to the U.S. way of warfare, which seeks clear-cut victories, the Afghanis generally prefer negotiated surrenders and switching sides rather than utterly defeating their domestic opponents.



The fighting at Tora Bora in December 2001 and Shahi Kot in February 2002 was less conclusive for the United States and its proxies than official statements might otherwise suggest. In both operations, a major part of the Taliban and al Qaeda fighters apparently survived and escaped to fight another day. Reportedly, during the fighting in Tora Bora, several hundred al Qaeda fighters escaped over the White Mountains into the poorly controlled northwestern frontier area of Pakistan. Many experts believe that if the United States had committed larger numbers of ground troops during the fighting, bin Laden and his top aides would have been captured. The consequences of the failure to capture the top leadership of al Qaeda are still to be seen.



The lack of a sizable U.S. presence on the ground almost certainly avoided protracted and costly conflict with the majority of the Afghani population because the United States was not perceived as a foreign occupier. At the same time, a high price was paid for using Northern Alliance and other Afghan surrogates instead of sending in sizable U.S. ground forces.

Additional Sources:

www.globalspecialoperations.com
www.defenselink.mil

[SAMWolf]

Role of Technology

Many experts have asserted that the success in Afghanistan proved the value of the "revolution in military affairs." While many new technologies successfully passed the test, it must be remembered that U.S. forces possessed overwhelming power and faced a weak opponent. The enemy never had a chance to challenge air power. The victory in Afghanistan was easy and cheap because Afghanistan had few economic centers and poor infrastructure. The Taliban air defenses were virtually nonexistent and that accounts for the fact that the United States obtained air superiority within hours. The Taliban had few, if any, antiaircraft weapons with the reliability, range, and guidance systems to pose a credible threat against high-flying aircraft equipped with the most advanced sensors. The UAVs were used against almost nonexistent opposition, and Special Forces were allowed to roam freely in the countryside. At sea, the U.S. and coalition forces faced no opposition at all. Nor did the Taliban possess any capability to interfere with or attack U.S. computer networks.



Network-centric warfare enthusiasts assert that their ideas have been proven in Afghanistan because targeting information from sensor to shooter was obtained almost instantly. Critical advances in computer networking and broadband satellite communications enabled intelligence from UAVs and other sources, such as the radars on board the E-8 Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (J-STARS) aircraft, to be combined with signals intelligence and satellite images. But the conflict in Afghanistan only proves that netting of diverse platforms technically works in a nonhostile or low-threat environment. It does not tell us whether U.S. systems are robust enough to operate smoothly in the face of a determined physical and electronic attack by a resourceful and skillful enemy.



Too much emphasis on technology is unsound because the human element of warfare is being dismissed as irrelevant to our modern age. Technological advances have steadily reduced uncertainties in the situation on the battlefield, but they cannot eliminate the Clausewitzian "fog of war" and "friction."



The emphasis on technology and tactics of weapons and platforms already has some serious and negative repercussions. This trend must be reversed soon. Otherwise the United States might find itself outthought and outfought by a relatively weaker but a more agile opponent who pays attention not only to tactics, but also to operational art and strategy and therefore better matches ends, means, and ways to achieve victory.

[SAMWolf]

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Good Monday Morning Everyone.

If you want to be added to our ping list, let us know.

[Cannoneer No. 4]

KAF got rocketed this morning. First time we had been hit in over a year. I discovered that I don't like rockets.

[Aeronaut]

Good morning Snippy.

[E.G.C.]

Good morning, Snippy and everyone at the Freeper foxhole.

[GailA]

Good morning, work up to rain from Dennis. My Dennis would have found it amusing they named a storm after him..he was a avid weather watcher who was better than most weathermen at predicting the weather.

[Soaring Feather]

Good morning everyone.

[The Mayor]

July 11, 2005

Just Watch

Read:
1 Corinthians 4:14-17

Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ. —1 Corinthians 11:1

Bible In One Year: Isaiah 13-15

The young boy looked up at his grandfather and wondered aloud, "Grandpa, how do you live for Jesus?" The respected grandfather stooped down and quietly told the boy, "Just watch."

As the years went by, the grand-father was an example to the boy of how to follow Jesus. He stayed rock-steady in living for Him. Yet the grandson often lived in a way that was not pleasing to God.

One day the young man visited his grandfather for what both knew would be the last time. As the older man lay dying, his grandson leaned over the bed and heard his grandpa whisper, "Did you watch?"

That was the turning point in the boy's life. He understood that when his grandpa had said, "Just watch," he meant, "Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ" (1 Corinthians 11:1). He vowed that from then on he would live as his grandfather did—striving to please Jesus. He had watched, and now he knew how to live.

Is somebody watching you? Are there younger Christians who need to see that it is possible to live for Jesus every day and in every way? Challenge them—and yourself. Challenge them to "just watch." Then show them the way. —Dave Branon

Be aware that someone's watching
As you go along your way;
Your example is remembered
More than anything you say. —Hess

There's no better sermon than a good example.

FOR FURTHER STUDY
The Mind Of Christ

[Valin]

On This Day In History


Birthdates which occurred on July 11:
1274 Robert the Bruce Scotland, King (1328-1329)
1558 Robert Greene Elizabethan dramatist (Friar Bacon)
1754 Thomas Bowdler famous prude, bowdlerized Shakespeare
1767 John Quincy Adams Braintree, Mass, 6th Pres (D) (1825-1829)
1825 Edward Henry Hobson, Brig General (Union volunteers), died in 1901
1838 John Wanamaker merchant (Wanamakers Dept Store)
1841 William Paul Roberts, Brig General (Confederate Army), died in 1910
1897 Blind Lemon Jefferson,Blues musician
1899 E.B. White writer (Charlotte's Web, Elements of Style)
1915 Colin Purdie Kelly US, 1st US air hero during WW II
1915 Yul Brynner(Taidje Khan) Sakhalin Is Japan, actor (King & I)
1922 Gene Evans Hollbrook Az, actor (My Friend Flicka, Matt Helm, Alamo)
1931 Tab Hunter actor (Damn Yankees, Lust in the Dust, Battle Cry)
1931 Thurston Harris Indianapolis, vocalist (Little Bitty Pretty One)
1945 Deborah Harry singer (Blondie) actress (Videodrome, Hairspray)
1947 Jeff Hanna rock vocalist (Nitty Gritty Dirt Band-Mr Bojangles)
1950 Bonnie Pointer singer (Pointer Sisters)
1953 Leon Spinks US, heavyweight boxing champ (1978, Olympic-gold-1976)
1987 Matej Gaspar, Yugoslavia, 5,000,000,000th person (UN)

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Deaths which occurred on July 11:
0155 Pius I, bishop of Rome (approx 140-155)/saint/martyr, dies
1174 Amalrik I, [Morri], French King of Jerusalem, dies
1593 Giuseppe Arcimboldo 1st surrealist painter, dies (birth date unkn)
1804 Alexander Hamilton killed by VP Aaron Burr in pistol duel near Weehawken
1806 James Smith, Irish/US attorney/signer (Decl of Ind), dies at 87
1909 Simon Newcomb celestial mechanics authority, dies
1937 George Gershwin composer (American in Paris), dies at 38
1965 Ray Collins actor (Halls of Ivy, Perry Mason), dies at 75
1971 John W Campbell, US, sci-fi writer/a founder of the genre (Space Beyond), dies at 61
1989 Sir Laurence Olivier acting great, dies at 82
2003 Zahra Kazemi (54), a Montreal-based journalist "shot while escaping" in Iran)
2004 Joe Gold (82), founder of Gold’s Gyms fitness chain, died

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GWOT

Iraq
11-Jul-2003 1 | US: 1 | UK: 0 | Other: 0
US Specialist Christian C. Schultz Ba’qubah Non-hostile - weapon discharge

13-Jul-2004 1 | US: 1 | UK: 0 | Other: 0
US Private 1st Class Torry D. Harris Tikrit Non-hostile - unspecified cause


Afghanistan
A Good Day

http://icasualties.org/oif/
Data research by Pat Kneisler
Designed and maintained by Michael White
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Go here and I'll stop nagging.
http://www.taps.org/
(subtle hint SEND MONEY)

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On this day...
1302 French knights, led by the Count of Artois, routed by Flemish pikemen (Battle of the Golden Spurs)
1376 English "Good Parliament" meets
1533 Pope Clement VII excommunicated England's King Henry VIII
1740 Jews are expelled from Little Russia by order of Czarina Anne
1742 Benjamin Franklin invented his Franklin stove
1781 Thomas Hutchins designated Geographer of the US


1798 US Marine Corps created by an act of Congress
(happy birthday jarheads, drop and give me 50)


1804 VP Aaron Burr kills Alex Hamilton in a pistol duel near Weehawken


1812 US invades Canada (Detroit frontier)
1818 Keats writes "In the Cottage Where Burns Was Born," "Lines Written in the Highlands," & "The Gadfly"
1859 Charles Dickens' "A Tale Of Two Cities" is published
1861 Battle of Laurel Mountain VA-Gen Morris forces confederates to retreat.
1861 Battle of Rich Mountain, VA - Rosecrans defeats confederates
1862 Lincoln appoints General Halleck general-in-chief
1864 Confederate forces led by Gen J Early begin invasion of Wash DC
1868 J C Watson discovers asteroid #100 Hekate
1870 Amstel Brewery opens in Amsterdam
1888 118ø F, Bennett, Colorado (state record)
1888 Pennsylvania's Monongehela River rises 32' after 24 hour rainfall
1892 US Patent Office says J W Swan, rather than Thomas Edison, invented the electric light carbon for the incandescent lamp
1895 Auguste and Louis Lumiere show film for scientists
1895 Charles E Duryea patents a gas-driven automobile
1901 L Carnera discovers asteroid #472 Roma
1905 Black intellectuals & activists organize Niagara movement
1916 1st federal grant-in-aid for state roads enacted
1921 Mongolia gains independence from China (National Day)
1934 FDR became 1st pres to travel through Panama Canal
1941 Vichy-French planes bomb Tel Aviv (kill 20)
1942 1,750 British Lancaster bombers attack the Polish port of Danzig
1042 Polish submarine Orzel escapes from internment and went on to fight the Germans.
1943 7th day of battle at Kursk
1943 Counter attack by the Hermann Goering Armour division in Sicily
1952 Gen Eisenhower nominated as Republican presidential candidate (I Like Ike)
1954 1st White Citizens Council organizes in Indianola, Miss
1955 Congress authorizes all US currency to say "In God We Trust"
1955 New USAF Academy dedicated at Lowry AFB in Colo with 300 cadets
1960 Ivory Coast, Dahomey, Upper Volta & Niger declare independence
1962 1st transatlantic TV transmission via satellite (Telstar I)
1962 Cosmonaut Micolaev set then record longest space flight - 4 days
1962 Fred Baldasare is 1st to swim English Channel underwater (scuba)
1967 Longest All Star Game, NL beats AL 2-1 (15 inn) (Anaheim Stadium, Cal)
1969 Rolling Stones release "Honky Tonk Woman"
1971 Chilean parliament nationalizes US copper mines
1972 American forces break the 95-day siege at An Loc in Vietnam
1974 House Judiciary Committee releases evidence on Watergate inquiry
1975 Chinese archeologists discover a 3-acre burial site with 6,000 clay statues of warriors dating as early as 221 BC
1975 L Chernykh discovers asteroid #2489 Suvorov
1977 Medal of Freedom awarded posthumously to Rev Martin Luther King Jr
1979 US Skylab enters atmosphere over Australia & disintegrates
1981 Neva Rockefeller is 1st woman ordered to pay her husband alimony
1985 Astros' Nolan Ryan, 1st to strike out 4000 (Mets' Danny Heep)
1986 Mary Beth Whitehead christens surrogate Baby M, Sara
1988 Mike Tyson hires Donald Trump as an advisor
1989 President Ronald Reagan sportscasts the All Star Game
1990 NYC police arrest "Dartman" (stabbed over 50 women with darts)
1991 Total solar eclipse is seen in Hawaii
1993 President Clinton wrapped up his visit to South Korea with a visit to the Demilitarized Zone (Hey Bill. Take the lens caps off)
1995 US establishes diplomatic relations with Vietnam
1995 Srebrenica, a UN declared "safe area," falls to the Bosnian Serbs. 7,000 Muslims lined up and killed
1998 AF Lt. Michael Blassie, KIA Vietnam, is laid to rest near his Missouri home after the positive identification of his remains, which had been enshrined at the Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington, Va
1999 2 Egyptian associates of Osama bin Laden were arrested in London. Ibrahim Hussein Abdel Hadi Eidarous (42) and Adel Abdel-Meguid Abdel-Bary (39) part of attacks against US embassies in Africa August 98
1999 In Iran some 10,000 students demonstrated in Tehran with protests in other major cities
2000 Muslim terrorists in Kashmirkilled 3 Buddhist monks
2002 US scientists financed by the Pentagon announced that they had synthesized a virus from scratch for the 1st time.

---

Holidays
Note: Some Holidays are only applicable on a given "day of the week"

Appleton Cheshire, England : Bawming the Thorn Day
Dahomey, Ivory Coast, Niger, Upper Volta : Independence Day (1960)
Mongolia : National Day (1921)
North Belgium : Flemish Day
South Africa : Family Day
Swaziland : Reed Dance Day
US : National Ice Cream Day
Vegetarian Food Day
Captive Nations Week Begins
Cheer up the Lonely Day
National Eye Exam Month

---

Religious Observances
Orthodox : Feast of St Olga, 1st Russian saint the Orthodox Church
RC : Commemoration of St Pius I, 10th pope (141-55), martyr
Ang, Luth, RC : Mem of St Benedict of Nursia, abbot of Monte Cassino

---

Religious History
1533 Clement VII excommunicated Henry VIII for divorcing Catherine of Aragon, andafterward marrying Anne Boleyn. Two years later, Henry broke with Rome and established theAnglican communion as the national religion of England.
1656 Ann Austin and Mary Fisher became the first Quakers to arrive in America Ä andwere promptly arrested. Five weeks later, they were deported back to England.
1952 American missionary and martyr Jim Elliot wrote in his journal: 'Teach me, LordJesus,... not to be hungering for the "strange and peculiar" when the common, ordinary, andregular, rightly taken, will suffice to feed and satisfy the soul.'
1955 American Presbyterian missionary Francis Schaeffer observed in a letter: 'No priceis too high to have a free conscience before God.'
1967 The Vatican reported that Albania had closed its last Roman Catholic church.

Source: William D. Blake. ALMANAC OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1987.

---

Minneapolis Woman Walks Every Street In City

(AP) Minneapolis A Minneapolis woman on Sunday finished a 1,000-mile walking tour of this city.

Three years ago, Francine Corcoran set out to walk every mile of the city's streets. On Sunday, at the foot of the Lake Street-Marshall Avenue Bridge, she said she had reached her goal.

"It's no big thing -- 1,071 miles -- been there, done that," Corcoran, 55, said Friday as she approached her goal.

About 15 friends showered Corcoran with flowers and champagne. She teared up, then exhorted her friends to emulate her: "Minneapolis is a beautiful city -- go on out there!"

Corcoran walked a few miles a day, logging her progress with a felt-tip highlighter on a city map tacked to her basement wall.
Corcoran has made walking part of her life since her childhood in Hokah in far southeastern Minnesota. She regularly walks 3 miles from her home in the Hiawatha neighborhood to her job at the College of St. Catherine in St. Paul.

---

Thought for the day :
"Prejudice is a great time saver. You can form opinions without having to get the facts."
E.B. White

[mark502inf]

The greatest danger of the lessons from Afghanistan is that U.S. policymakers will rely predominantly on land-based aircraft in resolving the next crisis.

LOL--reads like the definiton of danger is: "a threat to the Navy's aviation budget".

[mark502inf]

The unique feature of the operation was that each of the four operational objectives on the ground was accomplished through a major tactical action rather than a major operation

It's all relative. The people doing most of the fighing were the Northern Alliance. Those were the biggest operations they ever launched.

In any event the description of a military action as strategic, operational or tactical is based on whether it achieved strategic, operational, or tactical level effects; not the size of the force involved. A single airplane or sniper aiming at and hitting the right target can achieve a strategic result while an entire corps can be assigned a purely tactical mission.

[Professional Engineer]

Good morning ladies. Flag-o-Gram. Arrrgh.

[w_over_w]

Morning Glory Folks~

Great read . . . it's no wonder we have the best minds in the military, just understanding today's post is an undertaking.

Cannot imagine the difficulty to constantly appraise each type of operation or campaign and determine it's respective contingency. Or, how much technology is needed for the corresponding COG. No wonder they send these guys to "War College".

Lawyers were heavily involved in approving the list of targets to be attacked, at all command echelons.

Subsequently, so much time was consumed that targets were severely degraded and removed from the target package list? I understand the need to prevent collateral damage but how do lawyers determine this? Someone has to explain that one!

[Professional Engineer]

AMAZINGLY SIMPLE HOME REMEDIES
>
> 1. If you are choking on an ice cube, don't panic.
> Simply pour a cup of boiling water down your throat
> and presto. The blockage will be almost instantly
> removed.
>
> 2. Clumsy? Avoid cutting yourself while slicing
> vegetables by getting someone else to hold them while
> you chop away.
>
> 3. Avoid arguments with the Mrs. about lifting the
> toilet seat by simply using the sink.
>
> 4. For high blood pressure sufferers: simply cut
> yourself and bleed for a few minutes, thus reducing
> the pressure in your veins. Remember to use a timer.
>
> 5. A mouse trap, placed on top of your alarm clock,
> will prevent you from rolling over and going back to
> sleep after you hit the snooze button.
>
> 6. If you have a bad cough, take a large dose of
> laxatives, then you will be afraid to cough.
>
> 7. Have a bad toothache? Smash your thumb with a
> hammer and you will forget about the toothache.
>
> 8. Sometimes, we just need to remember what the rules
> of life really are: You only need two tools: WD-40 and
> Duct Tape. If it doesn't move and should, use the
> WD-40. If it shouldn't move and does, use the duct
> tape.
>
> *** Remember***
>
> Everyone seems normal until you get to know them.
>
> Never pass up an opportunity to go to the bathroom.
>
> If you woke up breathing, congratulations! You get
> another chance.
>
> And finally, be really nice to your family and
> friends; you never know when you might need them to
> empty your bedpan.

[w_over_w]

1798 US Marine Corps created by an act of Congress

Happy Birthday! Tear into it boys!

[Soaring Feather]

WOO HOO, Ahoy matey!!

[snippy_about_it]

First time we had been hit in over a year.

Thanks for checking in and letting us know you're okay. Stay safe and keep your head down.