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Israeli military officials said their bombardment of Gaza may “intensify” in the final hours before a four-day cease-fire begins early Friday — as reports say Hamas morale has plummeted, causing many terrorists to retreat south. “[It’s] business as usual,” said Lt. Col Richard Hecht, a spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), told reporters Thursday. Artillery airstrikes “may even intensify” in the coming hours, Recht added, according to NBC News. Israeli shells have been reported falling north of Gaza and in the southern city of Khan Younis Thursday, according to the BBC, while heavy fighting is still raging in northern...

Ukrainian strikes on Russian rear areas are "demonstrably degrading" the morale of Russian forces in Ukraine, and this "could threaten the stability of Russian defenses on multiple critical areas of the front," the ISW said.... The ISW said morale issues can quickly intensify and spread among Russian frontline units if one unit under pressure breaks, which in turn could "spread panic" and "significantly reduce the combat effectiveness of other Russian forces." "A broken Russian frontline unit would threaten the integrity of other frontline defenses, and such a break in the Russian frontline would provide a vulnerability that Ukrainian forces could...

The conflict was sparked when troops from Dagestan - a poor, mountainous region of southern Russia disproportionately affected by the Russian army's conscription drive late last year - took umbrage with the arrival of the 'Kadyrovites', who are particularly vocal on social media and were allegedly in town to film propaganda clips. Around 8pm local time, a fight broke out between the two groups. The NRC said: 'During the quarrel, one of the occupants opened fire in the air from a small automatic weapon. 'In the course of the fight, one of the occupiers was inflicted with numerous stab wounds...

6-pack: Box contains cans of "Leopard Beer". https://olaf.fi/collections/frontpage/products/olaf-leopard-beer-sixpack-coming-soon

Things are not looking good for far-left hosts at MSNBC. According to a new report morale “is in the toilet” after host Tiffany Cross was let go by the network. Far-left hosts are worried that network executives won’t have their backs. One insider said that MSNBC is “trying to go straight down the middle.”Morale at the left-leaning network “is in the toilet” and its liberal hosts are now worried about network execs not having their backs because of how Cross was allegedly treated. “People are scared. The consensus is that [MSNBC president Rashida Jones] is trying to unmake MSNBC and...

From the Podcast of the Lotus Eaters - Carl Benjamin (ex Sargon of Akkad) Talking about how the performance and even structure of the Russian Army is determined by its low status in Russia's pecking order, to the point that even theives (the Russian Mafia) rank higher, and absurdly (this is a real life Monty Python sketch), that the mafia collects protection money from soldiers, officers and military bases. And much more.

Vice President Kamala Harris continues to lose staff with the departure of yet another high-ranking member of her team. Kate Childs Graham, Harris' chief speechwriter, is leaving the vice president's office at the end of the month, sources told Fox News. A White House official told Fox News, "Kate is leaving the office, but not the family. The vice president is grateful for her service to the administration." "We are excited for her next step," the official added. This is far from the first resignation for the vice president's team. The office has seen a virtual exodus over the course...

Defense Secretary Mark Esper fired Navy Secretary Richard Spencer Sunday over his handling of the case of a Navy SEAL who posed for a photo next to an Islamic State terrorist's corpse in Iraq, and the SEAL will be able to keep his Trident pin, a Pentagon spokesman said Sunday. https://www.foxnews.com/politics/navy-seal-eddie-gallagher-review-board-trump-interference  

KYIV, Ukraine—As the Russian shells and rockets rained down on them in the frontline town of Debaltseve in February 2015, Ukrainian troops began to receive curious, anonymous text messages on their cellphones. “Your comrades nearby already left their positions, so you should leave yours as well,” one message read. The messages also claimed that Petro Poroshenko, Ukraine’s president at that time, as well as Ukrainian military commanders, had “betrayed” their soldiers. The Ukrainian military later concluded that Russian military forces had taken over the local cellphone network with mobile jamming stations. The text messages were part of a psychological operation...

For the first time in its 250-year history, a woman will be joining the ranks of the Marine Corps as an infantry officer, the U.S. military said Thursday. The lieutenant, whose name was not revealed, is expected to graduate from the grueling, 13-week infantry officer course Monday, the training center said in a statement released to The Washington Post. ABC News confirmed the historic first. Three dozen women have attempted to complete the course, and all but one have failed. About 25 percent of all trainees do not complete the course. The Pentagon opened up all ground combat roles in...

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Navy Secretary Ray Mabus has raised a few eyebrows with some of the names he has picked for naval ships. Why, critics questioned, would he name a ship in honor of the late gay rights leader Harvey Milk or after former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords when there are plenty of military heroes to choose from?

Feb. 09, 2017 - 2:53 - Texas congressman weighs in on 'America's News HQ'

We all have cracked jokes about the United States Postal Service, especially about their workers “going postal.” Most postal workers you’ve encountered are probably lethargic, short-tempered, half-asleep, or just plain rude. Well, that could be due to their work environment. These people are miserable, which is what the USPS painfully discovered when they gave Gallup to conduct this survey at the cost of $1.8 million (via Inside Sources):The topline results were obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request after the USPS declined to provide the data to InsideSources when asked in January. Postal workers reported strong job dissatisfaction, and...

The Army’s top general says military forces on the ground face a high level of risk if the United States gets into a large-scale conflict against a power such as Russia or China. Testifying Wednesday on Capitol Hill, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley ... a “great power war” against one or two of four countries – China, Russia, Iran and North Korea – .. the Army’s readiness is not at a level that is appropriate for what the American people expect to defend them.

Cruz: Obama 'More Interested in Promoting Homosexuality in the Military Than He Is in Defeating Our Enemy'Morale in the U.S. military has “plummeted” in recent years because President Barack Obama “doesn’t support our soldiers,” won’t even name the enemy “radical Islamic terrorism,” and is “more interested in promoting homosexuality in the military” than in “defeating our enemy,” said Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas).During a conference call with Bishop E.W. Jackson of the National Emergency Coalition (NEC), Senator Cruz said, “You look at the military and one of the things we’ve seen is morale in the military under the Obama administration has...

President Obama is trying to destroy America’s military from within and it’s not an accident. These are the words of Army Maj. Gen. Robert Dees. Dees said it’s all part of a massive “social engineering” experiment and the end result will destroy the nation’s ability to defend itself. “Not only are we losing physical readiness to fight, we have to fix the problem of moral readiness,” he said on a panel chaired by Lt. Gen. Jerry Boykin (US Army-Ret.). “I think the moral readiness of our forces is even more important than the physical readiness, which is very low,” Dees...

Looking at the results you would think the results of the Military Times survey of troop morale couldn’t possibly be accurate. Released last December, the numbers were brutal. In response to the statement, “The senior military leadership has my best interests at heart,” only 17% agreed, down from 53% in a previous survey conducted in 2009. As for, “Overall officers in the military are good or excellent,” only 39% agreed, down from 78% in the 2009 survey.

http://www.barnhardt.biz/         09/15/2015 A Letter From Another Good Man Calling It Quits on the Former USA and the Army (Just over the transom… Emphases mine.) Dear Ann, In response to your post “There Must Be A Reckoning” I can only say that I am also one of those who have failed to do justice. I have kept hoping that someone somewhere would notice what was going on and put a stop to it. I have also had the despairing thought of “what can I do about it? I am just one man.” I spoke with my new Battalion commander this weekend...

Last month, Gen. Ray Odierno, outgoing Army chief of staff, and Gen. Mark Milley, his successor, testified to the difficulties faced by the Army. I’d like to make the same points by telling a story. **********snip************ The Obama administration just announced a 40,000 reduction in the Army’s ranks. But the numbers don’t begin to tell the tale. Soldiers stay in the Army because they love to go into the field and train; Defense Secretary Ash Carter recently said that the Army will not have enough money for most soldiers to train above the squad level this year. Soldiers need to...