This article is about tactics, plain and simple. Nothing more, nothing less. It will be frank, open, and honest. Nothing herein is construed to malign the bravery and exploits of anyone in any operation, anywhere, at any time. It comes from a former enlisted Marine, so take it for what it’s worth – a former enlisted Marine’s view of Operation Red Wings.
Much food for thought here.
Also see: Notes From HPS.
6 comments:
I watched the movie with disgust.
Wasting good men isn't something that should be rewarded.
Given the circumstances laid out in the movie,the obvious question becomes, why not send the commo guy to high ground while the others guard the herders? Establish commo with HQ and unass the area. No muss no fuss, and no posthumous medal awards.
The title "lone survivor" should refer to the officers brain cells...
Dear Mr. Vanderboegh,
This is the comment I left Mr. Smith."Dear Mr.Smith,
I was USAF SPECOPS For 8 years and embedded in Honduras and Panama for 7 of those. I’ve seen the exact thing myself. We were always deployed in a 12 man team and in 51 missions, we only lost 1 man. We never took chances either. I agree wholeheartedly with your son. We trained with a mixed bag of SPECOPS as well as the Marine Corps. I have the utmost respect for the Marines foremost and then the Rangers next. I know that if I have one of those.next to me and shit goes south I can depend on them. My father was in Korea in the Marines and that’s where I started my military training, lol. Last of all, when did we forget how to skyhook. Going back up is considerably much more important as coming down."
. Paul Paver Jr.
. Cmdr PALG
. III
Having been left by the Army in various places in the world, without proper support, or information, and yes, being sent out on hazardous missions w/o ANY ammunition, I can see how this kind of idiot mission happens. Instead of glorifying it with a movie, and the patriotism angle, some several heads should have rolled, some careers cashiered, and some asses should have been justly kicked. Instead we get Marky-Mark, with his lame acting abilities, and a supposedly hard hitting drama. Yup, hooray for Hollywood. This kind of thing is as shameful as what went down with the Navys' non support of the Marines at Wake Island, and the subsequent hideous treatment of the Marines being slaved to death by the Japanese. And nobody seems to ever learn a damned thing about how stupid it is to put good men out on a limb like that, getting them killed for no other reason than some jack ass that dreamed the mission up forgot every thing he learned before it. Peer review and much advice would prevent a lot of it.
Easy to play Monday morning arm chair quarterback at this point...........
Hey I'm no soldier, but the thought that came to me was that the patrol could have waited until dark to release the prisoners. In the dark, it would have taken the prisoners much longer to get to the village and for the Taliban to climb back up the mountain. The Seals would also have had an advantage by using their night vision goggles, both for escaping and for a firefight. Can someone knowledgeable comment on this?
I think that deciding against executing the prisoners was exactly the right decision. Sometimes you get faced with bad choices.
Steve
The main problem I have with Herschel is that he comes off as if our people have any business whatsoever in Afghanistan, Iraq, etc.
Remember, ALL wars are banker wars.
Post a Comment