Essays

Jai Hind – A Brief Overview of India’s Army

Michael Cessna July 30, 2022

NOTE TO THE READER: The following is a necessarily brief overview of a top-tier national military force. The opinions expressed are those of the author, and are based solely on “open-source” research. This is the first of a series on national military forces that may not be well-known to the general reader.

Additionally, a version of this article was previously published online, on May 29, 2017, by this author, at the former “Military Gazette” web page (now defunct). This version has been edited and updated, and is published here with the agreement and consent of the editorial staff, as well as this author.

Introduction

The modern Indian armed forces date from 1947, but trying to write even a general overview of the military history of India is far beyond the scope of an article such as this. Indeed, this article can give only the barest overview; thus, any holes that appear are unintentional, and were left out for the sake of brevity.

*Postcard captioned “Gentlemen of India marching to chasten German Hooligans” in English and French, 1914*

India did not lack for professionalism in armed forces when it gained its independence from Great Britain in 1947. Indeed, Indian forces had been fighting under British direction for well over 200 years, since at least 1774AD. Interestingly, this makes the modern Indian Army slightly older than its United States counterpart. Indian troops from across the subcontinent have repeatedly proven themselves the equal – if not the superior – to both British and European armed forces. India’s success as an independent state is directly attributable to the professionalism of both its Civil Service, and its Armed Forces, part of the latter being the subject of this article.

At the time of the Partition of India, the various British Imperial Indian forces were divided between between India and Pakistan; other than the inevitable disruption caused to organizational structures, both new countries inherited highly professional forces, as well as school structures and defense industries. As a result, Indian forces performed very well in their first tests, and ensured India’s continued existence as a nation.

*Indian soldiers of the 9th Battalion, Sikh Infantry test-firing a handgun aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Boxer (LHD 4) – US Navy photo*

Although there would be missteps later on, India’s national integrity has never been seriously threatened over the course of the last seventy years, in stark contrast to many other former European colonies, who seem continually on the brink of complete and utter collapse.

With a total of over 5.137million troops – counting Active, Reserve and Paramilitary – India possesses the fourth-largest armed force in the world, ahead of even the People’s Republic of China, and the second-largest Active Duty force, overall, ahead of the United States. Below, we will briefly glance at India’s army, and will then assess its strategic capabilities.

The Indian Army – “Service Before Self”

Comprising some eighty percent of India’s national forces, the Army is a modern force, striving to upgrade its capabilities to keep pace with the more “public” militaries, such as those of the United States, Britain, France and Germany. However, those states are not India’s adversaries – those slots are taken up primarily by Pakistan and the PRC.

India, by and large, neither starts wars – directly or indirectly – nor seeks conflicts. In the past, however, India has faced attacks from both Pakistan and the PRC; in the former case, several times.

*Indian army infantry vehicles move onto the firing range at Camp Bundela, India Oct. 26, 2009 – US Army photo*

Like most states, the core of India’s armed forces is its infantry. Indian infantry have long been regarded as among the toughest and most capable in the world. India, like the United States, uses a modified “regimental system” within its army, with regiments such as the Madras, the Gurkha’s, and the Sikh Light Infantry (among many, many more) having long and distinguished histories, but those regiments primarily provide well-trained battalions to the Army’s divisional structures (some forty divisions, in fourteen corps), as part of the seven major commands that the Army is structured into, rather than deploy as complete units on the battlefield. These divisions, except for certain specialized units – such as mountain, parachute and several special forces units – are mingled with tanks and artillery to form cohesive battlefield units.

The Army’s F-INSAS program is a development project aimed at reequipping the individual soldier with an advanced suite of combat systems. This program, modeled on the US Army’s zombie-like “Future Force Warrior” program (that has been killed and resurrected so many times, it is now hard to keep track of the various iterations), is perhaps over-ambitious.

*Lance Naik (Lance Cpl.) Fateh Singh, of the 4th Rajput Battalion of the Indian Army confirms the zero of his INSAS assault rifle, Donnelly Training Area, Fort Greely, Alaska, 2007 — US Army photo*

However, the Indian Army demonstrated in 2016 that it has the intestinal and institutional fortitude to make choices that would embarrass other forces, in its acknowledgement that its 5.56x45mm INSAS rifle (no relation to the aforementioned program) simply wasn’t working. The Indian Army’s 2016 requirement is one of the clearest signs, yet, that the end of the “intermediate cartridge” ballistic dead-end is near, as the Army requirement acknowledged the need for a “full-power” (in this case, the venerable 7.62x51mm) cartridge for frontline service.

As a result, the Indian Army inked deals to both purchase and manufacture the AK-203 rifle in 7.62x39mm (a total of 670,000 – 70,000 directly from Russia, with the remainder to be manufactured under license) in Uttar Pradesh, while also purchasing slightly modified SIG Sauer 716 G2 Patrol rifles in 7.62mmNATO for more specialized units. Simultaneously, a deal for over 16,000 Israeli-made NG-7 ‘Negev’ Light Machine Guns – also in 7.62x51mm NATO – was let in 2019, with the first batch of 6,000 arriving in India in early 2021.

While arguments can certainly be made over some of the choices made in the Army’s reequipping strategy, real armies always strive to stay out on the edge of technological development, while also keeping hold of tools and doctrines that have been proven to work, before adopting newer – but untested – concepts. Truly professional forces are able to acknowledge when they have taken a wrong turn, and move forward to fix the issue…That’s a lesson the US military would benefit from remembering.

Army Air

One of the challenges for the Army is its somewhat limited organic aircraft and helicopter assets. As it took the common page from other modern forces, India from the beginning separated its air forces from its ground forces. And, also like many modern armies, the result has been very spotty application of close air support (CAS) to the ground forces. Like all air forces, the Indian Air Force tries, but it is hampered in its efforts by both budgetary constraints and the associated need to focus on that service’s core missions. India is not alone in this issue; the US military discovered the problems inherent in this type of division with its own “Key West Agreement” in 1948, a confused decision that would cause delays and confusions that would impact combat operations well into the 1970’s.

*Mi-35 Hind helicopter, Kandahar, Afghanistan, 2009 – US Air Force photo*

While the Indian Army Aviation Corps maintains a perfectly serviceable fleet of light utility airframes, they struggle with one of the endemic problems of interservice rivalry: while the Indian Air Force (IAF) has perhaps twenty perfectly capable Mi-35 attack craft, and have purchased some 22 AH-64E Apache attack helicopters and 15 CH-47F from Boeing, and have over four-hundred Mi-17V-5’s in service, the lack of dedicated airmobile formations within the Indian Army remains curious, if not worrisome, given that disasters have directly resulted from the lack of a massed airmobile component.

Artillery and Armor

*Arjun Mk II MBT, live demonstration, 2016 – photo by Indian Navy*

On the brighter side, the Arjun Mk II MBT has finally matured. After a rough start to its development cycle, and serious problems in its earlier version, as well as major cost overruns and an epically long (37 years, to be exact) development cycle, the Arjun has matured into a frontline weapon that is in the top tier of combat vehicles. The only real hurdle to its full-scale deployment, as with virtually every army, is money. On the other hand, its deployment, while slow, has finally allowed India to retire its 1940’s-era T-55’s. At the same time, the Defense Ministry settled on a modernizaton and upgrade program for its Soviet-era T-72’s and T-90’s, the better to avoid too unevenly improving systems.

India’s burgeoning economy, however, has allowed plans to significantly modernize its artillery park to move forward with speed. Systems like the Dhanush howitzer, developed to replace the Haubits FH77/B units acquired from Sweden in the 1980’s; the excellent M1954 (M-46) 155mm model, as upgraded by Soltam, of one of the best artillery pieces ever built, with a maximum unassisted range of 27km/16.77mi, and an assisted range of 38km/23.61mi; rounding off the new purchases is the indiginously developed, truck-mounted Pinaka multiple rocket launcher (similar to the US ‘HIMARS‘), designed to replace the BM-21’s and ‘Smerch’ 9K58’s acquired from the Soviet Union. Something DRDO may want to look at is the EVO-105, which the Freedomist recently reviewed.

A serious problem, however, is in India’s IFV park. The ‘Abhay’ (Sanskrit: अभय, “Fearless”) IFV is still in “development hell” (although the incorporation of the 40mm Bofors L/70 gun is an inspired choice for a main weapon of this type). While DRDO has informed Russia that they intend to pursue an Indian IFV, rather than purchase the BMP-3, the Indian Army is stuck, in the meanwhile, with the abysmal BMP-2. The BMP series, generally speaking, has a well-deserved reputation as the worst of the IFV field: its limited range, cramped compartments, horrible ride and poor armor are legendary…well, perhaps “notorious” is a better term. Armor – as has been decisively proven – cannot operate without infantry support, and infantry need something more than a “battle taxi”, as good as the M113 might be. The original models of the US Marine Corps’ LAV-series is another off-the shelf option that would be far superior to the BMP-series.

Combat Support

*Ashok Leyland Stallion 4×4’s of the Indian Army, Himalaya region, 2010*

India’s motorized military support is firmly anchored on three vehicles: the Ashok Leyland Stallion Mk III & IV, the Maruti Gypsy, and the Tatra 815, although the Tatra 815 is slowly being replaced by newer vehicles. These are all solid, highly capable vehicles, supplemented by smaller numbers of more specialized frames, easily the equal of other nation’s vehicle parks in capacity and reliablity.

As well, mine protected vehicles such as the venerable and battle-tested South African Casspir and the domestically-produced Aditya are entering the vehicle pools in increasing numbers, in ackowledgement of the growing threat of IEDs.

Strategic Forces

India, as is well-known, maintains a nuclear arsenal and an ongoing development plan. This arsenal is currently estimated at between 150 and 300 devices. Currently, the known weapons available to be deployed are the short-range Prithvi-I and the intermediate-range Agni-III, with longer-range land-based weapons and MIRVs under development. The K-15 Sagarika SLBM, now operational, is now deployed aboard the INS Arihant…and awaiting sister ships.

*Country’s first under-water- launched Missile B05 (Sagarika) was successfully flight tested from Bay of Bengal off the coast of Visakhapatnam.*

This developmental pace is surprising only to people who lack a grounding on India’s regional security situation. A nuclear deterrent is definitely something taken seriously by the People’s Republic of China. But the main focus is India’s long-time enemy, Pakistan. While the nuclear program was originally more of a prestige program than an operational imperative, increasing instability in the Muslim world, coupled to both Pakistan and Iran’s nuclear programs, as well as both 9/11 and the 2008 Mumbai attack have transformed the nuclear program into a real and pressing project: India has serious reasons to maintain a nuclear arsenal…which is a very serious range issues that need to be solved, lest they get out of hand.

Tactically, however, the main question is the true state of the Indian military’s nuclear, biological and chemical (NBC) program for allowing individual troops to operate in such environments.

Conclusion

The Indian Army is a highly capable, well-disciplined and professional force, with a very long, and honored history. It has repeatedly demonstrated that it is capable of both making hard decisions, as well as admitting its errors, at least to a greater extent than many other top-tier forces. If the Indian Army has any weaknesses, they lay in procurement, which is something the force does not have full control over, although a critical need for a real airmobile component is its worst issue; there are very cogent reasons why virtually all modern militaries have abandoned parachute infantry as primary “first in” forces, in favor of heliborne formations.

The Army well understands that it needs to modernize its forces – too long tied into less-than-capable (to be polite), Soviet-era systems – a task made significantly easier by the increasingly close relationship to Western militaries, militaries that recognize the danger of an unstable, nuclear-armed Pakistan, as well as an increasingly bellicose China.

Armies exist to buy time through intimidation, for political leaders to avoid conflict. But those forces, for their intimidation strategies to work, must be capable of actually following through on their promise of ability.

Ultimately, the Indian Army succeeds in this quite admirably.

The K105HT — An Answer For Ukraine?

Michael Cessna July 23, 2022

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24th of 2022, the Ukrainian military has struggled to hold on against enormous pressure. While there have been successes against the surprisingly anemic Russian juggernaut, the fact is that the conflict has seen the return of massed artillery fires, at a scale and intensity not seen since at least the 1990-1991 Gulf War.

*Derelict Tank in badly shelled mud area, Europe, 1917.*

Artillery, in its many forms, has been a major component of armies since at least the 15th Century. Artillery can cause heavy damage to both attacking forces in an open field, but can also hammer fortifications into a moonscape, if allowed to.

*French Caesar self-propelled howitzer fires into the Middle Euphrates River Valley.*

Like many armies, Ukraine had allowed its artillery establishment to atrophy – despite armies depending on massed artillery for centuries – and it now finds itself desperately scrambling to replace damaged and lost artillery pieces, and scrape together more ammunition. This has seen the first mass deployments for systems such as the French ‘CAESAR‘ 155mm self-propelled howitzer, the M777155mm towed howitzer and the M142 HIMARS Multiple-Launch Rocket System, among others, all supplied by NATO states trying to shore up Ukraine’s defenses.

But none of these weapons – nor their ammunition – are arriving in the quantities Ukraine needs. There may be at least a partial solution to Ukraine’s problem, however:

The EVO-105, now designated the K105HT.

*Improved K105HT during firing drill. Undated photo.*

The EVO-105 is a self-propelled artillery system that originally combined an M101-type howitzer and a Kia KM500 6×6 truck chassis. The first version, manufactured by Samsung Techwin (Hanwha Techwin, since 2015) was unveiled in 2011.

The EVO-105/K105HT uses an assembly of long-proven systems to make a lightweight, self-propelled artillery piece. While originally produced as a cost-saving idea to get the maximum utilization out of old artillery, the basic design could easily be adapted to artillery similar to the M101-series, such as the L118, or the M119. Although having a significantly shorter range than larger-caliber weapons (a maximum of 17.5km (10.9 mi), or 19.5km (12.1 mi) with RAP (Rocket-Assisted Projectiles)), the K105HT is much faster to “shoot-n-scoot“, firing one or two rounds, then rapidly moving to a new firing location, and can do this faster than most other similar systems.

Hindsight is always 20/20, but other states and other forces can take the artillery issue as a lesson from Ukraine’s failure to maintain a well-rounded defense establishment.

Artillery matters. Victory also matters – and artillery wins more wars than gory pictures do.

IN DEPTH – Blue, Green and Brown

Michael Cessna July 16, 2022

An Introduction to Naval Warfare

A few years ago, a United States Navy Carrier Battle Group was implied to have been deployed to the waters off North Korea, amid increasing regional tensions. But — what, exactly, is a “carrier battle group“? For that matter, what is a ‘navy‘?

*Wall relief at Medinet Habu depicting Ramses III defeating the Sea Peoples in the Battle of the (Nile) Delta, c.1200-1150BC*

Warfare at sea has been recorded for at least three thousand years, but fighting on the ocean almost certainly occurred long before Ramses fought his desperate battle. As on land, there are a dizzying array of reasons why a nation may fight on the water. However, the challenges of fighting at sea are vastly more complex and expensive than fighting on land, or even in the air. Only the concept of space-based warfare is more expensive.

The crew of the merchant vessel MV Faina stand on the deck after a U.S. Navy request to check on their health and welfare, 9 November 2008. Some of their Somali pirate captors stand above them. US Navy photo.

Like land warfare, naval warfare has tenets and goals. Those are, however, vastly different from those of land warfare. Central to that concept, is the definition of a “warship“. While people usually have some idea of what a “warship” is, that definition is usually shaped by modern entertainment media. A warship, at its core, has two defining characteristics: it is simultaneously, any water vessel that is armed – whether that ship is a bass boat or a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier – and conveys the perception of being under the control of a crew that adheres to both military discipline and a “legal” higher authority. This last, is what separates “pirate ships” from “naval vessels”.

Broadly speaking, there are three basic kinds of naval forces. Sometimes, there may be aircraft of various type associated to each force; there may be marines/’naval infantry’ (ground troops attached to the naval force) and there may be some form of “special operations forces” as well. The three basic types of forces we will briefly examine here are categorized as “blue water“, “green water“, and “brown water“.

First, however, we need to address the two basic schools of thought, regarding naval warfare.

The Mahanian Doctrine

*Rear-Admiral Alfred Thayer Mahan, USN (1840-1914) American naval strategist.*

Rear Admiral Alfred Thayer Mahan, USN (1840-1914), was called “the most important American strategist of the nineteenth century” by British historian Sir John Keegan, OBE, FRSL. Mahan’s seminal work, “The Influence of Sea Power Upon History, 1660–1783 (1890)“, and its sequel, “The Influence of Sea Power Upon the French Revolution and Empire, 1793-1812 (1892)“, defined naval theory at the end of the 19th Century, and helped encourage the destructively expensive naval arms races of the early 20th Century.

Mahan’s central theory argued that control of the sea was vital to a nation’s greatness, and that a navy’s main focus should be on controlling the seas by destroying an enemy nation’s main fleet at the earliest stage of war possible, instead of worrying about a more nuanced approach.

*German Imperial High Seas Fleet at sea as at the Battle of Jutland on 31st May 1916.*

The naval aspect of World War 1 was inconclusive as to whether Mahan’s theory was correct or not, as there were few fleet actions, and those few were inconclusive draws. However, Mahan formed the basis of both Imperial Japan’s, and the United States’ naval doctrine in World War 2. For the Japanese, Mahan formed the core of their doctrine against Imperial Russia in the Russo-Japanese War, resulting in the decisive fleet action at the Battle of Tsushima in 1905.

*Admiral Tōgō Heihachirō on the bridge of the Battleship Mikasa during the Battle of Tsushima, 27–28 May 1905.*

*Murderer’s Row: U.S. Third Fleet aircraft carriers at anchor in Ulithi Atoll, 8 December 1944. US Navy photo*.

However, Mahan’s theories were not foolproof. In fact, they masked serious problems.

The Japanese were never able to force a decisive main fleet surface action on the US Navy in World War 2. Likewise, the US Navy, as a result of losing its “battleship line” on December 7, 1941, as well as the disasters of the Java Sea and Savo Island – among other – was forced to abandon their Mahanian plan to find and destroy Japan’s main battle fleet in a titanic gun battle, in favor of limited raids with aircraft carriers. In fact, when the decisive battles did come, none of the warships involved came close to being within sight of each other.

Corbett’s Balanced Approach

***Sir Julian Corbett, c.1920. Public Domain.***

Sir Julian Corbett came to naval strategy as a civilian, in mid-life. Already a well-regarded historian, Corbett made friends in the Royal Navy with his more limited and nuanced approach to naval strategy, which offered a more realistic application of naval power projection that suited Britain’s needs as an Imperial power, even in its waning days. While agreeing with Mahan about the importance of sea power to a nation, Corbett took a completely opposite view of how to maintain this, arguing that control of the sea did not necessarily have to depend on smashing the main enemy fleet. He went further, arguing that “control of the seas” could be maintained if the fleet could ensure the security of the nation’s maritime commerce while inhibiting, if not outright halting, that of the enemy. German Grand Admiral and Secretary of State of the German Imperial Naval Office Alfred von Tirpitz, dismissed any sort of “commerce raiding” naval strategy (Corbett’s main view, in its most basic form) during World War 1, opting to do his best to use Mahan’s theories against Britain.

By 1945, it was clear that Corbett was the more correct of the two theorists.

What Is A Fleet?

*The Battle of Lepanto, engraving by Martin Rota*

Very briefly, a nation’s “fleet” is the total number of warships it has in current service, along with such vessels it might have “in reserve“, which can be quickly brought into service. For some time, during the late-19th Century, there was an idea that a nation’s “fleet” consisted of all of its major ships, operating en masse, in accordance with Mahanian principles.

The United Kingdom largely attempted to adopt this strategy, keeping the bulk of its main battle fleet massed in British home waters, while dispersing a mush smaller portion of its fleet to stations around the world. The United States, however, faced the harsh reality that due to its geography, it would be forced to split its fleet in any major conflict involving a war in both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. This was proven true in 1941, as the USN was forced to fight in both oceans, simultaneously.

*Physical map of the World, from CIA The World Factbook in 2021.*

Blue Water Fleets

What everyone generally thinks of when hearing the word “navy”, blue water forces focus on three basic missions: projecting national power well beyond the shores of the home nation, defeating enemy fleets, and “maintaining the SLOC.”

*Two US cargo ships docked at Bombay Harbor, 1948*

The ‘SLOC‘, or ‘Sea Lines Of Communication‘, are the maritime conduits through which food,

*World War II U-boats of Nazi Germany’s Kriegsmarine following their surrender at Lisahally, near Londonderry, Northern Ireland, UK in May 1945. Public Domain*

fuel, raw materials and finished goods flow. Very few countries are truly self-sufficient, and a nation under attack has a desperate and immediate need to keep the sea open to merchant vessels funneling supplies to them. It was for this reason that winning the Battle of the Atlantic was so vital to the Allied war effort, because losing it would have forced Britain to surrender; world history would have been fundamentally different had that occurred.

Conversely, Imperial Japan’s failure to secure its own vital maritime conduits guaranteed its defeat. Already vastly overmatched by the United States in the industrial and economic arenas, as well as tying down vast amounts of resources promoting its attempted conquest of China, the Empire’s forces were slowly strangled, as US submarines eventually operated with near impunity. It can be truthfully alleged, that the promise of unrestriced submarine warfare was realized not by German Kriegsmarine’s U-Boats, but by the US Navy, as its submarines sank at least 55% of Japan’s merchant marine losses during the war.

*The Battle of Trafalgar (21 October 1805), by Clarkson Frederick Stanfield, 1936*

*Russian Black sea Fleet conducting an amphibious landing exercise, near Crimea, Ukraine, 2012*

While there have been very few naval battles, as such, in the modern era (and haven’t been since the end of the Napoleonic Period), projecting power is still necessary, as was recently demonstrated by the international anti-piracy patrol off the Horn of Africa, and most famously, by the frequent deployments of the US Navy throughout the world — parking a carrier battle group – containing more fighting power on its own, than the total combat power of most national armed forces…before adding the potential of several thousand US Marines to the mix – off the coast of a restive country is a serious statement, sufficient to give all but the most delusional leader and their supporters serious pause.

While the USN is the only navy currently capable of doing this on any large scale, other countries such as Britain, France and India can deploy smaller but still very powerful forces to trouble spots, actual and potential. The Chinese “People’s Liberation Army Navy“, while large, is not well-practiced in “expeditionary operations“, as yet, and – despite certain breathless reporting – has yet to demonstrate more than a rudimentary capability.

Green Water Fleets

*Amphibious assault vehicles from the forward-deployed amphibious dock landing ship USS Tortuga (LSD 46) land on the beach during Exercise Cobra Gold 2012.*

However, while some seventy percent of the Earth’s surface is covered by water, the remaining thirty percent is land. This may seem like a throwaway statement, but according to the United Nations, an estimated 60% of the Earth’s population live within 100km (62 miles) of an ocean coastline…it is for this very reason, that the United States maintains the largest “naval infantry” force in the world. While marine units are certainly capable (or should be) of seizing a section of hostile shore or a port area, their primary function is to hold that space just long enough for reinforcments to be landed, or some other limited mission completed. This is because – in a similar manner to airborne forces – most naval landing forces (short of a massive assault landing, such as D-Day or Okinawa) are very light in combat power, relying far more on confusion, fear and intimidation…which only works for a short time.

Green Water operations – taking their name from the shift in color from the deep blue of the open ocean to the “sea green” of coastal regions – primarily involve either getting troops ashore (“over the beach“), or finding and suppressing coastal anti-ship defenses, whether troops are going to be landed or not. It is here, that most naval mines are laid, to restrict access to vital coastal regions. This is also where most “coast guards” operate, whether under wartime missions, or during peacetime, conducting customs and safety inspections, police functions, and the occasional search and rescue operation.

In general, green water fleets are small in total hull numbers, as well as overall tonnage, but their functions are, comparatively, much more complex than those of blue water fleets. However, because the ships are orders of magnitude less expensive – at least, for the strictly defensive functions – this is what most navies in the world are composed of.

Brown Water Fleets

Humankind’s first water forces were riverine – they operated on those rivers deep enough to take hulls carrying significant numbers of occupants. In a word, those ships were able to carry enough people to both operate the boat, and fight from it.

*Special Warfare Combatant Crewmen (SWCC) demonstrate the new Special Operations Craft-Riverine (SOC-R) while training at the Stennis Space Center. U.S. Navy photo*

Riverine warfare involves the control of waterways away from the ocean shore. Any waterway – natural or man-made – that can be used as a highway to transport people and goods, is a vital conduit for a nation. Good examples are major rivers, such as the Mississippi, the Rhine, the Amazon, the Nile and the Mekong; the list can continue, running into several pages.

*Members of U.S. Navy Seal Team One move down the Bassac River in a Seal Team Assault Boat (STAB) during operations along the river south of Saigon, November 1967.*

Ships operating in rivers and delta’s are almost always significantly different in design from their sea-going cousins, but are no less deadly. It is here, where many countries first “dip their toes“, so to speak, in nautical operations. Speeds in rivers and estuaries are generally slower, as is the draft the ships must deal with.

*A U.S. riverboat (Zippo monitor) deploying napalm during the Vietnam War*

The vessels used in riverine operations can range from shallow-draft, high-speed boats – including small high-speed craft, with a machine gun mount bolted on – to large-scale, heavily-armed, river monitors. These ships are capable of both direct fire as well as indirect fire support missions, forcing enemies ashore to consider their distance to waterways, as well as roads.

Naval Special Forces

*Russian commando frogman of the Caspian Flotilla during exercises*

Above, we briefly touched on marines/naval infantry. Here, even more briefly, we will touch on naval special operations forces.

The idea of non-marine special operations forces, while not new, has never before reached a level comparable to that of today. This is largely driven by technology, but parochialism also plays a role.

*US Navy Seals securing the beach. (Promotional image)*

Modern naval special forces grew out of three varied strains from World War 2: Italian Navy commandos operating in the Mediterranean; British Royal Navy commandos operating in the North Sea, the Atlantic, and in the Pacific; and US Navy “frogmen” operating mostly in the Pacific. In general, these operations fell into three categories: reconnaissance (especially beach reconnaissance); sabotage; and supporting intelligence operations via the insertion and extraction of agents.

*SEAL team member moves through deep mud in South Vietnam, May 1970. US Navy photo.*

Like all special operations forces, however, these forces are difficult to employ to their full potential. Their training – of necessity, long and arduous…and expensive – means that they are extremely susceptible to poorly-thought out missions. The numbers of politicians capable of understanding how and when special forces in generally – and naval special forces in particular – should be deployed, is thin indeed.

Conclusion

Naval forces are generally the most expensive sector of a nation’s armed forces. Purpose-built warships represent a very significant investment for any nation, even (perhaps especially) the United States. It is also easy to forget, amid a slew of video games where real people do not die, that even the smallest modern destroyer carries a crew of well over one hundred people…and potentially a crew of thousands.

Anyone talking about naval policy needs to keep that foremost in their minds.

War Plans – Taste The Rainbow

Michael Cessna July 10, 2022

*US Army staff meeting, Baghdad, Iraq, 2011*

Planning to fight a war is universally seen as aggressive. After all, “planning” to fight a war means that the planner intends to do serious violence to the people their war plan defines as “the enemy”, right? And violence is bad — therefore, war planning must be a bad thing…right?

Well – no.

Countries fight wars. If the reader learns nothing else from History class, it should be that. Now, wars are fought for many reasons; sometimes, those wars are fought for all the wrong reasons, for mistakes and errors of judgement, sometimes for loot or religion, and sometimes, just for the “doing” of conquest.

*German troops crossing the Soviet border during Operation Barbarossa, 1941*

But, what about “just” wars? Suppose that Country X has “stuff”. Country X is willing to share…but their neighbor, Country Y, doesn’t want to simply share – they want all the stuff. Country X has two options: they can blare a prerecorded message saying “We Surrender!” over loudspeakers scattered throughout the country, as Country Y’s forces march in (this was actually proposed by Leftist politicians in the Scandinavian country of Denmark in the 1980’s; the Danes – being Danes – declined), or Country X can resist.

Insert four and a half thousand years of recorded battle, army creation, training and support history here.

*Ramses II at the Battle of Kadesh (relief at Abu Simbel)*

Over the millennia, those who study war have been able to agree that certain aspects of warfare are universal. While this is not the venue to discuss all of those common aspects, one of the central tenets is that having a plan – almost any plan – when sharp, pointy objects start flying, is infinitely better than having no plan at all…as the US Army has rediscovered, as it frantically tried to reorient from twenty years of counterinsurgency operations back towards a more “traditional” scope of warfare, especially as the Russo-Ukrainian War grinds onward.

Now, it’s important to define what we’re talking about, here: we are talking about national-level plans. We are not talking about what the British Army calls “Small Tactics“, the methods of maneuvering small groups of troops in direct combat with an enemy. Neither is it the maneuvering of larger units, such as regiments and brigades, or even divisions and corps‘.

What we are talking about here, is the planning at the national level. Let’s look at the best-documented modern example: the development of the so-called “Rainbow Plans” of the United States of America, in the first half of the 20th Century.

For countless generations after the collapse of the Roman Empire in Western Europe, common thinking on the mechanisms of warfare was usually limited to a very narrow spectrum of people, in any given place and time. It was only improvements in communications and the wider movements of people between states and cultures that opened the door to that interchange, beginning in earnest in the 15th Century: the walls of Constantinople – capital of the Eastern Roman Empire (often called the ‘Byzantine Empire‘) – had stood, impregnable, for over a thousand years before falling to Ottoman cannon fire…and those cannons were largely designed by a Christian Hungarian military engineer.

*Foreign Officers and Correspondents after the Battle of Shaho, Manchuria, 1904.*

By the 19th Century, it was entirely possible to find many foreign officers serving their respective states as observers in wars their state was not involved in: Prussian officers observed Federal forces during the American Civil War, while their counterparts from England observed the Confederate forces. These officers neither advised, nor took part in the fighting; they merely observed operations. The information and experiences they brought home, frequently helped shape their own armies’ future policies.

Still, however, war planning was generally a very nebulous exercise; it was usually done “on the fly“. Information was usually scarce, and commanders in the field largely had to guess at the situation they were walking into…And, if this sounds like a disaster waiting to happen, it frequently was. This was taken as a “cost of doing business” by commanders, because no one saw an alternative.

And then – the Spanish-American War happened.

*Detail from Charge of the 24th and 25th Colored Infantry, July 2nd 1898.*

Then-US Secretary of State John Hay might have called it a “splendid little war“, but in point of fact, the performance of the forces of the United States was abysmally bad. It is in no way a stretch to say that the United States won the war more because Spanish forces were even more incompetent than those of the USA were. Once the stirring sounds of marching bands and the cheers of the crowds faded in the war’s aftermath, the US Army and Navy faced the cold, hard fact that their respective on-scene commanders both pursued separate and uncoordinated theater strategies, and neither had either the information or support – intelligence or logistical – to properly execute the separate and mutually exclusive campaigns they had been assigned to pursue. Where the United States had been able to project military power beyond its shores fifty years before, and to effectively coordinate continent-spanning joint operations forty years prior, something had gone badly wrong.

The result, in 1903, was the formation of a Joint Army and Navy Board.

The Board’s mission was to plan for potential wars that the United States may need to wage. Since the 1870’s, the United States – like many European powers before it – had become increasingly tied to foreign trade; instability in a foreign land had the potential to cause significant damage to the US economy, if not start an actual shooting war. US military power at that time was nowhere near what it is today – the prospect of a hostile navy conducting a devastating shelling of US coastal cities was a very real concern.

*Red guard unit of the Vulkan factory in Petrograd, October 1917*

Much has been made, over time, about the Joint Board and its supposedly isolated and insular nature, operating outside the reality of geopolitics. In fact, the Joint Board began by only acting on information fed to it from the civilian State Department. In the aftermath of the Russian Revolution of 1917, pre-planning major-war operations assumed new urgency. Like Iran some sixty years later, an ally quite literally changed from a friend to a potential enemy overnight.

As well, the context of the times must be understood. The United States had treated the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans as very large “moats” for most of the preceding 125 years…Yet, in the space of barely 17 years – from 1891 to 1904 – the United States has seen not only technological advances that saw massive vessels crossing the Atlantic in barely a week, but had also seen a near-war with Chile that would have required sending naval reinforcements all the way around South America with no guarantee of bases and possible hostile state’s navies in the way, as the strategic shortcut of the Panama Canal had not yet been built; the aforementioned Spanish-American War; the Second Boer War, where great Britain had deployed nearly half a million troops from around its world-spanning empire to a theater that defined the term “remote”, and introduced the term “concentration camp” to the modern English language lexicon; the Boxer Rebellion and the joint-international Peking Relief Expedition; the Philippine Insurrection; and the Russo-Japanese War, best thought of as the beta-test for World War 1, as it was only missing the poison gas and airplanes. The United States was now facing a serious threat of possible invasion from non-Western Hemisphere industrial powers, who were capable of matching US military power.

The Joint Board thus began examining as many potential conflicts as it could realistically foresee, as evidenced by the list of plans they produced at some level, between 1904 and 1945:

*Source: Michael Vlahos, The Blue Sword, 1980*

Some of these plans are well known, such as ORANGE (the war plan to defeat the Empire of Japan), and RED (the war plan to fight Great Britain, the subject of a somewhat breathless documentary by Britain’s Channel 5, in 2011). But the rest of the plans reflected the reality of the United States’ strategic situation in the first four decades of the 20th Century.

One aspect of these plans were the so-called “Rainbow Plans“, begun in the 1930’s, that postulated potential wars against alliances of multiple states on the list.

So — what goes into a war plan at this level?

The primary purpose of a nation’s strategic war plan against a potential enemy, is to present a realistic assessment of that potential opponent’s capabilities. Assessing the strategic intent of an enemy is not usually a concern for the war planner, because – as in the case of both Russia and Iran – those intentions can change with surprising speed. A war plan focuses on the actions of the “friendly country” once war has been declared, or (as was the case after the Japanese attack on the US naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii) once combat operations have commenced.

A war plan is a theoretical blueprint. It seeks to present “best options”, based on the best available assessments of the potential enemy in question:

What resources does the enemy possess? What are the points of entry into their country?
What targets and systems need to be attacked, in what order?
What forces and facilities of the enemy need to be attacked immediately, and which can be bypassed, and dealt with later?
What are the enemy’s capabilities to strike your country and its forces?

These are not questions that can be addressed on the fly. The information takes time to assemble, and planners are only human – the cycle of information intake, assessment and employment cannot be accelerated at short notice. A war plan, then, uses the most accurate information available to make general plans. Those general plans are far easier to alter based on current information flowing in, than starting from scratch. Broad operational orders can be disseminated to commands beforehand, to get the right forces moving, in the right order, in the shortest possible time.

But…Why is this important?

*German women doing their washing at a water hydrant in a Berlin street.*

No one profits from long wars. The faster the decision cycle, the faster that decisive, war-winning dominance can be gained by one side or the other, the faster the war ends, and the fewer people die…And therein lays the secret that anti-military people hate to acknowledge: the best militaries always seek to win as quickly as possible, with the fewest number of deaths to the “friendly” side — and, more likely than not, fewer deaths on the “enemy” side. That requires states to quite literally spend money on guns, instead of butter: to plan, prepare, stockpile equipment, train troops, maintain ready forces and update all of those things as necessary, against the day when they may be needed.

The core of the war plan, then, is a clear understanding of what the planning force is to accomplish, in the shortest possible time, with the most effective expenditure of people and resources.

Failure to plan effectively, inevitably leads to complete failures of strategy, and long, bloody wars, that can last interminably, wrecking the economy of the country and killing entire generations of youth.

Would, that leaders of the first part of the 21st Century had listened to the leaders of the first part of the 20th.

The Infantry Automatic Rifle – The Great Leap Backwards

Michael Cessna July 2, 2022

Begun in July of 2005, the program that produced the IAR (Infantry Automatic Rifle) met or exceeded all of the United States Marine Corps’ design requirements for a “lightweight automatic rifle“, with a Heckler & Koch variant of the HK416 being selected as the winner in 2009, receiving the type classification of “M27“, underlining a desired return to a magazine-fed automatic rifle.

The only problem is that the concept was badly flawed from the beginning.

*An American soldier displaying a M1918 Browning automatic rifle at the Ordnance Department at Chaumont, 9 November 1918.*

The IAR attempts to hearken back to the heady, halcyon days of the Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR). Weighing in at 19lbs/8.61kg, the .30-06 BAR – fielded in 1918 – earned a reputation for reliability on the battlefields of World War 2 and Korea, lasting in combat around the world well into the 1960’s. But, with its heavy weight and small ammunition capacity (feeding only from a 20-round magazine), it was recognized that something else was needed.

In 1963, the M14E2/A1 was selected to replace the BAR, in complement to the newly-adopted (in 1957) M14 rifle. However, serious problems still existed, as the new weapon still relied on a twenty-round magazine, and was much harder to control in fully automatic fire, due to its lighter weight.

*A camouflaged infantryman armed with an M60 machine gun. US Dept. of Defense*

As a stopgap, the M60 machine gun was introduced to progressively lower unit levels, both during and after the Vietnam War. A belt-fed weapon firing from an open bolt, the M60 was a dedicated machine gun, rather than a simple automatic rifle. In addition, while it weighed more than twice what an M14 weighed, it still weighed a bit less than the BAR; at the same time, it could be very temperamental in the field, but was capable of delivering a large volume of accurate automatic fire, assisted by a quick-change barrel, both being crucial features which the BAR and the M14 lacked.

*A US Marine fires his M-249 Squad Automatic Weapon during Exercise Forest Light 2007. USMC photo.*

This “stopgap” solution persisted into the early 1980’s, when first the US Army, shortly followed by the US Marine Corps, adopted the ‘Minimi‘ light machine gun, designed by the Belgian firm Fabrique Nationale (which had built legendary weapon designer John Browning’s last handgun design, the HP-35 ‘Hi Power’) as the “M249 SAW” (Squad Automatic Weapon).

Firing the same 5.56x45mm cartridge as the M16-series rifles, the belt-fed, quick-change barrel, open-bolt SAW was not the lightest of ‘light’ machine guns, weighing in at 22lbs/10.5kg when loaded with a 200-round assault pack, and it had its share of teething troubles in its early days, but the worst of these issues were solved fairly quickly. A notable feature of the SAW was its ability to use 30-round M16 magazines (loaded from the lower-left side of the receiver) in the event of the gunner firing all of his belted ammunition in combat (although this was a problematic feature).

Ultimately, the troops accepted the weight as a necessary trade-off for the ability to sustain an effective rate of fire of 100 rounds per minute (rpm) for extended periods, or 200 rpm for short periods. Still, the desire was for the lightest weight possible. While a laudable goal, all weapons involve trade-offs in design; no weapon can be “all things to all men”. In 1999, with an aging population of M249’s, the Marine Corps began to develop the requirements and criteria for the SAW’s replacement.

It is at this point, that something went drastically wrong.

*American Hotchkiss Gun in action. Western Front, World War 1. US War Dept.*

For some reason, despite generations of combat data from war zones around the world, that belt-fed weapons at the lower infantry levels were what won battles, the Marine Corps determined to chart a course to develop a “BAR Lite”.

In effect, the HK416/M27 IAR is an attempt to deploy a “5.56mm BAR” at the fire team level. Where the M249 gunner would carry three 200-round assault packs into combat, the IAR gunner has to carry at least twenty-two 30-round M16 magazines to provide the same the same level of fire onto a target — however, this obscures the facts that a) only 30 rounds at a time can be fired; b) that the effective sustained rate of fire is 30-06 rpm, vs. 100-200 for the SAW; and, c) that the barrel of the M27 is fixed to the weapon and is impossible to change outside of an armorer’s shop. Even using H&K’s proprietary gas piston system instead of the direct gas impingement operating system of the conventional M16-series, the heat of extended firing will quickly be a critical issue in use, directly impacting squad fire and maneuver.

The IAR’s one saving grace – after its lighter weight of eight pounds – is its supposed accuracy. This concept completely misses the point of a fully automatic squad weapon: “accuracy” in automatic weapons is measured by how tight the cone-of-fire and the beaten-zone areas are. Automatic weapons are inherently inaccurate; they are “area of effect” weapons, intended to fire large amounts of ammunition into relatively small areas much faster than conventional rifles. Even the Marine Corps’ own Combat Developments and Integration office understood the loss of suppression fire that this represents.

*An M16A1, belonging to Indonesia’s Brigade Mobil.*

More prosaically, the IAR is essentially a “product-improved” M16A1 rifle, shoehorned into a role it cannot perform.

Although reports from Afghanistan indicate positive reception from Marines in the field, the reports of its positive reception read like forced advertising brochures. As well, despite the Marine Corps announcing in December of 2017 that it planned to equip all infantry Marines at the squad level with the M27, by as early as 2018, the Marine Corps had already tacitly recognized the deficiencies of a 30-round magazine weapon in the suppression role. On top of this, lays the problem of the M27’s inability to use the widely-sold “PMAG 30 GEN M2“, made by Magpul. This is a serious concern, given the need to reduce the overall logistical footprint (especially in high-intensity operations), not being able to use a widely distributed and low-cost magazine is a real handicap.

*IMI Negev machinegun, in use by the Israel Defense Forces*

If the M27 IAR is as accurate and as much of a quantum shift as it is portrayed to be, then the real question is begged: ‘Why is the US Army not making any attempt, whatsoever, to adopt this weapon?’ This is not an idle question. The US Army has always received the lion’s share of the military budget for land warfare systems, going back to the founding of the United States. While there are certainly valid complaints to be leveled at the M249 (and this author is right there with the criticisms, having carried and used one frequently), the argument was never to ditch the belt-fed weapon, to field a better belt-fed weapon.

While observations have been made that accuracy must be the paramount concern in a counter-insurgency environment, the fact is that the world is changing rapidly, and the possibility of full-on, “main-force” combat with a major power – such as the People’s Republic of China and especially given the results of the ongoing Russian invasion of the Ukraine – is becoming much more likely than it was even ten years ago. One of the foundational precepts of the post-Vietnam era was that the United States could not afford to be caught at the outset of a war with a military geared to fight the wrong war.

Unfortunately, this is a very expensive proposition in dollars, it is far more expensive in dead troops, lost battles, and wounded and/or disabled veterans. The problems with the M27 IAR, however, go much deeper, as it is not a question of cost: the replacement cost to the US Army of a single M249 is currently (FY2011) $4,512, while the cost of a single M27 is (FY2012) $2,896 — the savings simply are simply not significant enough to warrant the loss of mass-target suppression fire at the squad level.

The real problem is a perfect storm of a flawed design concept, and a civilian leadership bereft of functional knowledge of warfare at the ‘muddy boot’ level.

Heckler & Koch cannot be blamed for this – they produced precisely the design that was requested, and did it well. There is no doubt that the M27 IAR, like the HK416 that it derives from, is a fine weapon.

But it is not a a replacement for a belt-fed machine gun.

**“To the Last Man”, 1921, Georgios Prokopiou**

Has The Time Come For A United States Foreign Legion?

Michael Cessna June 17, 2022

Foreign legions have existed for centuries, but in their generally-accepted form, have only really existed since roughly the end of the 1700’s. Unlike condottieri of Renaissance Italy, “foreign legions” are not, strictly speaking, “mercenaries“, in that they are not usually specialists hired for one-time contract work, who remain separate from a nation’s actual armed fores, but are organized, uniformed and disciplined units of non-citizen foreigners, organized into separate units by the recruiting nation.

*French Foreign Legionnaire firing machine gun*

Most famously used by France, one of the harsh truths of foreign legions is that a nation usually finds them necessary only when their own populations are unwilling or unable to serve their nation effectively in the military. There is growing evidence that the United States of America may have reached a point where a foreign legion is a necessity.

*Baron Steuben drilling American troops at Valley Forge in 1778.*

The United States has always had foreign volunteers in the ranks of its military forces: whether as mercenaries or starry-eyed volunteers in the American War of Independence, through the German immigrants who fought for the Union in the American Civil War, to individuals from nations suffering under the rule of hostile foreign powers (this author served with several such volunteers in the 1980’s), non-citizen foreigners are no oddity in US military service. However, times are changing, and it may become necessary to rethink how the US military operates.

*Draft-age Americans being counseled by Mark Satin (far left) at the Anti-Draft Programme office on Spadina Avenue in Toronto, August 1967.*

Since the end of the Draft in 1973, the United States has had an “all-volunteer force” (or, “AVF”). Better-educated, on average, than the mass of draftees that it replaced, the AVF is also smaller in total numbers, even as the relative budget for the military in general has grown exponentially. The reasons for this are many, but boil down primarily to a desire for more remotely-operated weapons to keep US troops out of harms way as far as possible — as the military learned the hard way in Vietnam, dead American troops coming back in flag-draped coffins tend to cause a media frenzy, that paints even successful military actions in a poor light. One result of this, has been an increasingly smaller number of American citizens willing to volunteer to serve, because competition from the private sector is intense.

Quietly, in the background, a slowly worsening situation is developing, a situation that severely threatens US national security.

As recent articles have pointed out, American youth – now, as many as 70% – are unfit for military service. The situation is bad enough, that the military is seriously considering bringing in civilian specialists for direct commissioning (now termed “lateral entry”), because they cannot find enough suitable recruits. The reasons are many, but boil down to five core problems, either singly or in combination.

*US Army Sgt. Ryan Moldovan throws a practice hand grenade at Fort Jackson, S.C., Sept. 7, 2016.*

First, there is a noticeable epidemic of obesity in the United States. The US is not alone in this, as the problem does exist is several other developed countries, but the cold facts are that too many young people who would otherwise be excellent prospects for recruiters are simply too physically unfit to pass even the most basic physical fitness course. Recruiters try very hard to get these prospects into shape, but the results often end in failure. This situation has grown to the point where the US Army has actually dropped its requirement to – of all things – demonstrate proficiency in throwing hand grenades to 25 meters, one of the most basic duties of the infantry.

*USMC Sgt. Jennifer Wilbur, Sgt. Jennifer Wilbur, poses for a photo at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, May 1, 2020.*

Second, reductions in military budgets, mated to extreme costs for high-dollar, high-tech weapons programs have forced reductions in overall troops numbers, to a point not seen since the early 1940’s. This has led to arbitrary, petty, toxic and damaging practices that directly impact both troop morale and reenlistment figures; critically, this is also hemorrhaging combat-seasoned talent from the various services.

Third, is the widening percentage of US youths who cannot pass even highly “flexible” criminal background checks. Debates about various civil/criminal policies aside, a critical factor in not finding suitable recruits is the fact that many youths get into real trouble before they can be enlisted.

Fourth, is a problem that has existed since the end of the Draft: civilian sector competition. Bluntly, without a Draft providing a steady stream of troops, the various armed services have to compete with civilian companies for talent…and with the aforementioned budget reductions, the military services find it extremely difficult to compete with civilian companies, given the requirements of military service: most introductory-level civilian jobs do not involve you getting shot at. Additionally, since 2002, the military has had to compete in earnest with the rise of “private military contractor” (PMC) companies — where this was rarely a factor affecting both enlistment and reenlistment in previous decades, the surge in use of PMC’s – including in high-threat combat areas – has sparked investment in those companies that aggressively recruit talent from the military, talent (usually either special operations troops, or aircraft technicians) that has been expensively trained, and that the military desperately wants to keep, but cannot, for parsimony.

Last, is a crushing sense of ennui – bordering on existential nihilism – in a disturbingly high percentage of US youth. This serious emotional crisis breeds a distrust, if not outright disgust, with anything concerning governments, militaries and higher ideals in general. And again, there are numerous reasons for this, none of which can be resolved by military establishments.

You can only work with what you are given.

Yet, “spear carrying” troops are still needed. As military professionals are all too painfully aware, no matter how high-tech your military machine, you still need some kid with a rifle and a bayonet to stand on a patch of dirt, and dare anyone to come and kick them off. The recent casualty rates, coupled to the abject failure of Russia’s “BTG” (Battalion Tactical Group) in the Russo-Ukrainian War have highlighted the fact that mass mobilization and mass armies are definitely not relics of a bygone era – when you need them, and do not possess the structure to generate the numbers, you are in serious trouble.

Despite all its political, societal and economic woes, the United States still has immigrants flocking to its colors every year, so many, that artificial limits to legal immigration remain in force. These immigrants leave their homes, precisely because they still believe in what used to be called the “American Dream“…and many are more than willing to fight for that dream. Those artificial limits, however, only encourage emigres with “desirable” skills, and a desire to “fix bayonets and charge” is not usually on that list.

So — should the United States begin an active program to recruit a “Foreign Legion”? Not as individual recruits, as is done today, but as separately organized units, officered by Americans, but whose ‘other ranks’ are universally non-citizen, in the same manner as the French Foreign Legion?

On the plus side, such units are not staffed with too many “American Boys and Girls“, and consequently will not produce as visceral a negative reaction in either the press or the electorate when they soak casualties on the battlefield.

On the down side, forming a Foreign Legion is essentially an admission of defeat. To paraphrase the words of author Robert A. Heinlein, if a citizenry will not volunteer to fight for its country, does that country deserve to continue to exist?

More darkly, on the third hand, if the country does deserve to continue, is it time to rethink exactly what “citizenship” means for the United States in the 21st Century?

The United States of America is an ongoing “noble experiment“, an experiment that many still believe in, that many believe is still worth fighting and dying for. There is a decisive break-point in this argument, however, and that break-point of decision is rapidly approaching.

Little Gray Men — Or, How An Improbable Series Of Events Unhinged The World

Michael Cessna June 10, 2022

Recently, the New York Times, working with Pulitzer Prize-nominated journalist Rukmini Callimachi, spent fifteen months unpacking a trove of over fifteen thousand internal documents of the so-called “Islamic State“, painstakingly assembled over the course of a five trips to Iraq over the span of a year.

*Members of the 9th Iraqi Army Division fire a heavy machine gun at ISIS positions near Al Tarab, Iraq, March 17, 2017 (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Jason Hull)*

The documents are fascinating, intriguing…and alarming…as they expose, in excruciating detail, the internal operations of a group of modern barbarians, along with the ‘why’ and the ‘how’ by which they were able sustain a functioning state, under continuous attack, largely cut off from external aid.

*Some of the 12,000 Iraqi Yazidi refugees at Newroz camp in Al-Hassakah province, north eastern Syria after fleeing Islamic State militants, 13 August 2014.*

Despite its barbaric nihilism – including public mass beheadings and a return to open-air (and openly televised) slave markets – the terrorist state at one point controlled a swath of territory the size of Great Britain, as well as a population estimated at nearly 12 million people, not to mention parts of Libya, Nigeria and the Philippines coming under their nominal control, via various local groups swearing allegiance to the group. As fascinating as the article – as well as its attendant photo archive and supplementary articles – may be, it is even more fascinating for what it does not say, namely:

How did this happen?

One of the curious blind spots of the Times’ reporting, is that they already had the answer to this question. As early as August of 2014, the Times quite accurately reported that ISIL relied heavily on former officers – and civil officials – of deposed and executed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein’s forces and the Iraqi Ba’ath Party structure.

Many of these men – most of them dedicated career officers and officials – were summarily ejected from the Iraqi governmental and military structure through the staggering incompetence of the Coalition Provisioning Authority in the aftermath of the Coalition invasion of Iraq, which toppled the dictator from power. The Coalition’s ill-conceived Order Number 2 effectively destroyed the internal structure of Iraq at a stroke, leading to chaos within the country, and directly to the uprising of the Sunni demographic minority, who had formed the majority of the Iraqi state’s bureaucracy for its entire existence. Democratic structures are always messy to implement, and in a culture with little to no concept of the principles involved, the chances of abuse is heightened, especially when the demographic majority has been systematically abused by a controlling minority.

*Abandoned Iraqi Army equipment, Mosul, 2014*

Iraq was no different, and once George W. Bush, left office in early 2009, to be replaced by the ineffectual and diffident Barack Obama, who was eager to fulfill his campaign promise to get the United States out of Iraq, no matter what, as soon as possible, old hatreds that had been suppressed by the heavy presence of Coalition forces immediately began to regain ground.

ISIL forces were not terribly energetic in their capture of Mosul – Iraq’s “second city” – in 2014, and by all rights, outnumbered by as much as 15-to-1, should have been speedily annihilated by the Iraqi 2nd and 3rd Infantry divisions…which didn’t happen, due to the systematic reprisals by the Shia-dominated government of Nouri al-Maliki against the mostly-Sunni officer and NCO corps’ that had been carefully built by US and Coalition military advisor teams for almost ten years, all of which went largely unaddressed by President Obama until it was nearly too late. That Iraq remained intact at all, and that ISIL’s offensive first stalled, then fizzled, was due to the restraint showed by – of all entities – Iran.

*Iranian soldiers help unload a U.S. Air Force C-130 on the airfield at Kerman, Iran, Dec. 28, 2003*

Iran – ancient Persia – has been in the “war business” for a very long time, and saw the trap they were being enticed into from a mile away…and declined to bite. The Iranian mullahs (who learned their lesson after nearly being toppled during the Iran-Iraq War of 1980-1988) asked their professional soldiers – the Artesh – what to do. The Artesh, knowing their job very well, told the mullahs to avoid sending in the Artesh at all costs, and to send – at most – the Revolutionary Guard Corps’ “Quds Force” (their version of “special forces“). Their reasoning was as simple as it was true: Sending in the Artesh to try and copy the American- and British-led invasion of the country a decade before would be seen by the Sunni Muslim world as an invasion by infidels, and that is was better to let ISIL strangle itself. (The Freedomist has covered some of this elsewhere.)

However – a lack of Western grand strategies aside – with the conquest of Mosul, it suddenly became apparent that ISIL was not the typical terror group. While the vast bulk of their non-Iraqi or -Syrian recruits were in their mid-20’s and well-educated, but mostly work-inexperienced and largely ignorant of the Quran or the intricacies of Sharia law, and most of their in-country recruits tended to be indifferently educated and had little experience of the wider world, the group seemed able to “magically” set up and run a functioning state almost literally overnight.

How was such a thing possible? What happened, to cause this?

*Iraqi Republican Guard after pushing Iranian forces from the Al-Faw peninsula in 1988*

In the aftermath of the 2003 invasion, and the disenfranchisement of the bulk of the Iraqi government bureaucrats and military officers by Order Number 2, it is clear that a number of mid-level (captains and majors, primarily) military officers – and possibly some civil servants – fled into Syria. While Syria was not an active member of the so-called “Coalition of the Willing” then entrenched in neighboring Iraq, they largely kept their Ba’athist cousins in check. In such an environment, with nothing else to do, and with undoubted access to some of the many secret bank accounts squirreled away by Saddam and his henchmen, such men would have done what all of their professional training told them to do: assess what had happened to get them to that place, and plan for what to do to regain some semblance of their former power and self-respect.

Freed from the constraints of the ruthless, sadistic, paranoid and militarily-incompetent Saddam and his henchmen, these professionally trained officers would have conducted a multi-leveled interdisciplinary review, that examined and assessed Iraq’s defeats of the preceding twenty-odd years, the reasons for the United States’ and its allies repeated victories over them, the state of their finances, what immediately-available technology and supplies those funds could purchase, and how to more effectively employ those assets…there were just two problems these men could not overcome, given the regime philosophy they had served: a lack of privates, and the lack of a figurehead.

As mid-level officers, these men were largely faceless and unknown – the stereotypical “gray man“. But, they could not implement their plans without an army of “spear-carriers” and a leader…which is the point where fate, in the form of the “Arab Spring“, intervened.

*Anti-riot police in central Damascus, Jan. 16, 2012*

As the region’s more restrictive states began to explode with internal protests in December of 2010, it quickly became apparent that the United States was involved, at least at some level. As protests began to intensify in Syria in early 2011, the former Iraqi officers in Syria undoubtedly began to wonder if this was their moment. While certainly grateful for the sanctuary provided by Bashar al-Assad, they would also have chafed at the restrictions he kept them under.

*Syrian rebels in combat against government forces in Qaboun, Damascus, 2017.*

As early as August, 2011 what would become ISIL – after relentless pounding by US and Coalition forces, that also saw the death of its founder, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and the rise of his successor, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi – began withdrawing into western Iraq…and began filtering cadre into Syria to help form what would become the al-Nusra Front. This is likely the point, in 2013, where the two groups first mingled, given the al-Nusra/ISIL group’s rapid growth in effectiveness, its apparent professionalism and its reputed large numbers of “foreign” fighters.

By January of 2014, it was too late: a well-motivated and suddenly professional ISIL, reinforced by dissident al-Nusra troops and the bulk of the Russian-speaking Jaish al-Muhajireen wal-Ansar (JMA) group, roared out of Aleppo and Raqqa, and into history…

*Syrian rebels of Jaych al-Nasr (ASL) in the Idleb region, January 23, 2018.*

…But in their wake, came the “little grey men“: military bureaucrats and administrators – professional, worldly and well-educated – appeared hot on the heels of the assault units, rounding up the local populace, for either recruitment, co-opting or “ethnic cleansing“. They swiftly established licensing and tax collection regimens, “bootstrapped” an economy from scratch, and started to put services back into operation, i.e., literally “turning the lights back on” and repairing water supply and treatment systems…all while creating a receiving/inventory/reissue system for loot taken from the homes and businesses of non-Sunni’s (or those Sunni’s who opposed them) who had been massacred or driven out of their homes, to be reissued on a “ration book“-style system to fighters arriving in the new state, along with a property redistribution system for housing their new troops.

As Ms. Callimachi points out in her Times article, the administrative and logistical professionalism of these men was breathtaking in its effects: ISIL operations within its territory were almost entirely financed by its internal taxation policies. While there was clear assistance from outside, the lesson Ms. Callimachi presents is stark: a non-state group can, given enough forethought by its leadership – or its middle managers – as well as a lack of interference in day-to-day operations by inexperienced leaders, and effective military training at even a low level, can self-sustain itself in ways we have rarely seen, previously.

While none of this was ever exactly “secret” information, a mythology has grown up, which states that “military and governmental professionalism” implied the requirement for a vast, complex and expensive infrastructure to function. In fact, it is the systems and processes that make a professional infrastructure, long before money changes hands, “brick-and-mortar” facilities are built, and equipment is purchased. None of this is surprising, as most of the systems and processes are little different from Western Cold War-era nuclear attack recovery plans…The Islamic State simply started at that point, using frameworks of established systems and processes gleaned from publicly-available government websites on the internet, rather than developing a wholly-new process from scratch.

And if ISIL can do it, any group that operates to at least their level can do it, as well.

Someone has opened Pandora’s box, again…and the future bodes ill for it.

Are You SURE You Want To Throw That Away?

Michael Cessna June 4, 2022

When Is It Time To Toss Old Military Equipment?

*An M35 2 1/2-ton cargo truck arrives in the 146th Combat Support Hospital, Operation TEAM SPIRIT ’86*

Military equipment, like all man-made products, breaks down

*A B-52 Stratofortress, 307th Bomb Wing, Barksdale Air Force Base, La.*

over time…and sometimes, very quickly. Worse,

items can be rendered obsolescent, if not outright obsolete, before they even reach the field. When things like this happen, it is of course the smart move to retire such gear to museums and movie studios…And yet, some equipment survives: the M35-series 2.5ton cargo truck was produced from 1950 to 1988; the M939-series 5ton cargo truck has been in continuous production since 1982. The B-52 strategic bomber – designed in the 1950’s – is expected to remain in service until the 2050’s. And the C-130 – also designed in the 1950’s – really hasn’t reached its “best by” date.

This is not limited to Western countries, either: the Chinese Type 63 multiple rocket launcher was

*IRGC Ground Force Commandos load a Type 63 MRL mounted on a “technical”*

first designed in 1961, and went into production some time around 1963…and remains in production to this day. Likewise, the Soviet-design T-54/55 series main battle tank was produced in massive numbers beginning in the early-1950’s, and remains in service in many countries.

But — why? Why do some weapons persist in use, and others barely make it to the battlefield?

While the Freedomist has touched on the subject of supply in the past, in this article, we will look into “procurement rationale”: why does a military adopt a system, and keep it in service, or retire it.

*Fenced House, Tamaki Maori Village, Rotorua, New Zealand*

Technology advances. This has always been the case. The times where technology seems to have retreated (and there are very few such examples to study) were brought on by catastrophic impacts on society at large. In general, however, there is a noticeable back-and-forth between offensive and defensive technologies: is it raining on you? Build a house to keep the weather out. Worried about predators dragging you off at night? Build a wall around your house. Are people able to get over your wall? Make it taller and thicker…You can apply this theme to pretty much every endeavor where people have to deal with something other people have invented.

*Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, president of Liberia, congratulates graduates of the Armed Forces of Liberia, 2008*

For the budding military Procurement and/or Supply Officers out there, let’s start from zero — we will assume that you have a brand new country, with a brand new military; insert whatever history you find plausible to make this happen…What do you do?

First, you have to determine your country’s needs. This is in no way as easy as a lay person might think.

How large is your country in land area? How much is urban, vs rural? How much arable land is there? How extensive are your road and rail networks? How long is your coastline? What is your country’s population? How many of them are of military age (16 and up)? What is their education level? How extensive is your internal industrial and chemical base?…

We can literally go on all night. This is where all those seemingly pedantic entries in the CIA World Factbook start to look very, very important. For example, most military field manuals (but not technical manuals!) around the world are written at the equivalent reading level of the 8th Grade in the United States (Year 8 or 9 elsewhere). This is because that is deemed the absolute minimum reading level necessary to properly utilize the information that has to be presented – are your military-age citizens capable of reading to that level? The terrain, road suitability, and farming/ranching details all directly impact a military’s ability to form itself, long before discussing what type of operations that force may need to execute. Of no small importance, is the nature of threat your country expects to face.

All of these factors are (or should be) considered when trying to understand why military forces buy the gear they do.

Clearly, a force will need a certain basic level of equipment; the frustrating and terrifying thing, is how frequently even long-established military forces simply ignore this basic notion. Clearly, the factors involved are extraordinarily complicated, and it is easy to take a wrong turn — and sometimes, those wrong turns can be lethal.

*British Vickers machine gun crew wearing PH-type anti-gas helmets, during the Battle of the Somme, July 1916*

The reason military forces are, by and large, conservative to the point of being “hidebound”, is that they know that older systems and techniques work. Old gear that worked in the last war…worked. As well, the limitations, problems and quirks of older systems are well-known, and are usually worked into the training of new recruits. Look back through the historical archives of any established military, and you will find volumes of correspondence deriding new technology as expensive, tactically-useless toys…and frequently, such correspondence is not wrong. Much has been made over the resistance of European militaries’ to deploying machine guns in continental wars, in the decades before World War 1. Part of that was “old Stick In The Mud” intransigence, but also from the very real fact that a Vickers water-cooled machine gun at the start of World War 1, when adjusted for inflation, cost the modern equivalent of just over US$418,000 in 2022 US$ (per George Coppard, “With A Machine Gun to Cambrai (1969)”; the 1914 cost was ₤175). Each. In a time where budgets were incredibly restricted, compared to the modern era, a Procurement Office needed to be absolutely certain that the item in question did everything it advertised.

*United States Army soldier wearing basic ALICE equipment, c.1973*

It is only around the 1980’s that this attitude began to change, with ever-increasing speed. Talk to many professional soldiers of the last forty years, and they will say that the speed of adopting new gear has been too fast.

What are the general considerations for adopting new gear?

First, there needs to be a real need for the item. Many things “look” good or useful, but they really aren’t — or, they may be useful, but only in a limited way, too limited to justify the expense of reequipping a force. Perhaps the classic example of the latter phenomenon is the US Army’s “SPIW” Program. Beginning in the 1950’s, the US Army began looking for a way to increase the lethality of the individual rifleman. While the data this entire project was based on may have been faulty, at best, after forty years of development, the US Army and various NATO Allies carefully watched the adoption of the the G-11, developed by Heckler & Koch of West Germany, by the latter’s army (the Bundeswehr). Although test data indicated that the G-11 was superior to conventional weapons, both ballistically as well as mechanically, it wasn’t superior enough to warrant immediate, widespread adoption; having West Germany adopting it as a “test bed” was deemed acceptable, as the necessary funding would only be for a comparatively small force.

That, of course, is the moment that the Communist Warsaw Pact chose to collapse under its own weight.

As the G-11 was “good” – but not overly so – the idea of an “advanced combat rifle” (as the project had come to be called) was dropped, for many reasons. Logistically speaking, how long would the caseless ammunition remain good in storage, under various conditions? No data – there were estimates, nothing more. Water immersion? Again, no hard data, only estimates. The rifle was “better” than its conventional, established competitors, but not enough to justify retooling the entire military logistical system of dozens of first-line national militaries.

*“Appreciate America Stop the Fifth Column”, US WW2 propaganda poster*

Next, military gear needs to be both durable, and simple to operate. In military circles, this is the polite way of saying “Idiot-Proof“. The damnedest things happen to gear and weapons in the field, even when it is just an exercise, to say nothing of actual combat. It is a generally-held tenet that uniforms – especially boots – can be expected to last about 3 – 6 years in normal, peacetime use…and about 3 months, if that, in actual combat. War is highly wasteful, even when you are winning, and troops need a constant flow of resupply of weapons, ammunition and equipment once the fighting actually begins. This is in addition to losses in transit, be that from simple accidents, enemy air or sea raids on convoys, to enemy guerillas or special forces striking supply bases and convoys in the theoretical “rear areas”, as well as sabotage inside your own country, whether from enemy agents, or sympathizers.

Two other factors, ease of maintenance and reliability, enter the picture here. Military equipment, when needed, will see hard use. That equipment needs to remain in operation for as long as possible, before needing any but the most rudimentary maintenance. As well, when the time comes to perform serious maintenance on a piece of equipment – and it always does – it needs to be easy and fast to pull major components out, get them onto a bench to be worked on, then get them back into place; this was, in fact, one of the strong points of the T-55, mentioned above.

*A South African soldier with the 9th South African Infantry Battalion, during Exercise “Shared Accord 13”*

What all this translates to in terms of supply and procurement budgets, at its most basic level, is that you need a minimum of three separate sets of //everything//: if you have 10,000 troops, you need to maintain an additional 20,000 sets of gear for them, on hand, at all times, aside from the normal new-issue and replacement gear amounts…In the real world, supply officers are lucky if they can beg, borrow or steal enough equipment to maintain an extra 10% of everything for their units.
Thus, keeping old gear around, gear that may be dated, but that may still be “good enough”, is something real supply establishments try to hide from the people writing budgets, lest those people (the dreaded and hated “Bean Counters”) insist that one-generation old gear be transferred to client countries, or to the civilian “surplus or scrap” market.

There is, of course, another aspect to this, one that certain defense contractors – and even established militaries, who should know better – do not like to talk about: Amateur Hour.

*A forward ammunition supply point at Pleiku, Republic of Vietnam, c.1968*

There used to be a running joke in military circles, that three hundred angry farmers, armed with 100 rifles and 200 machetes, made a revolution. In the post-9/11 world, however, it is no longer a laughing matter. Starting in the early 1980’s small, poorly-funded, badly equipped, yet desperately embattled armies in the Third World began adapting in unexpectedly innovative ways. The clearest early example of this was the “Toyota War“, where the forces of Chad went up against the might of Muammar Gaddafi’s Libyan Army. On paper, it should have been a cake-walk for the Libyan forces: Chad had no ability to match the Libyans, who were well supplied by the Soviet Union. The Chadians, however, responded by militarizing commonly-available Toyota Hi-Lux and Land Cruisers 4×4 pickup trucks, mounting them with anti-tank guided missile launchers (ATGMs), eventually achieving more or less a standard with MILAN units, supplied by the country’s former colonial master, France. In the process, the Chadians developed what would later be called “technicals“.

*Chadian soldiers on a Toyota Land Cruiser pickup truck in 2008; EUFOR operation in Chad*

Potential rebel forces around the world took note. Eventually, another group would take note, as well — and burn its way into infamy.

In sum, military supply and procurement establishments need to keep up with modern developments in technology and systems, but also need to take care that they don’t bankrupt the nation in order to buy some kind of “New and Improved!” system — unless said system is truly revolutionary, and they can honestly justify the need for the expense.

*US Army supply trucks on the Ledo Road, Burma, WW2*

Conversely, there are many people out there who understand very little of how actual military operations work. In most countries, there is a dedicated military force to handle those things. If a person with no military experience sees their national military forces holding on to what looks like hopelessly outdated gear, or sees them spending hard cash – that came from tax monies – to purchase what looks like pointless “new” gear, take it from a former Supply specialist: take them out to dinner, and politely ask them why. Don’t scream hysterically at them for waste. There is almost always a very good reason behind them doing these things, reasons the local media may have decided are too complex to try and explain…And yes, there is a certain level of sarcasm at that last.

Welcome to the World Situation Report For May 29, 2022

Michael Cessna May 29, 2022

The goal of this column is to present news from around the world that is not often – if ever – covered by more mainstream entities, using local sources wherever possible, but occasionally using news aggregators not used, again, by the mainstream media. Also, please note that we do use links to Wikipedia; while Wikipedia is well-known as a largely-useless site for any kind of serious research, it does serve as a launch-pad for further inquiry, in addition to being generally free of malicious ads. As with anything from Wikipedia, always verify their sources before making any conclusions based on their pages.

This column will cover the preceding week of news.

To make it easier for readers to follow story source links: anytime you see a bracketed number marked in green – [1] – those are the source links relating to that story.

North America

Following an unforeseen break last week, The Freedomist’s World Situation Report is back.

For obvious and unfortunate reasons, the first item is the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, where a disturbed young man killed some 19 children and two school teachers, after mortally wounding his own grandmother. While the incident is certainly a tragedy of the first order, two even more disturbing events occurred in the aftermath. The first was the naked and seedy behavior of a major-party candidate to attempt to politicize the tragedy to try and boost his flailing campaign. [1] In the second, serious questions have been raised concerning the police response to the incident [2], where the shooter was allowed to continue his rampage for some ninety minutes, while police officials – whose leadership had undergone “active shooter” training as recently as December [3] – tried to decide what to do, even as the perpetrator continued to fire, raising serious question as to whether police are capable of acting at all to deal with these types of threats.

Turning to other news around the United States, the bomb threats against schools continue, as more schools received bomb threats via telephone and email, some – again – receiving multiple threats on a near-weekly basis. [4]-[8] Meanwhile, a West Virginia man, Joshua Aaron Edens, was arrested on charges of illegal possession of destructive devices, explosive materials, or incendiary devices (in this case, blasting caps), after police observed him acting suspiciously and discovered the explosive devices buried in a residential home’s backyard…Evens was already on police radar, after police officers executing a search warrant on April 12th discovered some 35 “pipe bombs” in his living room. [9]

On the 23rd, in the town of Waukesha, Wisconsin, police responded to a local resident who stated that they had received a package via mail containing a “mysterious, white, powdery substance”. The resident had noted the strange package on heir doorstep, and was attempting to bring it to the police station, when they saw several Fire Department personnel in the parking lot in front of City Hall, and approached them with the package. As of press time, investigations continue as to the nature of the substance, and its origins. [10]

Finally, in two incidents that may be related, Federal officers arrested a 52-year old Shihab Ahmed Shihab Shihab, an Iraqi man who had filed a petition for asylum in the United States, on charges of aiding and abetting terrorists, as he was attempting to smuggle four other Iraqi men across the Mexican border, in an apparent plot to kill former President George W. Bush. The next day, Mirsad Kandic, 40, was found guilty of conspiracy and providing material support to the IS after a three-week trial in a Brooklyn federal court. According to authorities, Kandic was one of IS’s major recruiting officers, responsible for recruiting “thousands” of foreign volunteers for the terror group. He faces up to life in prison at his sentencing on November 9. [11][12]

[Source 1] – [Source 2] – [Source 3] – [Source 4] – [Source 5] – [Source 6] – [Source 7] – [Source 8] – [Source 9] – [Source 10] – [Source 11] – [Source 12]

Europe

In France, this week, police charged an unnamed 18-year old Muslim man with plotting a knife attack dedicated to the IS. Police said that the man was in possession of a video of himself swearing allegiance to the IS at the time of his arrest. [1]

In Sweden, meanwhile, sentenced to Swedish-born brothers to eight months in prison for attempting to join the IS as active fighters. The pair were arrested in February, because their “recruiting officer” turned out to be an undercover intelligence officer. [2]

[Source 1] – [Source 2]

Africa

In Burkina Faso, at least 50 civilians of Madjoari, in Kompienga Province, in eastern part of the country, were massacred by terrorists on the 25th, according to government officials. This follows two other attacks directed at civilians in the preceding week, which left some twenty-five dead or wounded. Burkina Faso’s war against Islamic terror groups has killed over 1,000 people and displaced over 1 million since 2015. [1]

In Nigeria, assassinations, bombings and kidnappings continued through the week, as terrorists kidnapped priests and congregants from their church, twelve farmers were massacred and a youth leader was assassinated elsewhere in the country. [2]-[5]

In a surprising twist to a story from March 28, the group who had killed eight and kidnapped an unknown number of people from a train, including a Pakistani national, in the central part of the country released videos of some of their captives as part of a public demand to release their children (aged 1 to 8), who they claim are being illegally held at an orphanage in Yola, the capital of Adamawa State. The kidnappers stated that they had been offered millions of naira (the Nigerian currency) to release the kidnapped victims, but that they had refused, saying expressly that money was not their motive. The group has stated (on May 24) that they would start killing hostages in seven days time if their demands are not met. [6][7]

[Source 1] – [Source 2] – [Source 3] – [Source 4] – [Source 5] – [Source 6] – [Source 7]

Middle East

The region was remarkably quiet this week, the only issues of note being an attack by IS terrorists on a wheat farm near the northern city of Kirkuk, in northern Iraq. The attack, in which the terrorists set fire to the farm, was used to lure security forces into an ambush. After killing three police officers and two civilians who had responded to try and put the fires out, the terrorists withdrew when reinforcements began to arrive. [1]

In Turkey, police in the southern part of the country killed a suicide bomber before he could detonate his vest. This comes two days after police in the country’s largest city, the world-famous Istanbul, arrested a man on suspicion of attempting to organize suicide attacks in the city for the Islamic State group. [2][3]

[Source 1] – [Source 2] – [Source 3]

South Asia

In the Afghan city of Mazar-i-Sharif, a series of bomb attacks on small mini-bus taxis killed nine, and wounded at least fifteen, on the 25th. The same day, a bomb attack on a mosque killed two and wounded ten others. [1] On the 23rd, unknown attackers blew up three power transmission towers in northern Samangan province, which run in from neighboring Uzbekistan, temporarily cutting power to several towns. These attacks have been occurring with greater frequency, as other attacks cut power to the capital city of Kabul two weeks ago. [2]

In Pakistan, two soldiers were killed when terrorists attacked their outpost in North Waziristan on the 24th. Elsewhere, police deployed tear gas and used riot batons to prevent supporters of ousted Prime Minister Imran Khan from reaching the capital Islamabad. Khan, who had been removed from power following a no-confidence vote on April 10th, has called on his supporters to march on the capital and occupy it until the new government is forced to step down, and new elections are held. [3][4]

[Source 1] – [Source 2] – [Source 3] – [Source 4]

Finally, in India, the conflict in Jammu & Kashmir continues, with at least ten terrorist suspects being killed in a 3 day period, as a soldier was injured by a landmine, and a police officer and local TV were assassinated (and their children injured) in separate incidents. [1]-[7]

Thankfully, the remainder of the nation was mostly quiet during the week.

[Source 1] – [Source 2] – [Source 3] – [Source 4] – [Source 5] – [Source 6] – [Source 7]

**The Freedomist — Keeping Watch, So You Don’t Have To**

SHORT ROUNDS — The “Other” Assault Rifles, Part 4

Michael Cessna May 25, 2022

The “Best” Service Rifle

A common argument, one of the fundamental arguments at a certain low level within military – and “wannabe” circles – is, “What is the best rifle for the battlefield?” We have resolutely avoided this dreaded question until now, because of the most important truism at the heart of the argument: place ten military professionals in a room and ask them this question, and you are guaranteed to get fifteen answers, every one of them passionately and adroitly argued with verifiable facts, figures and real-life examples.

There are many factors that go into this argument, not least, that it is a vital question at a basic level, because not answering it hamstrings any military at its inception, because service rifle selection impacts training, tactics and logistics simultaneously.

*M12 Small Arms Storage Rack, secures ten M16/M16A1 rifles.*

What are the features that a “service rifle” must have? There are a lot of considerations that need to be balanced in answering that question.

First, the weapon must be reliable. An unreliable rifle, prone to malfunction, is not capable of performing any other mission, and is both a waste of money, a guarantee of mission failure and a killer of your own troops, whatever its other benefits might be.

Second, the rifle needs to be “ergonomically sound“. This is a modern term, that essentially means that the rifle “handles well”, and is logically designed so that troops can use it when they are tired, dirty, cold, wet and slathered in mud — which they are guaranteed to be, when it counts the most.

Third, a service rifle must fire a projectile that can actually harm an opponent, preferably with lethal effect. There has been a great deal of controversy in the last few decades over this requirement, as more brutally-minded pundits have argued in favor of a rifle that is more prone to wounding opponents than killing them, as a wounded soldier is a severe drain on resources, requiring extensive medical care and rehabilitation, and is also a continuing negative reinforcement to morale. conversely, meanwhile, the dead soldier is simply…dead – his comrades will mourn him, but will usually be able to quickly recoup, and continue their mission.

The notion that wounding a soldier on the battlefield, versus killing him, is – very real psychological degradation aside – a very dangerous strategy for any nation actively seeking to deploy such a rifle, for the very simple reason that history is replete with examples of wounded soldiers – and sometimes horrifically wounded ones (video link) – continuing to man positions and fight on, long after they should have been felled (video link). A wounded enemy is, if anything, frequently much more dangerous than even a live enemy, much less a dead one.

Fourth, the rifle should be semi-automatic. This might seem like a misnomer in the Twenty-First Century, but it is a basic fact that most troops with fully-automatic rifles, who have not been trained as actual machine gunners, tend to waste vast quantities of ammunition to little effect. Forces who spend time on training, as well as experienced fighters without formal training, quickly learn that they get far more effect out of steady, aimed semi-automatic fire. Firing a full magazine of rounds blindly from a rifle is not “suppressive fire“.

*A ration party of the Royal Irish Rifles in a communication trench during the Battle of the Somme.*

Fifth, the rifle should be as light in weight as possible. Combat troops have always carried far more weight than is advisable…unfortunately, this has usually been a necessity. However, while every ounce saved is appreciated by the infantry, shaving too much weight from the rifle makes it prone to malfunction, overheating and inaccurate in rapid fire, to say nothing of fully automatic fire.

Sixth, the service rifle should have at least a twenty round magazine. The current world standard is thirty, given the current military touchstone of the intermediate cartridge.

Seventh, the service rifle should be affordable for the nation’s military. This is another touchy subject, as the lives of a country’s troops is usually seen as a matter of vital importance. However, most countries simply do not have the money to equip all of their troops with the absolute best weapons available (Switzerland‘s reliable, but incredibly expensive Stgw 57 comes immediately to mind), and compromises must be made. Some nations do a better job than others at this.

Eighth, and last, is the requirement for a functional bayonet. This is also a controversial view, as bayonets have historically inflicted few casualties in actual combat, and whose actual use in combat has steadily declined, despite the occasional instance of an actual bayonet charge in the last thirty-five or so years. However, the bayonet will never die as a military weapon, because it is as much a psychological weapon as a physical one; it is as much a statement of determination as desperation, both to the enemy as well as your own troops.

So – how have these eight requirements been applied over the years?

Reviewing a simple list of service rifles reveals a dizzying array of weapons, so many that it is tempting to ignore the list entirely. But…look at that list a different way: you should note that virtually every service rifle adopted in the last sixty years has been in one of three calibers: 5.56x45mm, 7.62x39mm, 7.62x54mmR or 7.62x51mm.

What’s more, throughout conflict zones around the world, were you suddenly transported from reading this to one of those places, you have approximately a 95% chance of picking up one of four rifles: an AR-15/M-16/M4, an AK-type rifle, an FN FAL or a CETME/G3-type, as we have covered in previous installments of this series:

There are two basic reasons for this phenomenon.

First, are the brutal economics of the Cold War: as small, poor nations sided with one bloc or the other, the powerful nations at the core of those blocs were happy to provide their rifle of choice at little to no charge, in trade for influence and control. This encouraged small countries to only buy either that rifle, or a rifle that used that ammunition.

*Inside the Ross Rifle Factory, Quebec City, ca. 1904-1905*

Second, the laws of Supply and Demand and Mass Production meant that three or four basic ammunition types would standardize, eventually. Together with 9x19mm ‘Parabellum’ (in military handguns and most submachine guns) and ’12gauge’ (for shotguns), the standardization of weapons and ammunition around the world were virtually guaranteed. Additionally, there are enough of the above four rifles out there, that their respective characteristics are well known, including their strengths and flaws.

But — what does all this mean for the budding army builder? Knowing all these factors, what service rifle should you choose?

The answer is simply this:

The best service rifle is the one that you can lay hands on in the largest quantity, in the shortest amount of time, that you can train the largest number of people quickly to use, that is at least reasonably reliable…in that order.

That’s it. Really.

The “Big Four” rifles – the AR, the AK, the FAL and the G3 – are: universally cheap (for various reasons); are all battle-proven designs; have had all of their major faults identified and (mostly) fixed; and all have vast quantities of both weapons and accoutrements readily available, virtually everywhere in the world.

You can spend the money on a “shootout” between the various weapons, or read through the exhaustive literature on all of the weapons to decide…of course, there is always the chance that you may need to use whatever is at hand. In that case:

The best service rifle in the world, is the one that will fire when you expect it to.