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The Voice of the White House
Washington,
D.C., November 23, 2007: “Now we learn, from clandestine filchings
from the PDB, that some evil person in Pakistan, probably some of
their generals, have made off with cores for atomic weapons from
their repositories. What does this mean? The probability of some
kind of nuclear accident based on the militancy in the Muslim world.
No one, not the useless CIA, the Pentagon or any other U.S.
intelligence agency has the slightest idea what happened to the
deadly nuclear cores. We know they were stolen and very recently and
an attempt made to conceal this. We know that it would be impossible
to steal these from the custody of the Pakistani military without
top level assistance. What are we going abut it? Nothing but pray a
lot. The political situation in Pakistan is at the critical mass
point and our response is to pretend everything is wonderful, just
like we’re pretending everything is just peachy in Baghdad and
that no more bombs are going off in crowded mosques or markets. If
you put your head in the sand once too often, you can get a vicious
kick in the ass.”
Harry Brunser Report
Editor’s
note: Mr. Brunser is an excellent source of official
top-level, inside foreign intelligence information.
The current
situation in Pakistan as of November 21, 2007, is roughly this:
Desperate to hang on to power at any cost mainly because of his
access to unlimited and uncontrolled U.S. cash gifts, General Pervez Musharraf is refusing to stand down on his
draconian declaration of martial law in Pakistan. Threats and
pleadings from Washington result in vague assurances of “coming
elections” but there has been no action on Musharraf’s part to
defuse what is a very serious problem.
The Islamic fundamentalists on his borders with Afghanistan
are growing stronger and as the Pakistani army is
being used to control internal dissents, are moving into
territory once considered securely in the hands of that
organization. Growing public outrage at the crackdown pales into
insignificance in comparison with the hyper-critical situation with
Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal. True, the domestic crisis is masking
the really critical issue. :
Nobody in the American
security community seems to have considered the possibility
that someone with access to the nuclear cores could abscond with two
or three cores quite successfully, by replacing them
with spheres of the same size machined from depleted uranium,
of which latter material the USA has used literally hundreds of
tons as 50-caliber ammunition and anti-tank rounds in Iraq and
Kosovo. Depleted uranium ammunition is considered
"harmless" by the USA and is extremely loosely
controlled. Anyone with military connections could probably easily
obtain several hundred pounds of this material in the form of DU
ammunition, and re-machine it into metal spheres perfectly
mimicking, in size, appearance, and weight, the real atomic
cores. All that remains is to substitute the DU spheres for the HEU
spheres during an inspection and tallying process. We do
not know Pakistan's monitoring procedures, which are surely highly
secret, but certainly such inspections must be performed quite
regularly, most probably by two, or less likely three
people, and would present an easy opportunity for substitution when
a colleague is distracted or has his back turned. If the inspections
consisted merely of a numerical count, and did not include testing
with a Geiger counter (which is unlikely, except very
occasionally to ensure the core had not deteriorated) the
substitution could go unnoticed for years.
This scenario should cause an
immense furor, when you publicly claim that such a thing
has actually happened. Not only might this conceivably have happened
in Pakistan, but anywhere that nuclear cores are stored.
Every nuclear power as a result will be soiling themselves
and scrambling to test their thousands of stored cores.
However, since Pakistan is swarming with Islamic crazies, even
among its top scientists, it is most terrifying to contemplate this having
happened there.
All of this having been said,
we have it on very reliable information that at least six nuclear
cores have been taken and had substitutes installed in their place.
This has happened within the past two and a half months. Although we
are aware of this, we do not know who took them (though it had to be
done with high-level military cooperation) and we do not know what
the thieves are going to do with them. Our sources indicate that on
a scale of ten, nine indicates an attack on India, probably the huge
marketplace in Delhi. Naturally, we cannot inform India of this
because if we plan any military action in Pakistan, which is now
being very seriously considered, we will need India for a forwarding
base. For this reason, we have lied to India and assured them that
we have taken custody of all the atomic weapons. What we did not
tell them is that six of the cores have been taken and we have no
idea where they are, who took them or what they plan to do with
them. Given that very high level Pakistani military personnel had to
have been involved, their coverup is intense and to date, we have
been unable to penetrate their security. Outward friendliness is the
watchword but secret plotting is the actuality.
Former Press Secretary Blames Bush,
Cheney for Misstatement About Leak
Ex-White House press secretary writes
in his new book that top administration officials let him
unknowingly pass on false information.
November
21, 2007
Associated Press
WASHINGTON - Former White House Press
Secretary Scott McClellan blames President Bush and Vice President
Dick Cheney for efforts to mislead the public about the role of
White House aides in leaking the identity of a CIA operative
In an excerpt from his forthcoming
book, “What Happened,” McClellan recounts the 2003 news
conference in which he told reporters that aides Karl Rove and I.
Lewis “Scooter” Libby were “not involved” in the leak
involving operative Valerie Plame.
“There was one problem. It was not
true,” McClellan writes, according to a brief excerpt released
Tuesday. “I had unknowingly passed along false information. And
five of the highest-ranking officials in the administration were
involved in my doing so: Rove, Libby, the vice president, the
president’s chief of staff and the president himself.”
Bush’s chief of staff at the time was
Andrew H. Card Jr.
The excerpt, posted on the website of
publisher PublicAffairs, renews questions about what went on in the
West Wing and how much Bush and Cheney knew about the leak.
White House Press Secretary Dana Perino
said it wasn’t clear what McClellan meant in the excerpt. “The
president has not and would not ask his spokespeople to pass on
false information,” she said.
Plame maintains the White House quietly
outed her to reporters. Plame and her husband, former Ambassador
Joseph C. Wilson IV, said the leak was retribution for his public
criticism of the Iraq war.
Since that news conference, however,
the official White House stance has shifted and it has been
difficult to get a clear picture of what happened behind closed
doors around the time of the leak.
McClellan’s flat denials gave way to
a steady drumbeat of “no comment.” And Bush’s original pledge
to fire anyone involved in the leak became a promise to fire anyone
who “committed a crime.”
McClellan turned down interview
requests Tuesday.
Bush most recently addressed the issue
in July after commuting the 30-month prison term of Libby, the only
one charged in the case. He acknowledged that some in the White
House were involved in the leak.
Green Zone Follies
Baghdad,
21 Nov 07. “My God, I love to read the online New York Times! What
unadulterated shit! They claim that all is becoming peaceful and
quiet here with joyful Iraqis opening markets, holding weddings in
the street to the sound of laughing children. Oh, and we are told
that the death tolls have dropped dramatically! If you believe that
official Pentagon shit, you’ll believe in the Second Coming, kids.
The truth is that we send out fewer patrols so we have fewer
casualties. The bad people are regularly shelling the Green Zone and
killing people every day. The actual death tolls are as high as ever
and I have some lovely pictures which I will send on for your
readers. Believe me, all of this talk about the “pacification of
Iraq” is lies and very simplistic and crude lies. The foreign
press knows better as do the Iraqis but Bush-friendly papers like
the Times are spewing stupid propaganda out like shit out of a
goose. No wonder the American media is losing viewers and readers by
the gross on a daily basis. I notice Curious George the ape didn’t
come here this Thanksgiving with an army of bodyguards for his
plastic turkey, photo ops and
fast, fast trip back. We ought to strap the asshole to a truck and
drive around Baghdad with a big sign proclaiming his presence on the
front. Five will gt you ten he would look like a Swiss cheese before
they got a half a block. God Bless America and now send Cheney over
for a similar show and tell!”
Mortars strike Baghdad's Green Zone as
Americans celebrate Thanksgiving
November
22, 2007
The
Associated Press
BAGHDAD:
A series of mortars struck the U.S.-protected Green Zone on
Thursday, Iraqi police said, in an apparent attack coinciding with
the American celebration of Thanksgiving.
About
10 blasts were heard in central Baghdad just before 5 p.m., and a
huge plume of black smoke rose into the sky as the sun was setting.
The U.S. government public address system in the Green Zone also
warned people to "duck and cover" and to stay away from
windows.
An
Iraqi police officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he
wasn't authorized to release the information, said the blasts were
caused by mortars that landed in the Green Zone. U.S. military and
embassy officials did not immediately respond to requests for
comment.
The
heavily fortified area, which houses the U.S. Embassy and thousands
of American troops and contractors, along with the Iraqi
government's headquarters, has frequently been hit by rockets or
mortars. But the attacks have tapered off amid a lull of violence in
the capital and surrounding areas.
Twenty missile shells land in Baghdad''s Green-Zone
November
22, 2007
KUNA
BAGHDAD, Nov 22 (KUNA) — The Iraqi capital witnessed a strong attack
on Thursday with 20 missile shells landing in different parts of the
heavyily fortified Green Zone area.
KUNA's correspondent said he heard at least 20 missile shells land in
the area and smoke was seen there, along with the sound of sirens
heard as a result of the attack.
The correspondent also added he could not locate the exact location of
the firing attack, nor was he able to determine human casualties or
material damage.
US military choppers were seen flying over the area, which also
coincided with another attack by Al-Qaeda on tribesmen resulting in
killing eight men and three Iraqi soldiers, the correspondent added.
Last week, US military spokesman rear Admiral Gregory Smith warned of a
surge in attacks by Al-Qaeda on citizens in Baghdad, regardless of
the decrease of violence in recent weeks.
Iraqi Resistance Report for events of Tuesday, 20 November 2007.
Translated and/or
compiled by Muhammad Abu Nasr, member, editorial board, the Free
Arab Voice. http://www.freearabvoice.org
·
Two US troops killed near al-Hadithah on Monday.
·
Resistance blasts “Green Zone” with mortar shells Tuesday
afternoon.
·
US admits death of one more occupation soldier on 14 November.
·
Resistance bomb disables US Humvee in Baghdad’s al-Baladiyat
section midday Tuesday.
·
Resistance bomb destroys US vehicle near ad-Dulu‘iyah,
killing American crew.
·
Two US troops killed when Resistance shoots down American
helicopter near Salman Bak Tuesday.
US soldier wounded in bomb attack south of
an-Nasiriyah.
Al-Anbar Province.
Al-Hadithah.
Two US troops killed
near al-Hadithah on Monday.
In a dispatch posted at 1:14pm Baghdad time Tuesday afternoon, the
Association of Muslim Scholars of Iraq (AMSI) reported that an Iraqi
Resistance bomb exploded by a US patrol near the village of al-Haqlaniyah
near al-Hadithah, 280km northwest of Baghdad.
The AMSI reported Lieutenant Colonel Khalaf al-Bayyati, the official
spokesman of the puppet police, as saying that the Resistance men
also attacked the US Humvee with medium and light machine guns on
Monday, killing two American troops and wounding two more.
Al-Fallujah.
Collaborator puppet policemen kidnapped near
al-Fallujah Monday.
In a dispatch posted Tuesday, the Yaqen News Agency reported that three
members of the collaborationist tribal puppet police known as the
“al-Anbar Awakening” police were kidnapped on the main road
leading to al-Karmah, 7km east of al-Fallujah (which is 60km west of
Baghdad) on Monday.
Yaqen reported eyewitnesses as saying that armed men in a late-model car
pursued and then intercepted the car in which the collaborators were
riding. They forced the “al-Anbar Awakening” members out of
their car, bound them, and led them away to an unknown destination.
One witness said that the collaborator policemen were from al-Karmah and
were coming home on routine leave when they were intercepted and
abducted.
Baghdad.
Sectarian murder spree continues: six more bodies found dumped around
Baghdad on Tuesday.
In a dispatch posted at 9:51pm Baghdad time Tuesday night, the Yaqen
News Agency reported that the Iraqi puppet police recovered the
bodies of six more victims of sectarian murder that had been dumped
around Baghdad on Tuesday.
Yaqen reported a source in the puppet police as saying that four of the
six bodies were found in the Baghdad district of al-Karakh.
Resistance blasts
“Green Zone” with mortar shells Tuesday afternoon.
In a dispatch posted at 9:40pm Baghdad time Tuesday night, the Yaqen
News Agency reported that the Iraqi Resistance blasted the
top-security area around the Republican Palace in Baghdad – the
area that the Americans have dubbed the “Green Zone” with a two
mortar rounds on Tuesday afternoon.
Yaqen reported a source in the puppet police as saying that two mortar
shell blased in the “Green Zone.” The source said that the first
had been fired from the direction of the Baghdad neighborhood of al-Karradah
and the second from the neighborhood of al-Qadisiyah. No information
on damage or casualties was available and the Americans, as of the
time of reporting, had made no statement regarding the attack.
Chairman of the Geological Survey Department for puppet regime gunned
down in Baghdad Tuesday morning.
In a dispatch posted at 3:55pm Baghdad time Tuesday afternoon, the Yaqen
News Agency reported that armed men shot and killed the Chairman of
the Geological Survey Department in Baghdad as he rode his car down
Hayfa Street in the middle of the occupied Iraqi capital on Tuesday
morning.
Yaqen reported a source in the puppet police, who asked not to be
identified, as saying that armed men in an unmarked car opened fire
on Dr. Musa Ja‘far, Chairman of the Geological Survey Department
for the puppet regime, as he drove his private car down Hayfa
Street. Dr. Ja‘far died on the spot, the source added. Besides
Ja‘far, a second individual who was in the car with the Chairman
was killed and a third wounded.
The source said that the attackers left the scene after the shooting and
the puppet police were unable to catch up with them.
Resistance bomb
disables US Humvee in Baghdad’s al-Baladiyat section midday
Tuesday.
In a dispatch posted at 3:27pm Baghdad time Tuesday afternoon, the Yaqen
News Agency reported that an Iraqi Resistance bomb exploded by a US
patrol in the al-Baladiyat area of eastern Baghdad after noon on
Tuesday.
Yaqen reported a source in the puppet police as claiming that the blast
disabled a US Humvee and wounded three Iraqi civilians. The puppet
police source said that American forces closed off the area and
prevented anyone from approaching, making an accounting of US
casualties impossible to obtain.
US admits death of
one more occupation soldier on 14 November.
In a dispatch posted at 1:14pm Baghdad time Tuesday afternoon, the
Association of Muslim Scholars of Iraq (AMSI) reported that the US
had admitted that a bomb exploded near a US vehicle on 14 November,
killing a 25-year-old American soldier.
Car bomb explodes in
western Baghdad Tuesday.
In a dispatch posted Tuesday, the Yaqen News Agency reported that a car
bomb went off amidst a crowd of civilians in the al-Bayya‘ suburb
of western Baghdad Tuesday morning.
Yaqen reported a source in the puppet police as saying that the blast
killed two civilians and wounded seven more of them in addition to
inflicting material damage in the area. The victims were taken to
al-Yarmuk Hospital for treatment.
Salah ad-Din Province.
Bayji.
Bodies of two oil installation protection policemen found in
Bayji.
In a dispatch posted at 6:57pm Baghdad time Tuesday night, the Yaqen
News Agency reported that the bodies of two puppet policemen of the
oil protection forces who were abducted by unknown parties a week
ago had been found in the city of Bayji, 200km north of Baghdad.
Yaqen reported medical sources as saying that the remains showed signs
of torture and had been shot in various parts of their bodies. They
were taken to the morgue in Tikrit Teaching Hospital.
Ad-Dulu‘iyah.
Resistance bomb
destroyes US vehicle near ad-Dulu‘iyah, killing American crew.
In a dispatch posted at 6:20pm Baghdad time Tuesday night, the Yaqen
News Agency reported that an Iraqi Resistance bomb exploded by a US
patrol to the east of the city of ad-Dulu‘iyah, 97km north of
Baghdad.
Yaqen reported a source as saying that the bomb exploded by a patrol of
US troops that was traveling around the area of Bayshkan near ad-Dulu‘iyah.
The blast sent parts of one of the American vehicles flying over a
wide area and left the Americans inside dead.
Diyala Province.
Salman
Bak.
Two US troops killed
when Resistance shoots down American helicopter near Salman Bak
Tuesday.
In a dispatch posted at 10:35pm Baghdad time Tuesday night, the Yaqen
News Agency reported that Iraqi Resistance gunfire brought down a US
helicopter to the southeast of Baghdad, according to US admissions
on Tuesday.
Yaqen reported a communiqué issued by the American occupation
authorities as saying that a US military helicopter crashed near
Salman Bak, 45km southeast of Baghdad. The American military
admitted that two of its personnel were killed in the attack and 12
more of them wounded.
Babil Province.
Al-Hillah.
Adviser to puppet
“Iraqi Prime Minister” survives assassination attempt.
In a dispatch posted at 12:11pm Baghdad time Tuesday afternoon, the
Association of Muslim Scholars of Iraq (AMSI) reported that an
adviser to the US-appointed puppet “Prime Minister” of Iraq,
Nuri al-Maliki survived a bomb attack in Babil Province, south of
Baghdad.
The AMSI reported a source as saying that a bomb exploded by the
motorcade of Abu Ahmad al-Basri, an adviser to the puppet “Iraqi
Prime Minister” on the highway between al-Hillah and an-Najaf. The
bomb, which was detonated by remote control, caused no casualties or
damage, the source claimed.
At-Ta’mim Province.
Kirkuk.
Resistance bomb kills
puppet army soldier southwest of Kirkuk.
In a dispatch posted at 12:35am Makkah time just after midnight
Wednesday morning, Mafkarat al-Islam reported that an Iraqi
Resistance bomb exploded by an Iraqi puppet army patrol near the
village of as-Safrah, 60km southwest of Kirkuk (which is 250km north
of Baghdad) at midday Tuesday.
Mafkarat al-Islam reported an official with the puppet police in Kirkuk
as saying that the blast killed one Iraqi puppet army soldier and
wounded five more of them.
Dhi Qar Province.
An-Nasiriyah.
US soldier wounded in
bomb attack south of an-Nasiriyah.
In a dispatch posted at 4:55pm Makkah time Tuesday afternoon, Mafkarat
al-Islam reported that a bomb exploded by a US patrol on the highway
in the Haql Sabbah area south of an-Nasiriyah (which is 385km south
of Baghdad).
Mafkarat al-Islam reported that the blast destroyed an American Humvee
and wounded one US soldier.
Wounded Soldier: Military Wants
Part Of Bonus Back
November 19, 2007
by Marty Griffin
KDKA
PITTSBURGH
(KDKA) ― The U.S. Military is demanding that thousands of
wounded service personnel give back signing bonuses because they are
unable to serve out their commitments.
To get people to sign up,
the military gives enlistment bonuses up to $30,000 in some cases.
Now men and women who have
lost arms, legs, eyesight, hearing and can no longer serve are being
ordered to pay some of that money back.
One of them is Jordan Fox,
a young soldier from the South Hills.
He finds solace in the
hundreds of boxes he loads onto a truck in Carnegie. In each box is
a care package that will be sent to a man or woman serving in Iraq.
It was in his name Operation Pittsburgh Pride was started.
Fox was seriously injured
when a roadside bomb blew up his vehicle. He was knocked
unconscious. His back was injured and lost all vision in his right
eye.
A few months later Fox was
sent home. His injuries prohibited him from fulfilling three months
of his commitment. A few days ago, he received a letter from the
military demanding nearly $3,000 of his signing bonus back.
"I tried to do my best
and serve my country. I was unfortunately hurt in the process. Now
they're telling me they want their money back," he explained.
It's a slap for Fox's
mother, Susan Wardezak, who met with President Bush in Pittsburgh
last May. He thanked her for starting Operation Pittsburgh Pride
which has sent approximately 4,000 care packages.
He then sent her a letter
expressing his concern over her son's injuries, so she cannot
understand the U.S. Government's apparent lack of concern over
injuries to countless U.S. Soldiers and demands that they return
their bonuses.
While he's unsure of his
future, Fox says he's unwavering in his commitment to his country.
"I'd do it all over
again... because I'm proud of the discipline that I learned.
I'm proud to have done something for my country," he said.
But Fox feels like he's
already given enough. He'll never be able to pursue his dream of
being a police officer because of his wounds and he can't believe
he's being asked to return part of his $10,000 signing bonus.
KDKA contacted Congressman
Jason Altmire on his behalf. He says he has proposed a bill that
would guarantee soldiers receive full benefit of bonuses.
Army
targets 37,000 active-duty soldiers to be deployed
The Army has targeted 37,000 active-duty soldiers who have yet to
serve a combat tour after more than six years of war in Afghanistan
and Iraq.
November 21, 2007
by Gina Cavallaro
Army Times
Soldiers who haven’t been
downrange yet had better hone their warrior skills because the Army
wants to see more combat patches in the ranks.
The Army has targeted
37,000 active-duty soldiers who have yet to serve a combat tour
after more than six years of war in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Over that period, 59.4
percent of some 515,000 active-duty soldiers have deployed to the
Central Command area of operations at least once, according to data
compiled by Human Resources Command. Many of them have served three
or four tours — some even more.
Another 33.4 percent have
not served a war tour but are assigned to units with pending
deployments; are not in deployable status because they are at basic
training, school or other Army training; have medical or legal
issues that keep them out of rotation; are serving as instructors,
recruiters or drill sergeants; or are in transit or otherwise on
hold.
But 7.2 percent, roughly
37,000 active-duty soldiers, have been identified by HRC as
available for deployment and are facing transfer to operational
units.
Soldiers charged with
combing through the rolls at HRC indicated that many troops yet to
deploy have been ready and willing to go, and many have volunteered
but haven’t had the opportunity. But the assignments officers also
acknowledged that some homesteading and deployment-ducking have
taken place.
“Certainly in a
population of 37,000 you’ll have soldiers who say, ‘I’ll avoid
this at any cost,’” said Col. Louis Henkel, deputy director of
the Enlisted Personnel Management Directorate at HRC.
“Does that mean the Army
will give them cover? No,” Henkel said.
But while some soldiers may
not move toward the sound of the guns, Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen.
Dick Cody says he thinks they are in the minority.
“This far into the war, I
think that is more of a perception than a reality,” Cody said,
explaining that it has taken this long to get every soldier an
opportunity to go downrange while simultaneously creating cohesive
leadership in deploying units and in units that are being stood up.
“I think you could go to
any post, camp or station and you could probably find someone
who’s been in the Army four years and hasn’t deployed and that
would be the exception, not the rule. Because when you look into it,
that may be the best trainer for our medics down at Brooke
Army Medical Center,” Cody offered as an example. HRC
officials were unable to provide a breakdown by major command of
soldiers being considered for first-time deployments.
Of the Armywide 7.2 percent
being looked at for first deployments, the highest number without
combat tours, 27.1 percent, work in health services, a field in
which the need for specialists on the home front makes rotations
less frequent.
The next largest group at
7.1 percent is considerably smaller and comprises soldiers who work
in operations support in branches and career management fields that
include space operations, foreign area officers, nuclear and
counterproliferation, signal, telecommunication systems engineering,
strategic plans and policy, simulation operations and information
systems management.
Soldiers who work in
transportation, ordnance quartermaster, logistics, adjutant general,
finance, human resources and acquisition make up 4.1 percent of the
undeployed.
And the smallest group of
undeployed soldiers, 3.5 percent, is in the maneuver, fires and
effects category, which includes all combat-arms specialties,
special operations and public affairs.
Many of these targeted
soldiers work in places such as the Pentagon, Installation
Management Command, HRC and other units in the Military District of
Washington.
The long haul
Army leaders long have
described what they believe will be persistent global conflict in
which the Army will continue to play a major role.
The wars in Iraq and
Afghanistan have continued longer than projected, requiring
active-duty troops to serve back-to-back deployments and reservists
to serve as operational forces.
The relentless operations
tempo has been the source of wide dissatisfaction inside the ranks
and among family members, creating a stiff and ongoing challenge to
recruiting and retaining troops.
To help ease the deployment
strain, the Army has accelerated by two years, to 2010, its goal of
growing active-duty end strength to 547,000, from the current
519,000. Also, the service is putting more money into addressing
family support issues and looking for places where soldiers who are
tired from relentless rotations can sit the game out for a while.
The Marine Corps embarked
on a similar campaign close to a year ago with a Corps-wide message
from the commandant ordering all hands into the fight and
specifically targeting 66,000 leathernecks who had not deployed.
The Army has not issued any
such message. Rather, the hunt for fresh warriors has evolved as
repeat deployments have become standard for much of the force and
others have been reassigned to non-deploying billets before it was
obvious the operations tempo was not going to slacken any time soon.
“Everybody wants to go
downrange and be part of this because they know the importance of
this war,” Cody said, adding, “At the same time, there’s a
demand to make sure we have the right noncommissioned officer
leaders and officer leaders at our training bases that are training
up these young men and women to go to these units.”
The need to get combat vets
into training bases forced HRC to look deeper into the ranks for
soldiers who could deploy and have not.
To help rotate people into
those jobs, Gen. William S. Wallace, commander of Training and
Doctrine Command, said he has asked the Army G-1, the TRADOC command
sergeant major and HRC to see “where we can accept two-year
assignments in TRADOC and to codify those assignments to the point
where we can start moving people in and out without doing damage to
our organizational structure in the process.”
“I don’t want to create
so much turbulence in TRADOC that it becomes inefficient in terms of
moving people around, but there is great value, in my judgment, in
having combat veterans wearing the TRADOC patch because they bring
credibility and they bring life, they bring energy into the
organization,” he said in a recent interview.
Wallace said he doesn’t
expect it to be a blanket policy across the command because of the
turbulence it could cause in training the force.
But, where it makes sense,
he said, he’d “like to move people in and out of TRADOC in a
more rapid fashion because I need the combat experience, and I think
our combat veterans in some cases need a break.”
Henkel said people who have
been in TRADOC billets for six years will “be the first in the
queue.”
Some targeted TRADOC
positions, Cody noted, won’t be able to move into operational
units until replacements whose deployments have been pushed to 15
months can return and get to the assignment.
“Obviously when job one
is to fill fully trained, best-led units into combat, with 20
brigades in Iraq, and three brigades in Afghanistan plus another
4,500 senior leaders on military training teams, just that demand
alone has driven us to make sure that we’re balancing this force
in terms of getting the right people in the right positions so we
have trained and ready forces in this fight,” Cody said
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