The Euro Cave
What do the simple folk do
To help them escape when they're blue
When they're beset and besieged
The folk not noblessely obliged
However do they manage
To shed their weary lot
Oh, what do simple folk do
We do not?
--What do the Simple Folk Do? from the musical Camelot,
lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe
To help them escape when they're blue
When they're beset and besieged
The folk not noblessely obliged
However do they manage
To shed their weary lot
Oh, what do simple folk do
We do not?
--What do the Simple Folk Do? from the musical Camelot,
lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe
And nope, the title doesn't refer to that place to which most sensible Europeans have withdrawn in order to avoid participation in the Iraq conflict. The EuroCave is a "premier personal wine cellar."
The reason I mentioned it is because the advertisement caught my eye, as it was on page 2 of the Wall Street Journal, following front page mention of the outrage GWB's surge met with, and the President's presentation of the Medal of Honor to yet another dead soldier's family, that of Marine Corporal Jason Dunham.
The EuroCave offers protection for your wines: "Superior temperature, humidity and vibration control."
I wonder if the trucks and combat vehicles and quarters for our troops will provide the same protection for them. Somehow, I doubt it. Well, the personnel carriers may lack the necessary protective armor, but thank goodness the well-being of the wine won't be compromised.
This is just one of those moments where you realize the vast separation between classes of Americans. The fiction is that we are a classless society. Unclassy I can buy, but not classless. We may not confer titles, but economic classism is alive and well.
Well, at least we know that Cpl. Dunham now has earned a protectecd and climate-controlled environment.
--by Lisa
posted by rangeragainstwar at 2:15 AM
11 Comments:
"I wonder if the trucks and combat vehicles and quarters for our troops will provide the same protection for them."
M-1117 ASV
Immune to most IEDs, RPGs bounce off like tennis balls, and the AC is so chilly you will turn it off when it is 130 degrees outside.
Claymore,
Not all our our soldiers are privileged to be a crew member of an M-1117 ASV, I'm sure.
Since on the topic of air conditioning, is it possible that this keeps the soldiers more closely bound to their vehicle (b/c they don't want to face the heat)? Jim suggests this comfort makes them more succeptible to IED attacks, as they are less likely to provide outer dismounted security for the vehicle.
Let's don't forget the 2 1/2 ton and 5-ton drivers. It's possible that they're air conditioned, but the last time I saw them they weren't.
Jim advises me that if he has access to the correct materials, he can destroy any vehicle that's in the inventory. Improvised munition and explosives are obviously not foreign to our adversaries.
Upon further discussion with Jim, he wonders how long it will be until Saggers (ATMs) and the like are introduced on to their side of the equation.
Your comments are appreciated,
Jim
The Nubian consort comment seems like a cheap shot.
"Jim suggests this comfort makes them more succeptible to IED attacks, as they are less likely to provide outer dismounted security for the vehicle."
This is a convoy escourt vehicle; it augments hummers as fire support(M2 & MK19 coax) The damn thing goes 80 MPH easily. Spead is security. I know this It can survive triple stacked 105mm IEDs w/ accelerator. EFP(explosive force projectile-iranin origin) is a different story; it can punch a hole in a M1 Abrams like a hot knife through butter- but it is limited to exact timing(a pressure plate, air hose, IR switch, or trip wire). The last I heard, the only casualty from an ASV was from an insurgent firing two RPGs in the same spot(a common Hezbollah tactic) on fold in the armor.
It seems to me that troops will always seek a method of protecting themselves from exterior dangers. That's one reason why the sandbag was such a vital after-market modification to the M-113.
As Jim pointed out, A/c is fine for travel in non-threatening environments such as, ohhhh.... say, Kuwait or Saudi Arabia. In Iraq - not so much. The best defensive equipment is alert eyes and ears.
The history of the armor/armament spiral pre-WWI is the best example of the uselessness of expecting safety behind armor plate. There's always a bright spark who will figure out how to make a larger shaped charge.
I also have to wonder if the M-1117 ASV has a better armor package than the M1A1. We've lost (at least) several dozens of them in Iraq.
Orthoclase,
While I wrote the piece, Jim insited on the "Nubian consort" comment. As you will note, I also called our president a "king"-- which is another stab, but you did not take exception with that. Both comments are in the same vein, as both people are imperious in their conduct and demeanor.
It is reported recently that Ms. Rice expressed her gratitude for her FOX news reporters, who get the story right, according to her. This is laughable.
If we have an edge, we have learned that from the conservative media darlings like Ann Coulter. We doubt we have the meanness of spirit evidenced in the stuff spewn out by the right. But we're trying(!)
We're grateful for readers who read us that closely, as you did, Thanks.
Lurch,
As always, you say what Jim means in a more concise manner. As a leader, it's always been difficult to force people to fill sandbags and to overcome the inertia of the troops.
The troops will protect themselves if leaderships provides them the opportunity to do so. If they're in an hurry, like in the Tillman case, they will not put out outer security.
Thanks Lurch for the supporting fire.
One of the most important lessons I learned in BCT:
Newton's Laws of motion [of a body of troops]
1. A body [of troops] at rest remains at rest, and a body [of troops] in motion continues to move in a straight line with a constant speed unless and until an external unbalanced force [Sgt, E-7, loud] acts upon it.
2. The rate of change of momentum of a body is directly proportional to the impressed force [threats, Sgt, E-7] and takes place in the direction in which the force acts.
3. Forces occur in pairs, which are equal in magnitude and opposite in direction.
Another way of stating Newton's third law is that if object A [threat, boot, Sgt E-7] exerts a force on object B,[troop, anus] then object B exerts a force of the same magnitude on A, in the opposite direction. [retention, requiring surgery of boot]
Lurch,
I've never heard this stated as such. My ignorance--I did not know Newton was a fighting man. Clearly, he had his finger on the pulse, but just as clearly, a leg, as no planes yet. The only thing I've read in a similar vein is Murray's Rules for combat; I suppose yours is a corrolary.
As usual, you state things far more succintly than I.
p.s.--this goes to my old first sergeant, as they seem to share similar leadership. I remember his as 10 regulars.
Claymore,
I generally agree that speed is security, except on convoy duty.
80 m.p.h. is irrelevent when you're escorting 5-ton vehicles.
We mustn't get bogged down in details here: the problem is, we're getting involved in combat power where the civilian population is the threat.
Combat power is irrelevant in a counterinsurgency scenario. I respect your viewpoint, which is combat-oriented, but mine is Special Operations-focused, addressing the counterinsurgency aspects. There is an overlap, but the bottom line is, the enemy is clearly the population that we are supposedly there to protect.
The above comments were from Jim, but as the writer, I believe we miss the main point, which is simply that the troops in the field aren't of the same socioeconomic class as those buying the EuroCave.
"80 m.p.h. is irrelevent when you're escorting 5-ton vehicles."
What 5-ton? We escourted trucks(the backbone of military logistics)! The 5-ton has also been replaced by the LMTV; it hauls ass too.
"We mustn't get bogged down in details here: the problem is, we're getting involved in combat power where the civilian population is the threat."
Exactly, we -were- too concerned with seeking the decisive engagement, overlooking everything else.
Post a Comment
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Home