Karzai to Pakistan: F-Off, We're Hanging Wit' India, Yo

Karzai has apparently given India a military equipment 'wish list'

Afghan President Hamid Karzai said on Wednesday he had given a "wish list" of military equipment to India during a visit this week, presenting a conundrum for New Delhi as it weighs whether arming the Afghan army is in its interests.
India wants to stabilize Afghanistan and is concerned about the resurgence of militant groups after foreign combat troops leave in 2014.
But arming Afghanistan would alarm Pakistan. It takes issue with the influence of its old rival in Afghanistan. India does not want to get drawn into a proxy war with Pakistan, which has ties to the Taliban.
India and Afghanistan signed a strategic partnership agreement in 2011 under which New Delhi agreed to assist in the training and equipping of Afghan security forces.
India has trained Afghan security force personnel in its military academies, but it has provided little military equipment, according to Indian officials. India's Afghan strategy has centered on boosting its influence through economic reconstruction projects.

By: Brant

Syrian Hackers Running Amok

So who is in charge of the Syrian Electronic Army and what are they trying to accomplish?

It’s the question of the moment inside the murky realm of cybersecurity: Just who — or what — is the Syrian Electronic Army?

The hacking group that calls itself the S.E.A. struck again on Friday, this time breaking into the Twitter accounts and blog headlines of The Financial Times. The attack was part of a crusade that has targeted dozens of media outlets as varied as The Associated Press and The Onion, the parody news site.

But just who is behind the S.E.A.’s cybervandalism remains a mystery. Paralleling the group’s boisterous, pro-Syrian government activity has been a much quieter Internet surveillance campaign aimed at revealing the identities, activities and whereabouts of the Syrian rebels fighting the government of President Bashar al-Assad.

Now sleuths are trying to figure out how much overlap there is between the rowdy pranks playing out on Twitter and the silent spying that also increasingly includes the monitoring of foreign aid workers. It’s a high-stakes search. If researchers prove the Assad regime is closely tied to the group, foreign governments may choose to respond because the attacks have real-world consequences. The S.E.A. nearly crashed the stock market, for example, by planting false tales of White House explosions in a recent hijacking of The A.P.’s Twitter feed.

The mystery is made more curious by the belief among researchers that the hackers currently parading as the S.E.A. are not the same people who started the pro-Assad campaign two years ago.

Experts say the Assad regime benefits from the ambiguity. “They have created extra space between themselves and international law and international opinion,” said James A. Lewis, a security expert with the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

The S.E.A. emerged during the Syrian uprisings in May 2011, they said, to offer a pro-Assad counternarrative to news coming out of Syria. In speeches, Mr. Assad likened the S.E.A. to the government’s own online security corps, referring to the group as “a real army in a virtual reality.”

We'll probably start seeing more and more of these types of 'loosely associated' groups, especially when cyber warfare is largely independent of geography.

By: Brant

Norks Launch Short-Range Missiles

Apparently, the ocean pissed them off, and they fired three short-range missiles at it. The Beeb reports:

North Korea has fired three short-range missiles from its east coast, South Korea's defence ministry said.

Two missiles were fired on Saturday morning and one in the afternoon, the ministry said in a statement.

Officials at the ministry said they were "monitoring the situation and remain on alert".

The launches come at a time of stalemate between the two neighbours following weeks of high tension earlier this year.

Saturday's missiles were fired in a north-east direction, and did not pose the same threat as the intermediate-range missiles Pyongyang was believed to have deployed along its coastline last month.

It removed them from the launch site early in May, indicating a lowering of tension on the peninsula, a US official said.

By: Brant

AEGIS-Based BMD Intercepts Test Target

As per the DoD, an AEGIS Cruiser-based missile interceptor has hit a test target.

AEGIS Ballistic Missile Defense System Completes Successful Intercept Flight Test

The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) and U.S. Navy sailors aboard the USS Lake Erie (CG-70) successfully conducted a flight test of the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) system, resulting in the intercept of a separating ballistic missile target over the Pacific Ocean by the Aegis BMD 4.0 Weapon System and a Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) Block IB missile. 

At 5:25 p.m. (Hawaii time, 11:25 p.m. EDT), May 15, a separating short-range ballistic missile target was launched from the Pacific Missile Range Facility, on Kauai, Hawaii.  The target flew northwest towards a broad ocean area of the Pacific Ocean.  Following target launch, the USS Lake Erie (CG-70) detected and tracked the missile with its onboard AN/SPY-1 radar.  The ship, equipped with the second-generation Aegis BMD weapon system, developed a fire control solution and launched the SM-3 Block IB missile.  The SM-3 maneuvered to a point in space based on guidance from Aegis BMD Weapons Systems and released its kinetic warhead.  The kinetic warhead acquired the target reentry vehicle, diverted into its path, and, using only the force of a direct impact, engaged and destroyed the target. 

Initial indications are that all components performed as designed.  Program officials will assess and evaluate system performance based upon telemetry and other data obtained during the test. 

This test exercised the latest version of the second-generation Aegis BMD Weapon System and Standard Missile, providing capability for engagement of longer-range and more sophisticated ballistic missiles. 

Last night’s event, designated Flight Test Standard Missile-19 (FTM-19), was the third consecutive successful intercept test of the Aegis BMD 4.0 Weapon System and the SM-3 Block IB guided missile.  Previous successful ABMD 4.0 SM-3 Block IB intercepts occurred on May 9, 2012 and June 26, 2012.  Other Aegis BMD intercepts have employed the ABMD 3.6 and 4.0 with the SM-3 Block IA missile, which is currently operational on U.S. Navy ships deployed across the globe.

FTM-19 is the 25th successful intercept in 31 flight test attempts for the Aegis BMD program since flight testing began in 2002.  Across all Ballistic Missile Defense System programs, this is the 59th successful hit-to-kill intercept in 74 flight tests since 2001. 

Aegis BMD is the naval component of the MDA’s Ballistic Missile Defense System.  The Aegis BMD engagement capability defeats short-to intermediate-range, unitary and separating, midcourse-phase ballistic missile threats with the Standard Missile-3 (SM-3), as well as short-range ballistic missiles in the terminal phase with the SM-2 Block IV missile.  The MDA and the U.S. Navy cooperatively manage the Aegis BMD program.

By: Brant

Pentagon Shuffling Units in the Med - Syria or Libya?

Foreign Policy's E-ring blog has a note about the reshuffling of units in the Med and that they're focused on Libya, not Syria.

With security deteriorating in Tripoli, Libya, the U.S. has shifted several dozen U.S. Marines and assault aircraft of the rapid response force that just arrived in Spain eastward to Sigonella, Italy.

The Pentagon's spokesman called the move a precautionary measure but would not say it was directly tied to Tripoli, which foreign diplomats and oil companies recently have begun evacuating. On Monday a car bomb reportedly exploded outside a hospital in Benghazi, killing 10 people.

The shift to Naval Station Signoella marks the first assignment for the response force -- a group of 550 Marines and six MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft, which only arrived at Moron Air Base two weeks ago. A defense official told the E-Ring that the number of personnel moved from Moron totaled "less than 100."

Call them the Benghazi Unit. Officially dubbed Special Purpose Marine Air Ground Task Force-Crisis Response, the unit was created specifically as the Pentagon's answer to congressional criticism that troops were not available in Europe or Africa to respond quickly enough to the September 11, 2012, attack on a U.S. compound in Benghazi that killed four Americans.

The unit falls under Africa Command's purview and Marine Corps Commandant Jim Amos told Congress to expect they will be moving around Africa.

By: Brant

Leave No Man Behind: Vietnam Crew Edition

The DoD has announced that a Marine missing from the Vietnam War will be buried with his crew.

Marine Missing from Vietnam War to be Buried with Crew


The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office announced today that the remains of a serviceman, missing from the Vietnam War, was recently accounted for and will be buried along with the 12 other servicemen who were lost in the same crash. 

Marine Corps Pfc. Daniel A. Benedett of Seattle, Wash., will be buried May 15, at Arlington National Cemetery, along with Air Force 2nd Lt. Richard Vandegeer of Cleveland, Ohio; Navy Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Bernard Gause Jr., of Birmingham, Ala.; Hospitalman Ronald J. Manning of Steubenville, Ohio; Marine Corps servicemen Lance Cpl. Gregory S. Copenhaver of Lewistown, Pa.; Lance Cpl. Andres Garcia of Carlsbad, N.M.; Pfc. Lynn Blessing of Lancaster, Pa.; Pfc. Walter Boyd of Portsmouth, Va.; Pfc. James J. Jacques of La Junta, Colo.; Pfc. James R. Maxwell of Memphis, Tenn.; Pfc. Richard W. Rivernburgh of Schenectady, N.Y.; Pfc. Antonio R. Sandoval of San Antonio, Texas; and Pfc. Kelton R. Turner of St. Louis, Mo. 

On May 12, 1975, Khmer Rouge gunboats captured the S.S. Mayaguez in the Gulf of Thailand, approximately 60 nautical miles off the coast of Cambodia. After the vessel was taken to Koh Tang Island, U.S. aircraft began surveillance flights around the island.  When efforts to secure the release of the ship and its crew failed, U.S. military forces began a rescue mission. 

Three days after the Mayaguez seizure, the Air Force dispatched six helicopters to the island.  One of the helicopters came under heavy enemy fire and crashed into the surf with 26 men on board.  Thirteen of the men were rescued at sea, leaving Benedett and 12 other service members unaccounted-for from the crash. 

Between 1991 and 2008, investigators conducted more than 10 investigations and excavations, led by Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC).  On three occasions, Cambodian authorities turned over remains believed to be those of American servicemen.  In 1995, U.S. and Cambodian specialists conducted an underwater recovery of the helicopter crash site where they located remains, personal effects and aircraft debris associated with the loss.  Between 2000 and 2004, all of the missing service members from this helicopter, except Benedett, were accounted-for.

On Jan. 30, 2013, Benedett was accounted-for.  Scientists from JPAC and the Armed Forces Identification Laboratory (AFDIL) used circumstantial evidence and DNA process of elimination to account for his remains. 

By: Brant

Is it Time for a Serious Wargame on Arctic Issues?

Sure, there's Naval Warfare: Arctic Circle, but is it time for the DoD to seriously examine a structured - not BOGSAT! - wargame on Arctic strategy.

The Obama administration on Friday unveiled its National Strategy for the Arctic Region – three broad priorities it plans to pursue, as opportunities open to drill for oil and gas, harvest minerals, and increase other forms of economic activity at the top of the world.
The priorities in the 13-page document include beefing up defense and other national security activities in the region, as well as the infrastructure to support them; working to safeguard the region's environment; and working with other Arctic nations one on one and through multicountry organizations, such as the Arctic Council, to manage activities in the region in ways that reduce the potential for conflict. In addition, the strategy calls for a push for ratification of the UN's Law of the Sea Treaty, which failed to clear the Senate last year.
Participation in the treaty regime would give the US standing in disputes that might arise with nations that have ratified the treaty over conflicting claims of sea-floor sovereignty.

By: Brant

CONNECTIONS 2013 Conference on Professional Wargaming

CONNECTIONS 2013 Conference on Professional Wargaming
The Connections 2013 conference will be held 22-25 July in Dayton Ohio, near Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.
Connections is the only national event dedicated specifically to professional military wargaming. Organized and chaired since its beginning in 1993 by (now retired) Air Force COL Matt Caffrey, the annual Connections conference has worked to advance the art, science and application of serious wargaming by bringing together all elements of the field (military, commercial and academic) so participants can exchange information on achievements, best practices and needs.
The theme for 2013 is: "Enhancing Wargaming Support to Budget Decisions." Given the current and future uncertainty over US Department of Defense budgets, this is a timely theme indeed.

Another valuable element of Connections is the chance to meet leaders from across the spectrum of wargaming. Past attendees and speakers have included Larry Bond, James F. Dunnigan, Joe Miranda, Al Nofi, Peter Perla, John Prados and many more.
Keynote speakers for this year are:
- COL Chris Froehlich, Chief Strategic Planning Division, Air Force Material Command
- Dr. Peter Perla, author of The Art of Wargaming, Lead, Wargaming, Centre for Naval Analysis
- Dr. Thomas Allen, Deputy Director for Studies and Analysis, Joint Staff

Connections is open to all contributors to the field of professional wargaming: military, government, defense contractor, academic, and recreational. It is an unclassified event. Many of the attendees are recreational wargamers in their spare time, but the emphasis of the conference is on discussion of activity and issues in professional wargaming, from the military, commercial and academic perspectives.

See the conference website and agenda at http://connections-wargaming.com/
Contact Matt Caffrey at matthewbcaffreyjr - at - gmail.com for further information.
Thanks for your interest,
Brian Train

By: Brant

Maneuvers in the Persian Gulf and Unspoken Threats?

Maneuvers in the Persian Gulf, aimed at Iran, of course, but trying to influence their elections?

Massive US-led military drills began in the Persian Gulf in a second such show of maritime might in under a year. The US says the exercises are not aimed at Iran, who earlier vowed to close the Hormuz Strait, and now expresses concern over the drills.

The US Navy has issued a statement that the mass exercises are aimed at “enhancing capability to preserve freedom of navigation in international waterways.” The drills will reportedly focus on mine-sweeping and search-and-seizure operations, and some on-shore training.

The Pentagon is directing the maneuvers, which will reportedly involve 35 ships, 18 unmanned submarines and unmanned aircraft. The 40 other countries participating in the drills have not yet been named; Britain, France, some Middle Eastern states, and nations as distant as New Zealand have previously participated in similar exercises.

The Obama administration has stated that the maneuvers are not a warning to Iran, and are intended solely to secure a key oil route in the region.

Tehran has said it will be monitoring the exercises, and voiced concerns about how the maneuvers come in the run-up to the Iranian elections.

Iran has previously threatened to close the Hormuz Strait, through which 40 percent of the world’s oil is transported by ship, if "its interests are in serious trouble". The US condemned the threats and warned that such a move would provoke US Military action.

By: Brant

German AFV Deal to Indonesia

The German government is exporting Cold War-era hardware to Indonesia.

The German government has once again approved a controversial deal to export arms to a country with questionable democratic credentials. The German Security Council, which meets in secret, has approved a deal by defense firm Rheinmetall to export 104 Leopard 2 battle tanks to Indonesia.
In addition, 50 Marder 1A2 infantry fighting vehicles are to be delivered as part of the deal, as are 10 other military vehicles, including armored recovery vehicles, mobile bridges and military engineering vehicles. While the broad outlines of the deal had been reported by Reuters previously, the exact numbers of tanks and armored vehicles involved come from a government response to a parliamentary inquiry made by Green Party lawmaker Katja Keul and seen by SPIEGEL ONLINE.
Indonesia's interest in German arms had long been apparent, but Berlin had remained silent on its intentions. Previously, Indonesia had approached the Netherlands regarding its interest in acquiring Leopard tanks, which are widely considered to be the most modern battle tanks available. But the Dutch parliament declined to approve the deal due to concerns about the human rights situation in Indonesia. Jakarta then turned to Germany. The German parliament has no veto right over arms deals.

By: Brant

USAF Benches 17 Missile Launch Officers

They're not being relieved, but they're being pulled from operations for a few months.

The Air Force stripped an unprecedented 17 officers of their authority to control — and, if necessary, launch — nuclear missiles after a string of unpublicized failings, including a remarkably dim review of their unit's launch skills. The group's deputy commander said it is suffering "rot" within its ranks.
"We are, in fact, in a crisis right now," the commander, Lt. Col. Jay Folds, wrote in an internal email obtained by The Associated Press and confirmed by the Air Force.
The tip-off to trouble was a March inspection of the 91st Missile Wing at Minot Air Force Base, N.D., which earned the equivalent of a "D'' grade when tested on its mastery of Minuteman III missile launch operations. In other areas, the officers tested much better, but the group's overall fitness was deemed so tenuous that senior officers at Minot decided, after probing further, that an immediate crackdown was called for.
The Air Force publicly called the inspection a "success."
But in April it quietly removed 17 officers at Minot from the highly sensitive duty of standing 24-hour watch over the Air Force's most powerful nuclear missiles, the intercontinental ballistic missiles that can strike targets across the globe. Inside each underground launch control capsule, two officers stand "alert" at all times, ready to launch an ICBM upon presidential order.
"You will be a bench warmer for at least 60 days," Folds wrote.

By: Brant

Anniversary: Battle of Puebla

If you don't know that Cinco de Mayo celebrates the Battle of Puebla, and that it's not the Mexican Independence Day, then you don't get to drink Coronas 'til you're blind.

By: Brant

"Why Heavy Armor?" Asks Nat'l Defense Mag

In a blog post, the author raises questions about why and how the Army should field heavy armored forces.

Army officials and manufacturers of combat vehicles have shifted into damage-control mode as the service’s flagship armor-modernization program comes under attack on multiple fronts.

The ground combat vehicle, or GCV, is intended to replace the Bradley infantry fighting vehicle.

On Capitol Hill, lawmakers are increasingly doubting the Army’s buying strategy for the GCV. Budget analysts have challenged the Army’s decision to pursue a new GCV design instead of opting for existing, less costly, alternatives. And military experts are raising more fundamental questions about the GCV’s raison d’être. They wonder why the Army is spending billions of dollars on heavy armor for an era that presumably will be dominated by cyberwarfare, surgical-strikes and low-intensity conflicts.

A Congressional Research Service report published this month warns that Congress should consider the “role and need for the GCV in a downsized Army that will likely have fewer armored brigade combat teams.” The administration’s strategic shift to the Asia-Pacific region, the report says, “presents questions as to the necessity for armored brigades and, by association, the GCV.”

The estimated $29 billion GCV program illustrates the dilemma that confronts the U.S. military as it contemplates how it should equip its forces to fight future enemies, says Frank Capuccio, an industry consultant and a former executive vice president of Lockheed Martin Corp.

The Army wants to end production of Abrams and Bradley, but it is about to start a program that seeks basically improved versions of 70-ton vehicles. “Where is the GCV going? Where are you going to put this tank?” Capuccio asks. When one looks at the areas of the world where the U.S. military is fighting, and likely to fight in the foreseeable future, it is hard to see how heavy armor fits in the picture, he says. “Roads can’t handle the weight of the tanks,” says Capuccio. The Air Force’s cargo planes that must transport these vehicles to combat zones have limited capacity, he adds. Moving 70-ton vehicles by ship takes weeks. “Will enemies stand down for six months until we get our equipment there? I don’t think that is going to happen,” he says. “People don’t ask those questions because they do not like the answers.

By: Brant

Australian Airpower Increase?

Will the F35 JSF make a difference to the Australian military in returning to focus on Indo-Pacific?

Australia announced a significant boost to its military air power on Friday, committing to buy up to new 100 Lockheed Martin Corp F-35 Joint Strike Fighters, as it shifts its focus back to the Indo-Pacific as China and India beef up forces.
After more than a decade of having forces first in Iraq, and then Afghanistan, Australia wants to focus on the military challenges closer to home, in line with U.S. President Barack Obama's 2011 "pivot" towards the Asia-Pacific.
In a new defense strategy, Australia reinforces that the United States remains its closest ally, but also struck a conciliatory tone towards top trading partner China, noting its rising defense capabilities are a natural outcome from its growing economy.
"The government does not approach China as an adversary. Rather, its policy is aimed at encouraging China's peaceful rise and ensuring that strategic competition in the region does not lead to conflict," the defense strategy said.
In Beijing, Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying noted Australia's assessment of China in the document "as a partner and not an opponent" and its view that the country's development was "beneficial to the region and world".

By: Brant

Most "Powerful" Mercenary Armies

Business Insider has a list of the world's most "powerful" mercenary armies - in this case defining "powerful" as "manpower" - along with a quick synopsis on a few of them, starting with G4S and including Triple Canopy, Aegis, and AcademiXeWater.

Most battles eventually come down to boots on the ground and rifles in the field. So when commanders are building their ranks it's often with professional soldiers who know how to fight, and get paid well to do it.
The idea of a mercenary may seem a bit quaint in the 21st century, but those forces make a difference and are often all that stands between a leader and his fate.

By: Brant

Tracking Insurgencies on an Interactive Map

CFR has a pretty cool interactive map to show insurgencies over the years around teh globe.

The Invisible Armies Insurgency Tracker presents a database of insurgencies from 1775 to 2012. It supplements the comprehensive historical narrative in Invisible Armies: An Epic History of Guerrilla Warfare from Ancient Times to the Present, by CFR Senior Fellow Max Boot.

By: Brant

Anniversary: Bin Laden Plays Bullet Catcher

CNN.com has a pretty good look back at how the story unfolded.

President Obama announced bin Laden's death shortly before midnight ET on May 1, 2011, more than an hour after the Internet and social media began exploding with reports of his demise.

President Obama announced bin Laden's death shortly before midnight ET on May 1, 2011, more than an hour after the Internet and social media began exploding with reports of his demise.

Much more, including a lot of links to the coverage as it unfolded.

By: Brant

Leave No Man Behind: Vietnam Edition

A Navy aircrew from the Vietnam War have been identified

The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that a Navy pilot, missing from the Vietnam War, has been accounted for and will be buried with full military honors along with his crew.

Navy Lt. Dennis W. Peterson of Huntington Park, Calif., was the pilot of a SH-3A helicopter that crashed in Ha Nam Province, North Vietnam. Peterson was accounted for on March 30, 2012. Also, aboard the aircraft was Ensign Donald P. Frye of Los Angeles, Calif.; Aviation Antisubmarine Warfare Technicians William B. Jackson of Stockdale, Texas; and Donald P. McGrane of Waverly, Iowa. The crew will be buried, as a group, on May 2 at Arlington National Cemetery.

On July 19, 1967, the four servicemen took off from the USS Hornet aboard an SH-3A Sea King helicopter, on a search and rescue mission looking for a downed pilot in Ha Nam Province, North Vietnam. During the mission, an enemy concealed 37mm gun position targeted the helicopter as it flew in. The helicopter was hit by the anti-aircraft gunfire, causing the aircraft to lose control, catch fire and crash, killing all four servicemen.

In October 1982, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (S.R.V.) repatriated five boxes of remains to U.S. officials. In 2009, the remains within the boxes were identified as Frye, Jackson, and McGrane.

In 1993, a joint U.S./S.R.V. team, investigated a loss in Ha Nam Province. The team interviewed local villagers who identified possible burial sites linked to the loss. One local claimed to have buried two of the crewmen near the wreckage, but indicated that both graves had subsequently been exhumed.

Between 1994 and 2000, three joint U.S./S.R.V. teams excavated the previous site and recovered human remains and aircraft wreckage that correlated to the crew’s SH-3A helicopter. In 2000, U.S. personnel excavated the crash site recovering additional remains. Analysis from the Joint POW/MIA Command Central Identification Laboratory subsequently designated these additional remains as the co-mingled remains of all four crewmen, including Peterson.

DoD scientists used forensic tools and circumstantial evidence in the identification of the remains.

By: Brant

Anniversary: ANZAC Day

Today marks ANZAC Day among the Commonwealth countries around the world.

Anzac Day is a national day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand, originally commemorated by both countries on 25 April every year to honour the members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) who fought at Gallipoli in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. It now more broadly commemorates all those who died and served in military operations for their countries. Anzac Day is also observed in the Cook Islands, Niue, Pitcairn, and Tonga.

The Australian War Memorial website answers many questions, including...

Why is this day special to Australians?
When war broke out in 1914, Australia had been a federal commonwealth for only 13 years. The new national government was eager to establish its reputation among the nations of the world. In 1915 Australian and New Zealand soldiers formed part of the allied expedition that set out to capture the Gallipoli peninsula in order to open the Dardanelles to the allied navies. The ultimate objective was to capture Constantinople (now Istanbul in Turkey), the capital of the Ottoman Empire, an ally of Germany.

The Australian and New Zealand forces landed on Gallipoli on 25 April, meeting fierce resistance from the Ottoman Turkish defenders. What had been planned as a bold stroke to knock Turkey out of the war quickly became a stalemate, and the campaign dragged on for eight months. At the end of 1915 the allied forces were evacuated, after both sides had suffered heavy casualties and endured great hardships. Over 8,000 Australian soldiers had been killed. News of the landing on Gallipoli had made a profound impact on Australians at home, and 25 April soon became the day on which Australians remembered the sacrifice of those who had died in the war.

Although the Gallipoli campaign failed in its military objectives, the Australian and New Zealand actions during the campaign left us all a powerful legacy. The creation of what became known as the “ANZAC legend” became an important part of the identity of both nations, shaping the ways they viewed both their past and their future.

By: Brant

Undercover Boss: Chinese Military Edition

Total PR stunt, right? Sure. But who is it really designed to benefit?

Chinese President Xi Jinping has ordered his top brass to spend two weeks as junior soldiers every few years as a way of boosting military morale - but skeptics doubt the move will do much more than polish his own credentials as commander in chief.
Under the directive, published by the defense ministry, the temporary and symbolic demotion applies to lieutenant colonels and above - although it is primarily aimed at senior officers aged under 55 or who have not come up through the lower ranks.
"It will help to purify the soul and be the prevention and cure for laziness, lax discipline, extravagance and other bureaucratic illnesses," the official People's Liberation Army Daily said of the measure in a commentary on Tuesday.
The move recalled a similar one made by former paramount leader Mao Zedong in 1958, the newspaper added.
Some political analysts said the gesture was likely part of Xi's public campaign to be seen as tough on privilege and corruption, given that media reports of graft in the military are on the rise again after a 1990s crackdown.

Is this all about the President, or the military, or is someone in China finally waking up to the PR value of shared burdens from the leadership?


By: Brant