30th Anniversary: Invasion of Grenada

Today marks the 30th Anniversary of the Invasion of Grenada

Operation Urgent Fury, was a 1983 United States-led invasion of Grenada, a Caribbean island nation with a population of about 91,000 located 100 miles (160 km) north of Venezuela, that resulted in a U.S. victory within a matter of weeks. Triggered by a bloody military coup which had ousted a four-year revolutionary government, the invasion resulted in a restoration of constitutional government. Media outside the U.S. covered the invasion in a negative outlook despite the OAS request for intervention (on the request of the U.S. government), Soviet and Cuban presence on the island and the presence of American medical students at the True Blue Medical Facility.

There a long and excellent article at Small Wars Journal about How Grenada Changed How America Goes to War.
When you read about the planning leading up to Grenada, you'll be astounded that the US succeeded at all...

In this immediate period, the JCS passed out two parallel planning requests to two separate organizations with only inferred or non-existant guidance to jointly coordinate-Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) and Atlantic Command (LantCom). JSOC because an actual invasion might include the new SOF elements and LantCom because Grenada fell into its geographical area of responsibility. Each began planning in isolation of the other and each planned for forces without regard for the other. In neither organization, until almost the point of execution, was the 82d Airborne or XVIII Airborne Corps engaged or mentioned.

The task each headquarters assumed was the capture of the Point Saline Airfield as well as likely nodes of government. The existence and safety of the students, primarily American citizens, at St Georges Medical University was initially not an issue.

Earlier, in 1979, the democratic government of Grenada was overthrown in a coup and replaced by a socialist dictatorship. On 14 October 1983, an internal power struggle resulted in the death of the original coup leader, Maurice Bishop and his replacement by his chief lieutenant Bernard Coard and his enforcer Gen Hudson Austin, both professed communists. Sir Paul Scoon, the UK Governor General, was placed under house arrest.

Despite this evolution, a US-based expatriate medical school, St Georges Medical University, continued to operate from several campus’s on the main island of Grenada. However, by the October coup, students and faculty became increasingly alarmed about the thuggish nature of local security elements. On 20 October, Hudson Austin announced a curfew for the students and the entire population, brought in additional guards and accused the school of spy activities. Numerous students called their friends and families and indicated their lives were in danger.

At this point, the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States as well as the governments of Barbados and Jamaica asked the US to intervene. Three days later, 23 October, the Marine barracks in Beirut were bombed with a large loss of life. The Joint Chiefs of Staff began intensive planning resulting in an execute order for the invasion of Grenada on 25 October 1983. This would be the first significant military action for the US since its departure from Vietnam in 1973. This order involved a Joint effort by both elements of Lantcom and JSOC together-a requirement not previously expressed. Lantcom would be in overall command-sort of-and include the Marines afloat who were headed to Beirut to relieve the just-bombed barracks elements. Lantcom would also have augmentations from the 82d Airborne Division and follow-on forces from XVIII Airborne Corps. This inclusion was unknown until approximately two weeks prior to execution.

In sum, though two headquarters were charged with essentially the same task, each worked with forces not known to the other and planned in isolation. Further, key elements of the final plan (82d Airborne) were not informed of their engagement until two weeks prior to execution. The chain of command was imprecise and no Joint communications system other than ad hoc was established. The mission to rescue and recover the medical school students was a last minute addition to the 82d task list.

What are your recollections of the invasion and aftermath? And has their ever been a worse earnest 'war' movie than Heartbreak Ridge?

By: Brant

Conveniently-Scheduled Joint US-SA Exercises?

Do you think the joint exercises in South Africa right now were timed at all to coincide with Zimbabwe's elections? Maybe having a broad spectrum of US capabilities a 2-hour flight away has helped keep possible violence in check in Mugabeland?

Approximately 700 U.S. and 3,000 South African Defense Force service members gathered [in Port Elizabeth, Republic of South Africa] for the opening ceremony of Exercise Shared Accord 13, July 24. This is the second exercise of its type between these two countries and is the result of bilateral discussions that originated in 2009, and were approved in 2010. "This particular exercise is aimed at specifically providing collective training for the United States and the South African National Defense Force while building interoperability and mutual understanding between the two armed forces," said South African Maj. Gen. Ephraim Phako, deputy chief of Joint Operations.

So what exactly did we deploy out there?

Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, will be making-up the bulk of U.S. forces involved in the exercise. They will be joined by service members with 82nd Airborne Division, 10th Special Forces Group, 2nd Marine Division, 4th Marine Division, District of Columbia Army National Guard, Rhode Island Air National Guard, New York Army National Guard, 3rd Infantry Division, 1st Medical Command and 1172nd Movement Control Team.

Let's face it, the outcome of the 'election' was never in doubt, but the potential violence surrounding it always could've been worse. After all, last time there was an "election" the Mugabians weren't so thrilled about it.

Mr Mugabe was quoted by the Herald newspaper as saying the veterans had asked approval to take up arms but he had dissuaded them. They said Zimbabwe was won 'by the barrel of the gun' and should not be surrendered by a vote, he said.

View Larger Map By: Brant

DOD IDs Units for Upcoming Afghanistan Rotation

The DoD has identified the next units for headed out for the upcoming Afghanistan rotation.

The Department of Defense today identified four major units to deploy as part of the upcoming rotation of forces operating in Afghanistan.  The scheduled rotation involves one cavalry regiment with roughly 3,000 personnel; one armored brigade combat team (ABCT) with roughly 3,200 personnel; one infantry brigade combat team (IBCT) with roughly 2,200 personnel; and a division headquarters with roughly 450 personnel to rotate in summer 2013. The deploying units include:

Brigade Combat Teams:          

2nd Cavalry Regiment, Vilseck, Germany.

2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.

3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Knox, Ky.


Division Headquarters:

4th Infantry Division Headquarters, Fort Carson, Colo.


DoD will continue to announce major deployments as they are approved.

By: Brant

Current ISAF Placemat

Here are the current numbers, as of February 2013. Yes, I'm a slacker for not checking more frequently to have posted this earlier.
click to enlarge



troop numbers by country - 2 Malaysians (did they get lost?) and 3 Icelandianers (didn't know they had a military!) among them



Nice to see the Georgians sending a large battalion to Afghanistan and into the impossible mission that is Helmand.



By: Brant

US Missile Defense Deployment to Guam

As long as it doesn't capsize the island, sending missile defenses to Guam over the Nork threat is probably a good idea.

The United States said it would soon send a missile defense system to Guam to defend it from North Korea, as the U.S. military adjusts to what Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel called a "real and clear danger" from Pyongyang.
Hours later, South Korea's Yonhap news agency said North Korea had moved what appeared to be a mid-range Musudan missile to its east coast. It was not clear if the North planned to fire the rocket or was just putting it on display as a show of force, one South Korean government source was quoted as saying.

Here's the official DoD statement on the Missile Defense Deployment

Department of Defense Announces Missile Defense Deployment
The Department of Defense will deploy a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense System (THAAD) ballistic missile defense system to Guam in the coming weeks as a precautionary move to strengthen our regional defense posture against the North Korean regional ballistic missile threat.
The THAAD system is a land-based missile defense system that includes a truck-mounted launcher, a complement of interceptor missiles, an AN/TPY-2 tracking radar, and an integrated fire control system. This deployment will strengthen defense capabilities for American citizens in the U.S. Territory of Guam and U.S. forces stationed there.
The United States continues to urge the North Korean leadership to cease provocative threats and choose the path of peace by complying with its international obligations. The United States remains vigilant in the face of North Korean provocations and stands ready to defend U.S. territory, our allies, and our national interests.

By: Brant

Carrier Strike Group Deployment Cancelled

The official statement from the DoD on delaying the Carrier Strike Group deployment to the CENTCOM Area of Responsibility reads:

Statement from Pentagon Press Secretary George Little on U.S. Carrier Strike Group Presence in the CENTCOM Area of Responsibility

“The secretary of defense has delayed the deployment of the USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75), Norfolk, Va., and the USS Gettysburg (CG-64), Mayport, Fla., which were scheduled to depart later this week for the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) area of responsibility.

“Facing budget uncertainty -- including a continuing resolution and the looming potential for across-the-board sequestration cuts -- the U.S. Navy made this request to the secretary and he approved. This prudent decision enables the U.S. Navy to maintain these ships to deploy on short notice in the event they are needed to respond to national security contingencies.

“The United States will continue to maintain a robust military presence in the CENTCOM region, including the current carrier presence and a mix of other assets, to fulfill enduring commitments to our partners. The U.S. military continues to stand ready to respond to any contingency and to confront any threat in the region.”

By: Brant

DoD Identifies Next Units for Upcoming Afghanistan Rotation

The DoD has identified the next units for rotating to Afghanistan

The Department of Defense today identified three major units to deploy as part of the upcoming rotation of forces operating in Afghanistan. The scheduled rotation involves one Infantry Brigade Combat Team (IBCT) with roughly 2,250 personnel; a Combat Aviation Brigade (CAB) with roughly 2,200 personnel; and a corps headquarters with roughly 500 personnel to rotate in spring 2013. The deploying units include:

Brigade Combat Teams:
4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga.
10th Combat Aviation Brigade, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, N.Y.

Corps Headquarters:
III Corps Headquarters, Fort Hood, Texas.

By: Brant

US Africa Footprint Expanding

Niger has OK'ed the US for drone deployments on their territory. No word on whether we've got permission for all the airspace they'll be zipping around, or if we're just doing it anyway.

Niger has given permission for U.S. surveillance drones to be stationed on its territory to improve intelligence on al Qaeda-linked Islamist fighters in northern Mali and the wider Sahara, a senior government source said.
The U.S. ambassador to Niger, Bisa Williams, made the request at a meeting on Monday with President Mahamadou Issoufou, who immediately accepted it, the source said.
"Niger has given the green light to accepting American surveillance drones on its soil to improve the collection of intelligence on Islamist movements," said the source, who asked not to be identified.
The drones could be stationed in Niger's northern desert region of Agadez, which borders Mali, Algeria and Libya, the source said.
A spokesperson for the United States' African Command (AFRICOM) declined to comment.
The United States already has drones and surveillance aircraft stationed at several points around Africa. Its only permanent military base is in the small country of Djibouti in the Horn of Africa, more than 3,000 miles from Mali.

By: Brant

French Going All the Way to Timbuktu

French & Mali forces have taken Timbuktu back from the AQ-linked rebels.

French and Malian troops were on Sunday restoring government control over the fabled Saharan trading town of Timbuktu, the latest gain in a fast-moving French-led offensive against al Qaeda-allied fighters occupying northern Mali.
The Islamist militant rebels have pulled back northwards to avoid relentless French air strikes that have destroyed their bases, vehicles and weapons, allowing French and Malian troops to advance rapidly with air support and armored vehicles.
A Malian military source told Reuters the French and Malian forces reached "the gates of Timbuktu" late on Saturday without meeting resistance from the Islamist insurgents who had held the town since last year.
The advancing troops were working on securing the town, a UNESCO World Heritage site and labyrinth of ancient mosques and monuments and mud-brick homes, ready to flush out any Islamist fighters who might still be hiding among the population.
"Timbuktu is delicate, you can't just go in like that," the source, who asked not to be named, said.
On Saturday, the French-Malian offensive recaptured Gao, which along with Timbuktu was one of three major northern towns occupied last year by Tuareg and Islamist rebels who included fighters from al Qaeda's North Africa wing AQIM.

By: Brant

Current ISAF Placemat

As of 10 September 2012

By: Brant

Surge in Afghanistan? Not Anymore!

As per the DoD, the surge is over. Secretary Panetta states:

“This week, the ongoing effort in Afghanistan marked an important milestone: the United States military has completed drawing down the surge forces President Obama committed in December of 2009, reducing our presence by 33,000 troops on schedule. As we reflect on this moment, it is an opportunity to recognize that the surge accomplished its objectives of reversing Taliban momentum on the battlefield, and dramatically increased the size and capability of the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF). This growth has allowed us and our ISAF Coalition partners to begin the process of transition to Afghan security lead, which will soon extend across every province and more than 75 percent of the Afghan population. At the same time, we have struck enormous blows against al Qaeda's leadership, consistent with our core goal of disrupting, dismantling and defeating al Qaeda and denying it a safe-haven.

“It is important to underscore that even as our surge troops return home, there are roughly 68,000 Americans who remain in a tough fight in Afghanistan, alongside their NATO and Afghan partners. We are a nation at war. But the international community is also strongly united behind our shared strategy to transition to Afghan security control, which will be completed by the end of 2014.”

Many of the troops are working their way out of Afghanistan.

Just days ago, Pentagon figures showed there were 70,000 American troops in Afghanistan. On Wednesday, Australian Brig. Gen. Roger Noble, the deputy operations chief for NATO in Afghanistan, refused to pinpoint for Pentagon reporters when exactly the "surge recovery" would be completed. Noble said "not many more" surge troops remained to leave Afghanistan and that the goal of reaching 68,000 by Oct. 1 was "very, very close." He added that the timing was "very dependent on strategic lift, weather - and they change daily by sort of hundreds, if you know what I mean. " Noble was referring to the last remaining troops that were still awaiting their flights out of Afghanistan, U.S. officials said. There has also been a significant reduction in military equipment that matches the reduction in troops. Lt. Gen. John Terry, the commander of ISAF Joint Command, told Pentagon reporters that half of the 60,000 pieces of rolling stock and another 30,000 containers had already been shipped out of Afghanistan. Many of the surge troops were sent to southern Afghanistan to fight the Taliban in its strongholds. As troops pushed into areas long controlled by the Taliban, the number of U.S. and NATO casualties began to rise.

By: Brant

DoD IDs Next Afghan Units

The DoD has released the next units for upcoming Afghanistan rotation

The Department of Defense today identified three major units to deploy as part of the upcoming rotation of forces operating in Afghanistan. The scheduled rotation involves three brigade combat teams (BCT) -- one Infantry brigade combat team with roughly 2,800 personnel; one armored brigade combat team with roughly 4,000 personnel and one infantry brigade combat team with roughly 2,870 personnel -- to rotate in winter 2012. The deploying units include:

Brigade Combat Teams:

1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.

1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, Fort Bliss, Texas.

2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, N.Y.

By: Brant

Every Service Has At Least One Bat-Shit Crazy Senior Officer

And apparently the Navy's guy wanted to pick a fight with Iran.

According to Todd and another witness, Cosgriff’s idea, presented in a series of staff meetings, was to sail three “big decks,” as aircraft carriers are known, through the Strait of Hormuz — to put a virtual armada, unannounced, on Iran’s doorstep. No advance notice, even to Saudi Arabia and other gulf allies. Not only that, they said, Cosgriff ordered his staff to keep the State Department in the dark, too.

To Todd, it was like something straight out of “Seven Days in May,” the 1964 political thriller about a right-wing U.S. military coup. A retired senior naval officer familiar with Cosgriff’s thinking said the deployment plan was not intended to be provocative.

But Todd, in an account backed by another Navy official, said the admiral “was very, very clear that we were to tell him if there was any sign that Washington was aware of it and asking questions.”

For the past year, the air had been electric with reports of impending U.S. or Israeli attacks on Iran. If this maneuver were carried out, Todd and others feared, the Iranians would freak out. At the least, they’d cancel a critical diplomatic meeting coming up with U.S. officials. Todd suspected that was Cosgriff’s aim. She and others also speculated that Cosgriff wouldn’t propose such a brazen plan without Fallon’s support.

Retired Adm. David C. Nichols, deputy Centcom commander in 2007, recalled in an interview last year that Fallon “wanted to do a freedom-of-navigation exercise in what Iran calls its territorial waters that we hadn’t done in a long time.” Nothing wrong with that, per se, but the problem was that “we don’t understand Iran’s perception of what we’re doing, and we haven’t understood what they’re doing and why,” Nichols said. “It makes miscalculations possible.”

By: Brant

Reviving Overseas Russian Bases?

Look, it's Pravda, so don't read too much into the 'facts', but even going public with plans to re-invigorate overseas bases has got to raise some eyebrows, huh?

The Russian government intends to restore the military-technical support of their ships at the former military base in Cam Ranh (Vietnam), Lourdes (Cuba) and the Seychelles. So far, this is not about plans for a military presence, but rather the restoration of the crew resources. However, a solid contractual basis should be developed for these plans.

The intentions were announced on July 27 by the Russian Navy Commander Vice Admiral Viktor Chirkov. "At the international level, the creation of logistics points in Cuba, the Seychelles and Vietnam is being worked out," Chirkov was quoted by the media. The issue was specifically discussed at the meeting with the leaders of all countries. President of Vietnam Truong Tan Sang has recently held talks with Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev in Moscow and President Putin in Sochi. Cuban leader Raul Castro met with Putin in Moscow earlier this month. A little earlier the President of the Republic of Seychelles, James Michel made an unequivocal statement.

By: Brant

China's Military Footprint Expanding

They've already got a small island "base" (see map below) from which they can base fighters and most of their naval vessels. Now they're looking at deploying a military garrison to Woody Island in the South China Sea.

China's central military authority has approved to form and deploy a military garrison in the newly established city of Sansha.

Sources with the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Guangzhou Military Command said Friday that the Central Military Commission (CMC) had authorized it to form a garrison command in the city.

The garrison command will be a division-level command under the PLA's Hainan provincial sub-command, responsible for managing the city's national defense mobilization, military reserves and carrying out military operations.

The PLA's Sansha Garrison Command will be under the dual leadership of the Hainan provincial sub-command and the city's civilian leaders.

Part of the issue is the size of the unit. For a civilian government of this size, there's usually a 6000-man (or so) garrison from the PLA. There's not enough real estate out here to park that many folks, never mind the twin logistical challenges of (a) keeping them fed, and (b) keeping them from being bored.


View Larger Map

By: Brant

Relocating of Pre-Positioned Stocks Coming

The US is planning to relocate much of their pre-positioned vehicle and equipment sets.

In a significant indication of where the Army anticipates it will be deployed over coming years, and what it will be doing there, the service is planning to relocate some of its vast overseas stores of combat equipment and alter the contents of other warehouse stocks to reflect the changing nature of the mission after the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Large numbers of MRAPs, the armored troop carriers built to withstand the blast of improvised explosives in Iraq and Afghanistan, would be stored in Italy, where they could be transported for contingencies across Africa. Those could include disaster relief in hostile environments, civilian evacuations or counterinsurgency assistance to local security forces.

In addition, MRAPs would be sent to warehouses in the western Pacific for potential use during a conflict on the Korean Peninsula, under current planning being included in Pentagon budgets now taking shape, even as significant numbers are stored in Southwest Asia and the Persian Gulf region.

Plans call for the brigade-size stock of armored fighting vehicles now stored in Europe to be brought home, although other infantry and support equipment would remain. A primary mission for the gear to be stored in Europe would be to supply multilateral training exercises among American and allied troops.

The Army wants to locate sets of equipment that could be pulled from storage for multilateral training exercises and other contingencies in the Asia-Pacific region, most likely aboard ships and perhaps in Australia, officials say. Other Army storage sites around the world may see an increase in gear designed for humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.

By: Brant

Current ISAF Placemat

It's dated for May, but it's the current one on the ISAF site. It's just been a while since we updated it.
Two interesting things:
1. They're no longer briefing the PRTs in the Placemat brief, but have replaced it with ANA locations and strengths. Clearly indicates the shift in what matters in the brief.
2. If the border areas on the AfPak border are the key problem area that we keep hearing about, why do so few border prov's have BN(+) contingents from ISAF, and there's 4 BNs in Helmand?

By: Brant

DoD Shifting Dollars Around - What're They For?

Every year, starting FYQ4 the DoD asks Congress to shift money around in their accounts. This year's "big shift" is to cover the costs of moving supplies to Afghanistan around Pakistan, who closed the border crossing. However, there are some other very interesting budget requests in the this year's document, as reported by DefenseNews.

The Army’s $1.7 billion in additional funding requests reflect operations in Africa, logistics in Afghanistan, and the highly touted Capability Set 13, which is being deployed to three brigade combat teams (BCTs) in October. Until now, there were no dollar figures available associated with the capability sets, which are part of the Army’s No. 1 priority to develop and field its new Warfighter Information Network-Tactical (WIN-T) battlefield network.

The document also included:

• $18.2 million for USSOCOM logistical support in its mission “to disarm the Lord’s Resistance Army” in Central Africa.

• $140 million to field Capability Set 13 to three BCTs.

• $59.4 million to install structural upgrades to Humvees to integrate Capability Set 13 to the first three brigade combat teams scheduled for fielding in fiscal 2013. The Army had repeatedly said that Humvees would not be part of the networking plan.

• $28.7 million “to procure command and control components within the Tactical Operations Centers” for Capability Set 13.

• $51.3 million for Capability Set 13 integration onto five variants of MRAPs, Humvees and Strykers.

Conversely, the backbone of Capability Set 13, the WIN-T communications network, is losing $334.6 million due to efficiencies gained by including it in the Army’s Network Integration Evaluation program. The Army says that the reduction in funding will not affect its planned fielding of eight BCTs in fiscal 2013, and six more in 2014.

By: Brant

USN Deploys Minesweepers to Persian Gulf

The US is sending four minesweepers to Fifth Fleet.

Four U.S. minesweepers have arrived in the Gulf to bolster the U.S. Fifth Fleet and ensure the safety of shipping routes, the U.S. Navy said, as an Iranian military chief suggested on Monday that Iran might try to block the Strait of Hormuz to defend its interests.
The four additional mine countermeasures (MCM) ships arrived on Saturday and are scheduled for a seven-month deployment in an area of operations that includes the Gulf, Gulf of Oman, Red Sea and parts of the Indian Ocean.
The area also includes two other critical shipping choke points of the Suez Canal and the Strait of Bab al Mandab between the southern tip of Yemen and Africa.
"MCM ships conduct operations with coalition forces in order to ensure the continued, safe flow of maritime traffic in international waterways," the U.S. Navy said in a statement late on Sunday.

So how do you incorporate minesweepers into a wargame? Tactical? Strategic? An asset in a card-based game or a deliberate counter that must be deployed somewhere?
What success stories have you seen in wargaming a minesweeper operation? (And the stupid Windows game doesn't count)

By: Brant

US Basing Substantial Force Out of Kuwait

The US planning a rather large footprint in Kuwait for several years.

The United States is planning a significant military presence of 13,500 troops in Kuwait to give it the flexibility to respond to sudden conflicts in the region as Iraq adjusts to the withdrawal of American combat forces and the world nervously eyes Iran, according to a congressional report.
The study by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee examined the U.S. relationship with the six nations of the Gulf Cooperation Council - Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Oman - against a fast-moving backdrop. In just the last two days, Saudi Arabia's ruler named Defense Minister Prince Salman bin Abdul-Aziz as the country's new crown prince after last week's death of Prince Nayef, and Kuwait's government suspended parliament for a month over an internal political feud.
The latest developments inject even more uncertainty as the Middle East deals with the demands of the Arab Spring, the end to U.S. combat operations in Iraq at the end of 2011 and fears of Iran's nuclear program.
"Home to more than half of the world's oil reserves and over a third of its natural gas, the stability of the Persian Gulf is critical to the global economy," the report said. "However, the region faces a myriad of political and security challenges, from the Iranian nuclear program to the threat of terrorism to the political crisis in Bahrain."
The report obtained by The Associated Press in advance of Tuesday's release provided precise numbers on U.S. forces in Kuwait, a presence that Pentagon officials have only acknowledged on condition of anonymity. Currently, there are about 15,000 U.S. forces in Kuwait at Camp Arifjan, Ali Al Salem Air Base and Camp Buehring, giving the United States staging hubs, training ranges and locations to provide logistical support. The report said the number of troops is likely to drop to 13,500.

Unknown what the exact composition will be, but likely not all Army, as some USAF folks will be needed to help run the airfields.

By: Brant