“Dippie” is an affectionate moniker applied to the classic boardgame Diplomacy by its fans. It might also describe the current happenings in the diplomatic world. A recent headline from Afghanistan’s Pajhwok News Service reads: “US condemns attack on Intercontinental Hotel.” It’s hard to resist the urge to shout, “No shit, Sherlock,” at high decibels.
Oh, wait, here’s a news flash. Further into the article, we read that, according to the State Department spokesperson, the United States “strongly condemns” the attack. I guess a strong condemnation would, as Emeril says, kick our reaction up another notch. (No ewok comments, Stephanie, I know what you’re thinking.)
Pray tell, to whom will the State Department deliver their demarche? Isn’t the function of our State Department, and its fellow Ministries of Foreign Affairs the world over, to interact with other nation-states? What does the State Department hope to accomplish with this declaration to a non-state actor whose members have no regard for human life, their own or others’?
Okay, I’m off my rant. Over the past eleven weeks here at BAF, I’ve spotted a lot of Army troops with unfamiliar unit patches. Oh, sure, we’ve got the usual suspects here, 1st Cavalry Division, 82nd and 101st Airborne, 10th Mountain. But a lot of these guys are Army National Guard infantry divisions mobilized for the war effort. One of the mainstays here is the 34th ID, the “Red Bulls,” who hail from Iowa and Minnesota. I’m familiar with this formation because, in 1944, the 442nd Regimental Combat Team fleshed them out during the invasion of Italy. The 442nd was the all-Nisei regiment that was recruited from Hawai’i and California. A remarkable unit, these troops (U.S. citizens all) fought like men possessed, earning 21 Medals of Honor (recipients include current Hawai’i Senator Dan Inouye) and nearly 9,500 Purple Hearts. And they did it while their families back home were forced into detention camps.
The Red Bulls are close to the end of their tour, and I’ve been seeing a lot of the 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Thunderbirds) from the Oklahoma National Guard.
Cool patch. Although the patches worn on the new camouflage uniforms are in shades of green only, so the vivid colors don’t come across.
I’ve also seen soldiers from the 26th Infantry Division (Yankee Division), from the Massachusetts National Guard. At first glance, the patch look like it featured a gallows.
Why am I on a tear about these Guard formations? I just read that, as of 21 June, the combined Army Reserve and Army National Guard had mobilized a total of 73,231 personnel on active duty. Seventy-three thousand! The guard and reserves are now an integral part of the total force, and are carrying a huge load over here. This is a far cry from my days in the reserves, when we were little more than a nuisance, waiting for the Red Army to flood over the German border. Nice to see that times and attitudes can change.
Just found your blog via Milblogging.com, and was pleased to see the Red Bull patch mentioned. (Check out www.redbullrising.com to see why.) Given your line of work, you should still see it around parts of Afghanistan. While the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division (2-34th BCT) will soon redeploy stateside, and most of the 1-34th BCT is deploying to a different part of the world, there are a couple of 1-34th BCT units headed your way.
ReplyDeleteIn the meantime, look out for those Thunderbirds. They're good folk, from what I remember--they both work and play hard. Real hard. Good history there, too. You remember cartoonist Bill Mauldin of "Willie and Joe" fame? He was a Thunderbird.
Good luck, Godspeed, and "Attack! Attack! Attack!"
Charlie -- thanks for the kind words. I've added a link to Red Bull Rising in the "Useful Links" section at top right.
ReplyDeleteGreat writing, keep up the good work.