Boots & Sabers

The blogging will continue until morale improves...

Category: Military

Israel Decapitates Iran’s Nuclear and Military Capability

Israel might be the most lethal military in the world right now – including us. The combination of intelligence, precision, and lethality is remarkable. What we are learning is that while Iran is a deadly world actor through their support of terrorist groups, they are rather weak in terms actual military power. That’s why they want the nuke… and that’s why they can’t have it.

Israel launched strikes across Iran on Friday, saying they targeted the “heart” of Iran’s nuclear programme.

 

The strikes killed Hossein Salami, chief of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards – a powerful branch of the country’s armed forces – other senior military figures and nuclear scientists.

 

Civilians, including children, were also among those killed, Iranian state media reported. The BBC is not able to independently verify these reports.

 

The Israeli military said Iran launched about 100 drones towards Israel on Friday morning, which the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it was intercepting. A state of emergency was declared in Israel.

 

The US said it was not involved in the strikes. Multiple strikes were reported, including on Iran’s main nuclear enrichment facility.

Army Meets Recruiting Goal 4 Months Ahead of Schedule

Wow. What a turnaround. It’s amazing how many young men and women want to serve their nation when it’s okay to be proud of it.

The U.S. Army met its annual recruiting target of 61,000 in the first week of June, four months ahead of the scheduled Sept. 30 deadline, after putting in place new initiatives to boost recruitment.

 

It marks a stunning turnaround for a service that failed to meet its recruiting goals in 2022 and 2023 and struggled in the years since to meet its annual targets.

 

“The U.S. Army has successfully met its fiscal year 2025 recruiting goals for active duty, signing contracts with more than 61,000 future Soldiers — a full four months before the end of the fiscal year,” the U.S. Army said in a statement. “This achievement represents a significant turning point for the Army and indicates a renewed sense of patriotism and purpose among America’s youth.”

 

Dan Driscoll, the secretary of the Army, said in a statement that he is “incredibly proud” of the service’s recruiters and drill sergeants.

Ukrainian Drone Strike Hits Russia Hard

Warfare has changed. The tactics are different. The technology is different. The ability to wage asymmetric warfare in your enemy’s camp has never been greater.  Enemies can hit multiple strategic targets deep in our homeland – including parts of our nuclear deterrence capabilities. I sure as heck hope our military planners are paying attention.

Ukraine says it completed its biggest long-range attack of the war with Russia on Sunday, after using smuggled drones to launch a series of major strikes on 40 Russian warplanes at four military bases.

 

President Volodymyr Zelensky said 117 drones were used in the so-called “Spider’s Web” operation by the SBU security service, striking “34% of [Russia’s] strategic cruise missile carriers”.

 

SBU sources earlier told BBC News it took a year-and-a-half to organise the strikes, which involved drones hidden in wooden mobile cabins, with remotely operated roofs on trucks, brought near the airbases and then fired “at the right time”.

 

[…]

 

Sources in the SBU earlier on Sunday told the BBC in a statement that four Russian airbases – two of which are thousands of miles from Ukraine – were hit:

  • Belaya in Irkutsk oblast (region), Siberia
  • Olenya in Murmansk oblast, Russia’s extreme north-west
  • Dyagilevo in central Ryazan oblast
  • Ivanovo in central Ivanovo oblast

 

The SBU sources said that among the hit Russian aircraft were strategic nuclear capable bombers called Tu-95 and Tu-22M3, as well as A-50 early warning warplanes.

Fiber Optic Drones Debut in Ukraine

Much like the Crimean War (the 1853 one, not the most recent one), the Ukranian War is proving to be a pivot point in the technological evolution of warfare. We will never fight another war like we have in the past.

In an ever-evolving conflict, soldiers have had to rapidly adapt to new threats posed by changing technology. And the latest threat comes from fibre optic drones. A spool of tens of kilometres of cable is fitted to the bottom of a drone and the physical fibre optic cord is attached to the controller held by the pilot.

 

“The video and control signal is transmitted to and from the drone through the cable, not through radio frequencies. This means it can’t be jammed by electronic interceptors,” says a soldier with the call sign Moderator, a drone engineer with the 68th Jaeger Brigade.

 

When drones began to be used in this war in a big way, both militaries fitted their vehicles with electronic warfare systems, which could neutralise drones. That protection has evaporated with the arrival of fibre optic drones, and in the deployment of these devices, Russia currently has the edge. Ukraine is trying to ramp up production.

 

“Russia started using fibre optic drones much before us, while we were still testing them. These drones can be used in places where we have to go lower than usual drones. We can even enter houses and look for targets inside,” says Venia, a drone pilot with the 68th Jaeger Brigade.

 

“We’ve started joking that maybe we should carry scissors to cut the cord,” says Serhii, the artillery man.

 

Fibre optic drones do have drawbacks – they are slower and the cable could get entangled in trees. But at the moment, their widespread use by Russia means that transporting soldiers to and from their positions can often be deadlier than the battlefield itself.

Hegseth Orders Reduction of Top Leadership

Seems like a good start.

CNN — 

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has ordered senior Pentagon leadership to cut the number of four-star generals and admirals by at least 20% across the military, according to a memo signed by Hegseth dated Monday and obtained by CNN.

As of 2023, there were 37 four-star generals and admirals across the entire military.

The memo also directs the Pentagon to cut the number of general officers in the National Guard by 20%, and to cut the total number of general and flag officers across the military by 10%. There are currently about 900 general and flag officers — those with the rank of one star or higher — across the military.

At the end of WW2, we had about 12 million active duty military and about 450 generals and admirals – about 1 general/admiral per 26,667 service members.

Currently, we have about 900 generals and admirals leading a military of about 1.26 million service members – about 1 general/admiral per 1,400 service members. We only have 241 active ships in our navy and over 300 admirals.

Yes, it’s time to streamline our armed forces and make them less top heavy starting with the 4-stars.

Trump Sacks the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs

Civilian leadership of our military is a bedrock principle of our Republic and any free nation. This is what that looks like.

US President Donald Trump has fired the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff CQ Brown, the highest-ranking officer in the country, as part of a major shake-up of top military leadership.

 

“I want to thank General Charles ‘CQ’ Brown for his over 40 years of service to our country,” Trump posted on social media. He said five other top officers were also being replaced.

 

[…]

 

All three top officers removed on Friday were appointed by Trump’s predecessor, Joe Biden.

 

Hegseth said in a statement: “Under President Trump, we are putting in place new leadership that will focus our military on its core mission of deterring, fighting and winning wars.”

 

Trump said he would nominate Air Force Lt Gen Dan Caine – a career F-16 pilot who most recently served as CIA associate director for military affairs – as the new chairman of the joint chiefs of staff.

Europe Threatens to Pay for its Own Defense

Ohhh noooss… not that

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has called for the creation of an “army of Europe” to guard against Russia as he suggested the US may no longer come to the continent’s aid.

 

Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, he also said that Ukraine would “never accept deals made behind our backs without our involvement” after US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to start peace talks.

 

In a speech on Friday, in which he attacked European democracies, US Vice President JD Vance warned that Europe needed to “step up in a big way” on defence.

 

Zelensky said: “I really believe the time has come – the armed forces of Europe must be created.”

The U.S. taxpayers have defended Europe for the last 75 years as a hedge against another World War and to counterbalance a Superpower Russia. Well, Russia is no longer a Superpower (a nuclear power, yes, but otherwise militarily and economically mediocre) and Europe has developed a robust internal mechanism in the E.U. to ward off mass conflagration. The benefits for the U.S. taxpayer to continue to pour trillions of dollars into the defense of other countries no longer warrants the cost.

Europe should defend itself and the U.S. should reshape our relationship as that of an ally – not a benefactor.

Operation Beeper Began Years Ago

Absolutely amazing foresight and ingenuity.

The first part of the plan – booby-trapped radios – was initiated by Mossad in Lebanon in 2015. The concept for the pager operation emerged in 2022 and began to be implemented more than a year before the Hamas attack on October 7, reports The Washington Post.

 

[…]

A special proposal, allegedly from a well-known Taiwanese company, was developed for Hezbollah militants. The Apollo AR924 pager was somewhat bulky but ideal for combat conditions. It was waterproof and equipped with an extended battery that could last for months without recharging. However, its main advantage was its purported anti-tampering protection. Hezbollah leaders were so impressed that they purchased 5,000 units and began distributing them to mid-level fighters and support staff in February.

According to officials from Israel, the US, and Middle Eastern countries, around 3,000 Hezbollah officers and members were killed or injured when Mossad remotely activated the devices on September 17.

The idea for the pager operation originated in 2022, with elements of the plan being implemented more than a year before the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023.

The first part of the plan – booby-trapped radios – was initiated by Mossad in Lebanon nearly ten years ago, in 2015. The mobile two-way radios contained large battery packs, hidden explosives, and a transmission system that provided Israel with full access to Hezbollah’s communications.

According to sources, for nine years, Israeli operatives eavesdropped on Hezbollah while maintaining the capability to turn the radios into bombs. However, a new opportunity arose: a small pager equipped with powerful explosives.

Israel Launches Defensive Ground War Against Lebanon

Will Syria or Iran try to come in the back door as Israel is fighting a 2-front war?

The Israeli military last night confirmed that it has launched a ground invasion of Lebanon, as fears mount that the escalation could plunge the Middle East into an all-out war.

 

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said it had begun ‘localised and targeted raids’ against Hezbollah enemies in southern Lebanon.

 

‘These targets are located in villages close to the border and pose an immediate threat to Israeli communities in northern Israel,’ the military added.

 

It added that the operation will continue ‘according to the situational assessment and in parallel to combat in Gaza and in other arenas’.

 

The ground invasion has been supported by a series of air strikes, with dramatic pictures showing the missiles lighting up the sky above Beirut.

 

British nationals have been urged to leave Lebanon immediately, with Foreign Secretary David Lammy warning the conflict could ‘escalate in a major way’.

 

The US said it was informed beforehand about Israel’s raid, which have been described as ‘limited operations focused on Hezbollah infrastructure near the border.’

Ukraine Invades Russia

Well, isn’t this a pickle.

US officials are assessing how the incursion might reshape the political and military dynamics of the war, as well as the implications for Washington’s long-shifting stance on how Ukraine can use American-supplied arms.

 

The stunning raid, catching both Russian and apparently Western leaders by surprise, highlights one of the riskiest dilemmas for the Western-backed defence of Ukraine: President Biden has consistently tried to empower Kyiv to push back Russia’s invasion without risking an American escalation with Moscow. As President Putin has always tried to portray the conflict as a war between Russia and the West, Mr Biden has sought to put clear limits on US policy to deflate that narrative and prevent a conflagration.

 

But Ukraine’s Kursk assault – the largest incursion into Russia by a foreign military since World War Two, according to military analysts – has raised a series of urgent questions for the White House. Does it rapidly expand the boundaries of Washington’s set limits for how Ukraine can use American and Nato weapons systems? Does it risk crossing Russia’s red lines over Western involvement in the war? If not, has President Zelensky showed Washington he can call Mr Putin’s bluff?

I know that I break ranks with many of my conservative brethren on this war, but I do not think that is in our national interest to prop up Zelensky’s dictatorial regime in opposition to Putin’s. Yes, I get that Ukraine is bleeding out Russia’s military capacity. Yes, I understand that a Russian victory would make it slightly easier for Putin to invade a NATO country, thus pulling the U.S. into a hot war. That risk is, however, minimal.

But I also understand that Russia occupying a hostile Ukranian population would keep Putin bloodied and distracted for years. And Ukraine was a corrupt oligarchy before Russia invaded it. It was only marginally better than Russia in the first place.

Also, by leaning into this war so hard supporting Ukraine, we have pushed Russia and China closer together. We have also incented Putin to attempt to launch proxy wars to attack our interests in other regions. And while the war may be bleeding Russia’s military, it is having the same impact on the American military readiness and economy.

So what do we do now? The veneer of Ukraine fighting a defensive war to push Russia out of their national territory has been shorn off. Now Ukraine is an active belligerent that is occupying Russia’s national territory. Should we really be supporting one side over the other in a regional war? Or should we be focused on arming and fortifying our NATO allies that border Russia and Ukraine? Given the absence of leadership in America, what is our national policy here?

Biden’s Gaza Pier Works as Well as Everything Else in His Administration

What an utter waste and embarrassment.

The US military has ended its mission to operate a temporary floating pier to deliver more aid to the Gaza Strip, after it was beset by weather, technical and security problems.

 

Supplies from Cyprus would now by shipped by US vessels to the Israeli port of Ashdod and then transported by lorry to northern Gaza via an Israeli-controlled crossing, the deputy head of Central Command said.

 

Vice-Adm Brad Cooper insisted the pier had enabled a “surge” in aid deliveries, noting that more than 9,000 tonnes had been delivered over two months.

 

However, it was operational for only about 20 days and had been out of action since 28 June because of bad weather.

What Admiral Cooper does not say is that most, or all, of that 9,000 tons was immediately stolen and used by Hamas. This entire story was an utter failure and a fiasco.

Democrats to Force Women to Register for the Draft

I have mixed feelings on this issue.

Senate Democrats have added language to the annual defense authorization bill to require women to register for the draft, prompting a backlash from Republicans and social conservatives and complicating the chances of moving the bill on the Senate floor before Election Day.

As the father of several draft-age men and women, my interests are as personal as philosophical. Let’s think about it from a couple of perspectives.

As a man and a father with mostly traditional values, I do think it is largely the appropriate and historic role for men to be protectors and providers. The thought of sending women off to war is instinctively abhorrent to me. While women have always served in war in every conflict, it has traditionally when they volunteer or when the war comes to their doors. It is the duty of men to go to faraway places and kill the enemy before they reach their doors.

There is also a practical, if grim, reason for this traditional role. In the event of a bloody war where a great number of people are killed, any country/society/culture needs women to repopulate. Our nation can repopulate with more women than men. It is much more difficult when men outnumber women (see: China). Part of our evolutionary survival as a species is because we have traditionally protected the fairer sex from violence so that they can continue the species. In other words, men are more expendable to the species than women.

But… I also think that women are capable of being great war fighters in modern combat. Except for a few select roles that require great physical strength where men’s biological advantages prevail, modern combat is largely mechanical and technological thus reducing the physical requirements. Other nations have proven the effectiveness of women in combat.

Furthermore, women are full-fledged individual citizens imbued with all of the rights and responsibilities of being a citizen. One of those responsibilities is to fight, kill, and die to protect our nation. Why should women be excluded from this responsibility when they enjoy all of the same rights?

So I am torn. The small “r” republican supports including women in the draft. The rest of me recoils at the notion.

Biden’s $320 Million Pier in Gaza Sinks

While it is easy to laugh and/or roll your eyes at yet another expensive, wasteful, ridiculous stunt-gone-bad by our hapless president, there is a real worry here.

TEL AVIV — The U.S. military has been forced to suspend aid deliveries into the Gaza Strip by sea after its temporary pier system off Gaza suffered damage in bad weather, the Defense Department confirmed Tuesday.

 

[…]

 

The damage is the latest setback to the temporary pier system, which President Joe Biden announced during his State of the Union address in March and became operational just two weeks ago.

 

Over the weekend, four small U.S. military boats involved in ferrying aid broke from their moorings in bad weather, U.S. Central Command said. Two of them washed up on the coast of southern Israel near the city of Ashdod, while the other two beached in Gaza.

 

An American service member also remains in critical condition in an Israeli hospital after having suffered noncombat injuries on the pier last week, a U.S. defense official said. Two other service members sustained minor injuries.

 

The temporary pier, known in military parlance as a Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore capability, was designed to get more aid into Gaza and help fend off famine, which the U.N. says has broken out in the north of the besieged Strip.

While the policy to put this pier in was idiotic, we should expect our military to be able to execute it well. They did not. Our mighty American military appears incapable of an engineering feat that should be well within their abilities. We’ve been building temporary piers for the purpose of landing supplies in a war zone since the Civil War. Yet it’s sinking within a week? What if there were Americans under fire on the other end of that pier waiting for supplies?

The policy was bad, but the execution should have been flawless.

Russians Launch Another Space Weapon

Well, that’s disconcerting.

The United States has assessed that Russia launched what is likely a counter space weapon last week that’s now in the same orbit as a U.S. government satellite, Pentagon spokesman Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder confirmed Tuesday.

 

“What I’m tracking here is on May 16, as you highlighted, Russia launched a satellite into low Earth orbit that we that we assess is likely a counter space weapon presumably capable of attacking other satellites in low Earth orbit,” Ryder said when questioned by ABC News about the information, which was made public earlier Tuesday by Robert Wood, deputy U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

 

“Russia deployed this new counter space weapon into the same orbit as a U.S. government satellite,” Ryder continued. “And so assessments further indicate characteristics resembling previously deployed counter space payloads from 2019 and 2022.”

 

[…]

 

When asked if the Russian counter space weapon posed a threat to the U.S. satellite, Ryder responded: “Well, it’s a counter space weapon in the same orbit as a U.S. government satellite.”

Aid Stolen Before Reaching Gazans

Garsch… Who could have possible predicted that supplied would be stolen before ever reaching the intended people. /shockedfface. Despite the effort by CNN to sanitize the report and attribute the thefts to “desperate Gazans,” only Hamas has the internal force to affect such interceptions. Once again, Hamas is stealing from their own people.

None of the aid that has been unloaded from the temporary pier the US constructed off the coast of Gaza has been delivered to the broader Palestinian population, as the US works with the UN and Israel to identify safe delivery routes inside the enclave, the Pentagon said on Tuesday.

 

Several desperate Gazans intercepted trucks delivering aid from the pier over the weekend, leading the UN to suspend the delivery operations until the logistical challenges are resolved.

 

[…]

 

Asked whether any of the aid has been delivered to the people of Gaza, Ryder said, “As of today, I do not believe so.” He added that aid had been held in an assembly area on shore, but as of Tuesday had begun getting moved to warehouses for distribution throughout Gaza as alternative routes have been established.

 

[…]

 

Over the weekend, as trucks began moving the aid delivered off the floating pier, CNN reported that a group of men in Gaza intercepted the aid, saying they did not trust that it was actually meant for the Palestinian people.

Iran Escalates War

This is going to get worse before it gets better. It’s telling that Saudi, Iraq, and Egypt are on the sidelines.

For the first time ever, Iran has carried out strikes against Israeli territory.

In the middle of Saturday night, air raid alerts went off in Israel, residents were urged to seek shelter while explosions were heard as air defences were activated.

 

Interceptions lit up the night sky in several places across the country, while many drones and missiles were shot down by Israel’s allies before they reached Israeli territory.

At least nine countries were involved in the military escalation – with projectiles fired from Iran, Iraq, Syria and Yemen and downed by Israel, the US, the UK and France as well as Jordan.

Biden Reluctantly Agrees to Release Munitions to Israel Despite Antisemitic Opposition

Good.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. in recent days authorized the transfer of billions of dollars worth of bombs and fighter jets to Israel, two sources familiar with the effort said on Friday, even as Washington publicly expresses concerns about an anticipated Israeli military offensive in Rafah.

 

The new arms packages include more than 1,800 MK84 2,000-pound bombs and 500 MK82 500-pound bombs, said the sources, who confirmed a report in the Washington Post.

Washington gives $3.8 billion in annual military assistance to Israel, its longtime ally.

 

The package comes as Israel faces strong international criticism over its continued bombing campaign and ground offensive in Gaza and as some members of President Joe Biden’s party call for him to cut U.S. military aid.

Invasion of Rafah Would be Bloodbath

Ya know… there is a way to prevent this. Hamas could surrender.

The doctors warned about a potential “bloodbath” with “apocalyptic” consequences if Israel carries out its planned invasion of Rafah, a southern city by the border with Egypt where over 1.5 million displaced civilians are currently taking refuge.

 

“This is probably the worst crisis that can happen within this war,” Sahloul said.

 

[…]

 

Although international leaders, including U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, have publicly shared their concerns, a senior Israeli official told ABC News on Wednesday that “there is no world” in which Israel does not go ahead with its Rafah offensive, a military operation they claim will destroy the last battalions of Hamas left in the south.

 

The doctors affirmed that the situation is already dire and called for a cease-fire.

Frankly, Israel’s care to provide paths to safety, warnings, and humanitarian care for civilians as they prosecute the war is admirable. They do it at great risk to themselves and knowing that their enemy would not – has not – do the same for them. Hamas has a long history of using civilians as shields. There is one reason that civilian Gazans continue to be in the middle of a war. That reason is Hamas.

U.S. Prepared for Nuclear War in Ukraine

Why is this a revelation? We have a rogue nuclear power going to war against an enemy who difficult to defeat by conventional means. If the U.S. had not game played and prepared for the possibility of nuclear war, it would have been a derelict of duty.

In late 2022, the US began “preparing rigorously” for Russia potentially striking Ukraine with a nuclear weapon, in what would have been the first nuclear attack in war since the US dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki nearly eighty years before, two senior administration officials told CNN.

The Biden administration was specifically concerned Russia might use a tactical or battlefield nuclear weapon, the officials said.

I first reported US officials were worried about Russia using a tactical nuclear weapon in 2022, but in my new book, “The Return of Great Powers” publishing on March 12, I reveal exclusive details on the unprecedented level of contingency planning carried out as senior members of the Biden administration became increasingly alarmed by the situation.

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