October 2020 The recently announced machine gun range to be built at what used to be Camp Edwards has stirred up a hornet’s nest of objections. BANANA (Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anything) is alive and well and living on Cape Cod. The objectors have long lists of complaints. It will cut down a lot…
Category: Conflict/Military
It’s a new kind of war! And we should start now to get ready to fight it
June 2020 “We are always fighting the last war” has been a common criticism of the military, at least since World War I. Generals are reluctant to change strategies, even when it’s obvious to everyone that a strategy isn’t working. At the time of the American revolution, battles were fought by lining up soldiers armed…
We need to stop warring
November 2018 Nothing we humans do is more foolish than killing each other, especially in wars. Yet we spend vast amounts of time and money preparing for wars, even when they never happen. Nowhere is this more obvious than South America. During the last 100 years, Wikipedia lists three small wars over land between Ecuador…
My unit trains for riot control
March 2018 As I watched the news coverage of the veterans marching in the St Patrick’s Day parade in South Boston, my thoughts went back 50 years, when I was in uniform at the (South) Boston Army Base (now a “Design Center”), teaching a class on riot control to a group of my fellow enlisted…
“What Did You Do in the War, Daddy?”
September, 2017 In 1966, as Vietnam was ramping up, this WWII comedy was a hit in theaters. I thought it raised a good question. Most people (nine out of ten) who serve in the military are doing the kind of work that is common in civilian life. Unless they happen to be close to…