Tag Archives: Fort Hood

Texas wildfires

We thought the smoke in the air yesterday was the usual spring influx from the Chiapan farmers of southern Mexico burning the scrub off their fields to prepare for planting.

But it was actually coming from the northwest, above Fort Worth, where the drought-induced wildfires have burned-out a couple of small towns. Since some one hundred ninety-nine counties are affected so far, the governor has called for help from the national guard and FEMA. More wildfires appear to be burning around the Fort Hood area which is closer to the rancho but still a comfortable distance. Forecast rain tonight and tomorrow will help, if it shows up.

Call out the cavalry

09_river_charge

Actually, it was the infantry that tamed the West, but that’s another story. The horse soldiers certainly did their share. Hence this reenactment group at Fort Hood where the cav’s rides these days don’t have four legs or require nose bags.

The death of Sgt. Lawrence Sprader, Jr.

The MSM has not covered itself with glory in its reporting of the training-accident death of Fort Hood’s SGT Lawrence Sprader, Jr. on June 8. A report this morning in the daily read like a catch-up piece of some kind, so I went searching the Web for more. I discovered that, on Monday, the Associated Press in Fort Worth reported that judicial action was pending against one or more soldiers involved in the training exercise, a solo compass nav course across difficult, brush-covered terrain in mid-90 degree heat. Today, the Killeen Daily Herald, which has the further incentive of proximity to the fort to endeavor to get the details right, says that only administrative action is being taken, and the judicial action is only "possible." Reading between the lines, it looks like some of Sprader’s superiors were involved in a coverup of the reasons for his hyperthermia, dehydration death. But it’s hard to be sure, since the Army, so far, is not releasing the details of its investigation. The MSM, meanwhile, seems only to be being its usual sloppy self.

UPDATE:  It took some pushing, apparently, but the Army has released the investigation report

Army strong is strained

"…consider for a moment the peculiar lack of tanks and armored Humvees in the Fort Hood motor pools. An acute and worsening equipment shortage has robbed soldiers of stateside training opportunities and decimated the readiness of units that have not gone to Iraq or Afghanistan."

A lengthy look at the strains–including three years needed to replace shot-down helicopters–that the Army is going through. Clearly, improvements are needed across the board.

Meanwhile, even as the surge shows some results, there are many contradictions at play in Iraq:

"If the insurgents are to be defeated, it will have to be by local tough guys in town after town, as happened in the American West in the 1870s. These guys will likely be more ruthless than we would like. But if we don’t let them establish some control—and give them help in maintaining it—any strategies for phased withdrawals or grand political bargains or international constabularies will be irrelevant."

Via The Elephant Bar

Deep in the heart

Strategy Page reports on a potentially disturbing development:

"The heavy equipment for the troops at Ft Hood moves by rail to Houston and Beaumont, where they are loaded on ships for movement overseas. The tracks cross numerous little gullies and creeks. For the most part the viaducts across these obstacles are made of creosote-treated wood. And there’s absolutely no security. In one night a half dozen guys with some trucks and matches could do enough damage to hold up the movement, of half a dozen brigades (III Corps), for weeks."

Let’s hope someone is doing something about this. Alerting the sheriffs in the affected counties would be a good start. 

4th ID coming home

Welcome home to some 21,000 troops of the 4th Infantry Division who will be returning from Iraq on a staggered schedule to Fort Hood, northwest of Austin, between now and Thanksgiving. Meanwhile, orders are being cut for more troops from the 3rd Infantry Division from Fort Riley, Kansas, the 1st Infantry Division at Fort Stewart, Georgia, and a Stryker brigade at Fort Lewis, Washington, to return to Iraq.

1st Cav returns to Iraq

For the men and women of the big cav unit up the road at Fort Hood, it’s back to Iraq.

"The division will uncase its colors later this fall when it takes over responsibility for Multinational Division Baghdad from Fort Hood’s 4th Infantry Division.