An internet friend of mine who is also a military veteran with a completely different skill and experience set from what I acquired on active duty, has a favored saying about combat operations. "Amateurs talk strategy. Professionals talk logistics."
My buddy doesn't set military policy. He isn't consulted when an invasion is planned. He doesn't train officers or enlisted or the civilian leadership. He is however, correct. The current problems with supplying our combat troops in Afghanistan appear designed to demonstrate the truth of my buddy's maxim. The fuel that is so crucial for so many things is being intercepted and sabotaged.
Hitler, Napoleon and countless othr military leaders and strategists, some competent and some crazy, have had that maxim demonstrated to them, frequently in disastrous fashion accompanied by terrible loss of life amongst the common troops who would be at the end of the supply chain. Afghanistan is notorius for being an incredibly difficult place to establish and maintain supply lines. That difficulty is a large part of the reason for its reputation as the graveyard of empires.
Most of us veterans joined the military when we were young. Many were like me and prone to believing what we were told by authority. We weren't stupid but we had truly impressive amounts of ignorance. As our ignorance was alleviated, we sometimes noted that what we had been told did not jibe with our experiences. At that point, we were in transition, we were in the process losing our amateur status. That process continues to this day. We did not buy the "cakewalk" predictions of Iraq or the excessively optimistic projections for Afghanistan. But we weren't in charge. Those who were/are in charge appear to have given much more thought to operations than to ensuring the combat troops were adequately supplied.
One look back at the maxim and you know what kind of person is in charge.
CAFKIA
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