45 Degrees North

The focus of this blog, and indeed everything I have built under the 45 North umbrella is focused on my families homestead in progress, and my desire to document it, along with publishing and marketing my writing. So forgive me while I go off topic for a moment.

I enlisted in the US Marine Corps June 24th 1998. I finished my first contract in January 2004, 20 years ago, after returning from Iraq. During that first 6 years I carried out US Policy in East Timor, Djibouti, and Kuwait, as well as a contingency operation in Yemen when 13 sailors were killed in the bombing of the USS Cole.

That was the first time the reality of the world smacked me in the face. That was followed up a year later when I watched from Camp Pendleton as 9/11 played out. I was continually deployed from June 15th 2002 until June 12th 2003. We supported operations and conducted special operations in Afghanistan for the first 6 months, and then transitioned to Kuwait to stage for the invasion of Iraq. Then we swept across Iraq and dismantled it in just over 30 days.

Shortly after 9/11 on 18 September 2001 Congress basically unanimously approved Senate Joint Resolution 23. https://www.congress.gov/107/plaws/publ40/PLAW-107publ40.pdf

Out of 522 possible signatures required, it received 519, including the President. No one would argue that at the time it was passed it was absolutely required. Now here we are going on 23 years later and that same Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) has been used to conduct military operations or classified joint Mil/CIA operations in 85 countries. Not since World War II has congress upheld its Constitutional responsibility to declare war.

We currently have at least 300 troops, not including embassy guards, in more than 100 countries. Prior to 9/11 that number was less than 20 countries. On the 28th 3 members of the Georgia National Guard were killed in Jordan, near the Syrian border, when an armed drone detonated in a housing complex where troops were housed. They didn’t need to die, because they didn’t need to be there. Last week we also lost 2 Navy Seals conducting a Visit Board Search Seizure (VBSS) of a vessel suspected to be carrying missiles to the Houthi’s. There is no doubt a need for our military presence but what we are doing now is inefficient, ineffective, and exposes our forces to needless risk.

We could and should drastically reduce the footprint of the military abroad, or organize and drastically expand. We can be swift, aggressive, responsive, and decisive with a much smaller footprint. As Congressman Massie said, there aren’t enough troops to be effective, but there are enough to be a vulnerable target. In the words of my grandfather “we need to sh** or get off the pot”

I mourn today for the families missing their loved ones. I thank you for raising dedicated, patriotic, professionals. Our leadership needs to decide, do we want to address the rising instability and reclaim our position as global hegemon, or do we wish to be a co-equal partner in the member of nations, because we are currently waffling between the two positions and it continually costs young American lives.