BEYOND THE DROPZONE
A Tribute to my father, a member of Rogers’ Raiders
Posted by editor on 29 July 2010 at 12:29 pm UTC
By LTC Thomas S. Mullikin
July 14, 2010, Normandy, France – A cold, rainy day greets my wife and I – a day that might have easily resembled the conditions encountered by Allied soldiers as they fought their way from the sea onto the enemy held shoreline, followed by the inexorable grind inland toward the goal of ending the tyranny of Nazi Germany.
Today, more than 66 years after the Normandy Invasion, we begin our journey attempting to get our heads around the experiences of my father, Charlie Mullikin, an American soldier who landed here on the Normandy coast and was ultimately wounded in action.
On this day, we SCUBA dive onto the great shipwrecks lying offshore.
White caps are pounding our small, rubber Zodiac boat. Visibility is near zero—no more than five feet at best. I can only imagine the violent and terrible cold shock to those American, British, and Canadian soldiers carrying their packs, weapons, and ammunition through the bloody, churning surf.
I am also reminded of the Navy frogmen who suffered 50-percent casualties as they removed the defensive obstacles placed on the beach and in the surf by the Germans.
I made this trek to celebrate my 50th birthday. More importantly, I wanted to recognize the price of freedom and remember the selfless contributions made by my father and other citizen soldiers of his era—appropriately christened, “The Greatest Generation.”
I am particularly proud of my father, a member of a special reconnaissance unit of the 407th Infantry Regiment, affectionately known as “Rogers’ Raiders.” Their actions – though little known – were stellar at Normandy, and the fame of the exploits would spread Army-wide during the period of the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944.
The Raiders – composed entirely of volunteer combatants trained for direct action operations and deep reconnaissance – were led by 1st Lt. Roy “Buck” Rogers.
Army records describe one of their night raids:
“At exactly 0300 Buck Roger’s Night Raiders of the 407th Infantry pushed out into darkness, out into the narrow torrential Roer (River). … A German machine gun opened up not 50 yards away … Two long minutes later … the boats hit the Roer’s east bank. …With clocklike precision dark figures fanned out around the ominous machine gun. …One man returned the fire. Another grasped his grenade. A good throw. A dull thud. A scream. Silence.
“One group… swung toward the railroad bounded by a dense minefield … The rest of the patrol slugged south mopping up one nest after another. At H-hour—30 minutes later—the first assault wave of the 407th Infantry crossed without a hitch. Their bridgehead, the first across the Roer, was established.
“When the 30 minutes of intense action had ended, the Raiders had destroyed five machine gun nests along with six other automatic weapon positions, killed 15 and captured eight of the enemy … all without losing a single American.”
In spite of the accolades and decorations awarded my father—among them the Purple Heart for wounds suffered from an enemy grenade, and a Bronze Star for heroism— he, like so many Americans of his generation, never considered himself a hero. He was simply doing his job, he would modestly say.
But for the rest of us – as well as future generations – my dad’s accomplishments protected our freedom and way of life.
As I stroll these same beaches and feel the same salt-wind and spray that thousands of surely-frightened young men must have felt nearly seven decades earlier; it becomes starkly apparent to me that the freedom and way of life I speak of will continue only with the same courage required here in 1944, the same blessings from God, and our continued appeals for those blessings.
– LTC Thomas S. Mullikin – deputy director, Legal Directorate, Joint Services Detachment (JSD), S.C. Military Department – serves as civil affairs officer for the Counterterrorism Advisory Team, JSD. Mullikin previously served as Assistant Judge Advocate for the 360th Civil Affairs Brigade (Airborne) USAR, United States Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations, U.S. Army Special Operations Command.
Why was this national story missed?
Posted by editor on 18 July 2010 at 11:23 pm UTC
By W. Thomas Smith Jr.
Convicted felon Hassan Jamile Salame of Dearborn Heights (just over five miles from the city of Dearborn), Michigan, reportedly has been charged with attempted “smuggling of guns and ammunition out of the United States” and “being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition,” according to U.S. Attorney William Nettles (as reported in only two South Carolina publications last week).
According to the indictment, Salame allegedly tried to smuggle weapons and ammunition from the U.S. to Lebanon while he was in South Carolina.
But the 800-pound gorilla in the room (pardon the cliche) is that Hassan Jamile Salame (clearly a Muslim name) is from Dearborn Heights- Dearborn, Michigan (a hotbed of Shia Islam with an increasing number of Hizballah sympathizers which concerns intelligence and counterterrorism experts nationwide). Hizballah (which is an Iranian-supported Shia terrorist army, which the U.S. State Dept. has officially designated a terrorist organization) is based in Lebanon (Hizballah’s primary base of operations) where Salame allegedly tried to smuggle “the guns and ammunition.”
But what’s even more disturbing is that there were only two publications nationwide that covered this story – the Charleston (S.C.) Post Courier and WIS-TV’s website (the NBC affiliate in Columbia) – and neither mentions or even attempts to make the starkly obvious Hizballah connection.
—— Visit W. Thomas Smith Jr. at http://uswriter.com/
Lopez named deputy director of U.S. Counterterrorism Advisory Team
Posted by editor on 25 June 2010 at 6:26 pm UTC
[Clare M. Lopez]
BY THOMAS S. MULLIKIN
Clare M. Lopez, a retired operations officer with the CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY (CIA), has been named deputy director of the newly formed U.S. Counterterrorism Advisory Team (USCTAT), a 10-plus member council composed of nationally recognized military, counterterrorism, and intelligence experts, serving as the ascendent organization to a variety of subordinate counterterrorism initiatives, including a research arm, a special branch, an executive tasking branch, and Counterterrorism Task Force-SCMD (which is responsible for providing information to - and briefing - the Joint Services Detachment, S.C. Military Department).
USCTAT’s expert advisors include - among others - Maj. Gen. Paul Vallely (U.S. Army, Ret.), former FOX News military analyst; Dr. Walid Phares, professor and international terrorism expert; Jed Babbin, former U.S. Deputy Undersecretary of Defense; and Col. Danny R. McKnight (U.S. Army, Ret.), the battalion commander (portrayed by actor Tom Sizemore in the movie, BLACK HAWK DOWN) in Task Force RANGER, Mogadishu, 1993.
“Like all of our advisors, Clare brings years of real world experience to the USCTAT table and is a leading voice in terms of educating the public about the terrorist threats facing us,” says USCTAT director and nationally recognized counter-terrorism expert, W. Thomas Smith Jr., a former U.S. Marine who today holds a commission in the S.C. Military Department. “She not only served 20 years with CIA, but it was operational service here in the U.S. and overseas involving counterintelligence, counternarcotics, and counter-proliferation issues with a regional focus on the former Soviet Union, Central and Eastern Europe and the Balkans. She speaks several languages - Spanish, Bulgarian, French, German, and Russian, and currently is studying Farsi. And she’s been working with the team since before we were a team.”
In addition to her deputy directorship, Lopez serves as both vice pres. of the Intelligence Summit and professor at the Centre for Counterintelligence and Security Studies (CI Centre) where she teaches courses on the Iranian Intelligence Services, and the expanding influence of Jihad and Sharia in Europe and the U.S. She is the former executive director of the Iran Policy Committee, and she is a consultant to DoD contractors that provide clandestine operations training to military intelligence personnel.
The U.S. Counterterrorism Advisory Team is an initiative of the Family Security Foundation, Inc. (FSFI).
Among FSFI’s other national security initiatives is an ongoing partnership with the U.S. Congress’s bipartisan Anti-Terrorism Caucus.
— LTC Thomas S. Mullikin – deputy director, Legal Directorate, Joint Services Detachment (JSD), S.C. Military Department – serves as civil affairs officer for the U.S. Counterterrorism Advisory Team (USCTAT) and USCTAT’s Counterterrorism Task Force-SCMD. Mullikin previously served as Assistant Judge Advocate for the 360th Civil Affairs Brigade (Airborne) USAR, United States Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations, U.S. Army Special Operations Command.
Task Force RANGER commander on winning the war on terror
Posted by editor on 9 June 2010 at 5:52 pm UTC
[Col. Danny McKnight]
By W. Thomas Smith Jr.
In the movie, Black Hawk Down, actor Tom Sizemore plays the role of real-life U.S. Army Ranger Lt. Col. (today retired Col.) Danny R. McKnight, the hard-bitten convoy commander whose inspirational leadership literally kept his men alive during the near-disastrous Battle of Mogadishu, Somalia in 1993.
Sizemore portrayed McKnight as an outspoken combat commander, who in action could be seen by his troops as being everywhere at the same time, fighting, directing the fight, and encouraging his men in the most desperate stages of the fight.
An accurate portrayal according to those who served with McKnight.
Today, nearly 17 years after one the bloodiest urban slugfests in contemporary military history, McKnight discusses what America is doing right in the global war on terror, what we are doing wrong, how the enemy perceives weakness in our desire to negotiate, and how political correctness is a fast-track to military disaster.
W. THOMAS SMITH JR.: What are we doing right in the war on terrorism?
COL. DANNY R. McKNIGHT: Primarily, we are not quitting, and I hope we never quit. We committed to this fight when they brought it to us on Sept. 11, 2001. I’m personally proud that our president – at that time – took the approach that we will fight this thing called terrorism. But what everyone needs to understand is that terrorism did not start for us on 9/11. I hear a lot of people say, ‘terrorism began for us in 2001.’ That’s wrong. I wish it were that new to us, because then the enemy would be easier to take out. The FBI has it well-documented that terrorist attacks against us began at least as far back as 1980. What happened in 2001 was just the last straw. It was when we said, ‘This has to stop.’ Again to your question, what are we doing right? We haven’t quit fighting. We cannot let up. If we do, they [the Jihadists] will absolutely take over.
SMITH: What are we doing wrong?
McKNIGHT: First, you must understand, I am not a supporter of the current administration.
Second, we are trying to be too kind and gentle in our approach, suggesting to the world – friends and enemies - that we don’t need to use our military might to defend ourselves and our interests. We are trying to rely too much on negotiating and compromising and trying to convince the world that we are not the preeminent military force in the world to be reckoned with.
You don’t win wars by making people feel that we are not going to press the fight.
Political correctness, which drives me up the wall, can be the death of the greatest country on earth. We have to get away from PC. I mean simple things like ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ have become politically charged pieces of the broader military agenda, and this reexamining ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ is not supported by the four chiefs of staff. The chairman and the weak secretary of Defense have decided to go with president on this, and they have attached an amendment to the 2011 Defense Spending Bill so they can push it through without the concurrence of the chiefs? What are we doing? We are caving to the forces of PC. That’s what we are doing wrong.
SMITH: Do you see the Battle of Mogadishu as something of a microcosm of the broader war we are fighting against Jihad?
McKNIGHT: I most certainly do, though I don’t think anyone thought that in 1993. I also believe if there is one thing we should have done then, it was let us finish that mission. As hard as it would have been, the right thing for us to have done – the ‘hard right’ as I call it – would have been to let us finish. We did not finish. We did not capture [Somali warlord] Mohamed Farrah Aidid, because there were negotiations that took place between the U.S. government and Aidid and his people for us to get [captured American helicopter pilot] Mike Durant back.
Now, Tom, with your background, you know we were never going to leave without Mike Durant. That would not have happened. We were ready at any moment to go get him. But we couldn’t because we were told we couldn’t go outside the compound again until negotiations were done.
So at the end of the negotiations, in order for us to get Mike Durant back, we had to leave.
Mike would tell you, you don’t negotiate with bad people because they will never be good people.
And your word, ‘microcosm,’ is a good way to describe it because we showed [political] weakness. And Osama bin Laden has used that against us ever since. He said, ‘Look at the Americans in Somalia. Kill them and drag them through the streets, and they will run because they are weak.’ So Somalia was a catalyst or an instigator of 9/11. It should have changed us in our approach to terrorism. Instead, it benefited the bad guys.
SMITH: What about Somalia today?
McKNIGHT: The piracy we see off Somalia today is all Al Qaeda connected. It’s not so much the clan fighting there now today as it is the dominating Muslim militia. There are trying to control that country and maintain it as a safe haven for terrorists. Somalia is a key piece of ground. Look at where it sits on the Horn of Africa.
SMITH: So how does the militia benefit from the piracy?
McKNIGHT: Money. You know you get a four-million-dollar ransom for a boat. The Somalis that take control of that money are cohorts of the feared militia. As long as the militia and their friends control Somalia, piracy will continue, and that money finances terrorists.
Had we stood fast in 1993, and shown them that if you mess with us we are going to kick you in the teeth, they would view us differently today.
SMITH: How true to character was actor Tom Sizemore in his portrayal of you in the movie, Black Hawk Down?
McKNIGHT: You have to understand, I had zero to do with the writing of the book, Black Hawk Down. Second, my input into the movie was not much more than that.
They did have good advisors, and so the book and the movie were done well.
But my input with Tom Sizemore was pretty much two phone calls. He later told me that much of what he did was based on what he learned from other [U.S. Army] Rangers, and regarding me specifically was what he learned from Rangers who served with me. He said their general comments were, ‘Whatever you do, remember Col. McKnight was right there in the streets beside us, on our left, on our right, behind us and in front of us. He was fighting but he was leading more than anything else.’
Sizemore is bigger than I am, much bigger. I’m only 5’9.” A lot of times when I go places, people say, ‘We thought you’d be much bigger.’ I always say, ‘Sorry, this is all there is.’ Also, in the movie, he smokes. I do not smoke. Never dated Hiedi Fleiss either.
SMITH: I understand you have a forthcoming book?
McKNIGHT: Yes. There is so much more associated with Task Force RANGER than just Black Hawk Down. Mark Bowden did a fabulous job, but his focus truly was the events associated with Oct. 3-4, 1993. And there’s more to the story.
I have written a book [release date to be determined] that focuses on leadership, which is one of the primary things that got us through that day.
The fight; Yes, I was privileged to be fighting alongside the greatest Americans that you could ever have between Rangers, Delta Force operators, a few Navy SEALs, Air Force pararescuemen, and having Task Force 160 above us. We fought probably better than people could imagine, because when you are outnumbered – probably five to one – you have to fight pretty hard. But leadership was key. So I start the book with that.
Leadership I think is the key to the success of our country – past, present, and future – and that’s the reason I’m concerned today, because I don’t see the right kind of leadership.
SMITH: What else?
McKNIGHT: Decisions that were made. There were a lot of decisions made that people know nothing about. My book will really, clearly reveal those decisions.
[AUTHOR’S NOTE: The conversation continued with McKnight who detailed much more about his book, how truth will be told, fingers will be pointed, and Americans will learn just how much broader the 1993 Somali operation was. “Many people think the only mission we did there was the Oct. 3-4 mission,” says McKnight. “That was number seven. There has not been enough said about the other six.”]
– Visit Danny R. McKnight at dannymcknight.com.
– Visit W. Thomas Smith Jr. at uswriter.com.
Posted by editor on 4 June 2010 at 9:06 pm UTC
By W. Thomas Smith Jr.
Larry Richter, the former judge and S.C. state senator now running for Lt. Gov. of S.C., is wasting my time and that of anyone else within earshot of his self-serving buffoonery.
During a live noon broadcast today on NBC-affiliate station WMBF, which covers the Pee Dee and the Grandstrand of S.C., Richter was on the air with Bill Connor, a combat veteran and front-runner in the Lt. Governor’s race, when he (Richter) suggested that Connor might not have experienced combat.
I’m not kidding folks. This is almost as bad as Jake Knotts’ “raghead” comment, and it’s particularly insulting to combat veterans because it’s (a) coming from a man who conveniently skirted military service during the Vietnam War, and (b) it’s wrong.
Richter knows he’s wrong, but he also knows that it doesn’t matter whether he’s right or wrong – and by the way he’s 100 percent wrong – just as long as he can create enough doubt before Connor has a chance to prove how wrong he [Richter] is. Richter knows that any doubt only has to last less than two business days. That’s when voters go the polls in the Republican primary.
As I say, Richter is wasting my time, and he is, because someone has to set the record straight about his little deception. After all, those of us savvy enough to smell a rat, and quick enough on-the-draw, have an obligation to tell the truth about Richter’s underhandedness despite the obvious obstacles of editorial lede times, and despite the fact it’s late on Friday afternoon.
He’s wasting everyone else’s time because he’s attempting to create doubt in the minds of voters despite the unimpeachable service record of one of S.C.’s heroes in the global war on terror.
No need to get into the sterling specifics of Connor’s combat service except to say he was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB). And according to U.S. Army Regulation 600–8–22, a soldier must meet the following three requirements in order to be awarded the CIB:
First, he must be an infantryman satisfactorily performing infantry duties.
Second, he must be assigned to an infantry unit during such time as the unit is engaged in active ground combat.
Third, he must actively participate in such ground combat. Campaign or battle credit alone is not sufficient for award of the CIB.
Bill Connor not only met those requirements, but exceeded them.
According to official documentation, Connor – a recipient of the Bronze Star and the combat infantryman badge – has been described by his superiors as “a fearless, consummate combat leader” who “performed well under intense enemy fire and always led his men from the front.”
Beyond that, I have personally spoken to soldiers who have served “in action” with Connor, and in one instance Connor literally had to fight with his pistol against fanatics with automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades who were trying to wipe out a convoy (Connor was leading) with a series of complex ambushes one-after-another for 4.5 miles of isolated highway in Afghanistan.
Keep in mind, Richter is the same guy who mocked Connor’s combat service weeks ago at a meeting of the West Metro Republican Women in Lexington, when he suggested his life-and-death decisions sending five people to the electric chair where “deliberate,” as opposed to a combat-commander’s decision-making which he (Richter ) said is only “abstract,” “reflexive,” and “reactionary” – a clear belittling and a gross misunderstanding of combat leadership which enraged combat veterans around the state.
Columbia Star business editor John Temple Ligon, a former Army Ranger officer and also-decorated artillery forward observer during the Vietnam War, says, “For a person who knows absolutely nothing about combat – particularly combat leadership and decision-making – to make such statements is unconscionable.”
Apparently, controversy is not new to Richter.
An April 4 article in THE STATE newspaper (Breaking down the state’s top political fights) listed all six candidates running for the office of Lt. Governor, one of whom, Krista Cogdill, has since withdrawn and now supports Connor.
Regarding Richter, THE STATE says, “He [Richter] comes with baggage.”
Frankly, Richter’s latest ugliness isn’t too far removed from the maniacal rantings of state senator Jake Knotts who called gubernatorial candidate Nikki Haley “a raghead” on a Thursday talk show.
Knotts, by the way, endorses Richter.
No surprise there.
— Visit W. Thomas Smith Jr. at uswriter.com.
NOTE: The opinions expressed in these articles are solely those of the author, and do not represent the opinions of World Defense Review and its affiliates. WDR accepts no responsibility whatsoever for the accuracy or inaccuracy of the content of this or any other story published on this website. Copyright and all rights for this story (and all other stories by the author) are held by the author.
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J. Peter Pham, Ph.D. : 'Strategic Interests'
Ballots and Bullets: The Tale of the Two Somalias
[06 Jul 10]
Walid Phares, Ph.D.
Iran Global Terrorist Reach
[15 Jul 10]
Abigail R. Esman : 'International Desk'
Islamophobia
Is the rejection of radical Islam "anti-Muslim"?
[27 Jul 10]
Rabbi Daniel M. Zucker
The Roots of Washington's Failures in Dealing with "Rogue Regimes"
[01 Apr 10]
W. Thomas Smith Jr.
'Beyond the DropZone'
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