When the Russians invaded Ukraine, there was such a mismatch between the opposing forces in terms of personnel and equipment, that experts predicted the country would be overrun in a matter of days. We are a year in, and the Russians have been pushed back. How can the predicted and actual outcome be so different? It’s not just the “will to fight.”
Bill, it took the British Navy, the finest fighting power of its day, over 2 centuries to acknoledge the scorbitcutic properties of fresh fruit and particularly of lemons and limes. Thousands and thousands of British sailors suffered scurvy and many died of it as a result. Now, I wish the Germans and Poles would just get on with it and hand over those Leopard 2 tanks to the Ukrainians, goddammit!
When? When medicine and health care services are no longer driven by capitalistic requirements to maximize profit, when public health is the driver of a true health and health care system dedicated to doing the most for the most people, regardless of their ability to pay. We feed lives and treasure into the maw of the provider system, and the result is a continuous loss of generations of healthy citizens. That’s the better analogy for WWI suicide marches into machine guns in trenches.
Thanks David. Many Americans have served in the military and they understand drones and precision weapons. I found this quote describing the difficulty in changing military culture after WWI. Eisenhower is the same guy who commanded allied forces in WWII and became president of the United States.
"Eisenhower’s writings in the Infantry Journal found disfavor with the Chief of Infantry, MG Charles S. Farnsworth, who told young Eisenhower that his ideas were wrong and dangerous. Farnsworth added that if he published anything further incompatible with “solid Infantry doctrine,” he would be hauled before a court-martial. One may remember that during the same interwar era, the Army attempted to stifle BG Billy Mitchell’s revolutionary ideas on airpower. Unlike Eisenhower, however, the Army court-martialed Mitchell for insubordination and brought an end to his distinguished military career....Eisenhower may have also made a mistake, as far as the Chief of Infantry was concerned, in advocating the replacement of the divisional machine gun battalion with a company of tanks. The machine gun battalion was motorized, but it did not have cross-country mobility. Eisenhower wrote how a company of fifteen fighting tanks, and about half the number of personnel and other vehicles required by the machine gun battalion, could provide more effective firepower and maneuver capability than the battalion. Armed with extra machine guns, the tanks could carry more ammunition and support infantry attacks better, and for a longer time, than the machine gun battalion. Young Eisenhower had a vision of the future, apparently not enthusiastically shared by the Chief of Infantry, when he stated, “The clumsy, awkward and snail-like progress of the old tanks must be forgotten, and in their place we must picture this speedy, reliable and efficient engine of destruction.”
Eisenhower was threatened with court-martial. Billy Mitchell was court-martialed. Old professional paradigms are dogmatic and they die hard. Heretics are often burnt at the stake. Our medical system is not serving Americans well and I hope they demand better.
Bill, it took the British Navy, the finest fighting power of its day, over 2 centuries to acknoledge the scorbitcutic properties of fresh fruit and particularly of lemons and limes. Thousands and thousands of British sailors suffered scurvy and many died of it as a result. Now, I wish the Germans and Poles would just get on with it and hand over those Leopard 2 tanks to the Ukrainians, goddammit!
Great comment and I am totally with you
When? When medicine and health care services are no longer driven by capitalistic requirements to maximize profit, when public health is the driver of a true health and health care system dedicated to doing the most for the most people, regardless of their ability to pay. We feed lives and treasure into the maw of the provider system, and the result is a continuous loss of generations of healthy citizens. That’s the better analogy for WWI suicide marches into machine guns in trenches.
Thanks David. Many Americans have served in the military and they understand drones and precision weapons. I found this quote describing the difficulty in changing military culture after WWI. Eisenhower is the same guy who commanded allied forces in WWII and became president of the United States.
"Eisenhower’s writings in the Infantry Journal found disfavor with the Chief of Infantry, MG Charles S. Farnsworth, who told young Eisenhower that his ideas were wrong and dangerous. Farnsworth added that if he published anything further incompatible with “solid Infantry doctrine,” he would be hauled before a court-martial. One may remember that during the same interwar era, the Army attempted to stifle BG Billy Mitchell’s revolutionary ideas on airpower. Unlike Eisenhower, however, the Army court-martialed Mitchell for insubordination and brought an end to his distinguished military career....Eisenhower may have also made a mistake, as far as the Chief of Infantry was concerned, in advocating the replacement of the divisional machine gun battalion with a company of tanks. The machine gun battalion was motorized, but it did not have cross-country mobility. Eisenhower wrote how a company of fifteen fighting tanks, and about half the number of personnel and other vehicles required by the machine gun battalion, could provide more effective firepower and maneuver capability than the battalion. Armed with extra machine guns, the tanks could carry more ammunition and support infantry attacks better, and for a longer time, than the machine gun battalion. Young Eisenhower had a vision of the future, apparently not enthusiastically shared by the Chief of Infantry, when he stated, “The clumsy, awkward and snail-like progress of the old tanks must be forgotten, and in their place we must picture this speedy, reliable and efficient engine of destruction.”
Eisenhower was threatened with court-martial. Billy Mitchell was court-martialed. Old professional paradigms are dogmatic and they die hard. Heretics are often burnt at the stake. Our medical system is not serving Americans well and I hope they demand better.