Podcasts about Field artillery

*Enjoy a Free Patreon Episode On Us*Join today: Patreon.com/michaeldeconLes Valez is a Graduate of the University of Vermont. He served as an officer in the US Army, Field Artillery branch. He is Vice President of Luscombe Engineering, a Silicon Valley manufacturer's representative company. Les also serves as the Assistant State Director for MUFON, the Mutual UFO Network, in Northern California, Co-Chairman of the Abduction / Experiencer Research Committee (MUFON) , Co-Founder and Vice President of OPUS, (Organization for Paranormal Understanding and Support).

1.35 million applicants received a military entrance physical from 2016 to 2020, and about 15% of them received an initial disqualification. More than half of these disqualified applicants sought a waiver, and they were more likely than not to get approved. This whole system can be frustrating and opaque, so in this episode we dive into the medical standards and waiver process with a guest who was deeply involved. Dr. Christopher D. Meyering is a board-certified Primary Care Sports Medicine physician. He attended medical school at the Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine, Midwestern University and subsequently completed his Family Medicine internship and residency training at DeWitt Army Community Hospital at Fort Belvoir, VA. Following a 2-year assignment in Germany, he completed a Sports Medicine Fellowship at the Tri-Service Primary Care Fellowship at Fort Belvoir, VA. He is certified by the American Board of Family Physicians with a Certificate of Added Qualification in Sports Medicine, and he is a Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians. Dr. Meyering retired from the U.S. Army after 21 years of Service which included 3 combat deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan as a Battalion Surgeon for Infantry, Armor, and Field Artillery units. Several key positions during his career were assignments as the Command Surgeon for the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command which oversees all recruiting and training for the entire U.S. Army; the Command Surgeon for the U.S. Army Recruiting Command which made him the medical waiver authority for the Army; and the Division Surgeon for the 1st Cavalry Division. Dr. Meyering was the Chief Medical Officer for the 2022 and 2024 DoD Warrior Games held in Orlando, FL. Additionally he was the co-medical lead for the 2021 Invictus Games held in The Hague, The Netherlands and for the 2023 Invictus Games in Dusseldorf, Germany. He is currently the Chief Medical Officer for all upcoming DoD Warrior Games and is the Medical Lead for Team U.S. at the 2025 Invictus Games in Vancouver and Whistler, Canada. He is the author of multiple peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, and published abstracts, and he has presented at international and national conferences and events. He was previously the assistant team physician for George Mason University and covered all collegiate sports. He volunteered medical services at multiple levels and events to include the Marine Corps marathon, the Army 10 miler, the Augusta Half Iron Man Triathlon, All Army Wheelchair basketball, USA National and Golden Gloves Boxing events, Army combatives tournaments, professional fast pitch softball, and Special Olympics. We reference a lot of data from this AMSARA report "Accession Medical Standards Analysis and Research Activity"Some other relevant reporting on the issue includes this piece from The War Horse and this discussion of recent changes from AUSACOL (R) Meyering told a story about national media attention on some of his work, and you can find that coverage here

Last time we spoke about the invasion of Luzon. As Operation Mike 1 commenced, General Swift's 1st Corps prepared to assault Lingayen Gulf while General Griswold's 14th Corps rehearsed at Huon Gulf. Despite successful diversionary strikes, Japanese forces anticipated an invasion. On January 2, enemy ships were spotted heading towards Luzon, confirming fears of a large-scale operation. Kamikaze attacks intensified, damaging Allied vessels, including the USS Long, which sank after being hit. Amidst bombardments, Filipino citizens demonstrated resilience despite the destruction, reflecting their loyalty and hope during the turmoil. As dawn broke on January 9, Kinkaid's amphibious convoys approached Lingayen Gulf, initiating a fierce assault. Preceded by heavy bombardments, American forces landed on the beaches, facing minimal resistance. The 14th Corps advanced toward key locations, while the 1st Corps secured strategic positions despite enduring sniper fire. By nightfall, they established a significant beachhead. Despite sporadic Japanese counterattacks, American troops pressed forward, and reinforcements were deployed to maintain momentum. The stage was set for a crucial campaign in Luzon. This episode is the South China Sea Raid Welcome to the Pacific War Podcast Week by Week, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about world war two? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on world war two and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel you can find a few videos all the way from the Opium Wars of the 1800's until the end of the Pacific War in 1945.  As we last left off, the 1st and 14th Corps had just successfully established a beachhead on Lingayen Gulf. On January 11, General Krueger further reinforced his position by landing additional reserves, aiming to effectively confront the formidable enemy forces entrenched in the eastern hills. Concurrently, Admiral Halsey's 3rd Fleet units made their entrance into the South China Sea to execute an ambitious raid known as Operation Gratitude. This operation was prompted by misleading intelligence reports suggesting that the hybrid battleship-carriers Ise and Hyuga were stationed in Cam Ranh Bay. In response, Halsey ordered Admiral Bogan's Task Group 38.2 to launch an assault on these supposed targets. This task group was primarily composed of the battleships New Jersey and Wisconsin, which were directed to bombard the bay and eliminate any Japanese vessels that had sustained damage from prior airstrikes. To enhance their operational capabilities, Halsey established Task Group 38.5, specifically designed for night operations, which included the night-capable carriers Enterprise and Independence. On January 12, aircraft from these carriers were deployed for a predawn reconnaissance mission over Cam Ranh Bay and its adjacent waters in search of enemy targets. Despite their efforts, the search yielded no results, indicating that the earlier intelligence had been inaccurate. Nevertheless, all three carrier groups proceeded with their planned strikes at 07:30, while the surface action group advanced toward Cam Ranh. Halsey's strategic gamble proved to be remarkably successful. Although the Ise and Hyuga were not present in the bay, American aviators discovered a wealth of enemy shipping, including three significant Japanese convoys. Sherman's TG 38.3 encountered the most valuable target off Qui Nhon north of Cam Ranh. This was convoy Hi-86 with nine merchants and a heavy escort. The convoy had departed Cape St Jacques on January 9 and was headed north. The escort comprised light cruiser Kashii and five kaibokan. Late on January 11, it reached Qui Nhon Bay and anchored. After leaving Qui Nhon Bay, it was discovered by TG 38.3. In two large attacks, aircraft from Essex, Ticonderoga, Langley, and San Jacinto laid waste to the convoy. None of the nine merchant ships in the convoy survived this onslaught. Cargo ships Yoshu Maru and Eiman Maru (loaded with bauxite and raw rubber), along with tanker San Luis Maru, were sunk. The other six ships were damaged and forced to beach. Otsusan Maru (a cargo ship converted to tanker), passenger-cargo ship Tatebe Maru, cargo ship Kyokuun Maru, cargo ship Yusei Maru, ore carrier Tatsubato Maru, and cargo ship Banshu Maru No. 63 all became constructive total losses. The escort for this large convoy met a similar fate. Light cruiser Kashii was hit amidships by a torpedo in the early afternoon. This was followed by two bomb hits aft that detonated her depth-charge magazine. Kashii sank stern first with 621 members of her crew; only 19 survived. CD-23 was attacked north of Qui Nhon and sunk with her entire crew of 155 officers and men. CD-51 suffered the same fate. After she blew up and sank, her depth charges detonated with fatal consequences for any survivors; 159 men were lost. From the entire convoy, only kaibokans Daito and Ukuru, and corvette CD-27 survived, albeit in a damaged state. As a result, Admiral McCain's Task Force 38 conducted an impressive total of 984 strike missions throughout the day. This relentless assault led to the sinking of the light cruiser Kashii, two minesweepers, eight kaibokans, two subchasers, five transport ships, fourteen cargo vessels, and nine oilers. Additionally, four kaibokans, one subchaser, three transports, four cargo ships, and two oilers were damaged. This operation marked the highest number of ships sunk by airstrikes in a single day during the war, showcasing the effectiveness of the American air campaign and the critical role of intelligence in naval warfare. In addition to inflicting significant damage on Japanese shipping, the aviators under Admiral Halsey achieved remarkable success by claiming the destruction of 113 enemy aircraft, both in the air and on the ground, while sustaining the loss of 23 American aircraft. The impact of these operations extended beyond aerial engagements; critical infrastructure was also targeted. Airfields, docks, and oil storage facilities located between Tourane and Saigon suffered considerable damage. Notably, the railway station in Nha Trang and a vital bridge on the route connecting Saigon to Bien Hoa were also affected, disrupting transportation and supply lines.   Meanwhile, Bogan's surface strike group was unable to locate any Japanese vessels during their operations and instead focused their firepower on bombarding Cam Ranh Bay, further demonstrating the ongoing conflict's intensity. Turning to the situation in Luzon, the 1st and 14th Corps were poised to advance their offensives. To the west, the 185th Regiment and the 40th Reconnaissance Troop initiated a push toward the recently vacated Port Sual. The 160th Regiment maintained a watchful presence at Aguilar, while patrols from the 148th Regiment ventured into towns occupied by guerrilla forces, specifically Urbiztondo and Bayambang. In the eastern sector, the 6th Division was temporarily held back to prevent the creation of a potentially hazardous gap along the front of the 1st Corps. However, the reinforced 43rd Division continued its advance against the most formidable Japanese defenses encountered on Luzon to date. Along the coastline, the 158th Regiment dispatched patrols into Damortis, discovering the town largely deserted. The 172nd Regiment attempted an attack on Hill 580, which ultimately proved unsuccessful, while the 63rd Regiment was deployed to close the widening gap between the 158th and 172nd Regiments. The primary objective of these coordinated efforts was to defeat Major-General Sato Bunzo's 58th Independent Mixed Brigade and secure control of the Damortis-Rosario road. The Damortis-Rosario road, a 2-lane, concrete-paved section of Route 3, led east from the junction of Route 3 and the coast road at Damortis, about 8 miles north of San Fabian, to the junction of Routes 3 and 11, 8 miles inland and a mile east of Rosario. Seizure of the Damortis-Rosario stretch of Route 3 would present 1st Corps with an easy means of access to Route 11, in turn providing a 2-lane asphalt-paved axis of advance toward Baguio along the deep valley of the Bued River. Equally important, if the 1st Corps could quickly gain control over the Damortis-Rosario road and the Routes 3-11 junction, the corps could largely overcome the threat of counterattack against the 6th Army's beachhead from the north and northeast. The Damortis-Rosario road ran sometimes across wooded ravines and sometimes over ridge tops for 3/4 of the way to Rosario, and then continued across open farm land and through Rosario to a junction with Route 11. The road was dominated by broken ridges and steep-sided hills to both the north and the south for the first 5 miles inland. South of the road the hills and ridges were grass-covered; to the north many of the draws and ravines contained thick scrub growth. Bare, steep heights north, northeast, and east of Rosario controlled the Routes 3-11 junction. The 58th Independent Mixed Brigade, defending the Damortis-Rosario road, had all the advantages of observation, while the relatively soft rock and dirt mixture of the hills and ridges gave the brigade ample opportunity to indulge in what was soon to appear to the 1st Corps as the Japanese Army's favorite occupation--digging caves and tunnels. Achieving this would mitigate the threat of a counterattack against the 6th Army's beachhead from the north and northeast. With the security of its left flank assured, the 14th Corps could then accelerate its advance toward General Krueger's main objective: the Central Plains-Manila Bay region. This strategic maneuvering was crucial for consolidating American forces and ensuring a successful campaign in the Philippines. At the same time, the 169th Regiment faced ongoing challenges at Hill 318 and the southern part of the Japanese-held third ridgeline, while the 103rd Regiment made unsuccessful attempts to advance toward the Hill 200 complex, which was firmly defended by the 2nd Battalion, 64th Regiment. Meanwhile, General Tominaga executed his final large-scale kamikaze attack during the Philippines Campaign, successfully damaging two destroyer escorts, one destroyer transport, and five merchant ships. The final attacks were recorded on January 13. Only two suicide aircraft were dispatched, both IJA Ki-84 Franks. One surprised the crew of escort carrier Salamaua. Unengaged by antiaircraft fire, the Frank hit amidships. One of the aircraft's bombs exploded on the hangar deck and the second passed through the ship creating a hole near the waterline. The carrier was left without power while major fires took hold. Damage control was ultimately successful, but not before 15 were killed and 88 wounded. Salamaua was out of the war until April. Also on this day, attack transport Zeilin was hit by a probable IJN aircraft conducting an impromptu suicide attack. Ultimately, the 4th Air Army was scheduled to evacuate to Formosa on January 15, marking the end of the threat from Japanese air power in the Philippines, although the Allies were not yet aware of this. Since the initial kamikaze assault on the Mindoro-bound convoys on December 13, Japanese aircraft had sunk 24 vessels and damaged 67 others. Casualties from these air attacks aboard ships were approximately 1,230 men killed and 1,800 wounded, while the Allies estimated they had destroyed around 600 Japanese aircraft during the same timeframe. Back in Lingayen Gulf on January 13, the 172nd Regiment once again advanced up the grassy, steep slopes of Hill 580, successfully securing most of the area against fierce resistance. Simultaneously, the 63rd Regiment attacked north from Hill 247 and captured Hill 363, despite lacking artillery support. Artillery support was to have been provided by the 43rd Division's 155-mm. howitzer battalion, the 192nd Field Artillery Battalion, since the 63rd Regiment's own 105-mm. battalion had been sent south with the rest of the 6th Division. Unfortunately, the 192nd Field Artillery did not learn it was to support the 63rd until after dark on January 12, and could not start moving to good close support positions until daylight on the 13th, after the 63rd had started its attack. Unlike a 105-mm. battalion, the 192nd did not normally operate in direct support roles and lacked the forward observers and communications the lighter battalions possessed. The 192nd might therefore have been expected to take some time to prepare for its direct support mission, but the battalion reported it could have provided some support--with at least one battery--by noon on the 13th had not Colonel Ralph C. Holliday, commanding the 63rd Regiment, insisted that wire be laid for artillery liaison officers and forward observers, a job that was not completed for almost 36 hours. Colonel Holliday may have been influenced in his decision by the fact that the artillery's SCR-610 radio did not work efficiently in the broken terrain of the middle ridge line where the 63rd was attacking. It was not, indeed, until the 43rd Division had supplied the 192nd Field Artillery with infantry SCR-300 sets that the battalion was able to establish satisfactory radio communications. Then, on January 14, the first radio brought up to the battalion's forward observers was promptly destroyed by Japanese artillery, which also cut wire that had already been laid. Support was again delayed, so the entire battalion was not in position and ready to give the 63rd Regiment the support it needed until midafternoon on January 15. Meanwhile the 169th Regiment completed the clearing of the southern end of the ridgeline, while the 103rd Regiment continued its unsuccessful efforts to take Hill 200. To the west, the 6th Division established a fortified line extending from Malasiqui to Manaoag. They promptly dispatched reconnaissance units to the east and south to gather intelligence on enemy movements. The 185th Regiment achieved a significant victory by successfully assaulting Port Sual, while the 160th Regiment engaged in several skirmishes with the reinforced 23rd Reconnaissance Regiment, which had retreated from Port Sual at the onset of the conflict. Meanwhile, patrols from the 148th Regiment advanced into Wawa, strategically located between Bayambang and Urbiztondo. The following day, the 185th Regiment continued its momentum by capturing the crucial road junction town of Alaminos on the Bolinao Peninsula. Some of its elements also pushed northward toward Cabalitan Bay, where they discovered that Allied Naval Forces had already landed to establish a seaplane base, enhancing their operational capabilities in the region. Looking to the east, the 103rd Regiment made gradual but consistent progress along Hill 200, while the 169th Regiment executed a costly frontal assault to clear Hill 318, suffering significant casualties in the process. The 172nd Regiment advanced north along the third ridge, successfully seizing Hill 565 despite facing scattered resistance. The 63rd Regiment continued its slow advance northward, persistently harassed by Japanese artillery and mortar fire, which impeded their progress. Additionally, the 158th Regiment initiated an offensive toward Rosario but was quickly compelled to retreat due to intense Japanese artillery and machine-gun fire. In contrast, General Yamashita, while cautious about launching a major counteroffensive, recognized the necessity of limited offensive actions to regain the initiative. He believed that such actions would effectively disrupt the enemy's advance inland. Consequently, he ordered General Nishiyama's 23rd Division to conduct a robust raiding attack against the San Fabian-Alacan sector during the night of January 16. This strategic decision aimed to exploit the element of surprise and inflict damage on the enemy forces, thereby buying time for his troops to regroup and fortify their positions. In a strategic initiative aimed at maximizing the destruction of enemy weaponry, supplies, and critical base installations, the 58th Brigade, along with the 71st and 72nd Regiments, was instructed to assemble specialized "suicide" raiding units. These units comprised carefully selected soldiers, heavily armed with automatic firearms and supported by demolition teams trained for explosive operations. In addition, a fourth unit was to be formed from the Shigemi Detachment of the 2nd Armored Division, which had recently positioned itself on the southern flank of the 23rd Division. This unit would consist of a mobile infantry company and a medium tank company. The operational plan called for these units to breach the enemy's beachhead perimeter simultaneously at various locations on January 17. Their objective was to swiftly execute their missions and then withdraw to safety. As preparations for this limited counteroffensive unfolded, the American forces continued their own offensive operations, which had commenced on January 15. In this context, the 158th Regiment launched an eastward assault, successfully advancing approximately 1,000 yards. Meanwhile, the 63rd Regiment cautiously pushed forward over a mile and a half northward from Hill 363. The 172nd Regiment made a rapid advance to the Cataguintingan road junction, effectively establishing a battalion at the edge of Route 3, about a mile and a half west of Rosario. In contrast, the 169th Regiment encountered challenges during a two-pronged attack on Hill 355, leading General Wing to order the regiment to bypass the hill to the south and reposition overland to Route 3 at barrio Palacpalac. Conversely, the 103rd Regiment achieved significant success in their assault on the Hill 200 complex. Further to the west, patrols from the 185th Regiment advanced westward, successfully reaching Dasol Bay. Additionally, a battalion from the 129th Regiment crossed the Agno River at Wawa and continued south along a dusty gravel road toward Camiling. Other elements of the 160th Regiment also moved down from Aguilar to Camiling, consolidating their position in the area. After completing refueling operations over the previous days, Task Force 38 resumed its northern advance to launch an assault on Formosa on January 15. Despite Admiral McCain's recommendation to cancel the strike due to inclement weather conditions, Admiral Halsey opted to proceed with the operation. As a result, a series of airstrikes were executed against Formosa and the Pescadores Islands throughout the day. The 16 fighter sweeps conducted during this operation managed to destroy only 16 Japanese aircraft in the air and an additional 18 on the ground. However, the bombing missions targeting enemy shipping proved more effective, leading to the sinking of the destroyers Hatakaze and Tsuga, along with one transport vessel and two merchant ships, albeit at the cost of losing 12 American aircraft. Following these strikes, Task Force 38 redirected its course toward Hong Kong, which came under attack on January 16. Unfortunately, the American forces encountered severe weather conditions and faced intense anti-aircraft fire. This resulted in a limited success, with the Americans sinking just one transport ship, five oilers, one cargo vessel, and one guardboat. Additionally, they inflicted damage on the destroyer Hasu, three destroyer escorts, one corvette, one transport, and one oiler. The strikes also caused significant destruction to key infrastructure, including Kai Tak Airport, the Kowloon and Taikoo docks, the Aberdeen dockyard, the Kowloon-Canton railway, and the Macau Naval Aviation Center. In a broader campaign, the Americans executed secondary strikes against Canton and Hainan Island, as well as targeting several airfields along the Chinese coast, particularly between the Leizhou Peninsula and Swatow. However, this ambitious operation came at a steep cost, with Task Force 38 suffering a total loss of 49 aircraft—27 due to operational issues and 22 as a result of enemy action. With the South China Sea Raid concluded, Admiral Halsey directed his fleet toward the Luzon Strait, adhering to Admiral Nimitz's request. Ultimately, Halsey's aggressive campaign resulted in the destruction of approximately 300,000 tons of Japanese shipping and an estimated 615 Japanese aircraft, all at the expense of 201 American planes. Returning to the Lingayen Gulf, Wing's offensive operations persisted on January 16. The 63rd, 158th, and 172nd Regiments continued their assaults toward the town of Rosario. However, they encountered fierce resistance from the determined Japanese defenders, which significantly hampered their progress. In contrast, the 169th Regiment achieved a notable advancement by reaching Palacpalac, while the 103rd Regiment successfully captured the strategically important Hill 200 complex. From their newly secured positions, elements of the 103rd Regiment pursued the retreating Japanese forces toward Pozorrubio. Meanwhile, two reinforced companies advanced toward Potpot, and both towns ultimately fell into American hands on January 17. In a broader strategic context, General Krueger directed General Griswold to dispatch additional troops south of the Agno River in preparation for a decisive push toward Manila. By January 17, the 14th Corps had established outposts at key locations including Moncada, Nampicuan, Anao, and Paniqui, solidifying their control over the area. Simultaneously, Japanese General Nishiyama was preparing to initiate a local counteroffensive by nightfall on January 16. However, the 72nd Regiment's raiding unit was unable to participate due to enemy penetrations disrupting their plans. On the northern front, Sato's raiding unit conducted a minor raid against an artillery position held by the 158th Regiment, but this attack proved largely inconsequential. In contrast, the raiding unit from the 71st Regiment executed a more impactful maneuver by advancing down the Bued River valley. They successfully infiltrated the rear installations of the 172nd Regiment, where they ignited a gasoline dump, damaging several trucks in the process. This raid resulted in the deaths of two American soldiers and injuries to eight others. At Palacpalac, confusion reigned as the retreating 2nd Battalion of the 64th Regiment inadvertently engaged with the perimeter of the 1st Battalion of the 169th Regiment. This chaotic encounter cost the Japanese approximately 100 men before they retreated in disarray, further illustrating the tumultuous nature of the battlefield. In a dramatic turn of events, the tank raiding unit launched a surprise attack on the newly established outpost at Potpot. Initially, the first two tanks managed to breach the perimeter, unleashing a barrage of machine-gun fire in all directions as they sped away down the road toward Manaoag. However, the remaining tanks, along with their infantry support, encountered fierce resistance from determined defenders, leading to a sharp and intense fire fight that lasted two hours. Despite their initial success, the attackers were ultimately repelled. As dawn broke, the two tanks that had previously penetrated the defenses returned down the Manaoag road, but this time they met their demise, successfully destroyed by the defenders who had regrouped and fortified their positions. Since the onset of the invasion, the 1st Corps had suffered significant casualties, with approximately 220 men killed and 660 wounded. In stark contrast, Griswold's forces experienced far lighter losses, with only 30 killed and 90 wounded. With the enemy's counterattack thwarted, the 43rd Division managed to secure positions that effectively reduced the likelihood of another large-scale surprise offensive from the Japanese forces. However, to completely eliminate the remaining threats, Commander Wing recognized the necessity of securing control over the Rosario junction and establishing a solid hold on Route 3 to the south of this critical point. The challenge was considerable, as Japanese artillery, mortars, and machine guns positioned on the surrounding high ground commanded all approaches to Rosario. Consequently, Wing had no choice but to restrict the 172nd Regiment to a defensive holding action on its left flank while directing its right flank to seize the high ground immediately to the north and northwest of Rosario. In addition, the 63rd and 158th Regiments were tasked with neutralizing the enemy stronghold along the Rosario-Damortis road. To expedite the capture of the road junction, Wing also planned for the 103rd and 169th Regiments to launch an offensive drive north along Route 3. This coordinated effort aimed to strengthen their strategic position and diminish the Japanese threat in the region, ultimately paving the way for a more secure and stable front. In response to the evolving battlefield situation, General Krueger ultimately ordered General Mullins' 25th Division to secure the right flank previously held by Wing's forces. This strategic move prompted the 27th and 161st Regiments to begin the process of relieving the 103rd and 169th Regiments. By doing so, the 6th Division would be able to resume its advance, now directed towards Urdaneta and the Cabaruan Hills, critical areas for the ongoing campaign. To the west, Krueger aimed to maintain the 14th Corps along the Agno River line until General Swift's 1st Corps could effectively neutralize the enemy resistance stretching from Damortis to Urdaneta. This would enable Swift's forces to maneuver southward alongside Griswold's corps. However, General MacArthur was eager to initiate a southern advance toward Manila as soon as possible. Consequently, he instructed the 14th Corps to reposition its main forces back to their previous outpost line south of the Agno by January 20. Following this, the corps was to launch an offensive towards Tarlac and Victoria. Once they established a presence along the Tarlac-Victoria line, the corps would prepare to advance toward Clark Field, a vital objective necessary for the successful neutralization of Japanese strongholds at Iwo Jima and Okinawa. To bolster this offensive, MacArthur also planned to deploy the 11th Corps on the western coast of Luzon, just north of the Bataan Peninsula. This amphibious operation aimed to disrupt Japanese defensive strategies in the Clark Field area, thereby enhancing the overall effectiveness of the Allied campaign. In contrast, in reaction to the loss of the Hill 200 complex, Japanese General Yamashita ordered the 2nd Tank Division to advance immediately into the Tayug sector. There, Lieutenant-General Iwanaka Yoshiharu would take command of the 10th Division forces already stationed in the region. The armored units were tasked with positioning themselves along the trail north of San Nicolas and on both sides of the Ambayabang River, with the objective of containing any potential enemy advances to the east. Additionally, the Shigemi Detachment received orders to move its main forces from San Manuel to Binalonan, where they were to defend the town resolutely, prepared to hold their ground against any assault. In addition, General Okamoto was tasked with positioning his main forces to secure the immediate approaches to San Jose. Meanwhile, General Tsuda's 105th Division was instructed to advance northward through Cabanatuan as quickly as possible to establish defensive positions behind the 10th Division, specifically at Minuli and north of Carranglan. However, not all of these strategic plans could be effectively executed. By January 17, Yamashita discovered that the Villa Verde Trail was impassable for tanks and trucks, rendering it unusable for the planned armored movements. Furthermore, the terrain in the Tayug-San Nicolas area proved to be unsuitable for armored operations, complicating the situation further. On January 17 the 14th Area Army commander belatedly learned that the 10th Division had never concentrated at San Jose and that it had made no real effort to dispose itself along the entire Tayug-Umingan-Lupao-San Jose defense line for which it was responsible. General Okamoto, the division commander, had decided that he did not have sufficient strength to hold the relatively open ground assigned to him. Most of his 39th Regiment was with the Kembu Group; the bulk of the 10th Regiment, greatly understrength, was attached to the 103rd Division for the defense of northern Luzon; and, at least as late as of January 15, he had received no word as to when he might expect the attached Tsuda Detachment to arrive in the San Jose area from the east coast. He had therefore withdrawn most of his troops up Route 5 from San Jose and had started disposing them along the line Yamashita had intended the 105th Division to hold; leaving behind only a reinforced infantry company and two artillery battalions to secure the all-important railhead. Okamoto had directed the 10th Reconnaissance Regiment to remain in the San Nicolas area, and he stationed three or four rifle companies of his 63rd Regiment along the Tayug-Lupao line and in rising ground to the southwest. Confronted with these unexpected developments, Yamashita concluded that he had no choice but to accept the redeployment of the 10th Division as an established fact. Consequently, he ordered the 2nd Tank Division, which had already begun its movement toward Tayug, to concentrate its main forces southeast of Tayug to safeguard the immediate approaches to San Jose. Additionally, the 6th Tank Regiment was assigned to position itself in Muñoz to cover the southwestern approach to the area. To further bolster defenses, Tsuda was instructed to deploy two of his five advance battalions to San Jose. However, as these tactical adjustments were being made, it became necessary to shift focus away from Luzon and turn attention toward Leyte, where the final operations on the island were unfolding. It is important to note that the majority of General Suzuki's forces had successfully retreated to the Villaba-Mount Canguipot region, although some strong elements remained isolated further to the east. With General Eichelberger's 8th Army assuming control of the island, American forces commenced the final phase of operations to secure Leyte, methodically working to eliminate any remaining pockets of resistance. From January 1 to February 15, the 11th Airborne Division conducted patrols in the Burauen area, where they engaged and successfully eliminated a well-entrenched enemy force positioned on the southern slopes of Mount Majunag. Meanwhile, the 96th Division carried out extensive patrols in the eastern mountainous regions before taking over from the 11th Airborne Division. In the southern part of the island, the 7th Division launched numerous patrols and deployed a reinforced battalion that effectively neutralized all enemy forces in the Camotes Islands. Additionally, the 77th Division focused on clearing various pockets of enemy resistance located in northwestern Leyte. By late January, the Americal Division arrived to assist in the cleanup operations in Samar and Leyte, a mission that was successfully completed by February 24, with support from the 1st Filipino Regiment. However, during this time, Japanese General Suzuki was formulating his strategy for Operation Chi-Go. This operation involved the amphibious movement of several military units to different islands within the Visayas using large motorized landing barges. Suzuki's initial plan entailed deploying the majority of the 1st Division to establish a garrison on Cebu Island, while the headquarters of the 35th Army was to relocate to Davao. This strategic move would enable him to take direct command of military operations on Mindanao. Following this, he intended to dispatch the 41st and 77th Regiments to Mindanao, assign the 26th Division to the Bacolod area on Negros Island, and send the 5th Regiment along with units from the 102nd Division to Cebu. Furthermore, the 16th Division and the 68th Brigade, commanded by General Makino, were to remain in Leyte to engage in guerrilla warfare tactics.  The 102nd Division presented certain difficulties. There had been instances of 40 to 50 deserters fleeing to Cebu or Negros on boats they had built for themselves. Deserters that were apprehended were court-martialed. General Suzuki for some time had been out of touch with General Fukei, the commanding general of the 102nd Division, which was in the Mt. Pina area. By chance, one of Suzuki's officers learned that Fukei was planning to evacuate to Cebu. Suzuki was incensed since he and his staff felt that Fukei "was violating the military code in taking these steps without consent." He therefore ordered Fukei to remain at Leyte. Fukei did not answer but his chief of staff sent the following reply: "We appreciate the efforts of Army but at the present time we are very busy preparing for retreat. The division commander and chief of staff are unable to report to Army Headquarters." Suzuki was "entirely displeased" with the reaction of Fukei and sent his chief of staff, General Tomochika, to investigate the situation. When Tomochika arrived he found that Fukei, with his chief of staff and some headquarters personnel, had already left for Cebu. The sequel to these events was that Suzuki relieved Fukei of his command and ordered him to remain on Cebu until he received further orders. Upon the arrival of Suzuki in Cebu in the spring of 1945, Fukei was sentenced to confinement for thirty days. Suzuki asked IGHQ in Tokyo for authority to court-martial Fukei but no reply was forthcoming. In the end, Fukei was released and later returned to command of the 102nd Division. In the midst of ongoing military operations, Suzuki implemented measures to ensure that the forces stationed on Leyte could sustain themselves. He instructed his troops to make the most of local resources by utilizing available food and materials. This included directives to cultivate sweet potatoes and Indian corn, with the hope of sourcing all necessary provisions from the surrounding areas outside their operational base. However, the Japanese forces faced significant challenges due to relentless American air raids and mop-up operations, which severely hindered their ability to procure supplies. The hostile environment made it difficult for them to plant and harvest the crops they had intended to grow. Despite these obstacles, the Japanese managed to capitalize on the conclusion of the harvest season. They were able to secure substantial amounts of food that had been stored by local Filipinos, including a considerable quantity of coconuts and sweet potatoes. By early January, the 1st Division began its gradual movement toward Cebu, successfully transporting around 800 men to the island by mid-January. Unfortunately, the situation worsened as enemy PT boats established a stringent sea blockade, rendering maritime transportation impractical until mid-March. This blockade left approximately 2,000 men from the 1st Division, along with other units of the 35th Army, stranded on Leyte. Simultaneously, the Imahori Detachment, alongside the Mitsui Shipping Unit and the 77th Regiment, advanced to the southern Matag-ob area and subsequently moved toward Villaba, reaching their destination in early February. The majority of the 26th Division also made progress, arriving in the region north of Ormoc in mid-January before commencing a northwestward movement. By February, they successfully established contact with the rest of the 35th Army. Meanwhile, the remnants of the 16th Division could only reach the Valencia area in February, where they would remain until the end of the month. For the foreseeable future, the Japanese units left behind on Leyte faced the daunting task of defending against the advancing Americal Division and the 1st Filipino Regiment, which were steadily gaining ground.  I would like to take this time to remind you all that this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Please go subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry after that, give my personal channel a look over at The Pacific War Channel at Youtube, it would mean a lot to me. Admiral Halsey launched Operation Gratitude, targeting Japanese shipping. Despite misleading intel, they decimated enemy convoys, showcasing the effectiveness of airstrikes and securing strategic advances in Luzon. American forces advanced through Luzon while Task Force 38 struck Formosa and Hong Kong. Despite fierce Japanese resistance and challenging weather, the Allies steadily gained ground, though both sides suffered significant losses in the campaign.

Happy Veterans Day, listeners! To honor the holiday we ventured out to Fort Sill—the 94,000 acre Army post near Lawton—for a visit to the National Field Artillery Museum. Fort Sill has a long history as an artillery school, so it makes sense to of the have artillery museum here. Gordon Blaker, director and curator for the museum, guides us through the collection (which also includes a steel beam segment from the World Trade Center and a fragment of the Berlin Wall) for our guest interview of the week.  Also on this show, the editors talk about the veterans in their own lives, and podvents lets us know about a beloved Robin Williams classic hitting the Tulsa PAC stage. You won't want to miss it!

See full show notes here: https://www.airmantomom.com/2024/10/first-woman-in-field-artillery/ Resources:Women of the Military Mentorship ProgramGirl's Guide to Military Service available where books are sold. Signed copies of A Girl's Guide to Military ServiceGirl's Guide to the Military Series

Whatever mistakes he has made in the war Vladimir Putin has retained the Escalation Initiative, always proving he can push the war to a new level of brutality, with the Western allies constantly playing catch-up, and in many ways placing restrictions and delays on Ukraine in terms of how it fights back. What are the implications of this dynamic for the war and a potential Ukrainian victory? ---------- Terron Sims, II is a combat veteran, businessman, political leader, and a proud graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point. He Chairs the DNC's Veterans & Military Families (VMF) Council and previously served as Chief-of-Staff to Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee. Terron has decades of operational and leadership experience in the Department of Defense (DoD) and throughout the federal government. Mr. Sims served on active duty in the US Army as a Field Artillery officer. While deployed in Iraq from 2003 to 2004, Mr. Sims established and mentored the government of Baghdad's Tisa Nissan District, where he served as the primary liaison to the CPA, the UN, Baghdad City Hall, and Iraq's federal government. His final Army assignment as the Deputy Chief-of-Training for the Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC) and Fort Polk was designing and leading pre-construction operations of a $29 Million dollar real-world fighting village. Mr. Sims has served in political roles of increasing responsibility over the past decade. In 2008 and 2012, he was Director, Virginia VMF for Obama and served on the Defense and Veterans Policy Teams, where he wrote the Service Member Life Insurance policy. In 2010, Mr. Sims wrote the Democratic National Committee's VMF candidates' platform, which is used in federal campaigns nationwide. During Sec Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign, Mr. Sims wrote her DoD and VA Intergovernmental Agency Policy. For the 2020 Biden campaign, Mr. Sims wrote five pieces of veterans policy, primarily in the areas of entrepreneurship and business for military spouses and veterans. In 2013, Mr. Sims wrote the Veterans Services and National Security Policy Platforms for the (UK) Labour Party and briefed them to the Shadow Defense Minister and her Cabinet. Mr. Sims has published two novels, With Honor In Hand and Hands of Honor, and has written his third novel, For Hands to Honor, along with his Iraq memoirs, Baghdad Peace, as well as other pieces of work. He also writes regularly about veterans and military families and national security issues. ---------- LINKS: http://www.terronsims.com/experience https://x.com/terronii https://www.linkedin.com/in/terron-sims-ii-637b358/ ARTICLES: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230131005439/en/Terron-Sims-II-Joins-Merit-as-Executive-Director-of-Military-Veterans-Affairs https://www.wtkr.com/virginia-democrats-veterans-press-conference-trump-rally ---------- SUPPORT THE CHANNEL: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain https://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtain ---------- TRUSTED CHARITIES ON THE GROUND: kharpp - Reconstruction project supporting communities in Kharkiv and Przemyśl https://kharpp.com/ Save Ukraine https://www.saveukraineua.org/ Superhumans - Hospital for war traumas https://superhumans.com/en/ UNBROKEN - Treatment. Prosthesis. Rehabilitation for Ukrainians in Ukraine https://unbroken.org.ua/ Come Back Alive https://savelife.in.ua/en/ Chefs For Ukraine - World Central Kitchen https://wck.org/relief/activation-chefs-for-ukraine Ukrainian Freedom News https://www.ukrainianfreedomnews.com/donation/ UNITED24 - An initiative of President Zelenskyy https://u24.gov.ua/ Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundation https://prytulafoundation.org NGO “Herojam Slava” https://heroiamslava.org/ NOR DOG Animal Rescue https://www.nor-dog.org/home/ ----------

Last time we spoke about the fall of Myitkyina. By late July 1944, the Japanese at Myitkyina in northern Burma were facing severe challenges. Despite holding out through a long siege, they were cut off from supplies and suffering heavy casualties. A leadership conflict between Colonel Maruyama and General Minakami further complicated things. Maruyama defended the city intensely, while Minakami aimed to deny Allied access to strategic roads. With depleted forces, including wounded troops trying to escape via the Irrawaddy River, the Japanese defense weakened. Allied forces, reinforced and ready, made significant gains, shrinking Japanese-held areas. On August 1, Minakami agreed to withdraw, and the remaining Japanese began escaping across the river. The Allies launched a final attack, securing Myitkyina on August 3. The 10 week siege resulted in substantial casualties on both sides. This victory allowed the Allies to improve logistical routes and marked a critical point in the Burma campaign. This episode is the Battle of the Driniumor River Welcome to the Pacific War Podcast Week by Week, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about world war two? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on world war two and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel you can find a few videos all the way from the Opium Wars of the 1800's until the end of the Pacific War in 1945.  Last time we were seeing action kick up at the Driniumor River. While the Japanese offensive had initially been successful, General Hall's forces managed to halt the enemy advance and reform their river line by July 15, despite a 1500-yard gap in the center. The Japanese were aware of this weakness in the American lines and exploited it, especially during the night. However, Colonel Starr's 3rd Battalion patrolled this area and occasionally engaged the enemy, killing 135 Japanese on the night of July 14. Despite this, General Cunningham claimed that his South Force had extended its lines nearly 1000 yards beyond its assigned sector without encountering any elements of the 124th Regiment. Consequently, on July 15, Starr concluded that his regiment had not advanced as far south as previously reported and ordered his units to adjust their lines southward and extend their defenses up the Driniumor towards Cunningham's Troop E. The following morning, Starr's 3rd Battalion began moving south to close the gap. As they reached the area by nightfall, Troop E was attacked by two companies of the 1st Battalion, 239th Regiment. While the cavalrymen sought cover, Starr's 3rd Battalion was also attacked by Colonel Nara's 3rd Battalion, which had turned south after its defeat at the Paup villages. This split the American forces in two, with Companies L and M pushing south through increasing opposition to reach South Force lines, while Companies I and K dug in for the night in their current positions. Despite the intense fighting, several Japanese were killed, and the gap was reduced to 500 yards.   In the course of the day's fighting the Coastal Attack Force had lost all its artillery and had suffered heavy casualties. Additional losses were sustained on succeeding days, but Major Hoshino and his men were not completely removed as an irritant until the night of 16-17 July. During that night remnants of the Coastal Attack Force, about thirty-five men strong, attacked North Force and 124th Infantry command post installations at Anamo. At 23:00 the group charged out of the jungle southwest of the Anamo perimeter. Repulsed by machine gun fire, the enemy temporarily disappeared, only to reappear at 03:00 on 17 July moving west against Anamo along the beach. Machine gun fire from the American positions broke up this second attack, but about ten minutes later the Japanese tried again, this time moving on Anamo from the north by wading in from the sea. Once ashore, Major Hoshino's men broke up into small groups, attempting to destroy mechanized equipment, automatic weapons positions, and communications installations. The Coastal Attack Force remnants had apparently scouted well, for they were reported to have moved purposefully toward the most important installations and they easily found their way about in terrain they had vacated only four days previously. Whatever Major Hoshino's plans were, they were not realized. About forty of his men were killed and the rest dispersed. Behind them, Hall dispatched Colonel Howe's 1st and 2nd Battalions to clear the remaining enemy units west of the Driniumor River. Over two days of complex and sometimes uncoordinated company actions, the Americans successfully overran Nara's stragglers in the area. Further south, as Japanese troops were seen crossing the Driniumor at a fording point about 2,500 yards south of Afua, Cunningham sent Troop A south to high ground behind the Driniumor to halt the Japanese movements westwards. There, the 78th and 80th Regiments, under Major-General Miyake Sadahiko, were assembling for a renewed offensive. Adachi's new plan involved Miyake striking Afua from the south while the 239th Regiment prepared to move against the Kawanaka Shima area. Additionally, the retreating 237th Regiment and the reserve 66th Regiment were ordered south to join future attacks by the 20th Division, though they wouldn't arrive until July 25. As the Miyake Force maneuvered into position to the right and rear of Cunningham's 1st Squadron, Starr struggled to close the gap in the center, which was eventually sealed on the morning of July 18. That night, Miyake launched an attack with two battalions on the 1st Squadron's command post and the adjacent perimeter held by Troop A, successfully pushing them 250 yards to the northeast. Early in the afternoon of 19 July fresh Japanese units began to surround the Troop A position, moving in from the north, northwest, west, and southwest. The 1st Squadron commander called for artillery fire to break up this enemy maneuver. Upon cessation of the fire, Troop A attacked to the south and west for a second time. Driving at least a company of Japanese before it, the troop pushed 600 yards southwest of its original positions astride the Afua-Palauru trail and temporarily disrupted enemy plans to seize the position. About 140 Japanese had been killed during the two days' operation around Troop A. South Force, at the same time, lost 8 men killed and 29 wounded, all from the 1st Squadron, 112th Cavalry. There were strong indications that more attacks might occur in the 1st Squadron area, but Troop A was not destined to take part in any of these actions. It was replaced on the 21st by Troop C. Following this victory on July 21, Troop C relieved the battered Troop A, Howe's battalions successfully set up a patrol base on the East Branch of Koronal Creek, and Starr's 2nd Battalion moved to Palauru to provide additional outer security southwest of the airfield. On July 19, the first elements of General Wing's 43rd Division began landing at Aitape, with the 2nd Battalion, 169th Regiment subsequently taking over about 1,000 yards of the river line on the right of the 124th Regiment by July 22. Meanwhile, Adachi ordered the still-reorganizing Miyake Force to attack Afua from the north and west while General Nakai's 79th Regiment crossed the Driniumor and attacked from the south. On the evening of July 21, Miyake launched his attack on Troop C's position, successfully cutting it off from the rest of South Force. While the cavalrymen resisted heavy Japanese attacks, Miyake's units also repelled Cunningham's attempts to relieve the beleaguered troop over the next few days. Not knowing what other plans the Japanese might have in mind, General Cunningham was unwilling to pull any more troops away from the river defenses. Moreover, he now considered the position of his right flank untenable. He therefore withdrew Troop B north of Afua about 1,000 yards and used the unit to form a new defense line which ran westward about 500 yards from Troop A's right flank, anchored on the Driniumor. South Force's right flank was now refused and additional protection had been secured for medical, supply, and command post installations at the dropping ground banana patch. Troop C was left isolated behind Japanese lines, and Afua was again released to the enemy. It was not until the night of 21-22 July that the Japanese forward units were able to organize for any sort of attack. During that night, elements of the 124th Infantry received considerable mortar, machine gun, and rifle fire from east of the Driniumor. This fire increased the next morning, and about noon the 3d Battalion, 124th Infantry, was attacked from the west by elements of the 237th Infantry. The first Japanese attack was ". . . finally broken up by a bayonet charge . . ." conducted by elements of the 3d Battalion, 124th Infantry, but other attacks followed as troops of the 1st Battalion, 239th Infantry, tried to move across the Driniumor from the east, striking both the 124th Infantry's unit and part of the 2d Battalion, 169th Infantry. Before dark on the 22d, the 3d Battalion, 124th Infantry, counted 155 new Japanese dead in its area. That unit and the 2d Battalion, 169th Infantry, reported their own losses as five killed and twenty-five wounded. The 1st Battalion, 239th Regiment made further unsuccessful attempts to reopen the river crossing. By July 25, Adachi decided to send the 41st Division south to assist in the southern effort. After the fall of Afua, Hall ordered Howe's battalions to leave their East Branch base and reinforce Cunningham's South Force, arriving at the new line by July 23. With these reinforcements, Cunningham decided early in the afternoon to send Troops A and B to attack west toward Troop C while Howe's 2nd Battalion pushed southeast toward the isolated troop. Despite being uncoordinated, the infantry successfully moved into Troop C's perimeter from the northwest and helped repel a heavy Japanese attack from the southwest, while the cavalry troops reoccupied Afua and established new defensive positions. However, American attempts to break out on July 24 were unsuccessful due to the Japanese defending all tracks, trails, and ridgelines in the heavily jungled ground northeast of the perimeter. On July 25, Howe's Companies E and B unexpectedly established contact about 500 yards north of the besieged forces against light resistance, allowing the battered Troop C to withdraw. With Troop C relieved, Howe's units continued to attack south and west towards the Afua-Palauru trail, successfully pushing the Japanese into the Torricelli Mountains. Many Japanese troops remained positioned in a triangular area bounded by the dropping ground, Afua, and Company G's ridgeline position, where they continued to harass Cunningham's forces. Rifle fire, intensifying as darkness approached, harassed the rear and right flank of the two battalions, and the Japanese began intermittently to drop light artillery or mortar shells into the banana patch area, where the command posts of South Force, the 112th Cavalry, and the 127th Infantry were now located. Finally, Japanese patrols, coming in from the west, had scouted the banana patch area during the day, action which seemed to presage an enemy attack during the night. To get out of range of the enemy fire and danger of enemy attack, General Cunningham moved the command post installations 500 yards to the north before dark. Additionally, 127th Infantry patrols had found a Japanese map which indicated that the 66th Infantry, 51st Division, was concentrating in the Kwamagnirk area. Indeed, the 66th Infantry, which, with attached units, was at least 1,000 men strong, had crossed the Driniumor on or about 24 July. Bypassing the right flank of South Force, the regiment had moved into the heavily jungled high ground west of the banana patch and dropping ground. In addition, the remnants of the 237th Infantry, probably about 300 men strong, had finally arrived in the Afua area on 25 July and had passed to the control of the Miyake Force. Rear elements of the 20th Division, including additional men from the 26th Field Artillery and engineer units, had also crossed the Driniumor south of Afua. The number of Japanese troops in the South Force area by nightfall on the 26th of July was at least 2,500 and may have been over 3,000. On July 27, the battalion launched a successful southward attack, but ongoing Japanese movements to the west eventually necessitated an American withdrawal, despite other units under Cunningham managing to repel enemy advances. The following day, Cunningham consolidated his positions to bolster defenses in anticipation of potential large-scale Japanese assaults. However, on July 29, efforts by the 1st Squadron and the 2nd Battalion to attack south and west into the Triangle were thwarted by determined Japanese defenders led by Adachi. As a result, only localized patrol actions were conducted on July 30 and 31, as Cunningham devised plans for another offensive into the Triangle.  Major combat activity revolved around the withdrawal of Company G, 127th Infantry, from its exposed outpost west of Afua. On the afternoon of the 29th the unit had been driven more than 400 yards east of its original position by Japanese attacks and had established new defenses on high ground about 300 yards west of Afua. On the 30th the company was surrounded and spent all day fighting off a series of small-scale attacks. The next morning it fought its way north to the dropping ground, where it arrived about 1330. Thence, it moved on to the Driniumor and joined the rest of the 2d Battalion, 127th Infantry, which had switched positions with the 3d Battalion. During the period from 13 to 31 July, South Force had suffered almost 1,000 casualties, of which 260 had been incurred by the 112th Cavalry. For the understrength cavalry regiment, this was a casualty rate of over 17 percent. The 2d Battalion, 127th Infantry, had also lost heavily and was in need of rest, reorganization, and re-equipment--needs which had prompted General Cunningham to change the places of the 2d and 3d Battalions, 127th Infantry. South Force casualties were as follows: 106 killed, 386 wounded, 18 missing, and 426 evacuated as a result of disease and sickness. South Force estimated that it had killed over 700 Japanese. By the end of July, with the arrival of most of the 41st Division, Adachi believed he had amassed enough reinforcements near Afua to launch a final offensive. The 238th Regiment, the 41st Mountain Artillery, and the 8th Independent Engineers were across the river in time by the 30th but the 2nd and 3rd Battalions, 239th Regiment, had missed the crossing point on the Driniumor and were lost. Fortunately for the 18th Army, the South Force withdrawals on July 29 and 30 gave the 20th and 41st Divisions time to complete their organization. New orders were issued for the attack to start on August 1, with the 20th Division on the west and the 41st Division on the east. The strength that the 20th Division could muster for the attack was a little over 2000 men. Most of these troops had been without food for some time. They were suffering from starvation, malaria, and skin diseases, and morale was cracking. They were short of both ammunition and weapons. The 41st Division and its attached units, totaling nearly 1750 men by the morning of August 1, were in equally bad shape. Nevertheless, General Adachi was determined to make one last attack with the nearly 4000 troops now available to him in the Afua area. Despite sensing minimal Japanese resistance to the north, Hall was eager to mount a robust counteroffensive against the 18th Army. The 2d Battalion, 124th Infantry, which had been patrolling in the Palauru-Chinapelli area, was relieved from that duty by the 1st Battalion, 169th Infantry, and on the 30th joined its regiment at the Driniumor. The 2d Battalion, 169th Infantry, was already at the river. Tactical control of the counteroffensive was vested in Col. Edward M. Starr, commanding officer of the 124th Infantry, whose counterattack organization was to be known as TED Force. The 1st Battalion, 124th Infantry, was commanded by Maj. Ralph D. Burns; the 2d Battalion by Lt. Col. Robert M. Fowler; the 3d Battalion by Lt. Col. George D. Williams; and the 2d Battalion, 169th Infantry, by Maj. William F. Lewis. To avoid confusion, the four battalions were referred to by the last names of their commanders rather than by their number designations. Fowler's battalion, attacking along the coast, was to be supplied by ration trains moving along the coastal trail from Anamo. The rest of TED Force, pushing through trackless, dense jungle, was to be supplied by airdrop. The 149th Field Artillery Battalion, augmented by the Cannon Company, 124th Infantry, was responsible for artillery support, but when necessary the 129th Field Artillery was to add its fire to that of the 149th. All the artillery units were emplaced on the beach west of the Driniumor's mouth. The positions which the 124th Infantry and the 2d Battalion, 169th Infantry, left vacant on the Driniumor were to be occupied by the 2d and 3d Battalions, 128th Infantry. Colonel Starr had succeeded General Stark as commander of North Force on 18 July when the arrival of elements of the 43d Division at Aitape made it necessary for General Stark, the assistant division commander, to move back to BLUE Beach for administrative duties. General Stark apparently also reassumed command of the Western Sector, in place of General Hutchinson, Assistant Division Commander, 31st Division, who had rejoined his division when it, less the 124th Infantry, moved to a new operational area in western New Guinea. When TED Force was organized, North Force as such apparently ceased to exist, and the 128th Infantry took over the defensive functions previously assigned to North Force on the Driniumor. The name TED Force originated from the diminutive for Colonel Starr's first name. There were always so many units from different divisions and regiments operating along the Driniumor that the task force usually found it more convenient to use names rather than numbers for unit designations. The names, usually derived from the commanding officers, served not only to lessen confusion but also did double duty as code names.  The attack was to be carried out with three battalions abreast along a front of 3,000 yards, and the fourth in reserve and in position to protect the right flank of the advancing force. The four battalions were to move east to the line of Niumen Creek, destroying all enemy found between that stream and the Driniumor within the 3,000-yard-wide zone of responsibility. Upon their arrival on the Niumen the battalions were to reorganize and prepare for further advances either east or south upon orders from General Hall. All three battalions of the 124th Infantry began crossing the Driniumor on schedule at 0800, 31 July, moving into terrain concerning which only incomplete and sometimes inaccurate information was available. The 1st Battalion faced delays from enemy delaying actions but eventually reached the creek by August 1, while the remaining battalions advanced inland, also reaching Niumen successfully.  The 1st Battalion's advance company had been held up about 800 yards east of the Driniumor by elements of the 1st Battalion, 239th Infantry, which had been left along the river when the rest of that Japanese regiment had moved south to Afua on 26 July. Burns' men continued to encounter strong opposition from 239th Infantry elements throughout the day and did not break off contact until 1730, when the battalion bivouacked for the night still 800 yards west of Niumen Creek. Company A had become separated during the day and remained some 550 yards northwest of the main body for the night. Both sections of the battalion were out of touch with the rest of TED Force. The 3d Battalion, 124th Infantry (Williams), crossed the Driniumor at a point about 3,000 yards inland and reached the Niumen about 1400, having encountered only scattered rifle fire. Lewis' 2d Battalion, 169th Infantry, which followed Williams' command, made no contact with the enemy and bivouacked for the night about 500 yards west of Williams. All battalions spent the next day, 1 August, consolidating and patrolling along Neumen Creek, and Burns' unit moved up into line with the others. Meanwhile, Cunningham planned his own offensive aimed at dismantling the Triangle position following a reconnaissance mission along the Afua-Palauru trail. However, preliminary actions were disrupted when two companies launched a surprise attack from the southwest against Troop C's lines at 06:20 on August 1. General Cunningham immediately canceled the planned reconnaissance in force into the triangle area and turned his attention to this new threat. The first Japanese assault units were quickly reinforced, and the enemy moved forward against Troop C in massed waves along a narrow front. A bloody battle ensued as the enemy, apparently determined to commit suicide, continued his mass attacks. South Force called for artillery support, which was quickly forthcoming and which greatly helped Troop C to throw back the enemy assaults. By 0800 the Japanese had withdrawn and the battle area had become strangely quiet. Patrols were sent out from the cavalry perimeter to reconnoiter. These parties counted 180 dead Japanese in front of Troop C's lines, and it was considered probable that the enemy had carried off many more dead and wounded. Troop C, on the other hand, had lost but 5 men killed and 6 wounded. Examination of the enemy dead disclosed that elements of both the 80th and 238th Infantry Regiments had participated in the attacks. Thirty minutes later, Cunningham proceeded with his reconnaissance mission, encountering minimal resistance before returning in the afternoon. Despite capturing documents indicating an impending major assault, Cunningham deployed the 2nd Squadron as a mobile reserve at his command post. Although the movement of the 2d Squadron had apparently been well advised, the Japanese did not attack the command post area. Instead, at 1900, elements of the 41st Division struck the 1st Battalion, 127th Infantry, at its lines south of the dropping ground. This attack was preceded by fire from a 70-mm. or 75-mm. artillery piece which the Japanese had managed to sneak into the area within 150 yards of Company B, 127th Infantry. Following a few rounds from this weapon, Japanese infantry charged forward in four separate waves, employing perhaps 300 men on a very narrow front. Few of the enemy got near Company B's positions, for the attack was thrown back with artillery, mortar, and machine gun fire, which caused heavy losses among the enemy forces. By 2030, action in the dropping ground area stopped for the night. During the early hours of the next morning, 3 August, the 1st Battalion, 127th Infantry, again heard enemy activity to its front, and about 0730 a small Japanese party struck between Companies A and C. This attack was quickly repulsed, principally by mortar fire from 1st Battalion units. By noon all activity in the 1st Battalion area had ceased, and the Japanese had withdrawn to the southwest.  Concurrently, Cunningham's 1st Squadron faced attacks from Nakai's 20th Division, but their suicidal charges were also turned back by resilient defenders. The 1st Squadron, 112th Cavalry, on the left rear of the 1st Battalion, was attacked by another group of Japanese at 1945. This action was probably meant to have been coordinated with the attack on Company B, but, if this were the enemy's intention, something had gone wrong. Apparently there had also been some mix-up in unit dispositions, for both enemy efforts had entailed the use of elements of the 78th, 80th, and 238th Infantry Regiments. After the day's action was finished, the combined effective strength of the first two units was probably not more than 250 men, and the 2d Battalion, 238th Infantry, was practically wiped out. The desperate attacks during the day had been carried out with a complete disregard for self-preservation, and had probably cost the Japanese 300 men killed and at least twice that number wounded. TED Force was subsequently directed to advance south along Niumen Creek toward the Torricelli Mountains foothills to disrupt Adachi's supply lines and flank the 18th Army. Supply challenges and dense jungle terrain initially delayed Starr's southern movement, with his northern battalions only linking up with the southern ones by day's end. The next morning, Starr launched a southward offensive, immediately encountering fierce resistance from the 1st Battalion, 239th Regiment, which held a stubborn defense throughout the day. In response, Starr ordered his 1st Battalion to bypass the engagement and move southwest, advancing unopposed for up to 1000 yards. August 3rd proved relatively calm for Cunningham, as the 1st Battalion, 169th Regiment arrived to bolster the South Force perimeter. However, vigilance remained high in anticipation of Mano's impending final assault.  On 1 August General Adachi learned that American forces were active in the Yakamul area. It was erroneously reported to him that this was an amphibious operation, a maneuver which the 18th Army commander had feared for some time (actually, the report referred to patrolling by the 2d Battalion, 124th Infantry, along the coast from the mouth of Niumen Creek). He therefore ordered the remaining elements of the 237th Infantry to extricate themselves from the operations in the Afua area and hurry back to Yakamul to reinforce service units in that vicinity. Events moved so rapidly that the remnants of the 237th Infantry never got to Yakamul. Instead, the advance of TED Force made it necessary for General Adachi to change his plans and accelerate a general withdrawal. Communications within forward units of the 18th Army had so broken down that it was not until 3 August that General Adachi learned of the TED Force movement across the Driniumor, although the 1st Battalion, 239th Infantry, had been in contact with TED Force since 31 July. When General Adachi did hear of the American movement, he grossly underestimated the strength of TED Force. Thinking that the American operation was being carried out by only 400 troops, General Adachi merely changed the orders of the 237th Infantry and instructed that regiment to hold the 18th Army's crossing point on the upper Niumen Creek. On the same day, 3 August, General Adachi issued detailed plans for the withdrawal of all 18th Army units to the east side of the Driniumor, a withdrawal which was to begin on 4 or 5 August. The 66th Infantry, 51st Division, was to protect the 20th and 41st Division units as they crossed the Driniumor. The continued advance of TED Force on 3 August prompted General Adachi to change his plans and early on the 4th he ordered the 20th Division to start retreating at noon that day and the 41st Division to break contact on the 5th. The following morning, elements of the 238th and 239th Regiments emerged from the jungle southwest of the 1st Squadron in a final, desperate charge. Violent action continued in front of the 1st Squadron for about two hours, during which time nearly 200 Japanese were killed at the very edge of the squadron perimeter, principally by machine gun and rifle fire. How many more of the enemy were killed by artillery and mortar fire during the period cannot be estimated, but the banzai tactics undoubtedly cost the Japanese more than the 200 dead counted in front of the 1st Squadron which, in the same two hours, lost only 3 men killed and 4 wounded. By 0900 the last enemy attacks had ceased and the remaining Japanese had withdrawn generally to the south.  Following the enemy withdrawal, Troop E pursued the retreating Japanese southward, encountering sporadic rifle fire as they eliminated remaining stragglers. The terrain encountered on August 4 and subsequent days during the operations of the TED Force east of the Driniumor proved next to impassable. Dense jungle undergrowth covered the ground; the area was thick with heavy rain forest; low but knifelike ridges, separated from each other by deep gullies, were encountered; and swampy spots were plentiful. To add to the difficulties, rain fell during the day--a downpour which turned much of the ground into a quagmire and flooded many dry stream beds. A few new, rough trails, recently cut by the Japanese, were found, but mud made them nearly useless as routes of advance. Low clouds coming in from the Torricelli Mountains to the south prevented ration and ammunition drops and increased communication difficulties. Battalions ran low on drinking water, for weather conditions prevented resupply of water purification tablets and the assault companies had neither time nor equipment to clean water by other means. Radio communication between battalions, from battalions to TED Force headquarters, and from the latter to higher echelons was nearly nonexistent, for the heavy jungle and the damp weather cut down the efficiency of all radio equipment. It had been hoped that the advance on the 4th would carry TED Force south to the main Japanese supply route, but the trail reached by Burns', Lewis', and Williams' battalions was another route which had not been used by military traffic for some time. Possibly, it was a section of the native trail to Afua and, as such, purposely avoided by the Japanese inasmuch as parts of it could be seen from the air. In any case, the track cut on the 4th lay about 1,200 yards north of the east-west trail which most of the Japanese forces moving to and from the Afua area had been using. Colonel Starr, realizing that the main Japanese supply route had not yet been severed, ordered his units to continue southward on the 5th, on which day the advance was resumed about 0800 hours with Williams leading and Lewis' battalion about 400 yards to the rear. Pushing south along now precipitous and mountainous banks of the upper Niumen, Williams' unit was opposed by only scattered rifle fire until 1100, when it was decisively halted by a strong Japanese force conducting a stubborn defense. On August 5, learning that TED Force was approaching the point at which the 18th Army's main line of communications crossed the upper reaches of Niumen Creek, General Adachi had also ordered the 8th Independent Engineers to aid the remnants of the 237th Infantry in holding the crossing point. It was this combined 237th Infantry-8th Engineers force that Williams' 3d Battalion, 124th Infantry, had encountered about 1100 on 5 August. The composite Japanese unit was dug in along a 1,000-foot high ridge across Williams' line of advance and threatened to outflank the battalion by occupying other high ground nearby. Despite artillery and mortar support, Williams' men were unable to advance. Colonel Starr ordered Lewis' unit to bypass the fight and continue south to locate and cut the Japanese main supply route. Fighting at Williams' front continued through most of the afternoon, and Colonel Starr realized that the Japanese force could not be dislodged that day. Fowlers' battalion was brought up to the rear of Williams' and late in the afternoon set up a new perimeter with the regimental command post. Before dark, Williams' men withdrew slightly from their most forward positions so that artillery concentrations could be placed along the front. Lewis' unit, which had moved off to the southeast to bypass Williams' fight, made little progress in very rough terrain and was cut off from the rest of TED Force before it could swing westward. Meanwhile, another battalion to the west encountered minimal resistance as it intercepted the main enemy trail east of the Driniumor, linking up with patrols from Cunningham's 2nd Squadron. Action on the 6th started earlier than TED Force expected. About 0300 approximately 400 Japanese attacked Williams' perimeter. This enemy force comprised elements of the 41st Division, supported by men of the 26th Field Artillery of the 20th Division and some remnants of the 8th Independent Engineers. Attacking under cover of fire from machine guns, mortars, and 75-mm. mountain guns, the Japanese force was attempting to secure fords over the upper reaches of Niumen Creek and protect the withdrawal of other elements of 18th Army units from Afua. Though surprised, Williams' men held back the initial onslaught. Reportedly, Japanese riflemen then climbed trees surrounding Williams' perimeter to pin down the American troops while other Japanese continued to attack on the ground. Fowler's unit, under orders to bypass Williams' fight and move around the enemy left, started moving about 0800 hours but soon found the terrain made it impossible to avoid contact with the Japanese opposing Williams. The Japanese, having control of most commanding ground in the area, stopped Fowler's leading company. Action was not rapid. The terrain made all movements slow and laborious, and much time had to be taken to co-ordinate artillery support fire properly. Under cover of artillery fire, another company of Fowler's battalion, creeping slowly through ravines and up an almost vertical cliff, worked around to unoccupied high ground on the Japanese left. The rest of the battalion was successfully disengaged to secure more commanding terrain in the same area. The Japanese, finding themselves outflanked and subjected to increasingly heavy artillery and mortar fire, began to withdraw southward in midafternoon, relieving the pressure on Williams' front. Fowler's battalion, in enveloping the Japanese left, had moved north and then westward and the maneuver had carried the unit by dark to a point just north of the main trail about 750 yards east of Burns' battalion. Williams' men withdrew to reorganize, after disengaging from the enemy forces late in the afternoon; at dark, having resumed the march westward, they secured high ground north of the trail. The ground covered during the day by Williams' battalion was little more than 500 yards west of the position it had occupied the previous night. The unit probably could have moved farther, but Colonel Starr halted it so as not to increase the distance from Lewis' battalion which was, in effect, lost. The unit had laboriously struggled over extremely rough and trackless ground during the day, fighting in the afternoon against a number of Japanese who had withdrawn from Williams' front. For the night, Lewis' men set up a perimeter about 800 yards south-southeast of the scene of Williams' fighting. With Adachi's escape route blocked, Starr's battalions advanced southwestward, achieving notable success by killing around 500 Japanese soldiers between August 6 and 7. In the interim, Cunningham's South Force completed operations in their sector, achieving a successful attack led by Howe that ousted the remaining disorganized Japanese presence from Afua on August 6. Two days later, the 124th Regiment advanced to the Driniumor, claiming to have eliminated approximately 1800 Japanese soldiers since the start of their counteroffensive, at the cost of 50 men killed and 80 wounded. With the rest of Adachi's 18th Army retreating towards Wewak, General Gill declared Afua secure by the evening of August 9. Following the conclusion of the Battle of the Driniumor River, the fatigued units of the 32nd Division, including the 124th Regiment and 112th Cavalry Regiment, were relieved by units from Wing's 43rd Division. From August 16 to 25, Wing's regiments conducted final combat missions in the Aitape region, encountering minimal Japanese resistance east of the Driniumor, except for delaying actions near the mouth of the Dandriwad River by patrols of the 103rd Regiment. Consequently, General Krueger declared the Aitape operation concluded on August 25, confident that the 18th Army posed no further threat to the Tadji airstrips. Adachi's forces had indeed suffered a decisive and costly defeat, rendering them incapable of posing a significant threat to Allied forces anywhere in New Guinea. The campaign to secure the Aitape area and defeat the 18th Army resulted in approximately 440 Allied soldiers killed, 2550 wounded, and 10 missing, while inflicting losses of around 8821 Japanese killed and 98 captured, including 2669 killed and 34 taken prisoner from August 2 to 9 alone. Adachi himself reported losing 9000 men and virtually annihilating seven regiments. I would like to take this time to remind you all that this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Please go subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry after that, give my personal channel a look over at The Pacific War Channel at Youtube, it would mean a lot to me. The American forces under Hall and Cunningham repelled multiple fierce Japanese offensives, inflicting heavy casualties. Despite a lot of setbacks and logistical challenges, TED Force advanced southward, disrupting Japanese supply lines and forcing their withdrawal by early August. Casualties were significant on both sides, underscoring the fierce nature of fighting on Green Hell.

Tim Walz, the far-left Democrat governor of Minnesota who was just selected to be Kamala Harris's running mate in 2024, misrepresented details regarding his re-enlistment in the Army National Guard. This prompted some of his former colleagues in Southern Minnesota's First Battalion-125th Field Artillery to speak out and at least one to accuse Walz of engaging in "stolen valor." And, when it comes to protecting the country's children from transgender medical interventions, Walz is not interested. In fact, he is all for the surgical mutilations and chemical castrations of America's youth. Rep. Jamie Raskin said the quiet part out loud in a recently surfaced video, saying that Democrats in Congress would have to move to block the results of the 2024 presidential election if Donald Trump wins. Neil Gorsuch had solid answers for Major Garrett, but CBS News didn't like them. The International Boxing Association held a press conference to address the controversy surrounding Lin Yu-ting of Taiwan and Imane Khelif of Algeria. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/tapp-into-the-truth--556114/support How much should you allocate to gold?Is Gold Better Than Silver or Vice Versa? Get an automatic $250 applied to your account when you purchase from my Gold Company, Harvard Gold Group...Just mention Tim Tapp or Tapp into the Truth! My discount can be stacked with any other running promotions.Diversify and protect your hard-earned wealth with physical gold. Use America's Premiere Conservative Gold Company, Harvard Gold Group. Use promo code TAPP.Support American jobs! Stand with Mike! Go to My Pillow and use promo code TAPP to save!EXO DronesTapp into the Truth on Locals Tapp into the Truth on SubstackMy Patriot SupplyHero SoapPatriot DepotBlue CoolersKoa CoffeeBrainMDDiamond CBDSauce Bae2nd SkullEinstokBeanstoxBelle IsleMomento AIHoneyFund"Homegrown" Boone's BourbonIsland BrandsBlackout Coffee Co.Full Circle Brewing Co.Pasmosa Sangria

Tim Walz, the far-left Democrat governor of Minnesota who was just selected to be Kamala Harris's running mate in 2024, misrepresented details regarding his re-enlistment in the Army National Guard. This prompted some of his former colleagues in Southern Minnesota's First Battalion-125th Field Artillery to speak out and at least one to accuse Walz of engaging in "stolen valor." And, when it comes to protecting the country's children from transgender medical interventions, Walz is not interested. In fact, he is all for the surgical mutilations and chemical castrations of America's youth. Rep. Jamie Raskin said the quiet part out loud in a recently surfaced video, saying that Democrats in Congress would have to move to block the results of the 2024 presidential election if Donald Trump wins. Neil Gorsuch had solid answers for Major Garrett, but CBS News didn't like them. The International Boxing Association held a press conference to address the controversy surrounding Lin Yu-ting of Taiwan and Imane Khelif of Algeria. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/tapp-into-the-truth--556114/support  Diversify and protect your hard-earned wealth with gold. Use America's Premiere Conservative Gold Company, Harvard Gold Group. Use promo code TAPP. Support American jobs! Stand with Mike! Go to My Pillow and use promo code TAPP to save! EXO Drones

During cold weather, most people want to huddle inside around heat sources, but some jobs force people to brave the elements. Waco businessman and historian Roger Conger delivered groceries for J. C. Crippen & Sons as a teenager in the 1920s. He recalls a winter delivery to Waco High English teacher Marie Leslie that can only be described as a learning experience: "Her house was on the west side of North Eighteenth Street right across from Providence Hospital. And I pulled across the street to the wrong side of the street, it was. In other words, I was heading north, and it's a steep, downward hill there. And I pulled against the curb, and there was ice on the curbs that particular Saturday. Was a cold, cold day. I left my engine running, and I pulled the combination clutch release and brake of a Model T, which is to your left hand. I pulled that up and thought that I had locked the brakes. Left the engine running, went around to the back, got her order off, and went inside Miss Leslie's house and delivered her groceries. And when I came back out of her house, to my consternation, I couldn't see any truck. I hurried out to the curb, and I looked down the hill, and there was a filling station at the foot of the hill down there, and I saw a crowd of people around in this gasoline station. And with my box in my hand I ran down the hill and found that my truck, still loaded with Crippen groceries, had careened down this icy hill into that filling station, crashed into the back of an automobile that was getting some gasoline in it, and had thrown my load of groceries all over that end of Waco. (laughter)" Fortunately, both the driver of the vehicle and Mr. Crippen were very understanding. In the late thirties, George McDowell of Houston, a recent West Point graduate, was stationed at Fort Sill in Oklahoma with the 18th Field Artillery, a horse-drawn regiment. One of his assignments concerned a horse-drawn unit at Fort Sam Houston in Texas, the 12th Field Artillery, which was becoming motorized and had equipment and horses it no longer needed: "Our battery was designated to drive down from Fort Sill to Fort Sam Houston, pick up 246 horses, 8 guns, and 16 wagons and march them overland back to Fort Sill, Oklahoma, right in the dead of winter. When we got down to Fort Sam Houston, we found out that half of these horses we were going to take back had never been in draft pulling a gun or wagon or anything. So after we left Fort Sam Houston, we—first day, we only made about sixteen miles; the next time, about twenty-four. And we were hitting about thirty to thirty-two miles a day. But we'd try to bivouac by three o'clock in the afternoon. But then it got below freezing at times, and we weren't sleeping worth a damn. And you didn't have sleeping bags in those days. You just wrapped up in blankets and other things like that and did the best you could. The horses were not taking that cold weather. So every morning we'd have a—almost a rodeo getting hitched up. It was dark, and daylight didn't come till about seven o'clock. And so that march taught me, I said, ‘Well, I sure don't want to go to war with horses.' (laughs)" Shortly after this operation, McDowell was transferred to the army air corps as an ordnance officer and served in North Africa, Italy, and the Pentagon in World War II. During a wintertime assignment, George McDowell saw firsthand the challenges of using horses in combat. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this joint episode with Denny Paul from the Be the Standard podcast and Seth Gale from Go Beyond the Shadows, the three Army veterans discuss the best and worst aspects of Army life. They share funny and wild stories, as well as reflect on the importance of Memorial Day. The worst thing about the Army, according to Denny and Seth, is the constant hurry up and wait, where soldiers are expected to be ready at a moment's notice but often end up waiting for hours. The best thing about the Army, they agree, is the camaraderie and friendships formed. They also share crazy and dumb moments from their time in the Army, as well as the tough lessons they learned. In this conversation, the speakers discuss their experiences in the military and reflect on the lessons they learned. They talk about the importance of accountability and responsibility, their favorite weapon systems, their experiences in combat, and the impact they had on other countries. They also discuss the surprises they encountered in the military, such as the prevalence of drugs and steroids, and the contrast between the perception of the American flag in other countries versus in the United States. The speakers share their proudest moments, including graduating college and the influence they had on their soldiers.

Last time we spoke about landings at Biak. General Fuller unleashed a amphibious assault against Biak that faced countless hurdles. The Hurricane Task force encountered a lot of terrain issues at Humboldt bay, leading to logistical headaches. Despite the disorganization, they shipped off and landed, forming a beachhead. Colonel Kuzume and his men were caught with their pants down, units were scattered all over the place. The first tank battle of the Southwest Pacific occurred, seeing American Shermans absolutely desolate Japanese Type 95's. General Fuller planned to consolidate his troops at Ibdi and Bosnek while reinforcements arrived, but the Japanese continuously lobbed surprise night attacks to horrible effect. Over in the Burma front, Mutaguchi's operation continued to unravel as his subordinate officers disregarded his orders and performed their own withdrawals. As Mutaguchi relieved men of command and replaced them, General Slim finally reopened the Imphal-Kohima road spelling doom for the Japanese. This episode is the Fall of Mogaung Welcome to the Pacific War Podcast Week by Week, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about world war two? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on world war two and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel you can find a few videos all the way from the Opium Wars of the 1800's until the end of the Pacific War in 1945.  As General Vinegar Joe unleashed what he believed to be a masterstroke against Myitkyina, it soon turned out to be an absolute gruesome struggle. As we last saw, General Stilwell's men had begun a long and difficult siege of Myitkyina. The 22nd and 38th Chinese Divisions were now pinned down by General Tanaka's battered 18th Division south of Kamaing. To the south Brigadier Calvert's Chindits began a battle for Mogaung, which forced General Takeda's 53rd Division to suspend the relief of Myitkyina and rush back to reinforce the town. Though the Mogaung Garrison and the 1st Battalion, 128th Regiment to the north had been effectively destroyed by the Chindit and Chinese attacks, the Japanese had been able to maintain their hold on Mogaung by mid-June. To the east, General Wei's Y Force had opened a new offensive on Yunnan, gradually pushing Colonel Kurashige's 148th Regiment to Tengchong but failing to seize Longling against the tenacious resistance of General Matsuyama's forces. Along the Kamaing-Mogaung front, by late June, Tanaka had been able to assemble most of his depleted command at Lakatkawng, determined to keep the blockade on the Hukawng Valley. His main aim was to clear the Seton roadblock, which had been recently reinforced with General Sun's 113th Regiment; but once again, his attacks would fail to dislodge the tenacious Chinese defenders. Yet upon receiving orders from the 33rd Army commander to withdraw, General Tanaka reported that the 18th Division could continue to hold in the Kamaing area. This statement, inspired by Colonel Ohgoshi, the chief of staff, proved to be unwarranted optimism. The 18th had staged a desperate resistance in the vicinity of Kamaing for about a month and, for most of the period, had only 80 men for each mile of front. Supplies of ammunition and food were very low with only about 1400 rounds of rifle ammunition per day for the entire Division and 60 rounds per machine gun. The daily ration was about 2.5 ounces of rice per man. On receipt of the Army's message to withdraw, Colonel Ohgoshi had advised the Division commander that further resistance in the area was possible, but had not made it clear that this was his personal belief and did not reflect the opinions of the rest of the Division staff. Within a day or two the commander became aware of the fact that the other staff officers were convinced that further resistance in the Kamaing area was impossible. He therefore forwarded to the 33rd Army a revised report of the Division's actual situation. Upon receipt of the second message, on June 27 the Army directed the Division to retire to the Sahmaw sector. Tanaka believed he needed to stand his ground while the 53rd Division pushed aside the Seton Block and reopened his line of communications. Thus, he elected to continue to resist the attacks from the north while he himself attacked Seton for three more days; but failing to make any progress, he would finally comply with his orders to withdraw to the hills north of Sahmaw in early July.  While the 4th and 146th Regiments performed covering attacks, the remnants of the 55th and 56th Regiments destroyed their artillery and heavy equipment, and withdrew along an escape trail cut through the forest west of the Seton roadblock. On 2 July the 18th Division began its withdrawal, utilizing an obscure trail that ran directly south from Kamaing. Crossing the mountain range west of Seton, the Division completed its concentration near Sahmaw about 7 July. The Hukawng Operation was then considered concluded, ending a campaign that had been a miserable failure and had cost almost 8,000 casualties. By July 15th, the 18th Division would finally assemble in the Indaw area. Though only 3000 men from the elite 18th Division would survive the Hukawng Valley Campaign, Tanaka had effectively managed to keep intact the blockade to China for another year, something that would have profound repercussions later on in Chinese history. Further south, the 114th Regiment finally arrived at Gurkhaywa on June 16th, ready to reinforce the Chindits; yet Takeda had also brought most of his troops back to Mogaung, subsequently starting a deadly shelling of the Chindit positions. By when June 15th arrived, the Chinese still had not appeared, and Calvert pulled his troops back towards the bridge. At that moment, remarkable news arrived: The Japanese were abandoning their positions along the river. Calvert was exuberant. This meant he could move out of his bridgehead perhaps capture the town. Certainly, it meant a reduction of the shelling which was claiming at least 15 of his men a day. Yet, when the shelling did not die down and it quickly became apparent that Takeda was merely redeploying his troops along the railway, to get them out of flooding in low-lying areas. Chindit recce teams reported the area from the train station, in the heart of the town to the Mogaung Railway Bridge, further north, was heavily defended with eight bunkers dominating the landscape. Shelling from the village of Naungkyaiktaw, astride the road to Mogaung, set between fields of paddy, was persistent. Naungkyaiktaw had to be captured. Calvert estimated the village was held by a hundred Japanese. Because of this, on June 18th, Calvert ordered his forces to attack the apparent Japanese artillery encampment at Naungkyaiktaw after a heavy air and mortar bombardment. His troops outnumbered them, but unwilling to suffer needless casualties, Calvert directed the American fighter-bombers against the village, which was bombarded on the night of the 17th. Half an hour before dawn on the 18th, the Chindit mortars pummeled the place with 400 rounds for good measure. Calvert then sent in his assault force. Among the attackers was a company of 70 men from King's Liverpool led by Major Fred Reeman. This was a company that had stayed on with the 77th Brigade after the rest of the battalion had been transferred to the 111th Brigade. They were joined by 12 men of Blaine's Detachment, once evacuated to India but since returned, this time armed with about a dozen flamethrowers.  In the darkness, Blaine's Detachment was told to advance in front of the company of King's, and to “turn the fucking lights on.” As the detachment began to hurl flames far and wide, the Chindits behind them began cheering. The men had been told that the village had many bunkers, but never saw any at first. The scene soon turned fantastic. They went through the entire village “with twenty or thirty yards of flame shooting out in front.” They soon found the bunkers. The Japanese became crazed with fear especially after the British began yelling “put out the fucking lights,” and turning the flamethrowers their way. Many Japanese fled the bunkers, joined by those outside. They fled through the paddy fields, making for the railway station 400 yards away. Calvert's machine gunners had been waiting and blazed away, killing at least forty. Meanwhile, the rest of Fusiliers and the Kings walked up the paddy, picking off Japanese hiding or trying to crawl away in the ditches. Calvert, his mobile brigade-major Brash and his orderly Lance-Corporal Young decided to join the mop-up, shooting at Japanese while standing on chairs, as more Fusiliers began clearing the last of the bunkers, hurling grenades into them and blasting the insides with flamethrowers. As twilight set in that day, the most peculiar thing happened. The Fusiliers were cooking an evening meal in their newly-won positions, when a weary, seven-man patrol walked into their billet and began to take off their kit. The Fusiliers who looked up casually, noticed to their horror, that the new men were Japanese. The Japanese, for their part, had not noticed. The Fusiliers lunged for their weapons and opened fire. The Japanese patrol did not survive. In all, Calvert estimated that his troops had killed about 70 Japanese in the capture and holding of Naungkyaiktaw, while suffering 16 killed and 38 wounded. Major Reeman's King's company had become reduced to a platoon.  Calvert was considerably cheered on the evening of the 18th, when the much promised Chinese reinforcements finally arrived, guided over the river in motorized ranger boats by a towering Chindit officer, Captain Andrew. This was the 1st Battalion of the Chinese 114th Regiment led by Major P'ang, which quickly deployed in the positions pointed out by Calvert but left the Chindits a little flummoxed when they proclaimed that they were in no particular hurry to fight as they had been fighting for years. On the following day, another battalion of Chinese arrived under the personal command of the regimental leader, Colonel Li Hung, as did a battery of 75mm pack howitzers  the “6th Battery” under US Major Wayne Cook. The Chinese quickly assumed the defense of Mahaung, prompting an American liaison officer with the Chinese to send a press release that the Chinese had “captured” the village, which embarrassed Li. Cook's battery was deployed into position at Pinhmi village began operations on the 20th, hurling fire against the Japanese positions as the Chinese infantrymen consolidated their positions. Meantime, elements of the Chinese 113th Infantry, operating five miles north of Mogaung, surrounded a Japanese company, while Cook's guns hammered them. Fifty Japanese died from first blast alone. The Chinese finished off those who survived.The assault, was so ferocious that all the bunkers were overrun The reinforcements heartened Calvert for his own brigade was now a shell of its former self. The Lancashire Fusiliers and the King's Liverpool had only 110 men, the South Staffords had 180 and the Gurkha Rifles had 230. He planned a fresh advance, this time aiming for the hamlet of Natgyigon, on Mogaung's right flank, near the river. This area, Calvert believed, was the “key to Mogaung.” For the time, he chose the early hours of darkness on June 23rd a day which would go down in the annals of the 77th Brigade as the “stuff of legends.” The plan called for a mortar barrage of 1,000 bombs, in addition to shelling from the 75mm guns to cover the advance of the Chindits across the open ground towards Natgyigon. The Gurkhas were to move on the right, with the South Staffords on the left. Blaine's Detachment and the Lancashire Fusiliers were in reserve. The objective was to capture the entire stretch of ground from the Mogaung Bridge to the train station, the latter of which the Chinese were to secure. Once the area was in Allied hands, the troops were to dig in while the reserve troops mopped up. In addition, Allied aircraft were to bombard the area before the start of the assault, which itself was timed to launch at about 3.10 am. In the dark, section commanders could be heard telling their men: “We attack Mogaung tonight and once we've taken it the Brigadier says we are through!” Later, during the attack, Calvert discovered the Chinese infantry had not captured the all-important train station, even as their American liaison officer insisted that they had. Calvert angrily pointed out that no, the Chinese had not, because enemy fire from that direction continued to pick off his men at the railway embankment. The Gurkhas, moving along a wide right flank along the banks of the Mogaung River, headed for the railway bridge. Approaching the bridge, they came under heavy fire. Captain Allmand, by now suffering from trench foot as were most of the troops, moved forward to silence a machine gun firing on his men. He could barely run because of his affliction but advancing through the mud, he hurled grenades at the Japanese position. A burst of gunfire plunged into him. He fell, badly wounded. One of his Gurkhas, Sergeant. Tilbir Gurung pulled Allmand and another wounded NCO to safety. For this, Gurung was to get a Military Medal. Allmand's own valor was to be recognized by a Victoria Cross. The South Staffords swept into Mogaung town. Resistance was heavy. Lt Durant of the South Stafford deployed his machineguns to rake Japanese positions with fire. Meantime, the flamethrowers were brought up. As they moved up past Durant's positions, a shell burst exploded one, setting the man wielding it on fire. The man screamed and somehow shook off the flamethrowing unit from his back. Durant and some of his men rushed forward and rolled him into water in a nearby ditch. The Japanese had dug-in beneath the ruins of a brick house from where they were stubbornly holding the Staffords at bay. The rest of the flamethrowers moved in and sprayed the building. One Japanese, his clothes ablaze, leapt from his positions and tried to make a run for it. A scythe of gunfire cut him down. The rest valiantly held their positions and were burned to cinder. The Staffords, mopping up the, found the Japanese officer. He had shot himself with his revolver. The Japanese had entrenched themselves at a strategically important building known as the Red House, which was well-protected with machine-gun nests. The advancing Gurkhas consequently ran smack into this killing zone, getting caught in a murderous crossfire and suffering heavy casualties. In response, Calvert threw his reserves into the fray and the Chindits also began to pummel the Japanese positions with mortars and machine-guns, which allowed the infantry to reach the all-important train station. Inflicting some 120 casualties and losing 60 dead and over 100 wounded, the Chindits then successfully captured all their objectives by noon. For the rest of the day, heavy fighting would continue as the Chindits dug in on their gained positions; but during the night, the Japanese would finally pull out, leaving the town to the shattered remnants of the 77th Brigade. Mopping up then continued until June 27, when Mogaung was declared void of Japanese. Though this was the first major town to be recaptured in Burma, Calvert lost over 250 killed and 500 wounded at Mogaung, which was more than any Chindit formation was prepared to take. This was also a bittersweet victory for Calvert because Stilwell would claim that the town had been taken by his Chinese troops, even though the Chindits had done most of the fighting. Stilwill wrote in his diary on June 27th “Good news from Mogaung, We have it!” Then came a remarkable broadcast from Stilwell's headquarters via the BBC “The Chinese had captured Mogaung”. There was no mention of the Chindits. Calvert was incensed. Colonel Li was appalled and apologized profusely. “If anyone has taken Mogaung it is your Brigade and we all admire the bravery of your soldiers.” Calvert, his anger against Stilwell unmitigated, sent a message to US headquarters  “Chinese reported taking Mogaung. My Brigade now taking umbrage” this prompted Stilwell's staff to scour the maps for the location of Umbrage. Meantime, congratulations poured in from Lentaigne, from “Scottie” Scott, from John Masters, and the other brigade commanders. Among the lot, there was one, from Derek Tulloch, which struck Calvert's heart the most: “Wingate would have been proud of you.” After this defeat, and learning of the concurrent withdrawal of the 18th Division, Takeda's 53rd Division would withdraw to the Sahmaw River line in early July, where it was also reinforced with the recently-arrived 119th Regiment.  Meanwhile over at Myitkyina, General Boatner had to order a stop to the attacks after June 18th because of the heavy casualties. For the time being, tunneling would be used to close with the enemy. On June 25th, however, Boatner would have a severe recurrence of malaria that would force him to abandon the frontlines. This led General Stilwell to appoint Brigadier-General Theodore Wessels in command of the Myitkyina Task Force on June 26th. Luckily for Wessels the situation started to improve after the fall of Mogaung, as Chinese troops there could now move up the railroad to connect with Wessels' forces. This removed the recurrent menace of a Japanese drive from Mogaung, guaranteed reinforcements and the opening of a ground line of communications, and further eliminated one of General Minakami's two bases from which supplies had trickled into the Japanese perimeter. Despite this, the only gains in the week of June 25th were a few hundred yards taken by the 150th Regiment and the 236th Engineers. Alongside this, Stilwell ordered the 1st Battalion, 42nd Regiment to penetrate through the Japanese positions towards Sitapur on June 28. They would drive deep into the Japanese defense system, leading Stilwell to hope this was the turning point; on receiving Japanese fire, it halted and dug in. Air supply was necessary.In response, Wessels dispatched some Marauder reinforcements. F Company, unaware it had lost its way and under an inexperienced commander, proceeded with a small point almost directly ahead of the marching column. The company commander at the head of the point met a small group of Orientals whom he took to be Chinese and who greeted him affably. The strangers then suggested he and his party lay aside their guns. At this point the commander realized that he had been ambushed and gave the alarm. The Japanese machine guns opened on his trapped column, inflicting heavy casualties. Some of his men made their way back to the Allied lines, but the company was never reconstituted and was broken up and distributed among the rest of Galahad. For his constant gallantry during a stubborn eight-hour rear-guard action, which permitted the survivors to extricate themselves from ambush, Private first class. Anthony Firenze of New Galahad received the Distinguished Service Cross. Wessels then planning to launch a set-piece attack to capture a stretch of the Sumprabum Road.  Over in the Yunnan front, Colonel Matsui's 113th Regiment had successfully relieved the pressure from Longling by mid-June. General Matsuyama further ordered him to maintain the offensive while he continued to reorganize his forces. Though Matsui managed to seize the Tiechanghe pass on June 21st, most of his attacks would end up in nothing. In the north, the 20th Army Group launched simultaneous attacks against Qianshuang and Gudong on June 18th. This finally forcing the Japanese to retreat in disorder towards Tengchong by June 22nd. With the fall of Qianshuang, the Japanese had been forced to abandon the upper Shweli valley, and were now moving in some disorder toward Tengchong over three excellent trails. In Qianshuang, they left behind large quantities of ammunition and a few pieces of artillery, suggesting a disorganized withdrawal. 150 dead Japanese were found in Qianshuang itself; more than 300 Chinese gave their lives for the village. South of Qianshuang, the Japanese hastily destroyed their pontoon bridge to slow the Chinese pursuit. On reaching the Qianshuang-Baifen-Gudong line, the 20th Army Group had wrested 4000 square miles from Japanese control in forty days of fighting. The advance had been made over the precipitous ranges of the Kaolikung Mountains in an almost constant rain, a downpour sometimes heavy, sometimes light, rarely abating, and always turning to fog and sleet in the higher altitudes. More than 150 coolie supply porters fell to their deaths from the narrow, slippery trails that snaked precariously over the mountains. On June 25th General Wei received a personal order from Generalissimo Chiang Kai-Shek to take Teng-chung. A few days later, th 20th Group Army, though delayed by the need to rebuild bridges over each of the swift mountain streams that crossed its advance, had pressed the Japanese rear guards back to the hills that surrounded Teng-chung at a distance of two to three miles from the formidable walled town itself. Meanwhile, the Fourteenth Air Force was trying to soften Teng-chung by daily attacks with bombs and machine-gun fire. The outer defenses of Teng-chung were pillboxes covering every avenue of approach, supported and covered by the 6,500-foot-high, fortified mountain peak of Lai-feng Shan, "The Place Where the Birds Come." Here were 600 or more Japanese with most of the garrison's artillery. Teng-chung itself was girdled by a massive wall of earth that in some places was forty feet high and sixty feet thick at the base, faced throughout with great slabs of stone. Chinese necromancers had carefully laid out the wall in a great square to cut the cardinal points of the compass. Each side had a gate, and each gate now had a Japanese command post, while Japanese machine guns and rifles swept the approaches to the wall, its face, and its parapets. Within the city were about 2,000 Japanese. In all, Colonel Kurashige, who had defended the Kaoli-kung mountains, had about 1,850 Japanese, a heavily reinforced battalion combat team built around the 2nd, 148th regiment. Kurashige's orders were to hold Teng-chung until the Chinese threat to Lung-ling passed Over at Longling, Matsui saw the arrival of some reinforcements on June 22nd that would allow him to continue his counteroffensive. Making repeated night and day attacks, the Japanese would be able to penetrate the enemy positions on June 24. Matsuyama then directed him to exploit towards Bengmiao and Huangcaobacum; yet a heavy raid by 24 B-25s and the arrival of the 1st Division would manage to halt the Japanese attempt to exploit their success, with Mitsui only securing the area northwest of Bengmiao by July 1st. The next day, Matsuyama then suspended the counteroffensive because of heavy casualties and he could see the enemy were strengthening their positions. In the meantime, Major Kanemitsu's Lameng Garrison was successfully holding off against a siege by three divisions since June 4th, though the Chinese would only launch unsuccessful attacks in regimental strength during this period; and to the southeast, the Pingda Garrison was also successfully repelling the small enemy attacks against them in spite of being cut off and disease-ridden. That is all for the Burma front today as we now need to head over to the Biak front. After the arrival of two battalions of the163rd Regiment for reinforcements, General Fuller planed a two-pronged attack against Mokmer Drome, with the 186th Regiment advancing west over the inland plateau while the 162nd Regiment resumed its attack west along the coast. On the morning of June 1, in preparation for the offensive, Colonel Newman's 3rd Battalion therefore left Bosnek and marched north over the coastal ridge, with the 2nd Battalion also moving from Opiaref to join them. By 11:00, both battalions successfully set up defensive perimeters; yet their preparations would be interrupted abruptly in the afternoon as Colonel Kuzume directed his 1st Battalion to attack the positions held by Company K. These Japanese, who were supported by machine guns and mortars emplaced northwest of the trail crossing, continued attacks until 5:00, when a platoon of Company K, by a flanking movement, forced their withdrawal northward. Company K and two platoons of the Antitank Company remained at the trail crossing for the night. Company I was moved forward to K's left and left rear, and Company L extended K's perimeter east along the main road toward the surveyed drome. Battalion headquarters and Company M stayed near the strip's western end. The 121st Field Artillery Battalion, the Cannon Company, the 2nd Battalion, regimental headquarters, the attached engineers, and the tanks remained near the center of the airfield.   Thankfully, the Americans would manage to repel the assaults and would ultimately force a Japanese withdrawal via a bold enveloping maneuver. But the Japanese would return after midnight. The first part of the night passed without incident, but at 3:30 the entire area held by the 3rd Battalion, 186th Infantry, flamed into action. About a company and a half of the 1st Battalion, 222nd Infantry, moved from the south against the semicircular perimeter held by Companies I, K, and L, having outflanked the 3rd Battalion on the west. Simultaneously, other elements of the 1st Battalion attacked from the northwest, attempting to drive a wedge between Companies L and K. Under the support of mortar and machine gun fire from both the northwest and southwest, the encircled Japanese desperately tried to fight their way north. Four hours of confused hand-to-hand fighting, marked by the use of bayonets, machetes, and grenades, ensued. At daylight a count revealed that 86 dead Japanese were within and around the 3rd Battalion's perimeter. The dead included the commander of the 1st Battalion, 222nd Infantry. Losses to the American unit were 3 men killed and 8 wounded.  After dealing with the threat, Newman resumed the westward advance at 9:00 on June 2nd. The 1st and 3rd Battalions, supported by five tanks and an antitank platoon, were to advance abreast, while the 2nd protected the right flank by patrolling north of the main road. The 121st Field Artillery Battalion was to provide continuous close support and was to displace forward with the infantry. Neither artillery nor air bombardment seems to have been provided for or delivered prior to the attack. However, both the 121st and 146th Field Artillery Battalions were registered on targets north and west of the 186th Infantry. Air support was available from Wakde Island upon call. The 1st Battalion, 186th Infantry broke camp at its beach defense area at 8:00 on June 2nd and moved north over the ridge to join the rest of the regiment. The 1st Battalion, 222nd Infantry, had made no serious attempt to stop the 186th Infantry's progress westward because the inland plateau was nearly indefensible and because the battalion would have been decimated in battle with the superior strength of the reinforced American regiment. The 1st Battalion was withdrawn from the surveyed drome area, initially in preparation for counterattack against the Bosnek beachhead. While no such counteroffensive was mounted, the withdrawal of the 1st Battalion at least had the advantage of keeping the unit intact. The American advance would thus be opposed by the 10th Company, 222nd Regiment; the 3rd Company, 36th Division Sea Transportation Unit and some other naval and engineer units.  The 1st and 3rd Battalions then advanced with two companies abreast against scattered but determined opposition from elements of the 1st Battalion, 222nd Infantry. Small enemy patrols aimed machine gun and rifle fire at the advancing American units and held their positions until killed or dispersed by tank or artillery fire. Most of the enemy parties were located on the north flank and apparently many of them had been driven westward out of the cave and garden area north of the surveyed drome by fire from the 121st Field Artillery Battalion, which destroyed Biak Detachment headquarters installations in that area. By nightfall the 186th Infantry had killed 96 Japanese and had itself lost 6 men killed and 10 wounded. The unit halted shortly after 1600 and began digging in at a point about 600 yards northeast of the day's objective. The advance had carried the regiment west until it was almost abreast and north of the 162nd Infantry, at the Ibdi Pocket. The latter had attempted to move west along the coast during the day, but it would be unable to dislodge the Japanese from the Ibdi Pocket, ultimately having to attach its 2nd Battalion to the 186th.  The addition of the 2nd Battalion, 162nd Regiment to the 186th Regiment helped to complicate the supply problems of the troops on the plateau. No water had yet been found inland. Heat and humidity were intense, and thick scrub growth, about 12 feet high, stopped any breezes. Despite the best efforts of Company B, 116th Engineers, the supply road could not be repaired fast enough to keep pace with the advancing infantrymen. Water had to be brought around from Bosnek via Opiaref to the forward units, and there were not enough water trailers nor 5-gallon cans available to supply all the water needed. At night each man received only one canteen of water for the next day, an inadequate amount under the conditions which prevailed inland. The water situation and the necessity for hauling all other supplies north through Opiaref did more to delay the 186th Regiment's progress westward than did the opposition of the 1st Battalion, 222nd Regiment. Meanwhile Kuzume's only support so far had been some air raids carried out by the depleted 23rd Air Flotilla and 7th Air Division. By late May, the 23rd Air Flotilla had only twelve fighters and six medium bombers at Sorong and the 7th Air Division had four large bombers, 20 medium bombers and three fighters. Both units threw what strength they could muster into attacks on the enemy landing force. On May 27th four Army heavy bombers and nine Navy fighters carried out a daylight attack against fierce air opposition, all but four fighters failing to return. Kuzume would need more than that to launch a determined attack that would succeed in pushing the enemy back into the sea. Consequently, on May 29th, General Numata and Admiral Senda had requested the immediate commitment of fleet and air strength into the Biak battle. They both relayed this message “The enemy apparently found the difficulty of rapid occupation of the airfield sector. The enemy will change, in all probability, its policy to occupy the whole island of Biak after the arrival of reinforcements, securing its present positions with landed units for a while. The officers and men on Biak Island are firm in their resolution to crush the enemy. However, our operations are severely restricted by the uncontested superiority of the enemy's feet and air units. The Biak Detachment, which is making every effort in destroying the confronting enemy, request for further support by the army and navy units concerned. We believe that the immediate commitment of our air forces and, if possible, some fleet units would give us a splendid opportunity to turn the tide of battle in the whole Pacific area in our favor.“ This finally convinced Admiral Toyoda to send reinforcements to the island.  To counter the Allied advance to Biak, the IJN dispatched from one third of its available naval land-based air strength from the Central Pacific to reinforce the 23rd Air Flotilla in western New Guinea. On May 28th 70 carrier-type fighters, 4 reconnaissance bombers, and 16 medium bombers were dispatched to western New Guinea. Another group of planes, comprising 48 fighters, 8 reconnaissance aircraft, and 20 bombers, were sent to western New Guinea and Halmahera from the Carolines on or about May 31st. On 29-30th May the flotilla carried out fresh attacks on the Biak landing force. On May 29th, sixteen medium bombers attacked the enemy fleet in the sea near BIAK Island before daybreak of that day, yet none of them returned. Furthermore, in a daylight attack on the same day, four Zero fighters strafed BIAK Island. None of them returned to the base either. On May 30th, the unit of the Zero fighters of the Navy again fired upon enemy ships in the sea off Mokmer. The damage on the enemy ships was not confirmed. However, the unit reported that they fought four P-38s and four B-25s of the enemy and shot down two B-25s above BIAK Island. Also as part of Operation KON, a huge task force under Admiral Sakonju, which included the battleship Fuso, four cruisers and eight destroyers, was to transport Major-General Tamada Yoshio's 2nd Amphibious Brigade towards Biak. Additionally, it was decided to move three infantry companies of the 35th Division from Sorong to Biak by barge. Sakonju's convoy finally left Davao on the night of June 2nd. In connection with KON Force's advance, the Japanese had planned heavy air strikes against Biak which were to be carried out by the recently reinforced 23rd Air Flotilla and the few army aircraft which remained at bases within range of Biak. Between 1645 and 1700 on 2 June, from eleven to fifteen Japanese planes bombed Allied positions on Biak, causing a few casualties and some light damage. Seven of these planes were shot down by shore-based anti-aircraft weapons, while guns aboard Seventh Fleet ships lying off Bosnek accounted for at least one more. Later during the same night, a few more enemy planes dropped some bombs harmlessly on and near Owi Island. Still more approached Biak during the night, causing many red alerts but not dropping any bombs. The next night, that of 3-4 June, no Japanese planes attacked Biak, although an unknown number bombed Owi Island without causing any damage or casualties. Again, however, enemy aircraft flew many reconnaissance flights around Biak, causing an almost continuous red alert until the early morning hours of 4 June. Early on the morning of June 3rd, at a point just east of the Talaud Islands, between Mindanao and Morotai, a 7th Fleet submarine sighted the Transport and 1st Screening Units and was in turn sighted by ships of the latter organization. Alongside this 7th Fleet PB4Y's, operating from Wakde Island, kept the Japanese vessels under surveillance the rest of the day, reporting that the course and speed of the enemy ships could bring them into range of Biak during the evening of June 4th. Their discovery by Allied aircraft so far from Biak apparently had not been anticipated by the Japanese, who later reported that they had not known Allied aircraft were capable of such long-range reconnaissance. Nevertheless, the three KON Force elements steamed on toward Biak, probably hoping that friendly aircraft might drive off the Allied reconnaissance planes and also protect the sea approaches to Biak. To further muddy the situation, Sakonju received false reports that a strong American carrier group was approaching the waters east of Biak. Admiral Kinkaid had indeed dispatched a special task force to deal with this threat, yet the warships could only arrive off Biak on the night of June 4th and didn't include any aircraft carrier. Nonetheless, knowing that he had been discovered and unwilling to risk so many ships under these circumstances, Sakonju would have to suspend the reinforcement run and turn back to Davao and Sorong.   When the Japanese called off KON on June 3rd, the Transport and the 1st and 2nd Screening Units were a little over 500 miles northwest of Biak and about 250 miles east-southeast of the Talaud Islands. At this point, the three forces were reorganized. The Transport Unit, accompanied by the three destroyers of the 1st Screening Unit, changed course for Sorong, while the 2nd Screening Unit and the two heavy cruisers of the 1st turned back toward Davao, which they probably reached late on June 5th. Of the ships moving to Sorong, the Fifth Air Force claimed to have sunk one destroyer and damaged at least two others. The Transport Unit and the 1st Screening Unit's three destroyers arrived safely at Sorong during the evening of June 4th. The Detached Unit, which had been moving toward Biak from Zamboanga on an independent course far to the west of the other three sections of KON Force, had also changed its direction during the night of 3-4 June, and reached Sorong sometime on the 4th. At Sorong the Transport Unit unloaded the 1,700 men of the 2nd Amphibious Brigade. The six destroyers of the Transport and 1st Screening Units then proceeded southwest to Ambon where they refueled. The Transport Unit's one heavy cruiser and one light cruiser sought shelter in Kaboei Bay, Waigeo Island, about 60 miles northwest of Sorong. On 6 June the heavy cruiser Aoba was attacked there by fifteen B-24's of the Fifth Air Force. First reports were that at least two hits were scored on the cruiser, but it was later learned that the ship suffered no damage. Instead, it was able to take part in a second KON Operation. Back over at Biak, Newman resumed the advance westward on the morning of June 3rd, making painfully slow progress because of the difficult terrain and lack of adequate supply lines. Meeting no opposition, they would finally dig in half a mile from the point at which the main ridge left the coast and turned inland near Mokmer. That day, however, Fuller learnt about the possible enemy naval attack, so he decided to halt any offensive actions for the moment. On June 4th, upon learning that no enemy carriers were in the Biak area, Sakonju was again ordered to prepare to run the American blockade, this time bringing the bulk of the 2nd and 3rd Battalions, 219th Regiment. There would be two naval groups, the first was the Transport Unit, containing three destroyers which had been part of the first KON Operation Transport Unit. The second section was the Screening Unit, also comprising three destroyers. For the second KON Operation there were two detached units, the 1st had one heavy and one light cruiser while the 2nd Detached Unit included the small craft and patrol boats which had put into Sorong at the end of the first KON. The three destroyers of the Transport Unit were each to embark 200 infantrymen at Sorong. In addition, the destroyers of either or both the Transport and Screening Units were each to tow to Biak one landing barge crammed with troops, probably 30 to 50 men to a barge. After two quiet nights, meanwhile, Newman decided to send three battalions forward toward the north-south section of the main ridge northwest of Mokmer on June 5th. Warned by the regimental commander that it was important to secure a foothold on the ridge before the Japanese could deny it to the 186th Infantry, the three assault battalions started westward about 8:00 on June 5th. Lack of water again slowed the advance. No water had been received in the forward area since the morning of the 4th, and Colonel Newman had ordered the troops westward against the advice of his staff and battalion commanders. About noon, however, a heavy rain fell. The regimental commander ordered all troops to halt, catch the rain in ponchos, and fill their canteens. "Had it not been for this lucky break, we would undoubtedly have had to halt in midafternoon." As events turned out, no Japanese opposition was encountered, and by 1500 the 3rd Battalion, 186th Infantry, was within 500 yards of the main ridge. Although Newman and General Doe then wanted to secure the dominating terrain north and northwest of the airfield, they would receive direct orders from Fuller to immediately seize Mokmer Drome and a beachhead on the coast directly south of that strip. Throughout the morning of June 6th the 186th Infantry directed most of its efforts to bringing supplies up to the forward units. Almost the entire 2nd Battalion was engaged in hand-carrying supplies to the 3rd Battalion atop the ridge, while the latter unit sent patrols toward Mokmer Drome seeking good routes of approach to that objective. About noon Colonel Newman reported to task force headquarters that no good route had been found and that supplies, especially the ever-needed water, had not been brought forward in sufficient quantities to allow a regimental attack to be launched that day, and he therefore recommended that the attack be postponed until June 7th. General Fuller approved this suggestion. The lack of supplies and water would delay the attack, however, though the 3rd Battalion would be able to move down the west side of the main ridge to take up positions along a line of departure for the next morning's attack. To support the infantry attack, on June 7th, a thirty-minute artillery concentration began at 7:00 that morning. The 146th, 205th, and 947th Field Artillery Battalions, from positions along the coast to the east, were registered on targets in the airfield area ready to support the advance, but most of the firing was undertaken by the 121st Field Artillery from its location behind the 186th Infantry. While the artillery fired on Mokmer Drome and along the low ridge between that field and the 186th Infantry, Fifth Air Force bombers attacked the Borokoe Drome area and also struck some targets along the low ridge. The airfield was only occupied by the 108th Airfield Construction Unit, which immediately fled the area because of the heavy bombardment. Newman's 1st and 3rd Battalions advanced south encountering no resistance as they crossed Mokmer Drome and reached the beach.  When, on 5 June, the 186th Infantry had reached the crest of the main coastal ridge, it had been on the left rear of the Japanese defenses on the low ridge and terraces above Mokmer Drome. Thus, the regiment had been in a favorable position to take these defenses from the rear. But in its move to the airfield, the 186th Infantry had bypassed the Biak Detachment's principal defensive positions. The bypassing had not been intentional. Colonel Newman had instructed both leading battalions to halt on the low ridge, reconnoiter along it in both directions, and report on Japanese defenses before moving on. According to Colonel Newman: "I received a negative report from both battalions, and ordered the movement to the airdrome. Evidently, the right battalion had failed in this patrolling effort." Instead, the 186th had captured its main objective, but now found itself surrounded by Kuzume's strongest defenses. The Japanese immediately began to pound the new American perimeter, with an artillery duel soon erupting. By nightfall, it had become impracticable to supply the 186th Regiment over the inland plateau road, which ended on the east side of the main ridge. From that point, all supplies would have to be hand-carried to Mokmer Drome and supply parties would be endangered by Japanese patrols, a few of which moved in behind the 186th as the regiment reached the beach, so the 3rd Battalion, 163rd Regiment would be dispatched to push over the inland plateau and protect the parties. Overwater supply was also attempted, yet as the first boats approached the shore they were greeted by machine gun and rifle fire from Japanese whom the 186th Infantry had not yet cleaned out of caves along the water line in front of Mokmer Drome. The small craft returned the fire, but were finally forced to withdraw. The 186th Infantry, according to Colonel Newman, was "glad to see them withdraw since they had our troops running for cover." At 2:00 another attempt was made to land supplies at Sboeria. The three LCM's managed to put their tanks ashore in the face of continuing Japanese fire, but accompanying LCT's were driven off by Japanese artillery. Two of the LCM's were so damaged by enemy fire that they could not fully retract their ramps and had to proceed the nine and a half miles back to Bosnek in reverse. Plans were made to effect all delivery of supplies and evacuation of casualties at night until the enemy fire on the Sboeria beachhead could be neutralized. The tanks which had been landed lumbered along the shore road fronting Mokmer Drome, destroying several small bunkers along the beach. Then they wheeled toward the low ridge north of the airfield, taking under fire a Japanese 75-mm. mountain gun and a 20-mm. piece which had opposed their landing. These two weapons were silenced. Moving cautiously northwestward from the field along a road which crossed the low ridge, the tanks destroyed two large pillboxes. Alongside this, Fuller sent two companies of Haney's 3rd Battalion to land on the Parai Jetty in order to outflank the Ibdi Pocket, which the 162nd had been unsuccessfully attempting to dislodge since the start of the month. But June 7th would also see the start of Operation KON's second attempt.  After rendezvousing off Misoöl Island that morning, Sakonju instructed his 8 destroyers to proceed to Biak. Air cover was to have been provided by planes of the 23rd Air Flotilla. But the cape area was being patrolled by Allied aircraft on June 8th and, about 1:30, the 23rd Air Flotilla cover of six planes was shot down or driven away by 5th Air Force P-38's.  Finding the air now free of enemy planes, American B-25's dived to the attack th convoy, reporting the convoy as 2 light cruisers and 4 destroyers. Initially, it was claimed that 1 destroyer was sunk, 2 were left sinking, and the fourth was damaged. A few days later, destruction was reassessed as 4 destroyers sunk and 2 light cruisers chased to the northwest. These claims were exaggerated. One destroyer, the Harusame, was holed by a near miss and sank rapidly, the bulk of its crew being saved. Another destroyer was damaged by a bomb and took some water; two others were slightly damaged by strafing. Neither speed nor navigation was impeded for any of the three. The two light cruisers reported by the Allied planes were, of course, the other two destroyers. These two might have taken some evasive action by heading northwest for a short time, but as soon as the Harusame crew had been rescued and the Allied planes had disappeared, the convoy reformed and continued on toward Biak. The convoy reformed and continued on toward Biak, undeterred by reports of strong enemy elements in the area. By nightfall, however, it was on a collision course with the cruisers of Admirals Crutchley and Berkey.  At about 6:00 on the 8th, the Transport and Screening Units received a report from a Japanese aircraft that an Allied naval force comprising 1 battleship, 4 cruisers, and 8 destroyers was moving west at high speed from an undesignated point east of Biak. This report was at least partially correct. The Allied task force which had been formed on June 3rd had again assembled on the 8th, having been alerted by reports of the air-sea battle off the Kaap de Goede Hoop. But the Japanese convoy commander apparently took this air reconnaissance report with at least one grain of salt--had not similar information received on June 3rd proved inaccurate? The Transport and Screening Units steamed on, despite the fact that the Kaap de Goede Hoop action had put the force behind schedule. At 11:30 the two enemy groups were approximately forty miles off the north coast of Soepiori Island, ready to turn southeast toward Korim Bay, on the northeast side of Biak. Minutes later a destroyer in the van sighted the Allied task force heading northwest around Biak. The convoy commander quickly realized that he was badly outnumbered and decided that discretion was called for. The Japanese convoy slipping towards the Mapia islands, seeing the allied destroyers failing to pursue them. Yet that is it for Biak for now as we now need to head over to the Wakde-Sarmi front.   General Sibert was preparing to resume the westward offensive. By June 14th, the 20th Regiment had relieved the 158th at the Tirfoam River; and although Sibert wanted to complete unloading of his remaining units before sending the 20th to push westward, General Krueger ordered him to start an immediate offensive on June 18th. Now, however, they were up against almost the full strength of General Tagami's 36th Division. Company B pushed on toward the village at the entrance to the defile between Lone Tree Hill and the eastern nose of Mt. Saksin. This advance was greeted by a hail of fire from Japanese automatic weapons emplaced in the defile--fire reminiscent of the opposition encountered by Company B, 158th Infantry, at the same place more than three weeks earlier. The 20th Infantry's Company B tried to outflank the enemy position to the south but was halted by intense Japanese machine gun fire. Tanks sent forward to aid the infantry were unable to reach the enemy guns because the terrain was impassable to tracked or wheeled vehicles, which could scarcely negotiate the rough road, let alone the thick jungle and rising ground to the south. Late in the afternoon Company A was sent forward to Company B's position, but both units encountered heavy fire and soon lost contact with the rest of the 1st Battalion. The two companies remained for the night in an isolated perimeter near the village and about 400 yards west of the main body. The 3rd Battalion had moved north off the coastal road during the morning, and late in the afternoon it had established a perimeter extending south 200 yards from the beach along the east bank of the Snaky River. The battalion had encountered little opposition during the day, but patrols which had crossed the Snaky before dark reported finding many Japanese defensive positions on the eastern slopes of Lone Tree Hill. A gap which existed between the 1st and 3rd Battalions was partially filled just before nightfall by elements of the 2nd Battalion, which were sent forward late in the afternoon. Casualties during the day were four killed and twenty-eight wounded. The 1st and 3rd Battalions, 1st Infantry, moved across the Tor River in the morning of June 20th and took over the positions in the vicinity of Maffin No. 1 vacated by the 20th Infantry. The 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry, assumed responsibility for the protection of the bridgehead across the Tor.  The following morning, Sibert then directed his units to patrol extensively in order to locate enemy strong points on and around the hill. Thanks to the information gathered, the 3rd Battalion would attack towards Rocky Point in the afternoon. At the top of Lone Tree Hill was a stretch of rough but generally level ground lying mostly along the western part of the hill. This flat ground, about 700 yards long north to south, was shaped like a crude dumbbell. At its northern end, the level area was about 300 yards wide. It narrowed at the center of the hill to less than 100 yards but broadened again on the south to a width of about 250 yards. There were many coral outcroppings, potholes, and small crevices, while on the north the hill terminated in a very rugged prominence called Rocky Point. This terrain feature, which extended into Maffin Bay from the central mass of Lone Tree Hill, was about 300 yards wide east to west. Its northern face was not as heavily overgrown as the rest of Lone Tree Hill. Although Rocky Point's northeast slope was steep, foot troops could climb that face with more ease than they could approach the top of Lone Tree Hill from most other points. A deep ravine ran southwest into the central mass of Lone Tree Hill from a sandy beach on the east side of Rocky Point. The floor of the ravine varied from 20 to 30 yards in width and its nearly vertical western wall was 40 to 50 feet high. Both sides were honeycombed with natural or man-made tunnels, caverns, and small caves, most of which were connected with each other by underground or deeply defiladed passages. Some caves reached a width of 40 feet, a depth into the hillside of 50 feet, and a height of 20 feet. The ravine terminated on the eastern slope of Lone Tree Hill in a steep grade at the narrow central portion of the hilltop. At 1:45pm, after a fifteen-minute artillery and 4.2-inch mortar preparation, one company moved across the Snaky River, immediately finding the twenty-foot cliff along the eastern side of the shelf which lay between the Snaky River and the central mass of Lone Tree Hill. The morning patrols had not, apparently, reported the existence of this cliff, and naturally it was not known that Japanese defenses were established along it. Machine gun and rifle fire from the 1st Battalion, 224th Infantry, soon pinned down the 3rd Battalion's leading platoon. The company commander quickly sent part of his unit northward to find the Japanese left flank. Moving around the northeast end of the shelf, this group discovered the beach entrance to the deep ravine between the western side of the shelf and Rocky Point. Progress into or across the ravine was impossible in the face of the intense Japanese small arms fire which greeted the advancing American unit. Company B, 6th Engineers, then in the forward area to cut a road from the mouth of the Snaky River to Rocky Point, was brought up to the ravine to help clean out caves and crevices with flame throwers and demolitions, but could not reach the enemy positions through the continued machine gun, mortar, and rifle fire. Infantry bazooka squads also tried to blast the Japanese out of their caves but failed when their ammunition ran out. Since there was no time to bring additional rockets forward before dark, all elements of the 3rd Battalion and the engineer company were withdrawn to the east bank of the Snaky River for the night. The 20th Infantry was to continue the assault on the morrow with the 3rd Battalion moving against Lone Tree Hill from the northeast, the 2nd Battalion in reserve, and the 1st Battalion remaining in its holding position. On the morning of June 22, after a heavy air and artillery concentration on Rocky Point, the 3rd Battalion once again attacked northwest with Companies K and I, successfully driving the Japanese back into their caves to reach the top of Lone Tree Hill just south of Rocky Point. Meanwhile, another two companies had attacked southwest to force their way up the southeast slope of the hill; but subjected to heavy machine-gun fire, they would have to withdraw and march north to join Companies K and I. The 2nd Battalion also moved forward and took positions to the south of the 3rd Battalion. Worried about the American gains, Colonel Matsuyama personally led two companies in the afternoon to fall on the 3rd Battalion's perimeter with suicidal fury. Confused fighting, sometimes hand-to-hand, continued well into the night, with Matsuyama himself getting shot on the thigh. Yet this attack would successfully position the Japanese companies on the rear of the 2nd and 3rd Battalions, thus cutting them off from regimental headquarters. Matsuyama also recalled his 2nd Battalion from the Maffin area, so he would employ these reinforcements to attack Sibert's 2nd Battalion on June 23. At dawn on the 23rd Japanese troops, some of whom were using American weapons and wearing parts of American uniforms, attacked the 2nd Battalion, 20th Infantry, from the deep ravine. The battalion initially held its fire, thinking that the enemy force might be a friendly patrol, and the Japanese were able to advance to within fifteen yards of the battalion lines before being recognized. It was an hour before the results of this error could be corrected--an hour during which both the 2nd Battalion and the Japanese suffered heavy losses. The hour ended with an enemy retreat. Isolated, the 2nd Battalion then decided to withdraw and march north towards the 3rd Battalion's perimeter at the top of the hill, getting harassed all the way by Matsuyama's forces. During the night, the Japanese launched a banzai charge against the perimeter, getting very close to retaking Lone Tree Hill but suffering heavy casualties in the end. Upon learning that his battalions were cut off, meanwhile, Sibert decided to outflank the hill by a shore-to-shore maneuver and then continue the attack from both west and east. Accordingly, Companies K and I of the 1st Regiment boarded ten LVTs on the morning of June 24th and moved to the beach just west of Rocky Point, under the protection of the 6th Reconnaissance Troop. Both companies would land successfully by midday against strong Japanese fire, though they would be rapidly pinned down on the narrow beach. Thankfully, Sibert also landed four tanks two hours later to secure the beachhead. This diversion would allow the 2nd and 3rd Battalions, 20th Regiment to begin clearing the Japanese from the many caves and crevices on Rocky Point, the deep ravine east of the point, and the hilltop plateau, further securing the supply route up the hill.  By nightfall, no enemy counterattack developed, as Tagami had instead decided to withdraw the 224th Regiment to the Hill 255-Mount Saksin line while the 223rd Regiment retreated behind the Woske River. Thus Matsuyama's resistance in the area weakened and the Americans were finally able to clear Rocky Point. The next day the 2nd and 3rd Battalions, 20th Infantry, continued clearing Rocky Point, the deep ravine, the northern part of the hilltop plateau, and the eastern shelf, where a few scattered Japanese still held positions along the twenty-foot-high cliff. Flame throwers, demolition charges, bazookas, and hand grenades all proved successful in eliminating Japanese resistance and sealing or clearing caves and crevices. The task was easier on the 25th, for the Japanese slowly gave up the fight and were killed or sealed off in their caves. Casualties continued to mount, the 2nd Battalion, 20th Infantry, had only about two hundred effectives by the end of the day but many of the losses were not due to Japanese action. Many men were evacuated over the now secured supply route to the top of the hill as they fell from exhaustion or became sick. On the beach west of Rocky Point Companies I and K, 1st Infantry, had little success in expanding their beachhead. The tanks proved useless in the area and were therefore withdrawn to Maffin No. 1. The two infantry companies, pinned down during the morning, kept up a continuous mortar barrage against Japanese positions in the swamp to the south, against the western cliff of Lone Tree Hill, and, when certain such fire would not endanger troops atop the hill, against the northwest corner of Rocky Point. This mortar fire, coupled with the operations on the plateau, began to have the desired effect during the afternoon, and Companies I and K were able to push their defenses beyond the narrow beachhead slightly southward and westward and toward the shore beneath Rocky Point. Once or twice during the afternoon, patrols were able to reach the top of Lone Tree Hill from the northwest corner of the point and established contact with 20th Infantry units. Late in the afternoon Company M, 1st Infantry, operating from the east side of the point, managed to push a patrol around the shore to establish contact with Company K. Though Companies I and K could find little tangible evidence of the results of their operations, they had actually wiped out the 223rd Infantry's defense force in the area just west of Lone Tree Hill. By dusk on the 25th, it had become obvious that the combined efforts of the 3rd Battalion, 1st Infantry, and the 2nd and 3rd Battalions, 20th Infantry, had either cleared out the northern half of Lone Tree Hill or had forced the Japanese to withdraw. The latter conclusion was the more nearly correct. The 36th Division decided on 25 June to withdraw the bulk of the Center and Right Sector Forces west of the Woske River and establish new defensive positions, thereby keeping the 223rd Infantry, the bulk of which had not been committed to action in the Lone Tree Hill area, more or less intact. Only the remnants of the 224th Infantry were to remain east of the Woske, and they were to withdraw into rough terrain southwest of Mt. Saksin. At nightfall on the 25th, General Sibert estimated that his three forward battalions had lost approximately 140 men killed and 850 wounded and evacuated, including those who had to be sent back to the rear because of wounds, sickness, heat exhaustion, or psychoneurotic disorders. Known Japanese dead in the northern part of the hill numbered 344, but it could not be estimated how many more had been thrown over the west cliff, sealed in caves, or carried off by withdrawing remnants of the Japanese defense force. According to Japanese sources, the Japanese had lost about 500 men killed and another 300 wounded in the Lone Tree Hill-Hill 225-Mt. Saksin area.   I would like to take this time to remind you all that this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Please go subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry after that, give my personal channel a look over at The Pacific War Channel at Youtube, it would mean a lot to me. The Chinese were accredited with the fall of Moguang despite the Chindits taking the lionshare of the fighting. Things were advancing very well for the allies in the new Biak front. As for the battle for Lone Tree Hill, it was a costly one, and not one the Americans or Japanese would soon forget.   

Last time we spoke about the Siege of Myitkyina. General Vinegar Joe made huge gains in northern Burma. Myitkyina's airstrip was taken, now the main town was under siege. The Japanese resistance around Kamaing was greatly reduced. However setbacks were also seen, such as the Chindits abandonment of the Blackpool stronghold, prompting Stiwell to toss a new attack at Mogaung. Likewise American officers embedded with the Chinese units were sending reports of how the Chinese were suffering very heavy casualties and utilizing far too much ammunition for their objectives. Regardless, it seemed the Ledo Road to China was going to pan out. Calvert chose a new stronghold location, this time at Lakum, where his Chindits faced heavy resistance. Over on New Guinea, the allies were advancing west of their new beachheads to assault Lone Tree Hill. Soon assaults against Arare and Biak would also be made. This episode is the Landing against Biak Welcome to the Pacific War Podcast Week by Week, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about world war two? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on world war two and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel you can find a few videos all the way from the Opium Wars of the 1800's until the end of the Pacific War in 1945.  In the last episode, plans were made for an amphibious assault against Biak, yet there were some hiccups. The Hurricane Task Force staged at Humboldt Bay, were facing issues with terrain. Terrain considerations forced most of the task force to assemble on the southern of the two sand spits dividing Humboldt and Jautefa Bays. On this spit the beach had a steep slope which made it impossible for more than a very few LST's to be held against the shore line long enough to load bulk stores. The LST's had to beach on the northern spit, where clearing and salvage after the fires and explosions which had ravaged that beach during the early phases of the Hollandia operation had not been completed. In addition, the northern spit was being used to unload supplies destined to be used at Hollandia, to load supplies being sent to the Tornado Task Force at Wakde-Sarmi, and to unload cargo for the Hurricane Task Force. No road connected the northern and southern sandspits. Consequently, most of the supplies and equipment, as well as many of the troops, had to be transported by water from the southern to the northern loading area. There were only a few LCT's available for this work and only by working twenty-four hours a day, were all the troops and supplies transported to the loading beach in time for departure on the 25th.  Finally, General Fuller's task force would depart the bay on the evening of May 25th, covered by Admiral Fectheler's cruisers and destroyers. Taking the most direct route, the convoy would be able to arrive off Biak on the morning of May 27th. At the time, Biak was held by the Biak Detachment, under Colonel Kuzume Naoyoki. It consisted of the 222nd Regiment; the 19th Guard Unit; and some rear echelon, service, and construction units. There were 10000 IJA personnel, 4000 were combat troops in total and 2000 IJN personnel, 125 were combat troops in total. In view of the intense enemy concentration on the Sorido-Mokmer airfield sector, Colonel Kuzume decided on May 22nd to shift the operational center of gravity of the detachment to the west. The 1st Battalion, 222nd Infantry, was relieved of its mission in the sector east of Opiaref and sent to replace the naval garrison unit in the Bosnek sector. The naval troops were, in turn, shifted westward into the Sorido airfield sector, while the tank company was brought over from Arfak Saba and assembled in the area northwest of Mokmer airfield. Although most of the Japanese efforts had been directed to the construction of airfields, Kuzume had ably managed to build a system of strong cave positions.  In this amphitheater-like terrain and along the low ridge, both of which were covered with thick growth, the Biak Detachment emplaced many field artillery and antiaircraft weapons. There were also many automatic weapons and a few mortars. All these weapons were located within range of Mokmer Drome and most of them could also fire on Borokoe Drome. The key to Colonel Kuzume's defenses in this area was the West Caves area, located about 50 yards north of the low ridge and about 1200 yards north of the western end of Mokmer Drome. The West Caves were actually three large sumps, or depressions in the ground, which were connected by underground tunnels and caverns. The caves were ringed with pillboxes, bunkers, and foxholes, and an extensive system of coral and log emplacements was built along the spur ridge above Mokmer Drome. Biak naval headquarters was originally located in the West Caves, which could shelter 1000 men, and Colonel Kuzume planned to move Biak Detachment headquarters to the caves for the final defense of the airdromes. As long as the West Caves and the positions along the low ridge were occupied by the Japanese, Allied planes could not safely use the airfields. Chief of Staff of 2nd Area Army, Lieutenant-General Numata Takazo and Rear-Admiral Senda Sadatoshi, Commander of the 28th Special Base Force, with HQ at Manokwari had come to visit the garrison just as the Allies were preparing to invade, with Numata choosing to stay on the island to direct the battle alongside the resourceful Kuzume. Yet all of the Japanese at Biak were about to be caught with their pants down as many of their troops were scattered about the island. The Biak Detachment would not be in their defensive positions on Z Day but were apparently being held mobile. Detachment headquarters, the 1st Battalion of the 222nd Infantry about half of the 19th Naval Guard Unit, and miscellaneous service organizations were all located in a cave and garden area on the inland plateau about 3,000 yards north-northwest of Bosnek. Outposts at Saba and Opiaref were held by the 1st Company, 222nd Infantry, and a platoon of the 2nd Company was stationed along the main ridge behind Bosnek. The bulk of the 2nd Battalion, the rest of the naval guard unit, and some naval antiaircraft organizations were located at the East Caves. Naval headquarters, various naval service units, and the 6th Company, 222nd Infantry, were at the West Caves. Most of the army service units were at Mokmer Drome or disposed along the low ridge north of that field. The bulk of the 3rd Battalion was posted at the west end of the same airfield. One platoon of the 10th Company was at Sorido, guarding the southern terminus of a trail which led north across the island to Korim Bay. The tanks had not yet moved to Saba but were assembled on the terrace north of the eastern end of Mokmer Drome. On the morning of May 27, Fechteler carried out his naval fire support as planned and General Kenney's bombers also launched their air bombardment, receiving little answering fire from the surprised Japanese shore installations. Yet there was a westerly current off Biak that would push the transports over 3000 yards to the west, which would complicate the landings. A rocket-equipped LCI, which began firing on the beaches about H minus 4 minutes, led the first LVT wave toward the shore. The LCI fire, consisting of rockets and fire from automatic weapons, continued until H plus 2 minutes, when it was lifted because it began to endanger the troops who were unloading and pushing inland. The first waves of LVTs then formed rapidly and crossed the line of departure; but because of the westerly current and the smoke and dust raised by the preliminary bombardment, they would end up landing on a mangrove swamp almost 3000 yards west of Green Beach 4. Nevertheless, by 7:30, the 2nd Battalion, 186th Regiment had successfully landed and was pushing beyond the swamps to the main coastal road connecting Bosnek and the airfields. Five minutes later, Companies I and K of Colonel Newman's 186th Regiment also landed about 700 yards east of the 2nd Battalion. Realizing about the westerly current, Fechteler then started to turn succeeding waves eastward to the proper beaches, with the troops coming ashore in disorder for the next thirty minutes.  With more than half of his regiment already far west of the proper landing beaches, and knowing that the landing had become disorganized and that the rest of the boat waves were being delayed, Colonel Newman asked the task force commander if the 186th Regiment should continue with its original mission or whether it might be feasible to switch missions with the 162nd Regiment and start moving west toward the airfields. General Fuller, the Task Force commander, ordered the 186th Regiment to continue with its original mission. As events turned out, it might have been better had the regiment continued west, and it is possible that a great deal of time might have been saved if the missions had been switched. In the first place, the maps with which the task force was supplied were so inaccurate that both regiments soon came upon terrain features that threw much planning out of gear. Secondly, most of the 186th Regiment had landed so far west that both it and the 162nd consumed much valuable time getting to their proper locations. Finally, an exchange of missions might have been executed without much difficulty, for, in amphibious training, the 41st Division had learned to switch missions when such mistakes were made. Luckily, the landings would face no opposition, though the confusion would give Kuzume time to prepare his defense. By 8:00, the rest of Newman's 3rd Battalion had landed to secure the jetties; and by 10:30, Companies I and K arrived to take their position west of Old Jetty. Entangled with the landed artillery and tanks, the 2nd Battalion would only be able to reach the area east of New Jetty by noon, then sending patrols to the north and east to secure the Bosnek perimeter. The face of the coral ridge behind Bosnek was found to be rough and honeycombed with small caves. Companies F and G, aided by elements of the Support Battery, 542nd Engineer Boat and Shore Regiment, sent patrols along the steep slope and to the top of the ridge to investigate many of the caves, most of which proved to be unoccupied, though three Japanese were killed near caves directly north of New Jetty. The companies moved over the first slope to a second ridge line which was parallel to and about seventy-five yards north of the first. Company G started looking for a trail which was thought to lead over the ridges to the plateau north of Bosnek, but it was Company E which, shortly after noon, found the ill-defined track. A few Japanese from the 2nd Company, 222nd Regiment in a pillbox temporarily prevented the two companies from securing the trail, which was not cleared until 2:00 hours, after the pillbox had been destroyed. During the late afternoon, patrols were sent north of the ridges to the area which the Japanese had surveyed for an airdrome. A few Japanese , most of whom fled upon being sighted, were found at the airdrome site, but there were no signs of large organized enemy groups north, northeast, or east of Bosnek insofar as the 186th Infantry could ascertain. The only enemy action during this day would be an air attack by four Japanese bombers.  A few enemy planes which flew over Biak around noon fled before anti-aircraft guns from ship or shore could be brought to bear. But all anti-aircraft crews were on the alert to expect further Japanese air action late in the afternoon. Because of the difference in time of sunset at the closest Allied and Japanese bases, Japanese aircraft could remain in the Biak area about half an hour after Allied planes had to leave. The expected attacks developed shortly after 4:00, when four Japanese two-engined bombers, accompanied by three or four fighters, approached the beachhead from the north, flying low over the ridge behind Bosnek and thus escaping radar detection. Some excellent targets were ready for the Japanese. Admiral Fechteler had permitted four LST's to tie up side by side at one of the jetties. Although he knew this move to be tactically unsound, he considered it justified because of the importance of the cargo aboard the LST's and because the jetty provided the only good spot for LST beaching. The Japanese bombing was accurate, but the LST's were lucky. None of the Japanese bombs exploded! Though the Japanese planes also bombed and strafed the beaches, none of the bombs dropped ashore exploded, while the strafing runs killed only one man and wounded two others. All four bombers were shot down by ground or ship-based antiaircraft, and the Japanese fighters were driven off by some Allied fighter planes which had remained late in the area. One Japanese bomber crashed into the water, sideswiping an SC which was standing offshore. Two of the ship's crew were killed and nine wounded. The SC had to be towed away for repairs, and a few other naval vessels suffered minor damage from strafing. There was negligible damage to supplies and equipment ashore. Total Allied losses as a result of the air raid were three killed and fourteen wounded, most of them naval personnel. Unloading also progressed satisfactorily, with 12000 men, 12 medium tanks, 29 artillery pieces, about 500 vehicles, and an estimated 3000 tons of bulk cargo being landed by 5:15. Meanwhile, Colonel Haney's 162nd Regiment had begun landing shortly after 9:00 and immediately started moving west along the main coastal road towards Biak's three airdromes. Moving with speed, the 3rd Battalion passed through Ibdi village at 10:30 and then began to traverse the difficult Parai Defile. At 11:15, the regimental Intelligence and Reconnaissance Platoon discovered an enemy position on the face of the cliff west of Ibdi, that the 162nd Infantry first learned of the existence of the Parai Defile. At 1:00 the 3rd Battalion, with six tanks of the 603rd Tank Company leading the advance, arrived at the eastern entrance to the defile. There was no large Japanese force stationed along the cliff, but the few Japanese had such a tactical advantage over troops moving along the coastal road that they were able to delay the 162nd Infantry's advance for some time. Meanwhile Company E, which had been attempting to advance along the ridge north of the rest of the regiment, had found that the terrain and thick vegetation made progress along that route next to impossible. Since the company was lagging far behind the rest of the advance and since strong enemy opposition had not yet been encountered either inland or on the coastal route, it withdrew to join the rest of the 2nd Battalion on the beach, and by the time that battalion had reached Parai, Company E was back in place.  By 3:00, the 3rd Battalion had successfully pushed through the defile and had secured Parai and a large jetty at that village. Progress west of the Parai Defile was without noteworthy incident during the rest of the afternoon, so Haney's 2nd and 3rd Battalion would be able to dig in at Parai by nightfall. On the other side, Kuzume was surprised by the landings, but he was expecting the enemy to land exactly there, where the extreme narrowness of the beach and the few entrances inland would make deployment difficult. Deciding to seize this momentary advantage, he thus ordered his 1st and 3rd Battalions to carry out an attack all along the Bosnek beachhead during the night. On the 3rd Battalion front, after an unsuccessful raid against two batteries near Ibdi. Then the 3rd Battalion, 222nd Infantry , renewed the attack with grenades and rifle fire, some circling to the north around Battery C and a few others moving against Battery B, located 200 yards to the east. Attacks on Battery C continued until daylight, when the last Japanese withdrew. The action cost Battery C 4 men killed and 8 wounded, while a near-by antiaircraft detachment lost 1 man killed and 1 wounded. Over 15 of the enemy had been killed during the night and an unknown number wounded. The 1st Battalion also raided the beachhead, suffering many casualties as a result.  On the morning of May 28th, the 162nd then resumed its westward advance, with its 3rd Battalion rapidly proceeding through Mokmer village without opposition. By 9:30, however, the Americans began to face stiff resistance at a road junction nearly 1500 yards west of Mokmer. Supported by artillery, Company K would be able to push to within 200 yards of Mokmer Drome; yet Kuzume would rapidly counterattack them with his 2nd Battalion. Charging repeatedly, the Japanese would eventually force the Americans to pull back by noon, with Lieutenant Yokoyama Hideo dying heroically during these attacks. Emboldened by this success, Kuzume then launched an all out assault from the East Caves area. On the main ridge north of Mokmer the Japanese had another strongpoint east of the West Caves, which was called by the Japanese the East Caves. Behind Mokmer the ridge rose to a height of 240 feet. It was not so steep a cliff as the Parai Defile barricade, but it could not be climbed without the use of hands. About three quarters of the way to the top was a flat ledge from which two large caverns, similar to those in the West Caves area, could be entered. The Japanese constructed pillboxes on the ridge both below and above the ledge, and in the caverns they emplaced mortars, 20-mm. guns, and heavy machine guns. Observation posts were also set up at the East Caves, from which an unobstructed view of the coast from Parai to the west end of Mokmer Drome could be obtained. The Biak Detachment used the East Caves principally as living quarters, supply dumps, and as a connecting link between the Ibdi Pocket and the West Caves. Continued Japanese occupation of the East Caves would endanger Allied troop and supply movements along the coastal road from Parai to Mokmer Drome. The enemy threw more troops into the battle from the East Caves area until the attackers were coming not only from the west but also from the northwest and north. The Japanese split the 3rd Battalion by driving a wedge along the cliff between the troops on the shore and those on the terrace. Companies L and M were cut off. The 2nd Battalion, attempting to get on the terrace to the north of the 3rd Battalion, was pinned down by Japanese fire from the East Caves and was unable to advance. Company G, on the terrace north of the main road and between the 2nd and 3rd Battalions, was also cut off. In response to the attacks, Haney ordered the 1st Battalion to move north from Parai onto the main coastal ridge to outflank the enemy positions, but efforts to do so were halted by enemy fire from the East Caves. Two companies patrolled in the broken terrain along the main ridge but were unable to move westward. Most of Company L and the Company M detachment which was also on the coral terrace managed to find a covered route back to the rest of the 3rd Battalion on the shore, but one platoon, initially surrounded, had to fight its way eastward into the lines of the 2nd Battalion, north of Mokmer village. Company G, on the terrace north of the main road and between the 2nd and 3rd Battalions, was also cut off and withdrew to the 2nd Battalion only with difficulty, and after it had suffered many casualties from Japanese fire. During the afternoon the 3rd Battalion stood off two more concerted enemy counterattacks, one at 12:00 and another shortly after 2:00, and suffered more casualties from the enemy mortar and artillery fire. During the latter attack, the Japanese began moving some light tanks forward from the Mokmer Drome area. The 3rd Platoon, 603rd Tank Company, engaged these tanks at a range of 1,200 yards and, with the aid of fire from destroyers lying offshore, drove the enemy tanks back into defilade positions. Three tanks of the 603rd were damaged by Japanese artillery fire and three men of the same organization were wounded during the action. Meanwhile, General Fuller had decided to reinforce the 3rd Battalion, 162nd Infantry. The 1st Platoon, 603rd Tank Company, moved west along the coastal road. At the same time small boats manned by the 542nd Engineer Boat and Shore Regiment were also sent forward with ammunition and medical supplies, both dangerously low. The small craft moved along the shore out of range of Japanese mortar and artillery fire until opposite the 3rd Battalion's position and then shot inshore at full speed, one by one. Supplies were replenished and the worst casualties evacuated despite continued shelling of the 3rd Battalion's position by the Japanese. The 1st and 2nd Battalions continued their efforts to clear the Japanese from the terrace behind the 3rd but met with little success. By late afternoon, just as the 3rd Battalion's position was becoming untenable, Fuller gave up plans for further attempts at reinforcement and ordered Haney to withdraw his 3rd Battalion. The withdrawal started slowly because communications difficulties still prevented concentration of supporting fires. However, at 5:00 the regimental commander finally ordered the 3rd Battalion to start moving back along the coastal road. Tanks were to act as point, and rear guard and close-in artillery fire was substituted for a disengaging force. The battalion was to continue eastward until it had passed through the 2nd, which was setting up a new defensive position east of Mokmer village. The men of the 3rd Battalion moved in small parties along the beach and main road, which was intermittently swept by Japanese mortar, machine gun, and rifle fire. Many troops were unable to use the main road, but had to drop down to the beach below the overhanging cliff. Four tanks brought up the rear and protected the north flank. Between 1830 and 1900 all elements of the 3rd Battalion reached safety beyond the 2nd Battalion's lines and began digging in for the night east of the latter unit. Casualties for the day, almost all of them suffered by the 3rd Battalion, were 16 killed and 87 wounded. Facing strong resistance, he also decided to commit his tank company to the attack. At around 8:00, new waves of Japanese infantry, now supported by four tanks, appeared west and north of the 2nd Battalion, thus beginning the first tank battle of the war in the Southwest Pacific Area. The 2nd Battalion, 162nd Infantry, with the 1st Platoon, 603rd Tank Company, in support, was astride the main coastal road 1,000 yards east of Mokmer. The battalion's left flank was on the beach while its right was against the coastal cliff and less than forty yards inland. Between the beach and the cliff was a coconut grove. The main coastal road crossed the rise of the cliff at a point about 475 yards west of the 2nd Battalion's lines. Shortly after 8:00 the Japanese tanks, followed by an infantry column, advanced down the incline where the main road crossed the cliff and deployed in echelon left formation in the coconut grove. The Japanese vehicles were light tanks, Type 95, weighing about nine tons, carrying a crew of three men, and armed with one 37-mm. cannon and two 7.7-mm. machine guns. They were opposed by two General Sherman M4A1 medium tanks, the heaviest armament on which was the 75-mm. Each Japanese tank was stopped by one round of 75-mm. armor-piercing ammunition, while the enemy infantry was literally mowed down by the machine guns and mortars of the 2nd Battalion, 162nd Infantry. Armor-piercing 75-mm. shells passed right through the Japanese light tanks, and the Shermans followed with a few rounds of 75-mm. high explosive, which tore holes in the Japanese vehicles and blew loose their turrets. During this action several hits scored on the Shermans by the Japanese 37-mm. guns caused no damage. About thirty minutes after the first attack the Japanese sent in a second wave of three tanks, which used the same route of approach and the same formation in the coconut grove. These three were quickly destroyed by three Shermans. One enemy 37-mm. shell locked the 75-mm. gun of one Sherman in place, but the American tank backed part way into a shell hole to obtain elevation for its weapon and, despite the damage, managed to destroy one of the enemy tanks. The Japanese tanks having been stopped and the leading elements of the second infantry wave killed, the attack disintegrated and the enemy withdrew. For an hour or so the Japanese were quiet, but late in the morning, under the cover of machine gun fire and mortar barrages, they began to circle north of the 2nd and 3rd Battalions, 162nd Infantry. New infantry attacks began about 12:00. The enemy was unable to dislodge the 162nd Infantry, but his mortar fire caused many casualties within the regimental perimeter and the Japanese managed to cut the coast road east of a large T-jetty at Parai. Company B and the Cannon Company counterattacked the Japanese roadblock behind close-in mortar support and succeeded in dislodging the enemy by fire and movement. During the afternoon of May 29, the 162nd thus moved back to Parai, where the 2nd Battalion and two companies boarded some amphibious craft back to Bosnek while the rest of the regiment moved overland through the Parai Defile and took up positions at Ibdi The 162nd Infantry's casualties during the day were 16 killed, 96 wounded, and 3 injured. The regiment estimated that it had killed over 500 Japanese during the day. Though Kuzume's forces had suffered massive casualties, they had heroically managed to stop the enemy advance and would subsequently push troops forward to Parai and into the cliffs along the Parai Defile. They would however also lose most of their armor during these attacks. Only five tanks survived and were withdrawn to the West Caves. Pending the arrival of reinforcements, General Fuller planned to use his available troops to hold the west flank at Ibdi and expand the beachhead at Bosnek. The 162nd Infantry was to establish a semicircular perimeter beginning on the beach west of Ibdi, reaching north to the main ridge, and returning to the beach at the village. The 1st Battalion, 186th Infantry, would maintain a perimeter around Mandom, where the Hurrican Task Force HQ was located, while the 3rd Battalion moved over the ridge behind Bosnek to set up defenses on the inland plateau. The 2nd Battalion, with part of the 3rd attached, would remain at the Bosnek beachhead. During this period, the 800 well-armed men of the 3rd Battalion, 222nd Infantry in the Ibdi Pocket, made only harassing attacks with small groups against the positions of the 162nd Infantry. On 30th and 31st of May the 162nd Infantry patrolled around the main ridge near Ibdi for a route over which large bodies of troops might move north to the inland plateau in preparation for the second attack westward. During the course of this patrolling, it was discovered that the main ridge from Bosnek to the Parai Defile actually comprised a series of seven sharp coral ridges, the crests of which were 50-75 yards apart and separated by gullies 50-100 feet deep. These separate ridges were honeycombed with small natural caves, potholes, and crevices. There was little soil on most of the coral, yet the area maintained a cover of dense rain forest containing trees 8-20 inches thick and 100-150 feet high. The 162nd Infantry discovered two native trails over the ridges. The most easterly of these, designated "Old Man's Trail," began on the beach road about 1,200 yards west of Mandom. It was a fairly well defined track which swung north over the seven ridges along a comparatively easy route. Another track began 1,200 yards to the west, near Ibdi. Called "Young Man's Trail," the latter followed a very difficult route over the ridges to the inland plateau. Both of these trails ran through the outer defenses of the Ibdi Pocket, into which the Biak Detachment, on 30 May, moved the 3rd Battalion, 222nd Infantry. On 30 and 31 May the 162nd Infantry's patrols along the ridges north of Ibdi and Mandom were harassed by the Japanese in the Ibdi Pocket, which had not yet been recognized as a major enemy strong point. On 30 May the 162nd Infantry located a water hole near the beach terminal of Old Man's Trail. A regimental water point established there was constantly harassed by Japanese rifle fire from the Ibdi Pocket area or by small enemy parties which moved down out of the ridges north of Ibdi and Mandom. The Cannon Company, 162nd Infantry, was therefore assigned the missions of clearing the enemy from the water point area and protecting that important installation from Japanese attacks. Halfway through the Parai Defile, a little over a mile west of the 162nd Infantry's main perimeter, an underground stream ran from the base of the cliff into Soanggarai Bay. At the point where the main road crossed the stream, the 162nd Infantry set up an ambush to prevent Japanese infiltration from the west along the beach. The ambush site was also used as a patrol base from which small parties reconnoitered along the cliffs of the Parai Defile to discover enemy dispositions in the area. Patrolling on 30th and 31st of May cost the 162nd Infantry 6 men killed, 17 wounded, and 4 injured. On the main coastal ridge between the village of Ibdi and the Parai Defile the Biak Detachment developed another center of resistance which came to be known as the Ibdi Pocket. The terrain in the area was a series of knifelike east-west ridges separated by depressions and crevices up to fifty feet deep. These ridges were connected in places by cross-ridges, and the entire area was covered with thick rain forest and dense jungle undergrowth which had found a foothold in the coral. Pillboxes of coral and logs, hasty emplacements of the same materials, small caves and crevices, and foxholes at the bases of large trees were all utilized by the enemy to defend the area. Back to the Wakde-Sarmi area, General Patrick was preparing to launch another assault on Lone Tree Hill. On the morning of May 27th at 7:00 two destroyers, firing on Lone Tree Hill and the Maffin Strip area, started scheduled fire support for the day's advance. Artillery and infantry action on this morning was much more closely coordinated than on the previous day. The destroyer fire lasted until 7:45, at which time the field artillery and all the 81-mm. mortars of the 158th Infantry laid concentrations on suspected and known enemy positions in the defile, on Lone Tree Hill, and on Hill 225. After this Colonel Herndon sent his 1st Battalion against the defile between Lone Tree Hill and the eastern nose of Mount Saksin and his 2nd Battalion against Hill 225. At 8:30 Company F, moving around Company E on the south flank, started its attack. Behind close artillery support, apparently controlled by artillery liaison planes for the most part, Company F pushed up a terrain feature initially believed to be Hill 225. It was not discovered until late the next day that F Company was actually on the eastern nose of Mt. Saksin and about 700 yards east of its reported location. Since artillery fire had knocked out two enemy machine gun nests which had been delaying the advance, patrols of Company F were able to reach the top of the eastern ridge. The rest of the company moved up the hill at 10:00; encountering scattered rifle fire from enemy positions to the southwest. Company E, just before noon, arrived atop the same hill on F's right. Company E had orders to secure the southern slopes of the defile between Hill 225 and Lone Tree Hill. Company B, still at the eastern entrance to the defile, was again unable to make any progress and during the morning was held up by machine gun and mortar fire from concealed enemy positions on the southern and southwestern slopes of Lone Tree Hill. No sooner had some of these positions been eliminated by American artillery and mortar fire than Company B was subjected to enemy machine gun and mortar fire originating from the northeast side of Hill 225, the reported location of Companies E and F. Actually, the artillery fire had not been entirely effective, because it had not reached into deep draws or caves in which many of the Japanese weapons were emplaced. Company E, attempting to move down the northern slopes of the eastern ridge to Company B's aid, was soon forced back by enemy rifle fire and infantry counterattacks from the west. At the same time small parties of Japanese, under cover of their own machine guns, started a series of minor counterattacks against Company B. Company F did not become engaged in this action. Instead, the company dug in on the ridge it was holding and sent patrols to the south and west to probe Japanese defenses. It was soon discovered that the combination of rugged terrain and Japanese machine gun and rifle fire limited patrolling to a very small area. North of Company B, Company A patrolled along the west bank of the Snaky River and on the eastern slope of Lone Tree Hill during the morning and early afternoon. About 4:30 the company moved in force up Lone Tree, finding the eastern slope of the hill to be unoccupied. Most of the fire that had harassed the company during the morning had apparently originated on the beach below the northern face of Lone Tree Hill. For the night the unit dug in at the crest of the hill. Again, little ground had been gained, although the eastern nose of Mr. Saksin and Lone Tree Hill had been at least partially occupied. At the same time, Patrick was informed that two battalions of the 163rd Regiment would be shipped to Biak to reinforce Fuller on June 1st, with General Krueger also preparing the 6th Division led by Major General Franklin Silbert  to be dispatched to Wakde to replace the 163rd. Yet before this could occur, Colonel Matsuyama crossed the Tementoe River and launched a surprise night attack against Toem. During pitch-black night at 8:30, an estimated 100 Japs struck 1st Battalion's area. Divided into small groups, but in two major commands, they carried grappling hooks, knives, grenades, knee-mortars, and rifles. Their grappling hooks had two prongs, like anchors and were attached to long ropes by which they could pull to explode booby traps harmlessly. A knee mortar barrage began the attack. While their mortars drove the men to ground, their grappling hooks caught booby trap wires and exploded attached grenades. They struck from southeast and southwest, two different commands about 150 yards apart. First command shouted wildly and threw grenades. They fired a light machine gun down A Company's street and holed up their tents. But this command's howling rush with grenades was just a feint to cause confusion. The second command, around 35-40,  made the main drive. Easily they broke through 1st Battalion's far-spread perimeter holes. An estimated 25 made the serious penetration. They were trying to reach the Regimental command post to kill the top officers. Some of the staff officers were actually cut off outside their holes in a tent and actually unarmed. Ten Japanese almost reached the command post before they were cut down. Such was the official report, but 163rd men said that they tried to blow up the motor poo, nearly 100 of them. From a slit trench, four blazing M-1s stopped them, from the motor pool chief Staff Sergeant Burton, Staff Sergeant Engbretson, T/4 Switzer, and T/5 Donakowski. They piled up 13 dead Japanese, the last just 20 feet away. On a whistle signal, all Matsuyama's men withdrew. The wild attack prompted Patrick to not to ship the 163rd towards Biak. The following morning, after another well-timed preliminary artillery bombardment, Herndon once again threw his forces against the Ilier Mountains, yet the result was the same as before. Nonetheless, his troops would be able to cover the amphibious arrival of two tanks to aid in further attacks; but with the situation soon becoming untenable because of strong Japanese counterattacks, all his companies ultimately had to withdraw to the Snaky River line. On May 29th, Krueger finally notified Patrick that the two battalions of the 163rd would have to leave for Biak the next day, so this would force Patrick to cease offensive action and withdraw the 1st Battalion, 158th Regiment back to Arare. Yet further Japanese counterattacks also forced Herndon to withdraw his remaining forces to the Maffin area as well, where he would form a new defensive line.  Patrick ultimately disagreed with Herndon's decision to retreat, judging the withdrawal to be unwarranted and would relieve Herndon of his command, replacing him with Colonel Earle Sandlin. Colonel Herndon's fears of attack along his line of communications had been well taken, for the Right Sector Force had begun flanking movements designed to recapture the entire Maffin Bay area. However, the combat engineers quickly proved their versatility by driving off the enemy force with rifle, carbine, and machine gun fire. Five of the engineers were killed. Enemy casualties could not be estimated since the Japanese removed their dead and wounded during the night. The remainder of the night was more quiet, and the next morning the defenses along the Tirfoam were improved. There were a couple of minor attacks during the afternoon and desultory rifle and 70-mm. or 75-mm. artillery fire was directed against all American units still west of the Tor. The 147th Field Artillery Battalion, withdrawing to the east bank of the Tor late in the afternoon, was struck by some of this enemy artillery fire and lost one man killed. A new defensive line along the Tirfoam was being developed on May 30th as the bulk of the 163rd Regiment would depart for Biak. This left Patrick's forces spread out over almost twelve miles of coastline, just as Colonel Yoshino was about to launch his night attack. After the difficult river crossing, the 223rd Regiment had spent three days moving into the jungle southwest of Arara, from where they launched a series of simultaneous attacks against some anti-aircraft positions along the beach.  A 6:05 on June 30th, a guard at B Battery's Position No 6 challenged two men in the jungle across the beach road. Other Japanese were moving west down the road. When they did not answer his challenge, he fired, and hit the ground. Instantly, Japanese machine guns, rifles, mortars, and even grenades hit the B-6 position. The anti-aircraft men killed 10 Japs, but one heavy machine gun jammed. The second gun became overheated and had to cease fire. The Japanese were hard to hit in the dark. They were heavily camouflaged with leaves and nets down to their hips. After one American was killed, the anti-aircraft men left their emplacement and fled 500 yards east on the beach road to Battery A's Position 7. Joined with the men of A-7 - they had already stopped one attack - the B-6 men helped fight about 15-25 Japanese. From 6:40 to 4:30 next day, the Japanese struck intermittently, but rifle and machine guns fire repelled them. About 500 yards west of the B-6 position where the first attack had occurred, Battery A-6 also endured harassment from Japanese mortar, rifle, and machine gun fire. At least twice, the gunners repulsed attacks. A fourth position, Battery B-8, which was 400 yards west of A-6, was assailed about 6:30 also. The anti-aircraft men's .50 multiple heavy machine gun became overheated and jammed. Rifle ammo was running out. Scurrying from the gun-pit, they took cover in the shore brush until the Japanese left at 4:30. All attacks began about the same time, about 8:30, and some men glimpsed a Jap officer with his saber who was giving orders. All Japanese dead had rolls of white gauze in their mouths, and the Japanese officer had completely covered his lower face. The Americans thought that they used these means to prevent them from shouting or screaming when they were wounded. While they attacked the anti-aircraft batteries, Yoshino's men also tried to storm 1st Battalion 158 Infantry protecting Task Force Headquarters and the supply dumps. About 7:00, rifle and machine gun fire began impacting 1st Battalion positions. A captured heavy machine gun fired also. At 10:00 came a furious suicidal attack against B Company - beaten off with rifles, grenades, bayonets, pistols, and even knives. They failed to fire the supply dumps with demolition charges and Molotov cocktails. In the end, the Americans miraculously only lost 12 killed and 10 wounded while inflicting heavy casualties on the enemy. But fearing more enemy attacks, Patrick would decide to reduce the number of separate perimeters along the beach, from 21 to only 8.  The bulk of the 158th had to withdraw behind the Tor, leaving only its 2nd Battalion west of the river to secure the bridgehead. Facing little resistance, the Japanese recaptured Maffin, though they would be unable to push Sandlin's troops behind the river. Yoshino and Matsuyama were unable to coordinate their efforts however, allowing the Americans to continue to strengthen their defenses for the next few days, with the Japanese only able to launch nightly raiding attacks that were easily repelled. On June 5, the first units of Major-General Franklin Sibert's 6th Division then began to arrive, freeing up the 158th to continue with its offensive.  Sandlin then launched an attack with his 1st and 2nd Battalions supported by tanks crossing the Tor to attack Maffin on June 8, meeting increasingly strong enemy resistance from a line of hastily-repaired bunkers and pillboxes. The tanks were able to reduce the Japanese defenses due to their strong firepower, but not before the Americans had to dig in by nightfall.  The night passed without incident and early on June 9th patrols began to probe westward toward the Tirfoam. Scouts reported that the Japanese were holding another defense line, including reoccupied bunkers, on a slight rise at the west bank of the river. About 10:00, tank-infantry teams began to destroy the Japanese-held positions along the new line. While tank 75-mm fire was destroying bunkers or forcing the Japanese to seek cover, infantrymen crept forward to toss grenades into bunker gun ports or shoot down Japanese who tried to escape from the area. While these tank-infantry team operations were taking place, the rest of the two infantry battalions rested. Japanese 75-mm. fire, from a weapon emplaced on the beach between the Snaky River and Lone Tree Hill, harassed the 1st Battalion for a while, but this fire was summarily stopped when a 155-mm howitzer of the 218th Field Artillery Battalion scored a direct hit on the enemy piece. By 11:30 the enemy defensive positions had been cleaned out and the 1st and 2nd Battalions resumed the advance westward. Aided by fire from the 147th Field Artillery, which had supplanted the 167th in the close support role, the two infantry units probed cautiously forward, and it was not until 3:30 that both reached the east bank of the Tirfoam. Opposition was scattered, but the American units lost 6 men killed and 6 wounded. It was estimated that 50 of the enemy had been killed and one was captured. At this point, the 158th would have to stop its advance because they received new orders from Krueger, who planned to employ the regiment for an assault on Noemfoor Island, 300 miles northwest of Sarmi, in late June or early July. As such, advances west of the Tirfoam would be postponed until a second combat team of the 6th Division could arrive in the area to relieve the 158th in mid-June.  General Sibert assumed command of the Tornado Task Force on June 12th. On 10 and 11th June the 158th Infantry limited its activities to patrolling, consolidating defensive positions, and driving Japanese outposts westward. One outpost, lying southeast of the 2nd Battalion, was manned by about a hundred Japanese and had to be cleared by tank fire and infantry assault. The Japanese, who were members of a 223rd Infantry company assigned to the Right Sector Force, fled toward Mr. Saksin, leaving behind 4 heavy machine guns, 1 light machine gun, 2 70-mm. howitzers, and 1 37-mm. antitank gun. On 14 June the 20th Infantry, 6th Division, relieved the 158th Infantry at the Tirfoam. The 158th recrossed the Tor and went into a defensive perimeter on the west bank of Tementoe Creek. Patrols sent south and east during the next week encountered a few stragglers from the Japanese garrison at Hollandia or from the Matsuyama Force. On the 22nd the entire regimental combat team was relieved of all combat responsibility in the Wakde-Sarmi area and began final preparations for the Noemfoor Island operation. During its operations in the Wakde-Sarmi area the 158th Regimental Combat Team lost 70 men killed, 257 wounded, and 4 missing. The unit took 11 Japanese prisoners and estimated that it killed 920 of the enemy. With their supply line compromised, Yoshino and Matsuyama would also decide to withdraw from their present positions about this time, which would allow the 36th Division to establish better defensive positions in the Ilier Mountains line. Yet that is all for Operation Tornado and Hurricane for now, as we now need to head over to the Imphal-Kohima front. By June, the situation at Manipur saw General Slim's 14th Army losing all of their advantages. Despite the extreme odds, with a slim chance of success, General Mutaguchi continued his wild attacks against Imphal. As it was, the two armies had been battling it out in difficult terrain and conditions. There were the steep and often jungle-covered hills, the heat for men not accustomed to it, the risk of tropical diseases like malaria and the leeches – not to mention the weeks and months of both physical and psychological strain from fighting a formidable enemy. The monsoon rains that began later in May only made matters worse. As the days passed by, the low-lying areas in the Imphal Valley would flood because of the downpours, while the streams and small rivers everywhere would become raging torrents. The water level of Loktak Lake would also rise, making it especially uncomfortable for the units of both sides dug in at some of the lakeside villages on the Tiddim Road. Dysentery and diarrhea became an ever-greater concern. Foot rot would start to set in for men in their flooded positions. The slopes in the hills became slippery and that much more treacherous to navigate. The incessant rains would dissolve stretches of ‘fairweather' roads and ‘jeepable' tracks into mud and slush everywhere, while triggering landslides in the hills. For the units on higher altitudes like the Shenam Saddle, Point 5846 and the Ukhrul area, the nights would become shockingly cold and damp, adding to their misery. Yet things were undoubtedly harder for the Japanese, who had carried few supplies and didn't expect to be strung out fighting for so long.  To the north, General Sato's 31st Division were withdrawing from Kohima towards Ukhrul, defying Mutaguchi's orders, with General Miyazaki providing rearguard at Viswema, whileGeneral Grover's 2nd Division pursued them. Miyazaki's men held out at Visweman until June 12th, before withdrawing to Maosongsang. Then they held out at Maosongsang until June 16, before retreating to the last holding position at Maram. Over to the south, General Brigg's 5th Division was engaging Colonel Matsumura's 60th Regiment, fighting brutally for control over the Imphal-Kohima road. The battered Japanese defenders were fighting tooth and nail to prevent the opening of this vital supply line.  The 9th and 123rd Brigades pushed on, they would only be able to capture the Zebra hill on June 7. The following day, the 3/14th Punjabis made a wide hook and arrived on the road behind Japanese lines by nightfall, where they would repel three heavy counterattacks. This would allow the 123rd to clear the hill positions near Modbung and link up with the Punjabis on June 11th. The 9th Brigade made great progress during these days, pushing on to Satarmaina by June 13th. General Gracey's 20th Division was also attacking towards the Ukhrul Road during this period, with the 80th Brigade advancing northwards from Kameng up the Iril River Valley on a wide encircling move towards Litan while the 100th Brigade attacked up the road towards Kasom. Though the 80th faced little resistance, the 100th would struggle to progress against the fierce counterattacks of the recently-arrived 67th Regiment. By mid-June, the 51st Regiment was also ordered to abandon its positions and support the 67th on the Ukhrul Road.  Over in the southwest front, the arrival of reinforcements in the form of the 2nd Battalion, under the command of Colonel Yanagisawa Kanji at the end of May, gave General Tanaka a gleam of hope that he could launch another offensive in early June. On June 6th, four battalions under Colonel Sasahara attacked the 63rd Brigade's hill positions, applying such great pressure, General Cowan was forced to withdraw his brigade to Bishenpur the following day. On June 7th, Tanaka ordered his recently-arrived reinforcements to clear Ningthoukhong and retake Potsangbam, yet their first coordinated attack would end in failure. The attack was almost single-handedly held by Sergeant Hanson Victor Turner of the 1st West Yorks. Defending his platoon's position on the perimeter, Turner grabbed some grenades and charged forward, throwing them at the Japanese. He did this five times, going back to gather grenades each time and returning to the attack in the face of Japanese grenade and small-arms fire. He was killed on the sixth occasion while throwing a grenade. For his bravery, Turner was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross. The Japanese eventually captured some ground in North Ningthoukhong, but withdrew after being struck from the air and shelled. In the meantime, after the Japanese defeat at the Gibraltar Box, the Yamamoto Detachment would continue to harass the British-Indian positions from Nippon and Scraggy Hills in early June. On the evening of June 9, the Japanese put in their last major attack on Scraggy, starting with a heavy artillery bombardment. Artillery concentrations were directed at the Japanese and an airstrike was made on their part of Scraggy and Lynch. The Gurkhas followed up with an advance. Although some ground was recovered, the Japanese maintained their grip on Scraggy's crest. Having suffered many casualties and feeling that the Gurkhas' new position was sufficiently strong, General Roberts then decided to halt the counterattacks, thus leaving General Yamamoto in control of Scraggy up until the end of July. Concurrently, as a last hope to break through towards Imphal, Mutaguchi was planning to conduct a desperate offensive on Palel with some reinforcements that would fail to arrive in time. Due to these delays, he would end up sending some of Yamamoto's exhausted troops to recover Langgol and advance to the hill northeast of Palel. The Japanese managed to get beyond Langgol and attack some positions in the foothills near Palel Airfield, but were soon rebuffed. They finally sent in a commando raid on the airfield in early July, which succeeded in blowing up eight planes. Over in Ningthoukhong, Tanaka launched another heavy assault on June 12th. Though a salient on the other side was initially captured, a ferocious counterattack would ultimately evict them. This action was performed by units of the 48th Brigade, including reinforcements sent from Potsangbam.  Rifleman Ganju Lama of the 1/7th Gurkha Rifles who earned a Victoria Cross in this action. To the west, Tanaka ordered the newly-arrived 151st Regiment of Colonel Hashimoto Kumakoro to attack the British picquets overlooking the Silchar Track. After a wave of assaults, Water Picquet would fall on June 21; yet the 32nd Brigade would respond immediately with a series of counterattacks that developed into confused fighting as positions were won and lost by both sides.  On the night of 25 June, no less than a company of Japanese began attacking Mortar Bluff, a picquet position bereft of cover and a short distance away from Water Picquet. It was held by a small garrison of some 40-odd men of the 2/5th Royal Gurkha Rifles who had replaced the 7/10th Baluchis. In pouring rain, the Japanese first bombarded the position with mortars and guns at point-blank range. For the next few hours, the infantry repeatedly attacked the surrounded and dwindling garrison. Subedar Netra Bahadur Thapa defended the besieged position almost through the night, organizing counter-attacks with whatever ammunition and grenades his unit had left. The Japanese finally overran Mortar Bluff the next morning, with Netra Bahadur Thapa fighting to his death. He was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross. A few hours later, a company of the same unit formed for a counterattack on Mortar Bluff. In the face of heavy fire, Naik Agan Singh Rai led his section in charging a Japanese machine-gun post and killing its crew. It then recaptured Mortar Bluff and neutralized a 37mm gun position and crew. Rai now advanced on a Japanese bunker and killed its occupants, after which his company also recovered Water Picquet. For his actions that day, Rai won the Victoria Cross, the second for the 2/5th Royal Gurkha Rifles the same day. Faced with such counter-attacks and intense artillery fire from Gun Box, the last throw of the Japanese 33rd Division around the Silchar Track ended in failure. This left Hashimoto and Tanaka empty-handed for all the losses they had suffered. Tanaka was forced to withdraw units before they were annihilated. On July 2st the 214th Infantry, with only 400 effectives remaining, completed its withdrawal to the area south of Nouyangtek and the 151st was directed to move back to Laimanai. Having been decimated by sickness and straggling en route to the front, the strength of the entire 151st Infantry Regiment was, at that time, less than 100 men. Back in the north, Briggs' units continued to struggle for control of the Satarmaina area. The struggle over the next week centered on the main feature east of the road, the hill named Liver. The 3/9th Jats attacked repeatedly to try to dislodge the Japanese from this feature. One such attempt was made on June 15th, when Hurribombers strafed the hill, followed by heavy artillery concentrations from 25-pdrs, 3.7in  howitzers and 3in  mortars. A Jat company climbed the hill, but had to withdraw some 100 meters from its objective because of heavy machine-gun fire. At the same time, the 1/17th Dogras were sent off on a wide hook left of the road and the 3/14th Punjabis were able to secure the Octopus position by June 20.  North of them, Grover's troops would also be able to break through Maram and continue south down the road on June 20, finally meeting the Dogras two days later. Beaten, Miyazaki had nonetheless fulfilled his task and could now withdraw east towards Ukhrul. Sato's rearguard fought determinedly. Often a few men with an artillery piece, grenades and a machine-gun would take up positions on the high ground above tracks, ambushing the British advance guards before melting away to repeat the performance a few km further back or, as was often the case, remaining obstinately in their positions until they were killed. Few were free from disease and fatigue, but surrender played no part in these men's vocabulary; they fought on till overtaken by a British bullet or bayonet or, more often, by starvation and exhaustion. But the 31st Division had literally fought itself to death. Exhausted men lay in pits unable to defend themselves, suicide squads with anti-tank mines tottered towards the advancing Lee Grants and Stuarts to be mown down by accompanying infantry, or obliterated by shellfire Although the battered 31st Division would manage to survive the Kohima disaster, General Sato would be relieved of his command as he had refused to carry Mutaguchi's orders numerous times. As a result, Miyazaki was promoted to Lt-General and given temporary command of the division by the end of June. Meanwhile, though his men had resisted like demons, Matsumura now had no choice but to abandon the road and retreat east towards Ukhrul with what remained of his command due to this new threat to the north. On June 21, the Liver position would fall at last. Again, the Japanese positions were bombed and strafed from the air, this time by three squadrons of Hurribombers for half an hour. The 4th and 28th Field Regiments, as well as a troop of the 8th Medium Regiment, fired a concentration on Liver that covered it in dust and smoke. Three companies of the Jats now went in, and yet this attack was also held by the Japanese on and around Liver. They had had enough, however, and by the next morning were found to have withdrawn from the feature. The Jats suffered around 150 casualties that week, including 33 killed. The 15th Division would adopt new defensive positions at Ukhrul to cover the withdrawal of Miyazaki and Matsumura. The main force of the 15th Division then went into defense positions in a line extending generally from Ukhrul through Tongou, Shongphel and Aishan to the 3524 Pass in order to be in position to cover and pick up the Right Assault Unit and the Miyazaki Detachment as they withdrew to the east. In order to hold the new defense positions, all available men, including all those in the rear service units, were thrown into the line. Finally the Imphal-Kohima road was reopened. Slim knew while the battle was not yet over, it had already been won. I would like to take this time to remind you all that this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Please go subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry after that, give my personal channel a look over at The Pacific War Channel at Youtube, it would mean a lot to me. The landings at Biak was another allied success. The first tank battle of the war in the Southwest Pacific Area saw the American Sherman's absolutely devastate Japanese Type-95's. Within the Burma front, General Slim had finally reopened the Imphal-Kohima road spelling doom for Mutaguchi's failed offensive.  

Join us on The MisFitNation show as we welcome US Army Veteran Michael Yelling. Hailing from Ohio, Michael served in the Field Artillery with the Army before embarking on a new chapter upon separation. Recognizing the need to provide for his growing family, he pursued a career as a licensed HVAC and Refrigeration mechanic, where he continues to excel. A passionate baseball fan, especially of the Yankees, Michael also enjoys collecting whiskey and bourbon and indulging in his love for racing three-wheelers. Discover more about Michael's fascinating journey from military service to family life as he shares his story with us.

In this episode of Raven Conversations, we are joined by SGT Kairhea Gordon, a member of the 2nd Battalion, 146th Field Artillery Regiment. SGT Gordon shares her experience as the first female Fire Direction Center (FDC) Chief.

Lt Col Allen West has not only had a distinguished career serving in the military but he also served his country in Congress.  His life has been all about service.  He joins us to discuss the latest GOP primary results and why immigration is the No1 issue with voters.  Allen is currently running for the Dallas County GOP chair, 'Fight Local: Win National' is his tagline and we start with why local politics is so important.  Dallas is without a Republican representative so he has put himself forward as the person to put the party on the front foot and win back some of those seats to provide an opposition block to the Democrats.  We the move onto Trump's latest triumph in the primary where he defeated Nikki Haley in New Hampshire, it seems that no one can stop the Trump Train that has America First as its key policy above all else, Haley is hanging on, but for how much longer?  We then look at immigration and why this issue has become so important to voters. Are they are beginning to realise, If you don't have a border, you don't have a country? Lieutenant Colonel (Ret) Allen B. West is a Christian constitutional conservative, combat veteran, and former Member of the US Congress. Allen West was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia in the same neighbourhood where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once preached. He is the third of four generations of military servicemen, all combat veterans, in his family. West was commissioned through ROTC at the University of Tennessee as a Second Lieutenant (2LT) on July 31, 1982. He entered active-duty service in the U.S. Army on November 1, 1983 at Fort Sill to attend the Field Artillery Officer Basic Course. He later attended airborne and jumpmaster training at Fort Benning. West's first assignment was as an airborne infantry company fire support team leader and battalion training officer in the 325th Airborne Battalion Combat Team. In 1987, he was promoted to Captain and attended the Field Artillery Officer Advanced Course. He was then assigned to the 1st Infantry Division, where he commanded Bravo Battery, 6th Field Artillery Regiment and was a Battalion Task Force fire support officer for 2d Battalion, 16th Infantry Regiment. While with the 1st Infantry Division, he participated in Operations Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm. West's culminating assignment to his career was as Battalion Commander of the 2d Battalion 20th Field Artillery, 4th Infantry Division. He assumed command of this unit on June 6, 2002. He deployed with his unit during the Iraq War in 2003 and continued to command his battalion until his retirement from the Army in 2004 after 22 years of honourable service in defence of the Republic. In November of 2010, Allen was honoured to continue his oath of service to his country when he was elected to the United States Congress, representing Florida's 22nd District.  West holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and two Masters, one from Kansas State University and another from the US Army Command and General Staff Officers College. He is the former Executive Director of the National Center for Policy Analysis in Dallas Texas. West is an avid distance runner, a Master SCUBA diver, a motorcyclist, and in his spare time he enjoys cheering his beloved Tennessee Volunteers. Connect with Lt Col West... Substack           https://allenwest.substack.com/ GETTR               https://gettr.com/user/AllenWest X                         https://twitter.com/AllenWest?s=20&t=xdPqNPtV13hYDp0RSja_Iw Interview recorded 24.1.24 Connect with Hearts of Oak... WEBSITE            https://heartsofoak.org/ PODCASTS        https://heartsofoak.podbean.com/ SOCIAL MEDIA  https://heartsofoak.org/connect/ Support Hearts of Oak by purchasing one of our fancy T-Shirts....  SHOP                  https://heartsofoak.org/shop/ *Special thanks to Bosch Fawstin for recording our intro/outro on this podcast. Check out his art https://theboschfawstinstore.blogspot.com/ and follow him on X https://twitter.com/TheBoschFawstin?s=20 

TONIGHT: The show begins in the Red Sea basin where the Houthis are making war on the economy of the continents, disrupting the supply chain, raising costs, that will drag on for months is the supposition as the US continues to salvo at the Houthis launch sites. Then to memory of the Gulf War 1990-91 with Jeff McCausland, who led 3rd Battalion, 17th Field Artillery, Second Armor Cavalry Division, 7th Corps, against the Iraqi army.  To Taiwan, to Beijing, to Pyongyang.  To Quito, Guatemala City, San Salvador, Managua.  To Brasilia, to Buenos Aires and Davos.  And much attention why the Starship/Superheavy Test#2 failed to reach orbit, and to the last hours of the rivate Moon Lander probe Peregrine. https://behindtheblack.com/behind-the-black/points-of-information/elon-musks-employee-update-released-january-12th/ 2016 Crossing of the Red Sea

PREVIEW: #GULFWAR: Excerpt from a conversation with colleague Jeff McCausland about his service commanding Third Battalion, 17th Field Artillery, Second Armor Cavalry Regiment, US Seventh Corps, during the Gulf War, which was briefed it could take 80% casualties at the front edge of the "left hook" offensive against the Iraqi army, February 24, 1991.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_War 1932 Baghdad

West Point was a culmination of goals and challenges that Imani had for himself in highschool. Imani wanted to play in Division I College football, he wanted to challenge himself academically and personally, and he wanted to prepare himself for a career in medicine. Early visits and interactions with West Pointers further solidified those goals. Imani didn't go to the preparatory school, but went straight into West Point. Accepting the new challenges of College Football, Military training, Leader Development, and Academics. Shocking his system, and facing the challenge head on. Imani threw himself at sports, academics, and everything West Point had to offer him. Imani tackled the long path to prepare for acceptance into the Medical Branch and the path to being a doctor. Imani completed all of the prerequisites and submitted his packet, but fell just short of being accepted. Imani would branch Field Artillery and serve in South Korea, Germany, and deploy to Iraq two times. All the while Imani was focusing on the next step, preparing for the MCAT and preparing for Medical School. Imani would transition out of the military after the end of his second deployment and the end of his initial military service obligation. Soon after he was at the University of Washington and focusing on orthopedic medicine. Fast forward several years and Imani is now a Commander in the U.S Navy and an orthopedic surgeon in Annapolis, Maryland. This is his story. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/joe-harrison0/support

Terence wanted to leave Georgia, to be an Engineer, and to play football. West Point checked all of those blocks. Terence had opportunities, but the more he learned about West Point the more it drew him in. Terence was accepted to the Preparatory School and built a strong base of academic skill, physical fitness, and strong peer relationships. Terence played football and track while at West Point and participated in several clubs and activities. Terence was an extroverted introvert. He enjoyed his time with others, but need quiet to recharge. Terence branched Field Artillery and enjoyed his time in the military and his deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. He was busy and put in high risk scenarios, but he felt prepared to do his job and to complete the mission. After three overseas combat deployments in his first five years of military service Terence was sent to South Korea. Fate and family would drive Terence's next steps and he would leave the military after his two years in Korea and return back to his roots in Atlanta, Georgia. Terence would transition to the civilian world and apply himself towards building a career in Information Technology and investing in his family. This is his story. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/joe-harrison0/support

Today's guest, Kevin Jefferson, is a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point and has served as a Field Artillery officer with rapid deployment units worldwide. He has been a financial professional for over 20 years, and has created a trading course that has positioned several of his students to replace their six-figure work incomes and significantly reduce their work hours. He's helped several client-partners achieve over five & six-figure incomes in less than 12 months. To hear more about Kevin and their story, please make sure to tune into this week's episode of The Road to Financial Freedom. FREE TOOLKIThttps://camaplan.typeform.com/freetoolkitFor more information on Kevin Jefferson:Website: https://www.fmtrades.com/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUN9RJXmL1HklHj_rteD6pw?view_as=subscriber LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevjeff/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/helpmademillionaire/For more information on CamaPlan:https://www.camaplan.com/Call the number below during business hours (8:30 AM - 5 PM EST) to schedule a phone consultation with CamaPlan:Phone: (215) 283-2868 Toll Free: (866) 559-4430.Follow our Podcast to stay up to date with upcoming guests, and other relevant topics:Website: https://www.RoadtoFinancialFreedomPodcast.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CamaPlanPodcast/Instagram: @TheRoadtoFinancialFreedomPodLinkPage: https://linkpages.pro/EclTdARemember to like, follow, and share on your favorite podcasting platform!CamaPlan SDIRA, LLCCamaPlan, a self-directed IRA administrator, makes alternative investing a breeze for clients.The Road to Financial Freedom is Social! Check us out on Facebook & Instagram!!

On this bonus show, Derek Proulx joins Kyle Anzalone to discuss the Defend the Guard movement. Derek Proulx is a NH native. Derek is a veteran Sergeant of the NH Army National Guard where he served 6 years in Bravo Battery 3-197th Field Artillery as a HIMARS crew chief. Currently Derek is the Grassroots Engagement Director for Americans For Prosperity-NH, a national liberty grassroots political organization. Outside of AFP, Derek volunteers for several NH liberty organizations including the Free State Project, and is the State Director of the NH chapter of Defend The Guard. Odysee Rumble  Donate LBRY Credits bTTEiLoteVdMbLS7YqDVSZyjEY1eMgW7CP Donate Bitcoin 36PP4kT28jjUZcL44dXDonFwrVVDHntsrk Donate Bitcoin Cash Qp6gznu4xm97cj7j9vqepqxcfuctq2exvvqu7aamz6 Patreon Subscribe Star YouTube Facebook  Twitter  MeWe Apple Podcast  Amazon Music Google Podcasts Spotify iHeart Radio

On this bonus show, Derek Proulx joins Kyle Anzalone to discuss the Defend the Guard movement.  Derek Proulx is a NH native. Derek is a veteran Sergeant of the NH Army National Guard where he served 6 years in Bravo Battery 3-197th Field Artillery as a HIMARS crew chief. Currently Derek is the Grassroots Engagement Director for Americans For Prosperity-NH, a national liberty grassroots political organization. Outside of AFP, Derek volunteers for several NH liberty organizations including the Free State Project, and is the State Director of the NH chapter of Defend The Guard.

Jeff applied to West Point after a suggestion from a good friend and with the support of his family. From a young age, he learned that hard work and keeping an open mind were the basis for creating opportunities and moving forward. Jeff's branch within the Army was Field Artillery, which took him through Ranger School, intense combat missions, and a future facing the harsh realities of war. After his Army service, Jeff earned his MBA and has worked in consulting firms and at tech startups. He has learned the value of paying attention to your mental health, especially after the experiences he and others in the military have had. This is his story. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/joe-harrison0/support

Show notes and Transcript Col Allen West (Ret) joins Hearts of Oak once again to give us a birds eye view of US politics.  Its been nearly a year since the Republicans took control of the House of Representatives so what has changed and have they been successful?  Kevin McCarthy was voted in after a long and gruelling process but is he delivering on the concerns of American people who are witnessing an increasing power grab from every government institution?  And what is happening in Col West's home state of Texas? Is Governor Greg Abbott even a Republican and why does he not secure the Texas border? With Mitch McConnell malfunctioning and Nancy Pelosi seeking re-electing does America need more politicians who have been part of the system for decades and made it their career?  And finally we finish looking at the Republican Primary and Col West shares his honest assessment. Lieutenant Colonel (Ret) Allen B. West is a Christian constitutional conservative, combat veteran, and former Member of the US Congress. Allen West was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia in the same neighbourhood where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once preached. He is the third of four generations of military servicemen, all combat veterans, in his family. West was commissioned through ROTC at the University of Tennessee as a Second Lieutenant (2LT) on July 31, 1982. He entered active-duty service in the U.S. Army on November 1, 1983 at Fort Sill to attend the Field Artillery Officer Basic Course. He later attended airborne and jumpmaster training at Fort Benning. West's first assignment was as an airborne infantry company fire support team leader and battalion training officer in the 325th Airborne Battalion Combat Team. In 1987, he was promoted to Captain and attended the Field Artillery Officer Advanced Course. He was then assigned to the 1st Infantry Division, where he commanded Bravo Battery, 6th Field Artillery Regiment and was a Battalion Task Force fire support officer for 2d Battalion, 16th Infantry Regiment. While with the 1st Infantry Division, he participated in Operations Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm. West's culminating assignment to his career was as Battalion Commander of the 2d Battalion 20th Field Artillery, 4th Infantry Division. He assumed command of this unit on June 6, 2002. He deployed with his unit during the Iraq War in 2003 and continued to command his battalion until his retirement from the Army in 2004 after 22 years of honourable service in defence of the Republic. In November of 2010, Allen was honoured to continue his oath of service to his country when he was elected to the United States Congress, representing Florida's 22nd District. As a member of the 112th Congress, West introduced seven major pieces of legislation, and was the original sponsor of H. R. 1246 which reduces costs at the Department of Defence, was passed unanimously (393-0), and signed into law by President Obama as part of the National Defence Authorization Act. Congressman West voted for the Balanced Budget Amendment, and voted for over 30 different bills designed to empower small businesses, reduce government barriers to job creation, boost American competitiveness, encourage entrepreneurship and growth, and maximize American energy production. West holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and two Masters, one from Kansas State University and another from the US Army Command and General Staff Officers College. He is the former Executive Director of the National Center for Policy Analysis in Dallas Texas. West is an avid distance runner, a Master SCUBA diver, a motorcyclist, and in his spare time he enjoys cheering his beloved Tennessee Volunteers. Hold Texas, Hold the Nation: Victory or Death by Lt Col Allen B West (ret) available on Amazonhttps://www.amazon.com/Hold-Texas-Nation-Victory-Death/dp/1612542980 Follow and support Col West at the following links... Substack: https://allenwest.substack.com/ GETTR: https://gettr.com/user/AllenWest X: https://twitter.com/AllenWest?s=20&t=xdPqNPtV13hYDp0RSja_Iw Gab: https://gab.com/AllenWest Podcast: https://www.podbean.com/podcast-detail/b58w7-26cd73/Allen-West-%7C-Steadfast--Loyal-Podcast The ACRU The American Constitutional Rights Union GETTR: https://gettr.com/user/theacru X: https://twitter.com/The_ACRU YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/theacru Interview recorded 14.9.23 *Special thanks to Bosch Fawstin for recording our intro/outro on this podcast. Check out his art https://theboschfawstinstore.blogspot.com/ and follow him on GETTR https://gettr.com/user/BoschFawstin and Twitter https://twitter.com/TheBoschFawstin?s=20  To sign up for our weekly email, find our social media, podcasts, video, livestreaming platforms and more... https://heartsofoak.org/connect/ Support Hearts of Oak by purchasing one of our fancy T-Shirts.... https://heartsofoak.org/shop/ Please subscribe, like and share! Transcript (Hearts of Oak) Colonel Allen West, it is wonderful to have you back with us again. Thank you so much for your time today. (Col Allen West) It's good to be back with you, Peter. Thanks for having me. No, thank you. And everyone can follow you @AllenWest on Twitter. And in case any of our viewers don't know who Colonel Allen West is, Executive Director, American Constitutional Rights Union Action, former Texas GOP chair, former Florida representative, retired army lieutenant colonel. I never know if it's left tenant or lieutenant. That's where I get my U.S. and English mixed up. Author, host of Steadfast and Loyal podcast. And I saw one of your recent guests was Mark Huck. The pro-life pastor who had his home-raided by the FBI which is a huge story and maybe we'll get touching on how the FBI have been weaponized to that extent and of course your Substack alanwest.substack.com all the links are in the description for our viewers and listeners.  Midterms and we're now, approaching a year since the midterms ten months in. The Republican Party obviously has had control of the House of Representatives. I want to know your assessment, I think, of how the Republicans have performed within those 10 months as someone who has been an elected official and understands the ins and outs in the different levels of political life. What are your thoughts as you look on what's happening at the moment? Well, I will tell you first and foremost, the only constitutionally mandated duty and responsibility that the House and the Senate are supposed to pass every year is to create a budget. That means that they're supposed to pass 12 appropriations bills. They're supposed to resolve them and send those to the president to be signed. And so once again, we're not going to make that, constitutionally mandated goal, which has to occur by 30 September. They're already talking about a continuing resolution, which means that the fiscal calamity that we see that over $30 trillion in debt, $2 trillion in annual deficit, is just going to continue on. So I would have to grade them with an F for not being able to do what was necessary to get those appropriations bills passed in the House, because they do have control of the House, but the onus is on the Senate to do something. At least they have passed one appropriations bill in the House. The Senate has not passed any whatsoever. But I will tell you that one thing that I will give them great credit for and commend them for is what they have uncovered as far as the corruption of the President Biden's family. I don't see how anyone could dismiss this. I mean, why does this family need 20 secretive LLCs, 150 some odd suspicious financial activity reports? We know that there has been payments that have come from countries such as Romania to the Biden family members, nine different members. And so when you look at some of these connections, you know, the Hunter Biden laptop is for real. It's not Russian disinformation or misinformation. And you start to see the connections between his son to Ukraine, to China, to Russia, and of course, some of the issues we have now with our foreign policy. You just have to wonder if we do have a president that is compromised. And I think that's one of the things that they have to be commended for getting to the bottom of this or at least getting this out there to be discussed in the political sphere.  Do you think that was a bit slow? Because I know we have had Garrett Ziegler on before, we've had Miranda Devine, here in the UK the Daily Mail will publish, regular stories of Hunter and his escapades, for want of a better word, and all the information has been there and they have got round to it. Do you think it was maybe possible to get to that point quicker or is it there just is not the support in the House to move it forward quicker? Well, there was not the support in the House under the Democrat control, but without a doubt, when you have people like the Daily Mail, Miranda Devine, the New York Post that are uncovering these things, you know, thankfully we did get the House back under the Republican leadership of control. You had to get the hearings done, and now we start to see all of these different things. We're starting to get confirmation of evidence and things of this nature. I think that where we are right now, and Kevin McCarthy coming back and saying, yeah, we got to do an impeachment inquiry, I would have said, you could have made that assessment a couple of months ago, without a doubt, before you go on August recess, so you can get your appropriations bills done and you can continue on with this. But I'm glad to see that Republicans have grown a little bit of a spine, not a complete spine, but a little bit of a spine, and they're standing up to the corruption and the unconstitutional actions of this administration. It is quite a difficult situation to be in. And a lack of spine is something we see certainly here in the UK as well, amongst most of our politicians, but there's a lot happening, with the destruction of the country and the economy through Bidenomics. It's quite difficult, I guess, as an elected official, to respond to that, to hold Biden to account, but also to realize there is a lot of destruction being done to the country. No, you're absolutely right. I don't even see how anyone could debate this. The facts are very clear. when Joe Biden came into office, inflation in the United States of America was 1.4%. Within no time, he had taken it up to 5%, to 6%, to 9.1%. Now I know you have a lot of people, such as the White House mouthpiece, Karine Jean-Pierre, would say that it was all because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Well, before Vladimir Putin did that, the inflation was at 7%. So now they're touting, well, inflation is down to 4%. Well, guess what? It's still higher than it was at 1.4%. Now there's talk within the next couple of months, it could take back up to 5%. That is an unseen form of taxation on the American people. When you think about it, you look at the price of commodities, goods and services and things of this nature. It is absolutely horrific. Then you look on top of that, the Biden administration war against our energy independence and our energy sector. We were at a point where we were energy independent, producing, consuming and exporting our resources. And when Biden came in, The price of gasoline, the average price of gasoline was $2.40. Now it's back up to close to $5, $6 in some places. So I don't understand how he thinks he could go out and tout the economy. Maybe there are some onesie-twosie things he can try, but overall, the American people know that this is not going in the right direction. And then on top of that, Peter, you have allowed six to seven million people to come into the country illegally. What other country does that? What other country says, we don't care about our sovereignty, just walk across the border, come in, and we will tell the American people to give you free benefits. That is also destroying our economy as well.  I remember back in April when I drove across many parts of the states, six, seven different states from on the east, central and over in the West, and ended up in California, realized why I'd never been to LA and realized why I never wanted to go back.  I don't blame you. But wish I kind of had been there through Reagan's time as governor. He kind of looked back in history and you wish you'd been there at that time. But I was even surprised at the difference in fuel prices across the country here in the UK it's more or less the same across the country and I kind of in my head I was thinking how long do those individuals who live in California put up with the fuel prices, with crime with drugs, with everything that's happening and I kind of couldn't square that and talk to people and they said yeah it's bad but yet they'll happily vote in the same institutions, the same party, the Democrats and continue that spiral. Well, it's amazing, and you know, I live here in Texas, and I can tell you, you see countless amounts of California license plates now in Texas, and there's a big joke about how many U-Haul vans are, you know, coming into Texas. They're not going back to California, they're coming to Texas. So you do have a huge migration, and based upon the last census, California has lost a massive amount of population to the point where they lost two congressional representative districts. So people are starting to realize it, people are starting to feel it. But the problem, Peter, in America is that you have Democrat control of all the major urban population centres. And that's where you see all the greatest amount of failures. You see the poverty, you see the crime, you see the drug trafficking, and now the human and sex trafficking because of the open borders. So even in a place like California, where a good part of that state is still very strong, red, conservative, especially the Central Valley, Northern California. It's the coastal elites, and it's the major population centres. You look at a state like Washington, and everyone looks and sees Seattle and Tacoma, and they figure that the rest of Washington is like that. It's not. It's that one county and the county north of King County that causes, you know, Washington to be a blue state. And sadly, we're seeing that happen here in Texas, I live here in Dallas County, Dallas County and Dallas, Austin and Travis County, the capital, the Houston, Harris County, San Antonio, Bear County, El Paso. These are all very strong Democrat strongholds, and that's the major population centres. It is amazing to me that we cannot do a better job of messaging that shows that, look, there's a reason why the crime is spiking. Austin, Texas is now the 15th highest city for homicides in the United States of America. The capital of Texas has the 15th highest rating for homicides. Their police chief just resigned. And why is that? Because they have a communist city council in Austin that defunded their police by $150 million. So I think we've got to start stressing the one key issue, which is individual safety. You can't go out downtown Austin anymore because of the homeless situation, because of the crime situation. And I think another big issue that will play, Peter, going into the 2024 election cycle is parental rights and protection of our children. I mean, when you've got Joe Biden, his wife Jill Biden, Kamala Harris, and Karine Jean-Pierre standing up and telling the American people that their children are not theirs, they belong to all of us, that's crossing the Rubicon, as I think many people understand. I think that's what you saw happen in the last state-wide election in Virginia, when all of a sudden education became an issue, and the Democrats don't want school choice. The teachers' union is here. Rand and Weingarten is so powerful. I think a lot of these basic kitchen table, homegrown local issues are going to be very important nationally in 2024. I want to pick up on that, and I watched the Virginia elections closely, and they were interesting, that issue on parental rights. But just on Texas, you were a chair of the GOP. You had convictions. You had fight. You had issues you believed in and stood for, and that conviction politics we don't see often, certainly not here in the UK and probably the same in the US there. But how does that fit in with the governor Abbott? Because I know you were certainly critical of him and it seems as though he's put up a few floating barriers in the river and supposedly that fixes immigration. There's a disconnect there between actually as a Republican governor what he should be doing and actually what he is doing and there seems to be a huge gap. There is a huge gap, and as a matter of fact, the Constitution of the United States of America says very clearly in Article 4, Section 4, that the federal government is supposed to protect every state in the union from invasion. When they don't do that, Article 1, Section 10, Clause 3 says exactly what states can do, the actions they can take when actually invaded. And then also in the Texas state constitution, Article 4, Section 4, it says that the responsibility of the governor of the state of Texas as the commander of the Texas Military Department. The National Guard and things here, he is supposed to repel invasions. When you put out 1,000 meters of big orange toys in the middle of the Rio Grande River, when Texas has a border with Mexico that is about 1,249 miles, 1,000 meters is not going to do anything. I was just a month ago down on the border in between Eagle Pass and Del Rio in Kenny County and talking to the law enforcement there and the sheriff there, he said, people just go around it. So this band aid on a sucking chest wound type of mentality, this political optic to say that, look, I'm doing something, I've got the guard down there, but no one is being turned back. And I'm sure the people in the UK know about Governor Abbott putting people on buses and sending them to New York, Washington, and to LA also. Well, you know, as I said, the governor is aiding and abetting human and sex trafficking. He's continuing to send illegals who are here illegally deeper into the United States of America. So he's actually violating the constitution as well. And furthermore, Peter, each illegal immigrant is about $1,400 for a Texas taxpayer to pay for them to be on one of these buses. I didn't sign up for that. I don't think any Texas taxpayer signed up for that. So my criticisms of the governor is that he does not, you know, stand up and do what he is supposed to do as the governor of Texas, to include some unconstitutional actions where, you know, he extended his emergency powers over the state of Texas unconstitutionally. He did not go through the legislature during the whole COVID issue. Who would have thought in Texas we'd have mass mandates and shot mandates, but we did. So that's why I say it is not so much a Democrat versus Republican issue anymore in the United States of America. It is about progressive, socialist, Marxist on one side and constitutional conservatives, and we must understand the proper role and relationship between the institution of government and the individual. And there are some people that don't get that. They want more power concentrated in seats of government, being at the federal level or even the state level or even the local level. And they usurp more individual rights, freedoms, and liberties. I mean, look at what is going on in New Mexico, where you have the governor in New Mexico saying that because of the crime issue that the policies of Democrats created in Albuquerque, releasing criminals on the streets, the drug trafficking, human sex trafficking, we're going to suspend the Second Amendment. We're going to create a public health crisis. You can't do that. So we have a real issue in America of elected officials that are not abiding by the rule of law, and I think that's the most important thing that we have to correct here in this country. Obviously, we in the UK look at states like Florida, like Texas, as bastions of free speech, as those who hold the line on the American dream, and yet you've described something different. The Governor's position, Governor Abbott, how does it fit in? What checks and balances are there on him? Because I'm assuming that Texas is still a red state in some ways. Yeah. No, it is a red state, but I would challenge anyone to go back and look at the 2020, presidential electoral map broken down by county. You can Google it and they'll pull up. And you can see the concentrations of blue in the state of Texas. Texas has 254 counties. It's a pretty doggone big state. But when you focus and concentrate on those major population centres, it's a numbers game, because you don't have enough population out in rural counties, being West Texas, where there are some counties you may have 4,000 or 5,000 people, or over in East Texas. So that's the strategy of the left. I mean, they've done that in Georgia, where the major population centres, Atlanta, Macon, Augusta, Savannah, Columbus, That's the reason why all of a sudden you've got two socialist senators from the state of Georgia. So we really have to pay attention to that. But Texas, the governor is supposed to be restrained by the legislative branch. But when the legislative branch does not do their job and allow the governor to run roughshod over them, just the same as you can see that at the federal government level, you know, we're not supposed to be ruled by executive orders and edicts and mandates and decrees. We're supposed to have a legislative process. But too often people are allowing governors and also presidents to just, you know, sign off on something and people believe that it's law, and it is not. So we've got to get back to that blocking and tackling of understanding what it means to live in a constitutional republic. Back to the national side, Kevin McCarthy, you talked about the Republicans maybe getting an F in the House and of course Kevin McCarthy is Majority Chair there in the House and his becoming elected was a fraught endeavour of many negotiations and votes. What about him personally And where does the position or the role or the place of the Freedom Caucus fit into his role in the House? Well, I think the Freedom Caucus is just trying to restore what we what we call regular order up there in the United States House of Representatives to do things by the regular processes and procedures that they're supposed to operate under and not have you know bills basically be written in the Speaker's office or in the Majority Leader's office and you know, you get told a couple of days out, this is what you're going to vote for, like an omnibus spending bill, which, you know, they continue to do. And that's what gets us into this fiscal mess that we find here in the United States of America. So I applauded the people for saying that the election of a speaker is just not a coronation. There are some very serious things that we want to see happen, and Kevin McCarthy had to go through that crucible to get their support. But again, on this back side, we still don't see them getting the appropriations bills passed and things of this nature. And we don't have to sit around and wait and impeach Joe Biden on this corruption thing. What he is doing on the border is a violation of the Constitution. That's his policy. I mean, he came in and he said, we're going to allow illegals to come into this country. That's treasonous. When you are selling oil from our strategic patrolling reserve to China, to me, that's treasonous, but that's what this administration is doing. When you're undermining your country's own energy independence, to me, that's a high crime and misdemeanour. When you are restoring the Taliban back into power in Afghanistan, that's aiding and abetting a terrorist organization. So there are so many things that you can hold Joe Biden accountable for. But I think that, like I said, at least we don't have Nancy Pelosi still as the Speaker of the House there, and we would not know anything about the level of corruption we see with this Biden family. One thing I guess, people like Pelosi and maybe Mitch McConnell can say is they don't remember, we've seen... Poor Mitch McConnell has his issues, lets say.... Is that ageist? I didn't say such a thing. No, but how does that fit because in in the UK? It's kind of a rush or a move towards, younger and younger, where America seems to be older and older and with Pelosi she's going to run again and she's what, 82 or 83? At some point you have to retire and I don't know whether that fits in with the American political model. Well it's interesting enough, I think it was George Mason who said 17 June 1787 that nothing so greatly impels a man to regard the interests of of his constituents than the certainty of returning to the general mass of the people from whence he was taken where he shall participate in their burdens. Our founding fathers never meant for us to have a career political class, a political elite, but due to the apathy of the electorate here in America, this is exactly what we have. So interestingly enough, Peter, what you have seen because of the last couple of episodes of Mitch McConnell just blanking out. And what has been up, Diane Feinstein and her health issues and John Fetterman, I mean, who cannot hold a clear sentence. People are asking for term limits there in the House and Senate at the federal government level. There are many states that have term limits on their representatives, but we don't have that. I remember when I was sworn into Congress, there was a congressman from Michigan by the name of, I think, David Dingell. And Dingell had been in office longer than I had been alive. And so you just ask yourself. And of course, when he finally dies, who gets to take his seat? His wife! And so this is not the cronyism, nepotism that we wanted to have in America. So yes, people are starting to ask a question about mental acuity. I mean, you look at our own president, and this is not good on the public stage. What would the media in America say if Donald Trump had ever said at a press conference in a foreign country, I'm going to bed now? I mean, they'd go berserk. And so I think that Americans do want something different. And I got to tell you, this is something that Nikki Haley has been talking about. It's time for a new generation of leaders. And I think she's 50, 51 years of age. And this is something that's striking the tone with the American people. And I'll be very honest, you know, even President Trump, I think he's 77 or 78. And so the American people are sitting back saying, I mean, we got an 80 year old and a 77, 78 year old, we're gonna be voting for them to be president once again. They're not happy with that setup. Well, Sleepy Joe, he does need a sleep, I'm sure. And I wanna touch on the Republican primary, But just last thinking on the Mitch McConnell situation, obviously the Republicans in the Senate decided he was the best person for the job. Does that mean the calibre isn't as high in the Senate as it should be? Or are there others that could step into that position and be voted in? Well, I think what they decided and voted on is this same old thing. He's been there and that's who should be the leader. And he can raise the most money. There have to be better qualifications than just that. You need someone that is sharp, that has the ability to go out there and go head to head on the debate floor with the Democratic leader, Chuck Schumer. You cannot have someone that says they're a leader and they're having these moments of blanking out. And I would think that it would be the honourable thing for Mitch McConnell to say that, you know, I'm not up to this anymore. I'm going to step aside and let someone younger, John Thune or whoever to step into this position. So, but again, it comes back to the American people now starting to ask, should there be term limits? Should there be mental acuity testing on individuals there in the House and the Senate or maybe in the Supreme Court. You mentioned Nikki Haley and obviously the Republican primary and I watched the first debate. I was over there in Virginia and I watched it. The main candidate, obviously Trump, was not there. I thought Nikki Haley did well. I thought Vivek did well, although I'm not sure exactly where he's come from. Obviously, I've watched DeSantis, has been a very good governor. What are your thoughts on the field? Because my initial thoughts were, if someone like Donald Trump is running, then you don't even get in the ring. It's not your time. But these individuals have chosen to put themselves up against the gorilla in the room, in effect. What are your thoughts as you look from the outside at the campaign, at the primary? Well, I will tell you very simply, and I've said this publicly on many interviews, is that Donald Trump has to change the narrative. Donald Trump should be on that debate stage, because right now the media is painting him as someone, a former president under indictments, several different states. What he has to do is be the former president that is running to be president again. And the only way you change that is to go on offense, to be on the debate stage, to defend your record, to talk about your record, to talk about where you are now. And if you're going to be, I'll use your metaphor, if you're the gorilla, well then you got to beat down all the chimpanzees, but you can't run away from them. And I think that that's the important thing that he has to do. So if he continues to skip debates, my concern is he makes himself less and less relevant when it comes to talking about the issues. And you can go on Tucker and everything like that and have what, I don't know, 10, 12 million people check it out, but still you were not on the debate stage. And I think it's a little disingenuous to the American people to say that, I'm leading in the polls, I don't need to show up, I'm gonna win it. Well, I'm a big college football fan. And I will tell you that every year you have your preseason ranked number one team, and It just so happens it's Georgia, and Georgia, of course, they've wanted to last national champions. But even being a preseason number one, that doesn't mean they skip all of the games in the season. It doesn't mean that they say, well, we're only going to play teams with a winning record, or we're only going to play our home games. We're not going to go travel to anybody else's stadium, because we're the preseason ranked number one. Every single weekend, Georgia has to go out and validate their ranking. And every team has to do that. So I think that President Trump should not sit back and just say, hey, look, I'm ahead. I don't need to go. You got to show that you are the gorilla. You do deserve that ranking. You do deserve that polling support. and get that narrative changed. I watched my first football game when I was over there, USC against someone else, and after three and a half hours, I had lost the will to live. So yeah, sometimes I need to be educated on the ins and outs of American football.  Peter, let me tell you what, one of these days, I graduated from the University of Tennessee. I'm going to take you to the good old-fashioned South-eastern Conference football game. You're absolutely going to love it. I'll walk you through and talk you through everything, but the best part is all the tailgating, man. It was confusing, but I will take you up on that offer, definitely, someday. You mentioned parental rights, and I've just actually written a piece for Our Church magazine on this issue, which we are facing a hugely hot topic, currently debated in Parliament over the last few weeks even. I was at a demo yesterday outside Parliament on this very issue. We've watched those debates with parents, those school meetings, and the frustration of parents even getting access to materials and this has certainly been a huge topic here and over there. How is that playing out in the political sphere with many organizations trying to educate parents to what is happening, getting parents more involved, trying to wake up politicians to what's happening. Well, I will tell you again, let's go back to what happened in Virginia. And you saw a state that had just gone for Joe Biden in the 2020 election by 10 or 11 points. And then a year later, they lose the governor's mansion and they lose lieutenant governor, they lose attorney general. Why? Because all of a sudden, Tara McAuliffe gets on the debate stage against Glenn Youngkin and says the quote that the left has always believed secretly and in private, but he said it in public. Parents do not have a right in deciding what their children are being taught. That unified people, R&D didn't matter. It was just parents who want to have the best opportunities for their kids and the best opportunities comes from a great education. And when you start to look now at the schools and our kids that are failing, not reading and not doing math at grade level across the country, but yet, you know, everyone is saying everything's fine in our schools. When you have school choice that got passed in a Republican legislature in North Carolina, but the Democrat governor, Roy Cooper, comes out and declares a state of emergency, against school choice. No, this has really lit a fire under a lot of parents. No one has ever really paid attention to school board meetings. People are showing up to school board meetings. People are running for school board. They wanna make sure that the right educational policies are there. They don't want these filthy books that are showing up in school libraries. In California, they're out there saying that if your child, a little boy, wants to be a little girl, you have to go along with her or else the state of California is going to take your child away from you. This is huge, man. I don't know what the left is thinking. Having this drag queen exposure of our kids. That's contributing to a delinquency of a minor. You can't take a kid to a strip show, or they talk about this gender mutilation surgeries. If you're under the age of 18, you can't even get a tattoo. But now we're supposed to believe that an 11, 12-year-old can decide that they want their bodies to be mutilated, and parents are supposed to go along with it or else lose their child. This is a huge issue going into 2024. And when you have an organization called Moms for Liberty, that really is out there, you know, standing up for parental rights, and they're designated as a hate group. I mean, the FBI is classifying parents as domestic terrorists that are going to, you know, school board meetings. This is lighting a fire on a lot of people here in the United States, American parents and grandparents, and I think it's going to play hugely in the 2024 cycle. Yeah, we've had Tina Descovich on twice, talking to her about what Moms for Liberty are doing, and extremely jealous of the success they're having, and we need something like that here. But I'm wondering, what about churches? What's the church's position and role and engagement in this protecting children issue.  I think churches are waking up, as a matter of fact last week I was up in Ohio, you know they have this ballot initiative coming up in November which which will basically codify murder. It says in the Bible of Deuteronomy 30 and 19, I sit before you, heaven and earth, and life and death, and choose life so that you and your descendants shall live. I mean, it's very simple. Psalms 121, verses three through five, talks about children are a blessing from God, and the man that has more of them is like arrows in the quiver. Jeremiah chapter one, talk about I knew you before I formed you in the womb. So I think you're going to see a lot of the churches standing up against this, because this is infanticide. This is not just about, okay, I'm a victim of rape, I'm a victim of incest. This is about murdering unborn babies all the way up to the time that they're born. Even in some states—California, a couple others—they're talking about, if you don't want the baby after it's born, still kill it. Now, to me, I don't understand how you justify that. This is also going to be a huge issue. The left, I think, believes that they could win on this, but when you really describe it, what they stand for, and Planned Parenthood, and Margaret Sanger, who was a white supremacist and a racist, people aren't going to go for that. It's been a destruction of the Black community. I want everyone to understand, since Roe v. Wade in 1973, over 20 million Black babies have been murdered in the womb. And in any other sense, people would say that's a genocide. So it's those simple bits of information and education we've got to get people out there. But yet, 70 to 73 percent of Planned Parenthood clinics are located in black communities. So this is targeted. This issue play out in the Republican primary itself, the issue of pro-life, which some candidates are certainly much more, some are afraid of engaging, and on the issue of parental rights and responsibility of children, which are two huge issues, but obviously quite separate issues. How do you see that playing out in the Republican primary itself?  I think Republicans need to go on offense, and I think that people are looking for someone that is strong on those issues. Lots of times Republicans will, and these are the establishment Republicans, say, don't talk about the life issue, don't talk about social issues. Well, they're here. You're talking about a group of people that believe in murdering children up to the time of birth. You're talking about a group of people that want to expose our children to sexual deviancy and perversion. You're talking about people that want to mutilate the bodies of our children, and they don't want our kids to get a good quality education. So I think that there's an incredible opportunity here for strong constitutional conservatives who just happen to have an R after their name to go against the Democrats and say, why do you hate children? I mean, that's the question that we should be asking. Why does this party have such an angst against children? They want to kill them in the womb after they're born, if they allow them to be born, they want to mutilate their bodies. They want to expose them to sexual deviancy and perversion. You know, we've got this thing in America now where the left is saying you can't say paedophiles anymore, Peter. You have to say minor attracted persons. Well, let me tell you something. I've got a two year old grandson, I got another grandson on the way. You will see someone come down on you like Thor if you mess with my grandsons. And so we've got to protect our kids. But with all that being said, they still don't want to educate them. They have a good future. I mean, it's appalling what is happening in the system of education in America where our kids can't read and do math at grade level. So yes, I think that this is an issue that should be talked about. It's an economic issue, because the more that you have future generations dependent upon the government, you know, who's going to pay for that? So we are dwindling our economic opportunities by way of lessening our educational opportunities.  Can I finish on something a little bit different? Your background is military and here in the UK we've had that with the royal family, we've had the military connection, we've had originally, traditionally, many serving the military going into public service in politics and I know you've also had that in the States. Is that becoming less so with military shrinking, with less influence? The route you've taken, is that not really as viable to others? Well, I will tell you that I come from a military family. My dad served in the Army in World War II in the European Theatre. My older brother was a Marine infantryman in Vietnam. My dad challenged me to be the first officer in our family when I was 15. And so I went through college ROTC and was commissioned in 1982, served 22 years. My nephew is a lieutenant colonel right now in the Army. My father-in-law did 24 years of service, two combat tours of Vietnam. Both of my son-in-laws are soldiers. And so that sense of generational service to the country, I think we're losing that. And as a matter of fact, it was about a month and a half ago, the current Secretary of the Army, Christine Wormuth, said that she doesn't want to recruit future soldiers from families that have generations of service to the country. Wants to look at a new and different type of recruit. Well, first of all, what a slap in the face to families that have had a lifelong commitment to this country of service and sacrifice and commitment. And I think everyone knows that the recruiting and retention in our military is down. Why? Because they're focusing all these social pet peeves and ideological agendas of the left. You cannot have an effective military fighting force if you're instituting cultural Marxism that says, well, you know, Peter, since your skin colour, you're bad, you're an oppressor, there's nothing you can do about that. Alan, because of your skin colour, you're a victim, you're oppressed. So how are we supposed to get in a foxhole together, Peter? How are we supposed to trust each other in a situation called combat? But yet that's what's happening in our military, and this whole emphasis on gender dysphoria, and how we're spending taxpayer money to allow, you know, soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines to take paid leave. To go and murder future generations of soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines in their womb. We have got to change things in the Oval Office because the most important title for a president of the United States of America is Commander-in-Chief. Right now, when you think about what Joe Biden did with that debacle in Afghanistan, where 13 Americans unnecessarily lost their lives. Many others were wounded at Hamid Karzai International Airport, but the story is not told about the other Marines who have committed suicide because of that fateful day, and how so many feel that they were abandoned. I spent two and a half years in Afghanistan. So we have got to change things with the leadership of our military, especially the civilian side. When you've got a Secretary of Defence that's writing letters to females in the military saying that you just need to go ahead and be prepared for biological males to be in your shower and latrine facilities, that's not what the American people want to support in our military. Because the military in the US has been an institution that has united the country traditionally. You have much more respect, I think, for your military even than we have in Europe. And I kind of see that, as a foreigner looking in, as slowly unravelling. Is that a kind of fair assessment? It's a very fair assessment. And the thing is that it is not that the trust and confidence is lacking for the individual, the young troops, soldier, sailor, airman, marine. It's the lack of trust and confidence in the leadership of our military, be it the civilian leadership or the senior military leadership that is lacking. So until there are changes there, that lack of trust and confidence is going to continue. Colonel Allen West, I appreciate you coming on today and obviously the viewers can get more of your own steadfast and loyal podcast over on Rumble and elsewhere. And I will certainly take you up on your offer of understanding college football. I will sometime, but thank you so much for coming on and sharing your expertise and understanding what's happening stateside. Thank you, Peter. It's a pleasure and God bless you and God be with you.

The promise and potential of higher education remain popular in good economic times and bad. Even more popular is the prospect of not paying full price for a degree! Amy and Mike invited educator Dr. Kuni Beasley to reveal some colleges that offer the best scholarships and financial aid. What are five things you will learn in this episode? Why does college cost so much and what are the best ways to lower out-of-pocket costs? How can families find low-cost colleges? Which colleges offer the best financial aid? Which colleges offer automatic, easily accessible scholarships? How can one earn institutional scholarships regardless of family income? MEET OUR GUEST Dr. Kuni Michael Beasley, the founder of Beasley College Prep, has a BS from Texas Christian University (GO Frogs!), an MBA from Oklahoma City University, a Doctor of Ministry in Greek and Hebrew from Tyndale Seminary, and a Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Arlington.  He has been helping students prepare for college for over 40 years.  Dr. Beasley has helped students enroll in the top colleges in the country including Harvard, West Point, Stanford, Notre Dame, Georgia Tech, Pepperdine, and MIT, with many on full scholarships.   Dr. Beasley has an eclectic background.  After earning his undergraduate degree, he served on active duty with the Army where he was the youngest commander in Europe in charge of a nuclear Field Artillery unit.  When he returned to the US, he oversaw Officer Training and developed several novel training strategies that won him a medal for his efforts.  While on active duty, Dr. Beasley earned his master's degree in fifty weeks by attending classes at night.  He left active duty to take a position with the Federal Reserve Bank where he was a Training Specialist, Management Systems Coordinator, and Strategic Planner.  While there, he worked on the new currency and applied creative ideas to operations and check processing.  From there, Dr. Beasley was the International Management Consultant for Caltex Petroleum overseeing executive development and strategic training for executives in 55 countries.   Dr. Beasley left corporate America to pursue a personal passion to coach football.  In his first year as a high school football coach, Coach Beasley's team won the 1994 Texas AAA state championship.  He returned to coaching in 2021 and led his team to the state championship game again. Seeing that many students were under-challenged, in 1996, Dr. Beasley started his own school in a rented Sunday School room at the First Baptist Church in Duncanville, Texas, with seven students.  By 2009, there were 22 schools from Springfield, Massachusetts to Hot Springs, Arkansas, to Palm Springs, California.  He initiated a College Readiness business taking his unique preparation process to the public and private school students.  His SAT and ACT prep programs were used in public schools in nine states. Dr. Beasley taught college for sixteen years at several institutions to include Northwood University, Dallas Baptist University, University of Texas at Arlington, and thirteen years at LeTourneau University.  He is credentialed to teach at the graduate level in 14 subject areas to include Business, Political Science, Public Administration, Urban Studies, Economics, Psychology, Geography, and Military History.  His Ph.D. is in Urban and Public Administration where he wrote his dissertation on the transition of the Federal Reserve in the late 80's.  He earned his Doctor of Ministry in Greek and Hebrew studies concurrently with his Ph.D.  Very few can bring a portfolio with military command, championship coaching, academic achievement, college teaching, school administration, and the innovative entrepreneurship to build a nationwide business. Kuni first appeared on this podcast in episode 415 for a TEST PREP PROFILE. You can find Kuni at info@beasleycollegeprep.com. LINKS Best Affordable Colleges 2023-2024 RELATED EPISODES INVESTING IN COLLEGE CONSIDERING COLLEGE FINANCIAL FIT FIRST MOST COMMON QUESTIONS ABOUT MERIT AID ABOUT THIS PODCAST Tests and the Rest is THE college admissions industry podcast. Explore all of our episodes on the show page. ABOUT YOUR HOSTS Mike Bergin is the president of Chariot Learning and founder of TestBright. Amy Seeley is the president of Seeley Test Pros. If you're interested in working with Mike and/or Amy for test preparation, training, or consulting, feel free to get in touch through our contact page.  

The Cognitive Crucible is a forum that presents different perspectives and emerging thought leadership related to the information environment. The opinions expressed by guests are their own, and do not necessarily reflect the views of or endorsement by the Information Professionals Association. During this episode, US Army Brian Godwin discusses his thesis: From Perception to Protection: Countering Cognitive Warfare in the U.S. Army. His study seeks to address the critical question of how the U.S. Army can protect the force against cognitive warfare, with a specific focus on understanding the strategies and tactics employed by China and Russia. It employs a qualitative comparative case study method, examining China's cognitive warfare campaign during the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia's interference in the 2016 U.S. election. The study reveals significant gaps and limitations in the Army's existing Doctrine, Training, Leadership and Education, and Policies (DTLP). These areas provide minimal defense against cognitive warfare, indicating a vulnerability of the force. In response to these findings, this thesis proposes several key recommendations to strengthen the Army's resilience against cognitive warfare, including the prioritization of media literacy in Army training and education, revisions of DTLP to effectively counter cognitive warfare, the application of inoculation theory to boost psychological resilience, and the cultivation of active relationships with Joint, Interagency, Intergovernmental, and Multinational (JIIM) partners. Resources: Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned #29 Jan Kallberg and Stephen Hamilton on Force Protection in the Cognitive Domain Media Warfare: Taiwan's Battle for the Cognitive Domain by Kerry Gershaneck Influence, New and Expanded: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini The Art of Insubordination: How to dissent and defy effectively by Todd Kashdan The Social Dilemma – Netflix Documentary Link to full show notes and resources Guest Bio:  MAJ Brian Godwin is a native of Tampa, Florida. Commissioned in 2011 from the University of Tampa in Tampa, FL, MAJ Godwin has served in a range of duty positions in both Field Artillery and Signal branches including Fire Direction Officer, Fire Support Officer, Special Operations Battalion S-6, Brigade S-6, Division Information Assurance Manager, Signal Advisor to Afghan forces in Helmand, Afghanistan, and as a Staff Officer in the NATO Communications and Information Agency in Mons, Belgium. He is a graduate of the Field Artillery Basic Officer Leaders' Course, the Signal Captain's Career Course, and Basic Airborne Course. He is currently an Information Advantage Scholar at the Army's Command and General Staff Officer Course. MAJ Godwin's awards and decorations include the Bronze Star Medal (1 OLC), Meritorious Service Medal, Joint Service Commendation Medal, Army Commendation Medal (1OLC), National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal (2 Stars), Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, NATO Medal (1 Star), Combat Action Badge and Parachutist Badge. He also holds a Parachutist Badge from Germany. About: The Information Professionals Association (IPA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to exploring the role of information activities, such as influence and cognitive security, within the national security sector and helping to bridge the divide between operations and research. Its goal is to increase interdisciplinary collaboration between scholars and practitioners and policymakers with an interest in this domain. For more information, please contact us at communications@information-professionals.org. Or, connect directly with The Cognitive Crucible podcast host, John Bicknell, on LinkedIn. Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, 1) IPA earns from qualifying purchases, 2) IPA gets commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

Joining Kyle in the China Shop this week for his first Forex discussion is Kevin Jefferson, founder of FMTrades.com! Listen along as Kevin talks about why he likes to trade Forex, how his military experiences shaped his trading journey and the impact his father had in his life. We also discuss what FMTrades.com has to offer new traders as well as some good free resources out there to help learn about Forex.About Kevin:Kevin is a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point. He served as a Field Artillery officer with rapid deployment units worldwide. Kevin has been a financial professional for over 20 years, and has created a trading course that has positioned several of his students to replace their six-figure work incomes and significantly reduce their work hours. He has helped several client-partners achieve over five & six-figure incomes in less than 12 months.Kevin has been the personal trader for celebrities and high net worth clients, helping them achieve significant value in their portfolios in short order. He also helped a state government create a record $1.2 billion in additional income to assist in its economic development goals.Kevin founded FollowMyTradesdotCom, Inc. one of the world's largest, most successful trading companies, to help people achieve their best lives.Guest Links:FMTrades - Website - Visit our discord for our discount code!ForexFam - YouTube ChannelSocial Links:Follow on Kevin on InstagramFollow Kevin on LinkedInFollow ForexFam on FacebookOther Links:Learn Forex Trading With BabyPips.comSponsorshipsIf you are interested in signing up with TRADEPRO Academy, you can use our affiliate link here. We receive compensation for any purchases made when using this link, so it's a great way to support the show and learn at the same time! **Join our Discord for a link and code to save 10%**For anyone trading futures, check out Vantatrading.com. Founded by Mr. W Banks and Baba Yaga, they provide a ton of educational content with the focus of teaching aspiring traders how to build a repeatable, profitable process. You can find our exclusive affiliate link/discount code for Vanta in our free discord server as well!Check out the custom studies for futures trading over at OrderFlow Labs. We do not receive any compensation for referrals, we just love their community and tools!To contact us, you can email us directly at 2bulls@financialineptitude.com Or leave a message at (725) 22-BULLS. Be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, or Discord to get updated when new content is posted! If you enjoyed this week's guest, check out our directory for other amazing interviews we've done in the past!If you like our show, please let us know by rating and subscribing on your platform of choice!If you like our show and hate social media, then please tell all your friends!If you have no friends and hate social media and you just want to give us money for advertising to help you find more friends, then you can donate to support the show here!China Shop Links:2 Bulls DiscordMiniseries PageChina Shop MerchGuest DirectoryAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

   After a life-altering injury in Iraq, Lieutenant Colonel Christian Labra, MD, FAAFP, found himself on the other side of the Military Health System, navigating treatment and recovery as a patient. In this eye-opening conversation, Dr. Labra shares his first-hand experiences of evacuation, treatment in a war zone, and the challenges and triumphs he encountered along the way. Join us as he opens up about his journey and how it ultimately inspired him to pursue a medical career.   From the point of injury to rehabilitation, Dr. Labra's story highlights the incredible work of healthcare professionals in difficult situations, as well as the importance of advocacy and understanding for patients within the Military Health System. As a family physician, he shares how his time as a patient influenced his approach to practicing medicine and the role primary care physicians play in advocating for their patients and providing continuity of care.    Don't miss out on this unique perspective from a physician who has experienced both sides of the Military Healthcare System. Dr. Labra's experience offers invaluable insights into the challenges faced by patients and healthcare providers in a war zone and how his journey has shaped his approach to medicine. Tune in to hear his inspiring story and learn more about the importance of patient advocacy and continuity of care. Chapters: (0:00:00) - Combat Experience and Military Healthcare (0:03:57) - Military Health Care and Deployment Injuries (0:11:33) - War Zone Evacuation and Medical Care (0:19:19) - Injury Treatment and Recovery Experience (0:30:26) - From Warfighter to Doctor (0:36:41) - Career in Military Medicine   Chapter Summaries: (0:00:00) - Combat Experience and Military Healthcare (4 Minutes) We welcome LTC Christian Labra MD, FAAFP to WarDocs to discuss his unique experience of encountering the Military Health System as a patient when he was injured as a Field Artillery officer on a patrol in Iraq. We hear about his care from the point of injury through evacuation to treatment, recovery, and rehabilitation, and how this experience led him to pursue a career in medicine and impacted his perspective and caring for Wounded Warriors. We also discuss how his journey to joining the Army and how the world changed after 9-11 impacted his career.   (0:03:57) - Military Health Care and Deployment Injuries (8 Minutes) Dr. Labra's experience with the Military began at West Point and continued on active duty. He was assigned to a Field Artillery battalion in Baumholder, Germany, and later deployed to Iraq in 2003. He shares the story of his injury while on the deployment and the circumstances that led up to it.   (0:11:33) - War Zone Evacuation and Medical Care (8 Minutes) Dr. Labra's experience with the Military Health System as a patient is discussed. From the initial diagnosis by a medic in the field to the care he received at the Baghdad ER, the unique circumstances of his evacuation and treatment are explored. The challenges of being a patient in a war zone and the impact of the lack of pain medication and medical records are discussed. The effects of his injuries, the measures taken to treat them, and the care he received in the operating room are also discussed.   (0:19:19) - Injury Treatment and Recovery Experience (11 Minutes) Chris shares his experience with the Military Health System as a patient. He begins with his care in Baghdad and the surgeries he had in Germany. He speaks of the kindness of healthcare workers like Parker Hahn, and Ann Shields, the labor and delivery nurse whose daughter attended West Point and helped sponsor his family, as well as his surgeon John Friedland. He reflects on his unique experience of staying at Baumholder, which was both a gift and a challenge. We explore the system's blind spots and the casualties of the process when providing medical care abroad.   (0:30:26) - From Warfighter to Doctor (6 Minutes) Chris shares his unique experience with the Military Health System as a patient. He was called to help, giving him purpose and a sense of being helpful. A series of unfortunate events led to him becoming an expert in the medical evacuation process. His surgeon came back to Landstuhl, and he spent a month there, which opened up many opportunities for him. He felt so indebted to the Military Health System and wanted to follow in the footsteps of his mentors to pursue a career in medicine.   (0:36:41) - Career in Military Medicine (12 Minutes) We discuss how Dr. Labra's injury led him to pursue family medicine over orthopedic surgery or urology and the advantages of being a primary care physician when it comes to providing continuity of care and advocating for patients. He shares his perspective on PTSD, the hospital system, and how being a patient gave him a level of skepticism and protection from falling into medical traps. Finally, we discuss his assignment at Landstuhl and how it gave him a chance to take care of evacuations from the theaters of war.   Episode Keywords: Military Healthcare, Patient Advocacy, Injury Treatment, Recovery Experience, Evacuation, Wounded Warrior, War Zone, Medical Care, Primary Care Physicians, Continuity of Care, PTSD, Hospital System, Combat Experience, Deployment Injuries, West Point, Baghdad ER, Landstuhl, Orthopedic Surgery, Urology Hashtags: #wardocs #military #medicine #podcast #MilitaryHealthcare #WarZoneMedicine #PatientAdvocacy #ContinuityOfCare #InspiringJourney #HealingWarriors #PhysicianPerspective #FromInjuredToHealer #WoundedWarrior   Honoring the Legacy and Preserving the History of Military Medicine   The WarDocs Mission is to honor the legacy, preserve the oral history, and showcase career opportunities, unique expeditionary experiences, and achievements of Military Medicine. We foster patriotism and pride in Who we are, What we do, and, most importantly, How we serve Our Patients, the DoD, and Our Nation. Find out more and join Team WarDocs at https://www.wardocspodcast.com/ Check our list of previous guest episodes at https://www.wardocspodcast.com/episodes Listen to the “What We Are For” Episode 47. https://bit.ly/3r87Afm   WarDocs- The Military Medicine Podcast is a Non-Profit, Tax-exempt-501(c)(3) Veteran Run Organization run by volunteers. All donations are tax-deductible and go to honoring and preserving the history, experiences, successes, and lessons learned in Military Medicine. A tax receipt will be sent to you.   WARDOCS documents the experiences, contributions, and innovations of all military medicine Services, ranks, and Corps who are affectionately called "Docs" as a sign of respect, trust, and confidence on and off the battlefield, demonstrating dedication to the medical care of fellow comrades in arms.     Follow Us on Social Media Twitter: @wardocspodcast Facebook: WarDocs Podcast Instagram: @wardocspodcast LinkedIn: WarDocs-The Military Medicine Podcast

Jacob wonders, 'if field artillery was ever used against a Macedonian-style phalanx? If not, why not? The close formation and immobility of the phalanx would leave it extremely susceptible to scorpion, ballista, etc fire.'  Join us on Patron patreon.com/ancientwarfarepodcast  

The Joint Readiness Training Center is pleased to present the fifteenth episode to air on ‘The Crucible - The JRTC Experience.' Today's episode is hosted by the Task Force Senior of the Fires Task Force, LTC Aaron Thomas on behalf of the JRTC COG. Today's guest is the commander for 2nd Battalion, 77th Field Artillery Regiment of 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, LTC Adam Ropelewski. The SBCT's Hollywood call-sign is “Steel” while the regiment's motto is “En Garde” or “On Guard.”   The 2-77th FA was first constituted in July 1916 and served has valiantly in World War I, World War II, Vietnam, and the Global War on Terror campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan.   Their rotation at the JRTC was the first Stryker rotation in nearly five years as the rotational training unit. This rotation was an extremely complex rotation as TF Steel Fires had their normal compliment of field artillery batteries as well as a M-109A6 Paladin 155mm self-propelled Howitzer battery from 1st Armored Division.   In this episode they discuss some of lessons learned from operating indirect fires assets across complex, restrictive terrain in support of a Stryker brigade combat team during large scale combat operations. They discussed the need to pre-plan and rehearse fires procedures when operating with adjacent units, such as a supporting armored-mechanized team or advisor teams, as well as when conducting operations as part of a coalition force with our multinational partners. They emphasized the necessity of “leading with HE” during large-scale combat operations and the balancing act between deep fires and supporting the close fight for BCT operations. When used effectively, a Stryker BCT can over-match the enemy as it brings organic M-777 155mm self-propelled Howitzers and M-121 120mm mortars organic to companies and maneuver battalions, which gives the SBCT the ability to develop an echelonment of fires plan in depth.   Part of S07 “Joint Fires Discussions” series.   For additional information and insights from this episode, please checkout our Instagram page @the_jrtc_crucible_podcast   Be sure to follow us on social media to keep up with the latest warfighting TTPs learned through the crucible that is the Joint Readiness Training Center.   Follow us by going to: https://linktr.ee/jrtc and then selecting your preferred podcast format.

Today, my guest is former Army PFC Nate Haseleu. Nate grew up in Fargo, ND and attended Fargo South High School. In 2000, Nate swore in to the Army with an MOS of 13B-Artillery. He attended One Station Unit Training (which is both Basic and AIT) at Ft. Sill, OK. His first assignment was to the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Field Artillery in Giessen, Germany. In May 2003, he deployed to Baghdad, Iraq. He returned to Germany in 2004 and left the Army in 2007.

We finish up this weeks episode jus shooting the breeze - no pun intended - with a short discussion on field artillery. Obviously for Neil and myself the FA has a small place in our hearts and is a perishable skill that not everyone has the opportunity to experience and we like to ramble on a bit about the weapon systems and procedures that took place on the gun line. Thanks again for everyone who has listened! A special thanks goes out to those who have served and to those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom - have a safe and blessed Memorial Day! #dialthewild Check out Dial The Wild on Facebook and Instagram#dialthewild

I am joined by Neil Armstrong to discuss the "Curious Case of the Cannon." Our beloved Bravo Battery of the 2-123 FA Armory in Macomb, Illinois had a Civil War era cannon that was displayed there for several decades mysteriously disappear. Efforts being placed by the Bravo 2-123 Alumni group to get this relic back to Macomb have been ongoing and we could not resist to put it on podcast! We also dive into other aspects of military life and retirement. Please listen in on part one of our 2 part podcast talking about Field Artillery and our experiences in guard life! Check out Dial The Wild on Facebook and Instagram#dialthewild

Sgt Smith joins us here to shoot the shit and talk about her experience so far as a Woman in the Field Artillery world. Not in the FDC either, on the line! Enjoy --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/danny832/support

This edition features a story on how never leaving a fallen comrade not only applies to fellow Soldiers, but those outside the Military as well. Sgt. 1st Class Stephanie Widemond shares with us a story of a Soldier who exemplifies the Warrior Ethos. Sound bite includes Spc. James Story – Soldiers Medal Recipient, 3rd Battalion, 321st Field Artillery and Maj. Gen. James Huggins – Commander 82nd Airborne Division. Produced by Sgt. 1st Class Stephanie Widemond. Hosted by Petty Officer 2nd Class Santos Huante. Afghanistan .

Welcome to the final episode in the Gerard Daley series. In this episode Gerard discusses his path of combat thru Australia, New Guinea and the Philippines as we well as the impact the war had on him.

In this episode, we discuss other Japanese submarine attacks along the west coast of the United States during WWII as well as his additional training he undertook before he would ship out for Australia.

Jeff grew up in a small town in Ohio with big dreams to see and experience the world. Jeff was exposed to West Point early in life, and even visited the barracks when his uncle was a cadet. His early preparation and focus earned him a nomination and acceptance to the academy, but it did not prepare him for the breadth of the journey he was about to embark on. Jeff branched Field Artillery and posted to Germany with the expectation of being deployed to Kosovo for Peace Keeping operations, but stayed in Germany as a part of an Armored Task Force prepared to deploy to Iraq in support of the 173rd Airborne Brigade. Jeff would deploy to Northern Iraq early in 2003 with the 173rd Airborne and again in 2004 with the 1st Infantry Division. Jeff would serve in multiple countries across the globe and serve in various positions with the Field Artillery branch in support of the US Army, the Joint Force, and Multinational Forces. This is the first half of his story. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/joe-harrison0/support

Welcome to Episode 1 of the 3 part Gerard Daley series. Mr. Daley served in the Western Defense Command and  the First Cavalry 49th Field Artillery. In this episode Gerard discusses his entry into the military prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor, and witnessing the Japanese sub I-17 shell an oil refinery near Santa Barbara California and the ensuing panic.

John was inspired to apply to West Point from rural Michigan due to the examples of his father and uncle and the guidance of his mother. John was prepared for the physical and military rigors of West Point, but needed to lean upon the academic skills and expertise of those around him. John had success and enjoyed his time at West Point because of the individuals he surrounded himself with. John joined the Field Artillery branch and posted to Fort Hood with his peers. John had success and fulfillment within that community, but didn't see a future in military service beyond his initial service obligation. John transitioned from active duty to the Texas National Guard and Caterpillar. Those groups were critical to his transition; allowing structure, purpose, and community. John left the Texas National Guard and Caterpillar to get get closer to family and to build roots in a community. John found his roots in Team Red White and Blue. Where they help veterans build community through physical fitness, camaraderie, and community. This is his story. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/joe-harrison0/support

Fun fact: Alain and I served in the same battalion in the 82nd.  He now works for the Golden Knights, managing partnerships with key sponsors.  

Ready to learn the history, philosophy, and practice of an experienced professional in the test prep industry? MEET OUR GUEST Dr. Kuni Michael Beasley has a BS from Texas Christian University (GO Frogs!), an MBA from Oklahoma City University, a Doctor of Ministry in Greek and Hebrew from Tyndale Seminary, and a Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Arlington.  He has been helping students prepare for college for over 40 years.  Dr. Beasley has helped students enroll in the top colleges in the country including Harvard, West Point, Stanford, Notre Dame, Georgia Tech, Pepperdine, and MIT, with many on full scholarships.   Dr. Beasley has an eclectic background.  After earning his undergraduate degree, he served on active duty with the Army where he was the youngest commander in Europe in charge of a nuclear Field Artillery unit.  When he returned to the US, he oversaw Officer Training and developed several novel training strategies that won him a medal for his efforts.  While on active duty, Dr. Beasley earned his master's degree in fifty weeks attending classes at night.  He left active duty to take a position with the Federal Reserve Bank where he was a Training Specialist, Management Systems Coordinator, and the Strategic Planner.  While there, he worked on the new currency and applied creative ideas to operations and check processing.  From there, Dr. Beasley was the International Management Consultant for Caltex Petroleum overseeing executive development and strategic training for executives in 55 countries.   Dr. Beasley left corporate America to pursue a personal passion to coach football.  In his first year as a high school football coach, Coach Beasley's team won the 1994 Texas AAA state championship.  He returned to coaching in 2021 and led his team to the state championship game again. Seeing that many students were under-challenged, in 1996, Dr. Beasley started his own school in a rented Sunday School room at the First Baptist Church in Duncanville, Texas, with seven students.  By 2009, there were 22 schools from Springfield, Massachusetts to Hot Springs, Arkansas, to Palm Springs, California.  He initiated a College Readiness business taking his unique preparation process to public and private school students.  His SAT and ACT prep programs were used in public schools in nine states. Dr. Beasley taught college for sixteen years at several institutions including Northwood University, Dallas Baptist University, University of Texas at Arlington, and thirteen years at LeTourneau University.  He is credentialed to teach at the graduate level in 14 subject areas, including Business, Political Science, Public Administration, Urban Studies, Economics, Psychology, Geography, and Military History.  His Ph.D. is in Urban and Public Administration where he wrote his dissertation on the transition of the Federal Reserve in the late 80s.  He earned his Doctor of Ministry in Greek and Hebrew studies concurrently with his Ph.D.  Very few can bring a portfolio with military command, championship coaching, academic achievement, college teaching, school administration, and innovative entrepreneurship to build a nationwide business. You can find Kuni at info@beasleycollegeprep.com. ABOUT THIS PODCAST Tests and the Rest is THE college admissions industry podcast. Explore all of our episodes on the show page. ABOUT YOUR HOSTS Mike Bergin is the president of Chariot Learning and founder of TestBright. Amy Seeley is the president of Seeley Test Pros. If you're interested in working with Mike and/or Amy for test preparation, training, or consulting, feel free to get in touch through our contact page.

Guest: LTC Allen West   Listen to LTC Allen West on his podcast Steadfast & Loyal on all the podcast platforms.   Bio from the Young America's Foundation (YAF) website:   Lieutenant Colonel (Ret) Allen B. West is a Christian constitutional conservative, combat veteran, and former Member of the US Congress. Allen West was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia in the same neighborhood where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once preached. He is the third of four generations of military servicemen, all combat veterans, in his family. West was commissioned through ROTC at the University of Tennessee as a Second Lieutenant (2LT) on July 31, 1982. He entered active duty service in the U.S. Army on November 1, 1983 at Fort Sill to attend the Field Artillery Officer Basic Course. He later attended airborne and jumpmaster training at Fort Benning. West's first assignment was as an airborne infantry company fire support team leader and battalion training officer in the 325th Airborne Battalion Combat Team. In 1987, he was promoted to Captain and attended the Field Artillery Officer Advanced Course. He was then assigned to the 1st Infantry Division, where he commanded Bravo Battery, 6th Field Artillery Regiment and was a Battalion Task Force fire support officer for 2d Battalion, 16th Infantry Regiment. While with the 1st Infantry Division, he participated in Operations Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm. West's culminating assignment to his career was as Battalion Commander of the 2d Battalion 20th Field Artillery, 4th Infantry Division. He assumed command of this unit on June 6, 2002. He deployed with his unit during the Iraq War in 2003 and continued to command his battalion until his retirement from the Army in 2004 after 22 years of honorable service in defense of the Republic. In November of 2010, Allen was honored to continue his oath of service to his country when he was elected to the United States Congress, representing Florida's 22nd District. As a member of the 112th Congress, West introduced seven major pieces of legislation, and was the original sponsor of H. R. 1246 which reduces costs at the Department of Defense, was passed unanimously (393-0), and signed into law by President Obama as part of the National Defense Authorization Act. Congressman West voted for the Balanced Budget Amendment, and voted for over 30 different bills designed to empower small businesses, reduce government barriers to job creation, boost American competitiveness, encourage entrepreneurship and growth, and maximize American energy production. West holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and two Masters, one from Kansas State University and another from the US Army Command and General Staff Officers College. He is the former Executive Director of the National Center for Policy Analysis in Dallas Texas. West is an avid distance runner, a Master SCUBA diver, a motorcyclist, and in his spare time he enjoys cheering his beloved Tennessee Volunteers.   LTC West tells the story of a young soldier Audie Murphy, a boy from Texas who joined the military and became the most decorated soldier during WWII.   What is it about the military that it was able to take a young boy and turn him into a man? West talks about the “crucible of combat” and the challenges that boys are looking for to help mold them into men - to be “All that they can be”!   Today's culture is pushing back and “canceling” anything that makes anyone uncomfortable or allowing one person to stand out above another - the military of tomorrow will face greater challenges in molding and shaping the men of tomorrow!   Can a young man find this “formula” of “do hard things” outside the military? West suggests that a young man start with reading the Bible and specifically recommends the life lessons found in Romans 5 that talks about “rejoicing in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope…” West also recommends that young people don't quit when they run into adversity - learn to push through tough times West suggests that a young man START with solidifying their spiritual foundation - before they build their lives and careers, having a solid foundation is the key to a successful life! West warns against the current culture that celebrates “immediate gratification” - good things are worth the wait. Learn to have that “stick-to-itivness” West warns about the culture of the “participation trophy” - giving a reward for doing “nothing” - as LTC West says you have to “learn to pay the extra nickel if you want to go first class”  

Ryan Borders served 12 years in the Marine Corps in the Field Artillery division and achieved the rank of Gunnery Sergeant. Since leaving the military in 2001, Ryan has had several different professional iterations, along with completing his Bachelors degree in Business Management. Today he is the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Bravo Sports. Ryan is committed to giving back to the Veteran and First Responder communities by offer guidance and being a mentor to those making their transition to the civilian sector. PODCAST - LISTEN, WATCH, AND SUBSCRIBE https://linktr.ee/TransitionDrillPodcast CONNECT WITH RYAN https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanborders196/

Bric Simpson is a military leader, 20-year combat veteran, inventor, public speaker, and entrepreneur.   He has served several stateside humanitarian mobilizations and an overseas deployment from 2005-2006 in Ramadi Iraq with the 222nd Field Artillery out of Utah. Bric is passionate about changing veteran lives through technology and community-building, and the Forge Forward Project is his life's work. As early as 2016, he had plans to develop a business that would allow him to give back to the veteran community. In 2018, he developed a line of lifestyle apparel and men's care products as a way to raise funds to help his fellow vets in need. Bric and Forge Forward are developing a virtual reality program, available to all veterans across the country.  Through this program, veterans can connect with other veterans and therapists without ever leaving their home, broadening the scope of mental health to more of our brave men and women who selflessly defended, protected, and gave aid to Americans at home and abroad. “Adversity doesn't define you, it refines you–if you let it."  Bric Simpson   https://forgeforwardproject.org/bric-the-king-simpson/  Forge Forward Project Website https://www.instagram.com/forgeforwardproject/  Forge Forward Project Instagram https://www.facebook.com/forgeforwardproject Forge Forward Project Facebook

This episode features a conversation with BG (R) Michael Meese ‘81, President of the American Armed Forces Mutual Aid Association (AAFMAA), a not-for-profit, member-owned financial services association that provides life insurance, military benefits counseling, Survivor Assistance Services, residential mortgages, financial planning, investment management and trust services to the American Armed Forces Community.Michael retired from the US Army as a Brigadier General after serving for 32 years. At AAFMAA, Michael oversees all aspects of the Association to ensure the financial security and independence of the American Armed Forces Community through insurance and other benefits. In his career, he served in a variety of strategic political-military positions including deployments to Afghanistan, Iraq, and Bosnia. Michael was also the Executive Director of the Secretary of the Army's Transition Team in 2005. He is a leader in military and Veterans issues, including chairing the 2016-17 Transition Team for the Department of Veterans Affairs.In this episode of On Point, Michael talks about his time as a student, teacher, and Department Head of Social Sciences at West Point. He explains the importance of empowering people, educating them, and then allowing them the ability to run with what they've learned. Michael also gives insight into being a part of the presidential transition team, and how AAFMAA is working to give needed support to veterans, survivors, and caregivers.--------“You get paid to work out, you get paid to study, they send you to school, you get paid to read and develop professionally. And all of those skills are not there just because the military likes to do it. It's because it makes it a better force. If you have a smart force that's reading, that's studying, that's working out and it's doing all those things, it makes you more effective and it makes the force overall more effective.” - BG (R)Michael Meese ‘81--------Episode Timestamps(02:00) First segment: AAR(04:00) The Service Academy Global Summit(05:50) Michael's West Point experience(07:45) Teaching at West Point(08:00) Cadet walking hours(09:45) Mentorship(13:15) Branching in Field Artillery(17:30) Michael's Army career(23:45) Segment: Sit Rep(26:45) Retiring from the military(28:00) Working at AAFMAA(34:00) Mentorship(38:30) Segment: SOP(40:45) Physical fitness and Routines(41:30) Segment: Giving Back--------LinksMichael's LinkedInWest Point Association of GraduatesOn Point Podcast

Brigadier General Chris Dziubek, Commanding General of the 351st Civil Affairs Command, US Army Reserve, talks about his priorities, training exercises in the USINDOPACOM Area of Responsibility, and how you can get honest feedback from Soldiers before jumping out of an airplane. General Dziubek enlisted in 1986 into Field Artillery, commissioned through ROTC, and entered active duty in Aviation. He completed the Armor Officer Advanced Course and served in a few Engineer units. He later joined Civil Affairs and commanded troops at the company, battalion, and brigade echelons. Hosted and produced by John McElligott. One CA Podcast is brought to you by the Civil Affairs Association. Sponsored by Tesla Government and LC38 Brand.

Today, Sayre and Preston are joined by Erik Brun. Erik is a military historian and veteran himself with a family history of service. Erik served as a Field Artillery officer spending time in the California, Arizona, and Washington D.C. National Guard before his retirement in 2011. In this episode we talk about the Office of Strategic Services in World War II. The OSS was stood up as the American version of the British SOE (Special Operations Executive) that had been hard at work in the early years of the war. We get into the selection of members, what their missions looked like and the impact they had on the outcome of the war.

In this episode: A guided meditation on managing anxious thoughts. Hosted by U.S. Army Capt. (Dr.) Tegan Michl. The information in this podcast is for educational purposes and does not replace treatment. Patients should consult with a physician before making any changes to care. The views expressed in this presentation are those of the presenters and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Department of Defense, nor the U.S. Government. DHA Connected Health Defense Health Agency https://health.mil/connectedhealth Email: dha.connected-health@mail.mil Twitter: @DHAConnected (https://twitter.com/DHAConnected) Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DHAConnected Learn more about Mind-Body Medicine at https://www.med.navy.mil/Navy-Marine-Corps-Public-Health-Center/Population-Health/Health-Promotion-and-Wellness/ Learn more about Military Health Podcasts at https://health.mil/podcasts The Military Meditation Coach Podcast is produced by the Defense Health Agency in collaboration with the Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery. Music is Golden Chant by Joseph Beg. (https://www.epidemicsound.com/track/9SC28v445i/) U.S. Army Capt. (Dr.) Tegan Michl, 41st Field Artillery, U.S. Army Garrison, Bavaria, Germany, is a military service member. This work was prepared as part of official duties. Title 17, USC, §105 provides that ‘Copyright protection under this title is not available for any work of the U.S. Government.' Title 17, USC, §101 defines a U.S. Government work as a work prepared by a military service member or employee of the U.S. Government as part of that person's official duties.