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pacman · 10-30-2007, 10:04 AM

Ah gee you sure told me. Less than two weeks on this forum and I get called a liar and I am threatened. I guess the "no flaming rule" doesn't apply to regulars.

You have made two assumptions, both almost certainly erroneous. 1) That my uncle was sent out immediately with no training and 2) that because he was a clerk , he was innately unqualified to be a soldier. Both of these are not true.

I can't speak for WW II. I wasn't there . But I can speak with some authority about Vietnam. Reporters, both military and civilian, were everywhere. They went on missions all of the time, including with LRRP teams. Read Michael Kerr's Dispatches or Tim Page's collections of photos. Tim Page was a Brit by the way and did go out with LRRP teams on a regular basis. I doubt that either Page or Kerr went through extensive training. In both Iraq wars, reporters essentially no training were embedded with American and British forces. So I am puzzled as to why the fact that an American soldier was sent to accompany and LRDG Group in a largely reporting role is so unthinkable

Steinar, Tac Foley, Before you accuse me of rewriting history you actually ought to read some. The British Army was short-handed from Dunkirk until the end of the war. That lack of resources in both men and material had a great impact on Monty' strategy and may have been a root cause of much of the friction between him and the American commanders.

As a result a significant portion of the LRDG involved in Africa WERE foreigners. They were New Zealanders. The LRDG also worked with a Free Polish unit and interestingly, a group of German Jews. Read John Gordon's book on the subject, which is excellent. I can recommend several others if you actually want to study the subject instead of making accusations.

Like the formation of the Green Berets in the U.S. the formation of SF in Britain was highly controversial among regular soldiers. Sir William Slim (Commander of the british Campaign against the Japanese in Burma stated " The British Army in World War II had spawned a surprising amount of special units and Formation... each trained and equipped and prepared for some particular type of operation....These had, on the whole turned out to be expensive wasteful and unnecessary... The quote is right out of Gordon's book. Read it!!! As a result of this friction during the war, these special forces groups had to compete with regular units for scarce personnel and equipment. They also suffered high loss rates. Many units, Special Forces and otherwise, were happy to get warm bodies. I doubt that my uncle's original mission included going out on raids. But it is also unlikely that any short handed officer would not use all of the resources at his disposal, including a reporter, in a combat role.

I have been called many things during my 56 years. But I have never been called a liar... until now. It is NOT appreciated.

10-30-2007, 10:04 AM	#10
pacman User Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Houston Texas Posts: 8 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Ah gee you sure told me. Less than two weeks on this forum and I get called a liar and I am threatened. I guess the "no flaming rule" doesn't apply to regulars. You have made two assumptions, both almost certainly erroneous. 1) That my uncle was sent out immediately with no training and 2) that because he was a clerk , he was innately unqualified to be a soldier. Both of these are not true. I can't speak for WW II. I wasn't there . But I can speak with some authority about Vietnam. Reporters, both military and civilian, were everywhere. They went on missions all of the time, including with LRRP teams. Read Michael Kerr's Dispatches or Tim Page's collections of photos. Tim Page was a Brit by the way and did go out with LRRP teams on a regular basis. I doubt that either Page or Kerr went through extensive training. In both Iraq wars, reporters essentially no training were embedded with American and British forces. So I am puzzled as to why the fact that an American soldier was sent to accompany and LRDG Group in a largely reporting role is so unthinkable Steinar, Tac Foley, Before you accuse me of rewriting history you actually ought to read some. The British Army was short-handed from Dunkirk until the end of the war. That lack of resources in both men and material had a great impact on Monty' strategy and may have been a root cause of much of the friction between him and the American commanders. As a result a significant portion of the LRDG involved in Africa WERE foreigners. They were New Zealanders. The LRDG also worked with a Free Polish unit and interestingly, a group of German Jews. Read John Gordon's book on the subject, which is excellent. I can recommend several others if you actually want to study the subject instead of making accusations. Like the formation of the Green Berets in the U.S. the formation of SF in Britain was highly controversial among regular soldiers. Sir William Slim (Commander of the british Campaign against the Japanese in Burma stated " The British Army in World War II had spawned a surprising amount of special units and Formation... each trained and equipped and prepared for some particular type of operation....These had, on the whole turned out to be expensive wasteful and unnecessary... The quote is right out of Gordon's book. Read it!!! As a result of this friction during the war, these special forces groups had to compete with regular units for scarce personnel and equipment. They also suffered high loss rates. Many units, Special Forces and otherwise, were happy to get warm bodies. I doubt that my uncle's original mission included going out on raids. But it is also unlikely that any short handed officer would not use all of the resources at his disposal, including a reporter, in a combat role. I have been called many things during my 56 years. But I have never been called a liar... until now. It is NOT appreciated.