SFTT Mission Statement SFTT carries on the life's work of our founder the late Col. David H. Hackworth (Ret.), one of America's greatest heroes and most valor-decorated soldiers, and his wife Eilhys England to give a voice to America's front-line troops - the kids Hack loved out at the tip of the spear - and to make sure they have the right leadership, training and equipment to meet their assigned missions and to make it home alive and in one piece.
5-23-2009 Bruce E. Fleming, Ph.D., Professor of English ,USNA So you’re coming to Annapolis
What to expect during your four years by the Bay, or at another service academy.
A summary of 22 years listening to midshipmen at the US Naval Academy
For the USNA Class of 2013
Congratulations! You’re coming to Annapolis, the U.S. Naval Academy—or one of the other service academies (though I’ll talk only about Annapolis, a lot of what I say here is true of the others as well). Maybe I’ll get lucky at the end of August, after you’re done with plebe summer, and have you in one of my plebe English classes, required for all students: we have several levels, however, and I only teach two sections a semester, for a total of about 40 students out of a plebe class of 1200. So probably not. If you don’t get me, you’ll get the results of a computer lottery that slots you into a schedule that works. Thus you’ll get one of my civilian colleagues, all of whom have a Ph.D. and have been here for a while, or a military instructor, almost all of whom have an M.A. and many of whom have just arrived. The same is true in your other required courses, where you’ll be placed depending on how well you do on the placement exams you’ll take during the summer. If you are at any service academy but Annapolis, the civilians will all be fewer, and not so entrenched. Annapolis has had civilian professors since its founding in 1845; it seems to be a point of pride of the administration to claim that there are equal numbers of civilian and military instructors. It’s not true—there are far fewer military than civilians, and the military instructors (who typically stay only 3 years, as opposed to a career) are concentrated in subjects like Leadership, Ethics, and Law, Naval Architecture, or some of the Engineering departments. Still, in English we have some uniforms too. Probably you’ll be too zonked out being a plebe to notice: I’ve had students who can’t remember who their teachers were from the semester before. Or is that the fault of the professor/instructor?
5-13-2009 Lt. Raymond Perry, USN (Ret.) The Japanese Defense Ship (JDS) Soryu
Recent news articles have touted the new Japanese submarine JDS Soryu. The standout element of this submarine is her Stirling Cycle engine. This engine is an external combustion engine that approaches the upper limit of the Carnot Cycle on heat engine efficiency...
For all Soryu’s capabilities, our Congress must not succumb to the siren call that would say the costs, or risks, of nuclear propulsion are too high and that a “reasonable alternative” is available with such ships as the Soryu.
04-14-2009-posted by Roger Charles [The Washington] Times earns public service award for VA investigation
[Editor's note: An SFTT collaborative project with The Washington Times has earned a major public service award from the Society for Professional Journalists. The series of articles, "Disposable Heroes," resulted in a congressional hearing and major changes to the way the Dept. of Veterans' Affairs will conduct future medical experiments on America's veterans. James Elliott, a veteran of service in Iraq with the U.S. Army, and his fiance, Tammy Hilburn, stood tall and spoke truth to power in bringing this story forward. Hack would be so damn proud of them, as all of us here at SFTT are!!]
The Washington Times was named Monday as a winner of the Society of Professional Journalists' Sigma Delta Chi Award for public service, one of investigative journalism's highest honors, for its series titled "Disposable Heroes" that disclosed the unethical treatment of veterans during a Veterans Affairs medical experiment...
The nonprofit veterans foundation that first alerted the Times to Mr. Elliott's case applauded the award as well. Eilhys England Hackworth, chairperson of Soldiers For The Truth Foundation (SFTT), said she was gratified to see Mr. Elliott's case get such the recognition it deserved, calling Mr. Filner's work in correcting the problems inside the VA as "an extraordinarily refreshing display of congressional oversight at its best, and one appropriate to the Times' robust efforts to reintroduce accountability journalism to Washington."
04-2-2009-Lt. Raymond Perry USN (Ret.) Submarine Service needs to put rudder "hard over
The Navy's "steady-as-she-goes" attitude reflected in this sequence of repeated, severe submarine accidents marks a clear course leading to the loss of a submarine.
With the revelation that the USS Hartford was rolled over to 85 degrees by the impact of the USS New Orleans it is now clear that this was no small accident.
03-24-2009-Lt. Raymond Perry USN (Ret.) They Bent the Sail Over
At 1:00 AM on March 20th 2009, Captain Ryan Brookhart, skipper of the USS Hartford, a Los Angeles Class attack submarine, heard the sounding of the ships collision alarm just as she rolled some 10-20 degrees.
03-19-2009 Staff Writer Blind Spot -- Missing: Thousands of Night Vision Devices Sent to Iraq
The United States and Iraqi militaries cannot account for thousands of night-vision devices shipped to Iraq since 2005, according to a new report by the Pentagon's top inspector, raising questions about the whereabouts of high-tech goggles that give U.S. and coalition forces a decisive edge in night ground combat operations.
3-13-2009- Roger Charles Army major: "steel plate that was inside my body armor" saved his life.
[DefenseWatch Editor's note: This is the second field grade Army officer identified by name as having been issued metal "back-stop" plates in addition to ceramic plates for his body armor. Any enlisted troopers being provided this life-saving extra layer of ballistic protection?]
Wounded soldiers pedal for community awareness
3/12/2009 2:47 PM
By: Heidi Zhou
Maj. Dave Underwood says he would not trade back losing his arm for the two years he spent serving overseas.
A year ago, Maj. Dave Underwood of San Antonio almost lost his chance to see his wife and two kids again. He and his soldiers were searching for booby-trapped houses south of Baghdad. Underwood explained the life-threatening situation.
"I stepped on a pressure strip, and there was a device on one of the houses that blew out," he said. "I had my hand up pushing a button on my chest for my radio. The blast came through my wrist and stopped at the steel plate that was inside my body armor." [Emphasis added.]
Underwood lost his left arm above the elbow. He spent two months at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington D.C.
3-10-2009- Raymond Perry
What and Where is the Battlefield? Changing the Paradigm!
There has been a long simmering issue of just how those captured, with evidence of participation in al Queda’s declared war on the United States, should be treated.
Are they simply criminals, are they somehow entitled to protections of the Geneva Conventions, at least if caught on some distant battlefield?
Or, are they in some other category unrelated to our Laws of Warfare? How can they be held accountable for their savage treatment of captives?
2-24-2009- Posted by Roger Charles
UVa student designs body armor he might wear
... U.S. Army Sgt. Jeff O’Dell saw vivid examples of body armor saving American lives during his deployment in Iraq...
The University of Virginia second-year student also knows how Enhanced Small Arms Protective Inserts can restrict movement and fail to stop multiple bullets...
“The vest has saved the lives of some of my buddies, but having worn it a lot I know it can be improved upon. It’s too heavy, it doesn’t stop multiple rounds and it doesn’t flex.
“The Army has had a lot of issues with the body armor being recalled, and a lot of the troops have been complaining about its effectiveness, weight and so forth. I really think it’s something that needs to be fixed.”
2-17-2009- Posted by Roger Charles
U.Va. engineering students designing new body armor
... U.S. Army Sgt. Jeff O’Dell saw vivid examples of body armor saving American lives during his deployment in Iraq...
The University of Virginia second-year student also knows how Enhanced Small Arms Protective Inserts can restrict movement and fail to stop multiple bullets...
“The vest has saved the lives of some of my buddies, but having worn it a lot I know it can be improved upon. It’s too heavy, it doesn’t stop multiple rounds and it doesn’t flex.
“The Army has had a lot of issues with the body armor being recalled, and a lot of the troops have been complaining about its effectiveness, weight and so forth. I really think it’s something that needs to be fixed.”
Recent news reported that a Royal Navy Ballistic Missile Submarine, the HMS Vanguard, and a French Navy Ballistic Missile Submarines, the FS Le Triomphant, suffered a submerged collision February 3rd. Both vessels have now returned to homeport, with the HMS Vanguard under tow.
Both Navies have provided information but precious little useful in assessing what happened. Submarine Forces are notable in keeping operating methods under wraps and details of this collision will be no exception.
It’s not every day that one gets to meet a living recipient of the Medal of Honor. In the last four years, I’ve had the good fortune to meet two recipients of our nation’s highest award for valor from the Vietnam War.
The first was former Senator and Governor of Nebraska Bob Kerrey and I met him at the memorial service held for SFTT founder, the late Colonel David Hackworth (USA, Ret.) when he was laid to rest at Arlington Cemetery in May 2005. The second and most recent meeting occurred this past Sunday evening (January 11, 2009) and it took place at a small Italian restaurant named Tuscany Bistro in Pluckemin, New Jersey.
This local family owned restaurant served as the venue for a book signing for Colonel Jack Jacobs, Infantry, U.S. Army (Ret.), recipient of the Medal of Honor for his actions as a young First Lieutenant assigned as an advisor to a South Vietnamese infantry regiment in Kien Phuong province, Republic of Vietnam on March 9, 1968.
Roger Charles - 2-1-2009
Delta Force & Special Forces don't wear Interceptor Body Armory - Why not?
US Special Operations and Special Forces troopers -- and their commanders -- know that the ceramic plates DO NOT CONSISTENTLY PROVIDE THE SPECIFIED BALLISTIC PROTECTION claimed by Army and Marine Corps acquisition officials.
Readers of DefenseWatch are well aware that for the past three and a half years whenever we raised questions about the performance of Interceptor Body Armor and its ceramic plates, Army and Marine Corps generals responded adamantly that America's frontline troops were wearing the best body armor in the world. "Bar none" was the phrase added by Brigadier General Mark Browne to add emphasis to his claim that US soldiers were wearing the best in the world. (Brown was at the time the general officer in charge of body armor for the US Army.)
Sara A. Carter - Washington Times Jan 30th, 2009
Army's recalled armor failed tests
The Pentagon's inspector general has found that some body armor made for the Army from 2005 to 2007 failed initial ballistics tests designed to prove that the armor can block bullets.
An audit released Thursday said some of the ceramic plates tested from June 2005 to August 2007 failed and that bullets completely penetrated the armor.
Sara A. Carter - Washington Times Jan 29th, 2009
Army to recall armor
The Army will withdraw from service more than 16,000 sets of ceramic body armor plates that the Pentagon's inspector general believes were not properly tested and could jeopardize the lives of U.S. service personnel, The Washington Times has learned.
Contributed by A Frustrated NCO & posted by Roger G. Charles 12-01-2008
Another Warrior Dies Who Might Well Have Been Saved
What I can tell you now is that in the heart of Baghdad, a soldier wounded seriously in an combination EFP-SAF [Small Arms Fire] attack, died. The thing about it is, he died roughly an hour after the attack (55 minutes I think it was)...only five minutes after arriving by MedEvac chopper at the CSH. Something is very wrong with that given the distances involved.
As I mentioned before, it defeats the purpose of sending a chopper if command policies dictate actions and procedures that take a soldier almost an hour to get by helicopter to medical attention he could have reached in a quarter of that time in a ground convoy moving with a purpose! Its just over the river to the CSH [Combat Support Hospital]...plenty of straight, wide open MSR's. I think I tallied up a 34 minutes delay when I mentioned the timeline in the email below. Still, twice as long as it would have taken to drive the wounded to the CSH here in Baghdad.
WTF?
A reporter with a national media outlet is currently researching a story on personal combat equipment.
He wishes to communicate with those who have worn such gear for sustained periods in tactical operations (to include convoy duty).
10-18-2008 - By Roger Charles Pat Tillman Redux: More Friendly Fire, More Army Lies
Here's a video that's should be required viewing for every Perfumed Prince wannabe and every FOBitt hugging REMF.
In 52 minutes it presents an absolutely stunning portrayal of the chaos and raw emotions resulting from yet another friendly fire incident that occurred on 4 Dec 2006 when cannon fire from a US tank killed two Soldiers.
DefenseWatch was tipped to the video by the father of a Soldier who was killed 5 years ago, holding his empty M249 machine gun. This fallen warrior had only been issued 200 rounds for the "milk run" that turned deadly when his captain went to "get some" by rushing to the reported location of an enemy rocket team. The admin-resupply convoy in their unarmored Humvees, not expecting and not prepared for offensive operations, ran smack into, of all things, an ambush.
This Gold-Star Father characterized the scene portrayed on the video as...
10-8-2008 - By BBC NEWS BREAKING! BAE firm in body armour pay-out
A subsidiary of UK defence giant BAE Systems has agreed to pay a $30m (£17m) settlement to the US government in a case about defective body armour.
Armor Holdings is also co-operating with a wider US probe into the body armour industry's use of a material that the US claims degrades over time.
But the company denies it made and sold bullet-proof vests while knowing the material, Zylon, was unsuitable.
US police forces and other emergency services have bought vests using Zylon.
The United States Department of Justice had accused Armor Holdings of knowingly making and selling bullet-proof vests despite having information that a key material used in their manufacture was unsuitable.
In a statement on its website, the department welcomed the settlement and agreement of co-operation.
Gregory Katsas, the assistant attorney general for the Civil Division, said: "The Justice department will not tolerate its first responders wearing defective bullet-proof vests.
"This settlement will help ensure that first responders receive the highest quality ballistic protection."
Dept. of Justice Press Release: Armor Holdings Products LLC Pays U.S. $30 Million for the Sale of Defective Zylon Bullet-Proof Vests
... This settlement is part of a larger investigation of the body armor industry’s use of Zylon in body armor. As part of today’s agreement, Armor Holdings has pledged its cooperation in the government’s ongoing investigation. The United States previously settled with three other participants in the Zylon body armor industry for more than $16 million...
01-18-2008 - Roger Charles Trooper's Eyewitness Account of ESAPI Plate Failing
to Stop Second AK-47 Round
Editor's Note: The following account was submitted by an eyewitness to the informal "ballistic test" of an ESAPI (Level IV) plate. Some identifying information has been deleted to protect the source. This is his report of the event, in his own words. Any other observers out there who care to report successes or failures are encouraged to contact me at sftteditor@aol.com. All sources must be willing to establish bona fides before their information will be reported.
The demo included two rounds of 9mm and two rounds of 7.62mm NON-armor piercing rounds going into a Level 4 Interceptor plate. Nothing scientific about the demo, just a vest hanging on a post, shot from about 25 yards.
One of the 7.62 rounds made it through! [Emphasis added.]
The David Hackworth
Memorial DVD
Includes rare footage from Hack's memorial
service at Fort Myers Chapel and burial in Arlington National
Cemetery.
Domestic Price: $30.00
International Price: $45.00
Please allow 4-6 weeks for delivery Shipping & Handling: Included
- S u p p o r t t h e T r o o p s w i t h M o r e t h a n L i p S e r v i c e -
All
donations received from purchasing of The Hackworth Memorial DVD
go to Soldiers for the Truth (sftt.org ) a 501 (c) 3 non-profit,
non-partisan apolitical foundation established by Hack and his
wife Eilhys to make sure that America's front-line forces--the
kids Hack loved out at the tip of the spear--always have the right
training, leadership and equipment to meet their assigned missions
and make it home alive and in one piece.
Congratulations! You’re coming to Annapolis, the U.S. Naval Academy—or one of the other service academies (though I’ll talk only about Annapolis, a lot of what I say here is true of the others as well). Maybe I’ll get lucky at the end of August, after you’re done with plebe summer, and have you in one of my plebe English classes, required for all students: we have several levels, however, and I only teach two sections a semester, for a total of about 40 students out of a plebe class of 1200. So probably not. If you don’t get me, you’ll get the results of a computer lottery that slots you into a schedule that works. Thus you’ll get one of my civilian colleagues, all of whom have a Ph.D. and have been here for a while, or a military instructor, almost all of whom have an M.A. and many of whom have just arrived. The same is true in your other required courses, where you’ll be placed depending on how well you do on the placement exams you’ll take during the summer. If you are at any service academy but Annapolis, the civilians will all be fewer, and not so entrenched. Annapolis has had civilian professors since its founding in 1845; it seems to be a point of pride of the administration to claim that there are equal numbers of civilian and military instructors. It’s not true—there are far fewer military than civilians, and the military instructors (who typically stay only 3 years, as opposed to a career) are concentrated in subjects like Leadership, Ethics, and Law, Naval Architecture, or some of the Engineering departments. Still, in English we have some uniforms too. Probably you’ll be too zonked out being a plebe to notice: I’ve had students who can’t remember who their teachers were from the semester before. Or is that the fault of the professor/instructor?
At 1:00 AM on March 20th 2009, Captain Ryan Brookhart, skipper of the USS Hartford, a Los Angeles Class attack submarine, heard the sounding of the ships collision alarm just as she rolled some 10-20 degrees.
The United States and Iraqi militaries cannot account for thousands of night-vision devices shipped to Iraq since 2005, according to a new report by the Pentagon's top inspector, raising questions about the whereabouts of high-tech goggles that give U.S. and coalition forces a decisive edge in night ground combat operations.
Wounded soldiers pedal for community awareness
The Army will withdraw from service more than 16,000 sets of ceramic body armor plates that the Pentagon's inspector general believes were not properly tested and could jeopardize the lives of U.S. service personnel, The Washington Times has learned. 
What I can tell you now is that in the heart of Baghdad, a soldier wounded seriously in an combination EFP-SAF [Small Arms Fire] attack, died. The thing about it is, he died roughly an hour after the attack (55 minutes I think it was)...only five minutes after arriving by MedEvac chopper at the CSH. Something is very wrong with that given the distances involved.
