Fact checking the fact checker

ABC News is so Obama. So Obama that they’ll carry his water. That’s what happened today. Jack Tapper decided to investigate the story Obama spun last night in the debate about the infantry platoon leader who was apparently scrouging weaponry for his undermanned platoon in the local weapons bazaar.

The Army captain, a West Point graduate, did a tour in a hot area of eastern Afghanistan from the Summer of 2003 through Spring 2004.

Prior to deployment the Captain — then a Lieutenant — took command of a rifle platoon at Fort Drum. When he took command, the platoon had 39 members, but — in ones and twos — 15 members of the platoon were re-assigned to other units. He knows of 10 of those 15 for sure who went to Iraq, and he suspects the other five did as well.

The platoon was sent to Afghanistan with 24 men.

Obama made it sound as if these problems were all occurring today – not 4-5 years ago when we were still trying to figure out what kind of war this going to be.

I’m guessing that understrength units in the 10th Division were brought up to strength before they deployed to Iraq by cross-loading units. It also means that this young lieutenant’s platoon wasn’t up to full strength, either – there’s no way he had a full strength platoon in an understregth unit. If this happened at all, to man all of the major weapons systems unit-wide, the Division G-1 probably moved people by specialty to where they were needed. Since the captain admitted that his platoon was only assigned four Humvees, 24 men was more than he can handle anyway. In the Army we call it task force management. Iraq and Afghanistan were two different wars each having different personnel requirements.

At Fort Drum, in training, “we didn’t have access to heavy weapons or the ammunition for the weapons, or humvees to train before we deployed.”

What ammunition?

40 mm automatic grenade launcher ammunition for the MK-19, and ammunition for the .50 caliber M-2 machine gun (“50 cal.”)

That’s hardly the “ammunition” shortage that Obama described is it? But there’s more;

Also in Afghanistan they had issues getting parts for their MK-19s and their 50-cals. Getting parts or ammunition for their standard rifles was not a problem.

“It was very difficult to get any parts in theater,” he says, “because parts are prioritized to the theater where they were needed most — so they were going to Iraq not Afghanistan.”

“The purpose of going after the Taliban was not to get their weapons,” he said, but on occasion they used Taliban weapons. Sometimes AK-47s, and they also mounted a Soviet-model DShK (or “Dishka”) on one of their humvees instead of their 50 cal.

Now they needed training time in Drum for the .50 cal M2 and the 40 mm, but they didn’t need any training time for a Soviet machinegun? Amazing troops.

I can’t imagine there being supply problems in a 9,000-mile supply train. So the problem wasn’t with the weapons the troops needed to perform their daily missions, there weren’t ammo shortages and weapons shortages.

I find it difficult to believe a responsible platoon sergeant would let his troops duct-tape a Soviet-era 12.7 mm (.51 cal) machinegun to their vehicle since no weapons mount would sufficiently and safely attach a foreign weapon to their Humvee.

Oh, and up-armored Humvees weren’t even an issue for Afghanistan during this captain’s tour. Roadside bombs were strictly a problem in Iraq at the time.

Of course, it’s all milbloggers’ fault;

I might suggest those on the blogosphere upset about this story would be better suited directing their ire at those responsible for this problem, which is certainly not new. That is, if they actually care about the men and women bravely serving our country at home and abroad.

Pound sand, goober. Just because you talked to some guy, that doesn’t make the story true. The ammo shortages and spare part shortages had been chronic problems in the military since before 1999 – so don’t give me your sanctimonious horseshit about caring for the troops. Why is it we’re hearing about five years later, where was your punk ass five years ago? One reason we’re hearing about it so much later might be because it’s false. Dumbass.

Ace smells something fishy. Uncle Jimbo has General Obama “In the crosshairs”. Michael Goldfarb reports Congressional inquiries.

Category: Media, Politics, Terror War