Thread by @LookNoFurther4

1 We learned moments ago that the Pentagon is considering a major troop realignment that would involve shifting the focus of US military engagement away from counter-terrorist operations to more direct challenges arrayed against China and Russia.

2 There is more to this story than meets the eye. Our conflicts with China deal with economic issues and with matters of dominance in East Asia. Obama's TPP was designed to counter both aspects of China's emerging dominance. Abandoning the TPP was a big mistake. Big.

3 There is no viable military counter to Russia. They are competing against us in the cyber warfare arena and they are winning, currently. We counter them by regulating our free-for-all internet info machines and by strengthening our multinational alliances....then using..

4 ...that multinational leverage to go after Putin as he peck-peck-pecks away at Eastern Europe. So, the cover story that this troop realignment is meant to reflect a shifting military objective -- to China and Russia -- just doesn't add up. My guess is that the cover story is

5 ...hiding a Trump demand that "we bring our troops home." Trump is doing nothing but running for reelection. He campaigned on "bringing the troops home" in 2016. He wants to claim he satisfied this campaign promise. There is no strategy behind this move.

6 I come from a military family. Going way back in our history. When news like this hits my computer, I think about the troops who are out there, on the line, and are now being used as political pawns. There is no respect or understanding for their sacrifices or motivations.

7 And I often think about Robert Mueller. He exemplifies what is great about the American military.

So begins the lesson.

8 Mueller served as a rifle platoon leader in South Vietnam in 1968-69. He had one of the most dangerous jobs and he served during the bloodiest period of our engagement there. Mueller had completed Ranger School and Jump School and had earned two marksmanship badges.

9 Mueller was a Marine. 22.5% of the Marines deployed to Vietnam were killed or wounded in the war. It was Mueller’s job to actively seek out and engage well-armed and trained enemy units of the North Vietnamese regular army.

10 He did so in a mountainous area of dense jungle in Quang Tri Province, in the northernmost section of South Vietnam, just outside the North Vietnamese sanctuary of the DMZ ( a 2 kmstrip of no man’s land established in the 1954 Geneva Accords that divided N and South Vietnam).

11 DMZ. The white pock marks are bomb craters. You are looking north, into North Vietnam.

12 When Mueller arrived in SVN in June '68, he was 24 years old. He'd meeb narried to his high school sweetheart for a year and a half. His wife was pregnant with their first child. Mueller was put in charge of a rifle unit of 40 men.

13 Mueller would receive battle commendations for his actions in 2 fierce firefights. In Dec'68, Mueller’s unit was stationed at Vandegrift Combat Base, a Marine base located ten miles south of the DMZ.These are DOD photos of Vandegrift taken around that time.

14 Vandegrift. For all you sissies out there, remember these guys didn't go to a hotel for a hot shower and nice meal at the end of the day.

15 Initially, Mueller’s unit was charged with providing security to the base. On Dec 7, Mueller's unit joined in Op Scotland II, a 6 month mission 2 seek out & engage NVA regular army units on the Khe Sanh plateau & across the western 1/3 of Quang Tri Province.

16 Mueller’s unit was charged with retaking a hill strategically located near a place called Mutter’s Ridge. It would be Mueller’s first major battle of the war.

17 Early on the morning of Dec 11, 1968, Mueller’s unit came to the defense of another Marine unit that was under heavy attack on a nearby hill. Heavy vegetation in the valley that separated Mueller’s unit from the Marines under attack made the journey there long and difficult.

18 When Mueller’s platoon reached the other Marine unit at the top of the hill, they encountered many Marines that had already been wounded in battle. NVAhidden in the dense vegetation began firing on Mueller’s unit with small arms, machine guns and a grenade launcher.

19 There are reports that some members of Mueller’s unit ran out of ammunition in the ensuing firefight. This is a photo of a Marine ferrying ammunition in Operation Scotland II on December 12, 1968.

20 Two of Mueller’s men were trapped beneath a ridge in the midst of the enemy firestorm with no more ammunition. Both had been shot — one was mortally wounded.

21Mueller and another man left their relatively safe position at the top of the ridge and went down to rescue the two trapped Marines. After retrieving the wounded man together, Mueller went back down the hill alone and retrieved the body of the dead Marine.

22 Of the two Marine units that had been engaged in combat on that hill, 13 had been killed and 31 more had been wounded.

23 On April 22, 1969, Mueller’s unit became engaged in another intense firefight in Quang Tri Province with North Vietnamese army troops. Mueller was shot in the thigh in a close firefight, but continued on with directing the men under his command despite his wounds.

24 After the battle, Mueller was airlifted to a medical field hospital near Dong Ha, for a three week recovery period. This is what US military hospitals looked like then.

25 Mueller receives an award from his regimental commander, Col. Martin “Stormy” Sexton, in Dong Ha, South Vietnam, 1969. Mueller got desk duty after this. He hated it. Had R&R and met his wife and new daughter. Went to law school. You know the rest.

26 There are thousands of men and women serving right now who are like Mueller. They deserve a Commander in Chief who respects them. Of all of the reasons to want Trump gone, this is #1 for me.

27 If deep historical reporting that bears on current issues is your thing, then YOU HAVE FOUND ME.

Our in-depth report on Mueller's Vietnam service is here: look.substack.com/p/lt-robert-s-…

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