Mark Hertling Profile picture
Jan 19, 2023 10 tweets 5 min read Read on X
The next US aid package to Ukraine will be announced Friday.

Reports suggest that package includes a large number of Stryker Fighting Vehicles & more Bradleys.

I'm pretty familiar with the Strykers. This is a terrific. 1/10

washingtonpost.com/national-secur…
In 2000, I was commanding 3/2 Armored Brigade (Arrowhead!), when I received new orders to be prepared to field a new organization with new equipment.

Our Brigade would become the 1st Interim Brigade Combat Team (IBCT), then later the Stryker Brigade Combat Team (SBCT) 2/
While the Abrams tank is named for GEN Creighton Abrams (hero of the Battle of the Bulge), and the Bradley is name after GEN Omar Bradley, the Stryker is named after two Medal of Honor winners - PFC Stuart Stryker (World War II) & SPC4 Robert Stryker (Vietnam) 3/
GEN Shinseki, a personal hero & one of my mentors, drove the fielding (that's him in a suit in this picture).

His idea: have an air deployable unit that generated great battlefield intelligence w/ vehicles that could bring lots of infantryman to the fight..quickly & quietly.4/
Influencing a bunch of tankers to give up their Abrams for a lightly armored "infantry bus" was tough.But they soon learned the power of intel-driven operations.

The Stryker proved their value in combat in Iraq & Afghanistan with even Special Operators wanting these vehicles. 5/
THEY ARE NOT A TANK!

They are lightly armored, and have either a .50 cal machine gun, a grenade launcher, or a 30mm cannon (w a lot of guys in back).

They are quick & quiet.

Our Division had a Brigade of Strykers in Iraq, they performed extremely well. 6/
There is also a Stryker with a 105mm gun (smaller and less powerful than an Abrams or Leopard 120mm).It's good infantry support.

The cannon has had some problems & I'm not sure if the Mobile Gun System (MGS or AGS) will be part of the package to Ukraine. We'll see. 7/
The wheels of the Stryker are better than tracked vehicles for roads;the down side is they get stuck...a lot. They're usually much easier to recover out of mud than a stuck tank.

Soldiers say they are easier to maintain, fix & keep running...& they use much less fuel.8/
The Friday package will likely include more Bradleys, which have more armor, a stronger gun & anti-tank missiles (TOWs).

Ukrainians are training now at Grafenwoehr & Hohenfels, Germany (@7thATC)

See my piece in @BulwarkOnline

thebulwark.com/what-bradley-f… 9/
A combination of these vehicles, HIMARS, M777, & additional T-72 (or other tanks) in the hands of a trained Ukrainian army will make a HUGE difference for offensive operations.

Looking forward to hearing confirmation...and news of what other @nato nations are providing. 10/10

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More from @MarkHertling

Nov 30
WRT national security & global threats, an extremely dangerous time re US "foes." -Massive Russian strikes in Ukraine -Georgia's "frozen conflict" heating up. -Moldova dealing with Russian troops in Transnistria -Russian economy collapsing...due to Putin's wars --Assad flees to Russia 1/4
-China intimidates Philippines, assaults Hong Kong's autonomy, represses Tibet & Xinjiang, threatens Taiwan, blocks international trade routes -N. Korea troops & weapons in Russia, increases missile capabilities -Hamas destroyed, but Hezbollah, IJ, MB & the Africa terror groups still active. 2/4
-Piracy increases in Persian Gulf and Red Sea regions -US, Mexico & Philippines rated as most active human trafficking countries -Draughts, famine & other climate change factors + outcome of conflicts causes increased migration into US & Europe. -Domestic terrorism indicators rising. 3/4
Read 4 tweets
Nov 5
It's interesting & emotional that @VP will be spending election night at her alma mater @HowardU in Washington, D.C.

A beautiful campus, an excellent institute of higher learning...

...and one that is connected to my own alma mater, @WestPoint_USMA

How so? A short 🧵 1/ Image
Howard U. is name after one of its founder & its first university president, Oliver Otis Howard.

An 1850 graduate of Maine's Bowdoin College at the age of 19, Howard entered & became a member of the class of 1854 at West Point.

He graduated 4th in his class of 46 cadets. 2/ Image
In 1855, Howard married Lizzy Waite (they would have 7 children).

Howard's 1st assignment was Florida during the Seminole Wars. While there, he converted to evangelical Christianity & considered being a minister.

After the war, he was sent to West Point to teach Math. 3/ Image
Read 10 tweets
Nov 4
Today, I remembered a couple of Iraqis I met during my last deployment in 2007-8, during the surge

It had to do with trust, confidence...and voting.

A short 🧵 1/10 Image
Image
The 1st was Muhammed, the man in the white thobe.

The battalion commander in the area asked me to come meet him, as Muhammed had been an insurgent who pledged allegiance to the new Iraqi government.

A fascinating guy. Spoke good English, had been a university student. 2/ Image
He told me he had been fighting the coalition, but he realized the "power of the finger was better than the power of the gun."

He was talking about the finger tdipped in blue ink indicating voting.

He said he would stop fighting, go back to school, & study politics. 3/
Read 10 tweets
Oct 4
Watching the Israeli operations in S. Lebanon today, as the IDF releases numerous photos of arms caches found in & near homes. 1/7Image
Image
Image
These are similar to what US forces found throughout Iraq when we were there.

Using civilian locations provides terror organizations w/ unique advantages:
- difficult to find
- difficult to target
- when found, striking/destroying results in civilian casualties. 2/Image
This morning, the IAF also struck a 3.5 km tunnel complex between Syria & Lebanon that provided a means of bringing those weapons to Hezbollah.

Between 0900-1100 hrs local time today, Hezbollah launched over 100 rockets & drones into N. Israel. 3/Image
Read 7 tweets
Sep 22
During a break in an MBA leadership class, a student asked me: What's it like serving in government, and what did you do to keep yourself fired up?

A thread 🧵 1/11
My response?

Sometimes it's tough - especially during deployments & the tough times being away from family.

But the vast majority of the people you work with, and the things you get to do, make it all worthwhile. 2/
Having never been on an airplane & having never left my hometown until I joined the Army, the adventures and the places I went to serve were awesome!

New countries, unique cultures, different languages, seeing the world, meeting new people? Yeah, nothin' better. 3/
Read 11 tweets
Sep 18
A few thoughts on what occurred in two different conflicts yesterday...the use of "killer pagers" by Israel and Ukraine's attack on the large ammo cache at Toropets military base 300+ miles inside Russia.

A short 🧵 1/12
First, the pagers.

In this article (gifted) from the @nytimes, the author claims there "no clear strategy" for this coordinated attack.

I disagree. Having used electronic & signals countermeasures in Iraq, the strategy is clear. 2/

nytimes.com/2024/09/18/wor…
Terrorist organizations - unlike conventional militaries who have encrypted signal capabilities - must find ways to communiate. It is important to continue to disrupt & counter this ability.

In Iraq, terrorist use of cell phones allowed US and ISF to glean valuable information & disrupt their networks. 3/
Read 13 tweets

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