Day 90, Walk for Warriors

There's a Good Time Coming

There's a good time coming, boys,
A good time coming,
A good time coming;
We may not live to see the day,
But earth shall glisten in the ray.
Of the good time coming.
Cannon balls may aid the truth,
But thought's a weapon stronger;
Well win our battle by its aid;
Wait a little longer.

There's a good time coming, boys,
A good time coming,
A good time coming;

1st stanza, Stephen Foster's, There's A Good Time Coming


Black clouds followed me all morning like so many stray dogs looking for action. I shed the running shoes again in favor of the sturdy, water resistant hiking boots. The trade-off had always been a tough decision for me because the darn things feel like vice grips on my feet after the third hour of a fast march. No matter, I tied them on and set out for Gulf Shores Beach under a veil of mist.

The beach crew stood around in a tight group waiting for the supervisor to call it quits as thunder crashed above the parking lot. It was a difficult decision for the woman because the conditions were changing every moment: rain, heavy wind, no wind, black skies, and the cracking whip of lightning in the peripheral vision of the crew. I walked past several crews this morning as they huddled against the elements. Maybe they were waiting for an impromptu visit from the Vice President. We knew he was headed our way.

In the end, after visiting New Orleans, Vice President Biden did reportedly visit the beach at Pensacola. I haven’t heard any sound bytes yet. I wonder if he talked to any of the Joes working the shovels and nets, or whether he did one of those – white-sleeves-rolled-up-photo-opportunities that is supposed to make us think he did some work today. Politicians like that photo. It never has fooled me much. I hope he really saw something he can take back home.

During the walk I ran into a couple from Mississippi. The husband started right into a mid-stream conversation with me. I could tell his wife was used to that sort of thing so she stood aside smiling as her husband, a fishing boat captain, started a comedic riff right there on the roadside.

His report took on the voice of Vice President Biden and went something like this: “Hey, did you guys know there’s oil on the beach in Pensacola?” Rahm would giggle and then Mr. Vice President would stop him with a pithy, “Shut up, Rahm! At least I went all the way down there.” Axelrod would calm the snickering table. Mr. Vice President would add, “Any you fellas ever been to Florida? It’s nice…Some guy from B.P. said he would take me tarpon fishing next time.” The fisherman handled all the voices. I stared in amazement.

Every day’s walk has been different from the one before. I was wondering what today might bring as the sky roiled around and above me. This wasn’t a sky like an afternoon thunder cloud filled sky. Our position was definitely in the path of Tropical Storm Alex. Sometimes the wind would ramp up to forty miles an hour, then in an instant it would cease. There were several episodes today where the white sand from parking lots on the bay side of the road would tumble toward me at high speed, until I found myself being sprayed with tiny grains of vicious limestone particles.

A third grader on her way to viola lessons saw me and said, “Mommy, there’s that funny man again. I think he’s doing the pee-pee dance.” The mother who was driving a black Suburban put down her I-Pad and covered her daughter’s eyes with one hand. “Don’t look at him, baby girl, he’s probably from California.”

About at the half way point the rain started coming down hard. I chose to run for about thirty minutes hoping to make up some ground toward the truck just in case it really started to pour. When I realized the rain was steady as she goes I slowed my pace back to a normal speed and enjoyed the walk immensely.

I could see a young couple walking in the rain. They held hands and acted goofy. They crossed the coastal road at least three times before intersecting with me near an empty beach hotel. We said our hellos as I walked quickly around them. That must have aroused their competitive juices because shortly thereafter they sprinted past me laughing their heads off. It was raining so hard by then that they kept running until they reached the door of the hotel lobby. As they entered the hotel the couple turned and waved to me as if we had just spent a day at the beach together.

Back at the KOA office, Miss C. was unrolling some quarters for me to use in the washing machines out back. I asked her, “Do you know if there are any Mom and Pop catfish houses around?”

“My husband and I used to see ‘em out in the country. You know we would zoom by and say to each other, ‘Ooh, that looked good.’ But we rarely stopped. No, I can’t say as I could tell you where you could go.”

“I ate at a few of those great old places thirty years ago where you sat down at a long table with strangers and made a fool out of yourself taking that, “All You Can Eat”, thing seriously.”

“Yeah, I miss those.”

Just then the phone rang. Miss C. picked it up, “I’m sorry to hear that. You were spending five nights with us. “Personal reasons?”. Okay, Hun, that’s fine. I’ll put down “Personal Reasons”. Can I ask you if the oil spill had anything to do with your decision?” Okay, I’ll stick with the personal reason. We hope you’ll think about staying with us next year. Thank you. Bye.”

I asked her, “Is that happening a lot?”

“You know someone plans to spend five days at our white sandy beaches. They planned a year ago then this thing happens. You can’t blame ‘em.”

“No, I guess you can’t. Thanks for the quarters.”

“You bet, Sugar.”

Good intelligence for the battlefield has always been important. Many have thought that our military intelligence provided to the commanders on the ground in Afghanistan was sorely lacking until a new report came out in January of this year.

In an unprecedented move, Major General Michael Flynn published a scathing Pentagon report in a publicly disseminated digest. Gates didn’t like that part but he really approved of its content. The report was prepared and delivered while Gen. McChrystal was still in charge of course.

Gates Endorses Critique of Military Intelligence in Afghanistan

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has endorsed a stinging critique of military intelligence efforts in Afghanistan written by the top U.S. and NATO military intelligence officer in the country. In a paper published this week, Major General Michael Flynn orders major changes to the way his operation works.
Al Pessin | The Pentagon 07 January 2010

The 26-page publication called Fixing Intel: A Blueprint for Making Intelligence Relevant in Afghanistan says military intelligence efforts in the country over the past eight years have been "token and ineffectual," and have not provided commanders or senior leaders the information they need. It says the current intelligence gathering and analysis processes "fail to advance the war strategy and, as a result, expose more troops to danger over the long run."

The paper's authors, led by Major General Michael Flynn, the chief of U.S. and NATO military intelligence in Afghanistan, say it should be considered a directive to his subordinates on how they should reform their operations. Among the orders - send more analysts into the field and gather more information about the Afghan people, rather than focusing almost exclusively on insurgent groups. The paper says until now, many military intelligence units have been "deaf" to the population-centered approach the new Afghanistan commander, General Stanley McChrystal, has ordered.

It was a surprise to many in Washington for a senior military intelligence officer to write such an extensive critique and directive for public consumption, and to have it published by a private organization, the Center for a New American Security. One Pentagon official called the move "unusual," "irregular" and "a bit peculiar."

Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell says Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who saw the report only after it was made public, "has real reservations" about the decision to have it published by a private group. But, Morrell says Gates "found the analysis 'brilliant' and the findings 'spot on.'"

"The report itself is exactly the type of candid, critical self-assessment that the secretary believes is a sign of a strong and healthy organization," he said.

Morrell says General Flynn was asking and answering an important question.

"How do you deploy intelligence assets to achieve your objectives?" He asked. "He obviously has some very strong opinions about it. He is someone, I know, who has the respect of the secretary and the senior military command within this building. And I think he is dealing with something that is clearly critical to our success in Afghanistan," Morrell added.

Analysts say making his views and plans public could enable General Flynn to influence not only his subordinates in the field, but also troops in training, their teachers and the broader community of experts and analysts.

And James Phillips at the Heritage Foundation says the report is both timely and correct.

"I think it was a valid criticism and I think it's a long-overdue effort to reform intelligence gathering and set things right," said Phillips.

Experts note that fighting an insurgency is more about protecting the people and earning their support than about killing enemy fighters. In such a fight, James Phillips says, military commanders need to understand local power structures and relationships, and also the culture and economics of an area.

"It's like developing new kinds of antenna to feel out local conditions," he explained. "Whereas in the past military intelligence was mostly concerned with the location of enemy units. Now, it's also interested in gathering information on local civilian populations that are threatened by those enemy units," he said.

President Barack Obama says his central goal in Afghanistan is to defeat the Al-Qaida terrorist network, the Taliban and related groups. But Michael O'Hanlon of the Brookings Institution says the president's new strategy also recognizes the need for the type of approach Generals Flynn and McChrystal are pursuing.

"He has recognized that to accomplish that goal you actually need to take a broader strategic approach on the ground, you need to work with the Afghan government to build up its ability to control its own territory," he said. "And that leads you down the path of building up the army and police, but also now doing what General Flynn needs to emphasize, which is understanding better and from the ground up the nature of the entire population," O'Hanlon said.

General Flynn and the paper's other two authors, a lower-ranking military officer and a senior Pentagon civilian intelligence official - both also in Afghanistan, did not respond to requests for interviews for this report. Their paper describes the intelligence community as the brains behind the might of a military force. They say it must build a system to deliver solid, broad-based, useful information all the way from the corners of Afghanistan to the power centers of Washington.

If it doesn't, they warn, the United States risks expending its energy fighting the wrong fight the wrong way, and perhaps losing a to an enemy it could "outsmart" if key leaders had the right information.

©2010 John Van Dyke Cote’
All Rights Reserved

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