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Signal intelligence question.
Throughout "War" there are refences to rapid, translated, reporting to combat elements of Taliban radio transmissions. There are, however, no mentions of positions of transmitting Taliban. Was intercept from platforms that couldn't also provide direction-finding?
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Permalink Reply by Sebastian Junger on -
Hi - I'm worried the answer might compromise security in some way, so I'll let it rest. But I assume the US capabilities in the Korengal were the same as their capabilities anywhere...
Thanks,
Sebastian
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Permalink Reply by Grayal Earle Farr on -
I spent ten years (1983-1994) in the operational element of an organization whose SIGINT capabilities were described in astonishing detail in "Killing Pablo", so I'm well informed, at least as of 1994, of what "capabilities anywhere" where were. Which is why I was puzzled.
"War" is a great book. Thank you. I give it to my civilian friends to try and explain why people become soldiers. I didn't expect to see "Storm" surpassed, but it is. Among the many things I liked about it was the anthropolgical/archaeological discussion of group size implications. As an ex-special operations officer and current archaeologist with particular interest in deep prehistory, so those observations really caught my attention. One of thise "Aha!' moments so rare even in the best non-fiction. I'm going to look up and read your sources.
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Permalink Reply by Sebastian Junger on
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Thank you so much for that...I'm really glad you liked the book - especially with your background. The source material is fascinating, definitely worth the trouble of looking up. Dunbar is particularly good.
As for the singint, i'm sure i dont know enough to compromise security but why take the chance. I'm sure any of your associates in the military could tell you what their capabilities are now.
take care - and thanks again for reading my book -
Sebastian
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Permalink Reply by Grayal Earle Farr on
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My clearances are long expired and I moved home to Tallahassee after retirement. I deliberately avoided getting updated on the more sensitive stuff when comrades visited or communicated over the decade after I got out. And they're all retired now. Stan McChrystal and I were JSOC J3 staff Majors together '90-'93. Stan was the last, though, as you can imagine, I heard very little from him over the last years. I was increasingly embarassed that he took the time to communicate at all, but that's the kind of guy he is. Now I'm hearing about people's kids. Bob Hensler's son (I knew Bob when he was 2nd Ranger Bn XO; he later commanded 3rd) recently returned to Vincenza after a tour with the 173rd in Afghanistan. I wasn't on our unit's SIGINT side anyway. I appreciate your reticence. Mark Bowden was dead on in everything he wrote in both "Blackhawk Down" and "Killing Pablo" but I still cringed to see a lot of that stuff in print.
I've been telling people for years that soldiers adapted to combat far more readily than they adapted back from it. Only recently, with E. O. Wilson (who asserts that we, as a species, "are made by war") exploring the origins of "eusociality" have I realized the evolutionary implications of that fact.
Sebastian Junger said:Thank you so much for that...I'm really glad you liked the book - especially with your background. The source material is fascinating, definitely worth the trouble of looking up. Dunbar is particularly good.
As for the singint, i'm sure i dont know enough to compromise security but why take the chance. I'm sure any of your associates in the military could tell you what their capabilities are now.
take care - and thanks again for reading my book -
Sebastian
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