Hey guys, welcome to the View from the Front podcast. My name is Stan R. Mitchell, and I’m a prior Marine and journalist, who brings you the latest military and defense news twice a week, while also adding in a little motivation, wisdom, and history. I’m also a nice guy, who’s working as hard as I can to unite this country. I feel like our division and animosity toward the other side, so to speak, is the greatest threat our country faces.
Every week I do my best to bridge this great divide that separates our incredible country, while also reminding each of us that most of us are being played by divisive political and news figures, who are ripping apart this country just so they can reach a higher office or gain more followers and ad dollars.
Most Americans are good, and we need to remember this. Always.
While we face great challenges as a country, America has stood together for more than 240 years, and it’s only by pulling our country closer together that we can pass on a better future for our kids.
We need to hold and cherish the beliefs that got us here today. Beliefs such as patience, kindness, and a strong belief that our best days lie before us. These are the beliefs that got us to this point. And they’re also the kind of optimistic beliefs that will get us to a brighter future.
And with that out of the way, let’s get started.
Source notes follow below, with subject heading in bold. (I again apologize for not being able to do full write-ups at this time. I hope you enjoy the podcast above.):
News about U.S. national strategy
Iran news:
Iran protests: Death toll rises to 76 as crackdown intensifies - rights group
The 22-year-old Kurdish woman from the north-western city of Saqez had been visiting the capital, Tehran, on 13 September when she was arrested by morality police officers for allegedly violating the strict law requiring women to cover their hair with a hijab, or headscarf.
She collapsed after being taken to a detention centre to be "educated" and died in hospital following three days in a coma.
The police said Ms Amini died after suffering sudden heart failure, but her family have dismissed that and alleged that she was beaten by officers.
Ukraine-Russia news:
Kyiv’s western allies boost nuclear deterrence after Putin’s threats
The logistics of deploying nuclear weapons is complex, time-consuming and would be easily picked up by western intelligence satellites. That means that Putin can intensify the nuclear threat by taking several steps before getting to the point of actually using the weapons. It would also allow the west to adjust its preparedness.
“Russian nuclear weapons are staged in hardened shelters across the country . . . The process of transitioning to readiness, mating warheads to delivery platforms, would generate a great deal of observable phenomena for US intelligence,” said Simon Miles, an assistant professor at Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy. “And, an opportunity for Washington to make it explicit to the Kremlin just how bad an idea that would be.”
The horrendous mobilization news coming out of Russia
A recruitment officer was wounded in the latest attack on a Russian draft office.
A gunman apparently distraught over Russia’s chaotic military mobilization opened fire at a draft office in Siberia on Monday, seriously wounding a recruitment officer, as the Kremlin for the first time acknowledged errors in the call-up of hundreds of thousands of civilians to bolster Russia’s struggling army in Ukraine.
…
With Mr. Putin having in effect outlawed dissent against the war, attacks against draft offices have risen since Russia’s invasion began. At least 54 recruitment centers and administrative buildings have been set on fire since then, according to Mediazona, an independent Russian news outlet. Seventeen attacks have occurred since the call-up was announced last Wednesday.
Photos show 10-mile line at Russian border as many flee mobilization
A traffic jam at Russia’s border with Georgia has stretched for nearly 10 miles after President Vladimir Putin’s partial military mobilization order, satellite images show.
The line of cars and trucks trying to leave formed at a crossing point on the Russian side of the border, according to U.S.-based firm Maxar Technologies, which released the photos on Monday. “The traffic jam likely continued further to the north of the imaged area,” the U.S.-based firm said. Aerial photos from the company show vehicles snaking into another long line near Russia’s border with Mongolia.
An explanation for why Russia is actually doing the call-up/mobilization?
In Ukraine’s South, Fierce Fighting and Deadly Costs
The fighting is grinding, grueling and steep in casualties, perhaps the most heartbreaking battle in Ukraine right now.
Russian forces are deeply dug in here … the Russians have built formidable defenses: trenches zigzagging along irrigation canals; fortified bunkers; pillboxes; foxholes; even tank trenches carved out of the earth by bulldozers and covered with concrete slabs that enable the Russians to blast shells from positions that are very difficult for the Ukrainians to hit.
…
Despite the high stakes, there is little face-to-face combat between the two sides, like there was in the early days of the war in the suburbs of Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital. Each Ukrainian soldier along the southern front carries an assault rifle, but few have fired their weapon.
From CNN video below: A senior military official says US tanks are on the table to send to Ukraine. Brig. Gen. Steve Anderson (Ret.) explains why he thinks the US should continue meeting Ukraine's requirements and whether the country should put contractors on the ground to help with logistics.
Tech news:
Motivation and wisdom:
I always like to end with this one:
And with that, thanks for joining us this week on The View from the Front.
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As a reminder, please be kind and try your best to love your fellow Americans.
Let’s all work together to unite this country.
And also, please try to be a better person each and every day. Try to be kinder on social media and how you interact with others with whom you disagree.
Also, if you have a dream kicking around in the back of your mind? Go after it. If you have that friend or family member that you know you should reach out to? Reach out to them.
Finally, and this especially goes to all my awesome military folks listening out there, if you need help, reach out to someone. Please. Call that friend or family member. Do it for us all. We’ve already lost too many of the greatest folks that this country has produced to suicide. So I’m asking you to be brave once more, and show some vulnerability. Take a deep breath, breathe, and call a friend or family member or someone who can help.
I appreciate each and every one of you. Every tweet, every share, every email, etc. I can’t even tell you how much those mean to me, and I love each and every one of you all.
Please join me again in our next episode, and please stay safe until then.
Thanks again, everyone! You guys are the best. As always, don’t forget to check out my books. You can find all 11 of them on Amazon.
And with that, I’m out.
Semper Fidelis,
Stan R. Mitchell
P.S. Don’t forget to check out my books. I’ve written a CIA/Marine sniper series, a detective series, a private investigator series, an action-packed Western, a motivational/biography book about President Obama, and two realistic war novels: one about World War II and one about Afghanistan.
P.P.S. And here’s a short bio about me and what I’m trying to do with the newsletter.
Episode 9-27-22