The view from the front: military matters and motivation for 5/24/22.
Email subscribers: For best viewing experience, click the headline above, “The view from the front: military matters and motivation for …” Otherwise, your email service will clip/summarize the report.
Hi friend,
Hope you had a great weekend and that your week is off to a great start!
I discussed at length in the last issue the growing problem that Ukraine is facing with not being able to export its wheat by sea routes.
After writing that, and seeing some more news about how it’s going to affect especially the poor in places such as Africa and India, I just found myself getting madder and madder about the situation.
And in complete frustration, I finally wrote the following two things on Twitter.
Much to my surprise, three days later, my crazy idea might not be so crazy after all. (Not that someone saw my idea, but I guess someone else had the same kind of thinking.)
Regardless, it looks like countries are legit talking about it and considering it. (See below.)
To bolster this effort, there was even this news. (See below.)
And here are more details on that Harpoon deal. (See below.)
This is a bit unrelated to the naval spectrum of the war we just discussed, but I wanted to share the video below to give you a taste of life in the cities there. Even the condition of the roads.
I joked after watching it on Twitter that this guy is either nuts or his wife told him to go get some milk and bread.
Either way, I’m not a fan of driving toward artillery fire. (And yes, the above is a joke. Relax.)
In other big news since Friday, President Biden stated that America’s armed forces would step in to defend Taiwan if China attacks Taiwan. This is a change from the “strategic ambiguity” normally adopted on the island.
And in other big news, Ukraine ruled out conceding territory to Russia as part of a ceasefire deal.
One final point about the situation in Ukraine that will probably start making bigger news soon is the crisis of lack of fuel. (See below.)
From the story, The Economist states:
Before the war began on February 24th, 80 percent of the country’s fuel was imported. Most of that came by rail from Belarus, now an enemy and participant in the war. A smaller part came by sea, into Black Sea ports now closed by a Russian naval blockade. The only significant local producer, the Kremenchuk oil refinery, was taken offline in April after a series of rocket attacks. … Ukraine needs about 540,000 ton of petrol products a month. It currently has the means to cover only around 70 percent of that. … With the war effort and agriculture taking priority, very little is left for anyone else.”
Moving along, here’s a deep thought for the day, which from my experience is very true.
Moving to historical matters, check out the Scaligero Castle below.
Is that an incredible fortification or what?! And the internal dock above is the only surviving example of a 14th Century fortified port. (You can read more about it here.) And Atlas Obscura states, “The castle served a defensive function, but also acted as a small port with its docks serving as a safe haven for Scaliger and Venetian fleets. The entire castle, even the dock, is surrounded by towers and battlements.”
That’s a good place to wrap up today’s edition. Let’s end with some motivation and wisdom.
That’s it for this edition.
As a reminder, please be kind and endeavor to love your fellow Americans. We need to pull this country together, and that starts with all of us.
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 leadership/biography book, and two realistic war novels: one about World War IIand one about Afghanistan.
P.P.S. And here’s a short bio about me and what I’m trying to do with the newsletter.