Academic

BAD MEDICINE: Michael Yon posts another dispatch from Afghanistan. Remember, he?s supported by rea?

By Glenn Reynolds

BAD MEDICINE: Michael Yon posts another dispatch from Afghanistan. Remember, he’s supported by reader donations, so if you like his work, consider hitting the tipjar.

Here’s an excerpt: “Sitting there in the darkness, Axle works the radio while watching the downlink screen. As the A-10s approach at about 0314, the aircraft are still about 40 miles out, and a pilot starts listing off all the various sorts of weapons they are carrying. They had more spells than Harry Potter. As the A-10s close in on our postion, Axle picks up a downlink and suddenly he can see through the A-10 crosshairs. Whatever the pilot is looking at comes on Axle?s screen. Axle gives the pilot some reference points and each time the crosshairs instantly go to that point, and within maybe thirty seconds, the crosshairs slewed precisely to the spot where we were sitting. Axle told him that?s us, which probably sounded to the A-10 pilot something like, ‘Ah roga, dat?s us,’ and then Axle starts walking the pilot through to all the friendly locations so he can know where our guys are.”

UPDATE: Bruce Rolston on why it’s taking so long to train the Afghan Army.

Full post as published by Instapundit.com on August 24, 2009 (boomark / email).