The Mess

[Okeefenokee]

[SuburbanFarmer]

Yeah, it seems to just mean "not walking on foot"



So far as I can tell, the definition is meaningless.

Putting a cook in a humvee to get from one mess to another does not make him cavalry.

Mobile Charceuterie Cav

[Okeefenokee]

Yeah, it seems to just mean "not walking on foot"



So far as I can tell, the definition is meaningless.

Putting a cook in a humvee to get from one mess to another does not make him cavalry.

Mobile Charceuterie Cav

Nah, just another spoon.

Cavalry,

[ssu]

Russian has been acquiring here real estate next to military garrisons and arms depots. The
earlier administration did put a halt on this and the current one is continuing the policy.

Seem's like the Swedes are doing the same.

The Spetnaz needs place to use in peace-time.

[ssu]

Sweden btw. didn't have any troops in Gotland for a while, and now only put 150 men on the island.
How Russian propaganda pictures this:

[Smitty-48]

Strategically located though, sits astride the maritime line of communication halfway between St. Petersburg and Kaliningrad, in order to deny the eastern Baltic to NATO, siezing Gotland would be a must, moreover, it's an achievable yet limited objective with natural geographic boundaries upon very defensible terrain. To wit, Mr. Ivan could take Gotland without inciting a total war, and yet would be very hard to evict from if he did. Would have to be fait accompli though, if the Swedes reinforced it, that would seem to put it beyond reach.

[ssu]

Strategically located though, sits astride the maritime line of communication halfway between St. Petersburg and Kaliningrad, in order to deny the eastern Baltic to NATO, siezing Gotland would be a must, moreover, it's an achievable yet limited objective with natural geographic boundaries upon very defensible terrain. To wit, Mr. Ivan could take Gotland without inciting a total war, and yet would be very hard to evict from if he did. Would have to be fait accompli though, if the Swedes reinforced it, that would seem to put it beyond reach.

You understand the problem well.

And with a base in Gotland with an S-400 system, the air corridor to the Baltics is closed. Have some anti-ship missile batteries, and you can close the Baltic Sea if you want (with Kaliningrad). Simply to have Russian "peacekeepers" or whatever you call them fighting "terrorists" that have "established a base in Gotland", the whole discourse of "invasion" can be transformed into a discourse of a "anti-terrorist police operation". That makes Swedish territory makes the country a "European Georgia", something that cannot be in NATO.



We btw. have the similar problem with the Åland islands. Now if the Finnish troops that are basically there to occupy the Islands would get there, that would be a difficult and costly operation for the Russians then to attack. But they aren't there, only a reinforced border guard detachment and the local police force. Hence if Putin gets there first, then likely we have no capacity of getting him out. Similar problem with Sweden with Gotland.

Now this of course isn't a likely scenario, but the underlying military realities are there, which has an effect on the current peace-time situation and present military thinking.

Swedish troops in Gotland Island

[Montegriffo]

Yeah, it seems to just mean "not walking on foot"



So far as I can tell, the definition is meaningless.

[Smitty-48]

Strategically located though, sits astride the maritime line of communication halfway between St. Petersburg and Kaliningrad, in order to deny the eastern Baltic to NATO, siezing Gotland would be a must, moreover, it's an achievable yet limited objective with natural geographic boundaries upon very defensible terrain. To wit, Mr. Ivan could take Gotland without inciting a total war, and yet would be very hard to evict from if he did. Would have to be fait accompli though, if the Swedes reinforced it, that would seem to put it beyond reach.

You understand the problem well.

And with a base in Gotland with an S-400 system, the air corridor to the Baltics is closed. Have some anti-ship missile batteries, and you can close the Baltic Sea if you want (with Kaliningrad). Simply to have Russian "peacekeepers" or whatever you call them fighting "terrorists" that have "established a base in Gotland", the whole discourse of "invasion" can be transformed into a discourse of a "anti-terrorist police operation". That makes Swedish territory makes the country a "European Georgia", something that cannot be in NATO.



We btw. have the similar problem with the Åland islands. Now if the Finnish troops that are basically there to occupy the Islands would get there, that would be a difficult and costly operation for the Russians then to attack. But they aren't there, only a reinforced border guard detachment and the local police force. Hence if Putin gets there first, then likely we have no capacity of getting him out. Similar problem with Sweden with Gotland.

Now this of course isn't a likely scenario, but the underlying military realities are there, which has an effect on the current peace-time situation and present military thinking.

Swedish troops in Gotland Island

Indeed, Mr. Ivan no longer has the capacity to drive on the English Channel, it would have to be all about limited bite and hold these days, but there are AO's in theatre where bite and hold is a viable option, the prospective FLET would be a trace from the eastern Baltic in the north, to Transdiestr-Moldova in the center, and Georgia/Armenia in the south.

Once he takes it, he digs in, reinforces with his nuclear deterrent, and then just defies anybody to try to take it back under those terms.

[Okeefenokee]

The Army gets the day off tomorrow for beating Navy last week.