Welcome to The Warchronicle Newsletter!

This week we have:

• US Military using Ai to take on China (link)

• Navy SEAL became multimillionaire (link)

• Burning through Billion Gallons of Fuel (link) 

On this day in 1990

Iraq, accusing Kuwait of conspiring to harm its economy through oil overproduction, massed tens of thousands of troops and hundreds of tanks along the Iraqi-Kuwaiti border. US warships in Persian Gulf were placed on alert. (link)

🎖️ Medal of Honor Monday

Staff Sergeant Shurer was part of an assault element inserted by helicopter into a location in Afghanistan. As the assault element moved up a near vertical mountain toward its objective, it was engaged by fierce enemy machine gun, sniper, and rocket-propelled grenade fire.

The lead portion of the assault element, which included the ground commander, sustained several casualties and became pinned down on the mountainside. Staff Sergeant Shurer and the rest of the trailing portion of the assault element were likewise engaged by enemy machine gun, sniper, and rocket-propelled grenade fire. As the attack intensified, Staff Sergeant Shurer braved enemy fire to move to an injured Soldier and treat his wounds.

Having stabilized the injured Soldier, Staff Sergeant Shurer then learned of the casualties among the lead element. Staff Sergeant Shurer fought his way up the mountainside, under intense enemy fire, to the lead element’s location. Upon reaching the lead element, he treated and stabilized two more Soldiers. Finishing those lifesaving efforts, Staff Sergeant Shurer noticed two additional severely wounded Soldiers under intense enemy fire. The bullet that had wounded one of these Soldiers had also impacted Staff Sergeant Shurer’s helmet.

With complete disregard for his own life, Staff Sergeant Shurer again moved through enemy fire to treat and stabilize one Soldier’s severely wounded arm. Shortly thereafter, Staff Sergeant Shurer continued to brave withering enemy fire to get to the other Soldier’s location in order to treat his lower leg, which had been almost completely severed by a high-caliber sniper round. After treating the Soldier, Staff Sergeant Shurer began to evacuate the wounded; carrying and lowering them down the sheer mountainside.

While moving down the mountain, Staff Sergeant Shurer used his own body to shield the wounded from enemy fire and debris caused by danger-close air strikes. Reaching the base of the mountain, Staff Sergeant Shurer set up a casualty collection point and continued to treat the wounded. With the arrival of the medical evacuation helicopter, Staff Sergeant Shurer, again under enemy fire, helped load the wounded into the helicopter. Having ensured the safety of the wounded, Staff Sergeant Shurer then regained control of his commando squad and rejoined the fight.

He continued to lead his troops and emplace security elements until it was time to move to the evacuation landing zone for the helicopter. Full citation (Link)

👕 War Chronicle Clothing

We’re excited to announce that we’ve just launched a collection of t-shirts and hooded tops. As a veteran run newsletter and YouTube Channel, you can now show your support with one of these limited designs. (link)

🎖️ Military Technology

It Sure Looks Like Defense Contractors Are Teasing New Fighter Jets on Social Media

The Pentagon is developing two new sixth-generation fighter jets set to enter service in the 2030s. The two defense contractors most likely to build the jets have made odd, sometimes teasing statements on social media or posted intriguing images. (link) 

Eric Schmidt Is Building the Perfect AI War-Fighting Machine

The former Google CEO is on a mission to rewire the US military with cutting-edge artificial intelligence to take on China. Will it make the world safer? (link).

Northrop Grumman to Design Autonomous Vertical Takeoff and Landing Aircraft for DARPA

The contract is to design an autonomous vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) uncrewed aircraft system capable of operating from a moving Navy ship at sea. (link).

📰 In the news this week

News stories I’ve found interesting this week.

• Sailors Aboard USS George Washington Visit with Pups on a Mission for Mental Health (link) Tucked in a corner of a cavernous area, the dogs and their trainers greeted crewmembers who gave the puppies a quick cuddle or a pat before heading to lunch, receiving new equipment or completing other work. Mutts with a Mission is Hampton Roads’ only accredited service dog provider, and the visit was one of the steps the Navy has taken recently to improve morale on the ship.

• US sends more fighter jets and warship to Gulf after Iran attempts to seize tankers (link) The US is sending additional fighter jets and a warship to the Strait of Hormuz and Gulf of Oman to increase security after Iranian attempts to seize commercial ships.

  The latest deployments come after Iran tried to seize two oil tankers near the strait this month, opening fire on one of them. The aircraft are intended to give air cover for the commercial ships moving through the waterway and increase the military’s visibility in the area, as a deterrent to Iran.

• One of the last to serve aboard diesel subs retires after 40 years (link) More than 40 years after raising his right hand in 1982, the 58-year-old sailor, most recently the chief nuclear weapons inspector for the United States Pacific Fleet, has finally departed the sea service.

📷 Readers Stories

“I am a French soldier who was sent on a mission to Afghanistan in 2001/2002. I was 21 years old, and I volunteered for the mission.

The role of my platoon was to maintain control over several small Afghan villages. It was very calm, as the fighting in that area had already ceased some time before my arrival. It was an incredibly profound human experience, as the local inhabitants were all kind, despite the language barrier. It's one of the rare privileges of being a soldier to meet people in such contexts and establish a connection with them.

In one of the villages closest to our base, I met an Afghan girl who spoke French fluently, with a very charming accent. She was 20 years old and her name was Emna. She taught the younger children in her village, and she was truly an adorable, beautiful, and intelligent girl.

After some time, a flirtation developed between us, and everyone in the village was talking about it. Her parents took it with a smile, and I remember her mother jokingly trying to say in English, "You will pay the dowry in baguettes, Monsieur le Français."

Time passed, and we became a sort of young couple during my occasional leaves. Six months had already gone by when I was sent over 200 kilometers away for a mission that was supposed to last for three months. Before leaving, I asked her father for her hand in marriage, and he accepted. We planned to marry upon my return.

The first two months were very long. It was a combat zone, and it was the first time I had been so close to death.

During the last week of the mission, I learned that rebels had retaken the village where Emna resided. When I was sent back to our base near her village, we had to fight to liberate some of our villages that had fallen back under rebel control. Finally, after liberating her village, I searched for her, but she was nowhere to be found. Her parents and soon the whole village searched for her, but she was missing.

I never saw her again. Her village was destroyed two years later and taken over by Afghan rebels. I lost contact with her parents.

Twenty years later, I have never forgotten our farewell kiss.” Thanks for sharing Roz.

If you have a picture or a story you’d like featured please send them into [email protected]

💰 Navy SEAL became Multi millionaire

While on deployment in 1997, Navy SEAL Squadron Commander Randy Hetrick was looking for a way to keep his body in peak physical condition, which is essential for effectively operating as a member of the most elite fighting force on the planet.

The ability to adapt and improvise are trademarks of special operators, and so Hetrick put those powers to work. Using only parachute webbing, a jiu-jitsu belt he accidentally packed in his bag and his body weight, Hetrick devised a workout system that helped keep his mind and body strong. It was primitive, and it worked. After leaving the Navy, Hetrick continued to develop and refine his MacGyver-ed system.

Cut to 2019, and that system is now the global fitness phenomenon known as TRX. Hetrick's suspension-training product and workout system are utilized in more than 60,000 clubs and training facilities worldwide, and Hetrick’s net worth is over $50m.

Read his story from Navy SEAL to multimillionaire here (link)

😮 Did you know? The service burns through nearly 1 billion gallons of fuel every year.

Just like any other large organization that needs energy to sustain operations, the Army needs fuel. A lot of fuel. A 2011 Army fact sheet estimated the Army used more than 22 gallons every day, per soldier — much more than only one gallon required per soldier during World War II. (Link)

A 2008 Army report said the service purchased approximately 880 million gallons of fuel for mobility operations. The report is a little dated though, and the Army — along with the rest of the DoD — has been working hard to bring down its energy usage, citing a reliance on fossil fuels as a major national-security risk and logistical problem for troops in the field.

Sponsor this newsletter

If your business or company is interested in reaching an audience of veterans, serving military personnel, or supporters of our brave men and women who keep us safe, you may want to advertise with us (link)

👉 Email at [email protected] if you have a story

See you next week.

Rob