Comments by "Stephen Sipe" (@stephensipe5405) on ""The whole of Europe has been deeply infiltrated by Russia"" video.

  1. This interview was very good on 2 little discussed topics. The infiltration of Russian spies, agents, and collaborators into Western countries is larger than we want to admit. Ukrainians are still grappling with the 1000+ spies, agents, and collaborators the US identified in April 2022, of which President Zelensky fired only 600+. It might be up another 40+ now that corruption investigations are bearing fruit. The other are partly discussed was the conversion from Soviet legacy Unit Organization to NATO quality Unit Organization. Since 2017, the US has provided Advisors to train up a Ukrainian NCO Corps. With UK Advisor help, this has positively impacted almost every Ukrainian Company, and has percolated into some Battalions. Unfortunately, the Ukrainian Officer Corps was NOT also positively impacted. In some cases, low ranking Company Level Officers did glean some NATO Organization benefits from their NCOs. Nevertheless, this was not a systemic training process. GEN Syrskyi was reported as the Ukrainian liaison to NATO Command under GEN Zaluzhny. He has had NATO Corps and Division Level Training experience without actual classroom theory of warfare. He has cultivated some subordinate Leaders at Brigade and Battalion Command Levels who understand some NATO Organizational benefits and schemes of maneuver. The theory part and how to adapt to Ukrainian circumstances is still a delta (unknown). Here is what I know as a Brigade Military Intelligence Officer, previously trained in Armor to the Company Level. 1: Officer Training has to be systematic from the top down around a common set of NATO standards. This means teaching what a 5 Paragraph OPORD is and how to create one. A: Companies do not create 5 Paragraph OPORDs because they lack the Staff. The just pull their slice from Battalion. B: Battalions and higher all have Staffs to create a 5 Paragraph OPORD. This means from Military Command to Corps to Division to Brigade to Battalion, the Battle Planning Process is replicated at each Command Level for a smaller AO (Area of Operations). C: The Battle Planning Process includes the 1/3RD-2/3RDs time management rule at each Level. It means counting back from anticipated D-Day to the current day. Warning Orders are issued for Units to prepare as soon as a mission is determined, not Battle Planned. Units usually have standard composition like Brigade Armor Teams or Infantry Armored Teams. However, some missions required specialized Units and equipment. Specific Operation maneuvers like Battle Handovers and River Crossings need to be practiced. Commanders at all Levels need to practice how to lead from the front, not Command by radio using a map in the rear. 2: Not all trained Officers succeed at every Level. Some Officers are great at Logistics and are not great at battlefield maneuver Command. Other Officers are great at Company or Battalion positions but are overwhelmed in higher Command situations. It is best to train and develop Officers to determine strengths and weaknesses prior to combat. The Ukrainian Commands who botched 2 rotations near Avdiivka are they still in Command? Is the 110TH Brigade Infantry Team Commander who did not build a layered defense and lost many troops in a hasty withdrawal under fire still in Command? 3: This brings me to learning from mistakes. GEN Zaluzhny published to horrible AARs (After Action Reviews) which basically exonerated himself from blame. This is Military BS! The Top Commander always has to take the credit for failure. He went to Avdiivka at least 2X prior to its capture and NEVER counseled the 110TH Brigade Infantry Commander to build out a layered defense. He should have mentored where the Strong Points should be. AARs must be done for EVERY practice mission to improve a Unit. Higher Command should review AARs. Additionally, combat missions need AARs for historical records of Subordinate Units and outstanding troops. Areas of failure need to be identified for corrective action. If these are missing, higher Command has to force truth in writing the AAR by having an IG inspection where troops are interviewed. Many ignorant posters think Ukrainians with be so good at modern warfare when the war ends. This is a lie based on misunderstanding warfare. Ukrainians use a lot of drones. This is an equalizer in a mostly equal air war. NATO forces would pulverize Russian air defenses in Week 1 of WW3. Then NATO Air Forces would suppress long range Russian missiles/rockets be attacking air bases, ships, and hunting down ground mobile launchers. Then NATO combined artillery and air would weaken Russian defenses everywhere by Week 3. NATO Units would use obscuration and night to thrust deep to the weakest Russian areas as deep as practicable. The Objective would be apply overwhelming force on a narrow front to reach C2 points and Logistics Centers. Then cut off supply to other front line Units. Crimea would NOT be a territorial Objective. Taking out Rostov with a Donetsk River and Don River moot would be an Objective. The taking Belgorod. I would make the Ukrainian border with Russia a series of defendable lakes, rivers, high ground, and forests. The Ukrainian Military Command post war has 10-15 years of reform needed to be NATO quality. It takes about 18 months to train up a Brigade with raw troops, new NCOs, and new Officers. It will take 3 years to train a Division in Offensive Operations. A Corps might take 5 years. Ukrainians needs 4-5 Corps to defend their territory of 1991. Ukrainians have NOT vetted the human and material cost of 3-5 Corps. Plus an Air Force and Navy. About 3/4THs of the Corps manpower needs to be National Guard and Reserve troops. About 50% of the Air Force has to be National Guard or Reserves. Even the Navy will need about 25% Reserve troops. The equipment used to support these Units cannot be a hodgepodge logistics nightmare. It has to be thought through. The National Guard equipment has to be similar yet cheaper than the Regular Army and Reserve Unit equipment. This has NOT been well thought out.
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