Today’s boogeyman is Edridge (Bridge) Colby, according to Politico, who has led the charge to suspend shipments of US military assistance to Ukraine, because, er, stockpiles are low1.
Recall Bridge’s swipe at triumphan liberalism a couple years ago and work at the Marathon Initiative. Looking on the bright side, he “morally supports Ukraine.” But that’s only because he was raised Catholic.
It might take a couple more mass casualty events to un-withhold promised missiles for Patriot air defense systems, precision artillery rounds, Hellfire and other missiles that Ukraine launches from its F-16 fighters and drones.
Colby’s position is that US military and strategic focus must shift from Ukraine to Asia, and that European allies should take the lead in supporting Ukraine against Russia. He sees this as necessary to prepare for the more significant challenge posed by China and to avoid overextending US military resources. — Perplexity (July 2, 2025)
People running the Pentagon are not famous for chewing gum and walking at the same time. But they are good stockpilers. No one knows exactly how good , however, because there’s never been an audit.
I wandered into the sinkhole of military recruitment for Team USA and stumbled on the Army's Future Soldier Preparatory Course (FSPC), which is a 90-day prep course for Basic Training (70 days) that teaches recruits new words and helps them lose weight. Wow! That’s more than five months of polishing boots before AIT.
On the Ukraine war jacket, new enemy occupation stats (sq k/month):
Russian advances in Novopavlivsky (Zaporizhia region) and Pokrovsk (Donetsk region) districts accounted for the 29% and 27% of new Russia-occupied areas, respectively, with Sumy region accounting for 18%. That is, three quarters of all new occupied areas are on three axes.
Enemy's advance are due to problems with people, who are critical for both sides. But Team Russia, obviously, still has reserves of personnel. The decline in mechanisation of attacks is another confirmation of the enemy's problems with equipment, which they are trying to replace with motorbikes and buggies. And enemy assaults with 1 or 3 infantrymen are no longer a surprise. At the same time, the number of these groups remains significant. — DeepState (July 1, 2025)
This I can confirm by accounts from veteran soldiers on the zero line who say lack of reinforcements, rotation, et cetera, saps their strength and morale. Is a gigantic pain in their ass. We blame unremitting mismanagement by the President’s Office of the forced conscription process. It’s never too late for Ukraine to introduce it's own FSPC equivalent.
Big blue sky yesterday.
I missed the “Black Cloud” installation for Burning Man 2025 on display a couple of weeks ago.
It’s designed to symbolize seven tonnes of angst.
Pentagon halting some promised munitions for Ukraine. The decision was driven by the Pentagon’s policy chief, Elbridge Colby, and was made after a review of Pentagon munitions stockpiles (Politico, July 1, 2025)