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2021-10-07 Afghanistan
CODE RED: General (ZSU-24) Donahue Is on a Seek and Destroy Mission
[Red State] Over the weekend our Managing Editor, Jennifer Van Laar, broke the story of a huge scandal by reporting on the 2-ton war trophy Major General Christopher Donahue placed in the last C-17 out of Kabul. Even a C-17 has weight and cargo limits, so the war trophy reportedly displaced up to 50 people — human beings who were told/ordered to exit the aircraft so the Hilux and its accessory, a Russian anti-aircraft gun, could be loaded.

Now that the story has broken all hell has broken loose to find Jennifer’s source or sources. The Pentagon is embarrassed not because one of its Major Generals displaced human beings for a war trophy, but rather because the Army got caught doing it.
Posted by Besoeker 2021-10-07 00:00|| || Front Page|| [11140 views ]  Top

#1 Moral issues aside, I can see why our very modern Major General might covet said equipment. The Hilux is a fine vehicle and you could scare squirrels way the hell off your lawn with a ZSU. Also good for pesky drones!
Posted by SteveS 2021-10-07 00:20||   2021-10-07 00:20|| Front Page Top

#2 There has to be more to this story. If there isn't Donahue should be fired.
Posted by Bertie Crains2651 2021-10-07 08:35||   2021-10-07 08:35|| Front Page Top

#3 Perhaps someone wanted it to deal with D.C. traffic... Someone not quite up to motorcade level of eliteness.
Posted by CrazyFool 2021-10-07 08:54||   2021-10-07 08:54|| Front Page Top

#4 Hat tip to the USAF personnel (or quick thinking others) who took happy snaps of the ZSU-24 being loaded and forwarded the details to the press.

"Men of the ranks are cunning and devious. They bear close watching."
~ General Washington
Posted by Besoeker 2021-10-07 08:58||   2021-10-07 08:58|| Front Page Top

#5 How deep is the rot in our military? Is it primarily an affliction of the top brass?

Is the source of the rot mainly cultural i.e. the way our service academies and ROTC detachments recruit, train, promote and reward officers? Inquiring minds, etc
Posted by Sheba tse Tung4690 2021-10-07 09:12||   2021-10-07 09:12|| Front Page Top

#6 I hope they spend a lot of time and money on a dead end chasing their ghosts.
Posted by M. Murcek 2021-10-07 09:19||   2021-10-07 09:19|| Front Page Top

#7 Wouldn't transporting that vehicle be against some arms smuggling laws?
Posted by Chris 2021-10-07 09:30||   2021-10-07 09:30|| Front Page Top

#8 /\ Very likely something else going on here that no one wants to discuss. My guess, and only a guess.

The system did NOT make it to the Museum at Bragg. Might have gone to Bragg, but not the Museum. Again, just a guess.

Posted by Besoeker 2021-10-07 09:33||   2021-10-07 09:33|| Front Page Top

#9 How the hell do you get a license to import heavy weapons like that? The war trophy bring-back program was cancelled decades ago.
Posted by Blinky Pholuling8616 2021-10-07 10:27||   2021-10-07 10:27|| Front Page Top

#10 The radar-guided ZSU-23-4 "Shilka" SPAAG, with its four 23 mm (0.90") autocannons, was a revolutionary SPAAG, proving to be an extremely effective weapon against enemy attack aircraft and helicopters under every weather and light condition.

The unit was enviable for it's capacity to "scoot-n-shoot" accurately. As Berserker suggests, its quite possible some reverse engineering is underway for fitment to the GMV.
Posted by Skidmark 2021-10-07 10:37||   2021-10-07 10:37|| Front Page Top

#11 It served the dolly-bahn so well that no US aircraft were shot down by it.
Posted by M. Murcek 2021-10-07 10:39||   2021-10-07 10:39|| Front Page Top

#12 Heh, yeah only RPGs.
That might be due to the 'caliber' of the operators.
Posted by Skidmark 2021-10-07 11:00||   2021-10-07 11:00|| Front Page Top

#13 General DonaZSU.
Posted by swksvolFF 2021-10-07 12:46||   2021-10-07 12:46|| Front Page Top

#14 If he was bringing something back of military importance why was it put on a personnel evacuation flight at the last minute? His story stinks.
Posted by Glenmore 2021-10-07 16:01||   2021-10-07 16:01|| Front Page Top

#15 Ordered the death of at least 50 people for a garage queen; wonder what else he had done.
Posted by swksvolFF 2021-10-07 16:37||   2021-10-07 16:37|| Front Page Top

#16 Good thing he didn't load a Yugo (called by many, the world's worst car) on the plane.
Posted by JohnQC 2021-10-07 17:06||   2021-10-07 17:06|| Front Page Top

#17 There has to be more to this story.

Some Lieutenant General detailed him to get it out.
Posted by KBK 2021-10-07 19:04||   2021-10-07 19:04|| Front Page Top

#18 Regarding the wreck with a frown,
"Good luck that that thing's broken down,"
Popeye said. "Were it not,
I'd have had to get shot
All to shit on the chase across town."
Posted by Angaith Joluger1519 2021-10-07 19:51||   2021-10-07 19:51|| Front Page Top

#19 The ZSU-23/4 is a self-propelled system. It's the ZU-23 that's mounted on a HILUX. That's usually a twin-barreled weapon.

Posted by Old Patriot 2021-10-07 20:49||   2021-10-07 20:49|| Front Page Top

#20 OP is right; thank you.
Posted by swksvolFF 2021-10-07 20:50||   2021-10-07 20:50|| Front Page Top

#21 If the Hi-Lux was a hybrid, it'd be a lot safer for the environment and shit
Posted by Frank G 2021-10-07 21:22||   2021-10-07 21:22|| Front Page Top

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