Compass Points - Unexpected

Prepare for the Unexpected

Compass Points - Unexpected

Prepare for the Unexpected

November 7, 2024

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It was unexpected news. Even experts are not sure why this has happened or what will happen next.

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North Korean troops have entered the fight in Russia’s war against Ukraine, clashing for the first time with Ukrainian forces who are occupying a large chunk of Russia’s Kursk region, according to a senior Ukrainian official and a senior U.S. official.

The engagement was limited, the Ukrainian official said, and likely meant to probe the Ukrainian lines for weaknesses. The North Koreans fought together with Russia’s 810 Separate Naval Infantry Brigade, the official said.

. . . In addition to its troops, North Korea has provided Russia 16,000 shipping containers full of artillery shells, rockets and missiles . . . .

-- New York Times

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Even the President has commented on the unexpected North Korean troops in Ukraine.

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In his nightly address, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine seemed to confirm that North Korean forces had entered the fight, and he called on Ukraine’s allies to assist in confronting this new threat.

“The first battles with North Korean soldiers mark a new chapter of global instability,” he said. “Together with the world, we must do everything to ensure that this Russian step toward expanding the war — this true escalation — becomes a loss.”

-- New York Times

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North Korean troops fighting in Ukraine? No one would have expected that. Most Americans would never believe that North Korean troops would ever join the fight in Ukraine. Sometimes, though, the unexpected happens. Sometimes things happen that most Americans would never believe.

For example, many Americans, including some members of Congress, still do not understand, that over the last few years, the US Marine Corps has changed itself in unexpected, surprising, and even disturbing ways. The Marine Corps has changed its focus from offense to defense. From global, crisis, 9-1-1 force, to small, narrow, missile units. From well equipped, combined arms force, to poorly equipped island units. From a fearsome, first to fight force, to a dismantled shell of its former self. 

Unexpected? Yes. Can it be fixed? Yes. But we need to get busy immediately rebuilding, restoring, enhancing, and upgrading the US Marine Corps. War always brings the unexpected. No matter what the future brings, however, the US must be able to safely expect that Marines will always be ready for the unexpected.

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New York Times - 11/05/2024

North Korea Enters Ukraine Fight For First Time, Officials Say

Western and Ukrainian officials have called the appearance of North Korean forces on the battlefield a major escalation.

By Michael Schwirtz and Julian E. Barnes

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/05/world/europe/north-korea-russia-ukraine-kursk.html