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AMOD: A Book Review - "Courage Under Fire" Another must Read if you want to Understand the Events of January 6, 2021!!
PERSONAL OPINION/COMMENTARY:
When I heard that Former Capital Police Chief Steven Sund was going to do a tell all book about the events of January 6, 2021 I knew that I would be reading it. In the one interview that I had witnessed reference the book, it gave every indication that Sund was going to give the public the behind the scenes stuff that would allow us to understand exactly what happened that day, and Chief Sund did not disappoint!
If you want the facts and detail about the events of January 6th from the Police and Law Enforcement side, this is the book for you. If you want to feel the pain and the frustration of those men and women who were holding the line at the Capital on January 6th, this is the book for you. If you want to understand what its like to experience the "Fog of War" and the effect this concept had on January 6th, then this is the book for you. But if you are one of those persons who wants to justify the actions of the Insurrectionist on that day....recommend you give this one a pass!
Sund does not spare the Politicians in this one either. He explains clearly the Partisan Politics of the Hill that led to some of the confusion of that day, but also provides the reader of an understanding of the fact that confusion was decades in the making and was just part of the job. Where Sund goes wrong in my opinion is when he starts to assign blame for January 6th to people other than the Insurrectionist.
Because of my personal knowledge of certain Defensive Plans and Procedures as it relates to the use of the Military in Washington DC, I could understand and confirm some Chief Sunds comments concerning his request for Military (National Guard) support and how the refusal of that assistance effected the outcome on January 6th. I remember clearly sitting home watching TV asking the question...where is the DC Guard. I can confirm Chief Sund's statement that a 45 Man Reaction force was minutes away from the Capital and that a larger force of 150 men could have been there within an hour....if the Pentagon had given the go ahead.
The fact that the New Jersey State Police got to the Capital before the DC Guard is one of the most painful points that Chief Sund raises in his account, and should give all who want to understand what those who defended the Capital that day went through that day a moments pause. There was unnecessary injury and loss of life that day and Sund does an excellent job of highlighting this.
Now to the negative part of the Book! Chief Sund was asked to resign immediately after the events of January 6th. This was a tough decision, and clearly did not set well with the Chief. If you read his account of the events leading to January 6th and the events in its immediate aftermath you can understand why Chief Sund may have been upset about his being asked to resign, but at the same time a close look at all the facts says that he should not have expected anything else.
Not get into the weeds on this subject, but Sund provides and excellent recap of all the failures of Intelligence that occured leading up to January 6th not just from his Department, but from all of the Federal Agencies involved. He then explains that if those Intelligence failures had not taken place, then he would have been better prepared on the 6th....and I agree!! There is just one problem...those Intelligence people worked for HIM!! His people dropped the ball!! In short, the buck had to stop with him! Once it became clear that it was his Intel people who also dropped the ball...he should have not had any problems resigning. Complaining about being required to resign and then throwing some of his subordinates under the bus...contributed nothing to the narrative of the day and distracts from an otherwise excellent piece.
The same goes for his conplaint about the Pentagon's failure to support him on the 6th. Sund provides the clear unspoken reason for why the Pentagon did not want any Military Personnel near the Capital...he does this in his Conclusion, and it there for all to see. But even after providing that logical reason, Sund still "Whins" about the fact that the Military refused to support him. I will let each reader arrive at their own conclusions as it relates to Sund vs. the Pentagon, but its clear from what Sund uncovered the Military was never coming to the Capital...period, full stop!
With all that being said, "Courage Under Fire" is a must read if you want to understand the events of January 6, 2021 and I highly recommend it!
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Exactly!! It gives so much behind the scenes information....just wish he had not done all the whining! |
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I am not familar with the whinging but I would expect that there would be a bit when he, along with the other police was under that much stress and there due not getting support. I won't have the book for some time, it seems to be backlogged on Amazon but within a mouth, I will be reading and come up to my own conclusions about that and everything else as well. :) |
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Since you plan to read the book I will not go into great detail, but If one reads the story of the Admiral who Commanded the Pacific Fleet during the Pearl Harbor Attack, you will understand what I am saying about Chief Sund! |
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I will read with interest. |
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I read it and learned a lot new!! |
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And again, I can verify all the military related stuff as being 100% true! |
| Come on man this is one of your worst book reports yet. This guy had some actual grievances and then what do you do you get upset that he’s upset at government. And then you claim that all the blame should be put on the insurrectionists although nobody has been charged with insurrection I bet you don’t even know who died and who didn’t on January 6 and this book repeats the lies |
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I will entertain you for a moment....with the fact that people have been convicted of Insurrection and if you don't know that then you need to get better informed! You once again come here with your BS.....sorry I trigger you so much, but I don't write to please you nor do I have to answer any questions you put forward. Whether I know who died that day is not the point (and I do know), but the point is none of them needed to die....because of a lie! As the Leader of that force he had responsibility for its failures....his grievances should be addressed to the proper authorities and at the proper time. If they are accepted so be it....if not move on. I will refer you and your knowledge of history to the Admiral in Command of the Pacific Fleet after Pearl Harbor. Educate yourself on what happened to him....then come back and try to try to discuss a logical point! |
| I got news for you, you are neither entertaining or correct. |
| Show me the evidence for every person who died at the capital on January 6 Also, what does the chief have to say about the officers who opened the gates and let people in? |
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Idiot I don't have you show you anything....go play in traffic somewhere would you please and allow adults to have a decent dialogue! Geez!! |
| I didn’t say you had to I’m saying that you cannot fucking do it you stupid bigot Everything is a lie except for this bullshit you read in these grifting ass books lol |
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Oh thank you so much for asking that question...of course I will take a moment and explain to you what Chief Sund said about the Military!! Chief Sund in his conclusion raised the issue that General Milley and others at the Pentagon had pre-January 6th voiced great concern that things on January 6th would get out of hand. Sund also highlighted that Military Leaders on January 6th moved quickly to provide extra Security for the Homes and Families of all the Top Military Brass. This meant extra Security at Ft. McNair in Washington and Ft. Myers in Virginia. Milley even went so far as to say that if he had his way all Protest Permits for that day would be cancelled and that the City should be locked down. Sund was upset that Milley never forwarded those concerns to Capital Hill nor did he provide the Intelligence information that was the foundation for these concerns or moves. Sund just continued to focus on the delays in the Military sending him support and kept repeating that the Military was concerned about the Optics! Sund later reveals that Milley and the other High Ranking Pentagon Officials were concerned that if the Military were in the area of the Capital during the Insurrection, that Trump might attempt to declare Martial Law and imply that the Military was there to help him seige power. So the Military actually planned to remove themselves as an option to President Trump by never planning to place the National Guard or any other Military unit within one Mile of the Capital! Sund explains all of this in his book and as a result answers for himself the question as to why Miliary support never arrived on the 6th! Thanks for asking! |
I have ordered a copy of this from Amazon as it was not in my local library. Will look forward to reading it. The "subtitle" of 58-1 kind of tells part of the story.