Oyster Harbor?

saber964 wrote:How about Operation Wooden Horse or Rat Poison.

The secrecy bit is often out the window thanks to politics. Remember "Desert Shield" and "Desert Storm." I think we also had a "Raging Justice" for later in Iraq.

These days the politics of it all seems to rule. After all, the politicians really don't care if using obvious names causes the loss of lives on the armed forces. THEY'RE not the ones fighting.

ldwechsler wrote:

saber964 wrote:How about Operation Wooden Horse or Rat Poison.

The secrecy bit is often out the window thanks to politics. Remember "Desert Shield" and "Desert Storm." I think we also had a "Raging Justice" for later in Iraq.

These days the politics of it all seems to rule. After all, the politicians really don't care if using obvious names causes the loss of lives on the armed forces. THEY'RE not the ones fighting.

I am told there are two different types of names for operations used by the us military. There is the secret planning code name, which is one word and is classified, and the unclassified operation nickname, for example ‘just cause’. Which is always two words.

kzt wrote:

ldwechsler" quote="saber964 wrote:How about Operation Wooden Horse or Rat Poison.

The secrecy bit is often out the window thanks to politics. Remember "Desert Shield" and "Desert Storm." I think we also had a "Raging Justice" for later in Iraq.

These days the politics of it all seems to rule. After all, the politicians really don't care if using obvious names causes the loss of lives on the armed forces. THEY'RE not the ones fighting.

I am told there are two different types of names for operations used by the us military. There is the secret planning code name, which is one word and is classified, and the unclassified operation nickname, for example ‘just cause’. Which is always two words.[/quote]

The modern military uses two types of code words, one for planning the other for the press. An excellent example was the IDF's Raid on Entebbe. For the planning and actually operation it was code named Operation Thunderbolt afterward it was renamed Operation Yonatahn named for the only Israeli military casualty Yonatahn Netanyahu. FYI Benjamin Netanyahu is his younger brother. Further FYI the U.S. military also uses two word code words to designate joint military exercises like Gallant Eagle, Team Spirit, Noble Eagle and Kernel Potlatch

My personal favorite is the one-two punch of Operation Stalking Horse to capture Candor and Minette, but most importantly in my book, as a diversionary tactic complimenting Operation Dagger's thrust at Yeltsin's Star.

I really hated Cutworm. I saw it as a weak use of Harrington's talents, plus it was a desperation move by the RMN of stalling for time. I acknowledge the necessity of its goals, I just didn't like that it had to use Harrington, and risk her death, for silly little raids on silly Peep systems. I always thought of it as a shameful waste of a Harrington. To me, it was like sending your most powerful piece on the chessboard after a few pawns. I acknowledge the psychological value of Cutworm as well, but, still didn't have to like it. The Cutworm codename also sucked and I thought it was nomen est omen. Which the Peeps computer AI proved to be correct. The Peeps cut my baby's undies right off of her. That is No way to treat a Lady. . . Harrington.

I also like Stalking Horse because I immediately see the cool imagery of a horse actually stalking, as seen at Equestrian competitions.

ldwechsler wrote:

saber964 wrote:How about Operation Wooden Horse or Rat Poison.

The secrecy bit is often out the window thanks to politics. Remember "Desert Shield" and "Desert Storm." I think we also had a "Raging Justice" for later in Iraq.

These days the politics of it all seems to rule. After all, the politicians really don't care if using obvious names causes the loss of lives on the armed forces. THEY'RE not the ones fighting.

Also, moving 300,000 troops into Saudi Arabia isn't exactly secret, nor their final mission, so why use a secret code name instead of a civilian motivating one? The secret names are the individual plans for how individual units are going to implement the big one, and their variations for how to react once the enemy has his say.

You can't discount the politics of codenames either. Many of the names chosen for already publicly known operations are for American consumption, or for the same effect after the fact. They need the continued support and blessing of the American people. These names may be chosen to hit the American citizen right in his patriotic heart, much like a coach's speech to rile the natives' pride. This is what I thought Operation Raging Justice was all about, both in the Honorverse and here on Earth.