May the lesser unprepared force prevail!

Dear Fellow Earthlings,

On the 22nd of April 1982 President Galtieri of Argentina showed up in the "reclaimed Argentine territory" known (to most of the world) as the Falkland Islands. His stay was very short, but allowed him to warn the Argentine forces in the Falklands that war was at hand. Although the British fleet was on its way, there were those who realized that British chances for success in removing the Argentines from the Falklands was partially based on which of the two sides was the more unprepared for the conflict... You see, although (as I have mentioned in Installment 388) the Argentines clearly had a lack of military preparedness in both their personnel and in their equipment. However, (albeit to a lesser extent) so did the British. Particularly regarding the British fleet's capability to fend off attacks by missiles and large artillery launched by Argentine aircraft, great doubt existed. The early days of the actual conflict would prove that the grounds for that doubt were justified. Only sheer luck would prevent the loss of several important British ships when bombs that hit them somehow failed to detonate. With the cool headed bravery of ordnance removal experts commanded to defuse and/or remove the projectiles from the innards of their targets, several key Task Force vessels were saved. Had they not been saved, it is highly probable that the Argentines would have won the war. Luck can come in many forms. Steve Walker Earthsaver and Jingles Creator

© 2013 Steve Walker, The Jingles-The Japan Foundation for English Pronunciation, Summit Enterprises.