So, if you were 15 when the Wall came down, that puts your birthdate in 1974, correct? I was born in 1965 and went into the Army in 1983. Very different world in a lot of ways, not the least of which was the presence of a very motivated Soviet Union and all of its little playmates.
I spent three years in country with a military advisory unit in El Salvador (along with time in Honduras and Guatemala) and will tell you that the Soviets and Cubans were very actively involved in that part of the world, providing weapons, training and intel to insurgent (National Liberation Front) movements throughout Central and South America.
Cuba was not nearly as benign during those days, hence my reference to their involvement in Angola during the bad old days of the 1970s.
The Soviets were also in full throat, and Vietnam had only emboldened them as to what a fully supported insurgent movement could accomplish.
I’m not familiar with Hammes, so the reference is lost on me.
