Marines train to capture vessels at sea

USNS ARCTIC -A CH-53E Super Stallion lands on the USNS Arctic during a simulated Expanded, Visit, Board, Search and Seizure, Dec. 7, 2011 The 24th MEU is currently taking part in Composite Training Unit Exercise (COMPTUEX), scheduled to take place Nov. 28 to Dec. 21. The training is meant to develop cohesion between the 24th MEU and Amphibious Squadron 8 (PHIBRON-8) in conducting amphibious operations, crisis response, and limited contingency operations while operating from the sea. The CH-53E helicopters are a detachment from HMH-464 based at Marine Corps Air Station New River, N.C., and comprise part of Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron VMM-261 (Rein), which is the Aviation Combat Element for the 24th MEU. , Lance Cpl. Michael Petersheim, 12/7/2011 10:11 AM

USNS ARCTIC -Marines and Sailors with the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit's Force Reconnaissance Platoon and Security Element, Headquarters and Service Company, Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment fast rope from a CH-53E Super Stallion while conducting a simulated Expanded, Visit, Board, Search and Seizure aboard the USNS Arctic, Dec. 7, 2011 The 24th MEU is currently taking part in Composite Training Unit Exercise (COMPTUEX), scheduled to take place Nov. 28 to Dec. 21. The training is meant to develop cohesion between the 24th MEU and Amphibious Squadron 8 (PHIBRON-8) in conducting amphibious operations, crisis response, and limited contingency operations while operating from the sea. The CH-53E helicopters are a detachment from HMH-464 based at Marine Corps Air Station New River, N.C., and comprise part of Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron VMM-261 (Rein), which is the Aviation Combat Element for the 24th MEU. (Official USMC Photo by: Lance Cpl. Michael Petersheim/ Released), Lance Cpl. Michael Petersheim, 12/7/2011 8:45 AM

USNS ARCTIC-Marines with the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit's Force Reconnaissance Platoon and Security Element, Headquarters and Service Company, Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment provide security while a CH-53E Super Stallion lands on the USNS Arctic during a simulated Expanded, Visit, Board, Search and Seizure, Dec. 7, 2011 The 24th MEU is currently taking part in Composite Training Unit Exercise (COMPTUEX), scheduled to take place Nov. 28 to Dec. 21. The training is meant to develop cohesion between the 24th MEU and Amphibious Squadron 8 (PHIBRON-8) in conducting amphibious operations, crisis response, and limited contingency operations while operating from the sea. The CH-53E helicopters are a detachment from HMH-464 based at Marine Corps Air Station New River, N.C., and comprise part of Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron VMM-261 (Rein), which is the Aviation Combat Element for the 24th MEU., Lance Cpl. Michael Petersheim, 12/7/2011 9:08 AM

USNS ARCTIC -Marines with the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit's Force Reconnaissance Platoon and Security Element, Headquarters and Service Company, Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment provide security while a CH-53E Super Stallion lands on the USNS Arctic during a simulated Expanded, Visit, Board, Search and Seizure, Dec. 7, 2011 The 24th MEU is currently taking part in Composite Training Unit Exercise (COMPTUEX), scheduled to take place Nov. 28 to Dec. 21. The training is meant to develop cohesion between the 24th MEU and Amphibious Squadron 8 (PHIBRON-8) in conducting amphibious operations, crisis response, and limited contingency operations while operating from the sea. The CH-53E helicopters are a detachment from HMH-464 based at Marine Corps Air Station New River, N.C., and comprise part of Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron VMM-261 (Rein), which is the Aviation Combat Element for the 24th MEU. (Official USMC Photo by: Lance Cpl. Michael Petersheim/ Released), Lance Cpl. Michael Petersheim, 12/7/2011 8:45 AM

USNS ARCTIC -Marines and Sailors with the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit's Force Reconnaissance Platoon and Security Element, Headquarters and Service Company, Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, conduct a simulated Expanded, Visit, Board, Search and Seizure aboard the USNS Arctic, Dec. 7, 2011 The 24th MEU is currently taking part in Composite Training Unit Exercise (COMPTUEX), scheduled to take place Nov. 28 to Dec. 21. The training is meant to develop cohesion between the 24th MEU and Amphibious Squadron 8 (PHIBRON-8) in conducting amphibious operations, crisis response, and limited contingency operations while operating from the sea., Lance Cpl. Michael Petersheim, 12/7/2011 8:42 AM

USNS ARCTIC -Marines and Sailors with the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit's Force Reconnaissance Platoon and Security Element, Headquarters and Service Company, Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, climb up the side of the USNS Arctic, while conducting a simulated Expanded, Visit, Board, Search and Seizure, Dec. 7, 2011 The 24th MEU is currently taking part in Composite Training Unit Exercise (COMPTUEX), scheduled to take place Nov. 28 to Dec. 21. The training is meant to develop cohesion between the 24th MEU and Amphibious Squadron 8 (PHIBRON-8) in conducting amphibious operations, crisis response, and limited contingency operations while operating from the sea. (Official USMC Photo by: Lance Cpl. Michael Petersheim/ Released), Lance Cpl. Michael Petersheim, 12/7/2011 8:43 AM

USNS ARCTIC -Marines and Sailors with the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit's Force Reconnaissance Platoon and Security Element, Headquarters and Service Company, Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, climb up the side of the USNS Arctic, while conducting a simulated Expanded, Visit, Board, Search and Seizure, Dec. 7, 2011 The 24th MEU is currently taking part in Composite Training Unit Exercise (COMPTUEX), scheduled to take place Nov. 28 to Dec. 21. The training is meant to develop cohesion between the 24th MEU and Amphibious Squadron 8 (PHIBRON-8) in conducting amphibious operations, crisis response, and limited contingency operations while operating from the sea. (Official USMC Photo by: Lance Cpl. Michael Petersheim/ Released), Lance Cpl. Michael Petersheim, 12/7/2011 8:43 AM

Without the F-35 the Marine Corps brand is weakened?

The debate over the F-35 is starting to spiral out of control.  Want proof?  Read the entire article but check out this blurb from National Defense....

Tactical aviation is the Marine Corps’ top modernization priority, Dunford said Dec. 7. “We haven’t bought new airplanes in a decade,” he said.
The unprecedented involvement of the highest ranked Marine in a weapons acquisition program is proof that the stakes in F-35B — a fighter/bomber aircraft that takes off and lands vertically like a helicopter — have become too high to leave anything to chance.
“Losing the F-35B would really collapse the entire structure of the Marine Corps,” said Thomas Donnelly, a defense and security analyst at the neoconservative American Enterprise Institute.
The bottom line is that without F-35B, Marine aviation operations would be reduced to just helicopters. “They would become a consumer of other people’s firepower rather than a producer of firepower,” Donnelly said Dec. 7 at a Center for Strategic and International Studies forum, in Washington, D.C.
Donnelly defended the Marines’ all-in strategy to ensure the aircraft survives both technical and budgetary challenges. A Pentagon budget crunch currently threatens the entire Joint Strike Fighter program — which also includes Air Force and Navy variants.
Marines should go even further in their advocacy of F-35B and make a case that Marine aviation can at times be more valuable than Navy carrier-based aviation, said Donnelly. “A large-deck amphibious ship with 30 stealthy jump jets may be more productive and capable in some cases than a large-deck Navy aircraft carrier with 60 F/A-18s,” he said. “That’s something that we should think about.”

I get the advocacy for the F-35.  But the thought that the Marine Corps is nothing without it is beyond annoying.

Its obscene.

I want the airplane.  I believe we need the airplane.  But if we don't get it then we'll figure out another way.

That's what the Marine Corps is all about.  I said in an earlier post that the Program Manager said in Grunt talk that the F-35 was fucked up beyond belief and that it needed to be sorted out and get its bearings before marching on.

Seems like HQMC needs to do the same.  The only weapon system that identifies the Marine Corps is the Rifleman.  Everything else is just a tool to achieve the mission.

NOTE:
Marine Air...God love ya, but to say they haven't bought a new airplane in a decade is a bit of a farce.  We still have Marines getting the job done in AAV's that were first designed in the 70's.  How about a little love for the ground side?

F-35...the hot spots and the Admiral's statement.

A couple of things.

1.  I wrote Lockheed Martin for info about the good Admiral's statement about production slowdown and the hotspots and have yet to get an answer.  I DID get a response but just to acknowledge reciept of my e-mail and that they would be getting back to me....that was Monday.

2.  We have this statement by Sufa Viper on ARES...

Some food for thought, when thinking about the Cracks of doom (by they way they are hot spots at this point, not cracks).

The F-16 has a structural distinction known as Pre- and Post-Block. Pre-Block aircraft are considered to be structurally "flawed" and immature, where as Post-Block aircraft are considered structurally sound and mature.

The dividing line is Block 40. So that means that every Block 1, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30/32 is structurally "flawed." More than 2,000 of those blocks were built. And yet EPAF countries still fly Block 15 and USAF still flies Block 25/30/32.

Almost all have some form of structural repair on them, and that is long before they reach the design life of 8,000 FH. Yet, I think you would have to be nuts if you think the "flawed" F-16's aren't effective fighters.

Sufa Viper

Long story short.

I don't have an answer on this thing.  I'm confused as all out doors and I feel like I'm getting spun both ways by critics and supporters.

If Sufa Viper is right, then why is the Admiral so alarmed?  Why would he want production slowed?  This whole thing is starting to take on an air of gamesmanship and not having any basis in reality.


UPDATE:

Ok.

I'm heading toward becoming pissed.

I'm not ready to join the throngs of haters but I mean seriously?  Check out DoD Buzz for the story but this tidbit has me steaming.

How healthy is the world’s biggest defense program? Secretary Panetta himself plans to head down Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md., for his first in-person encounter with the jet and the people who make it possible, DoD announced Wednesday. We just don’t know exactly when that’s going to happen.
The Pentagon first announced that Panetta was planning on heading to Pax River on Friday, but then it followed up with another announcement that something had come up and he had to postpone his trip until “early next year.” Still, it’s the thought that counts, right?

First we have the Program Manager saying that the program is FUBAR.

Then we have the SecDef planning a trip to PaxRiver. 

Can we all get on one page, get the messaging together and get me some fucking answers about the status of this program?

Marines and Pearl Harbor...

At their barracks, near the foundation of a swimming pool under construction, three Marines gingerly seek out good vantage points from which to fire, while two peer skyward, keeping their eyes peeled for attacking Japanese planes. Headgear varies from Hawley helmet to garrison cap to none, but the weapon is the same for all -- the Springfield 1903 rifle.
Lord Collection, USMC

 

 

Today is a day that will live in infamy.


A day that saw the US Marines engaging in battle against a predicted foe.  A day that saw Marines distinguish themselves.  Sgt. Micheletto is just one such hero from that early battle of WW2.  We must never forget.

Sgt Carlo A. Micheletto had turned 26 years old less than two months before Japanese planes strafed Ewa. He was recommended for a letter of commendation, but was awarded a Bronze Star.
Marine Corps Historical Collection
----------------------------------------
Another Marine who distinguished himself during the third strafing attack was Sergeant Carlo A. Micheletto of Marine Utility Squadron (VMJ) 252. During the first Japanese attack that morning, Micheletto proceeded at once to VMJ-252's parking area and went to work, helping in the attempts to extinguish the fires that had broken out amongst the squadron's parked utility planes. He continued in those labors until the last strafing attack began. Putting aside his fire-fighting equipment and grabbing a rifle, he took cover behind a small pile of lumber, and heedless of the heavy machine-gunning, continued to fire at the attacking planes until a burst of enemy fire struck him in the head and killed him instantly.

 

11th MEU decides on how to deploy its IARs.

12/6/2011 By Sgt. Elyssa Quesada
Rifleman Lance Cpl. Corey Wilson participates in a live-fire exercise aboard USS Makin Island here Dec. 6. Wilson, 20, who hails from Spray, Ore., serves with Battalion Landing Team 3/1, the ground combat element for the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit. The unit embarked USS Makin Island, USS New Orleans and USS Pearl Harbor in San Diego Nov. 14, beginning a seven-month deployment to the Western Pacific and Middle East regions.

Going strictly by the photo it would appear that 11th MEU has decided on how its going to deploy its IARs.

If the good Sgt's caption is correct then they are going to be used by Riflemen and not Machine Gunners...it also appears that high capacity mags aren't part of the weapons fit (yet) and it would appear that its precision suppressive firepower will be called upon in much the same way that Designated Marksmen were.

If I'm right, then it looks like we haven't really upgraded at all.  What we might have accomplished is to find an M-16A4 and M4 replacement but other than that, this appears to be a flawed concept.

Texas firearms instructor draws heat for potentially discriminatory radio ad (audio)

via Tactical Life...

On a YouTube clip that has gone viral, brash Texas handgun instructor Crockett Keller defiantly tells Muslims and non-Christian Arabs he won’t teach them how to handle a firearm.
State officials see the ad as possible discrimination, and may revoke Keller’s instructor license.
“If you are a socialist liberal and/or voted for the current campaigner-in-chief, please do not take this class,” Keller says in the ad’s closing seconds, also taking a swipe at President Barack Obama. “You’ve already proven that you cannot make a knowledgeable and prudent decision as required under the law. Also, if you are a non-Christian Arab or Muslim, I will not teach you this class. Once again, with no shame, I am Crockett Keller.”
Source: Paul J. Weber for the Associated Press via MSNBC.

I don't quite know what to make of this.

Comments.

English Russia's Sukhoi Photo Spread...

Tons more photos here...

Taliban attack Marine Patrol Base

The 31st MEU during PHIBLEX 2012

Royal Navy vindicated...Falklands endangered.

Wow.

Hope those Typhoons are capable in the maritime strike arena, cause what Sharkey was worried about appears to be happening...the Falklands appear to be endangered, check this out via BlackFive from Assoluta Tranquilita...

Argentina has launched a naval campaign to isolate the Falkland Islands that has seen it detain Spanish fishing vessels on suspicion of breaking the country’s “blockade” of the seas around the British territories.

Read the whole thing but a couple of things are obvious.  Weakness will be exploited.  Its guaranteed.

Update:

For the doubters we have this from the Telegraph.

Argentine patrol commanders carrying out interceptions near the South American coast told Spanish captains they were in violation of Argentina’s “legal” blockade of sea channels to the Falklands.

The warning has been backed up in a letter to Aetinape, the Spanish fishing vessels association from the Argentine embassy in Madrid warning boats in the area that “Falklands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands and adjoining maritime spaces are an integral part of the Argentine territory.”

F-35 News...

Nothing I wanted to read about but I'll post what popped up....

The first carrier variant test aircraft for the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter takes off on its 100th test flight Nov. 29 with Marine Corps test pilot Lt. Col. Matthew Taylor at the controls. (Photo courtesy of Lockheed Martin)

The photo is a press release by NAVAIR and the following statement is from the JSF Program Office...

JPO STATEMENT ON DOD AND LOCKHEED MARTIN REACHING A TENTATIVE F-35 UCA AGREEMENT
The Department of Defense and the Lockheed Martin Corporation have reached a tentative agreement on key terms of the 5th F-35 Low Rate Initial Production contract, known as LRIP 5, which will enable award of an Undefinitized Contract Action (UCA). The key terms include agreement on a fixed-price type contract vehicle and a concurrency clause where DOD and Lockheed Martin will share responsibility on costs for concurrency changes -- modification costs associated with changes discovered during development. The UCA award will allow Lockheed Martin and its suppliers to begin production of the LRIP 5 aircraft and bill for incurred costs. The exact value of the contract and number of aircraft procured will be announced through the normal DOD contract announcement process.

What I wanted to hear was a clarifying statement from the good Admiral.  I think everyone following the F-35 wants to hear what he has to say.

But alas, he's crawled under a rock and is no where to be found.

Pathetic.

ISAF statement on Iran's drone shoot-down...

ISAF speaks on the Iranian "drone shoot-down"...

KABUL, Afghanistan (December 4, 2011) – "The UAV to which the Iranians are referring may be a US unarmed reconnaissance aircraft that had been flying a mission over western Afghanistan late last week. The operators of the UAV lost control of the aircraft and had been working to determine its status."

Certainly makes sense...but notice what's been left out.  The type of UAV and the cause of the loss of control.

There is alot more to this story than meets the eye.