Wednesday, April 25, 2012

AV-8B Harrier Pilot that participated in F-15 rescue mission in Libya is Aviator of the Year.

Maj. J. Eric Grunke, pictured here at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, N.C., April 24, has been named Marine Corps Aviator of the Year by the Marine Corps Aviation Association. The MCAA gives the award to the pilot who makes the most outstanding contribution to Marine aviation over that past year.
The action that earned him the award is below....
Whispering into his radio from a hiding place on the ground was Air Force Maj. Kenneth Harney. His Air Force F-15 Strike Eagle had just crashed in the open desert near the Libyan city of Benghazi.
The 26th MEU’s Marines aboard the USS Kearsarge launched a Tactical Recovery of Aircraft and Personnel, or TRAP, mission to rescue the pilot. Grunke was to provide close air support to protect the downed pilot until help arrived.

Due in part to his actions in Libya, particularly on that day, the Marine Corps Aviation Association named Grunke the Marine Aviator of the Year, recognizing him as the pilot who made the most outstanding contribution to Marine aviation over that past year.

Grunke’s contribution came in the form of a dynamic mission over a short amount of time where he dropped two 500-pound bombs on tactical vehicles pursuing the downed pilot and identified a suitable landing zone for the MV-22B Osprey that would make the pickup. Just about three hours prior to all of this, Grunke had been aboard the USS Kearsarge preparing for another night of enforcing the no-fly zone over Libya.

“We were preparing for another armed reconnaissance mission where we would go out and look for targets,” Grunke said. “Word started to filter in that, potentially, an F-15 had crashed. We weren’t sure why, whether it was enemy air fire or a malfunction or what, so we started to determine, okay we’re going to have to launch the TRAP package to go rescue the pilot and his [weapons systems officer] – it was a two-seat F-15E.”

The weapons systems officer, Air Force Capt. Tyler Stark, ejected with Harney as the jet went down but was quickly rescued by friendly rebel sympathizers. Harney, however, was on the run.

“The pilot … had hit the ground, he was alive, he was on his radio, he was trying to get away from up to five or six tactical vehicles [that were] pursuing after him, and he was just trying to get out of the open desert and away,” said Grunke.

The Marines aboard the USS Kearsarge launched the full TRAP package to rescue him – two AV-8B Harriers, two MV-22B Ospreys, and two CH-53E Super Stallions. A Marine Corps KC-130J Hercules joined the fight to provide aerial refueling.

“When we launch the TRAP, it’s an all or none kind of thing,” Grunke said.

Lt. Col. Shawn Hermley, who commanded the Harrier detachment assigned to the 26th MEU, said Grunke recently certified as an airborne forward air controller and was uniquely qualified to execute the rescue mission.

“I told him if we do this, I want you out there in the lead,” Hermley said.

After Grunke took off from the deck of the USS Kearsarge, he spoke to the command and control center and learned deadly force was authorized to protect the downed pilot.

He said that was all he needed to know, as his AV-8B Harrier was equipped with two 500-pound laser-guided bombs.

At the helm of the attack jet, speeding toward the Libyan desert en route to save a fellow service member from certain danger, Grunke switched over to the downed pilot’s radio frequency.

“I just start listening to gain an idea of what’s going on down there, and I can hear him, wind rustling and him whispering into his radio,” Grunke said. “At that point it all became real to me, listening to the guy whispering on the radio. This is no longer North Carolina, this is no longer practice – that’s really a guy down there scared for his life.”

Grunke arrived overhead and took over as on-scene commander, relieving an Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon. The downed pilot radioed that he was fleeing vehicles with searchlights. He could hear barking dogs and gunfire.

“Within five minutes of being on station, I’m able to get my targeting pod sensor on this pursuing vehicle,” Grunke said. “I tell the pilot, ‘Okay, I can see the guys … I’ve got two 500-pound bombs, do you need them?’ He says, ‘Yes, yes I do.’”

As he maneuvered to a point where he could release and guide the munitions to the pursuing vehicle, Grunke heard the airman make one more request.


“He comes up and actually crying on the radio he says, ‘tell my wife I love her.’ And again, just underlying the realness of the situation I said, ‘don’t worry, I’m going to have a bomb on the deck in one minute,’” Grunke said. “I released one bomb, and I’m able to guide it for 50 seconds or so, all the way to a direct impact.”


Hermley described Grunke’s attack on the vehicle as “impressive.” He said looking through the Harrier’s targeting pod is a lot like looking through a drinking straw.

“The dropping of the bomb isn’t the hard part, it’s an attack we do all the time,” Hermley said. “But he was going after a moving target, and one that was tracking toward his friendly. Any pilot in our detachment could drop a bomb, but doing it under pretty high stress circumstances, with that pilot talking to him, fearing for his life, [Grunke’s] actions on the TRAP were monumental.”

Grunke dropped one more bomb on another vehicle pursing the pilot, finally delivering the message to the assailants on the ground to leave Harney alone.

“At that point I gave my sole attention to trying to locate a suitable landing zone for the Ospreys that launched from the ship a few minutes after I did,” Grunke said.

Noticing a road not far from the creek bed where Harney was hiding, Grunke generated a coordinate for the location and passed it over the radio to the Osprey pilots.

The Osprey, complete with a rescue team of Recon Marines, landed less than 50 meters from the pilot’s hiding place.

“They found him very quickly, to the point where he just ran in the back of the aircraft as soon as it landed,” Hermley said. “The Marines barely even had the chance to get out.”

Grunke said he shook Harney’s hand back aboard the USS Kearsarge, making a great ending for an extraordinary mission.
Hermley said Grunke’s role in the TRAP mission was pivotal. He not only defended the downed pilot from aggressors, he provided invaluable reconnaissance to the rest of the rescue force.

“The hardest part of a mission like that is knowing where the survivor is, and in this instance he had moved about three miles,” Hermley said.

“Fortunately for us, every MEU practices a TRAP, because it’s a ballet. You’re working off of a moving platform – the boat, and you have to have everything moving at the right time,” Hermley said. “The key to the TRAP is ‘how fast can you execute it?’ We had assets airborne within the hour.”

Hermley said as Marines, and especially as part of a Marine Air-Ground Task Force aboard a MEU, everyone involved knows they have to react quickly to a mission they hadn’t planned on.

“[The Marine Corps Aviator of the Year award] was well deserved. The highlight for him was his performance and execution of that TRAP. He quite possibly saved that pilot’s life,” Hermley said. “But there was a lot of stuff behind the scenes as well. He was one of my best advisers; he worked a lot of long hours figuring out the best way to execute that mission in Libya.”

“It was obvious that we had made a huge difference in liberating this area specifically, a stark contrast from night one where [the Libyan people] were essentially under [Gadhafi’s] thumb. I could see visible results of what we did,” Grunke said. “Night one, [Gadhafi’s forces] were essentially on the footsteps of Benghazi. Night by night by night, we just continuously pushed this line back.”
Grunke described the operation in Libya as the chance of a lifetime for an AV-8B Harrier pilot.

“Pinnacle of my career, really, for an attack pilot to be the forward edge, the tip of the spear, to be operating from amphibious shipping;
it was absolutely the pinnacle of what I’ve done so far,” Grunke said. “I am so privileged and humbled to be receiving this award, especially since it will be awarded as Marine aviation celebrates its centennial.”
Pretty cool huh?

10% Reduction in Marine Corps Personnel.



Wow.

Amos has sure brought change to the Marine Corps....Gays in the military, led talk about the Marine Corps needing to get back to the Sea (never thought we left), women in combat and now the biggest drawdown in Marine Corps end strength since the Vietnam War.

Be proud Amos.  Be proud.  I guess you were the man the President wanted.  You changed a wonderful institution and are in the process of making it something I don't recognize.

Outstanding....For you at dinner parties.  Your The Marines just end up getting screwed.

NOTE:
Don't you dare believe that the final number will be 182,000.  It will be 150,000.  Almost guaranteed. 

The ALMAR on Women in Combat Policy.

Check it out and read how carefully the guidance is laid out.

One thing annoys me to no end though...The survey...

Its pure bullshit and every Marine knows it.

If the Commandant wouldn't listen to his Marines on an issue as simple as roling sleeves what makes you think that he would give force to a no vote on Women in combat?

I guess it really doesn't matter.  This policy roll out has more to do with Obama's re-election strategy than it has to do with advancing women's rights.  Its clever and cunning.  If the Marine Corps fights the issue then he can over ride the military and dare Congress to stop him---he'll say that they're trying to continue its war on women...or the Marine Corps can lay down like a lap dog (which its doing) and he can brag to the liberals on both coasts and say how he's fighting for womens rights over the objections of women hating men.

Assignment of Women to Ground Combat Units

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Commandant of the Marine Corps speech on the state of the Marines.

NOTE:

This is a long talk...but the first 5 minutes are telling.

The Commandant basically defends not only himself but the other Joint Chief's of Staff with regard to them doing their job.  He talks about dereliction of duty and how they are doing what's necessary in a joint environment.  My thought is wow.  So the other services are having issues with their leadership and where they're taking their services.  So its not just a Marine thing.  The next thought is that he protests too much.  Obviously the pin pricks are starting to hurt.

Good.  Grab some Makers Mark...pour a couple dozen shots and make it through the whine fest.

F-35 In-Flight Refueling with External Weapons


The F-35's latest drama..A labor dispute.

                                    


Wow.

I get the point that the union is trying to make.

Lockheed has been making record profits and they only want there share.

But damn it.  This could be the straw that breaks the camels back.  If they haven't thought about this carefully then the Dem's in the Senate could actual team up with that idiot McCain and make Sweetman/Cox and Air Power Australia (along with the other lackeys and hangers on) smile with glee.

This could kill the program.

Then not only will Lockheed Martin, the US Military and our allies but also the workers lose and lose big.

I hope I'm wrong but this is the wrong time to be pushing this issue.  Management and Labor are both idiots.

Management pushed, Labor pushed back and they're both about to get a big stick up the behind with a total lack of vaseline.

How long before SOCOM goes purple?



The Joint Force mafia has a dream of the services losing all identity and going purple.  The thinking is that the competition between the services is destructive and wasteful.

I believe that they're the same crowd that gives out medals to everyone at athletic events.  Kinda taints the desire to be the best don't it.

But I digress.

One area where they've made the greatest strides to achieve this joint force utopia is SOCOM.

In my mind its not a matter of when but rather of how long it takes for SOCOM to become its own unique, service irrelevant force.

I don't know whether that will be a good or bad thing...What happens when there are no more SEALs, Green Berets, Rangers, USAF Special Ops or Marine Special Forces?  Just simply US Special Ops.

I'm really unsure.  What I believe will happen is that you will see the services simply re-invent these same units to perform those missions for the Combatant Commander.  Remember SOCOM is also pushing to operate outside the sphere of influence of the CC's..the SOCOM Chief of Staff or whatever they call him will be conducting wars world wide.

Will they get a seat on the Joint Chiefs of Staff?  Or will they fall under the Director of the CIA?  Or even the State Dept?  Or will they report directly to the President?

Will they fall under intelligence or law enforcement?  Intelligence will give them greater lattitude in mission sets but law enforcement will perhaps open the door to more countries.  Will they perhaps be split in two...a dark and light side.  It boggles the mind.

I can't wait to see it.

USAF Common Vertical Lift Support Platform (Huey)...games or reality?

via Defense News.
The UH-1N Huey has been a fixture in the U.S. Air Force since the 1970s. And that won’t be ending any time soon.
Air Force Global Strike Command is looking at flying the helicopters for another 30 years, meaning some could fly until they are 70 years old.
The Air Force is asking defense companies for suggestions on how to increase the venerable Huey’s endurance, range, speed, survivability, navigation and communications capabilities to meet Pentagon requirements for guarding nuclear intercontinental ballistic missile fields in the northern U.S.
The Air Force also wants to be able to fly the choppers in all types of weather, states an April 17 request for information. The goal is to install these capabilities on UH-1Ns between 2014 and 2018.
Read the rest at DN's site.

My question is this.  Is the USAF serious (which means they're crazy) or are they simply playing budget games?

The UH-60 is flying for all the services in one form or another and is still in production.  It would be simple to piggy back on an Army or Navy buy of that airframe and have new helicopters for their security teams to fly out on.

If the UH-60 is too expensive (which I doubt) then they could buy Army National Guard Lakota helicopters.

They could get Sikorsky S-92's for a song (Sikorsky would love to have a US military service induct those aircraft into service)....

Heck even Bell Helicoper would love to get a military sale for their new Super 525....

The point is simply this.

Why are they looking to upgrade these helicopters instead of getting new builds?  Oh and before you go high and to the right, I have nothing against upgraded equipment.  In most cases thats a sensible solution...but we're talking about the aircraft that help protect our nuclear missiles.

If we're going to have anything thats new, it should be protecting our nuclear weaponry.

And that's my point.  If I think that way then surely Congress Critters do too (or I would hope they do) so this has to be a budget game...right?

Marine Personnel Carrier Advice.


A bit of unsolicited advice for the Marine Corps Personnel Carrier Program Office.

Pick the best all around vehicle despite the price and work from there.

If the second best vehicle is the cheapest then its a no go.  If one vehicle has dazzling electronics but can't hack it in rough terrain then its a no go.  If it can swim like there is no tommorrow but has little room for future growth and is under armored then its a no go.

Its value time.

The best all around vehicle is what the Marine Corps needs....ITS BACK TO BASICS.  For all the hammering that the AAV receives its served in one form or another for 40 years.  Why?  Because we got the basic vehicle right.

We concentrated on what was important and didn't get caught up in "whats fashionable at the time" mindset.

I would contend that the Bradley suffered from a single type war mindset.  It was designed for the Fulda Gap...Desert Storm 1 just happened to fit into the Army's concept of operations...and we had wide open territory to fight in.

Notice that the Bradley hasn't appeared in Afghanistan and the Stryker has suffered when operating in that environment.

The Marine Corps should not make that mistake.

Despite being lighter in weight than the Stryker, the LAV-25 has performed well for both the USMC and the Australian Army in that theater.  We need a vehicle that has the longevity and performance value that both the AAV and the LAV-25 have given us.

Additionally it might be wise to flow some of our MPC's over to the LAR Battalions so that we can simplify logistics.

Having looked at all the candidates...the Terrex, the Havoc, the Super AV and the Piranha III...I believe that the Havoc is the best all around vehicle in this competition.

Its already been with our AAV Battalions out at Pendleton and its reportedly a great performer.  Additionally it swims well, has outstanding cross country mobility and can carry a proper number of Marines.

Its time to get these vehicle issues off the table.  Get the MPC competition done poste haste.  Pick the Havoc and get these vehicles into the hands of our AAV and LAV Marines this year or next.


11th MEU Recon gearing up.

The unit is deployed aboard the amphibious assault ship as part of the Makin Island Amphibious Ready Group, which is a U.S. Central Command theater reserve force. The group is providing support for maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet area of responsibility.  Photo by Sgt. Elyssa Quesada