Happy New Year.

This is me.


Wishing you and yours the very best for all of next year.


Be well.


Be safe.


Be alert.


2012 should be interesting!

Shooting sports...what was hot in 2011...

A quick look at what was hot in the gun world in 2011...I'm not saying practical, just what was hot...

Tacos....rather magazine tacos.  I don't know about using them in a tactical situation where you're in and out of the mud etc...but it works great on the three gun circuit.

Travis Haley.  This guy is a rock star in the gun world...He's on his own now and you can bet that when he gets behind a piece of gear that its gonna be a best seller.

Chris Costa.  The other rock star in the gun world.  No particular order with these two guys...if Chris is rocking a new set of ear muffs then expect the price to triple and for them to sell out regardless.

Aimpoint T-1.  This light sight is so popular for two reasons...first up is the fact that you see many guys running around with AR's that weigh as much as an M-14, and then second you have Costa and Haley running these lights on their weapons.

Kydex holsters.  The big boy on the block is the Raven holsters, but everyone is getting into the market.  Raven has a turn around time of 4 to 6 months -- another case of the Costa/Haley effect (known from here on as the CHE)...I don't know anyone with a Raven but kydex seems to be kydex...I'll have to see one up close to know the difference.

M&P pistols.  XD's were the rage last year, in 2011 it was all about the M&P's.  I blame this on Glock.  I'm a Glock fan and I can tell ya that gen 4 was a total clusterfuck.  That left an opening for everyone else and M&P charged right into the breech.

And the most innovative thing to come out of 2011 was the return to the War Belt concept.  Above you see John's setup.  He's serving with I believe the 1stMarDiv, and has the CAR to prove it.  Forget CHE, I'm following his lead.

F-22...not so super?

Check out this bombshell that Sweetman dropped on the USAF's premier fighter...

Without being persnickety, F-22 has delivered 40-some training and test aircraft, 60 sorta-combat-capable jets, and 80-some that have the new radar that should enable the aircraft do some of what was hoped for in the early 2000s - after more billions have been spent. Wastefully or otherwise.

Wow.

Let's break that down a bit.

40 training and test aircraft.

60 sorta combat capable jets.

80 that have new radar that SHOULD enable to do some of what was hoped for in the early 2000's.

A simple statement but so loaded.  The F-22 is touted by some to be the ultimate fighter but from a super Air Force advocate like Sweetman we just had this dropped on our plate.

Interesting.  But wait there is more.  Does this explain the push to cancel the airplane?  Does this explain the need to get the F-35 into service?  Is this why the USAF is so comfortable in simply adding new AESA radars to the F-15 and F-16?  Is the drop off between the performance of a F-15 with 4 AIM-120 missiles loaded conformally and the F-22 carrying the same load internally that different?  I would say probably not.

This whole F-22, F-35, Typhoon, Rafale, Gripen and F-18/15/16 is starting to make so much sense.

More to come I'm sure.

Update:

Read this story from Flight Global regarding the F-22 upgrade path...or lack thereof.

Under the common configuration plan, the combat-coded F-22 fleet is separated into groups of 63 Block 30 and 87 Block 35 aircraft.
The Block 30s are being upgraded with Increment 3.1 capabilities, which include air-to-ground and electronic attack modes for the Northrop Grumman APG-77 radar.
Meanwhile, the Block 35s will also be modernised with the USAF's most advanced air-to-air weapons - the Raytheon AIM-120D AMRAAM and AIM-9X Sidewinder. The package, named Increment 3.2, also adds an automatic ground collision avoidance system and the multifunction advanced datalink. The latter will allow the F-22 to transmit data to other stealth aircraft.
USAF officials are now debating whether to upgrade the 63 Block 30 aircraft to the Block 35 standard. If the proposal is accepted, the USAF would operate a fleet of 150 F-22s with identical capabilities.
But the Raptor fleet would still lack a number of features common to most modern fighters, including an infrared search and track sensor for passive targeting and a helmet-mounted cueing system to shoot at targets beyond the field of view of the fighter's air-to-air missiles.
It is possible, however, that the USAF will add new capabilities to the F-22 beyond the Increment 3.2 upgrades. One example is a distributed aperture system now installed on the Lockheed Martin F-35, which provides 360° optical coverage around the aircraft.

Wow.

Update 1:

"Me" is debating me on the merits of the F-22 vs. the F-15.  Let me put this puppy to sleep.  Service ceiling of the F-15---65,000 ft.
Service ceiling of the F-22---65,000 ft.
Max Speed of the F-15------Mach 2.5+
Max Speed of the F-22------Mach 2.2
The Mig-25 and its replacement Mig-31 can supposedly get up to 67,500 ft and top out at Mach 2.8...faster than a F-22 and since we don't know what the + equals on the F-15 how about we give those airplanes a tie?

"Nuff said.

The South and Midwest are the militaries recruiting grounds...

Lex has an article up that's a must read but this tidbit has me spinning with the words I TOLD YA SO!!!!

Stanford’s is a telling episode: The chief obstacle to ROTC’s expansion today is not antimilitary sentiment but a Pentagon that prefers to allocate its resources to surer recruiting prospects, primarily in the South and the Midwest. Last year the Ivy League had 54 students commissioned through ROTC, or 1% of total commissions, and the Defense Department is reluctant to launch new programs where student interest appears low.

Now Lex is primarily talking about Ivy League schools and ROTC...I contend that this probably extends beyond that to the enlisted ranks as well.  1% of total commissions from Ivy League schools?

You can bet its partly cultural, partly regional and add a big dose of ideology into the mix.  Patriotism just isn't fashionable on the coasts...at least the kind of patriotism that requires the sacrifices that the military demands.

For the Royal Navy, history repeats...

Sharkey Ward has warned about it.  I've argued about it over at Think Defense.  Now we have this from Defense News...looks like we've seen all this before...

Prime minister Margaret Thatcher was warned about the risks in slashing Britain's navy, a year before the 1982 Argentine invasion of the Falkland Islands, secret files released Dec. 30 showed.
Her foreign secretary Lord Peter Carrington also warned defense secretary John Nott that axing Britain's Antarctic patrol ship would send all the wrong signals about London's willingness to defend the Falklands.

Documents released after 30 years locked away in Britain's National Archives showed that the head of the Royal Navy was fuming in 1981 about planned defense cuts.
First sea lord Adm. Henry Leach, who later told Thatcher that Britain could and should send a naval task force to retake the Falklands following the April 1982 invasion, was furious with her a year earlier over her "unbalanced devastation" of the armed forces.
"I note with regret but understanding that the tightness of your program precludes your seeing me personally as requested," he wrote in a stinging note to the premier.
"I am confident however that you will at least spare two minutes to read this note from the professional head of the navy before you and your Cabinet colleagues consider a proposition substantially to dismantle that navy."

Read the whole article but consider this.

The dynamics between the services is almost exactly the same on both sides of the Atlantic.

The Royal Navy has been savaged by budget cuts and by despicable behavior on the part of the leadership of the Royal Air Force.

Now this glimpse into a not too distant history reveals a couple of things....the Royal Navy has been here before...the Falklands War was not an "easy" victory...and the British government has not learned the lessons from the Thatcher Administration.

3rd Battalion , The Royal Regiment of Scotland (The Black Watch) on patrol

Soldiers from 3rd Battalion , The Royal Regiment of Scotland (The Black Watch) on a foot patrol near check point Kalang in Nad 'Ali district, Helmand, Afghanistan.Photographer: Sgt Wes Calder RLC

Soldiers from 3rd Battalion , The Royal Regiment of Scotland (The Black Watch) on a foot patrol near check point Kalang in Nad 'Ali district, Helmand, Afghanistan.Photographer: Sgt Wes Calder RLC

A soldier from 3rd Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland (The Black Watch) talks to a civilian on a foot patrol near check point Kalang in Nad 'Ali district, Helmand, Afghanistan.Photographer: Sgt Wes Calder RLC

Spartacus...might need to see this.

I'm fascinated by films depicting ancient times.  We'd all be considered pussies if we were warped back in time.

Over the top Navy holiday propaganda.

Wow.  Somethings should definitely be kept in house.  I wonder who came up wit this???  Bad fitrep for you!

More on the Marine Corps going 3-gun...

I hope those Marines that participate have small egos...I've done 3-gun and I shoot alot and still got smoked.

11th MEU air ops (AH-1Z)

All photos by Sgt. Elyssa Quesada

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.

Joke of the day...

I thought it was funny...got it from Sgt Grits newsletter.

Sgt Major and No S-x

A crusty old Marine Sergeant Major found himself at a gala event hosted by a local liberal arts college.

There was no shortage of extremely young idealistic ladies in attendance, one of whom approached the Sergeant Major for conversation.

"Excuse me, Sergeant Major, but you seem to be a very serious man. Is something bothering you?"

"Negative, ma'am. Just serious by nature."

The young lady looked at his awards and decorations and said, "It looks like you have seen a lot of action."

"Yes, ma'am, a lot of action."

The young lady, tiring of trying to start up a conversation, said, "You know, you should lighten up. Relax and enjoy yourself."

The Sergeant Major just stared at her in his serious manner.

Finally the young lady said, "You know, I hope you don't take this the wrong way, but when is the last time you had s-x?"

"1955, ma'am."

"Well, there you are. No wonder you're so serious. You really need to chill out! I mean, no s-x since 1955! She took his hand and led him to a private room where she proceeded to "relax" him several times.

Afterwards, panting for breath, she leaned against his bare chest and said, "Wow, you sure didn't forget much since 1955."

The Sergeant Major said, after glancing at his watch, "I hope not; it's only 2130 now."

Top events afftecting the Marine Corps in 2011.

I'll give you my top events affecting the Marine Corps in 2011.  Feel free to add or subtract if you disagree but this is how I see it....


*HQMC wallows about seeking purpose and relevance.

The little issue with the move to have sleeves down despite a survey of Marines that indicated that the rank and file wanted to continue the practice is nothing but an indication that HQMC and the Commandant in particular are seeking to not only put its stamp on the Marine Corps but to also be viewed as relevant to his Marines.  I cannot remember a Commandant that had as little support as this one.  The only other embarrassment that wore 4 stars was the pathetic General Peter Pace.  His time as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff was disgraceful.

*IAR selected to replace SAWs in some roles.

The service that is suppose to epitomize frugality embarked on this quest to replace an automatic weapon with an assault rifle.  The jury is still out on whether this was a good idea or not but it goes against Marine Corps ethos.  Additionally when you have MEU's and Infantry Battalions still trying to figure out how they'll deploy the weapon then you have a still baked idea.  Another black eye for the Corps.

*EFV gets canceled.

The EFV got whacked and while the writing was on the wall, it was still a terrible blow.  HQMC, the manufacturer and the program office all get the blame for this fiasco.  There was no sense of urgency, no drive to get the problems fixed, no attention to details...only a very late attempt to rally Congressional support for a fucked up weapon system.

*F-35 troubles continue.

Nuff said.

*Marines head back to the sea.

Another black eye for HQMC.  They started the talk of being a second land army and every critic of the Marine Corps picked it up and ran with it.  What was the remedy?  To launch a concerted effort to inform the public and individual Marines that we were getting our sea legs back.  Major exercises off the coast of Camp Pendleton and Camp Lejeune emphasize that fact.  Problem is....the Marines never left the sea.  MEU deployments continued unabated so consider this one a case of loose lips.

*MEB's are back in style.

The 3rd MEB was recently reactivated.  What does that mean?  I'm really not quite sure.  But it appears that we have a doctrinal log jam coming up.  All the rage was distributed operations, now we're switching gears and going toward Marine Expeditionary Brigade operations.  One is based on extremely small unit ops, the other towards putting upwards of 15000 Marines into action.  Mini-ARGs are not talked about, Distributed ops aren't talked about but somehow we're doing MEB exercises.  Wow.

*Tanks deploy to the fight.

I wrote more than a few pieces on how Tanks needed to get into the fight or out of the Corps.  I guess someone in Tanks had the same idea and wanted to get to the fight because they deployed to Afghanistan and are having great success.  Heavy armor lives in the Corps.

*Boat spaces get slashed.

The Marines are about to take a big hit in manpower.  We're starting at a little over 200,000 Marines are expected to get down to 186,000.  Problem is with money sapping programs for aviation like the F-35B and the probably even more expensive F-35C, not to mention the MV-22, manpower will probably sink down to 150,000 in order to save money.  Alot of good Marines are going to get whacked, a lot of shit birds will continue and the selection boards will have jacked it all up once again.  Bad news for some good warriors in a terrible economy.

*The Navy bitch slaps the Marines.

The Marine Corps Aviation Neck Down Campaign indicated a desire to go to an all STOVL force.  The Navy slapped the shit out of the Marines and forced the F-35C down our throats.  The picture of the Commandant signing the agreement was priceless.  I guess everyone gets to experience the Big Green Wiener...or in his case I guess it was the Big Blue Clitoris.

*The Marine bitch slaps the Navy.


The Navy has bigger priorities than amphibious shipping but somehow, someway the Marines were able to get the foundation of sea basing funded and in construction.  They forced the F-35C on us, we forced a new class of ships on them.  Pay back.


There are probably a ton of other issues that I missed but these just bounced off my forehead.