Blast from the past. F2H Banshees of VF-12 from National Naval Aviation Museum.

USMC JAG Lawyers.

via Marine Times.

The Marine Corps commandant’s controversial handling of legal cases tied to the infamous video of scout snipers urinating on Taliban corpses has caught the eye of attorneys involved in another hot-button issue for the military: sexual assault.
Mounting evidence that Gen. Jim Amos and some of his top legal advisers may have deliberately sought to sway the outcome of the war-zone video cases — which would constitute actual unlawful command influence — could be used by attorneys in an attempt to get military courts to take another look at unrelated sexual assault convictions the Corps has secured, said attorneys tracking the issue.
Amos last year cited both the urination video and sexual assaults as embarrassing examples of misbehavior during his “Heritage Brief” tour of Marine bases and stations around the world. He condemned immoral actions by Marines and pressed for aggressive responses when they were discovered.
That tough talk on sexual assault cases led military judges in at least four cases within the past year to rule that the commandant exerted apparent unlawful command influence, according to an active-duty military lawyer involved in some of those cases. The judges determined that Amos’ words potentially violated defendants’ legal rights by tainting jury pools and ensuring convictions before their cases played out in court.
The judges, however, did not find that Amos committed actual unlawful command influence, a more serious finding that could have led to the cases’ dismissal. 

Read the whole thing.  I'm pleasantly surprised that the Marine Times is staying on this.  Amos is hoping that if he keeps his head down he can weather the storm.  I'm not convinced but time will tell.

Well done to the JAG Lawyers that are going after this.

It takes a special kind of guts to go after the top ranking Marine while wearing the uniform. King size balls and ovaries reside in that shop.  I imagine they all wear the morale patch below.

Type 75 LHA under construction. via Chinese Military Review.

I've been waiting for this.

Carriers are cool.  But they don't signify a nations intent to be able to take and hold ground in distant lands.  Yes, they can control air space, they can launch punitive air raids...they can even level cities...but they can't deliver and deploy forces to take and hold real estate.

An LHA can.

If they build in numbers and continue to work on the other pieces of their Marine Corps then we will be faced with an issue the USMC hasn't dealt with since the Cold War.  The USMC will have to face fighting a conventional force, capable of landing at a spot of its choosing, backed with Carrier Aviation, using combined arms against our infantry.

At this moment the Chinese Marine Corps can in my opinion claim to have achieved at the very least equality with our Corps.  HQMC can keep pimping humanitarian assistance and disaster relief but it better dust off simulations using the projected Chinese Order of Battle against our own forces before it happens in real life.

SIDE NOTE:  Does anyone have a good definition of the difference between an LHA and a LHD?  At one time their was a clear distinction between the two.  LHA's could only land forces via aviation  where  a LHD used landing craft & aviation.  That no longer seems to be a valid definition.   Ideas?  Or is this another case of creeping classification to a point where it no longer makes a difference.

Interesting news out of China. via South China Morning Post.

China develops a PsyWarfare Airplane.

Praise for a Chinese aircraft armed with psychological warfare capabilities emerged in state media on Tuesday, alongside claims the plane could “give the enemy nervous breakdowns” - a statement that attracted mass ridicule online.
The article, originally printed in the Global Times, was entitled “China’s new psychological warfare aircraft overtakes the US army – It gives the enemy nervous breakdowns.” The title was a reference to the Gaoxin 7, a plane armed with portable electronic devices for psychological combat assignments, the article reported. During missions, the Gaoxin 7 would utilise its own “programmes”- which the article did not describe in further detail - to disrupt the normally-scheduled broadcasts of television, radio and wireless internet communications.
These infiltrations would “limit the spread of enemy propaganda, affect the morale of the enemy’s army, sow seeds of rumour and confusion, and send all enemy troops from soldiers to officials into a state of nervous breakdown, achieving victory without soldiers even having to fight.”
“The capabilities of the [Gaoxin 7] psychological warfare aircraft…can be used to collapse the enemy propaganda dissemination mechanism,” the article reported. “After that, [dealing with] dropped enemy pamphlets and other propaganda items will be a piece of cake.”

Chinese Stock Market in free fall.

Four years after China's growth helped lead the global economy out of a recession and won the admiration of luminaries from billionaire George Soros to Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz, the nation's stock market has lost more money for investors than any other in the world.
The Shanghai Composite Index, which doubled in the 10 months to August 2009 as the government poured US$652 billion of stimulus into building roads, railways and housing, has tumbled 43 per cent from its high, destroying US$748 billion in market value.
Only Greece's ASE Index has fallen more in percentage terms. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index, the benchmark gauge of American equity, erased all of the losses from the worst recession since the Depression and has gained 68 per cent since the China peak, reaching a record this month.
China looked unbeatable in 2009, surpassing Germany as the world's third-largest economy and growing 6 per cent in the first quarter while the US shrank 4 per cent.
Templeton Emerging Markets Group executive chairman Mark Mobius said in July 2009 that China's stock market could be larger than its US counterpart in three years.
Now, China is poised for the weakest expansion since 1990 as the government orders more than 1,400 companies to close factories.

It should be fairly obvious that I consider the second story much more important than the first.  The idea that China is attempting to replicate our psychological warfare elements is to be expected.

News that the Chinese stock market is trash is something different.

Conventional wisdom holds that China is a rising star and that it will replace the US as the world's superpower is considered a given.  This article tells a different story.  Some have theorized that the current economic troubles are all tied to globalization and that the very system that was created to support it is unsustainable.

This would seem to add fuel to that theories fire.

It would also help explain many of the border skirmishes we've seen.  If stuff is going bad internally then you seek to place attention on an outside issue.   Bad economic conditions get Western governments replaced.   It gets Communist governments toppled.

Some guys are just fucking confused. Pic via Bayou Man.

I've never been big on re-enactment or cosplay but to each his own.  I'd like to be able to expand that thinking to the above pic but come on!  Thor and hello kitty?

Guys are either pissed, pussified or confused.  Ole' boy above falls into the pussified or confused camp in my opinion.

Geez.

Let me say it again.

Thor and Hello Fucking Kitty?!  Our society is so screwed.

Argentina ups the ante!

via the Mirror.

Argentina has launched a new round of sabre-rattling against Britain by buying a squadron of warplanes to be based within striking distance of the Falklands, the Sunday People has revealed.
President Cristina de Kirchner – who wants the UK to hand over the disputed islands – personally agreed the £145million deal to buy 20 second-hand Mirage F1 jets from Spain.
The 1,453mph aircraft carry a fearsome array of weaponry including smart bombs.
Argentina’s move could force the Ministry of Defence to bolster Britain’s presence in the south Atlantic, even though its budget is to be slashed by £875million in 2015.
Senior officers believe Argentina could now begin a campaign of ­“pester patrols” – flights towards the Falklands to test RAF responses.
Kirchner is thought to be trying to boost her nation’s military capability in a show of strength before elections which are due in 2015.
But last night a senior RAF source said: “If the Argentines start playing games and escalate the tension, we will see more RAF aircraft being deployed to the Falklands.”
The French-built Mirage F1 has a range of 500 miles – the Falklands are 400 miles east of Argentina.

Talk to any Brit about the Falklands and he'll dismiss the threat without serious thought.  Well it might be time to get serious now.

Proper intel, a surprise attack, long range missiles and the right flight profile and you could literally catch those vaunted Typhoons sitting in their hangers.

After that bit of work is done then its a simple matter to destroy the British version of the LCS that patrols the waterways and you wouldn't have a thing to worry about until a Type 45 shows up to crash the party.

Seriously though the main concern should be the mini alliance that is forming between Spain and Argentina.  The connection seems to warrant further investigation to see exactly how deep the defense ties actually are.

An untapped treasure chest of Naval Aviation history!

 Are you interested in Naval Aviation history?  Do you find the internet based information "galaxy" limited?  If you answer to either of those questions is yes then follow this link to the Naval History and Heritage Command.

The back issues of Naval Aviation News are a God send and well worth your time.  Check out the site.  I guarantee you won't be disappointed.

LAPD Officer goes full BITCH mode via Everyday No Days Off Blog.

Uh.  Wow.  I don't know what happened before and from the sounds of things the driver did something squirrely to catch her attention....but....You would think that LEOs would be fully aware that a certain percentage of the public is actually trying to instigate situations where they can be made to look like pure jackasses on tape (the open carry crusaders I believe like pushing confrontations with police).

Surveillance State USA.  It goes both ways.

Side Note:  I'm surprised that LAPD is constantly accused of having a military focus and mindset but they let something as obvious as allowing female patrol officers have hair flowing the way that this officer does.  Pinned back and bobbed not for looks sake but for officer safety.  If she had to go hands on then she has hair waiting to be grabbed and for her to be yanked around like a rag doll.  If the guy was really violent then he could grab that hair, twist her around roll up the window and drive till all that was left was her head banging against his mirror.  Totally unsafe and I wonder why they allow it.

Blast from the Past. Convair R3Y Tradewind.

The SeaPlane as an assault platform?  As a Special Ops insertion platform?  For long range at sea rescue?  It'll never happen but the R3Y Tradewind makes you wonder about possible applications in our era.

Side Note:  This is one of those concepts put forward by Mike Sparks and the pics are from his website, Combat Reform.  He hates the Marine Corps the way that I hate Amos but he has some interesting ideas and even if you disagree he has some informative info. Quite honestly its also one of the major sites on the web for large parts of little known military history.  You should get over your bias and check it out.  But be warned.  His pages will kill dial up connections...high speed internet only.

Side Note 1:  I keep coming back to this concept because it so fascinates.  A P-3 aircrew that has to land or God forbid bail out in the open ocean is going to be in serious trouble.  Outside of the CH-47, CH-53 or the V-22, we just don't have the aircraft that can reach far enough.  Besides the V-22 I don't know of any that can get there FAST enough.  The Japanese and Chinese both operate Seaplanes in the Rescue role.  Considering the Pacific battlespace perhaps we should consider it too.

The UK's MERT and the MEU.

Note:  MERT means Medical Emergency Response Team.

Lieutenant Cmdr. Daniel J. Trueba, center, an emergency medicine physician with 1st Medical Battalion, 1st Marine Logistics Group, trains with members of the United Kingdom Royal Airforce, while conducting Medical Emergency Response Team training at Brize Norton Royal Air Force Base, England, July 23, 2013. As the Marine Corps transitions back to its amphibious roots, the Corps is considering creating its own emergency response teams to accommodate the independent nature of a Marine Expeditionary Unit. (Courtesy photo /Released)

via DVIDS.

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. – As the Marine Corps transitions out of Afghanistan and returns to its amphibious roots, it is posturing itself to bolster the expeditionary nature of the Corps. This realignment will be felt throughout the planning process, including medical operations.
Sailors with 1st Medical Battalion, 1st Marine Logistics Group, are currently focused on this objective. Commander Ronald L. Schoonover, Lt. Cmdr. John D. Moore and Lt. Cmdr. Daniel J. Trueba have put it upon themselves to find an option for upcoming challenges as the Marines focus their attention on Marine Expeditionary Units.
To find answers, the three sailors embarked to England to observe the United Kingdom’s Medical Emergency Response Team in training from July 21-27, 2013.
“The MERT team was one of the primary (casualty evacuation) vehicles for the theater in Afghanistan since we’ve been deployed there,” said Moore, anesthesiologist, 1st Med. Battalion, 1st MLG. “They’ve been responsible for multiple casualty evacuations of Marines. They do primarily point of entry to up to Role-3 medical transfers with critically injured Marines, sailors, soldiers, (Afghan National Army) and multi-national personnel.”
A role-3 medical facility is the most capable medical facility in the Afghanistan theater, and is capable of providing surgery to the acutely injured. The MERT’s job is to provide stabilizing care or damage control resuscitation while casualties are in transit. The team consists of one doctor, a nurse, two paramedics and four force protection airmen.

“We had to go learn about what they do,” said Trueba, an emergency medicine physician with 1st Med. Battalion, 1st MLG. “We don’t currently have that capability within the Marine Corps and Navy, to move our personnel from one spot to another. We went to learn from people who have been doing it since 2006. We wanted to tap into that experience as observers to see how things work,” added the Bountiful, Utah, native.
Since Operation Enduring Freedom began in 2001, the Marines have largely relied on teams like a MERT or U.S. Army Air Ambulance units. With the new transition, Marines and sailors deployed with a MEU need to operate independently overseas. It is Schoonover, Moore and Trueba’s goal to implement a team similar to the MERT or train Navy corpsmen deploying aboard a MEU to have the same capability.
“The Marine Corps doesn’t have a defined medical platform with medical personnel on board,” said Moore, a native of Memphis, Tenn. “Our objective here was to explore options to implement more standardized courses of action for the Marine Corps to conduct casualty evacuation operations in an environment that is more kinetic and expeditionary in nature as opposed to a static and mature theater where you have assets like the MERT and (Dedicated Unhesitating Service To Our Fighting Forces) that are stationed with the Marines in country.”
Although the three sailors do not want to copy the MERT, they wish to create a more flexible team that has the same capabilities of a MERT but can operate in almost any vehicle, whether that’s in the back of a CH-53E Sea Stallion or armored HMMWV, added Moore.
“The Marine Corps is saying that this needs to be developed,” said Trueba. “The 13th MEU is already starting to implement these things but I’m hoping since the 13th (MEU) started the process then the 11th MEU can move it even further, incrementing steps to developing this ability.”

 I'm not following the thinking here.

*  Why travel to the UK to get ideas from how they're doing things?  We have the examples of how the US Army and US Air Force handles medical emergencies.
*  Why are we seeking to incorporate this capability inside the MEU.  If we're expeditionary then getting the injured back to the ship is the goal.  If Navy helos can't do it then a ride in a CH-53, MV-22 or UH-1Y will do...unless they're talking about a mission module for aircraft...
*  We have a Special Forces example that we can follow and piggy back off if we really want to raise the level of our Corpsmen.  Have them attend the Army SF Medics Course (modified).

I think the question that need to be asked are rather simple.  Does the Marine Corps have the resources to have dedicated medivac helicopters or vehicles?  Does it make sense to develop modules that can be used in any vehicle to develop such a capability? Are we going to be operating so far from the medical facilities aboard ships to justify this capability?

But the biggest question is this.  Why are we replicating capabilities found in sister services?