Those 3 Special Forces troops went down hardcorps in Niger. The 4th we just don't know...might never want to know...

via Sputnik.

They didn't find anything. Instead, 50 militants believe to be aligned with a local Daesh offshoot, the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS), ambushed the patrol.

Also retrieved was footage from the body camera of Green Beret Staff Sgt. Jeremiah W. Johnson. It depicts the three American soldiers — Johnson along with Staff Sgt. Bryan C. Black and Staff Sgt. Dustin M. Wright — in the midst of a fighting retreat against a vastly superior militant force.

All three Green Berets are slain on the footage. Not depicted is the death of Sgt. La David Johnson, a comrade of the trio whose body was discovered a day later in a different location. Four Nigerien soldiers and an interpreter also met their ends in the battle.

Story here. 

Ok, so the orders were augmented.  Instead of just a patrol they were also on a hunt for a terrorists.

Believe it or not that doesn't alarm me one bit.  I thought we were gonna see something a bit more egregious but if that's all that happened then it's not a really big deal.  AM I DOWNPLAYING their deaths?  NO!!!!  I am saying that getting orders that include "opportunities" are given on a regular basis.  They probably didn't even need to give that order.  If those bubbas got the scent of a terror leader while on patrol they'd probably have notified higher ups, requested support (which would have been given) and started chasing him down.

So the circumstances of this incident aren't alarming.

The fact that they got ambushed, fought hard, and were unfortunately killed? You knew the job was dangerous when you took it.  Again I'm not being flippant but these guys went out like the pros they were.

Which brings me to Sgt Johnson.  We don't know what happened (correction they aren't releasing it).  At this point and with this level of quiet surrounding his death I'm sure the public would be horrified to find out.

If his death really is mysterious then let's hope that he went out hard and was captured and subjected to the barbarity of this region.

At the end of the day, let's clean up our procedures, let's make sure we have sufficient support and let's do this right.

Not one step in retreat...Trump is making a mistake...

This is bad on a number of levels.  First lets talk legality.  I'm annoyed that he is attempting to do this thru the office of the President.  This will set a precedent of President's acting against our gun rights thru the power of the pen.

I don't like that.

Next he is picking the wrong side.  The gun grabbers will NEVER be satisfied.  They will want more no matter what we give so why give anything.

For me?

Not one step in retreat.  I will not accept the curtailing of MY GOD GIVEN RIGHTS because some idiots on the East or West Coast that have an issue with firearms.

Side note.  Think I'm alone in this?  Check out the gun community on Instagram...people are ragging on Trump.  His normal supporters are going batshit crazy!

HH-60W on the way to the Air Force...

via IHS Janes.

Lockheed Martin has begun the assembly of the first Sikorsky HH-60W Combat Rescue Helicopter (CRH) for the US Air Force (USAF), ahead of the type’s maiden flight planned for the end of this year.

The assembly of the Engineering Manufacturing Development (EMD) aircraft, which was announced by Lockheed Martin on 20 February, includes installation of the new Tactical Mission Kit (TMK), the integration of sensors, radar and multiple defence systems, as well as a new fuel system that features dual internal fuel tanks. These new fuel tanks total 3,000 litres, nearly doubling the capacity of the internal tank on a UH-60M Black Hawk.

Good news but the USAF really needs to take a blast from the past.  What do I mean?  They don't need a small rescue copter.  They need a big bird.  Sorta like the Jolly Green Giant series...

Size matters.  If the USAF was smart they would either jump on the Marine Corps buy of the CH-53K or get with Army Special Ops and buy the MH-47. Either way they need a big copter that can penetrate at least a bit into enemy air space to pick up downed crewmen, injured Marines/Soldiers.

Both the CH-53K and MH-47 are rated as being "penetration capable" helicopters.  I'm not sure if the HH-60W is and even if it is it will be too short ranged...especially when you slap extra armor and weapons on it.

Democrats will make gun control a pivotal issue? Idiots!

via AllOutdoor.com

There is an old saying gun grabbing Democrats use, “Never let a tragedy go to waste.” The community of Parkland, Florida, (and the nation), has not even begun to mourn, and gun grabbers have introduced a symbolic assault weapons ban.

Why is the bill called symbolic? Because it has no chance of passing. Republicans control both houses of congress, and President Trump declared himself a friend of gun owners. Democrats know their gun control bill has no chance of passing, but they have to do “something.”

Story here. 

I used to include the link to the article in the "via" part, but popped it out to "story here" so that it would be easier for people to go to.

Makes no difference.  People will chime in without having read the articles linked so let me give you a quick rundown.  Feinstein and friends introduced a new assault weapons ban that they know won't pass.

He goes on to state that gun control will probably be a major issue this fall.

The Dems are idiots.

If they go this way then every person that has Trump fatigue will turnout to vote.  Not to support Trump but to make sure the Congress stays Republican.

This IS the swing issue for me.

MCV Type 16 of the 42nd Regiment on exercise (pics)

pics via Bmashina Tumblr Page.

Open Comment Post. Feb 20, 2018

And yet another aviation mishap in Japan, this time it's the Air Force's turn...

via Sputnik.

An engine of a US F-16 fighter jet from the US Misawa air base in northern Japan caught fire, with pilot dumping the aircraft's fuel tanks into the lake, local media reported Tuesday, citing Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera.

After dumping the fuel tanks into the lake of Ogawara, the jet returned to the base, the Kyodo news agency reported, providing no information on possible victims.

Fishermen said the tanks fell 400 meters (0.2 miles) from one of the fishing vessels on the lake, according to the agency.

Story here. 

In the US this would be no big deal.  The Coast Guard and local environmental agency would work together to clean up whatever spill, and the military would send a team to recover the drop tanks.

In Japan?

They're gonna go batshit crazy.  I really don't understand it but they have a thing now for any military related aircraft incident...even when it's one of their own.

I'd love to understand their thinking but it's beyond me.

Remember I told you the Pentagon had two years to set/change course? I was right...

The Pentagon, Lockheed Martin and various other defense contractors were giddy.  They finally got that huge defense plus up they've been begging for. I told you that they had better get their minds right cause they have maybe two years before the budget gets slammed again.  Seems like others agree.  Check this out via Hill.

The Pentagon is on cloud nine with a major cash infusion on the way, but that euphoria could be short-lived.

After years of fighting, the Pentagon emerged victorious with a budget deal last week that gives defense spending a $165 billion hike over budget caps for the next two years.

It's a huge figure for a department that for years has argued it has been short-changed by the sequester — spending ceilings imposed by an Obama-era budget deal that curbed defense spending.

Instead, budget analysts and some lawmakers are questioning how long the money will last. The 2011 Budget Control Act, the law that created the sequester, actually continues to exist until 2021, meaning the budget ceilings hated by the Pentagon could still return.

"I've told our people, our military people that we're in pretty good shape in terms of fiscal years '18 and '19, but then what after that," said Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.), a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. "And the answer is, 'I don't have that answer.' "

Story here. 

Two years of huge piles of money and then after that the brakes will be pushed.  Why?  The possibility of a Democrat congress that will prioritize bread over bullets.  A shaky world economy that many experts predicted before Trump was elected, that we would be facing another recession.

But even if none of that occurs we're still looking at the real monsters in the closet.  America's budget deficit, the need to rebuild infrastructure and the massive tax cut that will demand something done.

Two short years to build the military of the future.

We've seen so many mistakes over the years...from our strategy in Iraq/Afghanistan to the LCS, F-35 and others...that we better hope they're taking this short opportunity to fix whatever they think is broken.

If it's wrong then let's hope they have the courage to change course.  IF THEY'RE POSITIVE that they have it right then they should charge full steam ahead.

Either way, two years is all they got.

CH-147 in the snow at Exercise Nordic Blizzard...pics by Justine Dusablon Valcartier

Blast from the past. This is a bad day at the office.

You think you had a bad day at work?  Think about the day these bubbas had and be thankful all you have to deal with are bastard co-workers and a son of a bitch boss!