Trump limits transgender service in the military.

via Reuters.

The memorandum said transgender individuals with a history of gender dysphoria, defined as “those who may require substantial medical treatment, including through medical drugs or surgery,” are disqualified from military service “except under certain limited circumstances.”

It added that the secretaries of defense and homeland security “may exercise their authority to implement any appropriate policies concerning military service by transgender individuals.”

The White House said Defense Secretary Jim Mattis had found that individuals with a history or diagnosis of gender dysphoria presented a risk to military effectiveness.

“This new policy will enable the military to apply well-established mental and physical health standards ... equally to all individuals who want to join and fight for the best military force the world has ever seen,” it said.

Story here. 

This story has always been interesting to watch.  The main stream news media mischaracterized the view of the military leadership and implied that they fully supported the policy.

That was false.

The former president made the policy, the Chiefs accepted those instructions but there was never any enthusiasm.

Whispers have been that when he first signed the ban on transgenders earlier this year that he was acting on a recommendation from Mattis.

I believe that.

On a side note we've all underestimated the power of Mattis.  HE IS THE POWER behind the throne.  We aren't seeing his influence on domestic matters but when it comes to foreign policy I think he has more sway than the former SecState, UN Rep, alphabet intel agencies etc...more on this later.

Back on task.

I expect this decision to be challenged in court, upheld by liberal courts and finally decided by the Supreme.  It will be emotional, you'll hear people talking about the "new civil rights fight of our time" but that's nonsense.

The Supreme Court will uphold the ban and life will move on.

As painful as it will be for some to accept, transgender lifestyle and military life are incompatible.  The health issues are just too great for deployment to high risk areas.

Open Comment Post. March 24, 2018

Saturday Weird. Car spotted with spokes a foot long...how is this not illegal?

via Gizmodo.

This is a short video of a Cadillac spotted in Houston, Texas with wire rims protruding further than a foot out from each of its wheels. It's a perfect example of how to do it completely wrong. Although, I don't have much room to talk, I rock spokey dokes on all my rims and a baseball card between the spokes of my back wheel. "You're talking about your bike." No, I'm talking about my Ferrari. Of course my bike I've never even had a driver's license, but only because I refused to take my mask off for the photo. "Plus you failed the driving test." That creek came out of nowhere.

Story and vid here. 

Gizmodo took a light hearted look at this but I have to wonder.  How is this NOT illegal?  Some might just laugh and say its weird and some will even grin at the absurdity of it all but all I see is an enhanced weapon!  Imagine this car rolling down a sidestreet and you're a pedestrian.  You get over, the bozo driving this monstrosity is texting or not paying attention and you're hit by those spindles from chariots from days gone by.

I mean it worked in ancient times and since human physiology
 hasn't changed much it should work on meatbags today.

Yeah I know.  I should chill out it's no big deal...especially in light of everything going on.

I get that point of view but seriously...all I see is bad things ahead if this becomes the new "hotness".

Sidenote.  How much did this clown pay for that batshit crazy accessory?

Open Comment Post. March 23, 2018

Arming the V-22? Is that really the best solution?

I've been chewing on the idea of the Marine Corps actually arming the MV-22 and I just can't wrap my head around it.

Plus the way they're proposing seems like a really bad way to accomplish the goal.  Rockets?  Laser guided or not that means an attack profile doesn't it?  Swooping in, unleashing devastation, hopefully not getting hit and then zooming away?

That does NOT sound like something I want a plane the size of the MV-22 doing!

There are much better ways to go about getting this mission done.

Bite the bullet and refurbish the OV-10!

This airplane has already demonstrated that it can keep up with the MV-22, it can operate off our LHDs and if you dig deep enough I'm sure you can find a few old skool Marine that can advise on the project.  Additionally the cost shouldn't be a back breaker and you have the added benefit of keeping the MV-22 in its primary mission.

Wait for the next gen tiltrotor attack platform.

I don't know which model will be selected but both of the types we've seen appear to have a gunship variant built in.  Why rush it now when we can simply wait to see what comes up.  The only downside is that we'd be looking at the mid 2030's for it to come online but how realistic are deep insertions into enemy territory?

Design a dedicated AV-22 using common components.

We did it with the UH-1 turning it into a AH-1, why not with the MV-22?  I'm no engineer but why not copy that wheel?  Throw away the cabin, extend the wings so you get more lift, give it tandem seating (making it MUCH thinner) and the ability to mount missiles against the fuselage like we did with the Vought F-8 (but more Hellfires and a few Sidewinders), a chin mounted gun and be done with it.

Long story short?

Like John (one of my readers) stated, it makes no sense to push arming the MV-22 while we have so many different models of the thing flying.

Either bring back the OV-10, wait for the Army to pick its tiltrotor gunship, or develop an attack version of the MV-22 with a new profile but forget the idea of simply slapping weapons on a big airplane and repeating the craziness of an "Attack" Chinook.

Blast from the past. Bell X-22

#DidYouKnow | 🔊 The Bell X-22 was considered the most versatile and longest-lived #VTOL and landing program of its time? This aircraft was envisioned to travel from city to city without having a great amount of acreage devoted to airports. (Circa 1966) 〰️〰️〰️ SWIPE for vintage X-22 images! 〰️〰️〰️ #instagramaviation #bell #TBT #helicopter #tiltrotor

A post shared by Bell Flight 🚁 (@bellflight) on Mar 22, 2018 at 2:28pm PDT

They're actually doing it. 3rd LAR is playing with UAVs!

U.S. Marines with 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division, prepare an AeroVironment RQ-11 Raven unmanned aircraft system for aerial surveillance during a Marine Corps Combat Readiness Evaluation (MCCRE) at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms, Calif., March 13, 2018. MCCREs ensure unit standardization and combat readiness in preparation for operational deployments. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Miguel A. Rosales)

I was skeptical at first but they're persisting and I'm coming around.  3rd LAR is playing with UAVs and I like it.  While I still think a decent mast would be more useful over the long run, I can still see the utility in this.

My main problem?

I really see the days of "small" UAVs coming to an end.  The future belongs to either big high performance models or micro UAVs that will be difficult to detect.

Still not convinced that micro UAVs will be useful in the near term so that leaves big high performance models to survive and thrive on the modern ultra high tech battlefield.

Still HQMC is to be lauded for this effort but I'd still like to see a REAL experiment conducted to see how the Raven UAV will perform on a battlefield against our peers.

CH-53K Lifts 18,870-pound JLTV

A CH-53K King Stallion lifts a Joint Light Tactical Vehicle during a demonstration, Jan. 18. Using the single point hook, the helicopter hovered up to 100 feet for approximately 10 minutes while carrying the 18,870-pound vehicle. (U.S. Navy photo)

ABC News report on Boxer CRV selection...this gives a glimpse of the politics behind the selection...

Wow.  Did you hear Turnbull?  Dude was actually gushing over the vehicle.  This has to be the Australian Army equivalent to the Australian Air Force decision to buy the F-35.

I thought we had controversial stuff going on...the Aussies at least equal us when it comes to procurement shenanigans!

Sidenote.  I still think the Patria would be better suited to their requirements but the die has been cast.  Is the Boxer a bad vehicle?  Hell no but its got to be the most expensive in its class!

PLA Navy's Marine Corps kicks up plumes of dust as it moves forward during a driving skills training exercise (pics)

pics via ChinaMil