Ringo by Lorne Greene (must see!)

Well I thought it was good...

Because, well, equality…via Bob on the Fob!

Russia has totally ruined Turkey's plans in Iraq/Syria?

Thanks to Joe for the link!

via Huffington Post.

Putin's determination to destroy Turkey's proxies at the Syrian borders and to thwart Erdogan's plan to create a no-fly/buffer zone in the area has derailed Erdogan's plans for Syria. Erdogan hoped to use the buffer zone as an operational hub aimed at bringing down President Assad.

Then this...

Erdogan's objective in shooting down the plane was to provoke Russia into a harsh response. He hoped the response would bring Russia into conflict with the whole of NATO, which would help reverse Turkey's declining fortunes in the Syrian war.
Erdogan's calculations went terribly wrong. Following the incident, Turkey requested an emergency meeting with NATO members. Contrary to Erdogan's expectations, although, members did not support Russia, neither did they wholeheartedly support Turkey. Many members questioned Turkey's action and, according to Reuters, "expressed concern that Turkey did not escort the Russian warplane out of its airspace." In a clear indication of the suspicion among NATO members regarding Turkey's real intention behind its adventurism, some diplomats told Reuters, "There are other ways of dealing with these kinds of incidents."
Not only didn't Cold War II happen, French President Francois Hollande, who promised "merciless" revenge in the aftermath of Paris attacks, met with Putin and they agreed to form an alliance against Daesh (also known as ISIS/ISIL) in Syria. The outcome of such an alliance is that the "Assad must go" mantra will be overshadowed by the war against Daesh--something that Erdogan hated to occur.

Interesting.  My instincts appear to be spot on.  I have always said that an alliance with Russia against ISIS was the way to go and shot down the idea (pushed by many on this blog) that we had to defend Turkey's actions because they're part of NATO.

The Turks are playing a dangerous game and are doing their level best to bring us into their foolishness.

The funniest thing about this game is that even a blogger could see thru the ham fisted game playing.  Turkey is in trouble.  We need to watch them carefully cause the desperate tend to do stupid stuff and Erdogan is both desperate and crazy.

J-20 nears completion of flight test...ready for production...

Thanks to Fnu Winarto for the link!

via Defense Talk

Chinese J-20 Stealth Fighter has entered its test-flight completion stage following the launch of two prototypes in quick succession last month.
The latest prototype, the eighth in the series, "proves" that the results of test flights are "satisfactory". These tests which include aerodynamic performance, stealth performance and airborne equipment have met or are close to the index requirements, China Military Online, the official publication of the Chinese Defence Ministry reported today.
The latest China-made fourth-generation J-20 stealth fighter with fuselage number 2017 has successfully completed its first flight on November 24, 2015, only two months after the launch of the prototype with fuselage number 2016. This is the eighth China-made J-20 fighter aircraft and the sixth J-20 prototype used for test flight.
The canopy of the J-20 fighter with fuselage number 2017 comes with metal-film coating which can further improve the fighter’s stealth performance, the report said.
Quoting Fu Qianshao, deputy editor of the PLA Air force's Aviation Magazine the report said that the eight prototype can be classified into three categories; the black color J-20 fighters with fuselage numbers 2001 and 2002 are technical verification models, which are similar to the U.S. YF-22 prototype models; the J-20 fighters with fuselage numbers 2011 and 2012, which have different coatings and appearances from the previous ones, are the engineering prototype models; the ones with fuselage numbers 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2017 are prototype models, which are close to the stereotyped (production) models.
“It is possible that the China-made J-20 fighters will soon be deployed to PLA troops,” Fu claimed.

I am constantly amused by the so called experts on China.  They continue to downplay their advancements and talk up US tech advantage but the reality is different.

The Chinese are drinking our milkshake.

I need a new assessment of this jet.  Airpower Australia did one a few years ago but I wonder what they think now.  Oh and for my friends at F-16.net a quick question.  Do you think that the F-35 will be able to stand toe to toe with the J-20?  If the answer isn't a resounding yes then we need to rethink our drink.

ISIS is now in Afghanistan.

Thanks to Stuart for the link!

via Daily Mail

Reports emerged this week that the Taliban leader was killed in a dramatic internal shoot-out after a meeting of commanders of the now divided movement turned sour.
The formerly united group has been severed by a bitter internal turmoil that has seen a splinter cell break away and declare loyalty to ISIS, which is steadily carving a trail of bloody destruction through the Taliban’s Afghanistan territory.
It is believed that members of the ISIS-led breakaway cell could be responsible for the as yet unconfirmed death of the Taliban’s elected leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour.
His death, if proven, exposes the strife among the Taliban’s top ranks as the group seems to be crumbling under ISIS’ growing strength in Afghanistan.

Interesting.  A quick history lesson.  Before the Bin Laden ordered the twin towers attack do you know what  he had done?  He ordered the killing of the Commander of the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan.  The thinking was that he wanted to clear the board of enemies once he poked the "great Satan".

Now it seems ISIS is doing the samething.

I once quietly hoped that Afghanistan might turn out ok.  I didn't like the idea of "playing nice" and working toward a political solution with the Taliban but couldn't think of a better way forward.

That's probably off the table now.  The Taliban are probably going to be fighting for their very survival...not against the Afghan govt but against ISIS.  If I was betting I'd bet that ISIS will win.  Which means that Pakistan, Afghanistan and eventually India all have a new problem to deal with.

The hits just keep coming.

USNI Blog and Haynie should be proud. They won on women in combat and Neller is rolling over.

The bleeding has started.  The CMC put this message out and seems ready to implement it.  Awesome.  I will do my very best to stick a fork in their recruiting efforts and will laugh my ass off at every misstep this new Corps makes.

They will deserve every bad thing that happens.  The only thing that makes me wonder is why we haven't heard the zealots over at USNI Blog, Haynie and the rest of the camp followers crowing about their win.  I'm sure they were popping corks and I'm positive that their many supporters were partying.  Why no public talk now?

Turkey has troops operating in Mosul, Iraq? UPDATED!

via BBC

The Iraqi government has demanded that Turkey withdraw troops it sent to an area near the northern city of Mosul.
The move was a "serious breach of Iraqi sovereignty" Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's office said in a statement.
About 150 Turkish soldiers have been deployed near in the town of Bashiqa to train Iraqi Kurdish forces, earlier reports said.

 This is getting beyond interesting.

Turkey has troops operating that deep inside Iraq and this is the first I've heard of it.  Awesome.  I'm betting the stage is being set for some type of buffer zone to be setup.

At least the last year of the Obama Administration won't be boring.

UPDATE:  American Military Forum is reporting its 300 troops and 20 tanks...a Turkish armored battalion, that's operating in Iraq.

The terrorists had an arsenal?

via CNBC

The suspected San Bernardino attackers left behind 12 pipe bombs and more than 2,000 rounds of ammunition at their home, police said Thursday.

The news media has focused on the so called terrorist arsenal.  The thing that has me spinning is the listed ammo and how the liberal media is freaking out.  2500 rounds of .223, 2000 rounds of 9mm and several hundred rounds of .22 is an arsenal?

The reality?

Most guys I know have  MUCH more than that!  Additionally I know for a fact that for the average gun guy, that would be called a starter kit.  And we're just talking shooters.

You look into the prepper community and they would be horrified.  I've read accounts of individuals have upwards of 50K 9mm rounds and equal the number in 5.56/.223.

Liberal America just doesn't understand the gun culture and because they don't the talk about gun control (or the rebranded version...gun safety) isn't going to happen because the trust has been broken.  Hell, the gun community doesn't even trust Republicans on the issue and everyone I know is stocking up so that when the inevitable betrayal happens, they'll be set to pass along their gear and weapons to their children in a future that sees an out of control America.

And that's really the rub isn't it.

The utopian dream of a gun free America is an impossibility.  Too much  gear is already out there.  People have it stashed, buried and hidden.  They won't be able to recover in 1/4th of it.  The only solution?  Learn to Co-Exist with the gun community.

The concern is backlash, not preventing another terrorist attack.

I failed to note the person that sent me these links sorry!

Your Attorney General of the United States isn't talking about finding and defeating active terrorist cells in the states...her focus is anti-Muslim rhetoric.

via The Daily Wire.

Lynch said her "greatest fear" is the "incredibly disturbing rise of anti-Muslim rhetoric" in America and vowed to prosecute any guilty of what she deemed violence-inspiring speech.

"The fear that you have just mentioned is in fact my greatest fear as a prosecutor, as someone who is sworn to the protection of all of the American people, which is that the rhetoric will be accompanied by acts of violence," she said.

Incredible rise in anti-Muslim rhetoric?  I haven't seen it...and I've been looking.  Trump was talking about combating terrorism so this is stupidity on a plate...but it gets better.  The "never let a crisis go to waste" is in full effect in the White House though....

We’re at the point where these issues have come together really like never before in law enforcement thought and in our nation’s history and it gives us a wonderful opportunity and a wonderful moment to really make significant change.

So your Federal Govt is focused on crushing anti-Muslim rhetoric that doesn't exist and pushing significant change.

And they wonder why people don't believe that the govt is focused on preventing another terrorist attack?

I continue to be amazed at the lack of focus on what's real.  I marvel at the tone deafness expressed by these people.  Quite honestly I'm surprised that the "smartest" people in the room could be so fucking stupid.  You deserve it though.  You elected these arrogant bastards.

Female shooter in California terrorist attack pledged allegiance to ISIS on Facebook.

Told ya so.

ISIS has successfully struck America.  A foreigner on a visa was able to use our system against us.

Will liberal America and the President face reality now?

Will they still blame guns or will they lay the blame at the feet of the real demon here?   A quick question.   Besides Islam, name any other religion where the more devout you are, the more likely you are to commit a terrorist attack?

The strange vehicle in the California terrorist attack? It was an Armored Deployment Platform!

Image and story via Guns.com

The Rook, a converted Caterpillar track loader with rubber tracks, cameras, joy stick controls and gun ports, is armored to NIJ Level IV specs– capable of withstanding hits from .30-06 M2 armor-piercing rounds.

It uses an Armored Deployment Platform to allow officers to be pushed to the scene of an incident or, if needed, boosted to up to 11 feet to a second floor of a structure, all while behind both cover and concealment.

As noted by the manufacturer, “In a vehicle takedown, the platform can also be slanted downward so shots can be fired into a car without endangering pedestrians or other passersby.”

Simply amazing.  I saw this a few years ago but quite honestly dismissed the company as a fly by nite that wouldn't get the time of day.

Little did I know.

Good work by Guns.com to puzzle this together.  I noticed this vehicle but didn't know what I was looking at (we did have an aerial view so I'll use that as my excuse).

British Forces to receive new kit...Virtus body armour, Virtus helmet and the Dynamic Weight Distribution (DWD) system

Pictured is a side view (left facing) of soldier wearing full Virtus body armour, Virtus helmet and the Dynamic Weight Distribution (DWD) system with a Bergen. 

The new Virtus system uses the latest materials and offers the same protection as Osprey body armour but is significantly lighter, moves with the body more easily and produces a slimmer profile. The amount of protection employed can be scaled up or down to match the type of threat by adding or removing soft armour pads and hard ballistic plates. It is compatible with both Osprey and Enhanced Combat Body Armour. 

A new, lighter helmet will provide increased blunt impact protection, face and mandible guards for certain roles and a shape that is designed to work with the armour and daysack so weapons can be comfortably used even in a prone position. 

One of the most radical innovations is an integral 'spine' - the 'dynamic weight distribution' system. The device is linked to the user’s waist belt and helps spread the load of the body armour, a Bergen or daysack across the back, shoulders and hips. 

The system also employs a new quick-release mechanism – a pin positioned on the chest that when pulled releases the entire body kit. 

Virtus Scalable Tactical Vest (STV)

The Scalable Tactical Vest (STV) can be used for load carriage without any armour; as a fragmentation vest with soft armour padding consisting of a composite granular material but no hard plates; as a plate carrier with no soft armour; or as a full body armour system with soft and hard armour. It is compatible with both Osprey and Enhanced Combat Body Armour.

Any combination of front, rear or side plates can be employed. 

The STV comes in seven different sizes for a tailored fit. Chest size and torso length instead of height are now used for measuring. Modified lower profile soft armour further reduces the bulk when compared with Osprey, allowing for more agility. 

The quick-release pin allows the STV to be removed in a couple of seconds with one pull. This applies when it is used in any of its configurations. 

A lightweight webbing system is designed to be worn under and integrated with the body armour.

Both the daysack and Bergen are fully integrated with the rest of the torso sub-system. This ensures that they are carried close to the body preventing excessive movement of the load but without pushing the rear ballistic plate into the body. Both can be used in conjunction with the dynamic weight distribution system. 

Pouches are made from one piece of fabric and fold flat when empty, minimising profile and the possibility of snagging. 

The dynamic weight distribution system contains a hard spine that takes the load and is linked to a hip belt. This allows the soldier to transfer the weight of his load from the shoulders to the hips or the other way via an adjuster positioned in the small of the back. 

Troops and equipment need to be sized correctly for the DWD to be effective. It is estimated that personnel will need a day’s worth of training and familiarisation with the kit. 

The Virtus helmet has a fixed shroud for the mounting of night vision goggles and a counterweight for neck comfort. 

Its fit can be easily adjusted in the same way as modern cycling and climbing helmets.

The sculpted rear prevents interference with body armour or daysack when adopting a prone fire position.

It provides more protection to the side of the head and is 350g lighter than the Mk7 it succeeds. 

The helmet can be fitted with both mandible guard and visor, or either, which provide face protection for crews in open vehicles such as Jackal or WMIK.