US backed rebels experience my fear about Marine Air wanting to be part of the air tasking order and not support Marine Ground!

via Washington Post.

American warplanes were diverted from an offensive launched against the Islamic State last week by U.S.-backed rebels in Syria in order to bomb a more enticing target in Iraq, withdrawing air support at a critical moment and contributing to the failure of the rebel operation, according to U.S. officials familiar with the incident.
Aircraft assigned to provide cover for the offensive, launched June 28 to capture the eastern Syrian town of Bukamal, were ordered in the middle of the operation to leave the area and head instead to the outskirts of Fallujah, in neighboring Iraq, the officials said.

Read the entire story but this is my fear realized.  The difference?  Instead of rebels being left in a lurch its US Marines.

Considering the statements made by General Davis with regard to how he sees the F-35 fitting into the greater air campaign is it any wonder that this is a concern?

If not it should be!

Is it so difficult to imagine a Marine Battalion engaging with the enemy and some Air Winger prioritizing the air campaign ahead of supporting the guys on the ground?  This is almost criminal.  Someone saw a fat juicy target and left our allies on a short branch.  I guess the visuals of US planes blowing up a convoy were more important than giving the people that thought we were supporting them the help that they required.

The shooting in Minneapolis looks terrible.

Story here.

Have you seen the vid of the shooting in Minneapolis?  It looks absolutely horrible.  I've heard that the issue in Baton Rouge would be settled by the Justice Dept ruling it justified but that the City would fire the officers because they violated procedure. The deal?  They were on a call with a suspect with a gun and didn't prone him out. Instead they went hands on and my contacts are telling me that from different views of that vid the guy can be seen going for his pocket.  The shooting is justified in the Baton Rouge case and they won't be convicted.  The city will pay an enormous sum and they will be fired.

As far as Minneapolis.

That guy is toast.  He's going to jail without a doubt.  He murdered a man and he deserves his special place in hell.

NOTE 1:  Ya know what irks me so much about this incident?  Black Leadership is dealing with issues like this like its the 1960's and its the civil rights movement part two.  Its not.  What I've learned over the rash of these incidents that we've seen is that a one size fits all does not work.  If I was appointed a black leader how would I deal with it?  First I'd have social workers and victims advocates ready to go to take care of the family.  I'd have a public relations person on speed dial ready to fly in and take care of perception.  You wouldn't see anyone emotional getting on camera.  You would have people coached to present the victims point of view in a calm rational way.  I'd have use of force experts ready to explain how the cop did it wrong. Second I'd have lawyers ready to nail the govt entity to the wall.  You wouldn't see less than high double digit million dollar pay outs plus expenses.  I'd go after the individual officers estate and do my best to wreck not only his life with jail time but also those of his family.  The response would be low key but it would send a message.  

NOTE:  Incidents like this are what gave birth to the Black Lives Matter movement.  Unfortunately it was co-opted by the Democrat Party but it was a civil protest to barbarity.  I cannot state forcefully enough HOW ABSOLUTELY SICKENING this shooting is.  The VICTIM was a concealed carry holder, he DID THE RIGHT THING BY INFORMING THE OFFICER THAT HE HAD A WEAPON and was still shot down like a dog.  If violence strikes Minneapolis make sure you blame the right person.  That pitiful individual that didn't know how to react in a stress situation (the police officer if you're fucking confused).  Whether it was lack of training, an improper mindset, I really don't give a fuck.  If he isn't sentenced to life in jail then all bets are off.  An attitude of viewing police like criminals would seem warranted.  I would treat them the same way I do Skin Heads, Gang Members or Crack Heads....nothing but suspicion, to be watched at all times and definitely not to be trusted.  Watch the video again.  This thing is heartbreaking. The power trip that the officer is on makes me want to shoot him in the face.

One last thing about those Hillary e-mails....

Thanks to Aaron for the idea!



Yeah.

The FBI did an outstanding job in laying out the case against Hillary and then shit their pants when it came time to do the hard thing...to man up and charge the female.

In 2016, we're no longer surprised.  The system has been broken a long time.  Past time to tear it all down.

Polish Armor on exercise (impressive vid)

Jon Jones out of UFC 200 due to possible banned substance.

Amazing.

US Anti-Doping Agency notified the UFC that it detected a banned substance in his off season test sample.  What could that substance be?  I'm not sure.  What I do know is that if its steroids then something is wrong.  First the guy makes too much not to have a mad scientist not only work out a schedule to have the drug clear his system, but also mask it effectively from the pretty basic tests that the USADA use.

The next thing is that DC just got proven right.  I can't stand that smug little fuck but Jones for some reason can't play it straight.

Too bad.  It would have been a great fight.

Multi-spectral camo for armored vehicles. Is it worth the squeeze?

The above pic is from page 18 of this month's Defence Technology Review.  Caption says that the vehicle has a "heavy kinetic armor package and multi-spectral camo".

I get the armor package but this camo...many are developing it but I have yet to see any force adopt it.

Is it worth it or just another development dead end?  My knowledge of this is absolutely zero.  If you know then bring me up to speed.  Meanwhile a google search begins.

Defence Technology Review July Issue! Did I underestimate the General Dynamics offering?

Click here to go to the issue!

Another great issue from the boys over at DTR (thank goodness this hit...I seriously needed a distraction and a way to get back on track covering military matters!).

What caught my attention?  EVERYTHING!  This issue is right up my alley.  Armor heavy with a special focus on the Land 400 competition.

One other thing.  Did I underestimate the General Dynamics offering?  Check out page 16 and read their write up!  There is more going on with that vehicle than I originally thought.

This is a battle of the titans!

First production Y-20 handed over to the Chinese Air Force.

pic via Defence Blog.

This is an ominous development for US interests in the West.  This airplane (which looks like the old C-141 of Vietnam fame) brings new capabilities to the Chinese military.  They're able to project power rapidly wthin their sphere of influence just increase one hundred percent.

It doesn't hurt for any global aspirations they might have either.

The section of US law that the FBI Director ADMITTED that Hillary broke!

via Market Ticker.org

Here is the section of US law that Comey admitted and stated that the FBI found Hillary violated:

(f) Whoever, being entrusted with or having lawful possession or control of any document, writing, code book, signal book, sketch, photograph, photographic negative, blueprint, plan, map, model, instrument, appliance, note, or information, relating to the national defense, (1) through gross negligence permits the same to be removed from its proper place of custody or delivered to anyone in violation of his trust, or to be lost, stolen, abstracted, or destroyed, or (2) having knowledge that the same has been illegally removed from its proper place of custody or delivered to anyone in violation of its trust, or lost, or stolen, abstracted, or destroyed, and fails to make prompt report of such loss, theft, abstraction, or destruction to his superior officer—
Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both.

This is cut and dry.

There is no debate.

The FBI Director and his organization is acting to protect the Clintons.  I don't know or care about how "good a man" Comey is suppose to be.  I don't care about his "reputation".

Market Ticker adds this to their post...

The Rule of Law was officially burned and buried today on live television by the Director of the FBI.
You therefore no longer have any moral requirement to adhere to same; your entire analysis must now rest on whether you are sufficiently afraid of being shot -- and nothing more.

I know this seems like something minor to the majority of you, but for me this is huge.  The implications of this move by the FBI need to be carefully considered.

We were faced with a history changing event regardless of the outcome.  We can thank Hillary for that.  But for the rule of law to be sacrificed to protect her?  We just experienced a nation changing event and most don't even know it...or will admit it.

 

Here's proof of a double standard when it comes to handling classified information.

How unfair is the FBI Director in stating that he couldn't prosecute Hillary? via Navy Times.

A Naval reservist was sentenced for mishandling classified military materials.
A federal attorney announced Wednesday that Bryan Nishimura of Folsom, California, pleaded guilty to the unauthorized removal and retention of classified materials.
Nishimura, deployed in Afghanistan in 2007 and 2008 as a regional engineer, admitted to downloading classified briefings and digital records onto his personal electronic devices. He carried the materials off base and brought them back to the U.S. when his deployment ended.

via Daily Beast.

Clinton could still become president after her email scandal, but a decorated Marine is being forced out over one classified report he sent to avert a disaster.

No matter how much classified material is found in her personal email server, Hillary Clinton will no doubt continue campaigning to become our next president.

Meanwhile, a decorated Marine officer who has deployed four times faces being discharged from the corps he loves because he used his personal email to send a single classified report as an urgent warning when lives were at stake.

The stateside message from Marine Reserves Major Jason Brezler to Forward Operating Base Delhi in Now Zad, Helmand Province, Afghanistan, went unheeded. Three young Marines were shot to death as they worked out in a gym by an Afghan teen brought on the base by the same corrupt and double-dealing pedophile police chief whom Brezler had declared to be an immediate threat.

Yet the only person to be investigated in connection with the killings is Brezler, the Marine who sought to prevent them.

Its staring you in the face people.

We have two different standards for behavior.  One for the elite and one for the rest of us.  Naval Personnel that were trying to do their jobs under trying circumstances were nailed to the cross and Hillary gets a proverbial pat on the back and a well done from Federal Law Enforcement.

This whole thing makes me sick.

US Army concentrating on basic soldier skills

via Army Times

Capt. Ronald Fletcher has met an officer candidate who couldn’t find north on a compass, a sergeant who couldn’t complete an inventory of equipment, and “far too many soldiers who couldn’t fire a weapon straight, let alone understand how the weapon functions.”
As a drill sergeant leader, Staff Sgt. Erick Avalos saw “a lot of senior NCOs, experienced noncommissioned officers lacking in the fundamentals” such as marching, drill and ceremony, and rifle marksmanship.
“These are basic things,” he said. “Land navigation, for instance. These are senior NCOs, but they don’t know it, they’re not familiar with it. I feel that’s something that’s completely lost in the Army.”
The problem is in the National Guard as well.
“If I took 10 E-4s and below and dropped them off in the middle of the woods with a map and compass, there’s no way they’re going to find their way out,” said a staff sergeant medic who asked to remain anonymous. “Right now I have six soldiers come out of basic training, and four couldn’t pass their PT test.”
After more than 15 years of war — most of it in counter-insurgency operations — in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Army is returning its focus to the basics of soldiering, intent on building an Army ready to face a wide array of threats around the world.
This is critical as the Army gets smaller and budget cuts force the service to slow down its modernization priorities. And it is also critical as the Army works to rebuild a set of skills that have declined in the face of ever-improving technology and the Internet.

Interesting.  The more dependent you are on technology the more helpless you become if its taken away.

It also lets me roll in this clip from the awful adaption of Star Ship Troopers...



The "hands" of the modern military is its tech.  Take it away and we're back to WW2.

Speaker Ryan's statement on Hillary e-mail investigation.

via Speaker.gov

While I respect the law enforcement professionals at the FBI, this announcement defies explanation. No one should be above the law. But based upon the director's own statement, it appears damage is being done to the rule of law. Declining to prosecute Secretary Clinton for recklessly mishandling and transmitting national security information will set a terrible precedent. The findings of this investigation also make clear that Secretary Clinton misled the American people when she was confronted with her criminal actions. While we need more information about how the Bureau came to this recommendation, the American people will reject this troubling pattern of dishonesty and poor judgment."

Well said.