You ever hear of "Clergy Response Teams" for civil disturbances?

If you've been watching the latest protests etc...then you might be asking the same question I have.  Why do politicians always run to black ministers whenever there is trouble in the community?  Why do we always see "interfaith" memorials etc...?  Is there a playbook they're operating from and is this part of the manual to deal with domestic disturbances in the future?

Well actually it is. Again I have to give credit to SHTF Plan for digging up this old news story (from KSLA 12) but enough of my talk...check this out...

If martial law were enacted here at home, like depicted in the movie "The Siege", easing public fears and quelling dissent would be critical. And that's exactly what the 'Clergy Response Team' helped accomplish in the wake of Katrina.
Dr. Durell Tuberville serves as chaplain for the Shreveport Fire Department and the Caddo Sheriff's Office. Tuberville said of the clergy team's mission, "the primary thing that we say to anybody is, 'let's cooperate and get this thing over with and then we'll settle the differences once the crisis is over.'"
Such clergy response teams would walk a tight-rope during martial law between the demands of the government on the one side, versus the wishes of the public on the other. "In a lot of cases, these clergy would already be known in the neighborhoods in which they're helping to diffuse that situation," assured Sandy Davis. He serves as the director of the Caddo-Bossier Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness.
For the clergy team, one of the biggest tools that they will have in helping calm the public down or to obey the law is the bible itself, specifically Romans 13. Dr. Tuberville elaborated, "because the government's established by the Lord, you know. And, that's what we believe in the Christian faith. That's what's stated in the scripture."
Civil rights advocates believe the amount of public cooperation during such a time of unrest may ultimately depend on how long they expect a suspension of rights might last.

A Clergy Response Team?  I find that interesting.  Where once the Church was persecuted by the govt, they are now working hand in hand with them.  The most chilling part of the above news report is the statement by the Chaplain.  "Let's cooperate and get this thing over with".  Don't get me wrong, I'm not slamming Jewish Clergy, but I imagine a few probably said the same thing to their flock when they were led into the gas chambers.

You thought the Sythetic Weed problem was over? Think again.

Note vid discovery goes to Off Grid Survival Blog:  The US Military outlawed the use of this substance a couple of years ago and quite honestly I didn't get the force of connection on it.  They DID GOOD!  33 overdoses in one day?  Walking Zombies?  Just wow.  The only feel good part of this story is that they're not "fast" zombies.  What a world we live in.

South Korea’s Light Civil and Light Armed Helicopters Plan...

via AirBus Press Release.

Airbus Helicopters will join with Korea Aerospace Industries in developing two 5-ton class rotorcraft that meet South Korea’s requirements for its next-generation Light Civil Helicopter (LCH) and Light Armed Helicopter (LAH).
As the LCH and LAH competition winner, Airbus Helicopters will continue its highly successful relationship with Korea Aerospace Industries, including the joint program that developed Korea’s Surion twin-engine utility transport helicopter.
“We would like to express our deep gratitude to Korea Aerospace Industries and the South Korean government for entrusting us with this major helicopter program,” said Airbus Helicopters President Guillaume Faury. “We are committing our full support in ensuring the LCH and LAH projects will be completed on time, on cost and to specification.”
Both the LCH and LAH will be based on Airbus Helicopters’ H155 (formerly known as the EC155) – the latest evolution of its best-selling Dauphin family, which includes the Panther military and parapublic variants that have demonstrated their capabilities in operation around the world.

Interesting.

It would appear that tech transfer is the driver behind this program and not combat capability for the Light Armed Helicopter.  This proposed helicopter is
bigger than a Little Bird but carries the same weapons load.  I just don't see the advantage on the battlefield.

There is also the issue of cost.  While its based on an off the shelf platform, it will still be built to S. Korean specifications and in some ways will be a new design.  It doesn't seem practical to me.

For a nation supposedly facing a constant threat from the North this sure seems wasteful.  Its obvious that the S. Koreans SHOULD be forced to stand on their own two feet.  Since they're buying EU aircraft perhaps the EU should replace our troops in their country.

The Battle of Taiwan has already been lost (Taiwan Ministry of Defense Propaganda Video)

Nice video, but its clear.  Taiwan won't stand a chance against a Chinese invasion.  The most advanced ground combat system they have are those Snow Leopard 8x8 APCs?  Their tanks are elderly as are their aircraft?

They still mass artillery (on line at that...why is that still a thing with Asian military forces....S. Korea, China and Japan all do that!) and their ships look like they belong in old folks homes.

Like I said the video is nice but the battle of Taiwan has already been lost.

Public Service Announcement. Be aware on Friday July 15!

via Anonymous

N A T I O N W I D E C A L L T O A C T I O N = J U L Y 1 5, 2 0 1 6
7PM ET, 6PM CT, 5PM MT, 4PM PT
Phoenix: 5:00PM (EASTLAKE PARK, 1549 E Jefferson St , Phoenix, AZ 85034)

Tuscon: 5:00PM (CATALINA PARK, 900 N 4th Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85705)

Little Rock: 6:00PM (OUTSIDE STATE CAPITOL BUILDING, Dr Martin Luther King Jr Dr., Little Rock, AR 72201)

San Francisco: 4:00PM (CIVIC CENTER PLAZA, 355 Mcallister St, San Francisco, California 94102)

Oakland: 4:00PM (FRANK OGAWA PLAZA, 1 Frank H Ogawa Plaza, Oakland, CA 94612)

Los Angeles: 4:00PM (LEIMERT PLAZA PARK, 4395 Leimert Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90008)

Denver: 5:00PM (CIVIC CENTER PARK, 100 W 14th Ave Pkwy, Denver, Colorado 80204)

Washington DC: 7:00PM (OUTSIDE WHITE HOUSE, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC 20500)

Atlanta: 7:00PM (OLD DECATUR COURTHOUSE, 101 E Court Sq, Decatur, GA 30030)

Tampa: 7:00PM (OUTSIDE HILLSBOROUGH COURTHOUSE, 800 E Twiggs St, Tampa, FL)

Orlando: 7:00PM (LAKE EOLA PARK, 195 N Rosalind Ave, Orlando, Florida 32801)

Miami: 7:00PM (GWEN CHERRY PARK, NW 71 St., Miami, Florida, 33147)

Chicago: 6:00PM (RICHARD J DALEY CENTER, 50 W Washington St, Chicago, Illinois 60602)

Des Moines: 6:00PM (IOWA STATE CAPITOL, 1007 E Grand Ave, Des Moines, IA 50319)

New Orleans: 6:00PM (LAFAYETTE SQUARE, New Orleans, LA 70130)

Baltimore: 7:00PM (201 E Pratt St, Baltimore, MD 21202)

Boston: 7:00PM (MASSACHUSETTS STATE HOUSE, 24 Beacon St, Boston, MA 01233)

Detroit: 7:00PM (Campus Martius Park, Detroit, Michigan 48226)

Lansing: 7:00PM (STATE CAPITOL BUILDING, Capitol Avenue at Michigan Avenue, Lansing, MI 48933)

Ann Arbor: 7:00PM (THE DIAG, Burns Park, Ann Arbor, MI 48109)

Minneapolis: 6:00PM (MINNEAPOLIS URBAN LEAGUE, 2100 Plymouth Ave N, Minneapolis, MN 55411

St. Louis: 6:00PM (GATEWAY ARCH, St. Louis 63102)

Carson City: 4:00PM (NEVADA STATE CAPITOL BUILDING, 101 N Carson St, Carson City, Nevada 89701)

Manhattan, NY: 7:00PM (TIMES SQUARE, Manhattan, NY, 10036)

Newark: 7:00PM (NEWARK CITY HALL, 920 Broad Street, Newark, New Jersey 07102)

Durham: 7:00PM (200 E. Main St. Durham, North Carolina)

Columbus: 7:00PM (GOODALE PARK, Columbus, Ohio 43215)

Cleveland: 7:00PM (CLEVELAND PUBLIC LIBRARY, 325 Superior Ave E, Cleveland, Ohio 44114)

Portland: 4:00PM (PIONEER COURTHOUSE SQUARE, 701 SW 6th Ave, Portland, Oregon 97204)

Philadelphia: 7:00PM (LOVE PARK, 1599 John F Kennedy Blvd, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19102)

Pittsburgh: 7:00PM (PITTSBURGH CITY-COUNTY BUILDING, 414 Grant St, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15219)

Nashville: 6:00PM (801 Broadway Nashville, TN 37203 Estes Kefauver Federal Building)

Memphis: 6:00PM (Health Sciences Park Memphis, TN)
Austin: 6:00PM (TEXAS STATE CAPITOL, Outside South Gate-11th and Congress Ave.)

Salt Lake City: 5:00PM (SALT LAKE CITY COMMUNITY COLLEGE, 4600 S Redwood Rd, Salt Lake City, Utah 84123)

Seattle: 4:00PM (QUEEN ANNE BAPTIST CHURCH, 2011 1st Ave N, Seattle, Washington 98109)

Milwaukee: 5:00PM (DINEEN PARK, Milwaukee, Wisconsin)

How they're organizing this so quickly is beyond me but consider this your warning.  If you happen to live in one of the listed cities, it might be a good idea to keep a low profile...or not...its your choice.

Whatever your opinions on the current drama, no matter what our disagreements I don't want to see people caught up in drama.

If you're participating, I wish you good luck and a word of advice.  At the first instance of trouble you better haul ass.

NOTE:  The group Anonymous is saying that they are calling for non-violence at these protests.   

Disband Fleet Anti-Terrorist Security Company or USE THEM!

Thanks to John for the link & discussion idea!

via Marine Corps Times.

About 40 American service members have been rushed to the U.S. Embassy in Juba, South Sudan, as the country teeters on the verge of another civil war.
The troops will bolster security at the embassy and help non-emergency personnel leave, said Samantha Reho, a spokeswoman from U.S. Africa Command.
“This contingent brought in several vehicles solely for use in protecting the embassy,” Reho said. She declined to provide any information about what military service or units the troops come from, citing operational security concerns.
“We do not discuss the specific forces involved or the specific capabilities the Crisis Response Force has available,” she said. “What I can say is the CRF is a flexible and ready force that has all the tools it needs to respond to any crisis in AFRICOM's area of responsibility.”

First.  I'm jumping to a conclusion here.  Its my world so deal with it.  I'm guessing from the wording that this is probably an Army outfit that got tasked with this mission.

Second.  This is more of the fallout from the lies that Amos told about the lack of military response to the Benghazi incident.  We learned that the President and SecDef ordered the US military to send forces to the scene immediately but that somewhere along the way the Combatant Commander decided to ignore those orders.

Now to the point.

The USMC already had forces tailor made for "Crisis Response" in the form of its Fleet Anti-Terrorist Security Teams.

Threats don't materialize out of nowhere and the idea when this unit was built was to have specially trained Marines to go in and reinforce say an embassy if necessary.

What do we do instead?

We've built SPMAGTF-CRs, we're burning out Marines on endless deployments and we have well trained Marines sitting on the sidelines.  The tipping point has arrived.  Either we use them or we disband them! 

Australia's 5th Aviation Regiment practicing heliborne artillery raids (pics).

China shows naval muscle in military exercise (vid).

You are looking at massive modernization that will soon see them reach parity with the US.  Remember those estimates of threat countries getting stealth aircraft by 2025 at the earliest?  Consider those estimates when you hear people tell you that China will not equal us till 2030 or later.

I'm betting it'll be much sooner, but what should concern everyone is our world wide responsibilities and our current posture.  I still contend that they have already achieved regional superiority.  Japan and S. Korea are not allies, Singapore will go its own way, Australia is dependent on trade with China etc...the only "natural" enemy of the Chinese is Vietnam and India...and China is working overtime to improve relations with them

Unless we forcefully challenge China now, while we are militarily superior, we will be rolled all the way back to Hawaii.  As things stand we're being defeated without a shot being fired.

Tank Biathlon 2016

Thanks to MicMac 80 for the link!



We should send our crews to this!  Not only could we win it, but it would build real "partnerships".  Want a real friend?  Engage someone in a competition.  You not only build friendships but you build mutual respect.

We really should do this.

China's new version of its ZTZ-96 Main Battle Tank

via IHS Janes.

One of China's biggest military manufacturers, China North Industries Corporation (Norinco), has developed a new variant of its Type 96 (ZTZ-96) main battle tank (MBT) in time to participate in the 30 July to 16 August International Army Games organised by the Russian Ministry of Defence.
At least five T-96Bs arrived in Russia on 7 July to take part in the Masters of Automobile and Tank Hardware competition, according to Russian media reports. The 'Tank Biathlon' portion of this competition received wide coverage in Chinese state media last year when Norinco's 50-tonne T-96A MBT was allowed to participate.
The new T-96B variant was revealed on Chinese online forums on 5 July by a blogger posting a video of the tank on its way to high altitude testing. Two days later images emerged of the new tank beginning its trip to Russia.
Except for an improved ventilation system, the T-96B appears to show no visible changes to the turret, optical sensors or main 125 mm gun armament.
Unconfirmed Chinese reports indicate that computer and digital communication systems have been improved, allowing tank commanders to benefit from common integrated intelligence of the battlefield processed at higher levels of command.
The reports also point to improvements reportedly made to the T-96B's engine, exhaust system, suspension, and running wheels.
The engine and new rear-mounted exhaust system appear to have benefited from those developed for Norinco's VT-4 export MBT. If this is the case, the T-96B may have a 1,200 hp liquid-cooled diesel engine.

First those tank games held in Russia are turning into a big deal.  I still think the US Army and Marine Corps should send teams to compete.  I remember the fiasco of our participation in the European games but from the outside looking in, the Russian games are more "warlike" and I think we'd place well.

Second, we're seeing the standard Chinese practice of doing massive product improvement of their vehicles.  What we have no visibility on is its next generation tank that I'd bet body parts they're working on.  Regardless this ZTZ-96 should be cat quick.  Its light as hell and has a 1200 hp engine?

I look forward to seeing how it performs in the competition.

This is your new Marine Corps. "Pokemon Go" UPDATED

Get off the firing line, Pikachu! That's a safety violation! pic.twitter.com/WilmXFBHlf

— U.S. Marines (@USMC) July 11, 2016

Words escape me.  Steely eyed killers no more.

UPDATED for the slow learners.... this isn't about what kids watch. its about how HQMC is choosing to represent/present the United States Marine Corps to our nation, our allies and our enemies. I contend that Pokemon Go is not the right image.  Do you believe that ISIS fighters are laughing or hesitant after seeing that?  Do you doubt that Russian or Chinese Marines are giggling like school girls after seeing that image on the official USMC Twitter Page?  In the grand scheme of things this is little but it gives you insight into thinking at Quantico.  They're into the latest fad rather than maintaining a carefully crafted image paid for in blood.  Excuse it if you like, but I find the whole thing to be rather sad.

Project 23000E Shtorm carrier?

via USNI Blog

Russian shipbuilding officials have offered New Delhi their nuclear-powered design for an Indian Navy’s aircraft carrier, according reports.
The Krylovsky State Research Center (KRSC) has offered the nuclear-powered Project 23000E Shtorm carrier to India via a delegation that visited the country last week, according to the report in Defense News.

I didn't even know the Russians had a full size carrier on the planning books. Sorta looks like the British Queen Elizabeth class only bigger.

Am I seeing a VLS in this rendering?