Some computer geek in my audience needs to lend a hand!

Hey fellow tribe members!

Most of us are gun guys.  Fitness freaks.  Just plain dudes (no insult to the female lurkers but I've seen the demographic breakdown).  But do we have any computer geeks?

My problem?  I'm trying to get this podcast thing done with ELP and the setup is, to be frank, beyond me.  The actual problem?  The software to get the audio up on YouTube and even to get it to record!

I downloaded Audacity, got a cheap mic and I thought I was ready to march.  I was wrong.  Don't tell me where I went wrong here.  Don't bother telling me how simple it is, how your child could do it and I'm just a "typical idiot Jarhead" (be advised there are some REALLY smart people that reside in the Corps!).

Give me a shout over on my e-mail and walk me thru this stuff.  I appreciate it in advance.

Side note:  For all my supporters?  Luv you guys and this podcast thing IS the next frontier for Snafu Blog...its just not gonna happen on schedule!  For all my haters?  You're gonna hear my voice telling you the painful truth that has you curled up in the fetal position saying "mommie make the bad man stop"!

Land of the Free? CIA bugging factory fresh Iphones since 2008????

Thanks to Overwatch DVA for the link!

via Zero Hedge.

The latest leaks from WikiLeaks' Vault 7 is titled “Dark Matter” and claims that the CIA has been bugging “factory fresh” iPhones since at least 2008 through suppliers.  The full documents are expected to be released after a 10 a.m. EDT “press briefing” that WikiLeaks promoted on its Twitter.

I wanted so badly to not comment and just provide a link to the full story (here), but I'm just not that disciplined. So here goes.  I find it interesting that everyone is outraged about the "Russian hacking" of the DNC.  They did NOT plant evidence!  They just gave Americans a peek behind the curtain. Why is that considered an attack?  Quite honestly it could almost be considered patriotic.  We get to know what they really think about us.  We get to know how they really feel about "we the people".

Which leads me to Snowden.  I'm conflicted about that dude.  Information like you see above gives us a view into govt activity that we wouldn't normally see.  Are they traitorous (talking about Snowden and Wikileaks) because we get to see govt abuses?  Or are they bold patriots that stand against the mob and do what's right?

I don't know but we should all think about it.

MARSOC conducts amphibious assault to retake dam in Syria!!!! BREAKING!

Thanks to John for the link!

via Funker 530

Meanwhile, a massive amphibious mission was underway. The SDF’s Kurdish YPG and Syrian Arab Coalition fighters led by Marine Special Operations Command (MARSOC) boarded Zodiac watercraft and whatever boats they could find, and made a more direct assault onto the dam itself, east of the airborne drop zone. The dam was being used as an ISIS headquarters, a prison for high value individuals, and a training camp. They were successful in taking the dam.

As the footholds across the Euphrates were confirmed, bridge boats were loaded with combat vehicles, supply trucks, and command and control vehicles, and they made their way for the beach heads to reinforce the initial shock troops who were carrying very little water, ammo, and supplies in order to stay highly mobile.

Story here. 

Well Gawd Damn!  Are we actually trying to kill ISIS now?  Have the chains been left off our killers and they're actually being allowed to do work?

Sure as shit looks like it!

I've been critical of MARSOC but if they're gonna be doing shit like this (kudos to US Army Special Forces for getting back into the combat multiplier business too) then they might win me over.  But forget that nonsense.  Well done and God Speed Boys!

Singapore Next Generation Armored Fighting Vehicle

Thanks to Benjamin for the link!

Turk ZAHA (Amphibious Assault Vehicle) Infographic

Thanks to the Other Chris for the link!

Graphic via Defense Aerospace Blog!~

Royal Marines doing Jungle Training in Belize.

USMC has no plans to contain CH-53K cost growth. What happens if we can't afford it?

via The Hill

The head of the Marine Corps said Wednesday the service is working with Lockheed Martin-owned Sikorsky to reduce the price of the CH-53K helicopter.

The heavy-lift helicopter is on track to surpass the F-35 as the Pentagon’s costliest aircraft.

“Obviously we’re concerned about the cost point,” Marine Corps Commandant Robert Neller told reporters following remarks he made at a conference sponsored by Credit Suisse and McAleese and Associates.

“We’re focused right now on the performance. But the price is an issue. We’ll continue to work with the vendor to work that down obviously.”
The CH-53K — which is still in development — will replace the Marine Corps’s aging CH-53E helicopters. The CH-53K was initially expected to cost $95 million per unit.

But the program came under scrutiny earlier this month from Rep. Niki Tsongas (D-Mass.), ranking member on the House Armed Services Committee's subpanel on air and land forces, who pointed out that the cost is expected to grow 22 percent, to $122 million per helicopter.

“The Marine Corps intends to buy 200 of this aircraft, so that cost growth, multiplied times 200, is a heck of a lot of money,” Tsongas said at a March 10 hearing. “Even if there is no additional cost growth, it seems worth pointing out that $122 million per aircraft in 2006 dollars exceeds the current cost of an F-35A aircraft for the Air Force by a significant margin.”

Neller said the Marines are early in the CH-53K program and potential foreign buyers could help bring the cost down.

Why is the answer to explosive cost always to HOPE that foreign buyers could help bring the price down?

Moving on.

How many times have I said that aviation is out of control?  How many times have I shouted to the rooftops that the Marine Corps is attempting to become the seagoing 101st?

Forgetting all that.  The USMC is trying to buy 3 fabulously expensive airplanes...the F-35, the CH-53K and more MV-22.  They're also considering buying a tilt rotor UAV for armed escort and to provide fleet defense.  Last but not least they're also buying AH-1Z and UH-1Y whose mission set does not seem to mesh with the distributed operations concept/deep strike/long distance raids that they've talked so glowingly about.

Marine Corps procurement IS a trainwreck.  Not by budget but by choices of leadership.

Want to know why the Marine Corps is having vendors build 16 ACVs and then testing them for a year?  So that they can have an excuse for fucking the Ground Combat Element one more time.

The sad thing?

You won't hear anyone from the Ground Combat community bitching about it.  You won't hear one Marine Corps focused publication take up the issue.  Uncommon valor was once a common virtue.  Today?  Quivering in the corner while you see people wrecking the Corps with half baked ideas/procurement policy is the norm. 

Let me leave you with this.  What if the SecDef imposes fiscal responsibility at the behest of a grumbling Trump?  What if the Pentagon leadership decides we just can't afford it?  Do we buy CH-47's?  S-92's?  What happens to heavy lift in the Marine Corps in support of the GCE?

Open Comment Post. March 23, 2017.

They're waking up!  Saw one yesterday!  Did you know I hate snakes?

F-35 Program Office still not happy about price...signals the Navy WILL get Super Hornets...

via Breaking Defense.

Two top Pentagon officials laid out a multi-pronged push to lower the price of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter below $80 million apiece. The chief of the F-35 Joint Program Office, Lt. Gen. Chris Bogdan, and the director of defense pricing, Shay Assad, are underwhelmed by contractor Lockheed Martin‘s  cost reduction efforts so far. Instead, they said, contractors need to invest more of their own money in reducing cost — with suitable incentives from the government — and streamline the byzantine supply chain.

This is what caught my eye though, from the same article...

 “The F-35C model vs the F-18 (review), that’s drawing nearer to end but it’s not over yet,” Bogdan said. He’s submitted data on the F-35’s current and projected performance, cost to procure, and cost to operate, he said, which is now being reviewed against Super Hornet data provided by the Navy.

“I don’t think the answer is an either/or,” Bogdan said. “You can’t substitute a Super Hornet for an F-35C in the high-end fight (i.e. against Russian or Chinese radars and anti-aircraft missiles). You might be able to afford more Super Hornets, but they’re going to die in the high-end fight, and I don’t know how economical that is.” But, Bogdan continued, “we’re not only go to fight a high-end fight.” There are plenty of operations in lower-threat environments where the Super Hornet is perfectly suitable, he said, and with its current fighter shortfall, the Navy needs as many planes as it can get.

A couple of things...

1.  People discounted Trump's push for lower prices on the F-35.  Lockheed Martin's chair woman gave him full credit for pushing the price down.  What's surprising is that suddenly the Program Office wants the price below the magic 80 million tag.

2.  Is the push for an even lower price the result of the strong dollar?  Unless they get the price dramatically lower then we will see allied air forces crippled by lack of airplanes.

3.  Bogdan all but stated that the Navy will get it's Super Hornets.  Seems like he knows the numbers and knows that the F-35 will perform poorly in the review.  I think he's trying to shape the news in the best light possible.  Expect news stories on how the Navy needs planes now and can't wait a couple more years for the F-35.

4.  What happens to the USMC?  Will they be the sole operator of F-35's aboard big deck carriers?  Will they be forced to buy Super Hornets?

This is a pretty good article but as usual questions that should have been asked were left on the table.

Navy unmanned refueling/surveillance/strike airplane?

via Defense Tech.

“It’s now very tanker focused. We’re looking at what those requirements are — there will probably be a fallout capability, some [intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance] … potentially some strike,” Weiss said.
The changed focus will likely require a new design to previous prototypes in the project, he said.
The Navy has awarded four contracts — to Lockheed, Boeing Co., General Atomics and Northrop Grumman Corp. — for developmental designs on the MQ-25, known as the Stingray. The service plans to request official proposals from companies this summer. The drone could enter service as early as the mid-2020s.

When the Navy thought that they would have F-35's rammed down their necks they pushed for an aerial refueller in their unmanned platform.  Now that they know they're gonna get a better mix then we're gonna see POTENTIALLY a strike option returning.

However this is happening its good news for the Carrier Strike Wing.  First they're gonna free up Super Hornets for other missions and put the pods on UAVs, and second the Navy will have a long range, persistent deep strike platform.  If they're smart and go with the X-47 then it will be a stealth platform to boot.

CH-53K pics...

Textron just bought an ATV company!

via Press Release.

BAD BOY® OFF ROAD IS NOW TEXTRON OFF ROAD.

Textron has built some of the most iconic, high-performance machines in the world. From Bell Helicopter to Cessna Aircraft to an arsenal of hard-working industrial, construction and transport vehicles, the Textron name stands for power, performance and military-grade engineering. And that's exactly what you can expect from Textron Off Road.
We're here to take you where adventure lives and where there's work to be done. It's in our blood.

You can stick a fork in the specialized internally carried vehicle for the MV-22. The Marine Corps with a lack of imagination ended up with another short served bastardized jeep that cost way too much and delivered way too little.

What I can't figure is how a warfighting organization that once bragged about all the innovations it brought to warfare could suddenly want gucci solutions instead of knuckling down and doing work.