Los Angeles has a staggering number of homeless people.

via SHTFPlan.com

The number of homeless people in Los Angeles is skyrocketing. In just one year, the figures revealed that the homeless population in the city grew 20% while the numbers for the wider Los Angeles County were even higher at 23%.

As if looking at those numbers isn’t cringeworthy enough, The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority reported Wednesday that 6,000 homeless young people were tallied across the county in January, a 61% increase over the 2016 total. Most of the young people are ages 18 to 24. All the youth shelters have waiting lists and affordable housing is tough to find, even with a rent voucher, according to Heidi Calmus of Covenant House California, an international youth homeless services agency with a branch in Hollywood. “The system is overwhelmed,” Calmus said Tuesday night as she and a colleague, Nick Semensky, delivered toiletry bags and sandwiches to young people living in the streets.

Despite efforts to combat the problem, the number of homeless continue to go up. In 2015 authorities declared a public emergency as the numbers sleeping on the streets soared. City officials committed $100 million to tackle the problem. It’s safe to say that whatever is being done right now is not working.

Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn described the figures as “staggering.” “Homelessness in LA County has grown at a shocking rate,” she said in a statement. “Even as work is being done to get thousands of people off the street and into housing, more and more people are becoming homeless. It is clear that if we are going to end the homeless crisis, we need to stem the overwhelming tide of people falling into homelessness.”

But it isn’t that easy. Experts are placing the blame on soaring rents and a high cost of living as the two major factors. According to Expatistan.com, a 900 square foot furnished apartment will cost over $2400 per month.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said there was “no sugarcoating the bad news”. “It’s impossible to wrap your head around the numbers,” he told reporters, adding that soaring rents and the city’s high cost of living were partly to blame. “We can’t let rents double every year,” he told reporters. Average rents in Los Angeles County have increased by 32% since 2000 while average household incomes for people renting have fallen by 3% when adjusted for inflation, according to the California Housing Partnership.

Story here. 

General leading Philippine battle with Islamists relieved of command

via Reuters

The general leading an offensive against pro-Islamic State militants holed up in a southern Philippine town has been relieved of his command, an army spokesman said on Friday, the 11th day of the country's biggest security crisis in years.

The removal of Brigadier-General Nixon Fortes as commander of the army brigade in Marawi City and his replacement with his deputy, Colonel Generoso Ponio, was not related to the battle that has raged in the city, the spokesman said.

On Wednesday, an air strike aimed at flushing out rebels killed 10 troops, a major blow that the army said was an accident of the sort that sometimes happens in the "fog of war".

Asked if the course of the conflict was the reason for Fortes' replacement, spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Ray Tiongson said: "That's not the reason."

A military source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Fortes was dismissed because not all his forces were in the city when the rebels began their rampage, even though military intelligence had indicated that Islamist militants, including foreign fighters, were amassing there.

The source said that some of Fortes' forces were busy fighting a small band of communist insurgents in a nearby town when some 400 militants overran Marawi City last Tuesday after a botched military raid to capture their leader, Isnilon Hapilon.

Thirty-nine members of the security forces have been killed in the Marawi battles, as well as 19 civilians and 120 rebel fighters.

BAE/Iveco ACV 1.1 entering the building...

It has arrived: the ACV 1.1 has entered the building for #SAS2017! pic.twitter.com/dl5BDiQcn3

— BAE Systems, Inc. (@BAESystemsInc) April 2, 2017

SHORAD Launcher trialled on Bradley Fighting Vehicle

BAE Systems Teams with QinetiQ to Pursue Electric Drive on Combat Vehicles

via Press Release.

BAE Systems has signed a teaming agreement with QinetiQ to incorporate the latest technology for electric drive mobility systems on combat vehicles. This agreement combines BAE Systems’ capabilities as a vehicle designer, developer, manufacturer, and systems integrator with the electric drive expertise offered by QinetiQ, a leading UK science and engineering company operating primarily in the defense, security, and aerospace markets.

The technology offers improved fuel efficiency, reliability, and mobility performance, as well as reduced life-cycle costs and unmatched electrical power available to the platform. This combination allows for advanced weaponry, communications, radar, and field power generation on vehicles.

“This strategic partnership with QinetiQ in the electric drive field ensures we are offering our customers a mature, low-cost technology that can enhance the performance of current and future combat vehicles,” said Dean Medland, vice president of combat vehicle programs at BAE Systems. “This positions us to be a leader in the market as more platforms across the world move toward an electric drive architecture.”

LAND 400 Project Phase 2 contenders.....Image by CFN Priyantha Malavi Arachchi

Open Comment Post. June 2, 2017

Inventory for aviation officers is 47 percent field grade

via Foreign Policy

One rule of thumb I have is that the more a military specialty is removed from combat, the more obscure its language becomes. And so personnel officers contend with acquisition officers for the most impenetrable prose — “procurement bow wave,” “familiar sinusoidal defense budget pattern.”

I mention this because the May issue of Marine Corps Gazette carries an article that uses phrases I haven’t encountered in 26 years of dealing with the U.S. military. My favorite of this new formulations is “unfavorable rank gradient.” What it means is that there are too many older officers and not enough junior ones in Marine aviation. Indeed, write the authors, “our total actual inventory for aviation officers is 47 percent field grade.”

I hope this is a bad joke by Ricks or else Marine aviation is hopelessly broken.

Is retention of junior grade officers that bad or are they promoting that fast? Either way its unsat.  That's alot of churn and a huge bottleneck at the top...no wonder they've gone zero defect over there!

US Carriers conduct "dual ops"...I call them battle drills...

via USNI News.

The U.S. Navy has begun dual-carrier operations with the USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76) and USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) in the Sea of Japan, a service official told USNI News on Wednesday.

It will be first time two U.S. carriers have operated in tandem off the Korean Peninsula since the 1990s and follows several recent North Korean missile tests.

“Operating two carrier strike groups in the Western Pacific provides unique training opportunities for our forces and provides combatant commanders with significant operational flexibility should these forces be called upon in response to regional situations,” Lt. Loren Terry told USNI News on Wednesday.
“The presence of two carriers is part of a regularly scheduled rotation of assets in the region and is not in response to any political or world events. This unique capability is one of many ways the U.S. Navy promotes security, stability and prosperity throughout the Indo-Asia-Pacific.”

Wow.  That LT is spouting a whole bunch of bullshit.  Obviously an Academy grad!

They call it dual carrier operations...a unique training opportunity...regularly scheduled rotation??????

I call it a fucking battle drill. 

Dual carrier ops is something that hasn't been talked about for the future fight. This is obviously something different and the rotation talk is pure fantasy.  Whatever this is, it isn't normal procedure and is usually seen before the start of hostilities.

One other thing.  Remember that the 31st MEU just set sail a few days ago. If we're gonna see some type of fight in N. Korea then the pieces are sliding into place.

Hits keep coming for the Philippine Army. Blue on blue incident...wayward airstrike kills 10 soldiers...

via Reuters

An air strike during Philippine military operations to drive Islamist rebels out of a southern city has killed 10 government troops, the defense minister said on Thursday, in a major blow to efforts to defeat fighters linked to the Islamic State group.

Seven other soldiers were wounded on Wednesday when two air force SF-260 close air support planes dropped bombs on a target in the heart of Marawi City, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana told a news conference. The first plane hit the target but the second missed.

"It's very sad to be hitting our own troops," Lorenzana said. "There must be a mistake somewhere, either someone directing from the ground, or the pilot."

The armed forces have used a combination of ground troops and rocket strikes from helicopters since the weekend to try flush rebels of the Maute group out of buildings. Wednesday was the first day the SF-260 planes were deployed.

The pro-Islamic State Maute group has proven to be a fierce enemy, clinging on to the heart of Marawi City through days of air strikes the military has said are "surgical" and on known rebel targets.

The Maute's ability to fight off a military with greater numbers and superior firepower for so long will add to fears that it could win the recognition of the Islamic State leadership in the Middle East and become its Southeast Asian affiliate.

The deaths of the soldiers takes the number of security forces killed to 38, with 19 civilians and 120 rebel fighters killed in the battles in Marawi over the past nine days.

Lorenzana said militants who were Saudi, Malaysian, Indonesian, Yemeni and Chechen were among eight foreigners killed fighting with the Maute rebels.

First up.  I was so fucking wrong.  I wondered aloud if ISIS wasn't just being claimed in the Philippines.  With Saudis, Yemenis and Chechens being among the killed in the fighting then its obvious that ISIS is in the neighborhood.

Second.  We should be giving these guys refurbished gear that we aren't using.  They apparently have the will to fight but not the gear.  We should correct that poste haste.

Either way the hits keep coming for the Philippine Army.  I wish them well.

Russia conducted massive airstrike in Syria?

via almasdarnews.com

Russian Air Force made this night sleepless for militants of the so-called “Islamic State” (IS, formerly ISIL/ISIS) in eastern Hama countryside launching intensive airstrikes on their positions in the region.

Among the targets of heavy bombardment are villages of Suha, Al-Barghouthiyah, Abu Hananyah, Abu Habibat and Hamad Omar. All of them are situated east of Salamiyah city.

Airstrikes come as a preparation for the upcoming assault Syrian Arab Army (SAA) is planning to begin at dawn on Thursday morning.

Ok this is weird.  I've read elsewhere that the Kurds were trying to cut off the terrorist supply lines and now this?

Are we seeing enhanced cooperation in Syria between the US, Russia/Iran/Syria and the Kurds in the drive to kill ISIS?

If so then that's the first bit of good news to come out of that conflict in the last few months.  I don't get the hatred for Russia, do understand the hatred for Iran-but in this case the enemy of my enemy is still my enemy....but we can prioritize , the most puzzling piece would be the Kurdish angle.

IF this is true then Turkey is really marginalizing themselves.  They plotted and planned but its all falling down around them.  I wonder what the Turkish President is thinking right now.

Max Defense Blog (Philippine Blogger) responds to the assault on their forces, explains the fight...

Thanks to Petrus for the link!

via Max Defense Blog

MaxDefense would be breaking posting protocols to make an important point. Last time we posted the #heroesofmarawi who gave their lives for the country. Among them were 4 members of the Philippine Army's 5th Mechanized Company, who died when their V­150 and Simba 4x4 armoured vehicles were hit by RPGs and the entire section was pinned down by heavy fire from
overwhelming terrorist firepower. It was only after 4 days later that Scout Rangers were able to rescue the remaining 16 mechanized troopers, at the expense of some more Rangers killed in action, and leaving the two disabled armoured vehicles behind. The Scout Rangers themselves engaged the terrorists in a 24 hour gunfight before they were able to reach the disabled armoured vehicles.
Below are photos of the damaged armoured vehicles, a V­150 and a Simba. Photos were allegedly taken by Maute terrorists and posted online for propaganda. MaxDefense decided to post the photos as it is already circulating in social media at breakneck speed, and it would be beneficial to explain what happened here instead of just seeing photos that can be made to create false stories.
Based on the photos, it is seen that the wheeled armoured vehicles got stuck and pinned down after getting RPG hits and punctured tires. The location where they were hit looked too cramped and difficult for wheeled armored vehicles to maneuver, as compared to tracked armoured vehicles that can turn 360° in its position. RPG grenadiers hiding from houses can easily hit these vehicles, and it is a miracle that the 16 mechanized troopers survived for 4
days inside these vehicles.
The armoured vehicles are thin skinned, and RPG rounds can easily disable or penetrate its armour. Lack of additional protection like RPG cages or the old school timber and sandbag armour that the Philippine Marines sometimes use in their armoured vehicles. Despite multiple RPG and heavy caliber
gunfire hits, these vehicles were able to protect the surviving troops for days. Aside from that, it appears that the entire team is unfamilar of the area, and might have moved too deep into enemy territory without additional support despite the presence of dismounted infantry to protect the armoured vehicles.
Despite the loss of the vehicles, the most important is the rescue of 16 troopers, lives that cannot be replaced. It remains to be confirmed if the vehicles are already recovered considering the successes made by the AFP and PNP in securing more parts of Marawi City

Interesting.

A few things...

1.  Why do people always assume that the valor of their soldiers/Marines are being questioned.  Maybe I'm being overly sensitive but I get the flavor that this guy is mounting a defense of his military.  Not needed.  No one here was there.  We aren't making that call.  We are simply looking at the outcome of the action.  I would think that's different than questioning the courage of the individuals participating.

2.  This blogger is harping on the age of the vehicles involved.  I think the tactics (which he pointed out) were the main factor in the outcome of this fight.

3.  The Scout Rangers were johnny on the spot with their reaction force. The fact that we didn't hear about the relief action is curious.  Is this a result of the news blackout?

4.  I'm really starting to get the Crips/Bloods vibe from this ISIS thing.  I remember vividly the gang war during the 80's.  One of things that struck me as strange at the time was that every wanna be would claim either Crips/Bloods even if they weren't (at least until real deal Crips/Bloods would turn up in town).  I think we're seeing the same thing with ISIS.  A bunch of wannabe's in Asia but in actuality its just a continuation of the insurgency that's been raging for years.

I think I'll start following this Max Defense guy.  Seems like a good way to stay plugged into the fighting down there.