A Turk Military Twitter Account You Should Eyeball...

Örneğin Hava Kuvvetleri, İdlib hava sahasının Ruslarca kapatılması nedeniyle havlu atmak yerine, SİHA'lar ile aktif bir şekilde hava harekatı ve F16'lar ile F4'lerden hem hava hedeflerine, hem de kara hedeflerine uzun menzilli silahlarla atışlar yaparak karadaki birlikleri pic.twitter.com/wzBi2SgPy3

— ParsKuru (@ParsKuru) March 9, 2020

Click on the Tweet and give this guy's page a look see.  The US govt asked the Russians to be more forthcoming about their military and they've responded in spades (much to the annoyance of many...be careful what you wish for), but in the fight for Syria we're not getting many details on the Turk military or their operations (well except for our resident expert here...Alpay, you sometimes annoy but we luv ya).

This Twitter account might fill in some of the gaps on what they're doing and how they're doing it.  I found it interesting anyway!  Oh and besides discussion of the airbattle that I missed he also talks about the role of tanks in the fight for Idlib. 

This war is something that will be studied for decades.

Open Comment Post. 10 Mar 2020

This is how a worldwide depression starts...Italy is now a restricted zone...

BREAKING!#Italy's PM #Conte announces the restriction zone will be extended to cover the whole country.#Coronavirus

— Enrico Ivanov ☦️ (@Russ_Warrior) March 9, 2020

This is beyond troubling.  Do you sit back and laugh at Italy's plight?  I wouldn't if I were you.  They're taking proactive measures now to combat this pandemic. 

I'm almost positive that if we had better testing inside the US, we'd see the number of cases almost quadruple overnight.

The good thing for Italy?  They're an early adopter of preventive measures.  They'll be one of the first European countries to get to the other side of this thing.

The bad thing for Italy?  They'll take an economic hit now instead of later. 

Everyone is hoping and praying that with the arrival of spring in a couple of weeks this wave will burn itself out.

The problem for the US?  If it doesn't.  If we see the numbers increase dramatically then you'll almost see the economy freeze.

This thing is hard.  I'm glad I'm not making the call on what to do on this one. But it's also why they don't pay me the big bucks.

Tu-214R jammed Turk F-16 firing AMRAAMs at Syria aircraft over Idlib?

via Eurasian Times

The situation is complicated by the fact that attacks, as military experts note, are carried out by Turkish F-16s with long-range AIM-120 air-to-air missiles and the target is guided by a Boeing early warning and control reconnaissance aircraft 737 AEW&C of Turkish Air Force (equipped with electronic warfare, which includes the system of optoelectronic counteraction AN/AAQ-24 Nemesis).

It is important to note that Turkish F-16 fighter jets launched operations in Idlib without entering the Syrian airspace as Moscow had forewarned Ankara that it would not guarantee the safety of Turkish jets over Syrian airspace.The Russian and the Syrian Air Force were prepared for countermeasures and thus were able to able to dodge the AIM-120 missile, launched by the Turkish F-16. According to military experts taking to the EurAsian Times, the mission of jamming Turkish missiles was possible due to the Russian integrated reconnaissance aircraft Tu-214R. 

Russia has significantly increased its EW forces in the region. With the assistance of Tu-214 and Il-22PP, which were not only able to detect the approaching Turkish F-16s but also warned Syrian fighters, ”writes the Chinese news portal Sina.

Story here. 

Wow.  Seems like I missed a pretty compelling air battle.  Definitely need to learn more about this Tu-214R...the AN/AAQ-24 and the 737 AEW&C.  The fighters are usually the stars in aerial battle but looks like these airplanes (and electronic countermeasure?) played leading roles in this fight.

What the fuck did Marine Special Operations walk into in Iraq?

Just for context of how brutal this firefight was: the QRF unit sent in to retrieve the American dead was Delta Force. https://t.co/KnENSvGbwg

— Thomas Gibbons-Neff (@Tmgneff) March 9, 2020

Jesus!

What did MARSOC walk into?  A firefight that left two dead.  The Quick Reaction Force was the US Army Delta Force?

Fighting in a well defended cave...having Delta Force as your QRF...a more than six hour fight to extract them....I can't even begin to imagine what these Marine and Army Special Operators were facing.

God bless the dead, the injured and the survivors of this fight.

Two headlines that should shock you about the economy...

Ok.  Now my spider sense is blasting about the US economy.  Check out these headlines...

Fed to step up cash injections for banks to guard against market pressure

The market has triggered a ‘circuit breaker’ that keeps stocks from falling through the floor. Here’s what you need to know

I need to chew on this and I need to check the history of 2008, but on the surface this appears ominous.

More to come I'm sure.

Sometimes I forget how freaking powerful the F-15 really is...

This is how you depart an airport!!
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••#Repost @big_seans_aviation
・・・
Straight up into the heavens #f15#f15eagle#kpdx#oregonang#oregonairguard pic.twitter.com/q827OACbIg

— Combat Learjet (@Combat_learjet) March 8, 2020

Special Forces Crisis Response Force scaled back ...

via SOFREP.

A move that foreshadowed the decision to disband the CRFs took place earlier this year. In January, the American embassy in Baghdad came under siege by Iraqi protesters and Iranian-back militias before and after the targeted killing of the Iranian Major General Qassem Soleimani. However, Central Command (CENTCOM), the combatant command that is responsible for that Area of Operations, and Special Operations Command Central (SOCCENT), a sub-unified command responsible for Special Operations in the same AOR, decided to deploy a Marine element instead of A Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Special Forces Group (A/1/5), the CRF unit responsible for the Middle East. The message was clear – we don’t need you.

A senior CRF operator told SOFREP that “the CRF hasn’t been gainfully employed since the end of 2011, and other than that, the National Mission Force [Joint Special Operations Command] can get there just as fast. That’s why all of the other ones are on the chopping block.”

And there’s the rub. When you have Tier 1 Special Mission Units, such as Delta Force and SEAL Team 6, whose primary role is to respond to CT and HR scenarios across the world, CRFs feel somewhat redundant and a luxury. And manning and maintaining CRFs is far from cheap.

In addition to the standard Special Operations schools, all CRF operators have to go through the Special Forces Advanced Reconnaissance, Target Analysis, and Exploitation Techniques Course (SFARTAETC) and some through the Special Forces Sniper Course (SFSC), both of which last nine weeks. Much time and money, thus, is invested in a capability that isn’t being utilized.

As of the time of this publication, USASOC hasn’t commented.

Here. 

I'm a fan of US Army Special Forces but I see the problem that exists for all of SOCOM.

If everyone is doing raids then no one is unique, and if you start encroaching on Seal Team 6/Delta Force missions then you're gonna get slapped down hard. Additionally the big bad has finally reared its ugly head.  SOCOM ain't cheap.

The whole enterprise needs to determine what it offers going into the future or we'll see the CRF being cut back as just the start of massive cuts.  Where do they fit in with regard to super power competition?  Do they have a role to play in a major conventional war?  Do they need the massive infrastructure that's been built up if overall numbers are reduced?

Lots of questions...few answers.

‘This Is 1929’: Hedge Fund Bear Warns of Great Depression-Style Stock Market Crash

NOTE!!!  I'm just posting this because it caught my eye.  From my layman's point of view the guy puts forth a pretty credible case.  I'll let you decide whether or not he's close or wildly off the mark.  One thing I do know.  The FED caught me off guard with their emergency rate cut and it did nothing to stop the bears from trampling all over last years profit in the stock market.  Now?  Now we're looking at an oil crash.  The problem from my chair?  We're at least seeing the possibility of a repeat of 2008.  Do you remember the basic problem?  The velocity of money was slowing so dramatically that the economy was gonna seize up.  One (more) last thing.  Economist have been predicting a recession in 2020 since early last year.  Just Google "are we looking at a recession" and you'll see tons of articles from last year, early this year.

via ccn.com

Crescat Capital says stock market valuations have soared to double their previous highs. And that a 1929-style crash could be looming. | Source: Everett Historical/Shutterstock.com

Hedge fund bear Kevin Smith says that the coronavirus outbreak has triggered a stock market crash.

But forget 2008, Smith says this one could mirror the 1929 downturn that accompanied the Great Depression.

His firm, Crescat Capital, is hedging against the crash with its three-pronged “macro trade of the century.”

As the coronavirus outbreak rattles the Dow Jones, nervy investors are drawing parallels to the stock market crash that accompanied the 2008 financial crisis.

But one Wall Street bear warns that this equities bubble mirrors an even more terrifying downturn: the Great Depression.

Here.

Europe is getting rocked by the Coronavirus...how long before WHO declares the obvious?

#BREAKING Germany says coronavirus cases top 1,000 pic.twitter.com/QSOoGkgTXj

— AFP news agency (@AFP) March 9, 2020

#Updated The tally of confirmed cases of #COVID19 in #Germany has risen to 1,112, local media quoted Robert Koch Institute. #coronavirus pic.twitter.com/lK30JgRmzg

— China Daily (@ChinaDaily) March 9, 2020

WHO can quit delaying and declare this thing a pandemic.  Wall Street and the rest of the world's markets are acting on this info.

Question.

Do you have a recession proof job?  Do you have a job that is "essential"?  If not you better start active planning for possible layoffs.  If you do then you probably should do the same.

This is getting to a point that I didn't expect.  I wonder how bad this first wave will be, cause I'm almost certain that there will be a second more lethal wave.

Did you know that there are two strains of this thing in the wild?  Everyone is talking number of deaths but its more nuanced than that.  What is the fatality rate for each of the strains?

If one or the other is responsible for the deaths that we're seeing then we could be looking at an extremely lethal vector.

Erdogan humiliated in Russia...

#Putin shows Erdogan who is the Boss. Makes him and his entire entourage wait outside the door. See the timer ticking 😂😂 @AirForceReviews @FriendsofPutin @PutinThe @peterpobjecky @need_history @DPRKJones @DoveSyriana @IdaratL @Leopard212 @VinodDX9 @su35thunder2 @JarritaLT pic.twitter.com/RqWwb8yNSG

— Sukhoi Su-57 Felon 🇷🇺🇮🇳 (@I30mki) March 9, 2020

Amazing.  Optics are important in diplomacy and the optics here are terrible for the Turkish leader.

How do you recover from something like this?

I bet his advance man is sentenced to jail for 10 years or more for not sniffing this out.

Really XFL? Community spread of the coronavirus and you have an almost full stadium for a game?

This is why we will see the worst case scenario for the coronavirus.  This time I think we can lay some of the blame at the feet of the federal govt.  I can understand not wanting to incite a panic but damn it!  Common sense precautions should be part of the response.

The NBA is discussing playing games without fans in the stands.  The NCAA is talking about having the basketball tournament without fans in the stands. 

So what does the XFL do this weekend?

They hold football games with people in the stands!

Even the Pope didn't do that for his Sunday address (note that it was at the request of the Italian govt).

Time for the experts to step up and prevent this thing from going sideways. I don't want a Chinese response but unless we're smarter then that's gonna be what we're left with.

A little pain now will save alot of pain later.