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Tuesday, July 07, 2020
Chinese airborne armored recovery vehicle based on ZBD-03 IFV
Large scale forcible entry is off the table for the US Marine Corps. What makes us unique now?
With tanks having gone the way of the dodo bird...with the cuts to infantry battalions, decrease in cannons etc...its become apparent that large scale forcible entry is off the table for the USMC.
Additionally with the cut in ground combat power we've eviscerated the Marine Air-Ground Task Force to such a degree that it should be renamed Air Task Force with ground support.
So what makes the United States Marine Corps unique going into the future? What capability saves us from the bean counters that will assuredly come hunting for scalps in the near term?
Oh you can bet that the floor of 175K Marines will soon evaporate like dew on the grass in the middle of the summer. In the past we've heard the number of 150K batted around but I'd be willing to bet that the number will shrink even further. My guess? By 2030 we'll be looking at probably 125K Marines MAX!
The terrible thing?
Many predicted bad things with the USMC's unshakable belief in the F-35. That one project has essentially gobbled up the budget to such a degree that everything else died so it could live. Next on the chopping block? The ACV. LAR Bns. The JLTV will be the primary ground combat vehicle of the Marine Corps soon. The Air Wing will reign supreme.
So with the Marines headed toward being the US Navy's other air force, SOCOM's perimeter security and the Army's missile force what makes us unique?
What role do we play? Where will we be useful outside of a fight with China? Even hybrid forces will give our NEW ground combat element a tough fight...Iraqi forces during the fight in Gulf War 1 would eat this new Corps alive.
How can a one war service survive if that war doesn't come?
Georgia gov declares a state of emergency deploys National Guard to Atlanta
National Guard is here at the Capitol after being activated by @GovKemp following a weekend of deadly shootings in Atlanta over the weekend. Troops are protecting state buildings tonight. pic.twitter.com/jDTP9AupoQ— Matt Johnson (@MattWSB) July 7, 2020
Story here.
Wow.
Big cities are getting bad. Thank God I live in the country!
Marine Tanks is DEAD...
Sad day for the 1st Tank Battalion, United States Marine Corps with its last tank leaving the RAMP 🇺🇸⚔️ I trust those Tankers will excel in their next chosen profession. God Speed Marines #29Palms #USMC #SteelOnTarget #1stTanks Rah 👊🏼 pic.twitter.com/wsrOGNCK2w— AussieTanker (@TankerAussie) July 6, 2020
Marine Tanks is dead.
The Commandant has made a terrible decision but the decision has been made.
History will mark this as a defining moment of the Marines...and one NOT covered in glory.
It will be interesting to see how the NEW Marine Corps performs in the coming battle that they DID NOT EXPECT and totally wrecked the battle winning Marine-Air Ground Team for the one they hoped for.
Lt Joe Hooper, US Army. Pure badass!
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via ZULUFUCXS instagram pageJoe Hooper was nothing short of fucking legendary. Enlisting in the Army in 1960, after a brief stint in the Navy, was assigned to the 501st Infantry/101st AB. He served 2 combat tours in Vietnam, a small part of his 17 year career. On top of earning 37 citations for valor, to include 8 Purple Hearts, he retired as a Captain (even though he never went to college and only had a GED). While in Vietnam he was credited with 115 enemy kills, 22 of which occurred in one single day.On Feb. 21 1968, his team began assaulting a heavily defended enemy position along a river bank when it encountered a withering hail of fire. Hooper rallied several men and stormed across the river, overrunning several bunkers on the opposite shore. With utter disregard for his own safety, he moved out under the intense fire again and pulled back the wounded. During this, he was seriously wounded, but he refused medical aid and returned to his men. He then single-handedly stormed 3 enemy bunkers, destroying them with hand grenades and rifle fire, and shot 2 enemy soldiers who had attacked and wounded the Chaplain (You just don’t fuck with the Chaplain). Hooper then destroyed 3 more buildings housing enemy riflemen. At this point he was attacked by an NVA officer whom he killed with his knife. Finding his men under heavy fire from a house to the front, he proceeded alone to the building, killing its occupants with rifle fire and grenades. Despite the multiple wounds and loss of blood, he continued to lead his men. He then took out 4 more bunkers by himself and raced across an open field, still under enemy fire, to rescue a wounded man who was trapped in a trench. Upon reaching the man, he was faced by an armed enemy soldier whom he killed with a pistol. Moving his comrade to safety and returning to his men, he neutralized the final pocket of enemy resistance by fatally wounding 3 North Vietnamese officers with rifle fire. . Hooper then established a final line and reorganized his men, not accepting treatment until this was accomplished and not consenting to evacuation until the following morning. He was awarded the MOH along with every accolade given by hot young females. |
Damn! This dude has a crazy smile.
The Willys M274 Mechanical Mule
"Could haul more than a contemporary jeep"...just wow. Story here.
We're building Squad Support Vehicles. What's old is new again.
The illegal firework display (video) shows what I believe is a growing problem for authorities...citizens are considering laws unjust...
I've been trying (with little success) to illustrate what I believe is the problem of our time (one that overrides many of the issues in the media).
Citizens are considering laws and govt edicts to be unjust.
My exhibit today? The viral video of the fireworks celebration in Los Angeles.
Take a look at that! Seems like everyone and their mother was out shooting off some type of celebratory explosive.
No big deal you say? I can agree (to a point...we are talking about a major urban area) but the real point is that the Mayor of Los Angeles declared fireworks illegal for the 4th.
No one cared.
No one blinked twice either. They just set them off and enjoyed their day.
My point? Not everyone doing that is what we could call a criminal. Not everyone doing that could be called anti-social, a law breaker, megalomaniac, sociopath, etc....
I'm guessing that average folks were setting these things off and that should concern authorities.
SOME I'm sure waddled in the new found power to order people to stay home. Some probably enjoyed the idea that they could exercise such powers backed by law enforcement to deem their edicts to be law (that's another thing that gets me...governors, mayors and others did all this without seeming to go to a representative body to get buy in from the people's representatives).
The world health organization said that the worst is yet to come. If true then we've got a problem. I believe that because the first shutdown was done in such a haphazard, arbitrary fashion, a second one will be the straw that breaks the back.
Doctors and nurses are pushing the meme because they're so considered about physical health. At this point I'm worried about the mental health of the nation(s).
What has come will seem like disney if this goes for round two. We saw massive protests about the Floyd killing. We saw disobedience when it came to beaches and businesses opening up before that. Round two will see protests against govts I think.
Turkey vows 'retribution' for attack on its positions at al-Watiya airbase in Libya
Turkey vows 'retribution' for attack on its positions at al-Watiya airbase in Libya— Ragıp Soylu (@ragipsoylu) July 6, 2020
• “The only thing I can say is this: whoever did this made a big mistake,” a Turkish official familiar with the issue told Middle East Eye. “There will be retribution.”https://t.co/kEh96wxTUG
Royal Air Force 3 Joint Air Delivery Test and Evaluation Unit (JADTEU) with the Helicopter and Training team test new fast roping/rappelling gear...
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| 3 Joint Air Delivery Test and Evaluation Unit (JADTEU) photographers, along with the Helicopter and Training team, were recently invited to capture video and still images of a complex trial series involving two different aircraft types from two different services, operating out of two different units, testing two different pieces of equipment. Firstly we travelled to RAF Odiham in Hampshire where a newly fitted ladder system was being trialled, with military personnel making the climb up to The Boeing Company Chinook aircraft. After that, new version fast ropes were then deployed by the crewmen who were assessing the operational capabilities of both dry and wet ropes, interoperability with current equipments and confirming utility by the JADTEU supporting troops. Next it was a similar trial, though this time the trials were being conducted by a Royal Navy, Fleet Air Arm Merlin helicopter. The helicopter used RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire as the testing site for its part of the trial with crewmen again assessing capabilities of various lengths of rope with both dry and then submerged ropes to replicate operating them in wet conditions. Trials such as this are vital for the operational effectiveness of the Chinook, Merlin and wider Ministry of Defence with the results being used to ensure the employment of ropes and ladders on operations and exercises is done as efficiently, effectively and as safely as possible. Working alongside Joint Helicopter Command, Fleet Air Arm, RAF Brize Norton and RAF Odiham, JADTEU has again supported an increase in Defence Capability. |
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