The 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit and Amphibious Squadron 8 (PHIBRON 8) conducted their first at-sea training evolution

House Armed Services Subcommittee Chairmen wants the USMC spared from budget cuts!

Thanks Jonathan for the article.  The Marines do indeed have friends in high places.

Decimating the 9-1-1 Force
Budget Cutters Must Spare U.S. Marines

By Rep. J. Randy Forbes , chairman of the U.S. House Armed Services readi­ness subcommittee; and Rep. W. Todd Akin , chairman of the House Armed Services seapower and projection forces subcommittee.

From the birth of the U.S.Marine Corps in November 1775 to the raising of the flag at Iwo Jima in March 1945 to the current pursuit of terror­ists and efforts to ensure stabili­ty in the Western Pacific, U.S.

Marines have always been rec­ognized as Americans willing to go in harm’s way at a moment’s notice and stay as long as we ask them to. But that vision is at risk.

At a time when the Marines have been in combat for 10 years, Congress and the adminis­tration have taken to hacking away at the defense budget. For the Marines, even the reductions already enacted threaten to cut to the bone. Americans must rec­ognize that the future may be one without the Marine Corps as we know it.

Today, the Marines are 202,000 strong. The commandant says he needs at least 186,800 to carry out the missions asked of him. But the roughly $465 billion in defense cuts enacted under the Budget Control Act will slash the ranks to 173,000, nearly 14,000 short of the minimum requirement.As it stands, 29,000 Marines are on track to be separated from ser­vice. However, if automatic de­fense cuts under sequestration are triggered, the Marines will be slashed to 145,000 — the smallest Corps in more than five decades.

Our commanders will be short a staggering 41,600 Marines needed to meet requirements and 57,000  – or more than one in four — will be pink-slipped.

But that’s just the numbers. The impact on the Corps in terms of its capability will be devastating.

Noncombat evacuation opera­tions would likely only be possi­ble in a peaceful environment; rarely do we ask the Marines to go into an embassy to rescue Americans under peaceful cir­cumstances. It would mean the end of some Marine Expedi­tionary Units — the same Marines deployed aboard Navy ships that serve to deter potential aggres­sion and stand ready to respond as America’s 9-1-1 force to unfore­seen crises.

It would also mean longer de­ployments and less time at home for those Marines fortunate enough to keep the job they love.

It doesn’t end there. In addition to decimating the Marines in service, these cuts would force the smaller Corps to operate in an austere training environment.

After a decade spent wearing down their equipment in Iraq, the Corps won’t even be able to re­pair or replace the equipment they’ve been using.

At the same time, the Navy will likely be forced to cut two carrier strike groups and shrink its fleet of amphibious ships to less than half the current Marine Corps require­ment. This type of radical change to our ability to project power from the seas hardly seems wise when the U.S. has been increasing­ly challenged with the diplomatic hurdles necessary to secure over­seas bases and airfields.

The United States is a mar­itime nation and always will be.

As the commandant observed, the Marines provide an ideal “middleweight force” that is “most ready when the nation is least ready.” Before leaving office, former Defense Secretary Robert Gates said it best: “Our record of pre­dicting where we will use military force since Vietnam is perfect. We have never once gotten it right.” In an increasingly dangerous and unpredictable world, we will continue to need the versatility the Marines can provide, whether we like it or not.

- from the electronic version of DefenseNews.com

 

While all eyes are on the M.E. there's an arms race in South America...

DEFSA Blog is reporting that Chile has recently acquired a French LPD.

The Chilean Navy (Armada de Chile) is to receive a French Navy (Marine Nationale) amphibian vessel. According media reports, the DGA (Direction Générale de l’Armement) is to transfrer the TCD type (Transport de Chalands de Débarquement) L9011 FS “Foudre” landing ship dock.

With L9012 FS “Siroco”, L9011 FS “Foudre”, is one of the two TCDs in service with the French Navy.

It seems that we're all missing something very important that's happening on our doorsteps.  South American countries are gearing up.  Weapons purchases by those countries are off the charts and they're advanced weapons too.  Why Chile would need an LPD is beyond me, but they believe they do and that's all that matters.  In a limited way, Chile now has the ability to project power.

Interesting.

Grumman 698...another what if...

Joe sent me an article by that prolific blogger, anti-Marine and part time mad man named Mike Sparks on his proposal for a return to sea planes.  You can read it here, but what caught my eye was the Grumman 698.  Little information is available and I wish Sweetman wasn't mad at me cause I'd love to know the history on this project.

USMC adopts Serpa Holsters. Why?

So the USMC has adopted the Serpa Holster.

I have no problem with the idea from a safety standpoint like some of the detractors.  What I have an issue with is the actual utility of the thing.

Its not a safety issue.  No its a protection issue, a running, crawling, moving through the bush, banging against walls jumping through windows kinda issue.

The Serpa doesn't protect your firearm, it won't keep a tender thing like the Beretta protected and when you're down to a side arm then you're in a bad place.

Marine Corps procurement gone wrong exhibit one.  Buying the Serpa Holster.

Yep, the ole' M12 ain't stylish, cutting edge etc...but what it is is a tool thats designed to protect another tool.  It passes the eyeball test for Shock Troops...not barbie dolls playing dress up.

Space Nazis.

The 25th Reich Web Teaser 1 HD from Revolution Pictures on Vimeo.


This film is definitely campy.  To be released in 2012 its called the "25th Reich"...it has everything a conspiracy theorist could love...
*Secret Nazi base in Antarctica
*Secret Nazi base on the moon
*Hitler surviving WW2
*Nazi flying saucers
And thats just what I could make out in the trailer.  Weird but crazy enough for me to maybe take a look.  Hey, I luv sci-fi, what can I say?

Being an Apache Pilot isn't good enough for 'Kit-Up'

I want to point readers to this passage in an article by Kit-Up....

I’ll continue to scour for some cool Foreign SOF stuff and post.  Anyway, enjoy the video. The Danes have a solid program as you can see. Also worth mentioning that the Danish Prince is actually a Frogman. Good on him….Prince Harry could learn a few things from him I suspect.

Wow.

So serving your country in a capacity other than Special Ops means that you're a lesser human?  And you wonder why I cringe at the thought of the USMC getting closer to these guys!

Hiring our Heroes.

No not late.  Real fucking late.  But I guess better late than never.  BlackFive is reporting that the US Commerce Dept US Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring hiring events for veterans.  Check it out at their spot here.

SIDENOTE.

I DON'T CARE ABOUT YOUR POLITICS BUT WITH ALL THE LIP SERVICE GIVEN AND ALL THE INACTION TAKEN, I FIND IT BEYOND AMUSING THAT A PRIVATE ORGANIZATION AND NOT A GOVERNMENT ONE  IS ACTUALLY PUTTING 'BULLETS DOWN RANGE' ON THIS ISSUE...I GUESS ITS EASIER TO TALK A GOOD GAME RATHER THAN ACTUALLY DOING THE WORK.

GOOD LUCK TO ALL THE VETS LOOKING FOR WORK.  ANYTIME I SEE ANYTHING JOB SEARCH RELATED FOR YOU GUYS I'LL MAKE SURE I POST IT. 

US, Philippine Marines conduct amphibious raid on a beach in Palawan

2nd Land Army????

The US Marine Corps has made a terrible mistake.

You don't adopt the language of your critics when you're trying to re-orient yourself to another mission.  Take for example this 2nd land army talk.

OUR NATION NEEDED THE USMC TO SERVE ON  LAND FOR AN EXTENDED PERIOD OF TIME.  THAT DOES NOT MAKE US A SECOND LAND ARMY!

The leadership at HQMC is deficient.  They're so fucking joint.  So damn politically correct, that they've adopted the language of our critics.

Pitiful, pathetic and something we need to fix.

USMC Assault Breacher Vehicle in action - Afghanistan

Found my next truck...

AEV Brute.  Its a conversion so that gives me pause...Jeep was suppose to be introducing these type vehicles but hasn't pulled the trigger yet..so..time to start saving.  Check it out here for yourself.

Does the thought of lower defense budgets have you down? No problem, simply militarize American police depts!

via Jalopnik
The title is tongue in cheek.  Well a little tongue in cheek anyway...check out Alpine Armoring website for more details.

AMERCAL 2011 ...the video

Info needed (beyond Google searches)...USAF Red Horse...

U.S. Air Force Airmen from the 820th RED HORSE airborne flight, parachute into a drop zone from a C-17 Globemaster III Oct. 15, 2011, at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev. RED HORSE and 6 CTS Airmen perform airdrop missions to stay current on training and certifications, enabling them to perform jump missions and operate their own drop zones. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Taylor Worley)

Great photo and the caption has me curious.  Do these guys deploy?  How are they used in theater?  Do they make use of these skill sets?  Did they build the UAV base in Ethiopia?

Interesting skill set and one that would appear to be in demand...especially further inland.  The USAF version of SeaBees?

USMC and the JLTV.

“It must be light enough to leverage the flexibility and capacity of amphibious shipping, yet heavy enough to accomplish the mission. Larger than special operations forces, but lighter and more expeditionary than conventional Army units, we must be able to engage and respond quickly – often from the sea – with enough forces to carry the day,” the report stated. “The imperative for the Marine Corps is to preserve capabilities developed since 9/11, expand our engagement efforts, respond to crisis and still be able to project power for the most dangerous threat scenarios.

With the above statement describing the Marine Corps of the future then how do we justify buying the JLTV?

The Commandant recently talked about belt tightening...how does buying this vehicle help us do that?

We have more MRAPs in inventory than we know what to do with.  If IEDs are a threat to our forces then we'll need to get them out of storage...even the MATV is too light to deal with many of them and its still heavier than the JLTV.

So tell me how it makes sense for the Marine Corps to buy 3000 of these vehicles?!

Time to activate the Marine Corps super power...

Turkey gets used AH-1W's, we get new AH-1Z's?

via eKurd.net.

WASHINGTON, — The Obama administration is consulting Congress on an unusual proposal to transfer U.S. Marine Corps attack helicopters to Turkey, U.S. officials said on Thursday, as Ankara tries to exact revenge for a major attack by Kurdish PKK separatists.

Turkey, a NATO ally, has been seeking AH-1 SuperCobra helicopters to replace those lost in its long struggle against separatist rebels from the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK.

Under the administration's plan, the Marines would get two new, late-model Textron Inc Bell AH-1Z SuperCobras in exchange    for the three AH-1W aircraft that would be transferred to Ankara from current inventory, a congressional official said.

The officials declined to be identified because of the matter's sensitivity and because they were not authorized to speak on the record. The idea to take weapons from the U.S. arsenal was rare, they said.

The proposal has been held up amid lawmakers' questions about increasingly distant relations between Muslim-majority Turkey and Israel, a key U.S. ally, among other matters.

The AH-1W has sold previously for about $10 million. Turkey bought 10 of them in the 1990s. The larger, twin-engine AH-IZ may sell for about $30 million, according to industry sources.

Under the U.S. Arms Export Control Act, the executive branch must provide 15 days' formal notice to Congress before going ahead with significant arms transfers to a NATO partner. It was not immediately clear when such notice might take place,www.ekurd.net with informal congressional consultations continuing.

Turkey last week launched air and ground assaults on Kurdish militants in northern Iraq, vowing to exact "great revenge" after 24 Turkish troops were killed on October 19 in one of the deadliest Kurdish attacks in years.

The administration's proposal to transfer the helicopters pre-dates the October 19 attack on Turkish forces near the border with Iraqi Kurdistan region.

The United States and Turkey have a strong tradition of military cooperation, both bilaterally and inside the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

Turkey agreed last month to host a powerful U.S.-supplied radar system to act as advanced eyes for a layered shield against ballistic missiles coming from outside Europe.

The AN/TPY-2 surveillance radar in Turkey will boost the shield's capability against Iran, which Washington alleges is seeking to build nuclear weapons, a charge Tehran denies.

Since August 17, Turkish jets repeatedly carried out air strikes against the Kurdish PKK separatist group's bases in Iraqi Kurdistan region, under justification of chasing elements of the anti-Ankara PKK, forcing large numbers of Kurdish citizens of those areas to desert their home villages, including an air raid that killed 7 Kurdish civilians in a village north of Kurdistan’s Sulaimaniyah city on August 21st.

Since it was established in 1984, the PKK has been fighting the Turkish state, which still denies the constitutional existence of Kurds, to establish a Kurdish state in the south east of the country, sparking a conflict that has claimed some 45,000 lives.

But now its aim is the creation an autonomous Kurdish region and more cultural rights for ethnic Kurds who constitute the greatest minority in Turkey, numbering more than 20 million. A large Turkey's Kurdish community openly sympathise with the Kurdish PKK rebels.

PKK's demands included releasing PKK detainees, lifting the ban on education in Kurdish, paving the way for an autonomous democrat Kurdish system within Turkey, reducing pressure on the detained PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan, stopping military action against the Kurdish party and recomposing the Turkish constitution.

Turkey refuses to recognize its Kurdish population as a distinct minority. It has allowed some cultural rights such as limited broadcasts in the Kurdish language and private Kurdish language courses with the prodding of the European Union, but Kurdish politicians say the measures fall short of their expectations.

The PKK is considered as 'terrorist' organization by Ankara, U.S., the PKK continues to be on the blacklist list in EU despite court ruling which overturned a decision to place the Kurdish rebel group PKK and its political wing on the European Union's terror list. 

Copyright ©, respective author or news agency, Reuters | ekurd.net | Agencies  

Wow.

I don't know the politics of the area.

I thought the Kurds were our allies against Sadaam, and it would appear that in Turkey they're being abused.

Europe doesn't consider the PKK a terrorist group.

We do.

I like the idea of a State Dept purchase of two new AH-1Z's for the USMC but the politics of this really need to be sorted out before I jump for joy.

Something about this reeks, and I can't put my finger on it.

British Marines conduct mechanized raid into Somalia from the sea!

Via the Telegraph.

Marines in daring amphibious raid in Somalia

Royal Marines have staged a daring raid in Somalia to seize a tribal leader, it was reported last night.

The commandos carried out a dramatic amphibious landing using Viking armoured vehicles launched from landing craft, according to the Daily Mail.

Heavily-armed personnel from 539 Assault Squadron pushed deep inland through the lawless zone to seize the influential clan chief.

He was taken off for talks with MI6 and Foreign Offfice officials aboard a Royal Navy support ship ancored off the coast, centring on issues such as terrror training camps and the seizing of hostages.

The raid in July was the first time British forces have conducted a military operation in the troubled area in 40 years, according to the Mail.

Special Forces have been focusing on the region amid a rise in ships seized offshore by pirates for ransom, the kidnap of citizens from Western countries, and the threat of the Al Qaeda-linked Al-Shabaab terror group. 

It is also feared that UK-born terrorists are now increasingly travelling to the zone for training rather than Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The raid came two months before the kidnap of Briton Judith Tebbutt and murder of her husband David at a Kenyan resort near the Somalian border.

Absolutely ballsy.

Absolutely brilliant.

I didn't think British political leadership had the nerve to allow such a raid.  I'm glad I was wrong.

AMERCAL

Photos by Jose Castellonlopez

Combat Assault Company Marines and French Airborne Marines are part of Exercise AMERCAL 2011which is a platoon-level combat arms combined exchange between the French Armed Forces, New Caledonia and U.S. interoperability, enhancing military-to-military relations and improving mutual combat capabilities with French Allies.

US, Philippine Marines storm beach

TAGLAWAYAN BEACH, PALAWAN, Republic of the Philippines -A U.S. Marine from Fox Company, Battalion Landing Team 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, and a Filipino Marine, secure the beach during a boat raid here Oct. 27. The raid was conducted as a part of Amphibious Landing Exercise 2012. The bilateral training is designed to build interoperability between the U.S. Marine Corps and Philippine Marines. (U.S. Marine Corps Photo by Lance Cpl. Brianna Turner/Released), Lance Cpl. Brianna Turner, 10/27/2011 7:13 AM

TAGLAWAYAN BEACH, PALAWAN, Republic of the Philippines-Philippine Marines and U.S. Marines from Fox Company, Battalion Landing Team 2nd Battalion 7th Marines, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, currently in support of 3rd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, carry a Combat Rubber Reconnaissance Craft during a boat raid here Oct. 27. The boat raid was conducted as part of Amphibious Landing Exercise 2012, a bilateral training exercise between the U.S. Marine Corps and Philippine Marines. The bilateral training is designed to build interoperability between the U.S. Marine Corps and Philippine Marines. (U.S. Marine Corps Photo by Lance Cpl. Brianna Turner/Released), Lance Cpl. Brianna Turner, 10/27/2011 7:14 AM

TAGLAWAYAN BEACH, PALAWAN, Republic of the Philippines-Philippine Marines and U.S. Marines from Fox Company, Battalion Landing Team 2nd Battalion 7th Marines, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, currently in support of 3rd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, carry a Combat Rubber Reconnaissance Craft during a boat raid here Oct. 27. The boat raid was conducted as part of Amphibious Landing Exercise 2012. The bilateral training is designed to build interoperability between the U.S. Marine Corps and Philippine Marines. (U.S. Marine Corps Photo by Lance Cpl. Brianna Turner/Released), Lance Cpl. Brianna Turner, 10/27/2011 7:14 AM

SIDENOTE:

I'VE ALWAYS THOUGHT OF BOAT COMPANIES AS BEING TRAINING GROUNDS FOR THE RECON INDOC...LOTS OF TIME IN THE WATER, AND LOTS OF PT.  BUT I DIGRESS.  CAN SOMEONE NAME A TIME WHEN AN MEU'S BLT ACTUALLY DEPLOYED ONE OF THESE ELEMENTS IN A COMBAT/NEAR COMBAT SITUATION?  I CAN'T RECALL OF EVEN ONE MISSION.  WITH THAT IN MIND WHY DO WE STILL HAVE THEM?