Armed Aerial Scout 72X

P-8 Airborne Ground Surveillance - Single Platform Kill Chain

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P8 Airborne Ground Surveillance

What the fuck have you done lately?

Funny how a cheesy movie, although mildly entertaining in a totally unrealistic way, can...at the very end...ask that most important of questions.

What the fuck have you done lately?

M-113 Hellfire Anti-tank Vehicle.

Found this on a couple of different websites...Military Photos.net and Up-Ship.  Also found this PDF talking about the M1A2 being the last main battle tank. 

24th MEU Deployment 2012: Alpha Co. Live-Fire MOUT Training

UDAIRI RANGE, Kuwait (July 3, 2012) - Marines with 2nd Platoon, Alpha Company, Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, conduct live-fire training in a Military Operations in Urban Terrain, or MOUT, environment at Udairi Range near Camp Buehring, Kuwait, July 3, 2012. The event, part of the 24th MEU’s sustainment training package, allowed the platoon to focus on the fundamentals of close-quarters combat at the squad-size level with the added realism of live fire. The 24th MEU is deployed with the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group as a U.S. Central Command theater reserve force providing support for maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility. (Official USMC Video by: 2nd Lt. Joshua W. Larson and Staff Sgt. Robert L. Fisher III).

I needed to see this.  Just when I was thinking all was lost with the Corps, Lt. Larson and SSgt Fisher posted this and renewed my faith.  Awesome.  Get some 1/2!

Commandant orders acronym BAMCIS replaced with RIMJOB

via DuffleBlog.

Camp Pendleton, CA – While many in the military are familiar with current troop leading procedures, the Pentagon has proposed a change to streamline the steps and standardize mission planning across the force.
The Army’s troop leading steps — represented by the acronym RIMSRCIS, and the Marines’ ‘BAMCIS’ are soon to be replaced by a new seven-step benchmark.
Behind the change are the Intelligence Analysts with the Production & Analysis Company of 1st Intelligence Battalion. The Marines of P&A Co, or “PANDA” as they call themselves, have teamed up with their Army counterparts — and have worked together to improve mission plans throughout the military.
Using a PowerPoint presentation that was sloppily constructed by one of his analysts, First Lieutenant Arnold Chartier unveiled the new procedures on Wednesday.
“BAMCIS was nice, but it really left a lot of room for interpretation, and here in PANDA — that was a serious problem,” begins Chartier.
Aiming his laser pointer at slide one, he continues, “Steps one and two are ‘Receive Mission’ and then ‘Issue Warning Order’. Simple enough. Then we get serious with step three and ‘Make Initial Plan’.”
Chartier says they added this step because the plan always changes and is finalized later in the process.
“Step four is ‘Juxtapose Best and Worst Case Scenarios’. We know most grunts can’t spell, let alone pronounce a word like juxtapose, but we feel it’s important to be prepared for possible problems that come up during a mission.”
Moving ahead to the final slide, Chartier is excited to show the final three steps.
“The final steps are ‘Organize Final Plan’, then of course ‘Begin The Mission’, and most importantly, ‘Supervise’ to ensure completion. It’s quite simple and we believe this will really help us conduct better missions.”
Major Richard Wagner with Weapons Company, 1st Battalion, 4th Marines, was pleasantly surprised by the change.
“The entire planning process is much more understandable after introducing RIMJOBS to my Marines,” said Wagner. “Honestly, I think I might even take it home and see how my wife feels about RIMJOBS. She’s fairly disorganized and could use a tool like this.”
Specialist Shane Harrigan, an Army analyst working with the PANDA Marines, was opposed to the concept.
“It just doesn’t feel natural to me. I can understand that the Marines are very enthusiastic about RIMJOBS, but I don’t want any part of it. To be frank, it leaves a foul taste in my mouth just thinking about it.”
The 7-steps are set to be disseminated throughout the Army and Marine Corps immediately.
The Navy has also considering adopting RIMJOBS to replace their hundred-year old planning procedure of BOHICA.

The way things are going its gonna happen!

SC-130J: The Sea Hercules

Wow...aimed directly at the UK!

Quote of the day...

I Am Beowulf!

I am ripper, tearer, slasher, gouger. I am the teeth in the darkness, the talons in the night. Mine is strength and lust and power! I am Beowulf!

MD 540F...the ARH that Army Aviators really want.

Even if MD doesn't win the contract to supply big Army with its helicopter you can bet the fly guys with the 160th have already took this baby out for a spin.  This will probably be coming to a Ranger Regiment near you.

Lenco Bearcat.

Tom sent me this link from 4GWar blog.  Check it out for yourself but this is how one vehicle maker markets its vehicles to your local police depts.

Heritage. Northrop Grumman remembers.

How many Admirals in Navy Air are kicking themselves for retiring instead of upgrading the F-14?

Vintage Poster.

Does it still apply or will AMOS cave in to a special interest group that's obviously left wing and with an agenda?

We'll see but confidence is not high.

Fuck! The last bastion of masculinity in the Marine Corps is under assault!

Check this out from BattleRattle.

In a letter to Commandant Gen. Jim Amos, the group wrote, “We believe that, by aligning with the UFC, an organization that has tolerated homophobia, misogyny, and hate speech, the Marine Corps is violating its stated commitment of ‘maintaining dignity and respect for one another.’ Homophobia and hatred, in any form, are not consistent with the values that make the Marines an elite fighting force.”
In recent weeks, other military branches have been urged to cut sport sponsorship ties. In June, the Army announced it would no longer sponsor NASCAR following pressure by lawmakers in support of a House amendment to the 2012 defense spending bill. The proposal would make military sponsorship of sports illegal. In Monday’s edition of Marine Corps Times, Gina Harkins will have a report about the relationship between the Marine Corps and the UFC.
What do you think? Should the Marine Corps cut ties with the UFC?

So a couple of guys getting into a ring, having a fight that isn't rigged and ending up with both guys shaking hands at the end of it is homophobic?

Wow.

Amos will probably go for it.  The pussification of the Marine Corps continues.

This is gonna get nasty.

Got this vid from EverydayNodaysOff blog.

The police militarized, some of them adopted an attitude of them against us...even against law abiding citizens and they thought that there wouldn't be blowback?

This is gonna get nasty and confrontations between police and citizens are going to skyrocket unless someone somewhere figures out how to put the genie back in the bottle.  I don't think it can be done but I can hope.

Military Police run ranges at 29 Palms.

Caspir MRAP reborn as the RG Protector.

The Caspir MRAP is probably the most battleproven MRAP in the world.  The South African Defense Force used it in countless battles in the African bush and it was a winner.  BAE (with a design house that pumps out vehicles) took that warhorse and modernized it.  If it looks right, it most probably is right and the RG Protector looks right.

The CNO and why the Navy is shaky on the F-35C.

Remember the news that the CNO made when he talked about stealth?

I went high and to the right...initially I thought that he was stuck on stupid because of the failure of the A-12 program.  But just like everyone else I overthought the issue.

Its much simpler than that.  The US Navy and by a bit of arms twisting the USMC are the only buyers for the F-35C.  It is on track to be the most expensive, least produced model by far.  The CNO wasn't actually doubting stealth, he was outlining a plan on how to reduce the buy and justify doing so.  Its a matter of priorities.  Carrier Air must survive even if its relegated to second day of war missions only.  His proposal to concentrate on payloads over platforms is Eurocentric thinking.  Its the same bullshit that EADS uses to sell Eurofighters, Dassault uses to sell Rafales and Boeing is using to sell F-18's.  They're hoping that Meteor or AIM-120D's can keep the bad guys at bay.  They're hoping that upgrades to avionics (brought to them by the work done on the F-35) will keep their airplanes viable....

He's hoping to keep all his carriers....even if it means putting a second class fighter on their decks.

That statement was about image over substance and a hope that a war against a peer/near peer won't happen till the budget is good to go again.

Marine Air has a speed problem.

Above you see the basic parts of the MEU's airwing.

AH-1Z, UH-1Y, MV-22, CH-53 (soon to upgrade to the K model) and soon the F-35B.

Guess what boys and girls?  We have a speed problem.  I didn't even include the CH-46 because its headed out to pasture as we speak but the problem lies mainly with the AH-1Z, UH-1Y and their relation to the MV-22.  Theoretically both those helicopters can be used as escorts for the MV-22 but realistically its a dead issue.  The MV-22 flies too fast and far for the AH-1Z to be of much use...much less the UH-1Y.

The answer is probably a drastic re-working of the MEU's airwing.  If the future holds raids from the sea as one of the primary combat missions then we'll need more F-35's on deck....almost no AH-1Z's....only a few (as in one or two--and that's assuming that the Navy doesn't have an H-60 around) UH-1Y's...and the remainder of the airwing being composed of only MV-22's and CH-53K's for lift.

All escort, ground support etc will have to fall on a drastically increased fixed wing component.  I remember reading in the Gazette about how stoked AH-1Z pilots were because they wouldn't have to tell CH-53 pilots to slow down while on escort missions.  With MV-22's coming online and CH-53K's soon after, AH-1Z pilots won't have to ask them slow down, they'll have to ask them where they are cause they'll be so far behind.


Which brings me to an uncomfortable thought for Marine leadership.  In order to get those needed F-35B's might it be time to consider cutting the F-35C purchase and buying F/A-18E/F's to fulfill the carrier air wing requirement?  It would free up money to help preserve the MEU's air wing and get more F-35B's on our amphibs.

Photo 01 Aviation Photography's Iraqi 407 ARH Pic.

Amazing.  The Iraqi Army is fielding the Bell 407 Armed Recon Helo designed to the same specifications that the US Army spelled out and they're getting it before our forces.

Single source procurement might be the way to go if this is an example.  Simply decide what you want, work with the manufacturer to get a realistic AND reasonable price AND get the gear in the hands of our guys in the military.

SIDENOTE:  Head over to Photo 01 Aviation Photography's webpage and check out those funky exhaust "defusers" or whatever you call them.  You can barely make them out in the photo above but I've never seen any other helicopter with that particular setup.  What gives I wonder.