Royal Marines train at 29 Palms.

‘Flying Peons’ Marine M/Sgt Pilots Wallace ‘Tex’ Cavett & Andrew T. Taylor, April 1954

Thanks to Terrence for pointing me to this website!

A Naval Aviator M/Sgt???  Who knew!  Check out the website here.

Protein Ice Cream via Fitness World.

I hope you guys are subscribed to American Mercenary's website.  Good info on a variety of subjects but he's been killing it with his workout advice.  Meanwhile, I've been doing my thing in the gym and grinding on this no carb diet.  Its definitely paying off but the lust for something sweet continues.

I found the cure via Fitness World.  Check this out....

Most people think making protein ice cream is some kind of a complicated process. It's actually pretty easy, you don't even need an ice cream maker or any other fancy shit.

All you need is:

•1 Tub of 2% Greek Yogurt (500 grams)

•1/2 Cup of Whey Protein Powder

1. Get a big ass bowl, mix those 2 together until they're smooth and creamy.

2. Spread it all over the bowl to maximize surface area.

3. Throw it in the freezer for an hour.

4. Take it out and mix it again.

5. Back in the freezer for 30 min.

6. Release your inner fat kid.

Ghe-O Rescue Vehicle Vid.

6 wars China is sure to fight. via Indian Defense Review.

If you want to read something chilling, then follow this link, read the story and consider the implications.  IDR says that the story originated in a pro China, Chinese news paper.  What does this mean for the US and its allies?  The Red Dragon is coming.  We have time to prepare but if this article is correct then time is rapidly running out.  Spoiler alert.  They claim that the first war (a reunification of Taiwan) will occur between 2020 and 2025.

We won't even be able to slow them down if we continue on our current trajectory militarily.  The Marine Corps will be fully "airborne" and not the balanced, middle weight, combined arms force it is today and will get slaughtered by Chinese Mechanized units.  Wow.  Who needs coffee when you have the internet.  This was an eye opener.

Make sure you read that article.

Boot via Gruntworks...

Scramble Aviation Art.

For some reason, Scramble magazine isn't as big in the states as other publications and that's a shame.  If you're into aviation, military aviation or commercial aviation then they're all over it.  I recently discovered their artwork section and it blew me away.  Check it out for yourself.

Marine Capt tries to save lives, ends up fighting for his career instead....

Good God!  What is happening to the Marine Corps?!  Chesty would have given this guy a medal.  Today we're seeing him about to be kicked out of the Corps.  Read the whole story here but a tidbit...

The Marine Corps has ordered a major to appear before a board of officers that could end his career for the way in which he warned deployed Marines in Afghanistan about a potential security threat.
Maj. Jason Brezler was called by Lt. Gen. Richard Mills, commanding general of Marine Corps Forces Reserve, to stand before a board of inquiry to determine if he should be tossed from the service for “substandard performance of duty and misconduct, or moral or professional dereliction,” according to an Aug. 30 memo that Mills sent the major. The scrutiny stems from the manner in which Brezler, a mobilized reservist, sent classified information about an Afghan police chief to Marines in the area......
Brezler warned about the police chief, Sarwar Jan, last year after receiving “an emergency request for information” from Marines with Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 8th Marines, out of Camp Lejeune, N.C., according to a July 11 letter from Rep. Peter King, R.-N.Y., to Commandant Gen. Jim Amos. Brezler “immediately told his fellow Marines what he knew about the peril they faced,” and realized afterward that he passed “imminent threat” information, classified as NATO Secret, over an unclassified computer network, King’s letter states.
Brezler, a New York City firefighter, reported his mistake to his chain of command, and subsequently received an adverse fitness report. His story was first reported by Marine Corps Times on Aug. 25, five days before he was ordered to appear before the BOI.
Despite Brezler’s warning, three Marines — Staff Sgt. Scott Dickinson, 29, Cpl. Richard Rivera, 20, and Lance Cpl. Gregory Buckley, 21 — were killed Aug. 10, 2012, by an alleged attacker who worked for Jan as a “tea boy,” an unpaid personal assistant. The teen reportedly opened fire on them with an assault rifle at a gym at Forward Operating Base Delhi in Helmand province. A fourth Marine, Staff Sgt. Cody Rhode, sustained five gunshot wounds, including one that shattered his elbow, according to a Marine Corps news release. They were all members of a police advisory team attached to 3/8.

One thing has me perturbed.  Why would information of this type be classified as NATO Secret?  Why would passing it along to a unit requesting it get a Marine Officer into hot water no matter how he passed it along?  The Marine Corps house is in disarray.  Time to fire 99% of the four stars and start over.

Rooivalk Attack Helicopter. The most powerful bird you've never heard about.

Why this video?  Why now?  Because the S. Africans have painted one white in anticipation of a UN mission in the DRC.

Africa is falling apart and it seems that the world wide epidemic of Islamic Extremism has more than a foothold on that continent.

Ordinarily I wouldn't give a damn, but I keep an eye on China and wonder what their reaction will be.  This could be the first big test of Chinese foreign policy when it comes to the third world.  Africa could be where China plays the interventionist card for the first time since its rise.

This bears watching.

Social Disorder. What the EBT fiasco taught me.

I was able to observe the mess that was the EBT mess this weekend and you can call me a nut if you want but I'm going full speed into prepping.

I've seen the issues that arise from hurricanes.  I've watched the run on supermarkets just before they hit and the mass purchasing of essential gear if/when the lights go out or roads are closed due to flooding or debris afterwards.

But the drama in the supermarkets from this EBT stuff was on a different level.  I walked into my neighborhood Wally world and within two secs was clutching my sidearm, was grabbing the wall with my back in 10, and within 30 seconds was doing a tactical retreat to my truck, all the while wondering why I had no overwatch, watching how I was bounding to evac and hoping that I didn't set off a trap on the way.

Lessons learned...

1.  Stay armed regardless.  I don't care if you're going out to grab the paper, have your G26/19 on your hip.
2.  If you have been delaying prepping and stated to yourself that its a fad, get past it.  This shit ain't fringe.  If you saw what I saw then you'd be aboard too.  The federal govt says that you should have two weeks worth of food and at the same time says that preppers are suspicious individuals.  Screw them.  Get a pantry that will sustain you for a month.  I'm going for more (won't tell you how long...opsec).
3.  Public places are public places.  I got into the habit of thinking about things like "nothing good happens after midnight" and if you're hanging out with "stupid people, then stupid shit happens" but that's wishful thinking.  We live in a society that appears frayed at the edges.  If something as simple as this could cause commotion then what happens during something more serious (what that could be, I don't know but imagine it).  If you're out in the public when the bad stuff goes down then you stand a chance of getting swept up into it.
4.  Grow your own food.  I don't even want to think about how fragile our "modern" just in time supply system is.  Its built to fail and it will.  When that happens and food supplies are disrupted by forces beyond local control then what will happen?  Not only can't you buy food but there is no food to buy.
5.  I don't know what Washington is thinking but this nation is a powder keg ready to blow.

Final lesson learned.

We're inches away from a mad max moment.

F-35. Lockheed bought the S. Koreans, and now the Israelis.

via Israel Today.

Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon last week visited the Lockheed Martin assembly factory in Texas and called the new F-35 fighter jet "a cornerstone in building" the Israeli Air Force of the future.
Israel is one of the first countries on the list to receive the F-35 when America begins shipping to its foreign allies.
Like the F-16 before it, Yaalon said he had no doubt the F-35 would be a great asset and "give the Israel Air Force great operational abilities."
In a related development, the Pentagon has made the decision that F-35 pilots will use a helmet developed jointly by Rockwell Collins Inc. and Israel's Elbit Systems Ltd.
The decision knocked out of competition a helmet being developed by a British defense contractor. The Pentagon chose to go with the Rockwell-Elbit helmet following significant improvements and a lower price tag.

Forgive me but that's a big kettle of fish to swallow.

This helmet deal has left me scratching my head.  For weeks we've heard that progress is being made but that issues remain.  Additionally we heard that the second helmet by BAE was kicking butt and that it would be a very nice (if evolutionary) backup plan in case the revolutionary helmet by Rockwell and Elbit went tits up.

Then the Israeli Defense Minister shows up, tours the F-35 facility and out of nowhere we hear that the backup helmet is being canceled.

This smells to high heaven.

First the S. Korean retired Generals are bought off and lobby for Lockheed Martin, and now we see an Israeli defense corporation getting a huge gift right after a visit from a high ranking dignitary.

Who gets what?  The F-35 program gets the press that the well respected Israeli Air Force is sold on the plane and an Israeli company gets a piece of an overpriced scheme.

Everyone wins except the taxpayer.  Additionally I have to wonder about this business model.  How can prices go down when you have so many companies are seeking to profit off the bits and widgets that are being built worldwide?

Critical Mass is approaching.  If sequestration doesn't end (and I don't believe it will...the Republicans can't afford to not kill Obama Care and then let spending go up) then the F-35 WILL be the next target of cuts.  They can't cut personnel fast enough and if they accept voluntary outs the Marine Corps will empty.

They're between a rock and a bad place.

Policia from above..

China would lose 40% of its fleet to sink one US aircraft carrier????

via IDRW.org.

I wonder what the classified war games the Pentagon runs says about this...if the Russian think tank is right then that's pretty impressive and a better performance than I thought.  Four carriers would in theory be able to neutralize the PLA by themselves.

China would have to sacrifice up to 40% of its People’s Liberation Army Navy fleet in an attempt to sink a super aircraft carrier like the USS Gerald R Ford in a campaign, according to a report from the Moscow-based Military-Industrial Courier.
China currently possesses several effective weapons systems that could be used against a US carrier battle group, including its DF-21D anti-ship ballistic missiles and 12 guided-missile destroyers.
The country’s two Type 051C and six Type 052C destroyers are all equipped with anti-ship missiles such as the YJ-83, C-805 and YJ-62, and they would also pose a serious threat against US carriers within the Asia-Pacific region. In addition, China has purchased four Sovremenny-class destroyers equipped with Moskit SSM P-270 anti-ship missiles from Russia, the report said.
Aside from the Liaoning, the country’s first aircraft carrier, the PLA Navy currently has 15 Type 054A frigates carrying HQ-16 surface-to-air missile within its vertical launching system. With the capability to defend the Chinese fleet against the US carrier-based aircrafts, Type 054A is able to sink enemy vessel with its C-803 anti-ship missile as well.
If a US carrier battle group were to enter the waters of the Chinese coast, the PLA Navy could also deploy its 10 Type 056 corvettes and 40 Type 022 missile boats to fight in guerrilla warfare at sea against the US Navy, the report said. Both vessels able to launch anti-ship missiles such as YJ-83 and C-803 and the United States Navy would loses 10% of its strength in the region if one of its carriers were to be sunk.
However, the PLA Navy would not be able to sink a US aircraft carrier easily. According to the Forbes magazine, several countermethods have been developed by the US Navy to defend its aircraft carriers from Chinese attacks. While long-range unmanned aerial vehicles are able to destroy Chinese missile facilities, F-35 fighters with a combat range of 200 and 300 nautical miles enables the US ships to fight without entering the Chinese coastline.
The Military-Industrial Courier estimated that between 30%-40% of China’s total naval strength would be lost to simply destroy one US carrier. Meanwhile, the biggest weakness for the US Navy in a potential conflict with the PLA Navy would be how to deploy its 11 carriers, 88 surface combat vessels, 55 Littoral Combat Ships and 31 amphibious assault ships to the Western Pacific in a short period of time, the report said.

F-18 Super Hornet Concept Art by Macross Zero.

Re-awakening the Corps????

Thanks to Don for sending me the link...

Click here to read the USNI article for yourself but consider me unimpressed.

The arrogance, condescension, "mightier than thou", "do as I say-not as I do" ism's running through the document are stomach churning.

My takeaways....

*  Arrogantly accuses Marines of rampant bad behavior, yet outside of a few minor incidents excuses the real breakdown in leadership that has at times been encouraged by HQMC.  Dance videos at Camp Leatherneck mouthing "Call me maybe" or whatever the fucking song is????  Marines asking celebrities out on dates???  SNCO's participating in both and I do believe I even saw silver or gold in some of those videos???!!!!  The videos were endorsed by HQMC and I saw a Marine Corps Spokesman talk about how they were encouraged (don't ask me  the news program...I know I saw it on MSNBC, the guy was a Major and it was a "fun" talk).

*  Talks about re-awakening the Marine Corps when in essence the Marines are in reality being shaken to the Corps in order to accommodate Women in the Infantry.  The many are going to pay the price to satisfy the desires of a few.  Moving NCOs back into the barracks?  Micro managing units from HQMC to the extent of deciding whether or not a freaking television is allowed in the duty room on a 24 hour shift???

*  Most disturbing is the apparent hatred and contempt that is held by the higher ups toward lower ranking Marines.  There is no mentorship being spoken to here except in passing.  There is no leadership being expected of higher ranking Marines except in passing (and I would know if that info had been passed on in an Officers or SgtMajor's symposium).

Trust me.

This bitch session could stretch for a couple of pages but I'll end it here.

Its real simple.

The Commandant of the Marine Corps is not up to Marine Corps standards.  I've seen Lt. Colonels dismissed from service for less than what the Commandant is accused of doing by a fellow 4 star.

Undue command influence is a crime under the UCMJ.  Amos should have been fired by the SecDef but Hagel lacks the balls to do so.

Everyone in the Marine Corps knows all this.  Amos has lost the respect of the Corps and as I've seen happen with other fucked up leaders, he's trying to harden up to cover his fuck up.  Amazing, but not surprising.

You want to see the Marine Corps re-awaken?  Prove that the rules apply to everyone and get Amos out of the big chair.

It was a long, long day and tomorrow won't be better. via Full of Weapons.

Your team loses AND you get pepper sprayed. Filed under life sucks.

Ok.  Call me a wuss.  But I hated Marine Corps pepper spray training.  Not only do you get blasted in the face with it by some sadistic Training NCO that I suspect took great pleasure in the pain, but then you have to fight a couple of guys in redman suits while tears are flowing, snot bubbles are bubbling and you're coughing like you have bronchitis.

But considering all that...this had to suck more.  Read about it here.

Sidenote:  LSU beat Florida and is ranked number six in the nation.  Expect the rise to continue with the real national championship game occurring Nov 29th when we face Alabama.

The US Army, Australia, and the UK all wear the same combat uniform.

The Marine Corps has been accused of "going it alone" when it came to adopting its combat uniform.  While I once cheered the decision not to share, now I'm not so sure.

One thing has occurred that no one is talking about though.

The US Army, Australia and the UK (I believe) are all wearing Crye Precision as their combat uniform.  I'm not sure how I feel about that one.  First I'm not sold that Crye is the best of breed and second I'm not solid on the idea of US forces wearing the same kit as our allies.  Its a small thing and maybe it doesn't really matter but I would think being able to identify US personnel from those of another country could prove valuable in certain situations.

I'm gonna have to chew on this some more.

It does highlight what I feel is a growing problem.  World wide standardization on US gear.  Even the Chinese are wearing our old style Kevlar helmets.  If it isn't an issue now (standardization) then I think one day it will be.  Gear, techniques, even training.  Something is unsettling about it.

Schools Of Infantry running low on ammo?

Interesting.

Scuttle Butt has it that the Schools of Infantry on both coasts are low on ammo and MRE's due to the govt shutdown.

Supposedly if the situation doesn't improve, training will either be curtailed or amended.  What does that mean?  I don't know.  Maybe instead of using live fire for training they'll revert to some force on force drills and utilized sims or miles gear.

What I'd love to know is if this is true and if training in the fleet is being affected by the shutdown.  

The future of amphibious assault is NOT airborne!

Task Force 58.

It is a footnote in the history of the war in Afghanistan but its caught the attention of the Commandant, the Air Wing, Think Tanks, Opinion Makers and Marine Corps futurist.

And they're all wrong.

A down and dirty....Task Force 58 was composed of Marines from the 15th MEU (Battalion Landing Team 1/1) flew into Afghanistan across Pakistan from the sea, in essence conducting the longest heliborne assault in our nations history.  They were also the first conventional forces in theater (although they earned the Special Operations Capable designation) and they were led by General Mattis.  Long story short, it was a successful operation and the Marines were relieved in place by the 101st Airborne (Air Assault).

SIDNOTE:  Many people confuse the fact that the 26th MEU linked up with the 15th AFTER the initial assault and believe it was a combined op.  Technically it was but as I stated earlier.  The initial assault was conducted by the 15th MEU and BLT 1/1.  Information is spotty on the net but a fairly brief and not well written account of the action can be found on Wikipedia under Camp Rhino (click here to read it for yourself).

Procurement is not matching doctrine.

Marine Corps leadership is currently infatuated with the idea of an "Airborne Marine Corps".  I found an article written by Major General McKenzie, the USMC representative to the Quadrennial Defense Review is quoted by Foreign Policy as saying....

"I think the best example of what being amphibious means to the Marine Corps is Task Force 58. I think it's Brigadier General Jim Mattis launching off the Pakistan coast, striking deep into southern Afghanistan. No amphibious vehicles crossed a beach in that operation," said McKenzie

Unfortunately for Marine leadership, the premise of that type thinking was based on a perpetual war on terror.  US involvement in hotspots all over the globe and no "pivot to the Pacific".

Its been said that the Pentagon is like an aircraft carrier at sea.  It changes slowly.  I'd say its more like a crack addict waiting on a fix.  If certain "mafia" organizations inside that five sided building can tailor a particular administrations thinking to fit their worldview then they latch onto it like a bulldog on a bone.  That's what the Marine Corps did in pushing this "Airborne Marine Corps Concept," in attempting to tailor its "Sea Base" to the current administration's emphasis on humanitarian assistance and protecting populations worldwide but NOT in its pivot to the Pacific.

And that's where the Airborne Marine Corps falls apart.

In a A2/AD world, a heliborne USMC is far more vulnerable both in the assault and follow on assault phases.  Additionally the number of personnel available to conduct either a raid or more ominously a deliberate assault will be so small and so dependent on aerial support as to make cutting them off and destroying them in place a real possibility.

The main problem is simple.  

An Airborne Marine Corps does not fit with the Air Sea Battle Doctrine (as I read it anyway). If AOL Defense is correct in the US Army actually seeking a seat at the table (read it here) then the "airborne" portion of the equation is actually covered.  What is needed is a robust, sea going, combined arms force capable of carrying out missions across the spectrum.

The real answer is painfully simple.

Enhance the capabilities of the MEU.  Practice real contingency operations with the MEU/Army Airborne & Stryker Brigades, integrate Army Air Defense Artillery (and other capabilities found in their ground formations) into MEU's and MEB's through detachments that can fly in and are trained in how "Marines operate"...and develop interoperability across the services (you can toss the USAF a bone by getting their Red Horse Group some sea legs and have them follow the same type planning as with Army units detached to Marines).  Not in the ponderous COIN model, but in a fluid-high intensity warfare model that will highlight strained communications, intense small unit actions against capable foes, increased reliance on artillery instead of air assets etc.

Remember the pic below?  I wondered aloud where the CH-53's were.  Now I think my suspicions have been confirmed.  I think a dry run was being practiced to see whether or not the Marine Corps should/could transition to an all MV-22 force.

An all MV-22 based force would be a mistake.

During the late 1950's and early 1960's, heliborne assault was the wave of the future.  Helicopters would rule the battlefield and if our vehicles were air transportable then they were no good out the box.  What did we get for that type thinking?

Above you see the Mighty Mite.  It was designed to be lifted by the UH-34.  It was rendered obsolete when regular helicopters could easily transport the standard jeep.  Below the pic of the Mighty Mite you see the Ontos AntiTank Vehicle.  It was designed to be air transportable and provide antiarmor punch and infantry support for air transported Marines.

Both had extremely short service lives because they were narrowly tailored weapon systems designed around a need that had no doctrinal basis.

We'd be repeating the mistakes of those futurist before that wanted to transform the Marine Corps into something it was never meant to be.    If America needed another Air Assault Division the Army would marinize some UH-60M's and teach its soldiers how to swim.  The future of the Marine Corps is found in its past.  Most ready when the nation is least.  Shock Troops.  Teufel Hounds.
Aviation centric thinking at the highest level of the Marine Corps is leading to basic mistakes.  The desire to "leave his stamp" on the Marine Corps is leading to bigger mistakes.  I don't know how to do it, but the "Airborne Marine Corps" talk must be crushed (Like how I did that?)