Saturday, September 12, 2020

Oh you’re a SWTI (Seahawk Weapons and Tactics Instructors )?

choperator_af Oh you’re a SWTI? That explains the lifted tacoma, punisher stickers, and why nobody drinks with you on det.

Don't know what's going on in the SeaHawk community but that's a serious burn!

Question that must be answered. Why did Berger convert the entire Marine Corps instead of "optimize" the 1st MARDIV & Reserves for the Pacific?

A person that I respect that WILL remain nameless (because I believe he has a great future in the Marine Corps) has asked a question that must be answered.  Why did Berger convert the entire Marine Corps instead of optimize the 1st MARDIV & Reserves for the Pacific?

I have no clue.

If I were to guess its because this is more than just birthing the missile marines.  

This is about a culture change that he's pushing across the entire force.

Amphibious Assault is out.

Shock Troops are out.

Most ready when the nation is least ready is out.

Everything that Marines once identified themselves with is being tossed into the trash heap.  I wouldn't be surprised if we see a break with our history soon.

Nothing else makes sense.

From not enough to excess amphibious lift!





Question.

Have we just gone from too little amphibious lift to now having EXCESS lift? Big decks are too vulnerable Berger says.  Little ships are the way to go.  Forcible Entry is a thing of the past he says.  The Missile Marines missile marines won't be doing any amphibious operations anymore.  It's firing missiles from shore to the sea, baby raids with company sized forces and little else.

Additionally its the Pacific.  The rest of the world doesn't matter.  The missile Marines marines will focus on the Pacific only (so much for any clime or place!).

So having said that does it make sense for the America Class LHDs to permanently embark Army Aviation?  Does it make sense for the Army to marinize the 101st and the 25th ID for operations in the Pacific (and beyond...they still believe in "any clime and place")?

Additionally we're buying new LCACs.  Why!?!  The missile marines are going light as a feather.  What does go ashore will be by the new class of amphibious ships that will beach and then zoom, I mean float away (as quickly as a 15 knot ship can) so no need for LCACs.  That means that the Navy is gonna be transporting heavy/medium Army forces ashore or the purchase is just plain batshit stupid.

Yeah.

We just went from not enough to having too much.  That means the Army really is back into the amphibious assault game. 

We missed it but the US Army is now responsible for all forms of forcible entry in the American military.  They once had Parachute Assault, Air Assault and by default they've now assumed Amphibious Assault.

Berger is gonna break cover to defend his "force design" @ Modern Day Marine (Virtual)...

General David H. Berger, USMC, 38th CMC is coming to the Modern Day Marine Virtual Experience to speak about The Force America Needs, Sponsored by @LockheedMartin! See the full Virtual Experience schedule and register by following the link in our bio or visit us at ModernDayMarine.com!⁣

This should be good.  I find it interesting that in the year that America is facing Covid-19 and violence in the streets of many cities, the Missile Marines decides to be born.

Can't go.  Wouldn't want to go to this years events (not into looking at missiles, UAVs, and hearing lies about the "why" behind this madness) but I figured you guys might be interested in at least watching the spectacle.

Open Comment Post. 12 Sept 2020


A couple of things.

1.  When I started "open comments" it was because CoffeeJoeJava recommended it as a way for people to post stuff that was off topic. It was a wonderful idea and I tried to expand it a bit by asking people to post info on weapon systems that their countries were working on that didn't hit the web yet.  In ways its been a tremendous success but....

2.  I don't know how or why it happened but its become much less enjoyable. The "fight" between Turkey and Greece has come to dominate.  I'll call it out too.  Alpay has been posted stuff about Turk defense programs and many are calling him out on side issues that he doesn't bring up.  Don't care how you feel about Turkey.  It's about their defense developments.  Knock it off.

That is all.

Apologies to everyone this doesn't apply to but control needs to be re-established over this thing.

Who you vote for is your business. Why you vote for them has me curious.

US Presidential elections are coming up soon and quite honestly I'm a bit perplexed.  I can see the negatives in both candidates and have yet to make up my mind.

What I'm doing is setting up a checklist of issues and seeing which one lands on my side of the fence and then I'll make up my mind.

That's how I'm doing it.

Two things.  How are you going about deciding which candidate to vote for...and(!)...if you don't mind, hit me with how you feel each person lines up on the following issues...

1.  Defense.
2.  Forever wars.
3.  National Debt.
4.  Out of control domestic spending.
5.  Illegal immigration.
6.  2nd Amendment Rights/Gun Control.
7.  Violence in our cities (riots).
8.  Trade.
9.  China/Russia/Iran.

I really enjoyed hearing where everyone was on 9/11.  My hope is that this will be just as civil and that we/I can gain some insight on some of these issues that I haven't considered.

What is going on in Jordan?

Friday, September 11, 2020

No doubt my readers remember 9/11. The question is this. Where were you?


I know you remember.  I know you did like we did.  Have a moment of silence (we were at the range).  But the question is this.  Where were you?

Thursday, September 10, 2020

UK Typhoons to use ‘world’s most capable fighter radar’ from 2025


Story here.

The Chinese F-35. What we could have had but jacked it up...


Story here.

Look at that beauty.

Twin engined.  Probably low observable instead of full stealth.  Probably affordable as hell.

Will it deliver what the F-35 promised?  No.  But neither does the F-35!

We are our own worst enemy.  Generals sold their souls for a fighter that we now know won't meet the needs of our future.  Not only that but its late, we've paid an unGodly sum of money to acquire it, the military has lied to the American people/Friendly nations/Congress to get it across the finish line and it still don't work.

What happens when they double the number of fighters we have and they're just as good but more importantly can get into the air, mixed with a fleet bigger than our own, a more mechanized Marine Corps and formidable anti-air missile complex to keep us at distance?

We lose the war in Africa and they then own the Pacific because we're licking our wounds and trying to rebuild a jacked up military.

The 2003-2020 timeframe sowed the seeds of our future defeat.

Boxer armored vehicle unveiled with KMW Leguan bridging system


Story here.

Question.  Does it make sense to use this platform for deploying a bridge?  A truck would be a much cheaper option (if you're gonna use this type of bridging system) and dedicated bridging vehicles bring a utility all their own.




I guess I'm just thinking this is an expensive way to go to gain this capability.

U.S. Marines with 2d Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion participate in the Top Gun competition at Camp Lejeune

U.S. Marines with 2d Light Armored Reconaissence Battalion participate in the Top Gun competiton at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, Sept. 3, 2020. The Competition involves the most skilled vehicle crewmen on a range with randomized target positions, utilizing all weapons systems native to the Light Armored Vehicle 25. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Brian Bolin Jr.)





Dead unit walking they just don't know it, poor bastards...

Top most modern 8x8 wheeled self-propelled howitzers


Story here.

I didn't know truck mounted artillery was so popular around the world.  Really have to wonder why it hasn't taken off with the US Army and Marine Corps...especially the Missile Marine Corps.  You want to save cube space aboard ship than this would seem a no brainer.

But it is the Missile Marine Corps so missiles are in.  Cannons are out.

Poland and Czech companies sign agreement to produce 4x4 armored vehicles for Polish army


Story here.

I don't say this often but this truck is butt ugly.  That grill is hideous!

MBDA presents new concept of mobile tank destroyer equipped with Brimstone missiles




ARMY RECOGNITION article here.

ARMIS : 3 VERSIONS OF TACTICAL TRUCKS



Press Release Here.

The M1150 Assault Breacher Vehicles (ABV) are being divested from the Marine Corps (read that to mean Berger kicked them the fuck out!)





Caption.
1stmardiv Moving Forward!

The M1150 Assault Breacher Vehicles (ABV) are being divested from the Marine Corps in an effort to accelerate modernization and realign 1st Combat Engineer Battalion's (1st CEB) capabilities.

Yesterday, Marines with 1st CEB disembarked the ABV's from San Mateo as a part of Force Design 2030.

(U.S. Marine Corps photos by Cpl. Jailine L. AliceaSantiago)

The M1150 Assault Breacher Vehicles (ABV) are being divested from the Marine Corps in an effort to accelerate modernization and realign 1st Combat Engineer Battalion's (1st CEB) capabilities.
Yesterday, Marines with 1st CEB disembarked the ABV's from San Mateo as a part of Force Design 2030.
(U.S. Marine Corps photos by Cpl. Jailine L. AliceaSantiago)
Read all that bullshit happy talk to mean that Berger kicked them the fuck out and that Ground Combat Power no longer exists in the Missile Marine Corps.

This is not the Marine Corps that we all know.  The Missile Marines will be incapable of land combat.  The Missile Marines will FAIL in their efforts to influence the sea battle (just like the disbanded coastal defense units of WW2 failed against the Japanese and ended up being killed or captured) and they will be useless anywhere but in the Pacific.

Our beloved Marine Corps is dead.

We are witnessing the birth of the Missile Marines.

Better to change the name of the organization than sully its reputation with the abomination that we're seeing developed before our eyes.

Rock and Reload: 3rd MAW Band Live Fire (check out the caption though!)



Caption:
U.S. Marines with the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing (MAW) Band, operate M240B machine guns and Mark 19 40mm grenade launchers at a live fire range at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif., Sept. 4, 2020. 3rd MAW continues to pave the road for the rest of the Marine Corps by providing realistic training with real world applications to develop recognition primed decision-making in preparation for future conflicts. (U.S. Marine Corps video by Lance Cpl. Juan Anaya)
Craziness aside.  WHAT THE FUCK IS RECOGNITION PRIMED DECISION MAKING?

Wednesday, September 09, 2020

PLA on Wed released a video of Tibet military command’s live-fire drill on the plateau

 <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The PLA on Wed released a video of Tibet military command’s live-fire drill on the plateau. PLA also conducted a drill of airborne troops. Yes, these are all aimed at the situation on China-India border. The Indian army will either stop provoking or be prepared to be defeated. <a href="https://t.co/124h0ccu8h">pic.twitter.com/124h0ccu8h</a></p>&mdash; Hu Xijin 胡锡进 (@HuXijin_GT) <a href="https://twitter.com/HuXijin_GT/status/1303701622757814272?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 9, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

The BearCat armoured car: A warhorse on the streets of Antwerp....American style policing is coming to Europe


via BrusselsTimes
Antwerp mayor this week announced the launch of Operation NightWatch, a crackdown on drugs crime which he promised would be the city’s “largest security operation in 20 years.”

The initiative has been generally – but not universally – been seen as a flexing of the city’s muscles at a time when it seemed that criminals had free run of the city. There have been numerous reports in recent weeks of grenades and other explosions, and houses and business premises being shot up. Strangely, or perhaps fortuitously, nobody has been injured.

Now the city and its police force are not prepared to take a chance on innocent people escaping violence forever, and nothing could demonstrate a flexing of muscles like the deployment on the streets of the Bear-Cat armoured vehicle.

The BearCat, manufactured by Lenco Armored Vehicles of Massachusetts in the US, is only available for military and law enforcement use, and it is deployed in more than 40 countries.

The name stands for Ballistic Engineered Armored Response Counter Attack Truck, and is basically a heavy-duty commercial pick-up encased in an armour coating of military steel up to 1.5in thick (3.8cm), with ballistic glass, blast-resistant floors and gun-ports as standard.

It can on request also be fitted with sirens, spotlights, thermal cameras and a battering ram.

The vehicle comes in nine different configurations, and judging by photos in the press, the model chosen by Antwerp appears to be the BearCat G3, which its manufacturer describes as suitable for off-road and rural operations, able to seat 12 fully-equipped officers and designed to rescue “downed personnel”.

The Lenco website makes it sound rather unsuited for the Antwerp urban situation: “If your mission takes you off-road, the Lenco BearCat G3 will get you where you need to go,” the company says.

Antwerp purchased its BearCats from Lenco in 2017 to act as a rapid-response vehicle, although it was only rolled out two years later during what seemed like a hostage situation which turned out to be a misunderstanding. It was also brought out last New Year to block off streets.

The curfew introduced last month by Antwerp province’s governor Cathy Berx (CD&V) has ended, but another de facto curfew could be beginning. De Wever and his police chief Serge Muyters (the brother of De Wever’s party colleague and former minister Philippe Muyters) have promised that anyone on the street in sensitive areas like Borgerhout and Deurne may be stopped and subjected to an ID check, and if necessary some streets could be closed to all traffic.

“We are going to try to make it clear to the drug environment that they have gone too far,” Muyters said this week.

“Since weapons of war are being used, the BearCats will be on the street,” De Wever told local TV station ATV.

“If those people are caught red-handed, we aim to be able to meet them with equal force,” he said.
Sad but inevitable.  Are we still the ugly Americans or are we now considered wise?