Rilfleman's Creed

Rilfleman's Creed 1

The long road home...

United States Marine Corps casket bearers navigate rocky terrain to deliver the remains of Lance Cpl. Abraham Tarwoe, of Providence, R.I., to his gravesite during a memorial service in Flehla, Liberia, May 17. Tarwoe, who was born in Liberia, died from wounds suffered in combat in Helmand province, Afghanistan, April 12. At the time of his death, Tarwoe was deployed from 2nd Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment, Camp Lejuene, N.C. The casket bearers were all members of Operation Onward Liberty, a U.S. military mentor mission that is building capacity within the Armed Forces of Liberia.
(U.S. Marine Corps photo by 1st Lt. Mark Lazane)

My heart goes out to his family.  But while they grieve they should be proud.  They raised a young man that was brave enough to do what few in his adopted country would.  First he volunteered to join the US Marine Corps, then he went to combat.

Not to sound morbid, but I'm also proud of my Marine Corps.

They kept the promise.

The US Marines...of all nationalities...from all walks of life.

We're all bomb makers now.

Knowing how to build a bomb is one thing.

Classifying common house hold goods as bomb making components is something else though.  Check out this story from Military.com.

Pfc. Naser Jason Abdo, who was AWOL from Fort Campbell, Kentucky, bought pressure cookers, clocks, wires and other bomb-making components at a Dallas-area store in the early morning of July 26, according to surveillance footage and receipts shown to jurors. Abdo then paid $400 for a taxi ride to Killeen, Texas, just outside Fort Hood, arriving about 3:30 a.m. at a motel, the cabdriver testified.
After police acting on a tip detained Abdo at the motel July 27, they say they found the items in his room and backpack. He was stopped just hours before completing assembly of the bomb, showing he "intended to commit mass murder," prosecutor Gregg Sofer told jurors earlier Tuesday during opening statements.

Don't take me the wrong way.

I have absolutely no sympathy for this son of a bitch.

He can fry in hell and I hope they fill his IV with Drano.

But when did clocks, wires and pressure cookers become bomb making components?  In some ways I think the terrorist have won.

If Batman is gay, I'm scarred for life.

Scarred I tell ya!

Check out this from the Daily Mail...read the rest at their site.

But at Kapow Comic Convention in London on Sunday, he revealed that an existing character - who was previously assumed to be straight - will become ‘one of our most prominent gay characters’, according to comic blog BleedingCool.com.

Geez.

I mean seriously?

DC Comics can be trendy all they want but if they have Batman come out as being gay then the pushback will be a something to see.    

Batman is the guy at the top of the page...not the dude below....

The Heritage Foundation gets "medieval" on F-35 critics!

Check out this part....

Unfortunately, forces that never wanted the nation’s pilots to have this aircraft in the first place are now trying to pull a bait and switch. They are saying that there is too much concurrency, and they want to slow down production of the JSF. This would drive up the cost per unit of each JSF and probably force some of our allies to cut the number of planes they have ordered. These cuts would further drive up cost, creating a vicious cycle of cost increases.
The clear goal here is to slow down production and drive up costs in a spiral that will eventually allow opponents of military modernization and proper readiness to call for killing the program altogether. Congress should not allow this to happen.

Let's see...how can I put this?

Heritage said it PROFESSIONALLY.

Heritage said it in a POLITICALLY CORRECT way.

But they didn't say it plainly.

The critics want this program killed for various reasons.  From Sweetman wanting to save the European fighter industry, to APA dreaming of the F-22 being offered for export, to Cox wanting to simply stick it in the eye of Lockheed Martin (I don't understand this guy most of all) to the other cheerleaders in their camps that just want pats on the back because they're taking what was once the "popular" position.


But the problem is different now.  Slowing production will increase costs, not decrease them and the BIG issue with that is this.  THE PROGRAM OFFICE IS FALLING FOR THE STUPIDITY!  Time to get this plane in production and get on with the business of defending our country.

They're dealing with a Python...

I'm amazed at the number of invasive snakes that are being found in the US...they're calling it a big black snake?  They better think again.  I know a Python or a Boa when I see it.  I wonder when the puppies and kittens start disappearing!  More pics and the story is here.

LCS2... Return of the Fast Troop Transport.

I keep coming back to this position.

The future of the LCS and in particular the LCS2 is as a troop transport.

The latest example is the Riverine deployment with the Marine Expeditionary Unit to Thailand.  Unless I'm missing my guess, Marine Corps assets were left on the beach to make room for the Riverines.

That's unsat.

In my post on the Riverine deployment, I also stated that amphibs are going to become overwhelmed with requests from different units to either occupy them completely or to share room with the MEU.

Imagine a tasking that has a MEU(-), Riverines, SOCOM and maybe even a detachment from 160th or Navy Spec Ops Helo taking up deck space.

That is trouble in a handbag.

If you could designate a certain number of LCS2's to the transport/support mission it might make the future a bit easier.  It would certainly be cheaper than buying more big deck amphibs.

I would recommend studies be conducted to see if an enlarged ramp can be fitted to these ships and perhaps improved small boat handling facilities.

Either way this problem isn't going away and the Marine Corps BETTER be prepared to defend amphibs...better be prepared to justify the MEU rotation schedule and better be prepared to fight these battles old skool style.

They've kept a handle on it but the budget battles WILL heat up.  Whether we like it or not.

RivRon 1 on deployment.

NOTE:  I've been calling for these guys to get off the beach and get out on deployment and they finally have.  Despite the Big Navy's confusion, one thing is obvious.  Amphibs are not only few in number but are also going to be high demand resources.  The Marine Corps better be prepared to wall off its requirement or you'll see pilfering from SOCOM, Riverines and other Units.

Gulf of Thailand (May 21, 2012) U.S. Navy Operations Specialist 1st Class Steve Vaillancourt, assigned to Riverine Squadron (RIVRON) 1, signals Royal Thai navy Chief Udorn Harin, of the Royal Thai navy Riverine Patrol Regiment's Riverine Squadron 1, during a riverine training exercise for Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) Thailand 2012. CARAT is a series of bilateral exercises held annually in Southeast Asia to strengthen relationships and enhance force readiness. (U.S. Navy photo by Chief Mass Communication Specialist Daniel J. Calderón/Released)

GULF OF THAILAND (May 21, 2012) A Royal Thai navy Riverine Patrol Regiment and U.S. Navy Sailors assigned to Riverine Squadron (RIVRON) 1 participate in riverine operation exercises aboard a special operations craft-riverine (SOC-R) during Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) Thailand 2012. CARAT is a series of bilateral exercises held annually in Southeast Asia to strengthen relationships and enhance force readiness. (U.S. Navy photo by Chief Mass Communication Specialist Aaron Glover/Released)

GULF OF THAILAND (May 21, 2012) A Royal Thai navy Riverine Patrol Regiment and U.S. Navy Sailors assigned to Riverine Squadron (RIVRON) 1 participate in riverine operation exercises aboard a special operations craft-riverine (SOC-R) during Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) Thailand 2012. CARAT is a series of bilateral exercises held annually in Southeast Asia to strengthen relationships and enhance force readiness. (U.S. Navy photo by Chief Mass Communication Specialist Aaron Glover/Released)

....the fighting became hand to hand....

You have to read the description of the battle...

AF-17 & 18 take to the air....

Lockheed Martin test pilot Bill Gigliotti was at the controls for the first flight of F-35A AF-18 on 17 May 2012 at NAS Fort Worth JRB. The aircraft is scheduled to go to Eglin AFB later in 2012.

Lockheed Martin test pilot Bill Gigliotti was at the controls for the first flight of F-35A AF-17 on 17 May 2012 at NAS Fort Worth JRB. The aircraft is scheduled to go to Eglin AFB later in 2012.

Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System with M282 Warhead

SIDENOTE:
If this works as advertised then the small boat problem is a thing of the past.  One UH-1Y, a AH-1Z or an MH-60R could take out a swarm of 20 boats.

Test Pilot Tuesday.

Dude, you better win!

Sgt. Cody R. Nelson, 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force combat shooting team, fires at 300 meter targets during the first day of competition at the 2012 Australian Army Skills at the Arms Meeting (AASAM) May 7 in Puckapunyal, Australia. AASAM is an international marksmanship competition consisting of 16 different countries. This year is the fifth iteration of AASAM and the third consecutive year that United States forces have been invited to participate.
(U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Brandon Saunders)

Cops are Cops not matter what country.

Hat tip to English Russia!  Too Funny...

EA-18, Best plane built today?

The EA-18.

A capable aircraft by all descriptions but this from Galrahn is ... just plain weird...

This is just smart. It is my belief the EA-18G is the best aircraft on the planet being built today, and one of the main reasons the British have chosen exactly wrong to not put EMALS on their CVFs.

I mean really?

Did he say that out loud before he typed it?

It is my belief the EA-18G is the best aircraft on the planet being built today, and one of the main reasons the British have chosen exactly wrong to not put EMALS on their CVFs?

I had to immediately go get info the EA-18 because I must have missed something.  I went to the Boeing website, Naval Technology.com and Wikipedia.

What I found was hardly ground breaking.  To be honest its just the EA-6 in a new wrapper with a bit of automation added and an AESA array.  The second part of it is just him playing to the anti F-35 crowd.

But read the entire article he has up 'cause he takes an unwarranted swing at the Gator Navy.  This is especially insane because he's commented before that amphibs are some of the most in demand ships in the fleet and that we don't have enough....

Here is what you need to know about AFSB - it is basically a MLP with a module that converts it into a LPH. The AFSB has a fairly large aviation capability that makes HMS Ocean look like a baby cousin. AFSB + MLP is a remarkable capability that I for one hopes to see get built and tested thoroughly, because it is a two ship system for a legitimate forward operating base at sea, and it can scale well with existing Sealift capabilities and by plugging in T-AKEs. It is certainly an 80% solution, but if it works it is an appealing capability that will go well beyond what the US Navy is using Ponce for - indeed the combination would finally get folks in the expeditionary space to start really thinking about what is possible with Sealift capabilities when you aren't married to the enormously expensive enormous amphibious ship designs.

First the AFSB is a Marine Corps concept.  The MLP is a Marine Corps concept.

The idea about getting the other services to buy into the expeditionary capability that will come with sea basing IS A MARINE CORPS CONCEPT.

Policy blogs.

They ignore real life and focuses on the Congress and Pentagon.  That's not where the real military is.  If you choose to focus on those places...if you love forums and think tanks....if you get off on Washington dinners then fine.  But that ain't where the real Navy, Marine Corps, Army or Air Force lives. 

Not even close.

US Army 2nd Cav and German CH-53G's conduct artillery helo raid practice

F-35 and the last refuge of the Haters.

The F-35 Haters Club has one last refuge.

They're all hiding behind cost as the reason why the F-35 shouldn't be purchased.

They've given up on the F-35 isn't capable meme.  They've given up on the F-35 is short legged meme.  They've given up on the F-35 has different levels of stealth meme.

They've all rallied behind the F-35 costs too much card.

Thankfully the Blog, "Why the F-35", blows up that little house of lies.  Check this out.

In fact, the truth is, it's a program we can't afford not to complete. That's because the alternative - keeping the 4th generation aircraft we have - is an unacceptable solution for many reasons.

Go to his website to read the whole thing...and make sure you follow the links.  Suffice it to say that the critics are on their last ropes, they placed their bets on a public deception campaign that didn't pan out...they thought that having a few pawns in the Senate would get them over the finish line but that didn't work either, so now they're playing this...and Why the F-35 Blog, blows that away too.

I love it.

100 years of Marine Corps Aviation

Royal flypast

Ward on the F-35.

I told you earlier that Sharkey Ward is still on the warpath over the UK's decision to revert to the F-35B.  In true think tank fashion, he's put his misgivings to paper and provided a report on the subject.


I don't agree but considering his service, I'll at least hear him out.  You might consider doing the same.

120520 - Balancing the Books - F-35 STOVL