Wednesday, June 29, 2011

What are the rules for OpSec?






I titled this "what are the rules for OpSec" but the actual question is "what are the rules for Force Protection".

Ya see, I've been reading accounts of the attack in Afghanistan and these photos have been splattered all over the net.

On some websites the faces are blurred and on others they're visible.  Sister sites at that.

If you know what ISAF rules for Force Protection and the publication of photos are I'd be thankful cause I'm beyond curious.  And I'm talking about real deal ISAF rules. 

Spanish and American Marine Conduct Mechanized Raid Training.

All photos by Cpl Dwight Henderson
Spanish Piranhas from 9th Mechanized Company, 3rd Mechanized Landing Battalion, line up to conduct a mechanized raid with Easy Company, Battalion Landing Team, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit, aboard Sierra Del Retin, Spain, June 25. The training was part of the Spanish Amphibious Bilateral Exercise, a 10-day exercise where Marines from 22nd MEU are training alongside Spanish marines to build relations and increase interoperability with the Spanish. The Marines and sailors of the 22nd MEU are currently deployed with Amphibious Squadron 6 aboard the USS Bataan Amphibious Ready Group serving as a flexible, formidable and potent force who continues to train and improve their capability to operate as a cohesive and effective Marine Air Ground Task Force. The 22nd MEU is a multi-mission, capable force comprised of an Aviation Combat Element, Marine Medium Tilt Rotor Squadron 263 (Reinforced); a Logistics Combat Element, Combat Logistics Battalion 22; a Ground Combat Element, Battalion Landing Team, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment; and its Combat Element.
A Spanish Piranha, right, from 9th Mechanized Company, 3rd Mechanized Landing Battalion, passes by an amphibian assault vehicle, left, with Easy Company, Battalion Landing Team, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit, during a mechanized raid aboard Sierra Del Retin, Spain, June 25. The training was part of the Spanish Amphibious Bilateral Exercise, a 10-day exercise where Marines from 22nd MEU are training alongside Spanish marines to build relations and increase interoperability with the Spanish. The Marines and sailors of the 22nd MEU are currently deployed with Amphibious Squadron 6 aboard the USS Bataan Amphibious Ready Group serving as a flexible, formidable and potent force who continues to train and improve their capability to operate as a cohesive and effective Marine Air Ground Task Force. The 22nd MEU is a multi-mission, capable force comprised of an Aviation Combat Element, Marine Medium Tilt Rotor Squadron 263 (Reinforced); a Logistics Combat Element, Combat Logistics Battalion 22; a Ground Combat Element, Battalion Landing Team, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment; and its Combat Element.
A Spanish Piranha, right, from 9th Mechanized Company, 3rd Mechanized Landing Battalion, passes by an amphibious assault vehicle, left, with Easy Company, Battalion Landing Team, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit, during a mechanized raid aboard Sierra Del Retin, Spain, June 25. The training was part of the Spanish Amphibious Bilateral Exercise, a 10-day exercise where Marines from 22nd MEU are training alongside Spanish marines to build relations and increase interoperability with the Spanish. The Marines and sailors of the 22nd MEU are currently deployed with Amphibious Squadron 6 aboard the USS Bataan Amphibious Ready Group serving as a flexible, formidable and potent force who continues to train and improve their capability to operate as a cohesive and effective Marine Air Ground Task Force. The 22nd MEU is a multi-mission, capable force comprised of an Aviation Combat Element, Marine Medium Tilt Rotor Squadron 263 (Reinforced); a Logistics Combat Element, Combat Logistics Battalion 22; a Ground Combat Element, Battalion Landing Team, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment; and its Combat Element.

Textron TAPV website & datasheet!


Ok, I'll share the good stuff.

Found the Textron TAPV website here.  You should check it out for more hi-rez photos and vids and general news of their entrant into the Canadian TAPV contest!

TAPV Datasheet 05-23-111

Turkey to place initial F-35 order.

Great find Phil!  Thanks buddy.

via Hurriyetdailynews.com
Turkey plans to buy the U.S.-led F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Lightning II, a stealth multirole fighter jet, to meet most future needs for its Air Force’s next-generation fighter planes. It has voiced willingness to buy around 100 F-35s over the next 15 years, but as the program’s limited production stage begins, it so far has not formally committed to the program. To do so, it needs to submit a purchase order for a first batch of six aircraft before the end of the year.“We will have talks [with the Americans] in the months ahead in an effort to resolve some matters. If we manage to reach an agreement, we expect to order the first six aircraft this year,” Murad Bayar, chief of the Undersecretariat for Defense Industries, or SSM, the government’s defense procurement agency, recently told the Hürriyet Daily News. “We expect to reach a deal.”
Read the whole thing but for critics of the F-35, the hits just keep coming.

Amy Butler (Wonder Woman) body slams over at ARES...

Oh this is getting good!

Amy (aka Wonder Woman) just stuck a fork in the conversation this morning.  Just to remind everyone, Sweetman posted this comment to her latest post...
Nothing confirms that the program is going tickety-boo like the second big management shake-up in seven months, bringing in a new deputy with no ties to Aeronautics, Fort Worth, Navair or USAF.
Hmm.  Rather bitchy on his part but still tame in my world.

Wonder Woman wasn't having it though and she laid the verbal smack down to Sweetman with this comment!
Clearly LM has chosen its leaders for this phase of JSF -- and potentially for the future of the company. Not sure it is the job of a journalist to spin this ...
One interesting point is to bring in some talent outside Aero may just be what was needed. Keep the sector bathwater drinking low may have been a goal. At any rate, in the past year or so, Dan Crowley is out, Lawson is in and the deputies have shifted. Burbage is still the anchor for the international program. Last year, the criticism was there was no leadership change at LM after Heinz was dismissed -- now the criticism is that there is a leadership change. Seems the spin is fickle at times. Either way -- this blog is intended to simply document the change.
Like I said, this is getting good. 

Amy verbally grabbed him by the throat, picked him up off the ground, told him to shut the fuck up and then body slammed him.

Awesome! 

Don't get up Bill.  Stay down!

Textron TAPV. The images.








Textron TAPV.

You have to wait for it toward the end of the video, but you'll see the Textron entrant into the TAPV contest.