2nd BN 4th Marines in Combat Town 29 Palms

How soon before Special Ops Command buys these Wildcats?

Read the story at Defense Update...but I would bet money that some of these will find themselves employed by US Special Ops.

I mean they have to have the shiniest, fastest toys right?  The military application?  Negligible.  The fun factor and the "regulars don't have it" factor?  High.

They'll buy it.

Another apologist post on female SOF.

Kit-Up has an article about the politically correct head Admiral Olson saying that he'd like to see female SEALs.

“I don’t think the idea is to select G.I. Jane and put her through SEAL training, but there are a number of things that a man and a woman can do together that two guys can’t,” the Admiral told Forum attendees. “…it’s much more important what they’re made of and whether or not they have the courage and the intellectual agility…”
You may remember Kit Up! discussed something along these lines a couple of months back. CSTs and the FETs that preceded them have received a lot of attention and have been successful. They’re not a new idea, as the Marines of the Lioness Program can attest.
Let us try to preempt some of the inevitable outcry. No one is saying females must equal male counterparts in every way, and this is an important distinction: the use of females in SOF capacity is, frankly, a force multiplier.

Wow.

Really?

Say it out loud and tell all the guys who washed out of SEAL training that a female that couldn't meet the standards deserves to be on the teams while they went through pure dee hell and aren't qualified because they don't have breasts and ovaries.

This kind of thinking makes me sick.

Force multiplier my ass.

The whole outfit over at Military.com must be smoking industrial strength crack.

Politically correct bastards!

PS.

You can tell what this is really about.  Its about a push to open up the Infantry to females.  If they're in SEALs then you can bet they'll be pushing them to be in Rifle companies.  We're facing bad times.  Standards will suffer and if you can't admit that then you're not being honest.

USMC and Romanian Forces get busy during Summer Storm 2011

*Note*
I've been watching but haven't posted on this Black Sea Rotation (?) Group that the Marine Corps has been running for some time now.  The issue for me has been it seems totally ceremonial...in my mind its been more dog and pony shows than anything else.  I could easily be wrong but thats been my opinion.  

Marines from the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit prepare to launch from USS Whidbey Island in Amphibious Assault Vehicles as part of Summer Storm 2011, a combined amphibious assault exercise with Romania, July 30. Whidbey Island is deployed as part of the Bataan Amphibious Ready Group, supporting maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of responsibility. (Photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Rachael L. Leslie)

Marines from the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit launch from USS Whidbey Island in Amphibious Assault Vehicles as part of Summer Storm 2011, a combined amphibious assault exercise with Romania, July 30. Whidbey Island is deployed as part of the Bataan Amphibious Ready Group, supporting maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of responsibility. (Photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Rachael L. Leslie)

Marines from the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit launch from USS Whidbey Island in Amphibious Assault Vehicles as part of Summer Storm 2011, a combined amphibious assault exercise with Romania, July 30. Whidbey Island is deployed as part of the Bataan Amphibious Ready Group, supporting maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of responsibility. (Photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Rachael L. Leslie)

Marines from the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit launch from USS Whidbey Island in Amphibious Assault Vehicles as part of Summer Storm 2011, a combined amphibious assault exercise with Romania, July 30. Whidbey Island is deployed as part of the Bataan Amphibious Ready Group, supporting maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of responsibility. (Photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Rachael L. Leslie)

CMC briefs press on the F-35B

US Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Amos briefs media in front of an F-35B at NAS Patuxent River July 29, 2011

Gator Navy and Marine Expeditionary Units poised to sink aircraft carriers?!!!

Check out this story from Information Dissemination.  A tid bit though....

In Admiral Greenert's confirmation yesterday, there were no statements that suggested a force structure change, only that the budget situation could force one. I tend to believe Amos, that we are already at the point of change, but if that is true it is disappointing that Admiral Greenert didn't take the moment that included absolute certainty of his confirmation and use the hearings to describe in detail to the Senate what the future of the Navy looks like under certain scenarios.

Long story short....big deck carriers are about to take a hair cut.  What does this mean for the Marines?

1.  The MEU is about to gain prominence.  Much more than it currently has...the biggest problem might be to keep boat spaces for Marines.  You can bet your last dollar that Special Ops Command along with their surrogates in Marine Special Forces will be trying to pare down the MEU so that they can start taking rides.

2.  The Gator Navy can look to expand.  The idea of finally getting 38 big deck amphibs will probably be the price paid to cut back on the number of aircraft carriers.

3.  The USMC might be able to kill off the silly idea of buying F-35C's.

4.  Speaking of the JSF, its future is almost assured now...especially the B model.  I've already read reports that the CMC is looking to get the plane off probation....

5.  The idea of going from 11 carriers down to 8 seems likely.  Sadly, I can even it going to 6...three on each coast.

6.  I hope the NAVAIR likes the F/A-18E/F....they might be stuck with it.  If so then Boeing can probably take heart in the idea of selling upgraded versions.

A little late but Terminal Lance agrees with me....

Check out his post on the "invite a celeb" epidemic!