Australia improves its amphib capability.

Australia has a new amphibious support ship.

And they got it cheap.

Read about it over at Think Defense.

Blast from the past. Rigid Raiding Craft.

I have yelled at the critics that claim that the USMC became a second land army during the war on terror.

Perhaps they were right.  It pains me to say so but perhaps they had a point.

Small boat raids.

Special Operations Training Groups.

Performing a mission the approved "Special Ops" way...not the Marine way.

Before the Marine Corps did away with the Riverine mission set (because of lack of manpower), we had a very effective and innovative Boat Office at Camp Lejeune.

One piece of gear that went away along with the riverine mission was the rigid raiding craft.  We need it back.  The rigid raider is faster, can be beached on the fly and has almost equal carrying ability.  The following data is from the USMC Family of Small Craft Website...

RRC Craft Data
 

Hull Type:	Rigid Hull, GRP
Length:	18 feet, 6 inches
Beam:	7 feet, 2 inches
Draft:	10 inches
Fuel Capacity:	63 gallons, Gasoline
Max Payload:	3,010 pounds
Speed:	25+ knots
Max Personnel:	8-10 Passengers, excluding crew members
Draft, On Plane:	Eight inches
Propulsion:	Twin 70 Horsepower Pump Jet, OMC
Crew:	Two
Range:	75 Nautical miles
Transportability:	Trailer

CRRC Craft Data

Primary function:	A standard small, lightweight, inflatable, rugged boat to be used in performing various reconnaissance missions.
Operational configurations
Length:	185 in.
Width:	75 in.
Height:	30 in.
Weight:	265 lbs.
Storage/Shipping configurations
Length:	59 in.
Width:	28.5 in.
Height:	24 in.
Weight:	265 lbs.
Power requirements:	Improved Military Amphibious Reconnaissance System (I-MARS) 35 horsepower engine. - Being phased out Small Craft Propulsion System (SCPS) 55 horsepower engine - replacement for I-MARS.
Background:	The CRRC was fielded to fill the Marine Corps' requirement for a small, lightweight, inflatable, rugged boat for use in performing various raid, and reconnaissance missions.
Inventory:	Active - 424; Reserve - 46; Supporting Establishment - 75

For the Small Boat Company mission set the CRRC brings no advantages and is not the right tool for the job.

Following Special Operations Command is a mistake.

We need gear suited to Marine Corps operations, not SOCOMs.

Bring back the Rigid Raider.  We need it, and should have it.

NOTE:
Time to do something with the Special Operations Training Groups.  A misnomer if I ever heard one.  We need a Marine Expeditionary Training Group.  A unit that's tailored to train Marines to a Marine standard across the board.  The Marine Corps needs to once again recognize itself as an elite military outfit.

The worship of Special Operations that some Marine Generals are engaged in is not only pathetic but its also detrimental to the Marine Corps.  A first step in repairing the damage done to us by our own is to disband the Special Operations Training Groups and reform them with a new mission and mindset.

Put the Special Operations Capable back into the BLT.

WHITE BEACH, OKINAWA, Japan-Lance Cpl. Alejandro Carbajal, scout swimmer and rifleman with Company A, Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 4th Marines, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, scouts ahead before the primary raid force lands on the shoreline during a small boat raid here, March 17. The raid was conducted during the MEU’s Certification Exercise, which upon completion certifies that the MEU is capable to respond to any scenario that may arise. The 31st MEU is the only continuously forward-deployed MEU and is the nation’s force in readiness in the Asia-Pacific region., Lance Cpl. Michael S. Oxton, 3/16/2012 1:53 PM

I've been watching the 31st MEU from a distance while they've been going through certification.

My main question is why the reliance on the Maritime Raid Force?

Why has the BLT been relegated to providing support for such a small subsection of the MEU?

The BLT which was once the muscle of the MEU with Force Recon and Amphibious Recon in support has suddenly been relegated to step child.

This is unsat.

A dynamic Marine Corps need dynamic BLT's.

Relevant BLT's. 

And don't feel picked on 31st MEU...its a Marine Corps wide problem.  And it stems from Rummy's edict which wasn't fought by General Pace and is affecting Marine ops to this very day.

What makes Special Ops special?

Is it mission set?  Why?  Rangers have tasked themselves with airfield seizure.  Did you know that was once an 82nd mission?  SEALs have taken beach recon.  Did you know that was once a Recon mission and before that a Scout Swimmer mission?

What is raiding except an Infantry skill that needs to be practiced?

What is recon except an Infantry skill that needs to be practiced?

What is training of foreign militaries except a skill that needs to be practiced?

You get the point.

The Marine Corps needs to get hard again and part of that is to put the Special Operations Capable back into the MEU in general and the Battalion Landing Team in particular.  If need be we can return Force Recon to SOCOM and get it done with our BLT's.  We just need to train them to a higher standard.

Scout Swimmers should be able to do beach recon.  With additional training, recon further inland should not be difficult.

The only thing that's lacking is institutional will.  The current trend of bending knee to everything SOCOM goes against Marine Corps tradition and ethos.  We are an elite force and have no need for an elite inside an elite.

How leadership forgot that is beyond me, but it can still be corrected.

All it takes is a little bravery and conviction.

Grand Logistics Blog nails the RAF...

The battle between the Harrier and the Tornado continues.

Or perhaps better stated, the war between the Royal Air Force and the Fleet Air Arm continues...

Grand Logistics has a great write up on the issue and says in pictures whats obvious to any observer...the Air Marshal lied...or at least stretched the truth till it was unrecognizable.  Go to his site for the juicy details but before you head there check out this statement...

"The Tornados have delivered [MBDA] Storm Shadows to penetrate hardened buildings and the dual-mode Brimstone,neither of which could have been delivered by the Harrier."

"I am not knocking the Harrier,just those who have,often willfully,overstated its relative utility in this scenario,"

"In operations such as Ellamy,on the periphery of Europe,the access,basing and over-flight restrictions that would necessitate carrier strike do not apply.

 There is simply no comparison in terms of platform capability,time on station or versatility between Tornado GR4s operating from a well-found NATO airfield in Italy and Harriers operating from a CVS*."

*A Royal Navy aircraft carrier.

Wow huh?!

But then check out this statement from a Brit when talking about sea power...(Robert Farley of Information Dissemination brought it to my attention in an article about sea power in today's society)...

We're a maritime nation—we've grown by the sea and live by it; if we lose command of it we starve. We're unique in that way, just as our huge empire, only linked by the sea, is unique. And yet, read Brassey, Dilke, and those "Naval Annuals", and see what mountains of apathy and conceit have had to be tackled. It's not the people's fault. We've been safe so long, and grown so rich, that we've forgotten what we owe it to. But there's no excuse for those blockheads of statesmen, as they call themselves, who are paid to see things as they are. They have to go to an American to learn their A B C, and it's only when kicked and punched by civilian agitators, a mere handful of men who get sneered at for their pains, that they wake up, do some work, point proudly to it, and go to sleep again, till they get another kick. By Jove! we want a man like this Kaiser, who doesn't wait to be kicked, but works like a n----- for his country, and sees ahead.

The question I have is this.

How did the Royal Navy get to a position of being pushed around by the Royal Air Force?

Quite honestly, Air Forces of all nations have a tendency to be quite vicious when it comes to budget battles...the USAF included...but I haven't seen interservice warfare like I'm seeing between the RAF and RN in modern US history.  Last I recall seeing this type of "no holds barred" jabbing was before the Korean War when the very existence of the Marine Corps was threatened and the USAF was attempting to make carrier aviation irrelevant.

Grand Logistics has posted an outstanding rebuttal to the Air Marshal's statement.

Sharkey Ward battles continuously for the Fleet Air Arm.

But its going to take more than two voices in the wilderness.  FAA supporters are going to have to get much more vocal and vicious if they're going to even keep pace in this fight.

The RAF is playing for keeps and the RN should be too.

Subtle signs of US involvement in Africa...

Playing on Google Earth today and ran across a C-130 parked at the Moi Airport in Kenya.  What has me confused is what I'm seeing at the ports.  I'm spotting what I believe is a Perry Class Frigate along with another Frigate/Destroyer sized ship nearby.  There is also an additional ship that appears to be some type of LPD that I can't quite make out.

Between spotting this and taking another look at Camp Lemonnier (I think they might have frozen that pic....it hasn't changed in days now) it seems the presence is expanding.

If you have any hints or tips on where I should look for US or allied forces operating in out of the way places...hit me up!

UPDATE:

Joe (thanks buddy) found this pic of a C-130 at Moi Airport on PlanePictures.net taken on Feb 20, 2012.

 

Ops-Core vs. Artist dust up....

via Soldier Systems...

Ultimately, the Boston Globe story, “At Fort Point studios, artists feel betrayed” is really just gasoline on a fire. It doesn’t solve anything but rather fans the flames of discontent. Furthermore, it fails to mention the impact of the Ops-Core closure. 80 employees are collecting unemployment and it has caused a hiccup in the assembly of helmets. Finally, I doubt but few of the tenants have considered their actions. If Ops-Core leaves, it may well result in the closure of the facility altogether. Assuming that much of a loan would require guaranteed income. While there are numerous tenants at Midway Studios, it is doubtful that they would band together and form the business entity required to acquire the building and manage it. After all, they’re artists, if they wanted to manage real estate portfolios they wouldn’t be living in rent controlled spaces.
Overall, it’s a lot of venting, and posturing and well, “Occupy Ops-Core.” In the end, the artist tenants turn their outrage elsewhere. Hopefully, it will be before any more damage is done.

Go to their site to read the whole story and you might want to page back and read some of their previous coverage of this 'controversy'.

Personally I don't understand the actions of either side.  The artist are just some spoiled brats in my opinion but Ops-Core is dealing with the issue in an unusual way too.

They're a multi-million dollar company.  Its a down economy.  They could easily find any number of locations to move to and be welcomed with open arms.

Its got to be a "style" issue with the ownership.  Perhaps its the trendy place to live and work and that's what he's after. 

Either way this seems like a tempest in a tea pot.  A minor issue that is made up and should be easily solved.

Still for a Sunday afternoon, its pretty interesting.

Singapore's Navy Divers...

No rant...just interesting...