Blast from the past. The Battle of Long Tang (Vietnam 1966)

Wikipedia entry on the Battle of Long Tang.



The Situation
A company of Australian Soldiers from Delta Company, 6 Royal Australian Army and Viet Cong/North Vietnamese Army units met in a meeting engagement.

Unit Strength
NVA/Viet Cong forces are estimated to have numbered almost 2500 men versus an Australian force of 108

The Outcome
The Australian Army was hardened bush fighters that were extremely comfortable in the jungle environment.  Additionally they were seasoned in the type of "fighting style" employed by the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese. Allied forces do not have the same level of comfort in this environment today.  The Aussies carried the day but the warning is clear to all that want to see.  Small units (company sized) are vulnerable to being fixed in place and destroyed.

NOTE:  The video starts slow but then zooms along at a breathless pace.  The radio calls, the call for fires, the description of the battle by the men that were there.  ABSOLUTELY AWESOME VID!  MUST WATCH!

NOTE 1:  I'm really interested to find out how the Australian Army views the decisions of the Battalion Commander in this battle.  

eARMOR Magazine Website.

If you have an interest in armor in general and US Army armored vehicles in particular then I have the website for you.

The eARMOR Magazine.

The website is very well laid out so we know a Soldier didn't do it, but I digress.  Information galore!  The real treasure is located in the archives for back issues of the magazine.

So do yourself a favor and check them out.

Blast from the past. M1 Abrams Liberty II Air Defense & Air Ground Defense System

David Codrea on the Bundy Ranch Incident.

Note:  David Codrea is a long-time gun rights advocate who defiantly challenges the folly of citizen disarmament. He is a field editor for GUNS Magazine, and a blogger at The War on Guns: Notes from the Resistance.

Note 1:  I've been speculating that the Feds had all manner of surveillance going on at the Bundy Ranch and that they would let everything die down and we'd wake up in a year or so to news of mass raids throughout the country happening simultaneously.

Note 2:  We've been hearing Sen Reid first make the statement that this isn't over and then second that the people that showed up to the Bundy Ranch were domestic terrorist....which brings me to this story from the Examiner...

Putting aside reader opposition to or support for the Bundy claims, and ignoring allegations of Reid’s (and his son Rory’s) personal interests in the disposition of the land in question, what must be examined is what the senator must mean if he seriously believes his accusation.
“Domestic terrorism” is a legal term, defined by U.S. Code. It’s prosecutable. Assets can be seized, including assets of supporters. Provisions of the Patriot Act could kick in, with all that implies. And felony convictions would certainly result in those found guilty becoming “prohibited persons” under federal law from owning a gun.
Assuming PR considerations would preclude Obama from ordering drone strikes, is the foregoing really what Harry Reid has in mind? In spite of the efforts of Oath Keepers and others to ensure that a peaceful resolution is paramount, does “true champion of the Second Amendment” Harry Reid want everyone on the side of the Bundy family who has been on the ground near Bunkerville -- and those providing them with material support -- to be prosecuted as domestic terrorists?
Does he truly wish for those whom he politically disagrees with to forever lose federal recognition of their right to keep and bear arms?
Considering his longtime gravitation toward Michael Bloomberg, his support for federal oversight of private gun sales, and his embracing of Diane Feinstein’s renewed “assault weapon” ban, such an admission would hardly be surprising.

Quite honestly this surprises me and takes me to a place I hadn't considered.

I was mostly looking at the guys on the overpass that pointed weapons at LEOs as being the targets of my mythical raids in the future.  If the term "Domestic Terrorist" can actually be applied to the participants at the incident then you're looking at an escalation in this brewing battle.

It leads to questions though.

1.  If you simply protest against a police action is that now terrorism?
2.  If you're armed on private property during a police action and DO NOT point your weapon at police but vocally state your opposition to them does that count as interference with police in them doing their work?
3.  Will the guy on the overpass be charged with Domestic Terrorism as well as assault?

This is gonna get sticky and messy.

Seems like both sides want a fight and are bound and determined to get one. 

SLDInfo. War is declared.

Much to many people's surprise, I like to think of myself as a calm, rationale individual that's slow to anger (ok...that last bit is a lie but you get the idea) but SLDInfo is really starting to piss me off.

Earlier I posted a story about how they're throwing bullshit against the wall to see what sticks with their constant cheer-leading for the F-35.  What happens next?  I'm looking through my RSS feed and I see this post....

The F-35s went in and provided the capability to eliminate the ground missile threats and allowed a distributed company to be inserted to do their job. In other words, the Osprey carried the force; the F-35 surrogate providing the cover which could insert the force more effectively. Such an approach has NOTHING to do with the classic thinking of how a rotorcraft force would approach the challenge of ground force insertion into air enabled contested areas.

What the fuck?

Such an approach has nothing to do with yada yada yada bullshit bullshit bullshit?!

Ok boys.  You just picked the wrong jarhead to bump heads with....Not only are you full of it but your statements make no sense.  How are you going to approach the challenge of ground force insertion into air enabled contested areas with rotary winged aircraft you idiots!  The MV-22 has already shown us that it can't do it!  Ask the SEALs.  Ask Air Force Special Ops!  The days of rotary winged penetration aircraft ended with the retirement of the MH-53J from USAF service.

The idea that a Company Landing Team is going to insert into a location that is protected by anti-air missiles (fixed or mobile, it doesn't matter) and somehow be combat capable boggles the mind.  

You are setting up future Marines to be slaughtered.  100 Marines with standard combat loadouts would be good for one, maybe two firefights before they needed resupply.  At this time the enemy would be alerted and would be sending every available body to the fight.  Do we really want a Marine Corps "Osprey Down" in some third world country?

Basic Jungle Survival Course...Video by Cpl. Stephen Himes

What's missing in the Stryker Family of Vehicles?

The year is 2020.

Tensions between China and Japan have intensified to the breaking point and all eyes are on the disputed islands.  Meanwhile Russia, seeing a chance to expand its territory AND gain access to rare earth minerals makes a quick move to Central Africa.

They moved a couple of Airborne Brigades and two Naval Infantry Brigades to the region before the intel community knew what was what.

The US Army responds by sending a Stryker Brigade (reinf) with a Brigade from the 82nd.  SOCOM is supporting.

Sounds like a solid plan.

Except for the fact that as well thought out as the Stryker Brigade Family of Vehicles is, they did not include an Anti-Air variant.

Russian SU-25's, SU-30's and PAK-FA's are rampaging all over while the few USAF F-35's dedicated to the effort are having trouble staying in the air after the 1st week of operations.

The above is just a rough and dirty fictional account of future warfare but not having a dedicated anti-air platform is a big miss that both the USMC and US Army needs to correct.

PS.  Something with more range than a ground launched Sidewinder too!  Long range attack against ground targets is now the norm.  As things currently stand if the enemy is able to gain local air superiority over any of our formations then we're filling body bags and not able to even defend ourselves.