AAVs launching from MPS ships is new? Update.

Check out the above vid and the attached story here.  What caught my attention?

Marines from California flew all the way to Jacksonville to participate in a unique training with amphibious assault vehicles. Blount Island Commanding Officer Col. Matt Crabill says nine AAV’s drove off of a Maritime prepositioning force ship and into the water and navigated back to land at Blount Island for the special exercise.
“It was ordered to refamiliarize the force with how to do this. We haven't done it since 1999,” said Crabill.

I'm not sure that's true.

If I recall correctly this was done as recently as the last Bold Alligator exercise.  I'll check to confirm.  

UPDATE:  Yeah, I was right.  Below is a pic from Bold Alligator 2012 where they splashed from MPS ships.  I don't know who is coming up with this stuff but the meme "getting back to our amphibious roots" is old.  Its past time to put that on the shelf and just get on with the business of fixing our house.  Reinventing the wheel needs to stop.  Just do the Marine thing and stop grandstanding.

MSC Maritime Prepositioning Force ship USNS PFC Eugene A. Obregon lowered its gunmetal gray stern ramp into the water Feb. 7, allowing 12 Amphibious Assault Vehicles, or AAVs, to enter the waters just off Camp Lejune. The AAVs, tracked vehicles that can carry three crew and 21 combat ready troops, splashed into shallow water in preparation for a massive D-Day style amphibious assault on the beach.

Blast from the past. General Shinseki's testimony before congress (pre Iraq invasion).

After hearing the general's testimony.  After knowing what the SecDef was selling the country at the time....and having to understand the risks of not towing the party line....

Ignore the Ranger Tab.  Forget about the combat action ribbon (or whatever the Army equivalent is) that's on his chest.  Don't consider the awards for valor (in combat, not in a staff assignment).  Dismiss his Purple Heart.

Do you really believe that he wouldn't stand up to some bureaucrat in one of his hospitals if he knew they were falsifying records?

Shin deserves our patience and support.

Sidenote:  Take the time to read General Shinseki's bio on Wikipedia.  This is not the record of a man that ignores problems.

American Mercenary provides the answers Big Army wouldn't....

AM stepped up for his home team and answered the questions that the Big Army wouldn't.

Quite honestly when I allow my rage at the Ft. Polk Public Affairs Office to subside a bit, it actually makes sense (well that and a few other comments he made)....but I'm still pissed and will not rescind that freedom of information request.

Read his take on things here.  Compelling.  Thoughtful.  So simple its elegant.  Ft. Polk PAO should take note.

Leadership can forget. Marines cannot...the need to improve armor is paramount.

You wonder why I bitch so much about the state of Marine Corps armor?  Its part of why I told you the story of Colonel Dowdy, and while I like Mattis, I also hate him.  What you see below is what Colonel Dowdy was confronted with when he received conflicting orders to push the assault through ANOTHER Iraqi city or bypass it.

Mattis got pissed because Colonel Dowdy took an operational pause to sort out the situation and relieved him of command.  But wait you say....Marine officers are suppose to be aggressive in the attack.

Take another look at the pics below.  That is aftermath of a hasty assault thru the shooting alley known as Nasiriyah.  8 vehicles melted down. Numerous Marines killed and injured.

Now do you understand?  Isn't it clear why I think the Marine Personnel Carrier to be so important?

Leadership can forget.  Marines cannot.  Improving Marine armor is paramount!

The General Shinseki Witch Hunt. UPDATE: Vets are about to screw themselves...

Can one man be screwed by the leadership of this country twice in the span of one career?

I didn't think so, but watching the General Shinseki witch hunt makes me wonder.

General Shin is a man of honor.

The idea that he needs to resign because of the actions of some bureaucrats in the VA who abused their authority is craziness!  Everyone knows the facts.  The VA is understaffed, over worked and is suffering because of some issues that I'm well aware but won't go into.

Another thing about this issue that burns me up is the fact that a "Vets organization" kicked all this off.  I mean seriously?  Really?  I hope everyone can see that for what it is.

A power grab.

To force the man that stood up to Rumsfeld on the number of troops needed to successfully invade and pacify Iraq, was fired because of it and then believe he would turn around and ignore problems in the VA is laughable.

He deserves the benefit of the doubt.  He deserves our patience while he investigates what happened and who's responsible.

UPDATE:  I've been watching the coverage of the General Shinseki testimony and the talking heads after it.  Vets are about to screw themselves and think that they've won while doing it.  This is the very thing that some liberals, penny pinchers and big government types have been looking for.  Kill the VA Medical system and dump everyone into Medicare system!  For all those vets that are bitching now, just wait till you're part of Medicare!  This seems almost calculated now.  I hope it doesn't happen but the calls to reform the VA are getting louder and I see trouble ahead.  Not solutions but trouble.

SOCOM is about to get pounded....

via Foreign Policy..

That SOCOM has assumed that they can do no wrong in the eyes of Congress simply because of the relatively recent successes in taking out high-profile terrorists is the same mistake that many with a position of power make: They overreach. People always overreach for the same reason -- because they thought they could. Money and equipment have never been better. Operational control of the special operations components of the regional commands is a dream come true for many. And special operations is the toast of the town: The take-down of bin Laden capped the result of a turn-around in special operation's fortunes that arguably began with Operation Eagle Claw in 1980 and the subsequent reforms that brought SOCOM into existence. Many have started to argue that the times are changing and SOCOM will need to be more humble and get along with others better. That admonishment, however, has fallen on mostly deaf ears: Many SOF personnel, especially at the upper levels, cannot hide their disdain for conventional forces, nor their inflated sense of themselves. This attitude is now coming home to roost.

Read the entire article, but I've said it before and I'll say it again.  SOCOM is 3 times the size it needs to be, requires too much fucking support, is filled with arrogant pricks and one day the bean counters will figure out that its not worth the money that is lavished on it for the missions it actually performs.

Pull perimeter security while SOCOM is having drinks and cokes with the principal while you're outside basking in 140 degree sun will jade anyone.

This is only the beginning.

SOCOM is going to get raped by the accountants and they'll only have themselves to blame.  Yep.  SOCOM is about to get pounded.

NOTE:  I'll also call a spade a spade.  McRaven brought a certain "attitude" with him when he took charge and that has tainted the entire organization.  Perhaps it'll change when he leaves but I doubt it.  Its a joint outfit so now the culture is one.  I doubt even Army Special Forces will be able to keep the SEAL attitude from infecting their ranks.

The story of Colonel Joe Dowdy. Mattis' greatest mistake and an indication that we were/are improperly equipped.

Its faded from memory but General Mattis made one mistake that I have difficulty forgiving him on.

He fired Colonel Dowdy during the invasion of Baghdad.

Officers get fired all the time.  Alot more often than the general public would believe, but this one was unusual...and for a reason that will stun the uninitiated.  He was fired because he cared about his men.

It was a hush-hush episode inside the Regiment...even inside the Marine Corps.  Few people outside of the head shed knew the what's and the why's. Check out this old article from the Wall Street Journal...

It was presumed the Iraqis had chemical weapons, so the plan was to avoid engaging them directly. Col. Dowdy's unit was to act as a decoy, diverting Mr. Hussein's soldiers and allowing the other U.S. regiments to rush in from the northwest through a gap in Iraqi defenses to get to Baghdad.
Col. Dowdy's route would take him through the city of Nasiriyah. Another Marine unit, called Task Force Tarawa, was charged with keeping order there. Pentagon officials assumed the city would offer little resistance because it had long been oppressed by Mr. Hussein. That assumption turned out to be wrong.
The plan began to unravel in Nasiriyah. When Col. Dowdy and his men arrived outside the city, they found their passage blocked by a massive firefight. Word filtered back that Task Force Tarawa had suffered casualties, including 18 dead. Adding to the confusion was a U.S. Army supply unit, which had mistakenly stumbled into Nasiriyah. Several soldiers in that unit were dead. Others, including Pvt. Jessica Lynch, had been taken prisoner.
Outside the city, Col. Dowdy and his staff debated what to do. Several hundred trucks in Col. Dowdy's train lacked armor, and squeezing through a fierce battle zone would be complicated, especially on Nasiriyah's narrow streets.
A potential 150-mile bypass around Nasiriyah didn't seem feasible. Col. Dowdy wasn't sure he had enough fuel and didn't know what resistance he might face. The First Regiment was stuck.
The halt was anathema to Gen. Mattis, a devotee of a modern military doctrine known as "maneuver warfare." Though Marines have practiced the technique for years, the Iraqi war was its first large-scale test. Instead of following rigid battle plans and attacking on well-defined fronts, this tactic calls for smaller forces to move quickly over combat zones, exploiting opportunities and sowing confusion among the enemy. The technique is summed up in Gen. Mattis' radio call name: "Chaos."

Its hard to explain, but for some unGodly reason the run into Baghdad seemed to turn into race.

Both the US Army and USMC had exposed supply lines.

Everyone involved was operating on ragged sleep, worries about being ambushed and the fear that chemical weapons would be used (that is stress on another level).

The USMC was not equipped for an extended assault deep into Iraq.  Even the US Army, that is designed for these types of operations, had to call a halt to its advance.

In the fighting around Nasiriyah the Marine Corps lost 8 AAVs in heavy fighting.  If you've seen pictures of AAV burned down to their treads it happened here.

But after the city was pacified the call to push forward at break neck pace went out.  This is when Colonel Dowdy took what I consider an operational pause, Mattis took as command indecision and history seems to have forgotten about.

For a fuller telling of this tale, read the command history but even better just Google it and read the different accounts.  My personal lesson learned from this?

*  The Marine Corps is not equipped for extended land movement against opposition.  Even in 2003 we were too lightly equipped.  Today we're even lighter.

*  Operational temp depends on conditions encountered by your forces.  It can't come from higher headquarters.

*  Concepts should be tested against worst case scenarios.  Playing the game so that your ideas win will serve you badly in real world situations.

We're making the same mistake today that we did in 2003...the difference?.  The USMC is HOPING that air power can make up for a lack of armored protection.

It can't and it won't.

Colonel Dowdy saved the lives of his men because he did not conduct hasty assault after hasty assault in the race to Baghdad.  Will the next Regimental Commander be as brave?