85th Test and Evaluation Squadron. Photos by Samuel King Jr

Libyan Navy Ship sinking...fighting between govt forces and rebels with tanks & aircraft...UPDATE!

via Reuters.

(Reuters) - A Libyan navy ship was hit and 13 people killed during heavy fighting with aircraft and tanks on Monday between the army and Islamist militants near the port of Benghazi, residents of the Mediterranean city said.
The battle was part of a wider conflict in the North African state where former rebels who helped oust dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 are fighting for power and a share of Libya's large oil revenues.
Army special forces, backed by troops of an ex-general, launched an offensive in the Benghazi area two weeks ago against Islamist militants blamed by Washington for a 2012 assault on the former U.S. consulate which killed the American ambassador.
The Red Crescent evacuated 53 foreign workers and 14 sick people trapped inside a hospital next to the port, medics said, while the army moved more tanks and artillery into the city.
A Reuters reporter could see smoke rising from the port, an important conduit for food, wheat and fuel supplies to eastern Libya. A security source said the unidentified navy ship was sinking but this could not immediately be confirmed.

Its off the front pages but the world continues to burn.  What seemed to be just another run of the mill insurgency is taking on the look of the fighting in Ukraine, with almost conventional style forces engaging in combat.

All this and yet gas prices continue to fall.

How do you explain it?  Where is all this excess capacity coming from? 

UPDATE:  Fox Business is speculating that the Saudi's are trying to kill the shale oil boom in the US.  They fear both the US becoming energy independent AND a competitor on the global market.  It makes sense but that would mean that this shaky ally is actually attempting to hurt our economic interests.  That takes them from shaky ally to outright enemy.

Royal Marines go ashore in Sierra leone.

Note:  The work is worthy but I can't help but think that some of those Royal Marines will catch Ebola.  From these pics it looks like an absolute certainty.

Warrior Morality. What would you do Lt?

A couple of videos are burning up the internet.  The theme?  ISIS is training children to use real weapons to engage their enemies.

My outlandish scenario.

You're on patrol and suddenly you start taking fire from the front.  Your men are well trained and execute a flawless "react to ambush" drill and everyone is good to go.
Firing dies down a bit (meaning you're only taking a sporadic fire at best) and you get eyeballs on the enemy.  Much to your surprise you're dealing with 4 teens that appear to be no more than 16 years old and much to your horror you also spot two young boys around 7 or 8.

What do you do Lt?

Explain why you made the choice that you did.  Lay out the ramifications of that decision (for example, casualties if you decide against a forceful defense, failure to complete your patrol etc...).

This is new so I'll cut you some slack.  You have 30 seconds to decide.  No cheating.

RoK Army 1st Commando Regiment publicity pics.

Pic of the day. English Electric Lightning on afterburner!

IDF increasing production of the Namer Heavy APC.

via Times of Israel.

The military is allocating funds for the construction of a large number of ‘Namer’ (leopard) APCs, introduced in 2008, which sport the durable chassis of the army’s renowned Merkava tanks.
While army officials say Namer APCs performed beautifully during Operation Protective Edge in Gaza, resisting bomb blasts and saving many soldiers’ lives, too few of the vehicles were available to infantry units. In one incident early in the conflict, soldiers in an old Vietnam War-era M-113 APC were hit with an anti-tank missile, resulting in the deaths of seven soldiers.
“The only issue is funding,” Brig. Gen. Baruch Mazliach, head of the Defense Ministry’s Namer and Merkava department told Channel 2. “We can construct dozens of vehicles a year.”
The rate of construction could be doubled or tripled in the near future, according to the report. “We are already preparing to pick up our pace and in the coming years to construct a larger number of Namers for the IDF and other infantry forces,” Mazliach said.

The Israeli's suffered a tragic lesson that every land force on the globe would do well to make note of.  Precision fires are no substitute for armored protection.  Also noteworthy is the fact that the Israeli's have chosen to keep the .50 cal instead of increasing the APC's firepower.