2nd AAV BN and the Combat Hunter course.

Camp Geiger, N.C.-Sgt. Colin E. Lafferty, an Amphibious Assault Vehicle crewman with Company A, 2nd Amphibious Assault Vehicle Battalion, looks through a pair of binoculars to spot targets during the Combat Hunter course at the School of Infantry aboard Camp Geiger, N.C. The Combat Hunter course is a five-day and ten-day training exercise, taught regularly at SOI East that trains deploying Marines on the fundamentals of observation, profiling and tracking., Cpl. Daniel A. Negrete, 5/26/2010 4:47 AM



How do you say pre-sniper course without calling it a pre-sniper course?  You call it Combat Hunter! 

The Combat Hunter course is a five-day and ten-day training exercise, taught regularly at SOI East, that helps prepare Marines for upcoming deployments, so they can learn the fundamentals of observation, profiling and tracking.
 “We’ve combined material taught at sniper courses and outside law enforcement agencies and put it all into one course to supplement the training Marines undergo before stepping into theater,” said Capt. Modesto L. Gutierrez, Combat Hunter course officer-in-charge. 
As the name denotes, Combat Hunter gives Marines the predatory skills to gain the edge on the battlefield. It gives Marines training on how to identify and determine potential threats and persons of interest. 
“Were placing an interest in Marines on how to be more proactive versus reactive,” said Gutierrez. “The Marines are taught how body language in humans and how abnormalities in terrain features can indicate that a threat is present.”

 Read more here .

Hemet CA Police Dept. under siege.

The police dept is under siege.  When you have the bad guys firing rockets and placing bombs under police cars then you're dealing with a different breed of gang-banger.  I wonder if the ATF or FBI is assisting or if they're too busy hanging out at gunshows to help?  Watch the vid and be amazed. 

Magpul is now making... wait for it....motorcycles?

I had to see it to believe it and I'm still not sure.  First the Magpul Unimog (well actually that's quite cool) and now this.  Amazing.

Check out the Magpul Ronin here.

And the regular Magpul site is found here.

Wow.  I wrote "what for it"...amazing.  Sleep and spell check can help.

Australian Navy's "Minor War Vessel Concentration Period (MWVCP)"

I believe that the US Navy would consider this a type of combined Amphibious - Littoral Ops type operation.  From the Royal Australian Navy website...

The Minor War Vessel Concentration Period (MWVCP) sea phase has commenced in waters off Darwin, with five Royal Australian Navy ships practising general mariner, surface and amphibious warfare skills.

Interesting.  Since they practice amphibious warfare I wonder if the Canberra Class LHD's will be allowed to participate once they come online.

Chinese are stealing F-35 weapons?

This photo is from the China Defense Blog.

I looked at the pic and to be honest the first thought that crossed my mind was that the weapons under the aircraft look like they were taken straight from the original F-35 brochure.  The author disagrees (he was quite polite...this is no flame war or an "intervention" just a couple of blogger with differing opinions)...having said all that, am I right or are these actually Chinese weapon systems that I've misidentified?

Pics of the day. June 9, 2010.

Joe Stremph's photo of an F/A-18D and a CH-53D

 no caption provided............

 1/1 Marines secure the LZ while a CH-53D Sea Stallion from HMH-363 "Lucky Red Lions" lands to offload more Marines during a noncombatant evacuation exercise in Yuma, Arizona. WTI 2-10.

AFSOC Para-rescue Vehicle.

Its been months since an undisclosed (well I won't give his name without permission) sent me the Request For Information regarding a new Para-rescue vehicle for the AFSOC.  Well, I found another vehicle--besides Force Protection's Jamma---that fits the bill.



Wired.com ran a story back in 2007 that covers the vehicle in the video above.  Follow the link for the story from back then but this part of it stands out...

The CERV incorporates the latest technology to improve weight trade off and battery capability, both in materials and in software management, to further increase performance and range. The hybrid vehicle will be compatible with current and future renewable recharging methods and can be modified to add a generator/fuel cell technology to remotely recharge in the event that commercial power is not available. The CERV will also meet size requirements to be air-transported on AFSOC’s CV-22. Vehicle will carry up to 4 personnel.

That my friends is the exact requirements of the vehicle that para-rescue is searching for today.   What's even more surprising is that the USAF actually expended research and development dollars to get this vehicle ready.

But don't despair if you're worried that the money's been wasted...it hasn't.  A refined version was on display recently.

F-35 1st Quarter Update.

Military-Today Firearms E-book rebroadcast.

I've posted this before but for those that missed it, I decided to post it again.  Military-Today.com has a nice catalog of modern weaponry that they work to update on a daily basis.  Highly recommended.

Firearms E-Book © Military-Today.com 2010 All Rights

Style over Substance.

U.S. Air Force pararescuemen transport a simulated casualty to a Marine Corps MH-53 Super Stallion helicopter while conducting a combat search and rescue exercise outside of Camp Lemonier, Djibouti, June 1, 2010. DoD photo by Master Sgt. Jeremiah Erickson, U.S. Air Force


I've been monitoring a conversation occurring on Kit-Up Blogspot.  You can read the articles here, here and here.  But instead of adding just my voice to the debate, I think a pic is worth a thousand words.  Click on the picture and blow it up.  What do you see.  I'm talking gear wise, nothing else.

I see multi-cam, pro-tec helmets, what looks like 3 different types of packs, a soft cover, some type of civilian high speed pants and 4 different sets of boots.

Kit-Up has taken the position that a soldier with the 101st should be allowed to wear the multicam gear that he purchased.  This NCO, in my opinion, is seeking style over substance.  In small units ... read SOCOM...they can get away with dissimilar uniforms.  The average Soldier, Sailor, Marine or Airmen is older, more mature and to be quite honest is supervised at a much closer ratio of Officer and SNCO to troop ratio.  Conventional forces are not.  Unit cohesion and discipline will be put in jeopardy by lax uniform standards.

But to add fuel to the fire we have this item from SoldierSystems.net.

On Monday, LGEN A.B. LESLIE, Chief of the Land Staff for Canada, released a message entitled, “Prohibition on Acquisition of Soldier Personal Equipment, Clothing and Camp Stores.” The point of the message was to remind units that they cannot use Operations and Maintenance monies to procure Soldier Systems items. Specifically, guidance was issued that, “THE LF CLOTHING AND EQUIPMENT REMAIN WORLD CLASS. AS SUCH LOCAL PURCHASE OF CLOTHING AND EQUIPMENT WITH O AND M FUNDS BY LF UNITS IS PROHIBITED.” The list of equipment units CANNOT use O&M to purchase is pretty extensive and includes basically everything that is covered on SSD.

 It seems that the goochie gear craze has spread.

Does anyone remember standing for an inspection and being asked by the inspecting officer...How much did you have to spend to get ready for this inspection??? 

In the Marine Corps if you answer anything more than a few dollars for polish or to replace a broken insignia then you were wrong...and your immediate supervisor was wrong too.

It seems that that type of thinking is not in vogue with certain NCO's in the 101st or with certain members of the Canadian military.  Thank goodness they have Officers and SNCOs that will square this away.