Rocket fire.

Marines use high mobility artillery rockets to support infantry

Marines with 5th Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment launch a high mobility artillery rocket system from Forward Operating Base Delaram II, Jan. 26. These systems have been used to support Marine infantry units operating throughout Helmand province in the fight against the Taliban

LCS Tenders.

USS Shenandoah

What does the LCS class desperately need?  Some are calling them motherships but the proper name for ships that would carry replacement crews, mission modules (if the tasking changes), extra munitions or even transport specialist or Special Operations troops to support the LCS mission are Tenders.  This from Wikipedia...

A destroyer tender is a ship designed to provide maintenance support to a flotilla of destroyers or other small warships. The use of this class has faded from its peak in the first half of the 20th century as the roles of small combatants have evolved (in conjunction with technological advances in propulsion reliability and efficiency).
Due to the increased size and automation of modern destroyers, tenders are no longer as necessary as they once were.

Replace the word 'Destroyer' in the above paragraph with the word 'LCS' and you realize the need exists.

My modest proposal.  Build a stripped down LPD-17 class hull, place cranes on it and you have instant modern day LCS Tender.

*While looking up information on the Dash Drone, I ran across this site which provides more information on Destroyer Tenders of old.  Check it out.

C-5.

A C-5A Galaxy strategic airlifter arrived at Lockheed Martin from the U.S. Air Force to begin major maintenance. This C-5A is assigned to Stewart Air National Guard Base, New York, home of the 105th Airlift Wing, and will be at the Palmdale site for five months.

A C-5A Galaxy strategic airlifter arrived at Lockheed Martin from the U.S. Air Force to begin major maintenance. This C-5A is assigned to Stewart Air National Guard Base, New York, home of the 105th Airlift Wing, and will be at the Palmdale site for five months.

Nigel is AWESOME!

A few days ago I ran the a video featuring Nigel Farage.  While I support his cause and his words echo my feelings... comments from my European readers were alot less than flattering.

I wrote the UKIP to get a response to the criticisms that flew Nigel's way.

Today I got that response.

Dear Solomon

Many thanks for writing to me about this.  I notice that the comments you mention, from your "readers in Europe", do not address the substance of my speech - which was all about the EU's Central Bank bailing out failing eurozone-countries - at all!

What those "readers" are saying amounts to an ad hominem attack - an ancient rhetorical device for avoiding an argument you can't win - and, in addition, this attack is the oldest canard in the book - "racism", if you please, when UKIP is a declared libertarian, inclusive, democratic Party, battling to remove the megalomanic grasp of the Brussels-bureaucrats from our social, economic, political and judicial throat!  

I don't think you can take it seriously.  UKIP always says , "love Europe - hate the EU!"  It is the neo-soviet EU-system, we are fighting, and the Quisling-conspirators in national governments, who have created this system, and who stay in power, because they are using taxpayers' money, via the EU and directly, to bribe the media and all society's opinion-formers to support them.

As for our neighbours, European and otherwise, we fear for  them - as the EU's power grows - just as much as we fear for ourselves.

What your critics are saying is cynical tosh.

Yours sincerely

Nigel

Wow.


Nigel rocks!

Navy/Marine Team Practice "Logistics" in the runup to Cobra Gold 11...

Marines and Navy personnel offload humvees from the USNS Lummus onto a causeway ferry as they perform a maritime prepositioning force offload during exercise Freedom Banner on Jan. 25, 2011 at the Sattahip Naval Station, Kingdom of Thailand.

Marines and Navy personnel offload humvees from the USNS Lummus onto a causeway ferry as they perform a maritime prepositioning force offload during exercise Freedom Banner on Jan. 25, 2011 at the Sattahip Naval Station, Kingdom of Thailand.

A Navy causeway ferry, top, docks with the USNS Lummus to offload hummvees and other military gear as part of Exercise Freedom Banner on Jan. 25, 2011, Sattahip Navy Base, Thailand. Exercise Freedom Banner utilizes a Maritime Prepositioning Force to offload gear in a timely manner that is unique to the U.S. Marine Corps and Navy.

“An MPF squadron, like MPSRON 3, can support a brigade sized element of more than 16,000 for up to 30 days. For Exercise Cobra Gold ’11, the MPF will provide 160 pieces of equipment that will be utilized by units within 3rd MEB,” said Lt. Col. Michael Curtin, 3rd MEB logistics officer. “MPSRON 3 is an operational asset to the Navy’s Seventh Fleet focusing on the Asia-Pacific region.”

F-35 final development jet.

A Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II stealth fighter comes in for a landing at Edwards AFB, Calif., Saturday, Jan. 22, after a 3.2-hour ferry flight from Fort Worth, Texas.

Appeasement is the proper policy towards Confucian China???

via The Telegraph.

The correct statecraft for the West is to treat Beijing politely but firmly as a member of global club, gambling that the Confucian ethic will over time incline China to a quest for global as well as national concord. Until we face irrefutable evidence that this Confucian bet has failed, 'Boltonism’ must be crushed.
Appeasement, your hour has come.

Wow!

Wow!

Wow!

Before any action is taken...after we have acquiesced to every demand...the pacifist want even more.

Wow!

If you feel like being highly pissed off then read the whole thing, but remember, I warned you!