Riverine Forces. You're doing it wrong.

Thanks to Resboiu, Maryus315, Jonathan and TLAM Strike.  Everyone seems to be a fan of the Romanian approach to riverine operations and I can see why...check these photos out from the RomaniaForum..

Lets compare notes...US Navy Riverine is below...

What exactly is the mission of the Riverine Forces again?  This from Wikipedia...

The Riverine Squadrons of the United States Navy are elements of the Navy Expeditionary Combat Command (NECC). According to the Navy: “The Navy’s Riverine force focuses on conducting Maritime Security Operations and Theater Security Cooperation in a riverine area of operations or other suitable area. The force is capable of combating enemy riverine forces by applying fires directly, or by coordinating supporting fires. It will share battle space with the other Services in an effort to close the seams in Doctrine, Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures, and Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance.”^[1]

Lets break it down...

"Capable of battling enemy riverine forces"

Not bloody likely.  At least not as they're currently configured.  A quick glance reveals that potential enemy nations are using PT (Patrol Torpedo) type boats to conduct this mission....Fast Attack Craft if you want the modern designation.  Not only will these type boats out range US Riverine boats in weapons range but they'll also be as fast (in most cases).  If you're relying on the "coordinating supporting fires" part of the mission statement to get past this hurdle then you're whistling past the grave yard.  Gone are the days of the Sea Wolves.  The US Navy does not have dedicated attack helos anymore and even if they did I wonder how long it would take for help to arrive in a meeting engagement.

A Special Ops bias in weapons fit and equipment fit.

I totally get why SEAL Delivery Teams have selected their boats and their weapons fit.  The need to extract SEAL Teams in contact require the ability to put out a tremendous amount of firepower.  The need to rapidly arrive at a desired location and to leave at high speed makes sense.

It doesn't for a force that is operating in a certain area, interdicting enemy supply routes, smuggling etc.  The idea that Riverine Forces will conduct limited missions ashore is a mystery too.

Wrong mission, wrong equipment fit.

There has been one complaint waged against the big Navy that seems more and more valid.  They're so concerned with blue water operations that riverine and green water ops have suffered.  The war on terror should have been the excuse necessary to make the change.  What have they done instead?  The label a Frigate sized warship as a littoral combat vessel and ignore history.  The LCS concept would make sense if it was uparmed and called a Frigate instead.  The big Navy needs Frigates.

What the big Navy also needs is a blast from the past.  Patrol Boats.  Real deal littoral combat vessels.  You remember the type.  The type that John F. Kennedy rode into battle.  The kind that were taking on destroyers with success.  The kind that harassed the Japanese during WW2.  Thats what the Navy needs in the 21st century.

Want a kick in the guts?

The CB90 is about the right size for a Patrol Boat.  Its seriously under armed historically but size and speed wise it fits the bill.  I wouldn't look for Riverine to make the common sense move to larger platforms though.  It seems that the command has SEAL Team Delivery light on the brain.

Northcom getting its act together?

Joe sent me this article (thanks) with the remark that "maybe Northcom is getting its act together".

I would hope that was the case but the more I think about it the more it just seems to be inline with the Pentagon preparing for some unforeseen circumstance that will require a full bore military response.  The recent failures of Northcom to respond to flooding in the Midwest, tornadoes and the fires in Arizona, New Mexico and Texas should all point to them really not being a player when it comes to the numerous disasters that are plaguing us.

They're planning for massive, region wide disruptions.  Anything smaller and Northcom just isn't interested.  Read the story for yourself though but as always, here's a nugget.  Via Yahoo News.

No one commander had that authority in the aftermath of Katrina, and military and civilian experts say the lack of coordination contributed to the nightmarish delays, duplications and gaps in the huge rescue effort.
"It was just like a solid wall was between the two entities," said Georgia National Guard Col. Michael Scholes, who was part of the Katrina response.
Top Defense Department officials believe dual-status commanders are the key to reducing at least some of those failures.

"We're going to be able to conduct disaster response operations on a large scale much more efficiently and effectively than we have in the past," said Paul Stockton, assistant secretary of defense for homeland defense.

Dual-status commanders will provide a "unity of effort that is going to save lives on a large scale," Stockton said in an interview with The Associated Press.

Yep.

A tornado that destroys a medium sized city in the heartland isn't what they're prepping for.  Fires sweeping across the plains of Texas and the foothills in Arizona are beneath their notice too.  This is for something else entirely.

Two-Year Point for U.S. Soldier in Captivity

via ISAF.

ISAF Headquarters Public Affairs Office- Afghanistan
For Immediate Release
2011-06-CA-008

KABUL, Afghanistan (June 30, 2011) – Today marks two years that Sergeant Bowe W. Bergdahl has been in captivity. Sgt. Bergdahl, from Hailey, Idaho, was discovered missing during his unit’s roll-call in Afghanistan on June 30, 2009.

Sgt. Bergdahl was declared Duty Status Whereabouts Unknown (DUSTWUN) on July 1, 2009, and his status was changed to "Missing-Captured” on July 3, 2009. Sgt Bergdahl is a member of the 1st Battalion, 501st Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Fort Richardson, Alaska. The U.S. Army recently announced his promotion to sergeant on June 12, marking his second promotion since his capture. He was promoted to the rank of specialist on June 12, 2010.

“Ever since SGT Bergdahl’s capture, U.S. and ISAF forces have made it a top priority to find him and bring him home safely to his family,” said Rear Admiral Vic Beck, Director of ISAF Public Affairs. “We will continue in our effort to ensure his safe return. On this important anniversary particularly, our thoughts and prayers are with Sgt Bergdahl and his loved ones.”

The story of this guys capture is confusing. 

He says he was straggling on patrol and captured, CNN reports that he got drunk off base.  Either way, I hope we get him back safely.

US Special Operations...WAAAAAAY too big.

According to Admiral Olson's prepared statement to the Senate Armed Services Committee on March 1st of this year, the US Special Operations Command has 60,000 personnel assigned to it.

Take a deep breath.  Hold it in and say it out loud.


60,000 persons.


That's bigger than the 82nd Airborne, 101st Airborne, 10th Mountain and 2nd Infantry Divisions combined.

Just something to chew on.

Russian Gun Support River Boats.

I'm starting to fall in love with English Russia.  There latest entry is about Russian Gun Support River Boats.  I don't know anything about how they employ them but if I were to guess I would bet that its almost akin to the way our Riverine Forces operate.

UPDATE*
Spudman WP confirmed that the gun at the front of the ship is from the ancient PT-76.  This brings up some interesting contrast with the way that US Navy Riverine units are equipped.  Not only is the Russian design more heavily armed but it also appears to have a smaller crew.  If this boat were to come in contact with US Riverine forces and those forces had no or tardy support the results might be in doubt.  Maybe Riverine units should equip with Javelin anti-tank missiles in addition to their standard kit.  It would give them added punch against shore bunkers, Gun Support River Boats and enemy monitors if the concept is revived somewhere.

F-35A AF-10 And AF-11 First Flights

The fifth and sixth production models of the F-35 Lightning II, F-35A AF-10 and AF-11, completed their inaugural flights on 29 June and 1 July 2011, respectively, from NAS Fort Worth JRB. (AF-11 first flight shown in photo.)

Syrian Tanks attack another village. US stays quiet.

Don't get me wrong.

The absolute last thing the US needs to be involved in is another conflict.  But we need a bit of clarity when it comes to our foreign policy.

We attacked Libya because he threatened to attack his people.

The Syrians are rampaging through the countryside and we're looking slack eyed and silly.

I don't get it.

via ASDNews.

NICOSIA - Syrian troops backed by tanks swept into new villages in the northwestern province of Idlib, a rights activist told AFP in Nicosia.

Around 60 tanks and armoured personnel carriers rumbled into two villages in the countryside of Idlib, said Rami Abdel Rahman of the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Abdel Rahman said the troops were exiting from the village of Al-Bara when they split into two units, one heading towards the village of Kafr Nabl and the other to the village of Kansafra.

The operation comes a day after Syrian forces killed 10 civilians who opened fire as they stormed villages in the district of Jabal al-Zawiyah to quash dissent against the rule of President Bashar al-Assad, activists said.

Oh and don't think that this is a new development.  The Syrians have been roughing up its civilians for weeks now and little to nothing has been done about it.

Kind of makes you wonder what the real truth is behind the attacks in Libya.

Marine Special Ops. A capability the Marine Corps can't afford and the nation doesn't need.

Via Military.com

Currently the number of MarSoc Marines stands at about 1,000 — drawing mostly from the Force Recon community but also from some high-speed infantry guys and other intel-centric MOSs. Hejlik said he sees the force growing to about 5,000, or about as many SEALs in the Navy.

and this...

The general also said he envisions the Corps establishing a separate air wing to support MarSoc missions — a controversial gap when the units were established back in 2006. But he admitted that given current budget realities, it’s going to “take some time” for the service to eek out the cash to buy planes for the Leatherneck snake-eaters.

I mean seriously.

What the fuck is the General thinking?

The idea that the Marine Corps could possibly drop down to an end strength of 150, 000 to a high of 175,000 Marines and then allocate up to 5,000 Marines for Special Operations is crazy.  If you add in aircraft like the General is talking about then you have a Marine Special Forces Expeditionary Brigade sized unit.

That's insane.

No knock on Marine Special Ops but what mission are they doing that isn't already accomplished by Navy SEALs, Army Special Forces, Army Rangers or the tier one units Delta or SEAL Team 6?

Rummy forced the Marine Corps into Special Ops.  It was mistake then and its a mistake now.  The Marine Corps can't afford the loss of talent or the disruptions this brings to the Infantry MOS.

On a side note, while the bean counters are out looking to slash the military in general, I'd love for someone to do a cost benefit analysis of Special Operations forces.  With a force of over 50,000 people in SOCOM, is it really the size that the nation wants and needs or should it be down sized.