Pic of the day and modest proposal. Ban black gear.

U.S. Army Soldiers with the Kandahar Provincial Reconstruction Team security force climb down from their positions during a site assessment of the Dowry Rud check dam in Spin Boldak district, Kandahar, Afghanistan, on Nov. 19, 2011. DoD photo by Senior Airman Sean Martin, U.S. Air Force. (Released)

Look at these Soldiers doing real work in Afghanistan.  Out on patrol and not at a major combat base but out and about doing Soldiers work...no civilian comparison here.  But notice one thing.  They're all wearing multicam which is doing its job quite well and whats busting it up?  Black rifles, black admin pouches, black nvg mounts etc....

Its past time that the US Army and US Marine Corps fix the black rifle problem.

Surely Duracoat or another manufacturer can come up with a fix that's durable enough to meet military standards.

Fix real problems!

Enough of the foolishness!

WTF is going on in the US Senate?

Read sections 1031 and 1032 of the Defense Authorization Bill.

Let me put it like this.  Both Right winger and Left wingers are up in arms and alarmed by the language.  I've said it before and I'll say it again.  McCain's use by date has expired (Levin's too).

Time to put that guy out to pasture!

The Senate is going to vote on whether Congress will give this president—and every future president — the power to order the military to pick up and imprison without charge or trial civilians anywhere in the world. Even Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) raised his concerns about the NDAA detention provisions during last night’s Republican debate. The power is so broad that even U.S. citizens could be swept up by the military and the military could be used far from any battlefield, even within the United States itself.
The worldwide indefinite detention without charge or trial provision is in S. 1867, the National Defense Authorization Act bill, which will be on the Senate floor on Monday. The bill was drafted in secret by Sens. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.) and passed in a closed-door committee meeting, without even a single hearing.

Full disclosure.

I'm in the preparedness community.  FEMA says have 7 days of food and water.  I have a bit more.  You believe in the Constitution.  I'm in love with the 2nd Amendment.  You say republican, I say Conservative.

Just sayin.

Is the Marine Corps becoming reactionary/risk averse?

Lt. Commander Timothy Ringo (left), aeromedical safety officer, and Marines with the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit receive instruction for proper underwater breathing during egress training Nov. 7. Approximately 200 Marines and sailors with Company L, 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit, made the Corps’ first egresses from a simulated amphibious assault vehicle, which was dunked in a Pendleton pool Nov. 7-11. The Marines embarked USS Makin Island, USS New Orleans and USS Pearl Harbor in San Diego Nov. 14 beginning a seven-month deployment to the western Pacific and Middle East regions.  Photo by Cpl. Chad Pulliam

Marines with the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit practice evacuating a sinking amphibious assault vehicle Nov. 7. Approximately 200 Marines and sailors with Company L, 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit, made the Corps’ first egresses from a simulated amphibious assault vehicle, which was dunked in a Pendleton pool Nov. 7-11. The Marines embarked USS Makin Island, USS New Orleans and USS Pearl Harbor in San Diego Nov. 14 beginning a seven-month deployment to the western Pacific and Middle East regions.  Photo by Cpl. Chad Pulliam

Sgt W. J. Rice was killed when his AAV sank at Camp Pendleton.  Lt. Commander Ringo then decided to dabble in the ground side of things and develop another egress training evolution.

Problem is this.  We've had this training for ever and a day.  The only difference is that it hasn't been done with a "designed" training aid.

My question is this.  Has the Marine Corps become risk averse?  Was there some type of finding that an experienced AAV crewman didn't know how to properly egress from his vehicle?  

I find that hard to believe.

I don't know what caused the tragedy that took Sgt Rice's life but something tells me that he didn't die because he didn't know how to properly escape from a sinking AAV.

And since this isn't the first time that a crewman has died in a vehicle incident then why have we decided that this type of training is necessary?

Why is an aeromedical safety officer dabbling in ground vehicle safety?  Doesn't he have enough work to do on the wing side?

Is this type of training even realistic?  Does it help?

I've been extremely impressed from the outside looking in at what the 11th MEU has been doing.  This smacks of political correctness so bad that it reeks.

Being in the military is inherently dangerous.  Developing training routines like this don't lessen the danger.

Besides, the more I look at this the more it looks like the dunk chamber that pilots go through for their water survival training.

The Marine Corps seems to be losing its way in small ways...

Polls being taken of the troops to decide on a uniform issue and then ignoring the polls (rolled sleeves vs. sleeves down).  Unique weapons buys (IAR).  Buying gear items year after year and not getting it right (boots, ruck sacks, holster).  Ditching useful uniform items and instead buying boutique, one use specific items instead (new PT uniform).

And now this.

I'm not impressed.

Blast from the past. Harrier intercepts TU-16...

via Flight Global

I still marvel at the capability holiday the UK forced upon itself by retiring these aircraft early.  Sweetman might gush over the Libyan air war and truly believe that no ground forces were providing targeting data (Fat chance of that!  Either allied special ops or Libyan fighters were talking to fighter bombers overhead) but either way, naval air in the form of a strike fighter is essential in any power projection scheme outside of area.

A great maritime nation acting like some of its land locked cousins still astounds.

Happy Thanksgiving all!

And this is why ISAF press releases are useless...

I'm done with ISAF.

They issue nothing but fluff pieces and have been doing so for so long that I've gotten in the habit of ignoring most of their stuff out of hand.

This press release just pushed me over the edge and now I'm done.

Helicopter makes precautionary landing in eastern Afghanistan

2011-11-S-041 ISAF Joint Command - Afghanistan For Immediate Release KABUL, Afghanistan (Nov.  24, 2011) – An International Security Assistance Force helicopter made a precautionary landing in eastern Afghanistan Thursday. ISAF is still in the process of assessing the circumstances to determine more facts; however, initial reporting indicates that there was no enemy activity in the area. All crew members have recovered with no reported injuries. When the assessment is completed, details will be released as appropriate.

I'm sorry and most of you probably disagree but the deal here to me is this.

1.  No one was injured.
2.  They stated that it was a precautionary landing.
3.  Initial reports are stating that no enemy activity in the area.
4.  All personnel have been recovered.

Then why not tell us the unit and helicopter type!

This war has gone from being reported to having the news managed.  Most images (I'd say at least 90%) are simply fluff pieces telling us how great the ANA is. 

They've been telling us that shit for at least 8 years now.

ISAF Public Affairs Office can kiss my ass.

Is the main battle tank tactically dead?

Is the MBT tactically irrelevant?  I ask because of all the weapon systems designed to kill it...just in US service check out the following...

Maverick Missile

A-10's Gun

DAGR 2.75 rocket noteworthy because it could revolutionize attack helicopters.  Instead of a heavy load of 16 antitank missiles you could carry a 'light' load of perhaps 32 DAGR's...don't laugh, an RPG-29 penetrated an M1 in Iraq.  These should be several times more powerful...just need the right warhead.

Brimstone (not US) but supposedly we have our own version under development...noteworthy because so many rounds can be carried by one airplane.

Hellfire (love this guys artwork)

All this and we haven't even started to look at GPS guided weapons that can be retrofitted for the precision work necessary to take out tanks...we haven't even talked about area denial weapons and bomblets designed to channel and destroy tanks...I haven't even talked about precision artillery shells.

I have been critical of our allies that appear to be destroying there heavy armor forces but perhaps in this area a 'holiday' can be taken.

History has shown that although artillery is still the biggest killer on the modern battlefield, most attention has been paid to destroying tanks.

Perhaps the threat to tanks has finally pushed it into the obsolete category...useful, but on a modern battlefield too heavily hunted to be able to hunt.

If the F-35 is getting the axe someone better tell MCAS Yuma!

via the Yumasun.com

The hangar, which costs $36 million and would normally take about 18 months to build, is expected to be completed in 10 months, and in use by March. McBee said that the air station is on a tight timeline to coincide with the first arrival of the first F-35s in Yuma.

As the future home of the first F-35 Joint Strike Fighters in the country, MCAS Yuma will get five squadrons each with 16 aircraft, and one operational test and evaluation squadron of eight aircraft. The 88 aircraft will replace Yuma's four existing squadrons of 56 AV-8B Harriers.

Great news.

With infrastructure being built on both coasts to house the F-35 I just don't see how they can practically afford to cancel the program.

I also love how they're managing to plus up the B's, kill the F/A-18D's and keep the US Navy happy while maintaining the C's...

Soon the only aircraft that will be big carrier capable will be the F/A-18C's and I wonder how much good the Hornet will do with carriers filled with Super Hornets...a mix of similar looking aircraft but much different capabilities.

The inter-service politics could get really interesting.  The Hornet is faster than the Super...but has shorter legs....I wonder if it might be relegated to CAP and carrier defense?

Is this the beginning of Marine Air basically taking itself out of the big carrier business?

I mean seriously, the Commandant signed for the C model but the talk on the street is that the B model will come first. 

Yeah, this will get good on the manufacturing side...the procurement fight is all but won.