2nd Fleet Anti-Terrorism Security Team & 5th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment get in a training evolution...

U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Kyle Nielson, with 2nd Fleet Anti-Terrorism Security Team out of Norfolk, Va., demonstrates how FAST Marines transition from primary to secondary weapons for Australian Army Soldiers with 5th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment at Robertson Barracks, Darwin, Australia, Nov. 23, 2011. FAST Marines are attending Exercise Semper Fast 2011, a combined training event hosted by 5th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment focusing on small arms ranges, direct fire ranges, military operations on urban terrain, and light infantry operations. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Pete Thibodeau)

Australian Army Sgt. Bruce Morris, with 5th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (5 RAR), gives a class on Australian military weapons systems to U.S. Marines with 2nd Fleet Anti-Terrorism Security Team out of Norfolk, Va., on Robertson Barracks, Darwin, Australia, Nov. 21, 2011. FAST Marines are attending Exercise Semper Fast 2011, a combined training event hosted by 5th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment focusing on small arms ranges, direct fire ranges, military operations on urban terrain, and light infantry operations. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Pete Thibodeau)

Australian Army Cpl. Phillip Trease, with 5th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (5 RAR), gives a class on Australian military weapons systems to U.S. Marines with 2nd Fleet Anti-Terrorism Security Team out of Norfolk, Va., on Robertson Barracks, Darwin, Australia, Nov. 21, 2011. FAST Marines are attending Exercise Semper Fast 2011, a combined training event hosted by 5th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment focusing on small arms ranges, direct fire ranges, military operations on urban terrain, and light infantry operations. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Pete Thibodeau)

An Australian Army Soldier with 5th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment tries on Marine Corps protective gear from U.S. Marines with 2nd Fleet Anti-Terrorism Security Team out of Norfolk, Va., at Robertson Barracks, Darwin, Australia, Nov. 23, 2011. FAST Marines are attending Exercise Semper Fast 2011, a combined training event hosted by 5th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment focusing on small arms ranges, direct fire ranges, military operations on urban terrain, and light infantry operations. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Pete Thibodeau)

We have holographic sights for our rifles, why not our pistols?

I believe that many firearm innovations start out in the civilian world and migrate to the military.  It didn't use to be that way.

Back when civilian shooting wasn't as big a force as it is today, the military wagged the dog.  Now you see major firearm manufacturers backing out of military competitions to focus on the civilian market.  Smith and Wesson is the latest example of this....they just backed out of the M4 comp.

But to the issue at hand.

A big trend is beginning to appear in the civilian shooting market and I'm beyond intrigued.  I'm ready to pull the trigger on it and I'm wondering why the military hasn't investigated its use. 

That would be the holographic sight on a pistol.

The above system is from TSD.

What I find absolutely amazing is that not even US Special Ops appears to be embracing this tech.

That should change.  I think this is a worthwhile addition that should be procured by the lab rats at the USMC Marksmanship Training Unit to investigate its combat possibilities.

Its definitely as worthy as the IAR....in my opinion more so.

USMC AH-1Z Super Cobra and UH-1Y Huey flight for Top Brass

Hat tip to Military Photos.net via Military Notes

Royal Marine Commandos on Exercise in British Woodland

F-22 upgrades in budget crosshairs???

via the Orlando Sentinel...read the whole thing...but a couple of tidbits...

Although the F-35 has had its share of problems, nothing compares with the woes of the F-22, which have made it the poster child for defense critics. And yet the U.S. is still pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into it.

and this...

It is not clear exactly how much the latest contract is worth. There was confusion when the military announced that the deal was a "potential $7.4 billion indefinite-delivery/indefinite quantity contract." That turned out to be incorrect; instead, the Air Force deal had actually boosted the potential value of an existing program to $7.4 billion, according to Reuters news service.

A DoD spokewoman told Reuters that the latest deal "cleared the way for funding of further upgrades in 2012, the last year of the program." She did not, however, disclose the value of the latest deal.

and finally this...

In some ways, the upgrade work on the F-22 could be seen as a sort of "bailout" of the problem-plagued fighter jet. Since the first Raptor was fielded in 2005, technical problems have prevented a single jet from taking part in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, or in any other conflict.

Among the malfunctions: oxygen problems in the cockpit that caused pilots to lose consciousness, and navigation problems that led to an embarrassing return to base over the Pacific Ocean in 2007 for a dozen jets on a flight to Japan.

For defense proponents, it is an uncomfortable irony that the most-expensive, most-capable jet in the U.S. arsenal has never fired a shot.

The F-22 program confounds.

Its supporters are vociferous.  It is (they claim) capable of shooting down anything short of a Death Star, yet its looking more and more like a hangar queen and its upgrade path seems to indicate that its not as technologically advanced as some 4th gen fighters.

Upgrades are flowing from the F-35 to the F-22 and not the other way around.  Perhaps the real canary in the USAF's coal mine is the F-22 and its actual utility against a 1st tier opponent.

CH-46 flight ops aboard USS New Orleans.

All photos by Cpl. Ryan Carpenter

A CH-46E Sea Knight with Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 268 (Reinforced), 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit, flies here Nov. 26 . The squadron is the aviation combat element for the unit, which 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

A CH-46E Sea Knight with Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 268 (Reinforced) lands the amphibious transport dock New Orleans Nov. 26. The squadron is the aviation combat element for the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit, which 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.

A CH-46E Sea Knight with Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 268 (Reinforced) flies here Nov. 26. The squadron is the aviation combat element for the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit, which 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.

A CH-46E Sea Knight with Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 268 (Reinforced) flies here Nov. 26. The squadron is the aviation combat element for the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit, which 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.

Are US Navy Amphibs and US Marine Corps MEU's preparing for embassy reinforcement mission in Europe?

Wow.

The break up of the Euro could lead to mass rioting and civil disturbances?  I hope USMC Europe is preparing for the possibility of Embassy reinforcement/recovery of US citizens.

Correction.

This is a US Army mission.  They have the 173rd Airborne in Europe along with some aviation assets.  If anything, you might see a FAST Battalion along with a USMC Infantry Battalion just helping out on reinforcing the embassies.  Everything else would probably go to the Army.

The Brits are planning, we need to too!