31st MEU Marines seize the U.S. Naval Ship Dahl

Tanks complete final exercise before deployment

MARINE CORPS AIR GROUND COMBAT CENTER TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif., -Lance Cpl. Eli Gutierrez, loader with 1st platoon, Co. A, 1st Tank Battalion, looks out the main hatch of his team’s tank during a patrol exercise in the Combat Center’s training area Dec. 1, 2011. The tankers faced record winds and freezing temperatures during their five-day training operation.
, Cpl. Sarah Dietz, 12/1/2011 7:07 AM

MARINE CORPS AIR GROUND COMBAT CENTER TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif., -Marines with Co. A, 1st Tank Battalion, roll through the Combat Center training area during a patrol training exercise Dec. 1, 2011. This field exercise is the last time the company will be in the field training before they deploy to Afghanistan., Cpl. Sarah Dietz, 12/1/2011 7:43 AM

MARINE CORPS AIR GROUND COMBAT CENTER TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif., - (Left) Lance Cpl. Clint Lathrop, tank mechanic and M88 recovery vehicle driver, and Lance Cpl Aaron Hullet, tank driver with first platoon, look into the mechanical problems of a tank Dec. 1, ,2011, during a field exercise.
, Cpl. Sarah Dietz, 12/1/2011 11:27 AM

RNLAF AH-64 Apache Display Team.

Programs that we could afford to see go away.

Everyone is talking about the upcoming budget crunch that the US is facing in the defense sphere and reacting as if its the end of the world.

I beg to differ.  While the wars have been going on in Iraq and Afghanistan, we've seen a number of projects and initiatives started that don't fit our needs and should be done away with today.

1.  JLTV.  This vehicle started out as a HUMVEE replacement and then turned into a more modern M-ATV.  Its too heavy, costs too much and if we need protection against IED's then its time to pull MRAPs out of storage.  A number of manufacturers have developed upgrades for HUMVEEs that we should buy.  The JLTV is just not needed.

2.  GCV.  The ground combat vehicle.  Wow.  Where do I start.  First the Bradley in its ultimate form is already a world class vehicle.  Second we have excess Bradley's and if the US Army needs a M-113 replacement, a better option would be to modify those excess Bradley's by removing the turrets, adding a RWS and installing ballistic seats and spall liners.  Improvements in its suspension and power train along with additional armor in required areas should hold be sufficient for Army use.

3.  Observation Helicopter Replacement.  The US Army might as well face it.  Its going to fly Kiowas till 2030.  Just get on with it and upgrade the helicopters it has and buy new ones instead of developing a brand new supply chain and training centers.  The AA-72X might be impressive.  The OH-6 too and the AH-64 lite or whatever they're calling it but common sense and urgency require that the foolishness stop and reality accepted.

4.  NGB.  The next generation bomber is a pipe dream.  Penetration of enemy defenses by large bombers is not going to happen.  Money better spent would be to develop ultra high speed cruise missiles.  Fixing existing bombers might help too.  I find it hard to believe that the B-1 can't be re-engined to fill this role.

Of course there are a number of other programs that can go on this list ranging from small arms to nuclear weapons.  The point is quite simply this.  We can afford to make cuts in some of our defense programs without jeopardizing our safety and the safety of our allies.  Even with as big as a one quarter cut in the defense budget and we still should be fine.  Even in the face of a rising China.

Now if we could only make some cuts that would really help...you know, like getting rid of a whole ton of flag officers!  That would make my day!

Disclaimer:
The Flag Officer remark is not aimed at Admiral Venelet.  I simply believe that we have too many.  Generals are in positions once commanded by Colonels.  Etc...

Australians and Marines at Semper FAST

NAVAIR Air Waves...

F-35 News. More to chew on from BlackFive.

Read BlackFive's article here.

David has pics of our captured spy plane.

Go here...

Marines train to capture vessels at sea

USNS ARCTIC -A CH-53E Super Stallion lands on the USNS Arctic during a simulated Expanded, Visit, Board, Search and Seizure, Dec. 7, 2011 The 24th MEU is currently taking part in Composite Training Unit Exercise (COMPTUEX), scheduled to take place Nov. 28 to Dec. 21. The training is meant to develop cohesion between the 24th MEU and Amphibious Squadron 8 (PHIBRON-8) in conducting amphibious operations, crisis response, and limited contingency operations while operating from the sea. The CH-53E helicopters are a detachment from HMH-464 based at Marine Corps Air Station New River, N.C., and comprise part of Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron VMM-261 (Rein), which is the Aviation Combat Element for the 24th MEU. , Lance Cpl. Michael Petersheim, 12/7/2011 10:11 AM

USNS ARCTIC -Marines and Sailors with the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit's Force Reconnaissance Platoon and Security Element, Headquarters and Service Company, Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment fast rope from a CH-53E Super Stallion while conducting a simulated Expanded, Visit, Board, Search and Seizure aboard the USNS Arctic, Dec. 7, 2011 The 24th MEU is currently taking part in Composite Training Unit Exercise (COMPTUEX), scheduled to take place Nov. 28 to Dec. 21. The training is meant to develop cohesion between the 24th MEU and Amphibious Squadron 8 (PHIBRON-8) in conducting amphibious operations, crisis response, and limited contingency operations while operating from the sea. The CH-53E helicopters are a detachment from HMH-464 based at Marine Corps Air Station New River, N.C., and comprise part of Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron VMM-261 (Rein), which is the Aviation Combat Element for the 24th MEU. (Official USMC Photo by: Lance Cpl. Michael Petersheim/ Released), Lance Cpl. Michael Petersheim, 12/7/2011 8:45 AM

USNS ARCTIC-Marines with the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit's Force Reconnaissance Platoon and Security Element, Headquarters and Service Company, Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment provide security while a CH-53E Super Stallion lands on the USNS Arctic during a simulated Expanded, Visit, Board, Search and Seizure, Dec. 7, 2011 The 24th MEU is currently taking part in Composite Training Unit Exercise (COMPTUEX), scheduled to take place Nov. 28 to Dec. 21. The training is meant to develop cohesion between the 24th MEU and Amphibious Squadron 8 (PHIBRON-8) in conducting amphibious operations, crisis response, and limited contingency operations while operating from the sea. The CH-53E helicopters are a detachment from HMH-464 based at Marine Corps Air Station New River, N.C., and comprise part of Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron VMM-261 (Rein), which is the Aviation Combat Element for the 24th MEU., Lance Cpl. Michael Petersheim, 12/7/2011 9:08 AM

USNS ARCTIC -Marines with the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit's Force Reconnaissance Platoon and Security Element, Headquarters and Service Company, Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment provide security while a CH-53E Super Stallion lands on the USNS Arctic during a simulated Expanded, Visit, Board, Search and Seizure, Dec. 7, 2011 The 24th MEU is currently taking part in Composite Training Unit Exercise (COMPTUEX), scheduled to take place Nov. 28 to Dec. 21. The training is meant to develop cohesion between the 24th MEU and Amphibious Squadron 8 (PHIBRON-8) in conducting amphibious operations, crisis response, and limited contingency operations while operating from the sea. The CH-53E helicopters are a detachment from HMH-464 based at Marine Corps Air Station New River, N.C., and comprise part of Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron VMM-261 (Rein), which is the Aviation Combat Element for the 24th MEU. (Official USMC Photo by: Lance Cpl. Michael Petersheim/ Released), Lance Cpl. Michael Petersheim, 12/7/2011 8:45 AM

USNS ARCTIC -Marines and Sailors with the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit's Force Reconnaissance Platoon and Security Element, Headquarters and Service Company, Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, conduct a simulated Expanded, Visit, Board, Search and Seizure aboard the USNS Arctic, Dec. 7, 2011 The 24th MEU is currently taking part in Composite Training Unit Exercise (COMPTUEX), scheduled to take place Nov. 28 to Dec. 21. The training is meant to develop cohesion between the 24th MEU and Amphibious Squadron 8 (PHIBRON-8) in conducting amphibious operations, crisis response, and limited contingency operations while operating from the sea., Lance Cpl. Michael Petersheim, 12/7/2011 8:42 AM

USNS ARCTIC -Marines and Sailors with the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit's Force Reconnaissance Platoon and Security Element, Headquarters and Service Company, Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, climb up the side of the USNS Arctic, while conducting a simulated Expanded, Visit, Board, Search and Seizure, Dec. 7, 2011 The 24th MEU is currently taking part in Composite Training Unit Exercise (COMPTUEX), scheduled to take place Nov. 28 to Dec. 21. The training is meant to develop cohesion between the 24th MEU and Amphibious Squadron 8 (PHIBRON-8) in conducting amphibious operations, crisis response, and limited contingency operations while operating from the sea. (Official USMC Photo by: Lance Cpl. Michael Petersheim/ Released), Lance Cpl. Michael Petersheim, 12/7/2011 8:43 AM

USNS ARCTIC -Marines and Sailors with the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit's Force Reconnaissance Platoon and Security Element, Headquarters and Service Company, Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, climb up the side of the USNS Arctic, while conducting a simulated Expanded, Visit, Board, Search and Seizure, Dec. 7, 2011 The 24th MEU is currently taking part in Composite Training Unit Exercise (COMPTUEX), scheduled to take place Nov. 28 to Dec. 21. The training is meant to develop cohesion between the 24th MEU and Amphibious Squadron 8 (PHIBRON-8) in conducting amphibious operations, crisis response, and limited contingency operations while operating from the sea. (Official USMC Photo by: Lance Cpl. Michael Petersheim/ Released), Lance Cpl. Michael Petersheim, 12/7/2011 8:43 AM

Without the F-35 the Marine Corps brand is weakened?

The debate over the F-35 is starting to spiral out of control.  Want proof?  Read the entire article but check out this blurb from National Defense....

Tactical aviation is the Marine Corps’ top modernization priority, Dunford said Dec. 7. “We haven’t bought new airplanes in a decade,” he said.
The unprecedented involvement of the highest ranked Marine in a weapons acquisition program is proof that the stakes in F-35B — a fighter/bomber aircraft that takes off and lands vertically like a helicopter — have become too high to leave anything to chance.
“Losing the F-35B would really collapse the entire structure of the Marine Corps,” said Thomas Donnelly, a defense and security analyst at the neoconservative American Enterprise Institute.
The bottom line is that without F-35B, Marine aviation operations would be reduced to just helicopters. “They would become a consumer of other people’s firepower rather than a producer of firepower,” Donnelly said Dec. 7 at a Center for Strategic and International Studies forum, in Washington, D.C.
Donnelly defended the Marines’ all-in strategy to ensure the aircraft survives both technical and budgetary challenges. A Pentagon budget crunch currently threatens the entire Joint Strike Fighter program — which also includes Air Force and Navy variants.
Marines should go even further in their advocacy of F-35B and make a case that Marine aviation can at times be more valuable than Navy carrier-based aviation, said Donnelly. “A large-deck amphibious ship with 30 stealthy jump jets may be more productive and capable in some cases than a large-deck Navy aircraft carrier with 60 F/A-18s,” he said. “That’s something that we should think about.”

I get the advocacy for the F-35.  But the thought that the Marine Corps is nothing without it is beyond annoying.

Its obscene.

I want the airplane.  I believe we need the airplane.  But if we don't get it then we'll figure out another way.

That's what the Marine Corps is all about.  I said in an earlier post that the Program Manager said in Grunt talk that the F-35 was fucked up beyond belief and that it needed to be sorted out and get its bearings before marching on.

Seems like HQMC needs to do the same.  The only weapon system that identifies the Marine Corps is the Rifleman.  Everything else is just a tool to achieve the mission.

NOTE:
Marine Air...God love ya, but to say they haven't bought a new airplane in a decade is a bit of a farce.  We still have Marines getting the job done in AAV's that were first designed in the 70's.  How about a little love for the ground side?