Two viewpoints on the "pissing" Snipers...

I've been watching the 'pissing' Sniper coverage to see how the news breaks on the subject.  Predictably, the Pentagon and HQMC is going bonkers.

Condemning the actions.

Calling this a breakdown in discipline and a lapse in morals.

They ignore the atrocities committed by our enemies.  They ignore the facts of life.  They dismiss the failures of our National Command Authority in spelling out a clear path to victory.

But I found these two authors to be most compelling.  First up is Lex.  Love the guy.  He has a way of cutting through bullshit and hitting at the heart of the issue in a straightforward unapologetic way.  Read his post here but check out this tidbit....

The Taliban, with their indiscriminate murders and their cowardly tactics, have probably earned a very great deal of enmity from those who have been grappling with them for going on eleven years now. The danger when good men confront evil is that, over time, they may become what they beheld.
None of the foregoing is meant to excuse.
But it may help to explain.

Compare the Lex post with this tripe from BattleRattle.  I don't know whether I love or hate these guy.  The author continuously (in my opinion) touts his embedding with Marines as a cause celeb.  He gives me the impression that because he was on these embeds that he speaks with a Marines voice.  He doesn't.  But read his "article" here and check out this part....

In March 2008, a video surfaced of a Marine throwing a puppy off a cliff in Iraq. It sparked widespread outrage, including among active-duty Marines. Nearly everyone likes a cute puppy, after all.
In this case, the “puppy” is a dead insurgent — and he probably wasn’t so innocent. Consequently, many readers already have downplayed the significance of the event, even if it becomes a Taliban recruiting tool, reflects poorly on the Corps as a whole or harms the war effort in Afghanistan.
Already today, military leadership has responded swiftly to make it clear they won’t tolerate it. Amos said the service “will not rest until the allegations and the events surrounding them have been resolved.” Defense Secretary Leon Panetta called the actions depicted “utterly deplorable,” while stressing that the origins and authenticity of the video was not yet confirmed.
That’s very unambiguous, but the message clearly hasn’t reached those defending these Marines — even though very few service members would even dream of recording a video like this.
How does the U.S. military reinforce to rank-and-file troops that just because insurgents don’t fight fair doesn’t mean our country’s ethics can be thrown out the window in combat?

What a load of self serving bullshit.

Any Commander that allows someone like the writers at Marine Times to embed is making a mistake.

Any Marine that grants interviews to these self serving glory hounds needs to have a wall to wall wake up call.

Two different views of an incident.  One spot on.  The other WAAAAAAAAAY off the mark.

PS.


IF I EMPTY A FULL MAGAZINE INTO THE BODY OF A BAD GUY, I WILL FACE NO PUNISHMENT.  IF I STAND OVER THAT SAME TERRORIST AND TAKE A PISS THE WHOLE WORLD GOES CRAZY.  ITS A WEIRD WORLD!

Pic of the day...

ATLANTIC OCEAN (Jan. 10, 2012) An MV-22 Osprey takes off from the amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge (LHD 3). Kearsarge is conducting crew certifications in preparation for future amphibious operations. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Corbin Shea/Released) 120110-N-SB587-278

Damn it! I hope this shit isn't true.

Go to CNN to check out this story.  I won't place it here because I'm not going to tarnish all the good stuff done by Marines everyday by a few suspected bad apples.

But I want to hear the service members side of the story before we jump to conclusions.

If they are Marines, then they're in for hell in a handbasket. 

Not an excuse but the enemy does far worse.

PS.

Navy SEALs wear similar uniforms to MARPAT(desert).  Again, not spreading blame just pointing this out.

And now the vid!

First production F-35 to the Marines...

BF-6, the first F-35B short takeoff/vertical landing (STOVL) production jet delivered to the U.S. Marine Corps, arrives at its new assignment with the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing's Marine Fighter/Attack Training Squadron 501 at Eglin AFB, Fla. The 5th Generation fighter jet, piloted by U.S. Marine Corps pilot Maj. Joseph Bachmann, touched down on Florida’s Emerald Coast at 3:13 p.m. CST after a 90-minute ferry flight. It was followed by BF-8, which landed at 4:39 p.m. CST piloted by U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Col. Matt Taylor. BF-6 and BF-8 are the first F-35s delivered to the base in 2012 and the seventh and eighth F-35 now stationed there. The aircraft will be used for pilot and maintainer training at the base’s new F-35 Integrated Training Center. (photo by Angel DelCueto)

HQMC gets it a little...flunks out alot.

Saw this story on DOD Buzz.  Go there for the whole thing but check out these passages....

The Marine Corps can’t sacrifice its wholesale modernization plans to budget cuts because another “bow wave” of programs await the Corps in the 2020s, said Lt. Gen. Richard Mills, Marine Corps deputy commandant for combat development and integration.

About time.  I'm repeating myself here but how can the US Army go through 3 generations of Fighting Vehicles and the Marine Corps barely make it to a second gen...doubt me?  The US Army has gone from the M-113 (with upgrades) to the Bradley IFV (with upgrades) to the Stryker (with upgrades) and are fighting tooth and nail to get a GCV going.  You damn right there is a bow wave and its here and now!

 Mills said he’s tired of hearing how the Corps “needs to return to ships.” Despite the past ten years fighting mostly ground wars in Iraq and Afghanistan “we’ve never left the ships,” he the Surface Navy Association’s trade show on Wednesday.

 Another HQMC issue.  The talk about becoming a second land army originated there and it took off.  I'm glad to see a little push back but it appears to be too little too late.  Just hunker down and get it done.

Corps acquisition officials also remain focused on the ACV program and ensuring it doesn’t meet the same fate as the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle. Much like the JLTV, Marines can’t allow requirements for the program to spiral out of control in this budget environment.
Setting realistic expectations for its fighting vehicles in light of an evolving battlefield remains a challenge, Mills said. For example, Marine Corps officials must figure out just how far Marines must plan to travel from ship to shore and determine if current combat strategies meet those expectations.

 From what I've been told the Marine Corps Acquisition officials are fired up about the Humvee Upgrades.  Why the Marine Corps is even still playing with the JLTV is doing nothing but keeping a vehicle issue on the table that should be solved.  Remember where I talked about hunkering down and getting it done?  This is what I'm talking about.  Pull the trigger and get the Humvee Upgrade (which ever is best and cheapest) into the field poste haste!

 The Marine Corps must look to grow certain portions of its force despite the future drawdown. Mills listed special operations, cyber warfare, civil affairs, intelligence, route clearance and reconnaissance, military police and unmanned aerial vehicles as areas the Corps needs to expand.

You're going to draw down to a possible low of 150,000 Marines yet you're still talking about expanding Special Ops?  How?  You're going to lower the quality if the pool is diminished.  Cyber warfare?  Why is this a Marine Corps mission?  Why isn't this given to the Navy like medical services?  Route clearance and recon?  So you're going to be expanding Combat Engineers too?  Why do we need an expanded civil affairs force?  We could leverage off Army assets!  Military Police?  I need more details.  And UAVs?  I hope you're talking about rotary winged versions...otherwise why take business away from the USAF?  They have the resources in place already!  What was the answer in boot camp when someone asked why we're using Army Manuals?  It was said, why reinvent the wheel!

Alot of these moves look like Army light.  Alot of them seem spot on.

I guess time will tell.

How about a little more F-35 porn?

BF-6 on a ferry flight.

Flown by Major O.D. Bachman