Retired Navy Admiral (and carrier pilot) fully endorses the F-35.

BlackFive hits it out the park again...read it there but a tidbit...

Why does Stufflebeem so heavily tout the F-35?

But many fail to realize that the F-35C, with its data exchange and interoperability capabilities, will make the entire Carrier Strike Group (CSG) more capable, effective and lethal. Using similar methods in exercises like Red Flag, the F-22 Raptor made both air and ground units more effective by providing enhanced situational awareness of the battlespace; so will the F-35 provide better maritime awareness to the CSG including both Airwing assets as well as surface forces. The F-35C will make the CSG a better, more capable fighting centerpiece of American military power and force for good around the globe.

Very interesting.

If my memory is correct this is the first time I've heard full support for the F-35 from a high ranking Navy Officer (the flag ranks never actually retire). 

About time.

Just plain cool...different, but cool.

Marines face off with insurgents

Monday Mudballing...30 Jan 2012

I was reading this article from the Washington Post this morning and it has me thinking about a number of issues.

Dependents Overseas

The Army took the first hit but the tidbit from the referenced article has me wondering...

There are about 80,000 U.S. service members stationed in Europe, along with more than 200,000 family members and civilian employees.

The savings that will be realized by removing the overhead of dependents and civilian employees from overseas locations could and should be realized world wide by the US military.  It should be a USMC, USN and USAF imperative too.  That one move alone should save a tremendous amount of money.  Additionally it should allow bases to be consolidated or even shut down.  This is an obvious, uncontroversial move that should be implemented immediately.  Oh and I'm mainly looking at you USAF---shut down those European air bases!

US and European views of each other

This was predicatable but still eye opening...

In Washington, the long-held “vision of Europe is that there’s a bunch of reasonably rich countries, relatively lazy, and not standing up for American-initiated missions abroad as much as they should,” he said.
In contrast, Eide said, resentment and opposition to the U.S.-led occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan has reduced popular backing for NATO among many Western European countries. “NATO was identified simply as the organization that takes away our sons and daughters and sends them to faraway places to do nation-building in the desert.”

It won't happen but NATO is dead as an institution.  It is incapable of projecting power in a unified way and would be hard pressed to defend itself from a determined enemy.    We all focus on the equipment to fight wars but discount the will to fight.  I wonder if Europe still has the will (talking about its people, not its military) and they think that we're cowboys that gallop around the world imposing our will.  Like a bad marriage, we need a divorce.

Defense Budgets

Label this sad, but predictable...

U.S. and NATO officials fret that the cutbacks will further erode military weaknesses that were exposed during last year’s air war in Libya. Several European countries quickly ran out of munitions and had to order them on an emergency basis from Washington. European militaries also lacked capability to refuel their own planes or conduct adequate surveillance from the air.
“If there ever was a time in which the United States could always be counted on to fill the gaps that may emerge in European defense, that time is rapidly coming to an end,” Ivo Daalder, the U.S. ambassador to NATO, told reporters in Washington last month.
At the same time, Europe’s austere economic outlook is leading to a “further weakening of the core ability to defend ourselves,” said Norwegian Defense Minister Espen Barth Eide.
Oil-rich Norway is an exception to the trend; it is increasing its defense budget. But Europe’s overall economic woes are exacerbating existing tensions within NATO, Eide said in a recent speech at the Center for Security and International Studies, a Washington-based think tank.

We live in interesting times.

I can't wait to see how this turns out but if we suffer one more economic shock, I can see the US fully divesting itself of Europe, turning to the Pacific and not looking back.

Check out this piece of shit SEAL "faker"...

via KitUp!

Listen to this bastard laugh when he talks about child rape.  A bullet to the back of the head would be too merciful!

24th MEU preps for final certification exercise.

All photos by Sgt. Richard Blumenstein

Resident Evil finally looks interesting.

My boy "Everyday No Days Off" Blogspot found this and it looks like Resident Evil is finally interesting.

Good graphics.

Interesting storyline (well I think it will be...fighting zombies and mutated zombies gets boring...another team to the fight adds spice)...

Might be a game worth buying when it comes out.

Breaking! China has copied the F-35...due to enter service in 2014!

DAMN IT!


I knew liberal policies and a short sighted administration would lead to this!

The Aviationist Website has full details....

Just joking.  The Aviationist has this great photoshop pic of the F-35 in Chinese colors but the thought of it and the possibility shouldn't surprise anyone.

KitUp! Finally shows something unique.

KitUp! finally did a little something to break the drudgery of the Shot Show coverage.

I mean seriously.  I subscribe to 5 channels and they all had the same products on show.  The only person that broke the mold was MilSpeckMonkey and even then just a little.

But this offering from Gerber has me a little curious and I'll definitely check it out.  My biggest concern will be with the strength of the knife but it is suppose to be for fighting and not bushcraft so it should suffice.

We'll see.  Meanwhile, about time KitUp!  Not everyone has 1k to drop on a watch!  Can spend 250 bucks for a pair of pants etc...

USS Ponce as a seabase? Don't be confused...SOCOM wants an amphib.

via FoxNews.

The U.S. Navy is working to place a 'mothership' for Special Operations Forces in the Middle East, Fox News confirms. 

The USS Ponce, which was most recently being used as a dock in the Mediterranean Sea for the Libyan operation, was scheduled to be decommissioned in December. Navy officials now tell Fox News that the ship will be transformed into a flotilla to be used by Navy SEALs

Don't be confused by this move.

The amphibs...more precisely the big deck amphibs are the ships most desired by a variety of forces.

*Riverines want them as a base and as transport.

*SOCOM wants them for the same reason.

*Army Aviation sees it as a way to get into action displacing Marine aviation.

*Surface Navy sees them as a mine sweeping platform (aerial minesweeping has made tremendous strides lately...don't be fooled...the mission module for LCS will be a SeaHawk with appropriate mine sweeping gear)

*Naval Aviation sees them as an adjunct to the carrier in the sea control sphere.

The Marine Corps better get a little less purple and start protecting assets.  The seabase as a concept is dead for Marine Corps operations.  If you can't get it in the assault phase then you better leave it to your ship to shore connectors from your MPS ships.  The seabase is designed for extended counter insurgency operations OR extended conventional warfare.

These are not future Marine missions.

Lets get light.  Lets fight right and lets jettison the idea of enhanced logistics.  A medium weight force that arrives by sea with enough on hand logistics to support 15 (MEU), 30 (MEB) or 45 (MEF) days of sustained combat without support.

The guidebook has been established.  We just need to follow it instead of heading off on tangents.

And how about we focus on Marine Corps issues AND needs...not the joint forces.

NOTE:

This idea is pure craziness.  Don't be fooled into thinking that this won't be one of the most monitored ships in the Navy.  And in addition to the SEALs they better have a detachment of Marine Special Ops or Rangers on board because I can imagine speedboats, anti-ship missiles, enemy aircraft, pirates, lions and tiger and bears oh my! will be watching and ready to take a whack at this ship.

Electronic monitoring...visual monitoring...sat monitoring...everyone and their mother will be watching this thing.  So much for secret ops!