Sequestration Will Force Marines To Choose Between JLTV, MPC

Major league hat tip Lee!  Great catch!

via DefenseNewsStand.com (if you have a subscription shoot me a copy!)

The Marine Corps will have to choose between the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle and the Marine Personnel Carrier if sequestration is implemented, according to a service official.

I can't get behind the firewall but we can assume a few things...

1.  The US Army will be putting major pressure on the Marine Corps to continue the JLTV buy.
2.  Inside the Marine Corps there is a large group of Officers that believe that the JLTV is not needed and that the Marines should pursue upgraded HUMVEEs instead.
3.  The MPC testing that is about to commence will be more important than I initially thought.
4.  The decision on what capabilities the ACV will have will impact the rest of the Marine Corps vehicle fleet.

Consider this.  If the Marine Corps ends up just doing a major upgrade of the AAV then the MPC probably goes forward.  If the Marine Corps selects essentially a new build AAV with redesigned hull---depending on the water speed then the MPC goes forward.  If the Marine Corps gets a completely clean sheet ACV then expect the MPC to be jettisoned.

But those are all guesses.

Whats becoming apparent is that sequestration isn't the simple paper exercise that some believe.  That CRAZY schedule of upgrading the AAV, building the ACV and then the MPC was always questionable to me.

Now its looking like a non-starter.  It was probably a non-starter when the Commandant missed his latest deadline on the ACV.

The issue?

However this plays out the Marine Corps will probably have to make do with a 50 year old Armored Fighting Vehicle carrying Devil Dogs from ship to shore and then on to the objective in the 2020's.

Chesty would be pissed.

Homeland Security are a bunch of dicks but....

Homeland Security are a bunch of dicks but I have mixed feelings about this vid.

On one hand we need people to actively resist but on the other hand these goons are just at the end of the leash dancing to their masters commands.

I just don't know.

Blast from the past. Interim Fast Attack Vehicle (IFAV)

The USMC Interim Fast Attack Vehicle (IFAV) is a modified version of the Mercedes-Benz Geländewagen 290. It replaces the modified M-151A2 1/4 ton truck (MUTT jeep) used by the Marines as an FAV in the 1990s. 

The IFAV.  Essentially faces the same requirements as the current Fast Attack Vehicle except that it was sized to fit inside a CH-53 instead of the MV-22.

I wonder if all the effort and money to develop these vehicles could be considered well spent?

Senator Joe is running scared.

I got this from the blog "The Truth About Guns" and it made my morning.

Senator Manchin is working hard on a flawed universal backgrounds  check bill and he's obviously catching hell from the citizens that he represents.

Awesome.

There is a world outside of the Northeast Corridor and the West Coast....and those that live there definitely DO NOT agree with the feminized males and butched up females that populate those regions.

Troop Pay is the real issue facing the Pentagon.

Time for some brass tacks.

Do you really want to know why Sequestration will cause so much damage to the Pentagon?

If you're thinking bloated weapons programs like the F-35, F-22, canceled EFV, Crusader or the like then you're wrong.

If you think that its because the military has too many bases it doesn't need...nope.

Its all about the troops, benefits and E-1's with kids.

First a tidbit from AOL.

Manpower costs dominate the Army budget, dwarfing all other expenses, from training to equipping to running bases, as the official graphic above makes clear. (Click on the image to see it full-size). Army spending on manpower soared 54 percent from 2000 to 2013 -- but the number of soldiers is only 4 percent higher. Base pay has risen by over 50 percent, set-asides for retirement pay by over 65 percent, housing allowances are up over 300 percent.

Next a tidbit from the Weekly Standard.

 According to the House Armed Services Committee, the 2011 Budget Control Act (the law that imposed both spending caps and sequestration) will force the Marine Corps to shrink by 25 percent--from 202,000 Marines to 145,000. What's more, "by the end of calendar year 2013, less than half of our ground units will be trained to the minimum readiness level required for deployment," Marine Corps commandant James Amos testified to Congress this month.  

Wait.  Before we continue I need to pat myself on the back for being right...not now but in the near future.

Remember that I said the real end strength for the Marine Corps would be 150K?  Remember when I said the Marine Corps would get rid of Marines before it got rid of weapon systems?

You're watching that play out now.

But back on subject.

Army spending on manpower soared 54 percent from 2000 to 2013 -- but the number of soldiers is only 4 percent higher. Base pay has risen by over 50 percent....

That is the real issue.  The Pentagon has launched so many morale and welfare programs, done so many family outreach services, allowed pay to rise so fast that it now can't afford its basic building block...the individual Soldier, Sailor, Airman or Marine.

Want to know a secret?  The Marine Corps turns over approximately a third of its force every year.  The reason?  It saves money.

The troops deserve every cent.  But its caused an unbalance in the Pentagon and it will probably be solved by a massive reduction in force.

Don't hate me.  I'm just the messenger.

Note:  Name an industry anywhere in the free world where the workers have seen their pay increase by 50% over the same span of years.  I tried and couldn't think of one.  Whether Sequestration hits or not is irrelevant.  The services must shed personnel in order to absorb future budget cuts.

A community conducts patrols to protect itself from crime.

Welcome to the future.

Normalcy bias will keep you from seeing it but see it you must.  Cuts in law enforcement budgets, money diverted to other "needs" and communities left in the lurch.

The future is staring you in the face but you still support bills to ban assault weapons?  You still think that a "law" will keep criminals from committing crimes?  Wow. Just plain wow.

USS Freedom Sports New Paint; Gears Up for Deployment Vid

Camp Bastion/Leatherneck suffers rocket attack.

Amazing.

A rocket attack and I have to hear about it from British news. Geez!

If Sequester kills the F-35, the rebirth of the Raptor? You're smoking crack!

via Flight Global.  Please go there to read the whole thing!

"I would have to refurbish the [F-15] and [F-16 fleets] and the legacy hardware I have today. I also have a very small fleet of tremendously capable airplanes in the F-22s. I would push to buy more of those," Hostage told the AFA.  If the F-35 were to be culled off in the wake of the sequester, the USAF would need 225 more Raptors, Hostage says.

I don't think that many in the Pentagon (as indicated by this comment by General Hostage) realize the situation that they're faced with.

The current administration is in FAVOR of huge, what were once undreamed of cuts in defense.

Exhibit number one for that fact?  Sending Hagel to head the Pentagon!  I often blame McCain for being a senile angry old man but he's spot on when he questions whether Hagel is worthy of the position.

Hagel is a dove at best.  Anti-military at worst.  It would be like putting an old fashioned oil baron in charge of the EPA.  The baron would be effective in the job but not in the manner intended.

But what is troubling to me is the fact that this has even been war gamed.

I believe that the option of killing the F-35 has actually been floated before the Joint Chiefs. 

If true then that indicates that the depth of cuts will be much deeper than even I feared they could be.  We could see several programs killed and money diverted to support other "needs" (make that social programs...especially Obamacare which I truly believe will be in serious trouble when finally rolled out).

The Pentagon is about to get dragged into an alley and beaten like a rag doll.  What's worse is no one sees it coming.

Consider this your Warning Order...action on General Dynamics Marine Personnel Carrier Tests.

NOTE:  All information contained in this brief is considered Eyes Only.  Do not duplicate!  Do not distribute!  Criminal and Civil Penalties apply! (just joking...)

(A)Situation.
(1)General Dynamics is moving to test its "Top Secret" Marine Personnel Carrier.
(2)Allied Bloggers and Traditional News Media.
(3)The above images serve as all available intel regarding the testing site.  More info will be forthcoming.
(B)Mission.
You are to seek entry onto the test site without being detected and to photograph and make notes of the vehicles performance in the water and on land.
(C)Execution.
You are granted wide lattitude in how you conduct this mission. If you are captured (read that arrested) SNAFU! will disavow any knowledge of you or your mission.
(D)Service Support.
None.  You are on your own.
(E)Command.
Consider this a mission from the halls of Valhalla.  Good luck.

Faith in US Military at all time low.

via Politico.

Americans’ opinion of the country’s military strength is at a low point, with 50 percent saying the nation’s armed forces are indisputably the strongest in the world, according to a poll released Wednesday.That represents a 14 percent drop from two years ago, when 64 percent of Americans told Gallup the U.S. military was clearly the world’s strongest. The 50 percent mark is the lowest in Gallup’s polling on the issue, which dates back to 1993. In Wednesday’s poll, 47 percent said the U.S. was just one of several military powers in the world, up from 34 percent in 2010.The U.S. is responsible for about 40 percent of the world’s military spending, and spends around six times as much as its closest competitor, China.Republicans are far more likely to believe it is important for the U.S. to be the world’s dominant military power, with 80 percent saying so. Only 62 percent of independents and 48 percent of Democrats believe the same. Overall, 62 percent of Americans said being the top force is important and 37 percent said it is not.The poll of 1,015 adults was conducted from Feb. 7 to Feb. 10. It has a margin of error of plus or minus four percentage points.

I'll put out a couple of things first.

*the sampling size is incredibly small...I hate when pollsters use mini-samples to determine where the public is on issues.

*I dislike the fact that we don't know the percentage of Republicans, Democrats or Independents that were surveyed.

Having said that, I will add that this is just the beginning.  House Republicans no longer see a need to protect the military from budget cuts BECAUSE they see deficits as a bigger threat to our national security than a rising China.

I tend to agree.

We will see what we'll see but it seems like the US military has been bitten by the "normalcy" bug.  Its just like every other institution in America...its a shattered shell of its once glorious self, so why shouldn't it be held in the same contempt as other organizations.  That's what normal is these days...not outstanding, doesn't stand out, just conforms and fits in.

Before the mission starts...

General Dynamics gets ready to test its MPC.

MAJOR HAT TIP to Jonathan for finding this.

Check this out via the Examiner.

Spokesperson for the local General Dynamics manufacturing facility, Tommy Pruitt, would give little information or insight into the super-secret piece of military equipment being tested this week near Charleston.Pruitt stated that the newly designed vehicle is not manufactured in General Dynamic’s Force Protection plant in Ladson but will be tested locally March 4, and April 20, in a fresh water situation at a local boat landing.The vehicle is meant for both land and water travel.While no pictures of the vehicle are available to the public, and the exact location of the testing site will not be revealed, Mr. Pruitt indicated that “once they start maneuvers out here, anybody can take pictures.”The Ladson plant manufactures military vehicles known MRAPs like Cougars and Buffalos. After the vehicles are complete at the plant, they are transported to other contactors, such as the local SPAWAR facility at the old Navy base, for communication devices, cameras and other electronics.Examiner’s Note: Having personally toured the Force Protection plant in Ladson, I can verify that security it of the upmost importance. No cameras are allowed and non-disclosure forms are signed before entering the manufacturing plant; as it should be.

Amazing how the Marine Personnel Carrier is suddenly going by a super secret military vehicle!

Its time to get out the ghillie suit, evade roaming guard dogs and sneak onto a facility to conduct a bit of industrial espionage blogging!

They actually fired the thing!?! Jobaria MCL Multiple Cradle 122mm rocket launcher

The Advanced High-Performance Reconnaissance Light Aircraft Vid.

The Advanced High-Performance Reconnaissance Light Aircraft (AHRLAC)

via The Paramount Group...

Cute puppy overload vid.

Peruvian MI-35P's and a rant about partnership missions.

Every time a S. American country that we have relations with buys aircraft from Russia or Europe we're losing points. Effective military to military relations should have them lusting, wanting, begging to buy US equipment.  If partnership missions can't even accomplish that small feat then the very reason for partnership missions should be called into question.

Ka-32A1BC cleared for ops in Australia.

via Press Release.

The Russian-made multi-role coaxial Ka-32A11BC received a certificate of airworthiness in Australia.This certificate allows Australian helicopter operators to use the Ka-32S11BC as a search & rescue and firefighting helicopter as well as for sling load operations and in construction and installation work.

Don't know why but this helicopter is starting to grow on me.  At least in this photo its neat and looks right.

Russian Airborne to get BMD-4M & BTR-MD

Via Rianovosti.

MOSCOW, December 27 (RIA Novosti) – The Russian Airborne Troops will receive the first BMD-4M airborne combat vehicles and BTR-MD Rakushka multirole transport vehicles by the end of 2013, Defense Ministry spokesman Col. Alexander Kucherenko said on Thursday.“Paratroopers are planning to receive 10 modernized BMD-4M airborne infantry fighting vehicles and 10 tracked Rakushka armored personnel carriers by mid-2013 for final testing and commissioning by the end of 2013,” Kucherenko said.A decision to adopt the long-awaited BMD-4Ms has been made in the beginning of December despite an earlier statement by former deputy defense minister Alexander Sukhorukov that the vehicle had not met the requirements and would not be bought by the military.The BMD-4M is the latest modification of an armored combat vehicle that can be para-dropped to provide firepower and support for airborne troops. It features a new chassis, a digital fire control system and a set of high-precision weaponry, including a 100-mm gun.The 13-ton vehicle has a crew of two and can carry six paratroopers.The Russian military is expected to acquire at least 1,000 BMD-4Ms under the current rearmament program until 2020.At present, 123 BMD-3 and 60 BMD-4 airborne combat vehicles are in service with the Russian Airborne Troops, with the rest being outdated BMD-2 models.

This isn't exactly earth shattering news but it does indicate a capability gap.

The Russians will be able to deploy their Airborne Forces and once they hit the ground they will be mechanized versus our foot mobile forces.

Someone said that the US should develop a joint IFV that could be used by our Airborne, Air Assault, Marine Corps and attached to SOCOM when needed.

The Russians have done it.  So should we.