Tragedy of war in Gaza.

IDF Press Release...

A short while ago, terrorists in Gaza fired rockets at Israel. One of them hit Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza. The other hit Al-Shati refugee camp. Hamas fires from civilian areas – and hits its own people.

This is interesting.

While a tragic occurrence it also plays nicely with an Israeli theme that they have been beating the drum on.  Hamas is the root of the suffering in Gaza. MSNBC led with the story that the IDF hit the hospital.  Now?  They're saying nothing.

This public relations/human suffering story will bear watching.

This could be one of those quiet turning points if properly managed. 

Israeli Armored Personnel Carriers near Gaza...pics via Tank-net Forums

Note:  Tank-net is one of those places on the internet that is a resource for those interested in armored vehicles.  Check out their forums under the current Israeli operation and you'll find a ton of pics.  Make sure you do it daily.  Hot linking is not allowed and most pic hosting sites impose limits so the pics are being posted and then deleted frequently.

Sidenote:  I'm seeing reports that IEDs have shown up in this conflict.  I've received pictures of destroyed Merkava's but want to nail down details before I post them.  Suffice it to say that if the pictures are real then even the mighty Merkava is vulnerable.  I'm waiting to see if the Namer is adequately protected against the threat.

The IDF's 401st Armored Brigade operating near Gaza (pics)...

Note:  The Trophy vehicle protection system is displayed to good effect in these pics...additionally you can see the Achzarit Heavy APC can be seen in the background.  While the M113 has come under fire for being too lightly armored to operate in urban areas, we haven't heard the same about the Achzarit.  I expect to see tank to APC modification become the norm worldwide due to that vehicles performance.

The US Navy's version of the F-35 is costing us $337 million dollars each....

Check out the insanity which is the cost of the F-35 here, at War is Boring Blog...I won't even spoil it with a tidbit.  This is a must read.

Israel reveals its Sayeret Maglan is operational in Gaza...

The Maglan special forces unit found explosives two steps away from a baby's bed

The simple caption on this photo on the IDF Flickr site caught my attention.  What the fuck is the Maglan Special Forces Unit?  IDF has tons of special ops outfits but I had never heard of these guys.  A quick trip to Google, which led to Wikipedia revealed this...

Maglan (Hebrew: מגלן. Also known as Unit 212 or Sayeret Maglan) is an Israeli Special Forces unit which specializes in operating behind enemy lines and deep in enemy territory using advanced technologies and weaponry.
The unit's name is derived from the Ibis bird (In Hebrew: Maglan).
The IDF keeps the unit's designated missions a secret and gives no information about it or the operations in which the unit takes part. Maglan has existed since 1986 but became publicly known only in 2006. Very little is known about the unit, only that the force performs top secret operations behind enemy lines, deep within hostile territory. Like Sayeret Matkal, although the operators in the unit wear a red beret and brown combat boots and conduct basic training at one of the paratroopers' bases, they are not part of the Paratroop Brigade. Maglan has a 20 months training program (6 months basic training and 14 months specialized combat education), and many of the candidates drop out due to the harsh nature of the program. The training program is known to be one of the toughest in the IDF. Similarly to Sayeret Matkal, Maglan answers to the IDF's General Staff and not to one of its regional commands.
Maglan is a relatively new unit. It is rumored that it was deployed on covert SCUD hunting missions in Iraq during the First Gulf War in 1991.
During the Second Lebanon War, the unit took part in many operations and achieved great success. During Operation Beach-Boys, the unit operated along the western coastal strip ofLebanon and destroyed 150 targets, among them 40 rocket launchers.

Either the IDF censors are slipping or Hamas is being sent a message.

The IDF has a unit running around Gaza undetected and getting the job done.  What has me scratching my head is how these guys are avoiding being engaged in endless firefights.

Are they another one of those units that dress up as Hamas and wander around without being observed?  I've heard that they have units that are filled with Arab looking and speaking Israelis that specialize in just that sort of thing but I always imagined it was bluster.  Now?  I'm not so sure.

Even more interesting is that this unit reports directly to the General Staff and not a regional command.  That makes it a truly special unit (I'm seriously beginning to wonder how the Israeli's designate special ops units...the Golani Brigade are fighting like world champs but they're considered an elite but not special ops outfit).  I'll be watching for more news on the Sayeret Maglan.

The return of trench warfare.

Thanks Mr. T for the article!

I consider this to be an unusual phenomenon...we're seeing the return of trench warfare.  Check out the pics below....

Uzbek authorities have started digging trenches in the disputed areas along the Kyrgyz-Uzbek border, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz and Uzbek services report.

Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region is digging a trench along its border with Syria to prevent the infiltration of militants and smuggling from the war-racked country, officials say.

Odessa region vidhorodytsya 450-kilometer "Transnistrian ditch." To block the movement of heavy military equipment and moving contraband goods on the Transnistrian segment of the Ukrainian-Moldovan border began work on engineering enhancement - to 450-km boundary proryyut trench width 3.5 meters and a depth of 2-3 meters.

I really can't explain it.

This isn't even a difficult field problem and you would expect a good Marine just out of boot camp to be able to lead a crossing of such an obstacle.

So why is it suddenly popular again?

I can only imagine that it has to do with moderately mechanized units.  In Western or advanced military forces engineers, bridging and obstacle clearing equipment is a given.  In many of the world's forces they're an extravagance that can't be afforded.

So as primitive as it might seem, it does appear that this extremely old skool type of warfare is making a comeback.


NOTE:  I made a couple of assumptions when I posted this.  The first assumption was that people would understand that the term "trench warfare" was tongue in cheek and did not refer to WW1 battle type tactics but to what we're seeing in these pics.  The second assumption was that even if people didn't get the "tongue in cheek" aspect of this then they would have enough sense to realize that I do know what actual trench warfare is.  Seems I was wrong on both counts.  

4th Tanks amphibious training...video by Lance Cpl. Angel Serna

Marines with 4th Tank Battalion, 4th Marine Division, conduct amphibious training aboard Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California. Marines with 4th Tank Battalion, the Navy’s Assault Craft Unit-5 and the Army’s 481st Heavy Boat Company teamed together to conduct several rehearsed amphibious landings. Through integrating Marines, Sailors and Soldiers as well as equipment, small unit leaders gained familiarity with operating in a joint environment as well as exercise senior leader’s ability to communicate and effectively manage operations across three service platforms.

The Army is making sure that it will have a role in the Pacific.  Between this exercise, paratroopers making 15 hour flights to Australia and suiting up inside the plane before the drop and then inviting Indian forces to the US to train, its obvious that they're serious about a seat at the table.