Russian sub in trouble off the coast of Sweden?

Thanks to David for the links.

I can't get too excited about this because I don't view it as a military action but as a rescue operation...The type of operation that all nations should participate in, if allowed by the nation whose sub went down that is.  We send subs to all parts of the globe to conduct missions against friends and allies alike.  So do our friends, allies and enemies.  When a sub is in distress its time to put away the diplomatic insanity and simply rescue the crew, scuttle the boat and be done with it.

Their sub today but eventually its going to be one of ours.

Read about the drama here and here.

Blast from the past. Power-Augmented Ram Landing Craft (PARLAC)

An artist's concept of a power-augmented ram landing craft (PARLAC) offloading amphibious tractors (LVT) onto a beach. The PARLAC, which has the capability of achieving high speeds and has good shore-landing capability, presently in the testing stages of research and development.

If you have any information on this concept please send it my way.  Update...Alacran found an additional pic.  Thanks!

Blast from the past. Current Operations USMC from the Readiness Branch 1989

Think the Marine Corps is busy today?  Check out this blast from the past...

  January 1989- July 1989

Peru buying Mig-35's?

via Defesanet Agência de Notícias

Russia plans to export new-generation fighters to Peru (Russian Gazette) Peru air force should change the Soviet MiG-29 by the modern MiG-35. Although military experts believe in the potential of the aircraft, the MiG-35 is not in the service of the Russian Armed Forces and this prevents promotion abroad.

Interesting.  The choice is curious.  My best guess?  Peru is cost conscious and I'm betting that the Russians are selling the Mig at a great price just to get it into service somewhere.  Additionally since its apparently well regarded by the aviation community it would appear to "over match" everything currently flying and will (in Peru's opinion) hopefully match (at least) aircraft coming into service into the future.  This bears watching.  The arms race in S. America is being ignored by many but so many arms with so many rivalries can't be a good thing. 

Police have settled on "rescue vehicle" to justify the purchase of MRAPs.

via The Norman Transcript.

Capt. Todd Gibson presented information about armored rescue vehicles to the Citizens Public Safety Oversight Committee last week to talk about just that. The vehicle would be used for transporting police, fire, medics or transport individuals through hostile areas.
"This piece of equipment would allow us to get into active shooter areas. It would allow us to get into IED areas, if they were to occur on a game day," he said. "Anywhere you have large concentrations of people, you have large concerns that bad people can do bad things."
OU football home games bring about 80,000 plus people into the city, he said.
While there is a current stigma that comes along with an armored vehicle, such as the militarization of police departments, Gibson said the vehicle the department is looking at is more like a Ford F-550 Super Duty pickup or armored ambulance.
"One thing that it is not, and I stress this, NOT; it is not a tank. It has no offensive capabilities," he said. "It's clearly a rescue vehicle."
Both Oklahoma City and Edmond have armored rescue vehicles and the vehicles are often found in airports or used in construction. Gibson said the vehicles are nothing new, they're just advanced.
"It's nothing new, nothing crazy, not a weapon, not a tank. It's simply preparation," he said. "By failing to prepare we are preparing to fail."
Chief Keith Humphrey was offered a Medium Range Anti Tank (MRAT) for a price much cheaper than an armored rescue vehicle would cost, Gibson said, but declined it because he didn't believe it fit our community needs.

I have a web alert that hits articles that cover armored vehicles and every night I get bombarded with articles of police depts seeking to/or buy/ing MRAPs.

One thing I've noticed since the issue of police militarization hit hard (right after Ferguson when the news media finally noticed SWAT Teams looking like a Marine Corps Rifle Squad) is that law enforcement has really begun pushing the "rescue vehicle" meme.

What I hadn't read or heard is the idea that police actually thought that they might face IEDs.

It is definitely time to try get a hold of a few of those alerts that DHS sends to local PDs with regard to potential threats....if Capt Gibson actually believes that he could face IEDs in Norman, Oklahoma then things are worse than I thought.

U.S. Soldiers Receive Just Four Hours of Ebola Training Before Deployment

this photo is NOT associated with the story...i just thought it was funny.

via Washington Free Beacon.

U.S. soldiers preparing for deployment to Africa to combat Ebola are only given four hours of Ebola-related training, the Daily Beast reports.
Soldiers preparing for deployment to West Africa are given just four hours of Ebola-related training before leaving to combat the epidemic. And the first 500 soldiers to arrive have been holing up in Liberian hotels and government facilities while the military builds longer-term infrastructure on the ground. […]
The training process sounds daunting: One USA Today report described soldiers being told that Ebola “basically causes your body to eat itself from the inside out” and that Ebola is “worse” than what soldiers encountered in Afghanistan. Others reportedly heard that the disease is “catastrophic” and “frightening… with a high fatality rate,” though the chances of contracting it are low.
“I’ll be honest with you,” one soldier told the newspaper. “I’m kind of scared.”

That's a smart troop.  He should be scared.  One thing has become obvious to me.  Despite what my friend William says, this whole thing is being done to protect the global economy.

If the US bans flights then so will others.

That will lead to a domino effect and the general public is already becoming alarmed...right before the Christmas shopping season.

All Marines Message from the 36th CMC

  36CMC Message

We'll see what we'll see.

Standard fare from a new leader taking over.  His first moves will be telling.