SpaceX Interplanetary Transport System (concept pics)

 

Korean War Naval Aviation was kinda cool....in a very deadly way....

via USS Edsall Tumblr Page

VA-195 Dambusters was assigned to Carrier Air Group 19 (CVG-19) for a deployment to the Korean War from 21 March to 03 November 1952. The “special weapon” was a 454 kg (1000 lb) bomb with a kitchen sink attached. The idea came up when the squadron’s executive officer LCDR M.K. Dennis remarked during a meeting with the press: “We dropped everything on them (the North Koreans) but a kitchen sink.” Royal J. Deland, ADC, and J. Burnett, ADC, then produced a bomb with a kitchen sink attached. The commanding Admiral was not pleased by this and would not allow to drop the bomb for a week. However, press coverage in the United States obviously led to the dropping of this bomb in August 1952 on Pyongyang by Lt.(jg) Carl B. Austin.

You think this would fly in 2016?  Somehow I doubt it.  The crazy thing? Flag Officers haven't changed (with a few exceptions) and the pressure to drop the kitchen sink came from the public!

Russian And Chinese Marines conduct amphibious assault exercise.

Thanks to Anderson for the link!



The Pentagon has been so busy jumping thru hoops for Combatant Commanders that are pushing idiot partnership missions that no one is seeing the danger in our so called pivot to the Pacific.

China is effectively nullifying the "coalition" that we're building.  If they're very selective in their target choice then many of our allies will sit out the fight.

Even worse?  They're gaining economic power over our allies that could in time trump any thoughts of Chinese hegemony.

Our best and brightest are playing checkers while the Chinese...along with the Russians...are playing chess.

Open Comment Post. Sept 27, 2016.

What's on your mind.

Debate Discussion.

Wow.....

1.  So much for the laid back Trump.  He's going at her with razor blades, Uzi's and a few flame throwers.

2.  If this keeps up Hillary will have a heart attack on stage.

3.  She sorta seems a little flustered.  The moderator is trying to help her but he's already lost control.

Quote of the day and a warning to Marine Corps leadership.

CoffeeJoeJava made the following comment.

I have a bad feeling that the Marine Corps, when the first big fight happens, will cease to exist. Like LtGen Krulak stated in his book( I paraphrase)
The Untied States does not need a Marine Corps, we have an Army that can do everything we can do, a Navy that has fighter jets, and an Air Force that can dominate the air. The Marine Corps ONLY exists because the United States WANTS a Marine Corps. When we squander the ideals that make the Marine Corps great, we lose the American public, and we lose our beloved Corps.
Literally, when the Corps is called back into action and they cannot do what is asked, we will have lost every reason we have to exist. Making us back into the old Defense Battalions of WWII era is a fast way to speed that along.
I would hope that the powers that be are considering this when they make decisions, but from everything you read, they are not.
The Commandant needs a picture of Krulak and Puller on his wall and needs to justify decisions he makes against those men.

That statement by CJJ is so spot on.

In the circles I run in the Marine Corps has already lost its biggest boosters.  You won't hear it talked about but no one is recommending military service to young men of worth anymore.  If you think a scumbag might, maybe get straightened out then yeah, but someone you believe has a future?  Hell no.

But I digress.  The Marine Corps is making itself irrelevant.  Its making itself useless when it comes to defending the nation.  That comment was a warning to leadership, but I have no confidence that they're listening...and no one serving has the guts to say that the head shed is fucked beyond recognition.

33ft Anaconda found in Brazil (confirmed). Nope, Nope, FUCK Nope!

Thanks to William for the link!

via Sun

THIS is the moment a gigantic 33-FEET-long anaconda was found by terrified builders on a construction site in Brazil.
The huge reptile, which weighs in at at a whopping 63 stone, was discovered by the workers after they carried out a controlled explosion in the Cave of Altamira in the northern state of Para.

Do you get the force of connection here?  They found a 33ft long anaconda.  You can bet body parts that you cherish that bigger ones exist deeper into the jungle.

Now do you understand why I believe these are aliens from another world sent to terrorize?  Now do you understand why we need Space Marines to eradicate this threat? Just kidding but FUCK!  33 fucking feet long!

I've heard the stories from the old skool Marines about having to kill lions that were stalking them in the jungles of Vietnam, of snakes that if they bit you you would take two steps before you died and all kinds of other craziness that I dismissed as coming from crazy old men.

Now?  Now I know I was right when I said the desert is easy, the jungle is hard. 

We're buying helicopters that cost 100 mil each?

via UPI

WASHINGTON, Sept. 26 (UPI) -- Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. has been awarded a $232 million U.S. Navy contract modification for procurement of CH-53K King Stallion helicopters.
The deal covers procurement of two system demonstration test article aircraft.
Work will be performed at sites in the United States and is expected to be completed by February 2020.

Naval Air Systems Command is the contracting activity for the deal with the Lockheed Martin subsidiary.
The King Stallion is in prototype production phase and is the Marine Corps' heavy lift replacement helicopter for the CH-53E.
It will transport Marines, heavy equipment and supplies during ship-to-shore movement in support of amphibious assault and subsequent operations ashore.
The King Stallion will be the Pentagon's most powerful helicopter and is designed to lift nearly 14 tons at a mission radius of 110 nautical miles.
The service is seeking to eventually buy 200 of the aircraft.

I could easily be wrong but that means each of these beasts is hitting at over 100 mil!  That's crazy!  We're exercising ultimate financial restraints when it comes to buying an ACV....even pitting contractors against each other to get the lowest price...but then turn around and tell LM to "take our money" when it comes to the CH-53K?

The crazy thing?  IF they're able to bend the cost curve on the F-35 (which I doubt more and more each day) then our heavy lift helicopter will cost more than that abomination.

I've said that it would be stupid for the USMC to simply marinize a CH-47 (especially one with those extra large fuel tanks) to achieve cost savings by falling onto the Army's supply chain.  It might be time to reassess. 

Oshkosh JLTV at Modern Day Marine.

Press Release.

The Oshkosh JLTV will replace 5,500 of the U.S. Marine Corps’ uparmored HMMWVs.  JLTV delivers unmatched performance, protection, networking and off-road mobility in a light vehicle package to support Marines as they perform missions outside the wire.  Designed with room for growth as threats evolve, the JLTV’s scalable design is able to adapt to future requirements.
The Oshkosh JLTV on display at MDM is outfitted with an EOS R-400S-MK2 remote weapon system integrated with Orbital ATK's M230 LF 30 mm lightweight automatic chain gun to demonstrate the vehicle’s ability to support increased lethality including a medium caliber weapon system. 
Here’s what Marines can expect from their new JLTVs:

• A vehicle 1/3 smaller and 1/3 lighter than the Oshkosh MRAP All-Terrain Vehicle,

• or M-ATV

• Off-road speeds 70 percent faster than today’s gold standard, the Oshkosh M-ATV

• A modular design that can be quickly and efficiently outfitted for a full range of missions

• High power-to-weight ratio for rapid acceleration – on and off grade

• Fully transportable by air or sea, such as C130, CH-53 and CH-47

• Network ready and VICTORY compliant to seamlessly integrate a full suite of C4ISR and weapons systems

• Superior ride quality 

Oshkosh will also display the EBFL-M, which modernizes the original EBFL configuration to provide greater operator protection, power and mobility.  The air transportable EBFL-M can handle loads up to 11,000 lbs. and traverse rough terrain on Marine Corps forward operating bases.  

Yep.

The Marine Corps needs to recapitalize its armored fleet and instead we're getting "Modern Jeeps", mounting big guns on them and calling it a combat vehicle.

Are the people on this blog the only one's that have seen how MRAP type trucks have performed in Yemen?  Are we the only ones that have seen the carnage?

Vickers Mk.11 “Viper” via Bmashina FaceBook Page.

Big guns on wheeled vehicles is so 1950/60/70's.  There really is nothing new under the sun.

4th CH-53K flies for the first time.

US Army practices movement by ship. They're filling the void left by "Aviation Centric Marine Corps"

All pics via 597th Transportation Brigade FaceBook Page.

Two things on this story.

1.  The US Army is taking steps toward doing that old skool thing called "REFORGER".  Those vehicles in the pic are heading to Europe for exercise and I would bet body parts that we'll soon see and Armored Brigade Combat Team doing a "no notice" rapid deployment to marry up with equipment pre-staged and a rapid shipment of armor to that theater.

2.  By going the "aviation centric" route, the USMC is making itself too light to fight...and win.  We have obviously tossed away Krulack's "Middleweight Force" that can fight across the spectrum and win battles.

Your question for today.  Do the following quotes still apply to the "new" Marine Corps?

For over 221 years our Corps has done two things for this great Nation. We make Marines, and we win battles. [Gen. Charles C. Krulak, USMC (CMC); 5 May 1997]

We are United States Marines, and for two and a quarter centuries we have defined the standards of courage, esprit, and military prowess. [Gen. James L. Jones, USMC (CMC); 10 November 2000]