British "Strike" Brigades?

Think Defence has a must read and all I can say is wow!

Do you occasionally have a feeling of "what the fuck is Marine Corps leadership thinking"?  Have you ever thought "Army leadership must do some serious drugs at those power point clusterfucks they love so much"...then weep for what the Brits are batting around.  Don't get it confused.  The author of the Think Defence article is doing his best to make lemons out of lemonade but it's obvious that while they're trying hard, the Brits are in procurement hell.

CDR Salamander lays out the best case to be worried about Russia that I've heard...

Everyone that has visited these pages knows that I feel one of the great misses of the last three decades is how we handled Russia after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

In my opinion they were ripe for integration into greater Europe and we could have EASILY guaranteed a safe and prosperous continent for at least a century.

It was not to be and the Russia Hawks (Condi Rice, George Will, Kristol and others) held sway, kept up the drumbeat of them being a threat and successfully led us back to a cold war type stand off.

While I still believe we could move forward with Russia and help lower tensions by working together on the big international issue of the day (terrorism) and a few joint projects (like space travel and alternate energy), its also obvious that the cards have been played and we MIGHT be headed toward bad times.

Salamander lays out the case for why we should be worried here. Unfortunately he's damn convincing.

Side note:  I do wonder though.  CDR Salamander is one of those old skool, cold warriors.  He was playing big boy games in the Atlantic with hard core Russian sub commanders when I was still reading comic books and dreaming of banging my first girl.  Is this nostalgia or an actual thing?  I still hold out hope that we can bring Russia into our camp.

Open Comment Post. Oct 11, 2016.

I'm still thinking about the election.

If you think Trump is bad then hold on for what comes next.  The "powers that be" are so focused on getting Hillary elected that they're failing to properly gauge the anger of the American people.  Washington is about to become irrelevant.  If you thought "nothing" got done then watch what happens in the new Congress.

Fitness Talk.

Are you that kind of man?  Well it ain't too late to start!  Pick your course, set your sail and do work.  The fitness talk part of this is to make sure you're mentally and physically capable of dealing with inevitable setbacks.

So...get off your ass and go work out.  One consistent month makes a habit.  Three consistent months makes a lifestyle.  8 or 80 the benefits from exercise will change your life.

SO DO WORK!

I wondered why we didn't see clowns in the hood. Now I know! WARNING POLITICALLY INCORRECT & LANGUAGE

 

http://spoopy-shermayne.tumblr.com/post/151641760524

 

This clown definitely picked the wrong neighborhood!

Ukrainian Otaman 6x6

Thanks to MicMac 80 for the link!

According to Ukraine Today, the 6x6 is a mortar carrier and the 8x8 is the infantry fighting vehicle version.  I find the Ukrainian approach to armored vehicles frustrating.  They're pushing mostly MRAP type trucks as IFVs, modifying Russian designed vehicles to sell overseas and have an approach of throwing everything against the wall and seeing if it sticks.  I don't see a strategy coming from the Ukrainian Defense Ministry regarding procurement.  During a time of war that seems wrong headed at best and plain stupid at worst.

Open Comment Post. Oct 10, 2016. Post debate talk...

Trump did as Trump does.

Instead of spending just 2 fucking minutes studying the issues and putting forth a few (not many...no deep detail...just a broad outline) ideas of things that matter to the American people.  I'm talking Immigration, these trade deals that are FUCKED BEYOND RECOGNITION, jobs, idiotic foreign wars and security at home (to include the over reach of the Federal Govt into the private lives of the people), he instead climbed in the swamp pit with that harpy called Hillary.

The sad thing.

We're seeing "establishment" Republicans and Democrats line up against him.  They're trying to shape this as a contest between those who "know" and the unwashed masses.

It's not.

This is a battle between the elite and the common folks.

What has me stumped is the ignorance of the so called educated class.  I'm talking about the college educated, middle management people that are so politically correct that they're moving in Hillary's direction.

They fail to realize that the next big wave of offshoring will affect them directly.  When that hits (and they'll pass TPP in the lame duck session) is when you're gonna see this nation pop.  They see what's happening to the rest of the country but since they haven't suffered the effects yet they're willing to play the game.

Side note:  Workers that build the CH-53K in Conn took a PAY CUT in order to keep the manufacturing plant there.  We supposedly have 5% unemployment and yet there isn't enough wage pressure to force Sikorsky/Lockheed to increase the salaries of high tech workers?

Long story short.  The elite on both sides will celebrate defeating Trump, but they're missing the real issue.  What comes after Trump will be smarter, more media savy and more disciplined.  What comes after Trump will probably be more radical.l

They think they dodged a bullet with Trump?  Bullshit!  They primed a bomb!

Jordan Armed Forces - Main Battle Tanks, IFVs & Infantry

This is pure propaganda but "fun" to watch.  Who knew that the Jordanians still used the Challenger?  That won't last, and I can't see what the replacement will be.  My bet is they pick up Leopard's on a German fire sale...

Open Comment Post. Oct 8, 2016. Trump Locker Room Talk Edition...

Hmm.  Today I've been tuning into a bit of MSNBC News and they're all in arms over some "locker room" talk that Trump engaged in on a bus that was captured by some reality talk show.  It was a bad open mike thing but I personally can't get too excited about it.

What has me wondering is that we're seeing the establishment ... and I mean the Republicans and Democrats ... both working overtime to get people excited about this.

The dude made off color remarks more than 10 years ago, the country is in shit state and that's what they're trying to push?

If Hillary wins we deserve the drama that she will bring.  This is pathetic.  If Trump wasn't such an ego maniac he would be winning this thing easily.  The only good thing is that if he wins he'll blow up the system...and that's why I'm rooting for this flawed, jacked up little man.  He's far from perfect but from my seat our only hope at this point.  That's my opinion...what's yours?

Offensive Air Support 5.....photos by Lance Cpl. Andrew Huff

Open Comment Post. Oct 7, 2016.

A Brief Overview of the 112th Mechanised Infantry Division of the People's Liberation Army (must read article)

Thanks to Gerald for the link!

Article here.  I haven't been keeping up with the way that information is migrating on the net.  This overview was posted on Imgur.  I've always viewed that site as mostly pics (with many of them questionable even for a porn hound) but I've discovered that Imgur along with Reddit are both posting information of interest to readers of this blog.

Make sure you read the run down of vehicles in the 112th.  The Chinese are embarked on a complete mechanization of their forces that has escaped the notice of most western militaries.