Open Comment Post. Sep 20, 2017

2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team of 3rd Infantry Division on track to become the U.S. Army’s 15th Armored Brigade Combat Team

via DVIDS

When the Department of the Army announced that the 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team of 3rd Infantry Division at Fort Stewart would become the U.S. Army’s 15th Armored Brigade Combat Team, the Spartan team initiated the planning process and went straight to work.

Converting a light infantry brigade into an armored brigade is a major undertaking that requires thorough planning and disciplined execution.

“We address conversion like any other operational mission,” explained Capt. Joe Amico, brigade conversion planner. “First we began by outlining key milestones, coordinating resources and sequencing fielding and training schedules.”

Even though the brigade is not scheduled to deploy within the next year, they will continue to train and prepare to attend the National Training Center (NTC) in the Spring of 2019.

“We are using our deployment to the NTC in 2019 as the target and backward plan from there,” said Amico.

The Spartan Brigade will again become an armored brigade combat team (ABCT) after being an infantry brigade combat team (IBCT) for the last two years.
Organizational requirements to convert were driven by the changing global landscape. Dynamic political and military behaviors throughout the world cause adjustments to the menu of options U.S. commanders need to prevent, shape and win against determined adversaries.

“Armored forces are in high demand and this adjustment increases capacity available for the Army and combatant commanders to meet strategic requirements,” explained the brigade commander, Col. James K. Dooghan.

The brigade’s structure will shift from three light infantry battalions to being centered around three combined arms battalions with a fleet of Abrams main battle tanks and Bradley fighting vehicles.

“Bringing speed, precision fires and overwhelming combat power to bear on the enemy is at the heart of what it means to be an ABCT,” said Dooghan.

A return to a proud history.

US Marines order 104 MRZR-D Utility Task Vehicles...good riddance to the ITV!

via IHS Janes.

The US Marine Corps (USMC) has ordered 104 more diesel-powered MRZR-D Utility Task Vehicles (UTVs) from Polaris Government and Defense, the company announced on 18 September.

Story here. 

They might not say it out loud but its obvious that the ITV is on the way out the door.

To that I say good riddance!

Reports from the field rate its performance at best to bad and most say its just unsat in all categories.

If you want to trace the beginning of the failure of procurement in the Marine Corps then I think it began with the ITV being selected.  There are still reports from a news station in Detroit that ran down all the skullduggery behind that vehicle selection process.

Still.  The Marine Corps is to be applauded for recognizing the deficit and correcting it. On that score well done.

Ukrainian Separatists have more armor than German, the UK, & France combined...Europe must rebuild its armored force!

via Real Clear Defense.

Just a few years ago, Western military leaders were all but certain that the era of the tank was over. As a result, they unwisely did away with the world’s foremost armored fighting force. Germany, the nation that more than any other perfected the role of tanks and armored formations in warfare, reduced its fleet of Leopard 2 tanks from some 2,100 to 225. The British Army, which ended the Cold War with 800 advanced tanks, currently deploys just 156 in a single regiment. France has 406 tanks but only 240 in front-line units. In comparison, the Ukrainian separatists in Luhansk and Donetsk are reported to be operating more than 700 tanks, a larger fleet than that of Britain, Germany and France combined.

Moreover, reductions in combat support capabilities, logistics and manpower means that this “corporal’s guard” of NATO armored fighting units are actually less capable and deployable than the raw numbers would indicate. A recent RAND study concluded that it would take a month or more for the U.K., Germany and France to generate a combat-ready armored brigade 

Story here. 

Now we know why the US Army is pushing more armor into Europe.  Once again the United States is subsidizing underfunded EU defense requirements with American Soldiers, Sailors, Marines and Airmen...and alot of our gear.

Open Comment Post. Sep 19, 2017

WarHammer News. Use of tactical nuclear weapons discussed with South Korea

via Military Times

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis confirmed Monday that the U.S. and South Korea have discussed employing tactical nuclear weapons as an option to defend against North Korea’s nuclear weapons program.

The acknowledgment from Mattis comes as the U.S. and international community grapple with increasingly aggressive nuclear weapons testing by North Korea.

Story here. 

Wow.

Mattis actually put this on the table.

Now I can see how a decapitation strike could actually succeed.  How many people remember the Neutron Bomb?  How many people remember how it scared the living dog shit out of the Soviet Union?

Do you think that development on such weapons has ended?

With the use of such weapons MARSOC and US Army Rangers MIGHT be able to make that assault into the mouth of hell and make it out the other side.

But even if I'm wrong, the idea that it would even be raised is confirmation.

War is coming.

All the chips are on the table.

It's just a matter of the timetable they've established.

Wait one Gawd Damn minute! The USMC declared the F-35B operational with 2B software!

Wait one Gawd Damn minute!  The USMC declared the F-35B operational with 2B software.  Let me refresh your memory.  via Marines.mil

The U.S. Marine Corps' F-35B Lightning II aircraft reached initial operational capability July 31, 2015 with a squadron of 10 F-35Bs ready for world-wide deployment.

Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 121 (VMFA-121), based in Yuma, Arizona, is the first squadron in military history to become operational with an F-35 variant, following a five-day Operational Readiness Inspection, which concluded July 17.

“I am pleased to announce that VMFA-121 has achieved Initial Operational Capability in the F-35B, as defined by requirements outlined in the June 2014 Joint Report to Congressional Defense Committees,” said Gen. Joseph Dunford, Commandant of the Marine Corps. “VMFA-121 has ten aircraft in the Block 2B configuration with the requisite performance envelope and weapons clearances, to include the training, sustainment capabilities, and infrastructure to deploy to an austere site or a ship. It is capable of conducting Close Air Support, Offensive and Defensive Counter Air, Air Interdiction, Assault Support Escort and Armed Reconnaissance as part of a Marine Air Ground Task Force, or in support of the Joint Force.”

Dunford stated that he has his full confidence in the F-35B’s ability to support Marines in combat, predicated on years of concurrent developmental testing and operational flying.

“Prior to declaring IOC, we have conducted flight operations for seven weeks at sea aboard an L-Class carrier, participated in multiple large force exercises, and executed a recent operational evaluation which included multiple live ordnance sorties," said Dunford. "The F-35B’s ability to conduct operations from expeditionary airstrips or sea-based carriers provides our Nation with its first 5th generation strike fighter, which will transform the way we fight and win.”

As the future of Marine Corps tactical aviation, the F-35 will eventually replace three legacy platforms: the AV-8B Harrier, the F/A-18 Hornet, and the EA-6B Prowler.

Former Commandant of the Marine Corps and Current Chairman of the Joint Chiefs said that the 2B was fully capable of performing the FULL SPECTRUM of combat.

Let me plus out the capabilities he outlined for the slow members of the class...

 It is capable of conducting Close Air Support, Offensive and Defensive Counter Air, Air Interdiction, Assault Support Escort and Armed Reconnaissance as part of a Marine Air Ground Task Force, or in support of the Joint Force.

That's the whole enchilada folks.  That is everything that Marine Air does kinetically.

But now we have this revelation from Flight Global (posted about it earlier but we need to plus it out again..story here and thanks again to Peter for getting it to me!).

 Delays during the development stage caused Lockheed to deliver more than 108 aircraft with Block 2B software. Each fighter requires 150-160 modifications to be raised to the combat-rated Block 3 standard, says Vice Adm Matt Winter, the F-35’s programme executive.

So what the fuck over?

We were sold by the USMC and USAF that Block 2B is combat capable.  We have F-35's flying demonstrations of force near N. Korea and the FUCKING PROGRAMME EXECUTIVE says that Block 3 is the combat rated standard?????

I SAY AGAIN!  WHAT THE FUCK!  

These planes aren't worth upgrading to Block 3 because they want to save money, but at the same time they're combat capable now?

EXPLAIN THIS SHIT PENTAGON!!!! 

Hundred of non-combat capable F-35s????

Thanks to Peter for the link!

via Flight Global

Scores of US-owned Lockheed Martin F-35s would remain in the fleet with a software operating system rated below combat-grade under one of several cost-saving proposals under review by the Joint Programme Office.

Delays during the development stage caused Lockheed to deliver more than 108 aircraft with Block 2B software. Each fighter requires 150-160 modifications to be raised to the combat-rated Block 3 standard, says Vice Adm Matt Winter, the F-35’s programme executive.

The looming modification bills are threatening to suck resources from a looming production ramp-up with more than 900 aircraft projected for delivery over the next five years, Winter says.

“We’re looking at solution spaces to give our warfighters options,” Winter says.

Story here. 

Ya know a certain blogger from back in the day...a certain Australian Think Tank all said out loud that the US military was buying hundreds of mistake jets that would break the bank to upgrade.

We were all told that it was simply a software update so the cost would be negligible.

Looks like the fan club was wrong and the critics right (once again).

I'll just leave this here for you to drink in.  

Gunner Fact or Fiction | The Will to Train

Gunner Wade should redo this vid!  Why?  Oh its good for what it does.  It highlights the need to train on your own dime and time if you want to master the pistol.

My thinking though is that this is a good primer for being good at anything.  You have to invest the time, your own dime and a little bit of blood/sweat to whatever it is you want to master.

Dude should be teaching at the Academy.  Might get fewer dingbats coming out to the Fleet.

I despise Nazis but this ain't right.

via Heavy.com

Two photos shared by different people show a man in Seattle riding the RapidRide D Line wearing a Nazi armband. A later photo shows the man knocked out on a sidewalk from a punch.

Story here. 

Wow.  I fucking despise Nazis and the supporters that have popped up on this blog after the Charlottesville idiocy (blood and soil my ass).  I can see clocking a bastard stupid enough to be walking around with an armband.  I can see monitoring his ass to see if he does something provocative, and no wearing the arm band ain't enough.

But to actually catch him cold and sucker punch him?

That don't seem right.

I could see if the dude was goose stepping, yelling the N word and doing other stuff.  If that's the case then do him the way he needs to be done but to catch him cold?

Things are heating up.  I don't view Antifa the way that the Nazi supporters around the blogosphere do (I find it amazing that Anti-Fascists are suddenly the bad guys to so many...you might want to check yourself if you're cheering for Fascists/Nazis).  I see them as the rightful antidote to the Nazi/KKK/White Supremacists disease.

But there is one thing that disturbs me that no one has pointed to.

NOTE:  Everyone is ignoring this portion of my blog post!  Don't!  If you want to be concerned about ANTIFA then be my guest but do it because you have a reason to!  The similarities between the old Weatherman Movement and Antifa today are striking!  That should be a real reason for concern!!!!

No one remembers history but the modern day Antifa movement has all the hallmarks of the old Weatherman Underground Movement of the late 60's and early 70's.

The Nazis/KKK/White Supremacists can be put back in their cage with little effort.  It's been done before and it can be done again.  My concern is that the Antifa could morph in ways that many aren't quite seeing.  They're a reaction to the extreme right, but it could spiral unless restraints are put in place.

Another Hurricane about to hit the VI? Will the MEU have to sail away?

We are seeing what looks like a very ACTIVE hurricane season.  It's to be expected.  Things have been ABNORMALLY quiet for a few years so a rebound isn't a surprise.

Neither are the hits on the US Virgin Islands.

The difference?

This time we live in an age of 24 hour news and social media.

This time we have infrastructure on the islands to support tourists that will probably be damaged beyond repair.

This time the world will be watching.

Which leads to the question.

Will the MEU have to sail away?

I warned about the folly of being assigned the mission in the Virgin Islands. Much risk and little reward.  The Marine Corps jumped all over it despite my misgivings and they deployed an "Aviation Centric" force to deal with the problem.

Now?

Now with another hurricane approaching we face the nightmare scenario.  Not only for the inhabitants of those islands but also for the USMC.

Does the MEU stay in port and ride out the hurricane (stupid on a stick) or does it sail away to return later?  How will the media react if they do the prudent thing and leave to return after the next storm to resume relief efforts?

It won't be pretty.

Climate change zealots will crow about the USMC having to run away from a storm.  Environmentalists will crow too.

Why do guys with stars on their shoulders not see this stuff?

Anyway my recommendation is that the Public Affairs Office get going now.  They should be flooding the zone with MORE news about the Navy/Marine Corps team doing its work down there.  THEY SHOULD be emphasizing that the force is there for the people and that first responders have to ensure that they 're capable of providing assistance to the affected people.

Then they should bite the bullet and assign another infantry battalion, get another couple of engineer battalions (Army, Marine Corps, Sea Bees don't care) with heavy equipment on ship and to the islands as soon as the latest storm passes.

They should ACT NOW!  NORTHCOM's Commander has proven that she's in over her head and is incapable of decisive action.  So you work around her and MAKE SHIT HAPPEN!

Get on it Marines!

Open Comment Post. Sep 18, 2017