Why haven't the Russians retaliated for the murder of two PMC's in Syria?

I've been open in my praise of the Russian effort in Syria.  They sent a compact force to bolster the Syrian Army and they've been successful in achieving their goals with minimal casualties.  Many have told me in side conversations that the Russian way of war there deserves better study.

The Russians seem to have cracked the code when it comes to supporting host nations against insurgency (as evidenced in Syria) and seem more than capable of supporting insurgents against a state (as evidenced in Ukraine).

US Army Special Forces should be taking serious notes...the US Army and Marine Corps too.

But one thing puzzles me.

Two Russian Private Military Contractors were captured and then murdered by ISIS. 

Why haven't we seen retaliation?

I expected to get word of a massive airstrike that would stun the world. Maybe a massive artillery barrage that would shake ISIS to its core.

Instead we've seen nothing.  Why?  If you have an answer I'd love to hear it cause to be quite honest I'm a bit mystified.  Is this part of the new playbook?  Old skool USSR would have had the KGB bouncing around that country grabbing people like crazy.  FSB seems to be waiting for the call. What gives?

How many of you remember the Bundy Ranch standoff? Well they're going to court...

via UPI

 It's that time of year again: The Bundys are going to trial.

This fall, brothers Ammon and Ryan Bundy and their father, Cliven, will face charges over a standoff with federal officials in a dispute over federal lands in Nevada.

Many are wondering if they'll be let off the hook. The two Bundy brothers were acquitted in an October 2016 trial for a different standoff in Oregon. The jury's "not guilty" verdict on conspiracy charges for the Oregon standoff struck much of the public as shockingly lenient.

As a law professor who researches rural land use and juries, I've found that both conflicts over public lands and jury decisions often bring up the same question: Who gets to decide what justice is in America?

Story here. 

Make sure to read the story.  It's not so much about the upcoming trial but more about why the Bundy's were found not guilty in Oregon.  They touch on many hot button issues and I'm just not in the mood.  Most can talk about issues reasonably but there are quite a few idiots that take it too far (guess they think this is an affiliate of Storm Front) and I have to bring out the ban hammer.  I will again if necessary, but that's not what makes this interesting to me.

I predicted/thought/hoped that the Feds would make nationwide arrests of participants at the Bundy standoff after people migrated home and the tempers had died down.

From what I can tell they arrested a FEW people but he VAST majority got away scot free.

WHAT DOES THAT TELL US?

I can't put my finger on it but it does tell us something about Federal Law Enforcement that should give us pause.

Was it decided that they couldn't successfully prosecute people for this standoff so why bother?

Were these people tracked down, "dealt with" and used to penetrate the militia movement (I notice that since the Oregon stand off the militia movement has been VERY quiet)?

Did they disappear some people into a supermax?

I have no idea but I sure would like the answers.  If its as simple as them deciding that they couldn't get a prosecution so why bother then that tells us that armed standoffs work.

What I would like to see (poor wording but I can't think of a better way to say this) is an armed standoff during the Trump era.  Not because Trump is president but because Sessions is the Attorney General.  I would like to see how he would respond to such circumstances.  He portrays himself as being almost hyper law and order so what would he order Federal Agents to do?

Questions.  I'm left with many questions about this event.

Why do we always talk 57mm for big guns for light vehicles? Why have you forgotten about the 90mm?

The NFL is a copycat league.  That's a given and everyone knows it.  What few people seem to realize is that defense procurement is a copycat league too!

Whenever we talk about putting big guns on light vehicles the standard bearer currently is the 57mm.  If people talk about going bigger the default is all the way up to MBT guns like the 105mm or 120mm.

But what about the proven and capable 90mm?

You're talking about the allies solution to the 88mm during WW2.  You're talking about a weapon that can provide EFFECTIVE support to infantry during the assault and can bust bunkers while maneuvering with the the force, not having to call in air to use multi-million dollar munitions to do the samething.

For some reason ground forces around the world have defaulted to 30/35mm, 40mm and in the case of the Russians, the 57mm.

Why?

We have an effective middleweight gun just begging to be put in the game.

Expand your thinking!

A modern 90mm gun is the ultimate solution!

The example for leaking national secrets denied bail....it only took one to turn off the spigot...

via Defense News.

 A woman charged with leaking U.S. secrets must remain jailed until her trial, a federal judge ruled Thursday, saying her release would pose an “ongoing risk to national security.”

Reality Winner, 25, is a former Air Force linguist who worked as a contractor for the National Security Agency at a facility in Augusta, Georgia, when she was charged in June with copying a classified U.S. report and mailing it to a news organization.

Winner’s defense attorneys asked a judge to reconsider releasing her on bail after her trial date was postponed from October to next March. They argued Winner had no prior criminal history and served admirably in the military. Winner’s mother in Kingsville, Texas, planned to move to Georgia to ensure her daughter obeyed any terms of her bond.

But U.S. Magistrate Judge Brian K. Epps sided with prosecutors in ruling that keeping Winner jailed is the only way to ensure she doesn’t flee overseas or leak more secret information. The judge referenced prosecutors’ transcript of a Facebook chat in February in which Winner wrote to her sister: “Look, I only say I hate America like 3 times a day.”

Story here.

When the history of the Trump Admin is written a couple of things will be noteworthy during his first year.

The first will be Trump's erratic tweeting, weird press events and seemingly contradictory statements/positions.

The second will be the flood of secret information that was leaked to the press.

We all wondered aloud how this could be allowed and why it wasn't being stopped.  Well the govt finally stepped up to the plate and made Reality Winner the "example" to all and it worked.

A foolish young lady is about to get gob smacked and her life is gonna be ruined because she believed the hype.  Like every expendable asset, she was used for the task given her, and then promptly discarded.

The resistance as the Dems called it really only claimed one scalp in this whole affair.  The people that have resigned from the Admin since Jan all self destructed, but Winner was a true believer and she's sitting in jail looking slack eyed and silly.

Yeah.  She was used.  Yeah.  She was made an example of.  Yeah.  Her young life is ruined.

Yet somehow I can't make myself care.

Open Comment Post. Oct 6, 2017

The blowback against the NRA has begun.

Unless you've been hiding under a rock then you know that bump stocks have become the hot thing in Washington.  The politicians are wanting to be seen acting after the latest terror attack so they're going after the low hanging fruit of banning those particular stocks.

The NRA (I assume) stuck their finger in the wind and decided that they would support a ban but backwards.  They want the ATF to revise their previous findings that bump stocks DID NOT violate the law and to not only ban future manufacture but to also do some kind of absolute ban with (I assume) voluntary turn ins (that's the Dems that are pushing for no grandfathering of those already purchased) in exchange for nationwide reciprocity for CCW holders.

Well Military Arms Instagram Page isn't having any of it.  Not only did he post the pic at the top of the page but he also put out this statement...

Effective Immediately: I withdraw my support for the @nationalrifleassociation until further notice. I have suspended all support and recruiting efforts. The next couple of videos I have are already edited and have a request for you to join. Please ignore that request. I am currently traveling but will remove the link in my future videos to the NRA website. I will be speaking with NRA leadership soon (hopefully) and if their position is to negotiate in any way whatsoever with anti-gun forces my future support will end and I will resign my membership. 

If you don't know who this guy is, he's a prominent YouTuber, former Marine, former Law Enforcement (might still be a reserve I'm not sure) and of course a well known gun guy.

The backlash against the NRA has begun.

Expect a modification of the stance taken by Republicans and for this to get pushed down the calendar.

The Gun Owners of America will get even more members and the NRA is gonna get a severe black eye.

Long story short?  There is no middle ground in this debate.  There is no trust in the gun community toward the gun grabbers.  The Sandy Hook gun grab attempt has spoiled this issue (the bait and switch that was attempted) for another 20 years.  There will never be a compromise that will satisfy both sides.  The status quo for better or worse is where we will remain for the foreseeable future.

ST Kinetics, SAIC & CMI are teaming to make Singapore's Next Generation Fighting vehicle into a Mobile Protected Firepower contender (Light Tank)

via Business Wire.

Science Applications International Corp. (NYSE: SAIC) announced today that it will compete to rapidly develop combat vehicle prototypes to meet the U.S. Army’s need as part of the Mobile Protected Firepower (MPF) program. SAIC, together with ST Kinetics and CMI Defence, will develop and integrate a vehicle that offers the Army an innovative solution that provides infantry forces access to combat environments in 21st century operations.

“As a systems integrator, SAIC can deliver an alternative option to the Army that brings together best-of-breed, non-developmental components to field a new combat vehicle quickly that meets critical requirements,” said Jim Scanlon, SAIC senior vice president and general manager of the Defense Systems Customer Group. “Rapid delivery of this MPF solution is essential to the Army and our solution is extremely well-positioned to meet these requirements and deliver a modernized vehicle to soldiers.”

Based on ST Kinetics’ Next Generation Armored Fighting Vehicle (NGAFV) chassis and CMI Defence’s Cockerill Series 3105 turret currently in production, SAIC will compete for an Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) contract to build prototypes that incorporate a lightweight combat vehicle design while still providing mobility and lethality for Army units. Such a vehicle will enable freedom of movement and action, specifically for restrictive, urban operations but tailorable for full-spectrum combat environments.

Story here. 

I've gone from being enthused about the Army's Mobile Protected Firepower program into being extremely skeptical.

This might be the solution for other countries...slapping a tank caliber gun on an APC chassis but for the US Army it seems like a terrible move.

The US can build a dedicated light tank. 

If the Chinese can so can we...think about that.  We're now comparing the gear we procure to what the Chinese are doing.  Excuse me while I punch a wall....

NRA just went bat shit crazy. They're for outlawing bump stocks.

Let me say this right off.  Bump stocks are stupid.  Only idiots run them on their rifles and everyone that I know that's serious about the trade would never consider them.  Not even for recreation.

But the NRA just went bat shit crazy saying that they back the idea of the ATF re-examining them because they turn "semi autos into machine guns".

THEY DO NO SUCH THING!

The NRA, supposedly the guardian of our gun rights is allowing the gun grabbers to get their nose under the tent.

If we follow this along naturally then we can expect trigger kits, mags, optics and every other thing that can make a shooter more lethal (in defense of himself or others), accurate (to lessen accidents) or have better control over his weapon (increase defense capability, lessen accidents, and increase handling) to come under attack real soon.

Of course it will be called common sense gun control but its nothing of the kind.

It's an opening and you can expect the Democrats to run with it.

Thanks NRA, you guys are the true Blue Falcons.

Side note.  Some people just want to watch the world burn.  Some people are just evil beyond comprehension.  The Las Vegas shooter was both and probably a whole lot more.  Want to see gun crime plummet?  Enforce gun laws.  Make it stick.  Make the sentences mandatory.  Don't infringe rights but enforce the law.  You shoot someone in the act of a crime then you go away for a long time with no chance for parole.  You do that with all violent crime and watch it go down in just a few years.  People do bad things not tools.  Punish the people, don't demonize an inanimate object!

Fuji Combined Firepower Exercise 2017 : Type 16 105mm MCV, AAV + Armoured Vehicles

MCV at the 14 minute mark...AAV at the 16 minute.  I see the Japanese culture is alive and well.  They're crazy neat freaks (not a bad thing at all) and they keep their vehicles LOOKING in pristine condition.  Even their old rides are EXTREMELY well maintained.

Heritage Foundation ranks USMC & Army weak, USN & Air Force marginal in power index...

via Defense News.

The index gauged America’s armed forces’ as “marginal” in their ability to win wars against two major adversaries simultaneously, its yardstick for what the nation needs.

In the report, Heritage calls for an Army of 50 brigade combat teams, a Navy of 346 ships and 624 strike aircraft, an Air Force of 1,200 fighter/attack aircraft and a Marine Corps of 36 battalions.

Any buildup would be a tall order under current Capitol Hill dynamics. Lawmakers championing a larger military have for years run into the cross-currents of Republican opponents of deficit spending and Democratic allies of nondefense spending — all pressurized by statutory budget caps passed in 2011.

Heritage gave the Navy, Air Force and nuclear suite a collective grade of “marginal” for total power — a kind of D grade — compared with a top score of “very strong.”

The Marine Corps, meant to be the nation’s expeditionary armed force, which sustained decreases in amphibious ships and available aircraft as aging aircraft have been decommissioned. The index downgraded its readiness from “marginal” to “weak,” alongside its capacity — attributed to a number of aging air and land platforms.

“The Marine Corps dropped because of their aircraft woes and its general readiness,” Wood said. The index cited the USMC’s reporting at the end of 2016 that only 41 percent of its fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft were flyable.

Story here. 

Heritage Foundation Report here.

Wow.  He backs up his assessment with facts but I really wonder if we're actually looking at a funding problem as he asserts or if we're looking at management woes.

Notice that the Marine Corps is paying a penalty in its readiness quotient because Aviation is jacked up from the floor up.

How that has been allowed for almost a decade is beyond me.  The F-35 just wasn't worth the damage that its caused to Marine Air.  No plane, even the Death Star from Star Wars would be worth this much pain.

Read the article and digest the report.  Then weep for your US military.