The Merchant Marines were some hardcore dudes!

CDR Salamander has a two parter on the trials of Convoy HX84.  Long story short?  You don't know what you don't know until someone tells you.

The story he paints is beyond awesome.  It's damn near incredible.  Those Merchant Marines were some hardcore dudes!  If what they did in real life was portrayed in the movies I'd swear it was a lie and done for dramatic effect. I'd probably walk out of the movie theater saying that no one would ever do anything so brave.

But they did.

Read it here but come back and tell me what you think.

USMC doing force on force freeplay with the Brits...Commandant hopeful the Army is next...THEY FINALLY LISTENED!!!!

via Marine Corps Times

Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Robert B. Neller wants his Marines training for large-scale, peer threats.

One way they’ll get that is pitting Marines against elite allies.

The first is coming soon, with a force-on-force battle at the epicenter of the Corps’ air-ground combat focus against British Royal Marines.

The Royal Marines are good and in this they would best simulate operations by Chinese Special Ops, Chinese Marines or Airmobile forces.  Not exactly the force on force I've been advocating but "Big Things Have Small Beginnings"!

 Speaking to a banquet hall of 400 attendees at the annual Marine Corps Association and Foundation Ground Dinner Thursday, Neller noted that many of the training shifts about to occur are not new, they’re spelled out in the Marine Corps Warfighting Manual and common to those whose service predates 9/11 missions.

“And let’s be frank, after the march up in OIF we got into a stability, counterinsurgency op. we didn’t maneuver, we occupied the same position… didn’t have to move our (command post),” Neller said.

To that point, the four-star sent out a letter on Sept. 26, spelling out new efforts in risk-taking, free-play force-on-force training initiatives, especially at the capstone training events that units rotate to Twentynine Palms, California, at the Marine Corps Air-Ground Combat Training Center.

“The Royal Marines are going to be there this winter, they’re going to be our first (opposing force),” Neller said. And I’m talking with the Canadians to see if they’ll come down and fight us.”

“And then I’m sure the Army would love to come over and get a piece,” he said.

Story here. 

That last line!  That last line is where this should all head!

Pit a reinforced Stryker Brigade with attached USAF elements against a Marine Expeditionary Unit.

Plus it up appropriately until we're seeing division vs division.

The headline was clickbait.  I don't know if they know I even exist but at least someone up there is thinking they way we do.

This is cause for cheer.  But before you start twisting the cap on that bourbon remember this.  Neller once talked about Port Seizures being something that the Marine Corps needs to work on and we haven't seen a word or heard anything since.

As happy as I am to hear this news we need to take a wait and see approach. Let's label this cautious optimism...

Open Comment Post. 17 Nov 2018

TRIDENT JUNCTURE 2018 ... pics by SGM Marco Dorow, German Army.

Austal delivers USNS Burlington to Navy

via Fox News 10

 Austal USA delivered the expeditionary fast transport ship USNS Burlington to the U.S. Navy during a ceremony onboard the ship at the company’s headquarters in Mobile on Thursday.

This is the fourth ship Austal has delivered to the Navy this year, according to the company.

The EPF program provides the Navy with a high-speed intra-theater transport capability.

The 338-foot long Burlington is an aluminum catamaran capable of transporting 600 tons, 1,200 nautical miles at an average speed of 35 knots, and is designed to operate in austere ports and waterways, too shallow and narrow for the larger ships in the surface fleet, providing added flexibility to U.S. warfighters worldwide. The ship's flight deck can also support flight operations for a wide variety of manned and unmanned aircraft, including a CH-53 Super Stallion.

Story here. 

Two things.

1.  I can't help but feel that these ships are a holdover from the war on terror and won't offer much, as they're currently configured/used, in our plans for a major fight.  Every ship a sensor and a shooter?  Why would we hazard large amphibious ship when we can have these loitering in littoral waters ready to fire at passing fleets or relay targeting data?  You want to add missions and weapons to a ship then I nominate this entire class!

2.  What happened to the instream testing that was suppose to be done with this ship class?  At one time it was proposed that they could quickly stream within a few dozen miles off shore and act as an AAV carrier, launching AAVs and darting back out to the seabase.  I haven't heard a thing for about two years now.

Turkish Marine Assault Vehicle (MAV) to be displayed in 2019

via IHS Janes.

The first examples of the Turkish Marine Assault Vehicle (MAV) - called the Zaha project - are to be unveiled at the IDEF Defence Exhibition to be held in Istanbul, Turkey, in May 2019, Jane's has learnt.

FNSS Savunma Sistemleri and the Undersecretariat of Defence Industries (SSM) signed a contract in March 2017, to design, develop, and manufacture 27 MAVs for the Turkish Naval Forces Command's new landing helicopter dock (LHD). Four vehicles will be command post (CP) and armoured recovery vehicle (ARV) configurations - two of each - and the remainder will be configured as armoured personnel carriers.

The MAV hull is a sealed, hydrodynamic design made of all-welded aluminium armour that can be bolstered with appliqué armour kits and boasts a self-righting capability. It has a combat weight of 30 tonnes and a maximum road speed of 70 km/h and 7 kt in water.

Story here. 

Let's call this what it is.  A modernized AAV that's been rebuilt for the 2020's and beyond.  It would be like taking the basic design of the AAV we have in service, building it brand new with some new components to make it more reliable and capable.

One thing is missing though.

21 seats?

That means they're still going with bench seating.  I guess the Turks aren't as worried about IEDs as we are.

Additionally I see they aren't able to squeeze better water performance out of the thing.  I didn't think we'd see a developmental dead end when it came to armor but we seem to have hit one with amphibious armored vehicles.  You just can't make them faster in water without compromising land performance..and if you do then you're making it a maintenance hog.

Regardless I can't wait to see what FNSS has done with the thing.

Israeli Eitan 8x8 APC set to enter production in 2021...

via Army Recognition.

Israel’s new Eitan armored personnel carrier is in final field testing with the Nahal infantry brigade. Its series production is scheduled to start in 2021. Once the Israeli army has received enough Eitans to replace the last of their old M113s, the vehicle will be made available for export.

Story here. 

But where will it be built?  I keep hearing stories that General Dynamics will build the things stateside in order to meet the new requirements of the aid grant that the Israelis receive but nothing concrete on the subject.

If the Eitan is built in the US then its almost an automatic that the US Army will at least consider it for their Stryker replacement (that vehicle is getting long in the tooth and the age is showing).

A hot production line, and hopefully the costs will be falling?  It would almost be a no brainer.

VMM-166 Bahrain International Airshow 18 Teaser...Video by Staff Sgt. Joshua Jackson

Canadian Army @ Exercise Common Ground...

Navy SEAL accused of murdering a prisoner is back in the news....plus a weird personal theory (probably totally wrong)...

via American Military News.

New evidence has been exposed in the case of the U.S. Navy SEAL accused of stabbing an ISIS prisoner to death.

Navy SEAL Chief Edward “Eddie” Gallagher, 39, appeared before Navy Judge Advocate Capt. Arthur Record during an Article 32 hearing on Wednesday where evidence was presented to determine whether or not to proceed with a full trial, Task & Purpose first reported Thursday.

Gallagher, a 19-year Navy veteran, allegedly executed a wounded ISIS detainee with his knife in May 2017.

-------------------------------------------

Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) Special Agent Joe Warpinski was called as a witness and delivered the testimony from nine SEALs from Gallagher’s unit, testimony he had gathered since April during his investigation.

Several members of SEAL Team 7 Alpha Platoon were providing medical treatment to a 15-year-old ISIS fighter who suffered a leg injury from shrapnel derived from a nearby Iraqi airstrike. Iraqi forces had captured the fighter, then turned him over to the SEAL team.

Gallagher wasn’t present as the other SEALs treated the fighter. However, once the fighter was stabilized, Gallagher allegedly “walked up without saying anything at all” and began to stab the fighter.

Three SEAL members witnessed the killing. One said the act left him in “complete disbelief.” Another “couldn’t believe what had happened,” saying the fighter “was just a brainwashed kid.”

Story here. 

No women (old skool that probably no longer applies) and no kids...that was the code.

Yeah you'll run into child soldiers but after the fight is done then so are you.

This shit though...makes ya wonder don't it?

I think I can speak for all of us in saying that this is pretty brutal and horrific and not what we expect from an American Fighting Man (I will throw up the caveat that the other side is making things real hard by strapping bombs onto pre-teens and teens and running them toward our forces).

Having said that.

Have you noticed the steady drumbeat of news?

When was the last time you had organizations like Task & Purpose leading the drumbeat on stuff like this?

Don't know.  Then let me refresh your memory.  It was for Women in combat arms in the Marine Corps.  During that time T&P along with other news orgs were slamming the Corps daily with claims of mistreatment of women and other things.

It has successfully broken the Corps as we've known it and I'm not sure if the new culture can survive the ravages of war.

The Army got the message and supposedly got women thru its Ranger School and if you haven't heard the first woman has made it thru the Q Course.

That leaves only the SEALs.

I just can't help but wonder if these "incidents", as horrific as they are, aren't being used to push a different agenda.

The SEALs are broken so we need to do things differently?  The funny thing is that they were broke long before this but they're highlighting these incidents so that they can make the other thing happen.  Yeah, its destroying the SEALs rep with the public but that's considered a necessary evil to achieve the desired endstate.

I'm probably wrong though.

It's a goofy idea and is so ridiculous that it borders on the insane....still...it did cross the mind so I threw it out there.