CH-47D with upgraded engines...

. @USArmy 's @CCDC_AVM partnering with @Boeing and @GEAviation to test high-powered engines on a CH-47 #chinook. #TechTuesday pic.twitter.com/DB8o4ZDLEc

— CCDC Aviation & Missile Center (@CCDC_AVM) November 12, 2019

And just like that, sales of the CH-53K got throat stomped.  I mean seriously! Why pay for a 100 million dollar a piece helicopter when you have one at a third of the price that begins to approach the same lift capabilities?

The Commandant said to challenge all previous assumptions right?

I challenge anyone to explain why we MUST have a 100 million dollar helicopter!  I want to know how often we will carry outsized loads that actually require the extra capability that the CH-53K offers!

If you can't do it easily...if you have to "reach" then the whole thing needs to be rethought.

Want a real return to Marine Corps values?

Then we do more with less.  That means that "gucci" anything needs to be properly assessed to determine its REAL value to our Corps and nation!

S-500 has been tested in Syria against the F-35?

via National Interest.

A defense industry source told Russian news outlet Izvestia last month that the S-500 recently underwent field testing in Syria, where the Russian Aerospace Forces continue to maintain a significant presence. The Russian Defense Ministry unequivocally denied that the S-500 was ever on Syrian soil in an October 2 statement, claiming that “there was no need” for further testing.

Despite the S-500’s imminent release, official specifications details remain as elusive as ever. Still, years of industry insider leaks, scattered developer commentary, and Russian reporting combine to give us a coherent picture of what to expect from the S-500. With a widely expected maximum operating range of 600 km and a system response time of 3 to 4 seconds, the S-500 reaches a whopping 200km farther and is around 6 seconds faster to respond than its S-400 predecessor. Underlining its strategic role, the S-500’s 77N6 and 77N6-N1 missiles can intercept hypersonic cruise missiles and ICBMs, as well as aerial targets flying at a speed of over 5 Mach. The manufacturer, Almaz-Antey, claims that the S-500 can even strike low-orbit satellites and certain types of spacecraft in near space, though it remains to be seen if the S-500 will face a performance trade-off when operating at such extreme altitudes. Formidable as it is in isolation, the S-500 can also complement existing systems such as the S-400 and S-300 by expanding Russian airspace and providing a further layer of defense against saturation strikes.

Unsurprisingly, the S-500 is being branded as a silver bullet against stealth fighters in general and the F-35 in particular. As previously covered by The National Interest, Almaz-Antey head engineer Pavel Sozinov asserted that the S-500 is a “blow against American prestige,” that “system neutralizes American offensive weapons, and surpasses all of America’s much-hyped anti-air and anti-missile systems.”

Story here. 

Don't know exactly WHAT is going on but something is.  WTF do I mean?  Well the F-35 has been sent to the Middle East but has yet to show up over Syria sporting the US flag on its side.

Either the Russian's air defenses are proving a deterrent, we're worried about giving away information on the plane or both is immaterial.

Something is keeping the plane out of the area and even with those stealth negating devices they slap on the fuselage they're still not participating in this war.

Pic Of The Day...An F/A-18F Super Hornet, attached to the "Red Rippers" of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 11, launches from the waist of the flight deck aboard the USS Harry S. Truman

An F/A-18F Super Hornet, attached to the "Red Rippers" of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 11, launches from the waist of the flight deck aboard the USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) during flight operations. U.S. Navy by Seaman Kevin T. Murray Jr.

That's a real deal war loadout.  Where is the Truman cause it looks like this plane is going out to put steel on target!

Blast from the past...The slaughter of Italian police officers in Nassiriya, Iraq...

** FILE ** Italian Army soldiers look at building barracks destroyed by car bomb killing 17 Italian soldiers and two civilians at Italy's paramilitary police headquarters in Nasiriyah on Wednesday. 12, 2003 file photo. A bomb blast rocked an Italian convoy at a base in Nasiriyah, southern Iraq on Thursday April 27, 2006 killing three Italian soldiers and a Romanian, the Defense Ministry said. The roadside bomb targeted a four-vehicle convoy on its way to relieve troops at an Iraqi police station in the city of Nasiriyah, the ministry said in a statement. One of the vehicles was destroyed, killing four soldiers and seriously injuring at least one passenger. (AP Photo / Anja Niedringhaus)

Pic and caption via https://www.ptisidiastima.com/  (Google translate needed).

Weds Funny....Snafu Blog's operating statement...

LOL!!!  Don't know why but this is one of the funniest, and heartwarming statements I've ever heard.  Am I twisted?  Nah, just equally worthless!

2d Cavalry Regiment, conduct a live fire exercise during Dragoon Ready 20

Donbass has been officially ceded to Russia...Putin, Merkel say Ukraine's Donbass should get special status - Kremlin

via Yahoo News.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel agreed on Monday that Ukraine should give its separatist-led Donbass region a special status set out in Ukrainian law, the Kremlin said.

It gave no further details of the leaders' discussions on the future of Donbass during a phone call, but agreement on its status would be a step towards convening a four-nation summit on ending five years of conflict in the eastern region.

Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskiy said last month that Kiev had agreed to grant Donbass special status and let local elections go ahead there. The breakthrough raised hopes that a date would be set for the summit involving Kiev, Moscow, Berlin and Paris.

Here. 

Good so can we finally shed the idea of helping Nazis and a failed state in Europe and get on with the hard work of getting our own house in order?

Germany, France and Moscow have all decided that Ukraine ain't worth it.  Can someone call the so called best and brightest in the US and inform them of the news????

The difference between a good leader and a bad one...

Note.  The discussion of leadership popped up today.  During the talk certain values were presented.  Unfortunately all discussions of leadership involve the most extreme of human efforts.  Active combat.  Rarely is the talk of leadership focused on the more mundane/everyday tasks that most of the Western world is involved in.  The short article below is more of the same.  What I'd like to see is a writer tackle CIVILIAN leadership.  Marine Corps leadership traits can serve you well but most are too stringent for the average civilian to follow. 

My ask?

I ask you read the below then to give me your definition of what good CIVILIAN leadership will look like.  Aiming this mostly at the political level.  What makes a good (versus successful) political leader?  I think the distinction is important.  An extremely successful politician might be the most vile human being on the planet while being loved by many.  Additionally the most morally straight leader could end up despised (not saying AT ALL that this applies to Trump so don't get it twisted).

The past 14 hours in Israel:

Blast from the past...French Carrier Accident (Bad Cat Launch)...

[FR] - Récit du sauvetage du pilote allemand du #SEM, éjecté en 2002 lors d'un #catapultage... Son et images impressionnants ! (Source : France3) pic.twitter.com/QuwJww16dW

— Survols (@Survols) November 12, 2019

All we did was go into Bryant Denny and put 46 on the board...Don't bet against the boys from the Bayou!

Sometimes it's more than "just a game."

Witness @mspears96 😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/I2upXKDoFH

— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) November 12, 2019

“We gonna beat their ass in recruiting We gonna beat their ass every time they see us. ROLL TIDE WHAT... F**K YOU”

Coach Orgeron went off on Bama 😂 pic.twitter.com/EX5vHnSXZd

— Complex Sports (@ComplexSports) November 10, 2019

You want to understand this blog?  Understand LSU football Coach Ed O you and you're halfway there!

Eastern Germany is dying?

"I'm afraid we are going to be a ghost town in 20 years."

Three decades after the fall of the Berlin Wall, is eastern Germany on the verge of disappearing? pic.twitter.com/nh6HtaQkfX

— DW News (@dwnews) November 12, 2019

In the vid they say that East Germany is dying.  I think the opposite!  I'm betting in 20 years you're gonna see more and more Germans flocking to East Germany gobbling up land and seeking to escape the congestion of the West.

Where they see despair I see MASSIVE opportunity.  Cities are crushing, soul destroying.

Mark my words.  In a country like Germany they will seek the refuge of that wide open space inside their borders!