Mainland netizens have created a series of propaganda, demonising Hong Kong Protesters and vocal supporters of the movement and even journalist.

Note.  Must be a cultural thing cause I can't make out the insult except that the protesters seem to be labeled as "cockroaches" but the other creature is beyond me.  Anyone read Mandarin and can translate the writing on the pics? The weird thing?  I could see these creatures showing up in the Marvel Universe as heroes and not villains.

Mainland netizens have created a series of propaganda, demonising #HongKongProtesters and vocal supporters of the movement and even journalist. Purely in terms of efforts, it's an upgrade from the works we've seen in the past... pic.twitter.com/sRRrQZkM8k

— Rachel Cheung (@rachel_cheung1) December 2, 2019

Royal Canadian Navy’s First Harry DeWolf-Class Arctic And Offshore Patrol Ship Started Sea Trials

Here.

French, Brit & Canadian Politicians discussing Trump...

Astonishing.

Macron, Johnson and Trudeau seem to have ridiculed Trump last night while having some drinks. pic.twitter.com/kDnXMXnKqK

— Ragıp Soylu (@ragipsoylu) December 4, 2019

Caught gossiping about Trump? 👀

Boris Johnson, Emmanuel Macron, Justin Trudeau, Mark Rutte and Princess Anne all appear to be having a jocular conversation about an unnamed associate at a Buckingham Palace reception.

Get more politics news 👉 https://t.co/YeKmtSLJnv pic.twitter.com/GwDOtWUb6B

— Sky News (@SkyNews) December 4, 2019

Berger wants bold thinking? Ok. Disband FAST Regiment...

Where can the USMC find a pool of well trained, skilled infantry...shed unneeded infrastructure...while at the same time streamlining its force structure?

Disband FAST Regiment.

Don't get it twisted.  The guys train hard, get sent on missions and have had a good run.

But if we're gonna be bold then big changes aren't how you make it happen. You start small and work toward the big stuff.

An appropriate step would be to case this units colors.

Quick and dirty I know but tell me where I'm wrong.  Tell me how they're essential to the security of the US.  Tell me how their missions can't be conducted by forces that are held inside our big sister the US Navy.

If you can't readily tell me why FAST should exist in 2020 then you have your answer.

If you can then I stand ready to listen.

Change is coming.  Let's manage it appropriately by cutting excess (FAST definitely isn't cutting fat) before we make wholesale changes...its the smart way of doing things.

Why do "theorists" keep circling back to making the USMC light while the Chinese are meching up?

Let's dig into this cause everyone is slamming my inbox with this article (although it popped up in my Google alerts).

via Proceedings.

To persist inside an adversary A2/AD engagement zone, Marines need to be lighter, more agile, and more survivable. The middleweight force currently fielded by Marine divisions has a signature that is too large and too tied to vehicular support to evade adversary targeting. The Corps must divest itself of all heavy armor and most light-armored platforms. The main effort should be light infantry forces operating in small units that can maneuver and communicate clandestinely for extended periods inside an adversary engagement zone. Forces that can effectively infiltrate will be more successful at evading adversaries and more successful at persisting inside enemy engagement zones.  

Here. 

I consider this a variation on a theme that we've been hearing since Amos' time in the big chair...maybe before.

They're wanting a "commando" force.

Have you noticed one thing about this concept though?  Somehow it's expected that light forces can operate for "extended periods" within the reach of enemy forces.

Why is everyone assuming that the ability to find, fix and destroy these small units is beyond the ability of an adversary force?

No need to do a full breakdown but everyone remembers the time that a SEAL Team was located, hunted down and killed with only one person surviving the encounter.

We've seen it with Marine Sniper Platoons in Iraq too.

Small units will not survive on the modern battlefield.  Survivability is built on the shifting sands of being stealth, having robust communications, magical resupply and God like supporting fires to protect them when things go sideways.

Additionally the force that many want won't scale up and down the spectrum and will be biased toward operating only against terrorist (and I have my doubts against even those forces as we've seen them morph into quasi nation state armies...just ask the Saudis in Yemen, the French in Mali etc...).

As for the rest?

Give Marine Air to the Navy?

In a billion years maybe!

I can see greater integration but that alone would tilt Marine Air on it's head and shake it out in ways that would probably leave it a shell of itself.

This is a great article and bold thinking but I believe it misses on the mark on most of it's assumptions.

Finally we have to take note of our enemies.  The Chinese are meching up like a crack whore smokes it in a dark New Orleans alley.  The Russians are too.  Hell even "light infantry" is meching up in ways that make me cringe (light infantry that uses robotic mules?).  In a world that is getting heavier and heavier in every way possible (to include SOCOM) the Marine Corps has found a magic pill by way of Air Assault?

We might as navalize the 101st and send our people to the UK. This plan is about nothing but making the 198K man USMC into a big version of the UK's Royal Marines.

Open Comment Post. 3 Nov 2019

The Flanker is huge compared to the Hornet...Maybe we should have supersized the thing!

Yeah I know.

Perspective.

But I'm not getting caught up in that just tossing this out there.  In hindsight I wonder if we shouldn't have supersized the Super Hornet when it went in for a design change.  I mean really plus size the beast into an F-14 sized bird...maybe even larger.

We have to remember that the F-18 was derived from the failing contestant in the USAF's Lightweight Fighter competition.  Due to decision made based on economy (and I can't fault them for that part) it ended up being the Navy's mainstay.

Moving into the future and assuming that the F-35C can actually deliver on all the promises it's made (and I seriously doubt that...the Navy would seem to agree considering the limited numbers being bought...in actuality it would make too much sense to cancel the F-35C but that's for another day) it would still seem to be lacking.

So what does the future hold?

More UCAVs.  Definitely more UCAVs.  A supersized Super Hornet?  I think it's probably approaching its design limits.  A plus sized F-35C?  Perhaps but with the move to UCAVs it might not seem practical.

I can't put my finger on it.  UCAVs are the obvious solution but I really think manned fighters will hang on a while longer.  The F-35C is simply failed.  I don't see it making a comeback with the Navy.  A supersized F-18 seems to be just more of the same with longer range.

Who knows.  But the next gen Navy fighter should be a sight to behold...meanwhile the Super Hornet is really tiny next to the Flanker.

433rd Weapons Squadron (WPS) takes off from Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada....pics by Airman 1st Class Bryan Guthrie

Bomb Proof Your Knees...

💗Huge Calf Tips 👇👇👇 pic.twitter.com/mmOKAJORKa

— Bakhar Nabieva (@Bakhar_Nabieva) December 1, 2019

Just learned something that many of you probably already know.  To bomb proof your knees (or to help recover from a knee injury) you need to power up the supporting muscles.

Calf raises are a good start.  It will burn if done correctly but it's essential because they run up the back of the knee and provide support.



TLDR?  Well the guys above are a little nerdy but they hit on a good point if you checked out the vid.  If not then this is your benchmark.

If you have a weak elbow then you need to hit your forearms, biceps and triceps to help bring it back.  Can you expect discomfort?  You bet your ass but nothing ventured is nothing gained and pain is just weakness leaving the body (or so I was told).

Anyway hit the major muscle groups individually if you have to (if squats will bomb you out).  That means leg extensions, calf raises, leg presses and/or leg presses.  Those are all low impact, you can vary the resistance and more importantly it'll get you back in the game.

How much longer will China be patient with Hong Kong? The violence/info campaigns are ramping up ...

A masked rioter in Hong Kong on Nov. 30 hit a man on the head with a heavy object while he was clearing the road of debris left by radical protesters. pic.twitter.com/6RfiNhxl6P

— People's Daily, China (@PDChina) December 2, 2019

I really can't tell what's real or not when it comes to the situation in Hong Kong.  To my surprise some of the "reliable" dudes I follow that blog from the Pacific region are all quiet on the issue.

If the above Tweet is true then damn.

It's getting pretty wild.  Not inner city America wild but wild nonetheless...especially for a comparably tranquil Asian country (yes I'm aware that all cities have their vicious underbelly but if you've ever been to the Pacific then you know it has to be sought out and is almost NEVER displayed in the open).

How much longer will China be patient?

Personally I thought they would have acted long ago.  Maybe they are already in a covert manner.

Regardless this is becoming a sign of weakness and I would have never thought in a million years that a Chinese ruler would allow himself to be seen as weak.

PLA Showed Another New Rocket Artillery System

via 21CenturyAsianArmsRace Blog.

A month after the military parade the Chinese news agency Global Times published a short analysis by Liu Xuanzun that offered few useful insights. The article claimed the vehicle, whose designation is unknown, mounted eight 370 mm rockets. The non-standard caliber is just one among several large diameter munitions the vehicle can be armed with. Apparently, this rocket artillery system is the sibling of the SR5 that’s designed to launch either 122 mm Grad rockets or a variety of missiles. When the newer system is loaded with the same rockets as the PHL-03 each of its modular launchers carry five rounds for a total of 10.

A more useful comparison is the Polonez developed as a joint venture between Belarusian and Chinese companies. The Polonez is the deadliest rocket artillery weapon in Europe at the moment and is superior to the Russian BM-30 Smerch in two aspects. First, its munitions are able to target farther, reaching an impressive 200 kilometers. Second, the Polonez’ launcher is designed for short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs) known as the M20 with an estimated range of 300 km.

This new PLA rocket artillery system does share a few external commonalities with the Polonez; it’s an 8×8 truck supporting an elongated bed that fits a pivoting launcher. The launcher itself has eight tubes that may also carry containers for individual SRBMs or cruise missiles. If this is its intended role as a division level weapon, then the PLA have once again overmatched NATO and the US military as well as its main rivals in East Asia, Japan and Taiwan. 

Here. 

Pentagon doesn‘t really know how $2.1 BILLION was spent on F-35 parts

via Stock Daily Dish.

The Pentagon has failed to properly manage and account for $2.1 billion worth of parts for F-35 fighter jets, a new report by a government watchdog reveals. Now, the military simply has to take the word of Lockheed Martin on that.

The US military failed to account for 3.45 million pieces of government property – parts and equipment for F-35s, according to issued by the Department of Defense‘s (DoD) Office of Inspector General. Pentagon officials have “failed to implement procedures, and failed to appoint and hold officials responsible, to account for and manage government property for more than 16 years.”

Lacking the paperwork and even people to hold responsible for the blunder, the Pentagon has no actual idea how much the aforementioned pile of parts cost, and has to simply trust the word of the main contractor – Lockheed Martin – and its subcontractors, according to the report. The corporation valued the parts at $2.1 billion.

Here. 

Hmm.  What could we have done with 2.1 Billion Dollars?  Don't like safety net programs (although defense could justifiably be classified as such these days) then keep it entirely inside the Pentagon and think about what that could have bought.

Weep bros.

We have become Ancient Rome.  Decadent. Wasteful.  Fat.  Corrupt. How can we do the hard thing (and that time is coming) when we can't even muster the courage to do proper accounting on the biggest project in Pentagon history?