Open Comment Post. 9 Dec 2019

Washington Post reports we've been systematically lied to about the war in Afghanistan...

Exclusive: U.S. officials systematically misled the public about the war in Afghanistan, according to internal documents obtained by The Post.

These are The Afghanistan Papers: A secret history of the war. https://t.co/DbCYuP0OrT

— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) December 9, 2019

Are you surprised?

The next big thing in non-lethal weapons...The Bola Wrap...

Check out this compilation of #wraps by the #BolaWrap!#nonlethal #savelives pic.twitter.com/u3CyNsMnHU

— Wrap Technologies (@WrapTechInc) April 10, 2019

French 27th Mountain Infantry Brigade on exercise..

Thanks to Pegase for the vid!



The Pentagon talks interoperability alot but I get the impression its used more as a punchline than as an actual "thing".

Want real interoperability?

Want real training instead of dog and pony shows?

Stop playing at it and tap into areas of expertise that our allies possess.  We don't need to work with Royal Marines in amphibious assaults.  We are mechanized to a degree that they aren't.  We should tap into their knowledge in arctic/mountain warfare.  That's where we're weak.  In that region they (along with the Norwegians) should be where we ask them to "take the lead" in operations/planning.

Mountain warfare?  I'd like to see the 10th Mountain heading to France to train with these bubbas.

Want to operate the F-35B from austere landing strips?  Talk to the Swiss Air Force and others that do it everyday.

A nice vid that highlights that this Mountain Infantry Brigade actually does the work it says on the tin.

Good to go.

Anyone have updated info on the Chinese AG600?

God I wish we had this airplane!  Think about it.  The Marine Corps and Navy are all "jacked up" on the idea of distributed operations...they talk about ops from small islands...we're talking about operations with ships that aren't generally viewed as amphibious transports and that are "riskable" (is that a word)?

But we don't have an amphibious airplane that has the size to carry a large load to those small island bases...a large plane that can rescue the crew of a ship or even a transport plane that goes down at sea.

We don't have a modern day Convair R3Y Tradewind but the Chinese do.

I'm really interested in the progress they've made on this project.  Is it a capability gap that many won't acknowledge?

I think so.

My thinking is evolving on the fight in the Pacific.  I finally get what HQMC is doing.  My problem is I don't agree with transforming the entire force for a single fight.

My rationale?

The fight in the Pacific will be a major league Navy and Air Force affair.  In that environment we (the Marine Corps) will be playing a supporting role to the bigger battle at sea and in the air.  I get it.

But there will be skirmishes on land.

Those skirmishes will be highly lethal, highly mechanized and will be characterized by intense supporting fires.

Don't change the organization just create MAGTF that fits that region.  Oh and buy some key enablers...like a freaking seaplane..just like the Chinese are doing.

Steel Knight gets even bigger....Largest exercise in Camp Pendleton history

Japanese island could become an unsinkable US aircraft carrier?

via CNN

But once suitable facilities are constructed, the island could also become a permanent base for Japan's Self Defense Forces as Tokyo looks to strengthen its position along the East China Sea, where it faces competing claims from China over the Japanese-administered Senkaku islands, known as the Diaoyu islands in Chinese.

The "purchase of Mageshima Island is extremely important and serves for strengthening deterrence by the Japan-US alliance as well as Japan's defense capability," Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said in announcing the deal.
-----------------------------

Wallace says Mageshima could eventually see operations from US Marine Corps Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft, taking some of the load off current airfields on the main islands and Okinawa.

Just last February, Okinawa residents, in a non-binding referendum, voted overwhelmingly that the US Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station be relocated off the island.

That vote came after incidents of parts falling off US aircraft and landing outside the base, including near schools and numerous flashpoints involving US defense personnel and local residents.

Despite that vote, the Japanese government moved ahead with plans to relocate Futenma operations elsewhere on Okinawa.

Similarly, the government could be expected to push back against any challenges to the Mageshima plan from the nearest island of Tageshima, 8.5 miles (14 kilometers) to its east and from where it is administered.

Here. 

The title is click bait as is the rationale behind this move.

The reality?

The US Dept of Defense is more interested in the defense of Japan than the Japanese people.

Why?

I'm not sure but a few things stand out in my mind.  The Japanese govt want us there.  The Japanese people do not.  Additionally this move is more about a pacifier more than an actual plan to "distribute our forces".  We will still be in range of missile fire from aircraft stationed on the Chinese mainland.

The good news.

We're in the first island chain so all the talk about "penetrating" air power is silliness.  We will not strike targets on the Chinese mainland because we won't want to start WW3 (and trust me, a strike on the mainland would equal a Chinese strike on the continental United States).

The bad news.

Going back to my first point.  The Japanese people aren't our biggest fans.  That seems to be a recurring theme with our forward basing of troops.

Someday we're gonna have to take a good look at that concept.

Graphic of Russia's "Doomsday Torpedo Carrier" Submarine...

There are torpedoes and then there are DOOMSDAY TORPEDOES. If that’s really your thing. pic.twitter.com/C4iFKsao9C

— Dr. Rachel Pawling 🌈 (@R_P_one) December 5, 2019

Open Comment Post. 8 Dec 2019

Open Comment Post. 7 Dec 2019

Brawl-Bash Ogre by Even Amundsen

Note. The shooting at the Naval Air Station was done by a SAUDI Aviation Maintenance Officer, not an American!!

Watching MSNBC and they're discussing the shooting at the Naval Air Station.  The show host stated that an Aviation Maintenance Officer did the shooting but left out the fact that it as a SAUDI NATIONAL AMO!

He also left out that its being investigated as an act of terrorism.

How much longer will we tolerate an ally that perpetrated the 9/11 attacks, sponsors terrorist organizations and kills us at every opportunity?

Additionally we're considering sending 14K troops to the Middle East to defend them against Iran. 

Maybe we should consider switching dance partners!

First 36 Piranha 5 Infantry Fighting Vehicles on the way to Romania...

Thanks to RakuRO for the link!