I don't know how you fix this. Troops all over the world are into social media and the Army just praised some Master Sgt or something about how he was future because he was on Tik-Tok. Amazing, but the world we live in. I so wish I could be an operator on one of the E-8's (or whatever airplane snoops on cell phones in the war zone) just monitoring all the idiocy. I'm sure they get a peek at all kinds of silly shit.
Saturday, January 29, 2022
Unclassified info is now being withheld from the public.
This is my baseless speculation and opinion.
I personally believe the Joint Chiefs and SecDef are overwhelmed/feckless/confused.
I believe that the entire enterprise is spirling. They are having to meet the challenge of two potentially hostile powers, numerous smaller threats and trying to do that during a time when the country is divided, technology is rapidly changing and the very fabric of military discipline/life/culture is under attack.
The latest (a reader brought this up in open comments and I was gonna post about it Sunday) news is stunning.
On Thursday, the Pentagon’s director of operational test and evaluation published the public version of its annual report, and for the first time ever, a version with “controlled unclassified information” was also made available to Defense Department personnel and Congress — out of sight of taxpayers who foot the bill for the multi-million dollar programs.
In December, Raymond O’Toole, then the acting head of the DOT&E office, explained the decision to release a controlled version of the report, saying that some of the unclassified information “shouldn’t wind up in our adversaries’ hands.” He said the services would ultimately determine what information is considered CUI for each weapons system.
But for the experts at think tanks and journalists who rely on DOT&E’s report for an independent assessment of whether a program is meeting requirements, the 2021 report is missing much of the detail provided in previous years — especially regarding specific technical flaws that could hamper a weapon’s ability to perform in combat.
Dan Grazier, a fellow at the Project on Government Oversight, raised alarms over the current state of the report, saying that the decision to conceal unclassified details in a CUI version has grave implications to the future of independent operational testing.
“It is concerning to see the leaders of DOT&E bending to pressure from the services on their anti-transparency push,” Grazier wrote in a statement to Breaking Defense.
Transformation isn't working and we've been seeing substandard systems being introduced for over a decade now because of it.
What's worse is that DOT&E is just plain lying.
China, Russia, France, the UK and anyone else that is trying to get a peek at our systems has us so thoroughly penetrated that its a joke.
The only people that won't know this info is the general public.
The reality?
The Pentagon has taken a MASSIVE public relations hit. Confidence in our military is falling like a rock. News of wasteful spending and weapon systems that don't work will not help the cause.
Additionally recruiting is in the toilet.
The Army is giving 50K bonuses? That's telling. Additionally recruiting in the other services is getting even more difficult (and that doesn't even touch on the fact that many that are interested are obese, have criminal records and other things that make them ineligible).
Long story short?
The Pentagon is a storm of its own making (along with Congress...too many cocktail parties and hanging out too long in the beltway has jaded too many) and I don't see a way out anytime soon.
Hiding information (unclassified info at that) from the general public is an indication that they no longer have the courage/moral fortitude to be honest with the people they have sworn to protect.
That type of weakness is disgusting and fills my nostrils.
Gonna try this. I'm intrigued and it looks kinda tasty & perhaps even healthy
Sip on these for a refreshing taste, while also getting your veggies in easily!
— Tasty (@tasty) January 29, 2022
Shop the recipe! https://t.co/v6iLqY08H4 pic.twitter.com/Tu15X40OIm
An old woman leaving her home with just a portrait of her husband and rugs. Russian soldiers gave her just 5 minutes to pack her bags and leave before they destroyed her home and everything in it. Her sons and husband were already dead. She had lost everything. May 1995, Grozny
via History Porn
I am beyond questioning the rationale for war. I do state without a doubt that it is brutal and that thanks to the media in my country (America) its been sanatized to such a degree that many think its a game. It isn't. It's brutal. Women and children are usually savaged (praise given to the Russian soldiers that allowed her to leave...the fighting was horrific in that city and atrocities took place on a daily basis), and while the body might survive, many are mentally broken.
Gonna post more pics about the reality of WW2. Many call it a good war. There is no such thing. Gonna post more about the reality of war. Too many glamorize something that shouldn't be.
The Army’s new infantry assault buggy is a useless garbage pile This thing is absolute dog shit. via Task&Purpose!
Read the whole story here but this part stood out...
“The rifle company equipped with the ISVs did not successfully avoid enemy detection, ambushes, and engagements during a majority of their missions,” according to the report. “In order to traverse cross country routes and wooded terrain, the unit was forced to reduce their speed, resulting in slowed movement, or maneuvered on improved routes, negating any element of surprise.”
“During missions, the unit experienced numerous casualties, delaying mission accomplishment and degrading its combat power for follow-on missions,” the report said.
The ISV proved so ineffective at providing rapid mobility capabilities to the squad during testing that the unit “concealed their ISVs and drivers close to the objective and dismounted eight soldiers per vehicle to accomplish missions before recovering their [vehicles],” basically ditching their rides in favor of a dismounted engagement.
“This action reduced their combat force, exposed the ISVs and drivers to opposing force attacks, and increased the risk of additional combat losses,” according to the report.
The military should just give up on the idea of a ISV. Just buy some off the shelf Polaris, paint them green or coyote brown...add equipment and weapons mounts and call it a freaking day.
Gold plated solutions in this role just ain't gonna cut it.
You need (at least for US forces) expendable equipment that you can easily repair and/or replace.
A super Colorado pickup with the doors yanked off and roll cages added ain't getting it done.
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