3d Battalion, 3d Marines conduct fire team attack drills on Camp Hansen, Okinawa, Japan

If the Marine Corps is flexing into the Stand-In-Force concept & EABO then these skills while practiced today (in the pics below) will atrophy. Guarding missiles and refueling points is a defensive mission. The thought that Marine Corps Infantry will maintain the 'elan to be called upon to perform light infantry tasks is questionable. Dedicated Army Infantry (along with Special Operations most notably Rangers) will soon have more capable and sport a better combined arms team supporting those forces than the Marine Corps will. From better ground mobility, to better direct fire capability, along with more cannon artillery to provide fires and attaching USAF fighter wings, the Marine Corps will go from a flexible, fight anywhere/anytime and in any clime to be relegated to the Pacific, not by desire but by capability. Tying into the Navy so forcefully will further limit opportunities to be called on by the nation in any fight except for one against China. Force Design 2030 is a horrible mistake.

The European Best Sniper Team Competition begins at Hohenfels Training Area, Germany.

Note. Has the science changed? Bolt guns for snipers were all the rage because they were "more accurate" than a semi-auto. Now everyone is moving to semi-auto. I know that law enforcement justified it because rapid follow-on shots were needed in an urban environment but the military operates in highly varied terrain. What gives?

Open Comment Post. 7 Aug 22

 

Battalion Landing Team 2/5, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit performs security for EABO

Note. In the US Army and US Air Force, security for Forward Arming & Refueling Points (FARPs but that's old skool which doesn't have the style of renaming them EABOs)...is performed by Military Police.

One Billion More For Ukraine? How long can we keep this up?

 via Reuters

The Biden administration's next security assistance package for Ukraine is expected to be $1 billion, one of the largest so far, and include munitions for long-range weapons and armored medical transport vehicles, three sources briefed on the matter told Reuters on Friday.

The package is expected to be announced as early as Monday and would add to about $8.8 billion in aid the United States has given Ukraine since Russia's invasion on Feb. 24.

Here 

Am I the only one that realizes how much that money could help at home?

We give billions to Ukraine without thought but necessary work here in the US is always being picked apart as wasteful spending?

WHAT ABOUT THIS!~

No oversight.

No accountability.

Just propaganda.

Still waiting on some brain in the State Dept, Pentagon or White House to tell me that the pain for the American taxpayer with regard to Ukraine is over with once the war is over.

But they can't.

That's the dirty little secret.  That country is gonna be an albatross around our necks for the rest of my life.

Teams of light infantry combined with a variety of anti-armor capabilities and sUAS form a highly effective units able to disrupt and attrite enemy armored formations...THIS IS NOT THE RIGHT LESSON FROM UKRAINE!!!!

Hunter Killer

Teams of light infantry combined with a variety of anti-armor capabilities and sUAS form a highly effective units able to disrupt and attrite enemy armored formations.

WE TRAIN #CombatLeaders! pic.twitter.com/HiE04zDSfD

— SOI-E AITB (@SOI_E_AITB) August 6, 2022

How can the ONCE masters of combined arms have forgotten basic lessons so fast? We're seeing tanks being picked off like sitting ducks in Ukraine and some think that the power of tech now? NO IT IS NOT! The Russians have not properly utilized combined arms tactics in Ukraine! Hunter - Killer anti-tank teams? You will have hunter hunting those teams! UAVs will be deployed to detect and destroy those teams! Artillery will be utilized to attrite THEM!

I get it.

The New Marine Corps is rushing headlong into FD2030.  

So be it.

But be honest!  This new formation will be savaged by a mech infantry unit.  It will be as vulnerable to conventional infantry as a Special Operations Unit is!

This highly specialized unit is good for only one thing.  Killing ships.  Don't fool yourselves and try to fool us into believing otherwise.

Do we have a proper view of China's internal political dynamics?

 I'm guilty.

When I look at China I'm seeing what most see.  Militant voices that seem eager to take over the world (that is so stupid in hindsight...we have the same clowns here but they don't make up the majority opinion).

I was watching a China expert on FoxNews and he was talking about how Xi was seeking another term and all the pressures on him.

He has his national security hawks that see the US forming coalitions to blunt China.  Not its rise but to make it an enemy in a region where it seeks to cooperate, not dominate!

He has his doves that see the US forming coalitions because they see China as being a bit too aggressive in achieving their national goals.

Finally he has his monied interests that are worried about losing access to foreign markets.

Where can I find a balanced view of China?  Has anyone written a balanced view of their goals?  Has anyone attempted to crawl into their 50 year plan?

I'm getting a serious 2.0 vibe to this whole thing.  Are we making the Chinese 10 feet tall monsters when they're just a bunch of people seeking to build a better society and country and are just doing it a different way than the West?

Don't get me wrong.  Not going soft.  But you MUST know your enemy in order to defeat him.

I'm wondering if we really know China.

2/7 Attacks Range 410