WTF is going on between Pakistan and India. First gunfire over the border, then the Pakistan says water will flow or Indian blood and now both sides are mobilizing!

Former Pakistan Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutoo threatens India:

“I want to tell India — Sindhu (Indus) is ours, and will remain ours

In Sindhu, either our water will flow or blood of Indians” pic.twitter.com/QLZb2jZkTu

— Megh Updates 🚨™ (@MeghUpdates) April 25, 2025

Are those StingRay Light Tanks that Pakistan is rushing to the border?

Are we heading for war? Actually Pakistan is the sort of country that doesn't deserve a war. Just rattling some tanks at the border will force it to divert precious resources into mobilisation. That alone will set its GDP back to 1999. pic.twitter.com/MFFeqaCvZj

— Rakesh Krishnan Simha (@ByRakeshSimha) April 25, 2025

Tell me again how the USMC's Stand In Force stops this gray zone behavior???

A Chinese Coast Guard Ship & 2 Chinese Militia vessels are blocking a Philippines Coast guard Ship conducting a humanitarian mission.

This is how CCG & Maritime Militia work in tandem to harass Filipino Coast Guard & fishermen inside West Philippines Sea. @ChongJaIan pic.twitter.com/1ZBvbBSOW4

— Steve Anderson (@SteveAn71083739) April 25, 2025

The US military is all about so called deterrence but I have yet to see where deterrence is actually working. They come up with no concepts to explain old behavior (such as this) but have no REAL plan on how to stop it. For better or worse our entire doctrine is a fist full of bullshit. All the psychology of warfare is bullshit. You simply kill the guy that is trying to kill you. Its just that simple. As far as the SIF is concerned? It's coastal artillery (cannon, rocket or missile) that is vulnerable from the sea and MOST DEFINITELY from ground forces. I've said it before and I'll say it again. The USMC's Stand In Force is simply a trip wire outfit designed to ensure that the war is escalated.

The BBC is showing the US military what a ground recon drone should look like

The BBC uses robo-cameras disguised as dung heaps to film wildlife up close, blending into any terrain... pic.twitter.com/Is6Pph99jo

— The Best (@Thebestfigen) April 24, 2025

The BBC is using this setup to watch nature but it could be used to act as ground recon drone. It would need a mothership to get in position but once close enough to the suspected target I'm sure it could do its thing. I like it.

I think this X post is fantasy island but many seem to truly believe it...

🌍🔥 What If Russia Started WW3 Right Now? 🕊️💣 pic.twitter.com/OR5H8AVk06

— World War 3 (@Worldwar_3_) April 24, 2025

Balikatan 25: 3d LAAB Prepares MADIS...Photos by Cpl. Iyer Ramakrishna

 

The Stand In Force is all about ship killing. NOW they're proposing that the MEU focus on ship killing too?

 via USNI 

ARG/MEUs must work in concert with SIF—but they also must be ready to fight as stand-in forces themselves. At the outset of a potential conflict, ARG/MEUs could emplace anywhere from 10 to 30 expeditionary advanced bases (EABs) on key maritime terrain within 96 hours via organic amphibious connectors and assault support aircraft. Air and ground sensors from the MEU could increase the resilience of kill webs by observing and tracking targets using Link 16, and this expeditionary sensing capability could be significantly enhanced by including Ground/Air Task-Oriented Radars.20 SIF and allied and partnered forces could support these EABs with fires and logistics, even in contested environments. Simultaneously, an ARG could deploy hundreds of containerized M18 unmanned surface vessels, each with a 1,000-pound payload, to support the amphibious defense, then maneuver to mitigate the effects of adversary weapons in fewer than four days.21

-----

 With Russia waging war against Ukraine, the specter of wider conflict looming over Europe, and a growing threat in the Indo-Pacific, ARG/MEUs must forge a stronger bond with SIF across the globe. These forces must become more complementary, and the ARG/MEU must modernize its embarked sensing and strike capabilities to better deter and defeat contemporary threats. ARGs must embark and train to employ unmanned and autonomous systems, while MEUs must be modernized with capabilities to fight as SIF.

Story here 

With all the talk of SIFs in the Pacific, we somehow missed that they were trying to take this world wide to become the primary mission of the Marine Corps.

What has me spinning is that Marine Corps leadership somehow thinks that with SIF they will be able to "command and control" naval campaigns.

They won't.

They will simply be a sideshow at best and at worst will be targeted and destroyed by enemy ground forces, and that's the rub of the entire situation.  For all the talk about being a "force in readiness" and America's Crisis Response Force, that is all a lie.

The Marine Corps as its currently envisioned by leadership will be organized to do one thing.  Sit and wait for the enemy to attack.  The SIF has little to no relevance in the Pacific and will have NONE in the rest of the world.

The Marine Corps is about to "concept" itself out of existence.

The sad reality for the USA?  The US Army needs to get back into the business of amphibious assault ASAP!

I would actually buy this...

Simply awesome.😍 pic.twitter.com/CFQs3NHqxo

— Bronze Giant (@RjNol) April 25, 2025

Open Comment Post. 25 Apr 25

Future tool for scouts on motorcycles?

It's the future!pic.twitter.com/6s3T8RXyly

— Volcaholic 🌋 (@volcaholic1) April 24, 2025

Think you're great at multi-tasking? You're not. You're great at RE-TASKING!

Think you're a multitasker? Try THIS pic.twitter.com/YmnObyUp1u

— Mindset Machine  (@Mindset_Machine) April 23, 2025

Trump notifies Congress that he is sending additional combat troops to the ME

BREAKING⚡️"THE WAR IS COMING"

🇺🇸Trump in a letter to the House and Senate leaders:

"I have directed the Pentagon to move additional combat-ready troops to the Middle East"

I have warned about this scenario. You should not listen to what is said in the media but rather to how… https://t.co/bEjeArWi4i pic.twitter.com/S4RQ0S2kXh

— WORLD AT WAR (@World_At_War_6) April 22, 2025

German military equipment in Ukraine turned out to be disappointing and "sobering up"

 

The experience of using German military equipment in Ukraine turned out to be disappointing and "sobering up", according to a report by the deputy military attaché of Germany. The report, not intended for the public but presented at the Bundeswehr school in Delitzsch, was… pic.twitter.com/YLsIuLp6yu

— Ukraine Front Line (@EuromaidanPR) April 11, 2025

IS “FORCE DESIGN 2030” A DEATH SENTENCE FOR THE MARINE CORPS?

 via CONTRA FRAME

THE FALLOUT & LEVERAGE POINTS

Increased Risk of Institutional Decline

• By sacrificing core capabilities, the Marine Corps is slowly eliminating what makes it distinct.

• No tanks, less artillery, reduced air support, and weaker infantry formations mean the Corps starts looking more like a small, under-equipped Army unit.

• If the Marine Corps can’t deliver unique capabilities, why should it exist as a separate branch?

Story here 

Open Comment Post. 22 Apr 25

31st MEU | Fast Rope Sustainment...Photos by Cpl. Alora Finigan

U.S. Tariffs Hit Hard, Chinese Factories Collapse, Selling Equipment, Worse Than the Pandemic

The "New" Force Design Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) is just plain pathetic. Weak, weak, weak combat power. The Marine Corps is diminished

"Let those peasants in the United States wail in front of the 5,000 years of Chinese civilization."

We got us some real bullshit talking now. Pass the popcorn this is about to get spicy. Does the store beat the customer or does the customer beat the store? China is flailing a bit now. Have you watched the vids of how they're basically destroying luxury brands? This is gonna probably cost but its gonna be fun to watch.

NEW: Top Chinese official calls Americans "peasants," says Trump's tariffs will backfire and Americans will be "wailing."

The comments were made by the director of China's Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office Xia Baolong.

"The U.S. isn’t after our tariffs but our very survival.… pic.twitter.com/SWZrnMfPUv

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) April 15, 2025

Are the tariffs pushing up China's attack plans against Taiwan?

Attention!

The advertisements at Beijing Airport have suddenly all been replaced with "Unification (Taiwan)" slogans.

The text on these red-background, white-character billboards reads: "Unification. Defend national sovereignty, uphold national unity."

As I said on my program… https://t.co/VtIqFSMpL7 pic.twitter.com/hrmEVLlyc0

— Inconvenient Truths by Jennifer Zeng (@jenniferzeng97) April 11, 2025

If the people become restless because of job losses (and we have indications of layoffs occuring already)/wage cuts then what does the regime do? Well wars are always a convient distraction. It appears that Xi might be pushing that card. The other option (don't know if the person that wrote this tweet agrees) is a massive crackdown. Tiananmen Square style. That would be horrible visuals for a modern, moderating China though and alot harder to sell than Taiwan reunification.