Ordinarily this would be a simple photo essay on the US Marine Corps' MEU doing standard training.
But with Amos in charge, it takes on a more political flavor. He "established" MAGTF-CR as a cover for the Obama Administration's awful handling of the tragedy in Benghazi. Ok, you ask, but this is almost a year later. What does this have to do with the training? Everything. 60 Minutes did an expose---a great news report on how fucked Obama, Hillary and company did on that fateful night and what do we see a couple of days later? Yeah. Marines doing the Embassy Reinforcement mission. I have no doubt that CBS gave the admin a heads up that the report was coming out so this is more than a little suspicious in my mind.
No trust remains. No slack can be given.
Nothing can come out of HQMC that I don't wonder about political angle. The damage that Amos has done to the Marine Corps is almost complete. He has hurt the Marines more than any outside force ever has. I completely and totally hate the motherfucker.
The embassy attackers had a mortar crew with at least a little practice or training. If they had that how hard could it be to get a HMG or auto cannon or shoulder fired sam onscene? How hard would it be to down one of those Ospreys on approach? It at least looks awfully vulnerable, sure we hope the area around the LZ is suppressed but thats not the picture that seems to be presented about Benghazi.
ReplyDeletewhich is why i continue to marvel at the MAGTF-CR concept. it sounds good in theory but you're going to need the full firepower of the MAGTF to respond to an embassy under siege. that's what happened in benghazi and thats the threat of the future. we'll see what happens but i expect MV-22s to be littering a LZ in the near future with a bunch of Marines in body bags scattered around for posting on YouTube.
DeleteHeck even the mortar could play hell on an LZ if left an opening to fire, bird don't have to be in the air to get messed up. And a bunch of mortars would be easier to hide and operate than the other systems. It would be best to have a a stronger force on the ground to start out with. And use our own people too, state department security or Marines, I don't see how hiring out locals is good for anything but appearances and if they care that much about it they could still do that too. Its one thing to rely on Britain and France to keep their place in order, quite another to rely on some post revolutionary or failed state militia.
DeleteThat was the amazing thing about Benghazi, we followed the same basic rules for a consulate in chaotic Benghazi as we did in the Nordic countries. No one was fired at State because they could all say "I followed the manual!"
DeleteIn a world awash in Technicals, it is a matter of time before they try to lure a heliborne force into an ambush. All it takes is some rudimentary training any force can be taught to shootdown aircraft.
ReplyDeletethe Vietnamese taught anti-air tactics using crude models pulled by string in training/bivouac areas. They shot down thousands of rotary and fixed wing aircraft with nothing more than HMGs and small-arms fire.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aircraft_losses_of_the_Vietnam_War
I wouldn't be advertising our reinforcement tactics to anybody. No publicity photos, no info on aircraft or force composition. Nothing.
But then what are the troops involved gonna tell their friends on facebook! This is a societal problem with personal conduct that bleeds into the military. Everyone has to post or tweet every pointless detail of everything. OPSEC is Dead.
Deleteits worse than that. i'm gonna try and get an aviation expert to take a look at the V-22 in the landing phase of an assault and determine exactly how much more vulnerable it is than a BlackHawk. i bet its dramatic. MV-22's are sitting ducks in the landing zone area and some bright boy is going to plan his entire campaign around killing Marines in the zone.
Deletethe MV-22 is horrible exposed on landings! its not built like a CH-53 or the CH-46 who can do a hard landing and easily pick up again. the MV-22 normally comes in slow, and normally does a lazy hover hold landing. (having controlled a LZ for this asset plenty of times, as well as been inside of one for missions.) Its a wonder more haven't been shot at or downed do to this.
ReplyDeleteAre callsign for the Osprey in Country was Princess....because she maybe hot, and looks sexy but god dammit is she a bitch and a Diva.