3rd MarDiv in Operation Dawson River, Vietnam via Marine Corps Archives & Special Collections

Check out Marine Corps Archives & Special Collections Flickr Page here....

Marines Move Through Elephant Grass, 1969
"Tall Troubles: Leathernecks participating in Operation Dawson River found six-foot-tall elephant grass could present problems—especially when moving through the thick foliage. The Marines, members of the 9th Marine Regiment of the 3d Marine Division, conducted the sweep south of the Demilitarized Zone in search of enemy weapons and supply caches (official USMC photo by Lance Corporal Don Barr)."

Marines Move Through Elephant Grass, 1969
"Dawson River: Leathernecks of the 3d Marine Division participating in Operation Dawson River advance through thick, sharp elephant grass south of the Demilitarized Zone (official USMC photo by Lance Corporal Don Barr)."

Marine Lends a Helping Hand, 1969
"Lending a Hand: An outstretched hand from a Marine buddy helps lift this Leatherneck from a deep stream south of the Demilitarized Zone. The 9th Marine Regiment Leathernecks were participating in Operation Dawson River, west of Khe Sanh in the northernmost province of South Vietnam (official USMC photo by Lance Corporal Don Barr)."

Marines Move Through Elephant Grass, 1969
"Elephant Grass: Leathernecks of the 3d Marine Division advance through sharp, thick elephant grass west of Khe Sanh. The Marines are participating in Operation Dawson River, south of the Demilitarizing Zone, searching for the enemy, his fighting bunkers and supply caches. Marines shown are part of a weapons platoon, the Leatherneck at the left carrying a mortar tube (official USMC photo by Lance Corporal Don Barr)."

S. Hawkins and R.J. Thibault Prepare Defensive Positions, 1969
"Bottoms Up: Leatherneck Lance Corporal S. Hawkins (Rochester, New York) left, and Sergeant R. J. Thibault (Lewiston, Maine) prepare defensive positions west of Khe Sanh. Units of the 3d Marine Division are participating in Operation Dawson River, south of Demilitarized Zone. A Marine mortar is centered, foreground (official USMC photo by Lance Corporal Don Barr)."

Why isn't gas sub 2 Dollars?

Different subject and many that live in other countries will be wondering why we complain about gas prices under 5 dollars a gallon.

Well, my thinking is that we're seeing gas under 50 dollars a barrel and yet gas prices aren't sub 2 dollars.

Why?

Something is screwy with the market.  The Chinese have once again played with the value of their dollar and are seeking to spread the pain.  Other nations will do the same and I'm not sure that if means we're heading toward deflation or inflation but something is gonna happen.

When market basics no longer apply, what is the little guy to do?

ROKMCC 2nd Mar.Div - Security Operations

Unit 731, ISIS and an American "Jericho" Option...

Humans acting barbarically isn't new.  From the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, to the tortures during the Medieval Ages, forward to the things done by Unit 731 (Japanese) and the Nazi SS (Germans) to the acts of the N. Koreans during the Korean War (and continuing to today), the N. Vietnamese/Viet Cong and now ISIS.

Barbaric acts are a constant in our history.

The question that I tried to push forward in my previous post is simple.  Is it time for the US military to consider an American "Jericho" Option.

I've gotten huge pushback.  Not in the comments but in a few e-mails that I've received.

They're being silly in my opinion.  I fully believe that the social engineers have carried the day.  Women will be placed in Combat Arms (its already happening) so we either need to put some steel in the spine of the public and let them know the real dangers...or we need to develop policies that take into account the reality.

US units will be less capable.  They will be more reliant on supporting fires.  They will face a future where we can expect them to be overrun and our personnel captured.

If it happens what do we do?  Do we simply watch and hope for the best or do we provide a tender mercy?

That is the question.  Don't turn away from it.  Consider it and tell me what you would do.

Monday Madness. Is it time to consider an "American Jericho" Option?

Scenario.

Company Landing Team Alpha is conducting a deep strike mission on country x-ray.  They have unfortunately walked into a well laid trap and instead of facing a few terrorists are instead going up against enemy armored infantry with assistance from terrorists hostile to US interests.

It 2017 and this is the new Corps.  Instead of sending a force capable of dealing with any eventuality they are tailored to perform each mission and there is no slack in the mission planning.  These guys are lucky they didn't use the NEW unit of action, the Squad Landing Team instead.  With a Company they supposedly have a chance at mission success.

On the ground the situation is bleak.

Its like Custer's last stand.

There are many dead, many more injured and the prospect of capture of the remaining is real.  We know from experience that they will face a gruesome death.

Option 1.  You send reinforcements by MV-22 even though you know that they will arrive too late.  Not because of faulty intel.  Not because the planes fly too slow...but because decision makers just can't pull the trigger on a course of action.

Option 2.  You do nothing.  Instead you prepare Casualty Assistance Officers (and Chaplains) that they're going to have a busy few days of work.

Option 3.  You launch an "American Jericho" operation and destroy your own forces.

I'm curious to know what you would do LT.  Do you give those that remain alive a merciful death or do you hope against hope that all will turn out ok.  Oh and tell me how you arrived at your answer, a historical military action/operation that justifies your decision and an alternative option that fits the scenario that would see that CLT rescued.

You have 10 minutes.  No cheating, an honor violation will see you dismissed.

Begin.

Sidenote:  Don't spaz out.  This is the modern day version of the Star Fleet
"Kobayashi Maru'....basically a no win situation.

Your next battle field? Guyana vs. Venezuela...

Thanks to William for the link!

via Business Insider..

The Esequibo territory, reclaimed by Venezuela, encompasses two-thirds of Guyana’s land, and the centennial dispute has reemerged following ExxonMobil’s announcement of important oil discoveries underneath the contested area.
Venezuela’s government has taken an ambiguous stance, playing the de jure and de facto cards simultaneously.
On the one hand, Mr. Maduro has requested Ban Ki Moon create a special commission to resolve the claim diplomatically. On the other hand, the President plans to issue 200,000 thousand Venezuelan ID cards to Guyanese citizens who inhabit the disputed territory.
Caracas has already redefined maritime borders and activated the so called ‘Atlantic ZODIMAIN’ (for Insular and Maritime Defense Zones), virtually making Guyana lose its sovereign access to the sea, leaving its coastal waters encircled by Venezuela’s and Suriname’s territorial waters.

Here.

Above you see Guyana's most powerful armored vehicle. A Urutu "IFV". There most powerful airplane? A Bell 412. There annual military budget? 456,000 Guyana Dollars.

If this is true then Venezuela picked its target well. An oil rich country that has no ability to extract it, is unable to get Oil corporations to go in and a seemingly compliant UN involved in the nonsense.

On a sidenote, let's assume the worse case scenario here.  Let's say that Venezuela acts and tries to seize parts of Guyana.  Who will help and what will they be able to send?  It was a former Netherlands and British colony....but they won't be able to do much.  The US is stretched....so who is going to protect Guyana from this aggression?  How about its S. American neighbors?  Brazil?  Nope, it has economic problems of its own.  Columbia?  Its dealing with an insurgency.

Guyana is screwed.

The RAF begs allies for Tornado spare parts....the once Mighty RAF is no more...

Thanks to Alert5 for the heads up!

via Express.co.uk...

However, last night senior Whitehall sources confirmed that Air Chief Marshal Sir Andrew Pulford has recently placed both Italy’s Aeronautica Militare and Germany’s Luftwaffe, which operate the same variants of GR4 Tornado as the UK, on standby.
Britain operates eight GR4 Tornados as part of the so-called Coalition of the Willing against Islamic State.
Making his announcement on Tuesday, Mr Fallon also reprieved the 100-year-old 12 Squadron, which was technically scrapped last year, until 2017.
A senior source said last night: “The margins for spares are thin but they were manageable as things stood.
“However, this week’s announcement has added an extra strain. Syria is very different to Iraq.
"There are more targets and the chances of a GR4 suffering damage are consequently higher.”
He added that there were three vital components that were potentially problematic, though he refused to identify them on security grounds.
“There are three sensitive parts, in particular, over which availability is causing some concern,” he said.
“At this stage we don’t know whether Germany or Italy can spare them, since they have their own commitments, but the request has been made.

Here.

Amazing.  They already have their excuses lined up to try and explain this away...but one thing is obvious.

The once MIGHTY RAF is no more.

Additionally, I'd bet body parts that the situation will not improve with the F-35 coming onboard.  I hope they've properly documented their history.  The much respected RAF is about to become a laughing stock.

A terrible day in the US Navy's surface fleet...via Naval History.

via Naval History Facebook Page  #‎OTD‬ in 1942, a Japanese force runs through the Allied forces guarding Savo Sound, sinking three American heavy cruisers, USS Quincy (CA 39), USS Vincennes (CA 44), and USS Astoria (CA 34), along with other damaged Allied vessels. As a result of the loss, the sound gains the nickname, Iron Bottom Sound.‪#‎HistoryMatters‬

USS Vincennes in Hawaiian waters, Jul. 8, 1942.

USS Quincy underway during the later 1930's.

USS Vincennes making 22.03 knots during trials off Rockland, Maine, Jan. 12, 1937.

Ukraine is still a mess. OSCE vehicles torched.

via Voice of America...

Four vehicles belonging to the OSCE monitoring mission to Ukraine were set on fire outside their hotel overnight in the rebel-controlled Donetsk, the observers said.
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe observers said in a tweet Sunday it was an apparent arson attack.
An OSCE statement said monitors heard four loud bursts about 2:30 a.m. local time, which they said were likely the sound of the tires on the armored vehicles exploding. Firefighters had extinguished the flames by 3:20 a.m.
Three OSCE vehicles were completely destroyed, one heavily damaged and three others partially damaged by the heat from the fire, the OSCE statement said. No observers were injured in the arson.

Here.

Alot of you aren't gonna like this.

I'm tired of the "Iraq in Europe" that Ukraine has become.

Why aren't the Europeans doing more?  Why are they waiting for the US to play a part in this drama?  I keep hearing that Russia isn't a threat and how the European nations can face them down without our help, so why aren't they dealing with more forcefully on a diplomatic level?

If you frequent military blogs in the US and Asia, you'll find that this isn't on many people's radar.  The reason is obvious.  At its heart this is a Europe issue.  No one wants to be responsible for the economic drain that will come with Ukraine going either way.

Quite honestly does anyone even remember what the fighting is all about?

ZBD89 Sat Communication Vehicle.

Photo via Defense Blog.

I don't know what to make of this.

China Defense Blog made a statement that "we're seeing more and more of these vehicles showing up in China's order of battle".

I thought it was a throw away statement just to gain eyeballs.

Now?

I'm not so sure.  What are the Chinese up to here.  I only have one guess but its not based on anything and I could easily be wrong.  What if the Chinese are taking a page from our playbook but instead of basing it on company sized units of infantry....what if they're looking to do battalion sized, mechanized infantry/armor distributed operations across several islands or land masses at once?

The USMC is investing heavily in command and control for the CLT so why shouldn't we expect the same from the Chinese.  Only they appear to be pushing money toward their armored formations instead of infantry.

We keep moving the glass away but they keep getting a longer straw to drink our milkshake (if I'm right).