So the SecNav is going to overrule Marine Corps leadership?

via Navy Times.

Marine officials will soon offer their recommendations, but Mabus, the civilian secretary who leads the Navy Department — including the Marine Corps — made clear that he must sign off on the decision to seek any exemptions to opening all jobs to women, and he hasn't had a change of heart.
"That's still my call, and I've been very public," Mabus said in an exclusive Sept. 1 interview. "I do not see a reason for an exemption."

Do you get the arrogance of this guy?

Everytime you turn around you get the meme "following the recommendations of my military" from the President but when it comes time for a social experiment that will rip the Marine Corps to its very foundation, the truth comes out and its obvious that a military appointee will decide.  Don't believe me?  The issue of Obama (and his appointees) following military advice has come up before, I just ignored it.  Check this out from Fox News...

JOSH EARNEST, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The president listens very carefully to the advice that he gets from his military commanders.

The fact is, Joe --
(CROSSTALK)
JOE SCARBOROUGH, CO-HOST, "MORNING JOE"/MSNBC: -- What do you make of the Washington Post headline when it says in the military, there's skepticism of the president's plan.

EARNEST: The headline's wrong. All they do is they misinterpret Chairman Dempsey's testimony. And the rest of the time they essentially they quote people who are either frequent critics of the president or people who supported the previous Iraq conflict. So the more accurate headline would be supporters of the Bush war in Iraq criticize President Obama's strategy.

So this is just par for the course.

The problem though?  For the administration this is a legacy issue.  For Marine Corps leadership they're concerned with combat effectiveness AND recruiting/retention.

I hear your question.  So shouldn't we cut Marine leaders slack because you just pointed out that the administration doesn't listen to them!  To that I say BULLSHIT!

Why?

Simple.  Because the administration has lied to the American people.  You would expect at least one person wearing stars (and in this case the fingers can be pointed only at the Joint Chiefs and the Combatant Commanders) to have some integrity and say that it wasn't there plan OR to resign in protest.

We haven't seen that so no slack is given.

The pain train is coming for the Marine Corps.  The separation between the Marine Corps and former/retired/vets, the public is going to increase.  The Corps will be seen as just another govt agency.  The old debate between the New vs. Old Corps will have a date.  New Corps Marines (the ones that serve after females are allowed in the infantry) will never be looked at as equals again.

BMP "Kurganets" vid...

Thanks to Olgert for the link!



My big takeaway?  The Kurganet is what we thought.  My big oh shit moment?  The Kornet is top attack.



Thanks to MicMac80 for the below vid!



My big takeaway?  I totally underestimated the size of this vehicle.  ITS BIG!  My WTF moment?  That armor looks remarkably like what we see on the ASCOD being built for the Brits.  Is flotation armor the new "hotness" for armored vehicles?  Could this be a way to give the US Army an amphibious capability (limited) and increase the floatation of USMC vehicles?

Is pushing a "Aviation" Centric Marine Corps the cause for mishaps?

via Marine Corps Times.

The Sept. 2 incident, which remains under investigation, was one of at least 13 since May 2014 that resulted in death, injury or significant property damage. Five aircraft mishaps have left at least 18 Marines dead in 2015 — up 15 compared to the 2014 total. The last spike in aviation-related deaths occurred in 2012, when 15 Marines were killed in aircraft mishaps.
Marine officials say they're committed to aircraft safety, but "by its very nature, there will always be inherent risk in military aviation," said Maj. Paul Greenberg a Marine aviation spokesman at the Pentagon.
"That being said, the Marine Corps utilizes highly reliable aircraft, extensively trains pilots and aircrew, conducts exhaustive maintenance, and at every step puts in place safeguards and precautions to ensure a high degree of aviation safety," he added.
The Marine Corps suffered its biggest loss of life this year in a single aviation accident when 11 troops, including seven members of Marine Corps Special Forces Operations Command, were killed when their UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter crashed off the coast of Florida during a training exercise. That and other fatal mishaps over the past year and a half have some observers concerned about the safety of military aircraft.

Go here to read the story. 

What no one is talking about is the USMC's push to emphasize, no let me restate that...to become even more "Aviation" centric.

From attempting to use SPMAGTF-CR's in place of traditional MEU's to developing adhoc joint task forces with aviation elements at its center, leadership has ignored something essential.

Upping ops tempo without regard to maintenance and personnel stress/deployment schedule/welfare is going to lead to accidents.

I don't know for sure if this is the cause but when you pull too hard on a thin string its going to break.  I think we're seeing Marine Aviation reach the breaking point.  Even worse?  This isn't happening in a wartime setting.  This is relative peace but with a CRAZY ops tempo.  1+1=2.

Su-30SM Multi-Role Fighter With Naval Capabilities

Middle East Migrants just messed up...

via Telegraph.uk

Clashes broke out on the Greek islands of Lesbos on Friday after 1,000 people, mostly Afghans, attempted to rush onto a ferry heading to the port of Piraeus, near Athens.
Police fired stun grenades to repel the stone-throwing crowd.
The mayor of Lesbos appealed for "immediate measures" to help alleviate the acute refugee and migrant crisis on his island, which is the entry point for about half of the hundreds of thousands who have arrived in Greece so far this year.
Spyros Galinos described the situation as a bomb about to explode in his hands. "I appeal to the prime minister for immediate measures," he told state television on Friday. "We will have victims."
Mr Galinos said there were currently about 15,000 refugees and migrants on his island, of whom 7,000-8,000 were already registered and waiting to leave Lesbos for Athens but were unable to find ferry tickets due to fully booked ships.

These migrants might not know it but they just made a catastrophic mistake....they messed up bad!

Rioting?  Demanding?  Clashing with local security?

Every ounce of sympathy for them is evaporating.  They're being seen as an invading force and not people fleeing war or tyranny.

We're inching closer to Europe reacting....forcefully.

Sidenote:  As far as the US helping by taking in some of these people?  Nope.  Not our problem.  Good luck Europe.

Hi-Point Carbines are the latest "hotness" in truck guns?

via SWATMagazine...

At my local gun palace, I watched a guy examine a pistol-based carbine. Keith, my favorite sales rep, said, “Those are Hi-Points and we can’t keep ‘em in the store.” He said most of the countermen had purchased them as the hot new truck gun, and word is spreading fast in the Texas Hill Country that they are dynamite for wild pigs in heavy cover. And the price? Depending on caliber, $265 to $325!
Being a cop, the needle on my skeptic alert started to jump. Frankly, I expected something clunky at that price point, but right out of the box, the Hi- Point carbine felt solid and substantial.

The world is changing.

A Hi-Point being a firearm worth considering?  It boggles the mind!  But maybe...just maybe they have a legit weapon here.  I know that several YouTube "creators" swear by them and have given them good reviews but I just never even considered it for a truck gun.

But maybe that's the niche they've conquered.

What's the biggest fear for gun owners?  That despite their best efforts someone breaks into their vehicle, defeats their locking mechanisms (and by god if you leave a vehicle in your car you should (A) have a kill switch so it can't be driven away and (B) have made serious allowances to keep your weapon secure) and steals their gun.

Assuming you're responsible and your gun is still stolen then you don't want it to be a $1500 plus setup.

So a low cost alternative might be the ticket.  But a Hi-Point?  Who knew!

Exercise Chosin...pics by Pfc. Levi Schultz

Marines with Company E, 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, assault a trench during an assault course as part of Exercise Chosin, a squad-level training evolution, at Range 410, Aug. 26, 2015. Each squad within Company E executed an assault on the range.

Russia's Lightweight Kornet Anti-Tank/Material Missile Vehicle...

via Russian Military Technology...

Paratroopers in south Russia to test Kornet anti-tank system
September 6 - Airborne troops will test the advanced Kornet antitank guided missile (ATGM) system during the Slavic Brotherhood exercises near the south Russian city of Novorossiisk prior to its service entry with the Russian Airborne Force, a defense ministry spokesperson said.
"An antitank platoon will fire the Kornet ATGM system that has not entered service yet," the spokesperson said adding that the Kornet features an extended range and an improved guidance system over the Fagot system currently used by airborne troops.

Geez.

The CIA, DIA, Naval Intelligence...SOMEONE needs to catalog this stuff!  I thought the Kornet was already in service!

Ignoring that for a minute, the concept is interesting.  8 ready to launch anti-tank missiles on a light vehicle (relatively light)?  Credit has to be given.  Its a great idea and would have application to other weapons fit too.  Remember LM's testing of the APKWS on their JLTV offering?  Could you imagine a HUMVEE with 32 ready to go 2.75 rockets?

Battlefield multiplier!

Defence 24 on the Rosomak-M, and a VERY interesting tidbit about the AMV2 Havoc!

via Defense 24...read it all here....

The Wolverine-M Concept managed to raise the maximum weight to swim with the current 22.5 tons to more than 23.5 tons (and ultimately planned to get more than 24 tons with an increase in displacement from the current approx. 2 tons) for the DMC vehicle 26 tons. Displacement of the car was increased thanks to additional module / board filled with special foam on Disc is the front lower hull and an optional filler foam in the space between primary and secondary armor.

Interesting.  I always thought that the Havoc would be the superior land performing with the BAE/IVECO SuperAV probably winning because it was the best swimmer.  Seems like some major work was done on the Havoc/Wolverine's swim ability and the gap probably closed.  Read the entire article and use BABELFISH to get the best translation, but I found this part intriguing...

Finns (based mainly on the Polish experience) have developed a new variant of the vehicle marked AMV2 Havoc, who only visually resembles our Wolverine and is offered in the program to obtain new transporter floating Marine Personnel Carrier for the USMC in consortium with the company Lockheed Martin. It is a vehicle bigger, which is 32 tonnes GVW. Changed everything about it - from the drive after the new rear ramp landing craft.

What the hell does this mean?

Did Lockheed Martin and Patria kiss and make up?  Are they teaming again?  Or did Lockheed take their work and run...entering their own vehicle and giving Patria the middle finger?

Just plain wow.

Sidenote:  Does the Rosomak appear to be sporting a Bradley turret(Random Reader corrected me on this....its a HIT FIST turret)?  I think I saw that same concept offered to the US Army a while ago.

Otokar Tulpar-S....The FNSS Tiger-20's competition...

Remember the post I did about the FNSS Tiger-20 (read it here).  I mused about the number of projects going on and the fact that many of them seemed to overlap.

I was wrong.

What did I miss?  I missed the fact that while we're all complaining about Europe not arming up to the satisfaction of many, Turkey is going full tilt on getting gear to its troops.  Additionally they're taking a balanced approach to it too.  Armored vehicle modernization is not lagging and they're looking for a new APC/IFV.

Enter the Tulpar-S.  The spec sheet is below.

My big takeaway from all this?  The Turks are determined to have a self contained defense industry.  They're attempting to cover all bases from aircraft, to armored vehicles even to ships.

How we feel about their President is immaterial.  We all need to keep eyes on developments there.

  tulpar-s