The aviation commandant wants F-35 only LHAs? Fine. How about MEU's without fast jets!

By now you've heard about the interview the Assistant Commandant gave about using the F-35 and leaving the Ground Combat Element on the dock (here).  It will come as no surprise that before we got word of that fluff piece put out by USNI News, Bryan McGrath hit us with almost the same proposal (here).

A couple of things.  First if Marine Air wants to take the F-35 and play Navy and Air Force I say it will be less disruptive to simply chop the limb and send them away.  No more fast jets.  Second is to consider seriously building MEU's without fast jets as a pre-emptive strike.  We need to train as we fight.  If F-35Bs aren't going to be part of the MEU then we need to train with that in mind.

Better to simply build MEUs without them.  So what would one look like?  Check out the below pic.

This isn't rocket science so lets be actual and factual.  Chop the LHA/LHD from the mix.  They're gonna be playing mini-aircraft carrier.  Scratch six of the MV-22's.  They're gonna be supporting the F-35s.  Oh and we no longer have fast air support.

So what does my new MEU look like?

How about this.  Two LSDs and one LPD?  The air component would be six CH-53s, we'd beef up the AH-1Z force to 8 and settle for six MV-22s.  I believe the LSD/LPD could handle this aviation package.  If not then we use a MLP outfitted as an AFSB as the fourth ship dedicated to carrying whatever aviation overflow we have.

We will have to make up for the lack of jets so we'd increase the number of howitzers and probably need to consider adding a MLRS (truck mounted) system ... probably two.  We'll need the direct firepower of Tanks so they'll be a standard feature of the new Ground Combat MEU.

We can expect a couple of units to go with the wing when they have their new aircraft carrier LHA/LHDs.  Force Recon/Maritime Raid Force will head out with them I'm sure.  The wing will also take some of the Motor T section but we can do without both.

I really thought that this idea would have been shot down by Marine Corps leadership long ago.  Since its continuing then I would imagine that its being endorsed somewhere.

Fine.

But that doesn't mean that we should castrate our MEU's just so the wing can feel special.  We did it for over 100 years without aircraft.  We can do it for another 100 without fast jets.  We just need a bit of common sense...a little boldness...and we can get back our Marine Corps from these misguided reformers.

Time to fire the deputy commandant for aviation....

via USNI News.

“You in your brain, and all of us in our brains, have, this is a MEU: six Harriers or six F-35s, 12 V-22s, three or four CH-53s, seven skids [light attack helicopters], some VMU [Marine Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Squadrons],” Davis said.
But what if that combination, which includes a little bit of everything, means that the ACE is not optimized for anything?
“There are many scenarios where we would want to have the L-class carrier loaded with F-35Bs – the full squadron, 16 airplanes or more, plus four to six V-22s with a tanker package,” Davis said.
“And that could maybe be the way our ships sail for a contingency, or sail as a matter of principle in the future as we are part of a naval formation to go do Phase 0, Phase 1 strike operations. Augment the carrier strike group’s ability to project power with fifth-generation capabilities until that time when we don’t need the augment from the L-class carriers, and then you would flow ashore – because now we have long-range assault support assets, V-22s, 53s, that can air-refuel. You fly them from their bases to that L-class ship, and now it turns into its normal MEU.”

You do realize what this bastard is proposing don't you?  Instead of floating a Marine Corps Force that is flexible and capable of taking on a range of missions what he proposes is to specialize the MEU...wait...not even the MEU, but to subjugate the Ground Combat Element to the needs of Marine Air.

That's shit on a cracker.

Its past time for this son of a bitch to be fired.  But back on task.  What he's actually proposing is more easily solved by simply taking fast movers from the Marine Corps and plus sizing the squadrons assigned to Navy Carriers.  It would be cheaper, command and control would be easier and it wouldn't take anything away from the job that Marine Corps GROUND FORCES do everyday.

I didn't start this, but its obvious that the war inside the tribe is about to go from behind closed doors into the open press.  So be it.  The deputy commandant for aviation started the fight.  Its time for the ground component to pick up the challenge and put him back in his cage.

ISIS is ahead of European Security Forces...

via Fox

A soccer stadium in Hannover, Germany was evacuated and the impending match was canceled Tuesday night after police said “serious plans for explosions” were thwarted.
Unconfirmed reports from a local Germannewspaper said a truck possibly disguised as an emergency vehicle or ambulance initially believed to contain explosives was found at an unknown location.
There was no immediate confirmation of that report, though the Hannover chief of policewas quoted by multiple sources as saying “there was a device intended to be detonated inside the stadium.” Another stadium in the city, which was to host a pop concert, was evacuated as well.

Terrorists only need to get lucky once...Security Forces have to be right every time.

The cold hard facts?

European Security Forces are behind the power curve.  They won't be able to act fast enough, soon enough to prevent the next attack.

Europe is about to burn.  This is not only gonna get nasty but bloody too.  Pass the popcorn, pop open that can and enjoy the show.  This is only the beginning.

If we follow McGrath's reasoning then fuck it. Dump fast movers from the Marine Air Wing...

via Information Dissemination.

In order to capture the promise of the F-35B’s capabilities, the Marine Corps is going to have to view its tactical air arm much differently than it currently does. Simply put, the afloat F-35B’s should belong to the Joint Force Maritime Component Commander (rather than to the Marine Expeditionary Unit commander) to be employed in accomplishing the JFMCC’s objectives. These will invariably include offensive sea control and integrated air and missile defense, missions that have not been featured prominently in the training syllabi of Marine Corps Harrier pilots, but which MUST become part of the program for F-35B pilots. The capabilities of the APG-81 AESA radar demand that this aircraft contribute to both the surface battle and the outer air battle as part of integrated fire control networks. This is essentially what the Navy’s F-35C pilots will be doing, and it seems obvious that harnessing the power of an additional squadron of fifth generation fighters from the amphibious group adds necessary combat power to the broader force. In fact, the Navy should consider organizing for combat in a return to the “Expeditionary Strike Force” concept of its past, one built around a nucleus of a large, nuclear powered aircraft carrier and an amphibious assault ship, each of which would be capable of networked IAMD, SUW, Strike, and Close Air Support (CAS) missions enabled by other elements of the Strike Force.

Then this...

The concept of “losing” the Marine Air Wing to the JFMCC rubs some Marines the wrong way, as the historical (and proven) concept of a combined arms fighting force has served the Marine Corps well. There is a reasonable argument to be made for depriving the JFMCC of this capability (or at best, loaning it to the JFMCC on a “not to interfere basis” with planned or ongoing ground force operations), but that argument is one of the primary hindrances to closer integration of the Sea Services. What I am arguing for here is a new way to look at the “payloads vs. platforms” approach taken by the recently replaced CNO, ADM Jonathan Greenert. In essence, the “platform” for maritime dominance becomes the sea itself, and all elements of the Navy and Marine Corps become “payloads”; payloads to be employed against the appropriate target, at the appropriate time. In some cases it will be Marine infantry operating ashore. In others, it will be a stealthy attack submarine. In still others, it will be F-35B neutralizing adversary surface units.

But this is the part that has me punching walls...

For those Marines asking “Hey, what do we get out of this?”, my answer is this: command of expeditionary strike forces and numbered fleets would be available to Marine Corps officers in competition with Navy Aviators, Submariners, and Surface Warriors, and those staffs would be truly naval in nature.

He dangles command slots as a fair return on giving up Marine Air to the Navy?  Forget proven combat capability!  He's using the promise to have more attractive boxes to check on the way to a star as a reason to do this?

McGrath knows better.

Someone asked him to write a fluff piece on the F-35 and he complied.  Why?  I have no idea but this whole thing is so full of shit that it makes my head spin.

Quite honestly I don't doubt for one minute that the current hand picked Marine Corps leadership will pounce on this.  But make no mistake.  This isn't about enhancing USMC combat power.  Its about billets, its about pork, its about propaganda for the F-35 and its about the Wing's leadership not wanting to be Marines anymore.

If that's the case then fine.  Fuck it.  Dump the fast movers and lets get our AH-1Z's in numbers so we can fight as a real combined arms team...not with some jet pilots looking longingly at USAF and USN mission sets.

TU95's strike ISIS? I called then backed off!

Thanks to John for the link!

via RT

“We are conducting a mass airstrike campaign against Islamic State targets in Syria. We have now doubled the number of sorties, which is allowing us to conduct operations throughout the length and breadth of the country,” Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said during a Security Council meeting in Moscow chaired by the Russian president.
Shoigu said that Russia’s Tu-95, Tu-22 and Tu-160 strategic bombers have been brought into the operation, while the Air Force command added that the strike group has been bolstered with 37 new planes, including Su-34 bombers and Su-27 fighter jets.
The head of the General Staff reported that the new phase of the anti-ISIS campaign will involve 25 long-range bombers flying out of airfields in Russia.
“By conducting military missions in Syria, you are protecting Russia and her citizens,” Putin told his military chiefs. “Our air campaign in Syria must not only be continued, it must be boosted, in such a way that the criminals are made aware that retribution is inevitable.”

Here.

Damnit!  I called it then let a reader back me off with the idea that they would use the TU-160's instead!  SHOULD HAVE STUCK TO MY GUNS!  The other bomber was their nuclear striker!

I fucking called it and then backed off.  Never again!

Anyway.  It seems that my other call is coming true too.  Russia is turning into the savior of Europe.  France has gladly accepted their assistance, US intel is talking actively about working with Russia and it seems that the Administration will go kicking and screaming to the inevitable.

Assad is the lesser evil and we will see a global alliance against ISIS.

Good!

Air Power/SOCOM mafias lose big in the perception war on ISIS...

via Politico

Obama has deployed thousands of U.S. forces to advise and train Iraqi troops and Syrian groups fighting ISIS, but he held firm that he would not send American soldiers to the front lines.
"It is not just my view but the view of my closest military and civilian advisers that that would be a mistake," the president said. "Not because our military could not march into Mosul or Raqqa or Ramadi and temporarily clear out ISIL, but because we would see a repetition of what we’ve seen before, which is if you do not have local populations that are committing to inclusive governance and who are pushing back against ideological extremes, that they resurface, unless we’re prepared to have a permanent occupation of these countries.”

What's going missing is the obvious.

Policy makers, in this case Congressmen, have all arrived at the same conclusion.  Special Operations raids and Air Power will not or rather has not put ISIS in its cage.

I find it amazing that no one has drilled down on this.  Its important because its part of the underpinning of the "new" American way of warfare.

SOCOM along with robust air power was suppose to be all we REALLY needed to win future wars.  Conventional forces would simply fall into a support role.  There would be trigger pullers, armor, and artillery...but the main focus was to be on Special Ops raids and a magnificent air force.

Reality is a bitch though.

Consider the territory we're talking about.  Open desert.  Consider the enemy.  Fully motorized with bits and pieces of a real deal mechanized force.  As a matter of fact that force has gotten so big that they're forming brigades!

This is the ideal locale for this new type of warfare to operate in and its failed.

Do you really want to know the real losers of the war on ISIS?  I'd say the people of France, President Obama and the think tanks that were pushing this Air Power/SOCOM way of war.

Blast from the past. NR-349 Interceptor.

The biggest plane to operate from a carrier...I believe...was the A5 Vigilante (meaning being deployed as a part of the ship's air wing).  Little is known and even less is written about a proposal to add a third J79 engine to the A5 and transform it into a powerful interceptor carrying 6 AIM-154 missiles.

The inevitable blowback from unfettered illegal immigration....this could get nasty folks...

via Sunday Express.

A peaceful demonstration taking place in the centre of Lille, northern France, was interrupted by right-wingers appearing to belong to the Front National.

The unrest came as Front National leader Marine Le Pen declared French people “are no longer safe” and called for France to take back control of its borders.

Here.

A few, a very few, are singing the praises of the French govt after the token air strikes against ISIS headquarters.

They shouldn't be impressed.

The real action is still happening in Europe.  The French govt is probably on the verge of being toppled and the German govt is in jeopardy.  Why?  Unfettered illegal immigration into their countries.

You can double a small hamlet's population and think that people won't react...you can force families to house these fighting age young men...but you can't be stupid enough to believe that the populace will stop singing Kumbaya and eventually get pissed.

The real danger is this.  Just how pissed off are the Europeans?  How scared are they of future attacks?  Will ISIS respond by launching further attacks?

Yeah the real action is in Europe.  Its a race.  The Intel/Security communities are rushing to prevent another attack and ISIS is trying to get one off before caught.  The French and German govts depend on their forces to solve the problem...if they don't and we see another Paris then the European people will turn rabid.

And as cynical as I am, I don't want to see that.  If/when that happens blood will be spilled that will make the recent terrorist attack look like a picnic.

Worst case:  If the worst happens then we enter the doomsday scenario.  Pressure will be applied against the Obama administration to send US troops to stand between the French Gendarmerie and the Arabs in their Ghettos.  A bad situation...and it will be bad...could always get worse.  I wonder if American Mercenary is drafting potential options as we speak?

$105 million for an extra 50 miles of range

via Motley Fool...

Capt. Hendrix -- a former naval aviator himself -- argues that "if the Joint Strike Fighter truly was going to replace the capabilities of the F-14 Tomcat and the A-6 Intruder, then range should have been a critical factor in its design." Instead, the F-35C was designed to have a combat range of 730 nautical miles, and recent tests suggest it will average closer to just 550 miles, only 50 better than the F/A-18.

Then this...

Now, BGA-Aeroweb prices the latest model F/A-18 at about $65 million. In contrast, the F-35 costs anywhere from $116 million (Lockheed Martin's estimate) to $170 million (BGA-Aeroweb) to $337 million (say its critics). And not everyone agrees that paying $105 million for an extra 50 miles of range is the best way to spend the military's money.

Story here.

How do I know that bad news is baked into the cake for the F-35?  Easy.  Mainstream media is inundated with stories about how it isn't the cure for US air superiority issues.

When the MSM climbs on board, especially when they make their living by printing stories that are fawning of every procurement project, then you can bet your money that they're being encouraged by someone in the DoD.

Which means that the death spiral isn't only here, but that we might actually be seeing the first of a couple of steps toward the USN leaving the program completely.

More to come I'm sure.

Do stupid shit and stupid shit happens...

I despise the person doing the shooting.

Its obvious he either had a pathetic gun, aim, ammo or training.  He should have done better.

What I don't understand is how this guy can approach a man and his wife...WITH a group of guys with him....state that he's gonna have sex with her...the man shoots this piece of shit and they charge him with aggravated battery.  I don't understand our laws!