US Special Ops lands in civilian marked aircraft in Libya...are promptly expelled!

Thanks to Max for the link!

photo via @oryxspioenkop Twitter page.

The story?  It goes a bit like this (Max's note)...

On 14th December, a Dornier 328 (or a C-146A, if you prefer), owned by the 524th Special Ops Sq, civili livrey, and civil marks (11-3097 serial number and N307EF register), landed in the al-Watiya Libyan Air Foce base.
On board there are some 20 SOF guys.

Apparently the Libyan authorities were not aware (and not amused) of this arrival and simply send them back...
The Libyan Air Force released thge info and some images as well, and today, they appeared on the main Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera.

Wow.  The stench of incompetence is starting to be found on our "elite" warriors.


UPDATE:  Click here to get a "tick tock" on the flight route of this unmarked Special Ops flight.  Origin and return destination?  Stuttgart, Germany!  I'm not up to speed on Special Forces Groups but isn't that 7th SF territory?

An open letter to the Assistant Deputy Commandant for Aviation.

General Davis,

You don't know me and that's to be expected, but I know you or rather, I know your positions.  I've followed your statements on the F-35 with great interest. Unfortunately we've parted ways.  You along with the former Commandant (in my opinion) sold the soul of the Marine Corps for one airplane.  I've watched with horror as Marines with combat experience are denied re-enlistment, extremely capable leaders are forced out  and we've cased the colors on Infantry, Armor, Artillery and Engineer battalions.

I've gone from being horrified to angry.  This isn't the way that the Marine Corps operates.

You say it's all worth it.  You say that the F-35 will bring capabilities that we can barely imagine.  You've gone so far as to say that the Ground Combat Element should be left on the beach and LHA/LHDs sail with only F-35s to serve as mini-aircraft carriers.  In short I get the impression that you're ready to jettison the Ground Combat Component and make the Wing a free agent in our defense establishment.

I hope I'm wrong but its past time for a bit of clarity.  We need to know the how's, the why's and the what for's when it comes to the F-35.  We need to know that the sacrifice of our ground combat power is worth it.

We need you to man up and talk to us!  MY e-mail is on the right, and the ACV program office has my telephone number.  I can't wait to hear from you.

V/R

Sol

LCS will be winnowed down to one ship type.

via USNI News.

Secretary of Defense Ash Carter has ordered the Navy to trim its total buy of Littoral Combat Ships to 40 and down select to a single shipbuilder and design for the class as part of its fiscal year 2017 budget, according to a memo obtained by USNI News.
The directive to trim the service’s planned total of 52 planned LCS and Frigate hulls and direct the savings into other programs was contained in the Monday letter from Carter to Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus.
The new plan would call for a building only six LCS between fiscal year 2017-2020 – eight less than the Navy’s submitted 2017 plan – and directs the Navy to down select to a single shipyard and a single hull type in 2019.

This is interesting.  Select one shipyard and one hull type?  But in 2019?  That's halfway thru the term of the next President!

I'm always amazed at the idea that current defense leaders believe that they can determine procurement issues for future leaders.

Still.  A proposed cut of 12 warships?  I guess its finally dawned on them that the LCS isn't what its cracked up to be..

The latest bodybuilding craziness (at least in the Middle East & Brazil)? Synthol!

I thought I had seen it all when it comes to trends in bodybuilding/fitness.  I've watched D-bol go from being the king of roids, to Tren being the new hotness... with guys taking growth hormone, to idiots injecting insulin and I've watched in amazement as people have taken DNP to make weight and then having to call Doc  to save the fools because they were cooking their organs due to not understanding that it builds up in their system and they kept taking tabs to get the effect faster (DNP is lethal guys...take my advice...NEVER do it).

Sidenote.  Want to see something horrific?  Watch a Corpsman administer a silver bullet....you will turn away in shock and you will ALWAYS drink water/stay hydrated for the remainder of your years!

But back on task.

I thought I had seen it all till this synthol craze popped up.  For some reason the guys in the Middle East want the muscle without the sweat.  So what do they do?  They inject OIL into their muscle bellies to get artificially bigger.  Pro Bodybuilder do it to help with weak spots in their physique.  These new jacks are doing it to BUILD a physique!

I don't get it but if you really want to be grossed out then Google synthol infections.  A warning though.  Its a nasty sight.

Defense Aerospace has a MUST READ on the USMC's F-35 expeditionary field test!

Defense Aerospace has a MUST READ on the F-35 expeditionary field test!

I tried to convey the absolute lunacy required to believe that the concept is viable but failed.  Thank God DA picked up my slack and lays it out for the world to see.

Head over to his house to check out this story.  I no longer question whether STOVL is dead.  I'm calling it.  STOVL as envisioned by the Corps greats is no longer viable ... 

US Army General gets 500K fans with one decision...

I didn't talk about it but should have.  Suffice it to say that a US Army 4 star got about 500K fans on the basis of one decision...a decision that some Army dogs are saying is career threatening.

He decided to take Bergdahl to Courts Martial for desertion and a slew of other charges.  What makes this so special?  How is this an example of moral courage in the General Officer ranks?  Well from what I can gather from the Army specific blogs (they really don't do Blogger or Wordpress...they all seem to like hanging out on Tumblr...you have to wade thru a ton of porn, x4 and gun pics but you eventually get to what they're saying) they thought the guy would get a slap on the wrist when General Abrams got the recommendation that he be released from duty with time served.

In other words (according to the Army sites) Bergdahl's case moved from being about Army discipline to politics.  With that in mind many thought that the General would be a political animal instead of a warrior concerned about the force and the example that the decision for leniency would set.

Remember when American Mercenary was blogging?  He predicted that Bergdahl would get off easy.  So did I.

I'm glad we were wrong..

STOVL....is Marine Air killing the concept and itself?

Above you see pics of British Harriers operating in an expeditionary manner in austere conditions.

This is what attracted the USMC to STOVL.  The idea of having fast movers close to the battlefield...able to live in the mud with the ground combat element.

Small payload?  Short endurance?  Not a problem.  They wouldn't be flying far and they could make several strikes in the time it would take more complex aircraft to carry out one.  It was responsive.  It was timely.  It was a hip pocket force for the Marine battle commander.

Now we fast forward to the F-35.  Even if perfected (which I seriously doubt) the plane will remain overly complex and in my opinion unable to be forward deployed.

In essence Marine Air is killing the STOVL concept.  If that isn't enough then consider the other "unintended" consequence.  The ideas floating around to sail F-35's without the ground element will make them vulnerable to budget cuts.  Which is more effective.  To have fully equipped aircraft carriers with 80 super hornets on deck or a couple of USS America class LHDs with 20 F-35s and unable to project ground power?

Is it too far a stretch to say that Marine Air is killing itself by being so wedded to the F-35?

This Medic is about to need a Medic! (funny)

Thanks to Galvars for the link!

My eyes are shot from staring at computer screens so I wasn't sure of what I was seeing.  To get the rundown, a quick Google search revealed this via The DogTag Chronicles...

Am I missing something?

Holding weapon by the barrel, weapon pointed at body, looking down instead of at the target.

Ok.  Now I get the force of connection!  Oh and this is burning up the military photo underground.....I'm sure we'll hear more....

An open, honest debate about Islam (vid)

Thanks to Sarabvir Singh for the link!



I don't think that Obama is a Muslim, I don't think he's a manchurian candidate, I don't think that Michelle is a transvestite (where the fuck did that meme come from) and I don't think that he's out to destroy the country.

I do think that he's idealistic, misguided, unwillinging to compromise and is desperately trying to shape his legacy at the expense of doing what is needed in the here and now.

The problem?  The thing that has me spinning?  This terrorism thing can freeze the economy.  It can cause an over reaction by the public that will set into motion a terrible series of events that will alter the course of history.  If World Wars have started over the assassination of one man then what could happen if we see a Paris or Mumbai attack in LA,  New York or another major American city.

This terrorism threat is deadly serious and we're still behind the power curve.

M-60A3TTS illustration via Ejército de Tierra