Canadian Army CH-146 Griffon's @ Exercice SPARTIATE ECLAIREUR...pics by Sgt Marc-André Gaudreault

Open Comment Post. Oct 25, 2017

Been gone for a minute but I'm back now.  Expect a "dump" of various stories on the blog as we catch up on all the news we missed.

Warhammer News. Trump signs executive order allowing recall of retired pilots...war prep going into last stage...

Thanks to Joe for the link!

via The Hill Blog.

President Trump signed an executive order on Friday that would allow the Air Force to call upon 1,000 retired airmen to return to active duty amid a nationwide shortage of military combat pilots.

The White House announced that Trump would use powers under the National Emergencies Act signed in the aftermath of the terror attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, to subject the secretaries of the Army, Navy and Air Force to the direction of the secretary of Defense on the matter.

Pentagon spokesman Navy Cmdr. Gary Ross said in a statement to CNBC that Defense Secretary James Mattis now has the power to recall up to 1,000 retired military pilots into service to address the shortage, a responsibility Ross said Mattis will likely delegate to the secretary of the Air Force.

The Pentagon has said that the Air Force is lacking 1,500 pilots for active duty, on top of shortages of aviator officers in the Navy, as mentioned in the White House memo.

Trump's order comes as the Trump administration is preparing to ramp up the U.S. military presence in Afghanistan as part of the administration's new stabilization strategy for the country.

Story here.

Two things.

The Pentagon has emphasized everything over people.  Now they're paying the price.  People voted with their feet and left the service and now after failing retention goals with bonuses they're having to drag people back into service.

It's bad form but they're desperate. 

Second, don't be fooled.  This isn't about Afghanistan its about N. Korea.  This is the final stage of the military prep for the war.  They want these guys back in case things go south.

Prediction still stands.  Winter will see the bombs drop.

Do you wonder why it took so long to get outside aid to our Special Forces Team? Africa is freaking HUGE!

Thanks to illilpop100 for the pic!

Yeah.  Africa is HUGE!  You wonder why it took so long to get our guys support?  Its like having a team operating in Mississippi and their support based in NY City.  As bad as that ambush was we're lucky it wasn't worse considering the vast distances and the long limb these guys were on (which indicates a failure not only of intelligence but of planning and leadership...we'll chop that up later).

I've been waiting for some of my readers from Africa to chime in on the situation with the Special Forces team that got ambushed and luckily one of them responded today.

I got corrected on one thing.  According to this guy the US is held in high esteem.  I thought otherwise (have experienced otherwise..maybe it was a dick measuring contest) but ok, I'll roll with that.

He also stated that Africa is wildly diverse.  All kinds of different tribes, religions, cultures, wildlife etc...

My point remains. 

Special Forces wants to operate in ways that are no longer applicable to the battlefield as we find it today.  12 man teams even when operating with host nation forces will be targeted.  They will be fixed, and the enemy will exert maximum effort to destroy them.

At the VERY LEAST Army Special Forces Teams need to be augmented with a company of Rangers or MARSOC.

Force Protection in 2017 and beyond mean a minimum size unit be company sized with complimentary air and fire support.  Having available quick reaction forces is also necessary as well as adequate ISR.

Going small and covering the globe is NOT workable.  Combatant Commanders will need to tailor their request for forces more reasonably.  For example, AFRICOM would get one battalion of Marines, one SF team and either a Ranger or MARSOC company with the support we talked about.  That's it for a 6 month period.  SecDef would REQUIRE that they not be placed in penny packets all over the continent and that for each mission they conduct they are then allowed proper rest and recovery before heading on the next.

NO MORE WEARING OUT THE FORCE!

Open Comment Post. Oct 21, 2017

Blast from the past. The Inchon amphibious assault...

First Lieutenant Baldomero Lopez, USMC, leads the 3rd Platoon, Company A, 1st Battalion, 5th Marines over the seawall on the northern side of Red Beach, as the second assault wave lands, 15 September 1950, during the Inchon invasion. Wooden scaling ladders are in use to facilitate disembarkation from the LCVP that brought these men to the shore. Lt. Lopez was killed in action within a few minutes, while assaulting a North Korean bunker. Note M-1 Carbine carried by Lt. Lopez, M-1 Rifles of other Marines and details of the Marines’ field gear.  via War History Online

I've always had a rather morbid thought that I've tried to shake but just can't. When 1stLT Lopez woke up that morning...when he led his Marines over the seawall...when he stood outside that North Korean bunker prepping his mind, body and soul to go thru that door...did he feel it coming...did he know on that day he would meet his maker?

Was something different for him and others that day?  Did something feel off and they just couldn't put their finger on it?

I guess you have to experience some things to get your answer.

My biggest fears about Africa/SOCOM are being realized. Locals may have helped ISIS ambush Green Berets.

First up.  Do you remember the retired Special Forces General lambasting the SOCOM Head, Admiral McMasters, about SOCOM's publicity seeking?

A retired general today assailed the commander of the Navy SEAL raid that killed Osama bin Laden for drawing too much media attention to operations that he argued should be kept under wraps.

Special Operations Commander Adm. Bill McRaven was confronted by retired Lt. Gen. James Vaught, who said he didn't understand why the recent raids by the Navy SEALs, such as the one to kill Osama bin Laden or to rescue U.S. hostage Jessica Buchanan, were all over the media.

"Since the time when your wonderful team went and drug bin Laden out and got rid of him, and more recently when you went down and rescued the group in Somalia, or wherever the hell they were, they've been splashing all of this all over the media," Vaught, 85, said. "I flat don't understand that.

"Now back when my special operators extracted Saddam [Hussein] from the hole, we didn't say one damn word about it," he continued. "We turned him over to the local commander and told him to claim that his forces drug him out of the hole, and he did so. And we just faded away and kept our mouth shut.

"Now I'm going to tell you, one of these days, if you keep publishing how you do this, the other guy's going to be there ready for you, and you're going to fly in and he's going to shoot down every damn helicopter and kill every one of your SEALs. Now, watch it happen. Mark my words. Get the hell out of the media," he concluded, as laughter broke out at a meeting of the National Defense Industrial Association in Washington, D.C.

The ABC article covering the event (along with a video) is here. 

Fast forward to the here and now.  Check this out from UPI.

The 12-man team of Green Berets ambushed in Niger were delayed as they left a meeting with local leaders -- which may have been part of the plan to attack them, Army officials told UPI.

Officials suspect that some people in the Oct. 4 Tongo Tongo meeting may have been working with the Islamic State. Some people from the town have been arrested.

The attack, in which four U.S. soldiers were killed -- including one who was not found until nearly 48 hours later, was a surprise. Intelligence had indicated the likelihood of an attack was low.

Story here. 

There you have it.

My biggest fears are being realized.  You've heard me rant about the dangers of operating in Africa and yet I could almost hear the laughter coming from some of you. 

Are you laughing now?

As a quick side note.  They didn't discover the body of the 4th SF troop until 48 hours later.  I hope I'm wrong.  Correction.  I PRAY I'M WRONG!  But I suspect he might have been captured alive.  If that's the case then I hope God had mercy and I hope his killers are castrated and their genitals stuffed in their mouths.

Back on task.

Operating in a region of the world, using the same techniques, not modifying your operating procedures when you see the battlefield changing is all part of this agony.

We saw early in the war in Iraq that small units were/are vulnerable.  We saw it again more than a few times in Afghanistan.  But for some unknown reason the Pentagon (and even the Marine Corps) is infatuated with them.

Why?

Because the concepts are manpower "saving".  They hope to make up the difference with the use of technology.  But that tech ain't here yet and these small units are getting mauled at a time and place of the enemies choosing.

I don't feel a need to touch on the religious and tribal aspects of the region.  If you don't know instinctively that they're fucked up beyond recognition then I can't help you.

Shifting tribal loyalty, religious zealotry not seen since the Middle Ages and these are the very same people that our SF guys are depending on?  These are the guys that they're suppose to turn into force multipliers? Foreign Internal Defense is not a "cover" for operations globally.  In some parts of the world it just won't' work...like Iraq, Afghanistan and all of Africa.

We must adapt.  We must accept the world as it is, not as our concepts would like it to be.  If we don't then we're gonna see more of this.

Tactical Flannel. I don't know if this is brilliant or batshit crazy!

Pic via Soldier Systems (more here)

Just plain wow.

Coup against the Chinese President foiled...

via UPI.

An internal plot to overthrow Chinese President Xi Jinping has been revealed by the country's securities watchdog, officials said.

Liu Shiyu, chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, accused six party leaders on Thursday of plotting a coup against Xi. His comments came at a panel discussion that was part of the Chinese Communist Party's meeting in Beijing. They included congratulations to Xi on working to "save socialism" in China by foiling the plot.

Story here. 

This is curious.  If its propaganda to make his people think that he's doing great work despite danger then I don't get it.  I read it as some in his govt not trusting the direction he's leading them.

If this is a real deal coup attempt then it signals that they are not all onboard with his vision of the future.

Curious doesn't begin to call this one.

Maybe China isn't the threat that I thought...maybe they have more problems internally than I imagined.

CCTV - China 105mm Light Tank, P-Band Radar & J-20/J-31 Naval Fighter Models Unveiled (Mandarin speakers help translate!)

P-Band Radar?  Hmm.  That's a new one on me...time to Google!