F-35C ferries to Pax River

Devastation in the Heartland. A missed mission for our Active Duty Forces.

All photos from Buzzfeed.com

The recent devastation in Missouri has me wondering about something.

Where are our Active Duty Forces to help with situations such as this?

And before you hit me with Posse Comitatus Act nonsense, let me hit you back with this.

The US Military can certainly replicate the assistance given to Haiti and Japan within our own borders can't they?  Just like in Japan we wouldn't be going in with weapons...but with self sufficient forces that are able to provide shelter, food and possibly most importantly medical assistance to fellow Americans that have suffered tragedy.

States are already stretched thin.  Police and Fire services are being cut back in order to maintain legislatively required balanced budgets.

But possibly more importantly than all that is this....

If the Department of Defense has no role to play in this type of scenario then exactly what is Northern Command all about?


Note:  If you're curious about what the current commander of NorthCom is focusing on you can read his blog here.  I can give you a quick primer now though.  The Admiral is extremely proud of a national level disaster response exercise.  My critique stands.  What better time to swing from an exercise into a real world situation?  Until or unless NorthCom starts helping the American people, its just another command for General level Officers to fill billets.

Bayonet question answered...

On an earlier post I asked why Sgt Shue had, what I thought was a US Army bayonet and P-Mags with his weapon.

Luckily, USMC Combat Cameraman LCpl Mark Stroud was kind enough to send me an e-mail that filled in the blanks.

A couple of points that LCpl Stroud and other Marines were kind enough to hit me with include...

1.  The Marines were ordered by their command to run the course in the uniform shown.
2.  The Marines were not ordered to bring their own bayonets and borrowed the ones shown in the photo from the Australian Army.
3.  The P-Mag issue still eludes my understanding.  I've gotten two different stories on them and I'm just going to write the subject matter experts (the boys of the Weapons Training Battalion at Quantico...hopefully they'll write me back!) and see if P-Mags are unit purchase, optional gear or now Marine Corps issue.

One last point though.  I fuck with the Wing.  I tease the Wing.  But the Marines in the Wing are Marines.  I haven't forgotten that. 

Operation Urban Thunder at 29 Palms.

MARINE CORPS AIR GROUND COMBAT CENTER TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. -Members of Animal Company 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment ready the Amphibious Assault Vehicles for their march to their objective in their culminating exercise for Operation Urban Thunder in the Blacktop training area May 17, 2011. , Lance Cpl. D. J. Wu, 5/17/2011 2:13 AM

MARINE CORPS AIR GROUND COMBAT CENTER TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. -Lieutenant Col. Timothy Barrick, the commanding officer of 1st Tank Battalion stands by and awaits orders to advance about his M1 Abrams, the “ Game Changer”, in Operation Urban Thunder in a Combat Center training area May 17, 2011. , Lance Cpl. D. J. Wu, 5/17/2011 2:36 AM

MARINE CORPS AIR GROUND COMBAT CENTER TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. -An M1 Assault Breacher Vehicle sets off its mine clearing line charge as part of Operation Urban Thunder May 17, 2011., Lance Cpl. D. J. Wu, 5/17/2011 7:58 AM

MARINE CORPS AIR GROUND COMBAT CENTER TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. -Members of Mike Battery, 3rd Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment, fire their M777 howitzer down range in a call for fire exercise in Regimental Combat Team-7’s Operation Urban Thunder throughout Combat Center’s training areas May 17, 2011., Lance Cpl. D. J. Wu, 5/17/2011 3:33 AM

Monday's 2'fer! Danish dropping more bombs than the RAF and another F-35 makes its first flight.

First up is the RAF letting down the UK.  This report from the Guardian says it best.  Read the whole thing there but again, here's a tidbit.

At the other end of the scale, the Nordic nations can reasonably claim to be punching well above their weight.

Norway and Denmark have both dropped far more bombs – nearly 700 between them – than the UK. Both have recently targeted "bunker-busting" bombs on Gaddafi's compounds in Tripoli. Nato commanders are believed to have assigned Danish F16 jets to target the building in which Gaddafi's youngest son, Saif al-Arab, was killed on 30 April.
Data shows the US initially dominated the military campaign before taking a back seat and handing over control to Nato on 31 March. France also took a leading role, deploying its aircraft carrier, Charles de Gaulle. Admiral Sir Mark Stanhope, the head of the British navy, told MPs: "If we had a carrier, it would be there."

The problem is (at least for the British) that they don't have carrier based aviation since they killed the Harrier and although (evidently) skilled at interservice politics, the RAF isn't able to live up to its claim of being an effective substitute for the expeditionary capability that carrier aviation brings.

Next up is the first flight of ANOTHER F-35.

Lockheed Martin test pilot Dan Canin was at the controls for the first flight of F-35C CF-3 on 21 May 2011. The photo shows the aircraft on approach for a landing.

No matter how loud the critics might be, they can't deny that this program is picking up speed...on both the manufacturing and test sides of the house.

Bjørnar Bolsøy, thanks again for the articles guy!

F-35 air show flyby...the video!

Thanks much Bjørnar Bolsøy for the vid link!  You rock. 

Marine Personnel Carrier on the chopping blocks????

The story is from InsideDefense and its subscription only but the rub is this.  The Marine Corps won't commit to buying the third leg of its "mobility" triad until further testing is done.

In my opinion this points to a couple of things.

1.  The Marine Corps plans to get back aboard ship in a big way and the MPC doesn't fit with those plans.
2.  Distributed Operations are getting more and more support among Marine Corps leadership.  With that as an operational philosophy the idea to have those widely dispersed Marine Units vehicle bound doesn't make sense logistically.  Which means that the MPC doesn't fit with Marine Corps doctrine going forward.
3.  Someone must have come up with either...
     a.  A fantastic upgrade package to the AAV.  One so good that the need for the MPC is no longer there or..
     b.  The EFV has been salvaged and with new amphibious assault doctrine the idea (thank you...yes I did put it forward here) of simply removing the complex hydraulic/drive system from it is producing a vehicle that can be bought in numbers
4.  I could be wrong on all of the above and its simply a cost saving measure.

One thing is certain ... at least in my mind ... the USMC will not be buying the JLTV.  If the MPC can be dumped then the JLTV is definitely the dead vehicle program walking.

6 Hours. US Marines answer the call.

Prepare for some intense propaganda.  They say no one does it better...they might be right.

Summers here. Is your workout ready?

Summer time is here.  Is your workout ready?  Hopefully it is and you've switched to your shredding routine a couple of months ago.  If you haven't then don't lose faith (oh and for my Marine buds you know you have your PFT, CFT and just general training to worry about so you're screwed already if you haven't been lifting and running)....

But I digress.  The reason for the post is to not only recommend two a days to get right but also a few supplements to help you on your way.

First up is a good protein.  I know what your doctor will tell ya.  You get enough in your diet.  Bullshit.  Not if you lead an active lifestyle and workout like a monster.  I like Syntha-6...tastes great, has very low sugar and did I mention tastes great?

Next up is your pre-workout drink.  I personally like to take Jack 3d.  It has Creatine, AAKG and Caffeine ... plus a couple of other ingredients I'll let you discover on your own.  The results?  You're a madman in the gym.  You lift....watch your muscles grow and hit it even harder.  Jack 3d is beyond awesome.

Post recover can be a bear.  You've just rocked your nervous system.  Your muscles are destroyed and you forgot that wonderful feeling you had when you left the gym.  Want to keep the good times going?  Want to improve your recovery time so that your workouts stay on track?  Then you need to supplement with Glutamine.

So now you've been hitting it hard but still aren't getting the results you want, what do you do?  How about increase your test naturally?  Tribulus will do it.  If you take it along with a few estrogen inhibitors then you can really zoom your results (sorry guys...no further details....you have to be an experienced lifter for me to even touch on this subject in detail with ya)



Basically there you have it.  Supplement your diet.  Eat clean (say no to McDonalds, Burger King etc...) get rest (8 hours at least if you want to get big) and enjoy the fruits of your work.


Remember with national health care coming, staying fit is now a patriotic duty.

Force Recon on the Dyanmic Assault Course.

Just a few observations...

1.  .45's all the way around...they look tricked out...not standard grips by any means.
2.  P-Mags all the way around...Is this item allowed or not?
3.  Fanny Packs all the way around????? I don't get that.  I wonder what the load out is for that?  E&E gear?  I have no idea.
4.  They still like the Flight Suits I see.

CAMP HANSEN, Okinawa, Japan--Marines fire their M4A1 carbines during marksmanship training May 10 as a part of the Dynamic Assault Course at Camp Hansen’s Range 16. The Marines are from Force Reconnaissance Platoon, Force Company, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, III Marine Expeditionary Force, and need the certification provided by the course to operate as a force reconnaissance platoon.
, Lance Cpl. Anthony Ward Jr., 5/10/2011 5:49 AM

CAMP HANSEN, Okinawa, Japan--Marines from Force Reconnaissance Platoon assault a building May 10 during the Dynamic Assault Course at Camp Hansen’s Range 16. The five-week course includes marksmanship training in a close-quarters environment., Lance Cpl. Anthony Ward Jr., 5/10/2011 11:43 AM

CAMP HANSEN, Okinawa, Japan--Marines fire their M4A1 carbines during marksmanship training May 10 as a part of the Dynamic Assault Course at Camp Hansen’s Range 16. The Marines are from Force Reconnaissance Platoon, Force Company, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, III Marine Expeditionary Force, and need the certification provided by the course to operate as a force reconnaissance platoon.
, Lance Cpl. Anthony Ward Jr., 5/10/2011 5:49 AM

A400M...as big as it is its still too little...

As impressive as the A400M is, its still too little and too late to find many customers outside of Europe. With the C-17 line looking for orders...with its price being extremely close to the the A400M, I just don't see customers lining up to buy it. This story from the Independent is propaganda in my opinion. Read it for yourself but again, here's a tidbit.

"There has been interest from Far Eastern governments. You've only got to look at the disasters in the area to see how the A400 could help."

Mr Elliott added that the A400 had "enormous potential" in disaster relief, anti-piracy and illegal immigration control. For example, the advanced radar and communication facilities could easily track pirates.

He also confirmed that "informal contacts at mid-level staff levels" had started with some countries. "We will kick-off the export campaign next year," he said. "The full potential of this aircraft will really begin demonstrating itself when entering service."

Yeah this sounds like a little rustling to get interest stirred in an airplane with few prospects.  But one thing is either an amazing expansion in capabilities or just an outright lie is the claim that the radar on the A400 can be used to track pirates?

They're really desperate in the AirBus house.

Seriously Cynthia?

Say it out loud before you do it!  Does it sound like a good idea to go to a country that your nation is at war with and make pronouncements?  Does it sound like a good idea to 'give aid and comfort to the enemy'????

Are you crazy?  Read the whole thing at CNN, but here's a tidbit.

"I want to say categorically and very clearly that these policies of war ... are not what the people of the United States stand for, and it's not what African-Americans stand for," she told state TV.

Maybe not African American's but Africans were aboard a boat and in a sense forcefully deported from that country.  The boat sank and estimates are that 600 souls were lost.

The really sad part about this whole thing is that I don't support the US participating in the action in Libya.  We already have enough on our plate...if it must be done then the Europeans should be able to handle it.  But you do not go to a foreign country to do this.