Pic of the day---Low Level Sprint....

11th MEU live fire.

All photos by Sgt. Elyssa Quesada

Lance Cpl. Jeffrey Johnson sights in on an M240B medium machine gun aboard USS Makin Island here Feb. 22 during a live-fire exercise. Johnson serves with Weapons Company, Battalion Landing Team 3/1. The team serves as the ground combat element for the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit. The unit is deployed aboard the amphibious assault ship as part of the Makin Island Amphibious Ready Group, which is a U.S. Central Command theater reserve force. The group is providing support for maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet area of responsibility.

Lance Cpl. Jeffrey Johnson and Lance Cpl. Andrew Baumgartner prepare an M240B medium machine gun aboard USS Makin Island here Feb. 22 during a live-fire exercise. Johnson and Baumgartner serve with Weapons Company, Battalion Landing Team 3/1. The team serves as the ground combat element for the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit. The unit is deployed aboard the amphibious assault ship as part of the Makin Island Amphibious Ready Group, which is a U.S. Central Command theater reserve force. The group is providing support for maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet area of responsibility.

Lance Cpl. Patrick Donovan and Lance Cpl. Matt Behrens prepare an M240B medium machine gun aboard USS Makin Island here Feb. 22 during a live-fire exercise. Donovan and Behrens serve with Weapons Company, Battalion Landing Team 3/1. The team serves as the ground combat element for the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit. The unit is deployed aboard the amphibious assault ship as part of the Makin Island Amphibious Ready Group, which is a U.S. Central Command theater reserve force. The group is providing support for maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet area of responsibility.

Lance Cpl. Kevin Curnutt fires an M240B medium machine gun aboard USS Makin Island here Feb. 22 during a live-fire exercise. Curnutt, 21, who hails from Pomeroy, Wash., serves with Weapons Company, Battalion Landing Team 3/1. The team serves as the ground combat element for the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit. The unit is deployed aboard the amphibious assault ship as part of the Makin Island Amphibious Ready Group, which is a U.S. Central Command theater reserve force. The group is providing support for maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet area of responsibility.

Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class John Allen, 23, shoots from the rear gate of CH-53E Super Stallion during live fire exercise here Feb. 22. Allen, a Nampa, Idaho, native, serves with the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit's maritime raid force. The CH-53E is with Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 268 (reinforced), which serves as the unit's aviation combat element. The unit is deployed as part of the Makin Island Amphibious Ready Group, a U.S. Central Command theater reserve force. The group is providing support for maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet area of responsibility.

Snipers Sgt. Martin Lucero fires at a target from the rear gate of a CH-53E Super Stallion here Feb. 22. Lucero, a Denver native, serve with the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit's maritime raid force. The Super Stallion is with Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 268 (reinforced), which serves as the unit's aviation combat element. The unit is deployed as part of the Makin Island Amphibious Ready Group, a U.S. Central Command theater reserve force. The group is providing support for maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet area of responsibility.

USAF has a change of heart on UAVs.

via Aviation Week.  Read the whole thing but these are the juicy bits...

“Does more altitude buy you survivability, or does persistence provide a radical improvement in the ability to collect intelligence?” says Lt. Gen. Larry James, the Air Force’s deputy chief of staff and former director of signals intelligence for the National Reconnaissance Office. “I don’t think we know the answer.”

and...

 “We may be able to penetrate, but not stay long,” James predicts. “There may be other systems that can stay on in the area [that include space and cyber tools]. Or maybe I improve my sensors so that I can standoff outside the threat. I don’t necessarily think all of those things need to be combined in one platform. I’d say we’re at the early stages of looking at new technologies like hypersonics for ISR platforms, [but] the technology is not there yet.”

Interesting.  The European Union and China are jumping on the UAV bandwagon in a big way.  It appears that the USAF is losing interest.

That's what happens when you pull your head out of COIN operations and start thinking about warfare against technologically capable foes.

When it comes to operations over long distances with the threat of enemy aircraft on the other end of the journey, common sense tells you that they just won't survive.  Additionally the loss rate for these aircraft in even non-hostile environments should be telling.  They won't cut it in the Pacific.

Hopefully our competitors will keep churning along on this dead end for a while longer.  It'll help us get even further ahead on tech that will work.  Besides, the truth of the matter is this.  UAVs are a tactical, not strategic tool and should be left to the ground forces.
 

Hot Chick (SEALs) vs. Ugly Chick (US Marines)

Courtesy of CDR Salamander...

In their upcoming war film, Act of Valor, Directors Mike McCoy and Scott Waugh deliver the must-see action film of the year. They succeed in leveraging the tactical dexterities of authentic Navy SEALs and stunning cinematography to produce a spectacular action movie that had me on the edge of my seat throughout.

Before I get into the film’s finer points – and many nuances struck me – I must establish the appropriate architecture for this review: the immutable paradigm of the hot chick versus the ugly chick.

The Hot Chick Paradigm and Why Harry Belafonte Was Right After All.

On my second deployment to Iraq we were conducting counter-insurgency operations west of Baghdad. One night a Navy SEAL task force attempted to enter our battle space without coordination. Our Company Commander quickly protested this attempt.

For one thing, it would be dangerous to introduce their presence that night without prior deconfliction of our current patrolling forces, indirect fires plan, and explanation of our existing operations and theirs. Deconfliction would take only minutes.

For another, the mission, he argued, would be more effective if we worked in support of them. It wasn’t that they couldn’t come into our battlespace (no doubt they worked for a senior authority)…it was that they shouldn’t come unannounced. And it wasn’t about ego. It was about safety of the Marines on the ground and overall mission effectiveness.

My CO’s argument won out that night; NSW relented and conducted the appropriate coordination measures. They now had our support, and we had theirs. They conducted their mission and, to the best of my knowledge, it all worked out.

When I asked my Company Commander about the event he told me his thought process in detail and later, anecdotally and over a nocturnal cigar in the arid Anbar summer, about the difference between the hot chick and the ugly chick…or, the difference between the Navy SEALs and the US Marine Corps.

The ugly chick is ugly. She does the dirty work. But she does it well. (Harry Belafonte’s “Get an Ugly Girl to Marry You” pretty much says it all). The ugly chick puts in the long hard, thankless, unsexy hours. The ugly chick is always there when you need her. She never complains. She never compromises. She just performs. And she treats you right. The Marine Corps is our nation’s ugly chick.

The hot chick is the hot chick. She is incredible at what she does. Everybody wants her. She can pass on opportunities when the conditions aren’t just right, and everyone gets it. When she decides to work her magic, she crushes it and she gets the headlines. She’s a sight to see, for sure, but boy is she high maintenance. Navy Special Warfare is our nation’s hot chick.

Don’t believe me? Ok, try this quick exercise in hot chick versus ugly chick mission assignment calculus:

Ugly Chick Task, example: Seize and hold Al Anbar after it was declared “unwinnable”.

Coordinating tasks:
-Take back Fallujah, Ramadi and Haditha from the hands of murderous Al Qaedists; next, create the conditions for successful constitutional elections
-Each day, hand out candy and start schools on one block, dodge an IED on the next block, and conduct an all out assault on the third.

Sex Appeal: Very, very low.

Duration: Years and years.

Hot Chick Task, example: Kill Bin Laden.

Coordinating Tasks:
-Kill anyone else who gets in your way
-Get back for breakfast the next day (it’s pigs in a blanket day!)

Sex Appeal: Prodigiously high.

Duration: Like we said, get back for breakfast.

See what I mean?

This isn’t a complaint. This isn’t a lament. This is just the way it is. The hot chick gets the prom king. The ugly chick sits at home in her pajamas and does the hot chick’s homework.

And it’s with that little bit of mil-culture architecture that frames my review of this film, in 5 parts.

1: Navy SEALs as Actors (or, Why the ‘Hot Chick’ Always Play Well)

Say what you will about the hot chicks - they’re hot; they don’t care what you think. All they know is they don’t have time to think about what you (ok, we the ugly chicks) think about them. Scoreboard baby. They get the sexy missions. The sexy gear. The sexy feature film. And, quite frankly, that’s the way it should be.

What made Act of Valor so powerful across the entirety of its story line was that it was utterly unapologetic about the use of the hot chicks exclusively (yes, all real live hot-chick-SEALs) to carry the action above the plot. Would the story have been better with Ryan Gosling playing the platoon commander? Hell no. Jason Statham? Perhaps. Clint Eastwood. Absolutely. But he’s already played an Ugly Chick (Heart Break Ridge) and pretty much incapable of playing a hot chick, so he’s out.

All that said, I have to admit, even with the acting being done by “non-actors”, they did a very good job. Much better than any Marine-ugly chicks would have done in their stead. And more importantly they didn’t need to “act” as the action commenced. As the violence unfolded in each sequence I found myself excited by the soundness of the tactics – door entries, room clearances, breaches, shot prosecution – all artfully unfolding on the screen as a tactical ballet of elegant violence. It’s what you would expect from real live gunfighters, but never get to see.

2: Cinematography (or, The Art of Hot Chick Photography)

The first rule of photography is that nothing matters more than the prettiest person in any frame. This rule was strictly adhered to in Act of Valor as every frame in every scene was full of Navy SEALs. Navy SEALs jumping out of airplanes. Navy SEALs diving out of submarines. Navy SEALs killing tons of bad guys. Navy SEALs talking about being Navy SEALs.

The second rule of photography is that the only thing that matters than the first rule (or any other rule) is that a picture, especially a moving picture, must never be boring. Here Cinematographer Shane Hurlbut uses his cameras to immerse the audience on one of the most stimulating adventure rides I’ve seen in a military film since the cockpit action of Top Gun. Using only a series of Canon EOS 5Ds and 18mm Zeiss ZF’s mounted on the SEALs helmets, we see close quarters battle and special operations exploits from the shooter’s perspective.

The cinematography in this film was a demonstrative undertaking that allowed the real live exploits of our nation’s elite frogmen to be consumed as they happened. And, for the record, I am not bothered that every mission specific detail was not adhered to – the action carried us forward and the story moved swiftly. Also, it should be said, this film does well to avoid the third rule of photography: avoid ugly chicks whenever possible in order to both preserve beauty and avoid dullness.

3: The Story (or, More Hot Chick Human Interest Perspective Needed)

Act of Valor follows one Navy SEAL platoon on a single deployment that carries them around the world on various missions that highlight their many mission capabilities, from a covert operation to rescue a kidnapped CIA officer, to Asia and the Pacific to interdict known terrorist masterminds, to Mexico for an action packed final sequence in which they attempt to take down lethal enemies who plan to launch attacks on America.

Beyond the above plot, which had all the requisite alarmists foundations necessary to require such constant op-tempo from a single SEAL platoon, I found myself wanting more narrative, more storyline about the characters. More about the Navy SEALs themselves. Their lives, their family. Something. Just a bit more. Maybe 10 more minutes just to highlight who these guys are or where they came from. What made them want to be a hot chick in the first place? And perhaps some narrative or perspective from the actual hot chicks that marry these guys.

4: Roselyn Sanchez (or, The Redemptiveness of an Actual Hot Chick)
Roselyn Sanchez plays a captured CIA agent rescued by the platoon in the early minutes of the film. She seemed to be a talented actress. Roselyn Sanchez is also excruciatingly hot. That’s all.

5: A Point of Order (or, Why the Hot Chick Needs the Ugly Chick)

During the invasion of Granada, a group of SEALs took up security in the Governor's mansion when they realized they had forgotten their SATCOM on the helicopter. Surrounded by Cuban and Grenadian troops, they called in fire support from an AC-130 using the mansion’s landline. Through the night the SEALs were holed up in their defensive position until extracted by a platoon of Force Recon Marines the next morning. You understand my point.

In the End (or, Why When this Hot Chick Wins, America Wins)
Act of Valor is a first rate high speed action that presents a story worth sharing delivered by a cadre of elite gunfighters who serve as unique custodians to the story’s ultimate point: a tribute to the sacrifice and commitment of the men who go down range. Damn few.

Wow.

SPOT ON!!!!

WHOA! Didn't see this coming. ACV anti-semitic???

I did not see this one coming.

A blogger is claiming that Act of Valor is anti-semitic.  I can't even begin to comment cause I haven't see the flick but this is a part of her spill...

By Debbie Schlussel
It’s official:  “Act of Valor” is anti-Semitic tripe wrapped in the American flag with a Navy SEAL cherry on top.  The movie, which debuts in theaters today, goes to great pains to tell you that the largest terrorist plot against America is perpetrated by  a Jew.  Did the Stormfront guys write this crap? In case there’s any doubt, “But you’re Jewish!” is shouted by a real-life Navy SEAL interrogator who heads SEAL Team 7 featured in the movie and goes by the nickname, “Senior.”  Apparently “Senior” forgot this, but the last time I checked, the guys behind 9/11 were not named Osama Bin Cohen and Khalid Sheikh Horowitz.  Ditto for the guys behind every major terrorist attack against Americans, whether on U.S. soil or abroad.  The Beirut bombing and murder of over 300 U.S. Marines and civilians?  Here’s a tip, Navy SEALS:  It wasn’t perpetrated by HezboLox&Bagels. And the guy just sentenced for trying to blow up a plane full of Americans with his underwear isn’t Umar Farouk AbdulEpstein.

I've been hard on this film but never would I believe that they would do this.

Time to watch the film I guess.  Afternoon showing here I come.

NOTE:
I am also aware that a good bit of controversy is always good to up movie sales.  I'm probably falling for a marketing scheme but oh well.

Time to leave Afghanistan.

via Military.com

A gunman killed two American advisers inside a heavily guarded government compound in Kabul Saturday, officials said, as protests against the burning of copies of the Muslim holy book roiled the country for a fifth day.
U.S. officials said the assailant remained at large as neither an apology from President Barack Obama nor gunfire from Afghan police could quench public outrage over what NATO insisted was an inadvertent desecration of the Quran.

No more apologies.

No more understanding.

No more nation building.

No more patience, spinning of the truth, staying the course, showing our 'spirit', etc...

This is bullshit.  Its time to go.

General Allen calms the troops....or tries to at least.

Word must have gotten out that they were going to lay some wood to the Afghans.  He's a good guy but he's wrong on this one.  The bastard who did this should be hunted down, and executed.

The lesson of Capt Rogers that the SEALs forgot.

Act of Valor starts playing today and the SEALs have been on the red carpet, had people jump from planes onto the red carpet and basically succeeded in doing an end run around the Pentagon to get this film made.

Good for them.  I hope they like it and the blow back they're getting/gonna get from the rest of the Special Ops community.

But being Sailors I hope they remember the case of another aggressive person that belongs to the greater naval community.

Capt Rogers.

He was the skipper of the USS Vincennes and was responsible for ordering the downing of an Iranian airliner.  He had to have FBI protection for a while because of death threats from the Iranians.  His wife had a pipe bomb go off under her van while she was on her way to work (she was a teacher and the case has never been solved---the Rogers believe it was a terrorist attack here on US soil).

They lived in fear because they were readily identifiable to an enemy that they had drawn blood from. 

Hopefully the SEALs have properly planned.

Hopefully the worst that will come of this will be criticism from me and others.  

Hopefully no one is reading their playbook that they're posting for all to see.

Hopefully no one is smart enough to go to Coronado and identify SEALs, follow them home and do harm to their families.

Hopefully the retired founder of SOCOM is wrong and the enemy won't be waiting for them the next time they OR other special ops teams go into action.

Hopefully someone has some type of Force Protection Plan in place for these hot dogs.


Hopefully.

This is insane! Leopard Attack!

Thats beyond crazy.

This happened in India and the Leopard was later killed after mauling 11 villagers.

This is too wild.

F-35 test team completes first external stores testing on F-35B

X-47B Arrives at NAS Patuxent River

BAE Ground Combat Vehicle Porn!

Awesome. 

BAE is definitely laying down the gauntlet for the other manufacturers.  Unfortunately, it doesn't appear that they're ready to pick it up.