US just dropped a GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast Bomb in Afghanistan.

Thanks to Matthew for the link!

via CNN.

The US military has dropped an enormous bomb in Afghanistan according to four US military officials with direct knowledge of the mission.

A GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast Bomb — nicknamed the "Mother of All Bombs" (MOAB) — was dropped in at 7 p.m. local time Thursday, sources said.

This is the first time a MOAB has been used in the battlefield, according to the US officials.

Military sources said the target was ISIS tunnels and personnel in the Achin district of the Nangarhar province. The military is currently assessing the damage.

This munition was developed during the Iraq War but was never used in the battlefield.

What kind of target did they find where a MOAB was the answer?  

Why hasn't the Trump admin produced evidence of Syrian chemical attack?

Ok.  This is gonna piss alot of you off but I'm gonna throw it out there.  I just watched snippets of Assad's interview and while I know for a fact he will lie at the drop of a hat,I wonder.

Why hasn't the Trump admin produced evidence of the Syrian chemical attack?

The Pentagon is used to providing documentation and radar tracks of these type things.  We've seen it more than a couple of times in the past.  As a matter of fact they would provide a spokesman to walk the press thru every bit of information they had to make the case to the public.

They're tardy this time.

Yeah.  I know this takes me to some murky areas.  Yeah!  I know that this is exactly what Russian Security/Intel Services want talked about.  But I still can't wrap my head around this "so called solid evidence" as claimed by Trump.

How they could get solid proof that Sarin gas was used so quickly (before the strike) confused the hell outta me.  The fact that the UN agency responsible for keeping tabs of this shit is sitting on its hands now is also curious.

Don't get me wrong.  I'm not making accusations but wondering why they don't put this issue to bed.

If they don't do so in a couple of days then we're headed toward some really uncomfortable territory.  If (and it's a huge IF) the rebels were able to stage an incident so convincing that the US military went off half cocked then we're in trouble.

My hope.

I hope the Pentagon and the Trump administration gets out in front of this and makes their evidence public.

USMC 4th Tank Bn (M1A1 Abrams) & RoK Marines 1st Tank Bn (K1A1) - 1st AAV Bn on exercise (VIDEO)

Video by Cpl Anthony Morales...

Wheeled IFV Pic-o-Graph...

Thanks to SkyLancer for the pic!

click on pic to enlarge 1400x8387

China is playing us like a fiddle.

The President of China meets with Trump and what do we see?  We see that today they abstained at the UN Security Council on a resolution to condemn Syria for using chemical weapons (story here), but a tidbit.

A vote by the U.N. Security council on a draft resolution to condemn the chemical weapon attack in Syria failed Wednesday with a veto by Russia, but fellow member China abstained, a sign that talks with President Trump last week may have had an effect on the superpower.

Interesting turn around isn't it.  But wait there's more.  China also activated 150,000 troops and placed them on the border with N. Korea.  I thought it was out of fear of a US attack (and so did many of you).  We were wrong.  In hindsight we should have been more aware.  This was a sign to Trump that they were willing to "play along" and get more aggressive with N. Korea.

My last piece of evidence?

Trump stated that the American dollar was too strong in relation to the Chinese Yuan.  The US dollar immediately plunged in value.

My point?

China is playing us like a fiddle.

You say its because of the N. Koreans?  I say that they can put that back in the bottle any time they want.  To give them concessions based on that issue when they've practically denuded this country of industry is insane.

Even more important?

They're in the middle of an arms build up that is truly stunning.  I haven't posted about it but they're on track to launch their second aircraft carrier soon.  We talk about a credible 300 ship navy?  They already have that (especially if you count their Coast Guard...never mind their merchant fleet) and will probably have a 500 ship navy by 2020 or shortly thereafter.

Yet for some reason Trump is focused on the Russians.

The Russians aren't building up a force to directly challenge us, the Chinese are!  The old cold warriors are failing the future.  They so desperately want one last swan song against their old enemy that they can't see the current threat.  Misplaced fear in Washington and Europe has us focusing on the wrong foe.  China is making an ass of us all.

Open Comment Post. April 13, 2017.

ISIS penetrated a US Special Forces base in Syria...

via Business Insider.

US forces in southern Syria came under attack by Islamic State militants around midnight local time on Saturday, joining with local partner forces to repel the assault in an hours-long fight that required multiple airstrikes and left three US-backed Syrian fighters dead.

US special-operations advisers were on the ground near the al-Tanf border crossing when a force of 20 to 30 fighters with the Islamic State, the terrorist group also known as ISIS or ISIL, attacked in what a US Central Command spokesman called a "complex and coordinated" attempt to take the base from the coalition.
"US and coalition forces were on the ground in the area as they normally are, and participated in repulsing the attack," said Air Force Col. John J. Thomas, a spokesman for Central Command, according to the Associated Press.

"There was close-air support that was provided, there was ground support that was provided, and there was med-evac that was supported by the coalition," Thomas added. No Americans were killed or wounded.

"Clearly it was planned," Thomas told reporters at the Pentagon. "The coalition and our partner forces had the resources to repulse that attack. A lot of them wound up being killed and the garrison remains controlled by the people in control before being attacked."

"Ultimately the attackers were killed, defeated, or chased off," Thomas said.

1.  Well done to Mr. Woody, the author of this piece.

2.  I'm in awe.  I might go sideways with the leadership but these guys are doing WORK!  Well done to the boys at the base.

3.  Don't let the dry description fool you.  This article made my skin crawl.  When the Marine Corps says "rigorous training program" that means you're about to get punched in the nuts.  When the Pentagon says SOCOM bubbas repulsed a complex attack then you know it was a hairy affair.  Vehicle Borne IEDs, Suicide Bombers, massed assaults...?  I'd bet body parts that I highly value that more than a few times guys were asking God for just one more sunrise.

4.  Did I say well done to the SOCOM bubbas?

This thing is fraught with peril.  I get the impression our boys are doing a HELLUVA lot more fighting than they are advising.  The Iraqis have never impressed me with their fighting prowess.

I hope our current President gets his mind right and ends this war poste haste.  This is not our fight.  This belongs to the Iraqis.  We gave them a nation at relative peace.  If they can't properly manage the gift then its not up to us to give them another bite at the apple.

Remember the US Army's Ground Mobility Vehicle Program? Rumor says General Dynamics OTS won initial contract.

A little birdy is attending the MCOE Industry Day at Ft Benning and gave me an amazing tip (THANK'S DUDE!).

Supposedly General Dynamics OTS has won the initial contract to outfit the Army's Airborne Brigade Combat Teams.

True?  Not confirmed but my source is solid which is why I'm not gonna out him!  I thought this project was all but dead.  If this proves out then HOLY SHIT!  The Army is rolling hard.

USAF to life extend the F-16 to make it flyable till 2048!

via Press Release.

The U.S. Air Force authorized extending the service life of the Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) F-16's designed service life to 12,000 Equivalent Flight Hours — far beyond the aircraft's original design service life of 8,000 hours.

Following F-16 Service Life Extension Program (SLEP) structural modifications, the U.S. Air Force could safely operate Block 40-52 aircraft to 2048 and beyond. The Air Force and Lockheed Martin also reduced projected service life costs for the Block 40-52 fleet, paving the way for safe, cost-effective F-16 flight operations decades into the future.

"This accomplishment is the result of more than seven years of test, development, design, analysis and partnership between the U.S. Air Force and Lockheed Martin," said Susan Ouzts, vice president of Lockheed Martin's F-16 program. "Combined with F-16 avionics modernization programs like the F-16V, SLEP modifications demonstrate that the Fighting Falcon remains a highly capable and affordable 4th Generation option for the U.S. Air Force and international F-16 customers."

Validation of the extended flight hour limit directly supports the SLEP goal of extending the service life of up to 300 F-16C/D Block 40-52 aircraft. SLEP and related avionics upgrades to the Air Force's F-16C/D fleet can safely and effectively augment the current fighter force structure as U.S. and allied combat air fleets recapitalize with F-35 Lightning IIs.

Seems like my contention that the F-35 will not meet operational requirements is coming true.  If it did then why the plan to life extend the F-16?

Spare me the talk of a high low force mix!  The reality is simple.  If the F-35 delivered at the price point they're talking about then they would neck down to that one airplane...especially if its capabilities actually met the talking points of the generals!

If the F-35 is trash and this is another piece of evidence proving me right.

About the heavy drug use in the Navy SEAL community.

I posted a blog article on the use of drugs in the Navy SEAL community.  I did it without comment but to be honest I can't hate them for it.  I see it as both a cultural thing and an abuse thing.

Culturally...

1.  People can't seem to wrap their heads around the fact that grunt shit hurts and wears on the body.  The average football players carrier is two or three years.  Even with that we hear about how they wake up with aches and pains. The silly thing is that people don't give that benefit to the grunt world and especially to the special ops community.

2.  High risk jobs attract the type of people that like to push the edge.  In other words if your job might see you shot and killed at the end of the day its pretty hard to get worked up about the dangers of getting high.  If you can accept one with a grin and a fuck it attitude then drug use is nothing.

Abuse...

1.  I'm not talking about the abuse of drugs I'm talking about the abuse forced on these guys by the demands of the Pentagon and their leadership. Missions that should be spread to the conventional forces are instead SOCOM/SEAL only.  That means that they're being overused.  If you're always forward with the idea/knowledge that tomorrow might be your last day then you party hard today.

2.  McRaven.  Remember when the "Head Bullfrog" was pumping up the SEALs and every other day we heard news of a new movie or book deal?  I call this abuse because in my opinion it got out of hand.  Instead of recognizing that these are flesh and blood human beings they allowed themselves to morph into something different.

Long story short?

I don't want to see one of these guys punished.  I want them to get freaking help.  Not because they're special but because in my opinion we as a society have used and abused me.  Sometimes it took the form of lavish praise and hero worship that they probably feel a need to live up to.  Other times its deciding that they must be in the lead even though its obvious that the force is tired.

You might disagree but I can't wag my finger and talk trash about them.  You call it a personal failing?  I say maybe but we played a role in the problem.

Sacramento Officer investigated for jaywalking incident. Public Service Announcement Number Two.

My take?

1.  Taking off your jacket is the international sign of "it's time to GO!" or as they say in the teams..."THE FIGHT IS ON".

2.  Jaywalking?  Seriously doubt it but it's a reason to approach a suspect.  Flimsy as hell but anyone with sense knows the deal.  Cop wanted to check him out.  Not saying that the reason is good to go, but TECHNICALLY it is legal.

3.  Cop fucked up by initiating physical combat.  What do I mean?  Yeah taking off your jacket IS the international sign of "the fight is on" but he doesn't operate under civilian rules.  

In essence, consider this public service announcement number two.  If you don't want your ass kicked by police then follow instructions.

The charges of resisting arrest were dropped, and the Cop is on paid administrative leave.  The likely outcome is that the cop will be back on the job after being punished with a week unpaid, the guy will get a pay out from the city for "trauma" (he's probably been in much worse fights just for fun) and the world will keep spinning.

Side Note.  This cop has at least rudimentary training.  Did you see the takedown and then the damn near perfect mount?  He's been working on his self defense techniques.

Future Threat. Flu Pandemic. How do you wargame a global catastrophe?

via CNN

Experts say we are "due" for one. When it happens, they tell us, it will probably have a greater impact on humanity than anything else currently happening in the world.

And yet, like with most people, it is probably something you haven't spent much time thinking about. After all, it is human nature to avoid being consumed by hypotheticals until they are staring us squarely in the face.
Such is the case with a highly lethal flu pandemic. And when it comes, it will affect every human alive today.

Pandemic flu is apolitical and does not discriminate between rich and poor. Geographical boundaries are meaningless, and it can circle the globe within hours. In terms of potential impact on mankind, the only thing that comes close is climate change. And, like climate change, pandemic flu is so vast, it can be challenging to wrap your head around it.

Story here.

Interesting.  I've read about the Spanish Flu.  We've all heard the scares with the Avian Flu in China but a modern day pandemic?

How do you wargame that?  How do you wargame a global catastrophe not based on arms but a virus?

With globalization as it is, we'll see every major nation affected.  Thinking a bit more about this thing it could even alter the course of nations and realign military power.

China due to its density could be all but destroyed.  Same for portions of the US (thinking the Northeast corridor, California, major parts of Florida and probably every major city in between).  Europe would be dog snot.  The bureaucracy would be too slow to react (much slower than even the US and because of the setup individual countries would be waiting for a signal from Brussels).  Major parts of Russia would be trashed...only the frontier regions would probably survive.

Yeah.

A flu pandemic would probably wreck the civilized world.  Although I can see some faring better than others.  Japan, S. Korea, Singapore would all be hit hard but survive.  Having seen them don medical grade masks during past outbreaks I think they're more alert to the dangers.  Australia?  Living on the ass end of the world has its benefits.  Who might rise to new heights?  Maybe Brazil.  They're far enough away, are advanced enough and have internal security forces already established to weather the storm.  They might be the big winners when the world gets back on its feet after the next pandemic.