Saturday, November 11, 2017
Friday, November 10, 2017
21st Century Asian Arms Race Blog has a concise history of Israeli MBTs....
I don't know how accurate the history of Israeli MBTs on 21st Century Asian Arms Race Blog is, but I do know that at the very least its a good primer on the subject. Check it out here.
BTR-4E still in the running in Thailand according to Ukraine...
via Janes.
Ukraine’s state-owned defence exports and industry agency UkrOboronProm is continuing discussions with the Royal Thai Army (RTA) over the supply and local production of the 8x8 BTR-4E armoured personnel carrier (APC), Jane’s has learnt.Hmm. I just don't see the Ukrainian offering being able to match what the Chinese are in the VN-1. That rig looks like a more modern design, seems to swim better and as far as weapon systems it looks like its almost plug and play.
The BTR-4E and China’s 8x8 VN-1 APC, made by Norinco, were downselected to meet the RTA’s APC requirement earlier this year, with the Chinese product declared by the government in June as the preferred tenderer.
However, a contract between the RTA and Norinco has not yet been signed and a UkrOboronProm official stressed that the agency remains “actively engaged’ with the RTA about a potential order of the BTR-4E.
It'll be fun to watch Thailand on this one.
Pickle Rick Fight Scenes
Pickle Rick. If you don't know who he is then you better ask somebody! My view? The most powerful superhero introduced in the last 10 years.
Pickle Rick rocks!
242 years of motivation....Video by Lance Cpl. Gloria Lepko
Yeah cupcake. You're getting shit like this all day. Deal with it!
Happy Birthday Marines!
Happy birthday Marines!
Get drunk, get laid (no end of the bar uglies allowed) and get home safe ready to do the "Marine Thing" next week!
God Bless!
Interesting list but they left off the most important weapon in the Marine Corps arsenal...
Via National Interest.
The list is kinda interesting but nothing spectacular. It covers the basic Marine Corps standbys.
So why this post?
Because its probably my fault, maybe your fault, maybe our jaded view of things and the love of stuff that goes boom, but from my seat the most important vehicle in the Marine Corps wasn't covered and gets very little airtime on these or any other pages.
What's the system?
The MTVR!
Troop carrier, supply mule, primary weapons mover...the list goes on. The Marine Corps won't win unless these vehicles are up and doing their jobs.
Want to know what the new jeep has been for the last 20 years (at least in the Marines)? Its the MTVR. Oshkosh isn't properly promoting this vehicle cause it should be taking the world by storm.
Wildfire work? Dial in the MTVR. High water rescue? Not perfect but it can handle a fair bit. Supply? Every allied nation we have really should be in on this.
If we pushed vehicles the way we pushed planes we'd get more bang for the buck and commonality with allies on systems that count.
The MTVR is the real war winner. Its just not sexy.
In the event of a conflict on the Korean Peninsula, U.S. and South Korean forces will root and and destroy the regime of Kim Jong-un. The need to properly secure the country’s weapons of mass destruction will necessitate an invasion of North Korea, much of which will come by sea. Leading the way will be the U.S. Marine Corps (USMC). Here are five USMC weapon systems necessary in Korean War II.Story here.
The list is kinda interesting but nothing spectacular. It covers the basic Marine Corps standbys.
So why this post?
Because its probably my fault, maybe your fault, maybe our jaded view of things and the love of stuff that goes boom, but from my seat the most important vehicle in the Marine Corps wasn't covered and gets very little airtime on these or any other pages.
What's the system?
The MTVR!
Troop carrier, supply mule, primary weapons mover...the list goes on. The Marine Corps won't win unless these vehicles are up and doing their jobs.
Want to know what the new jeep has been for the last 20 years (at least in the Marines)? Its the MTVR. Oshkosh isn't properly promoting this vehicle cause it should be taking the world by storm.
Wildfire work? Dial in the MTVR. High water rescue? Not perfect but it can handle a fair bit. Supply? Every allied nation we have really should be in on this.
If we pushed vehicles the way we pushed planes we'd get more bang for the buck and commonality with allies on systems that count.
The MTVR is the real war winner. Its just not sexy.
Thursday, November 09, 2017
Politics Talk....Just some musings...
Haven't done a politics talk in awhile so I decided to share a few thoughts...
1. Virginia.
The news media is making this sound like a repudiation of Trump. As much as I think the guy is more harmful to himself than his enemies this isn't true. Have you looked at the electoral map? Northern Virginia, to be precise the suburbs of DC voted overwhelming Democrat. We shouldn't be surprised. Those are the homes of Federal Workers. They are either Obama holdovers or Republican establishment types. They are voting their pocketbook. Big govt is their meal ticket and if Trump's ideas of a leaner govt catch on they're in trouble.
This wasn't a real test. This was the power of 8 years of big govt being used to change a state. Virginia is no longer a southern state, its part of the NE corridor. The election there proves absolutely nothing.
2. Moore in Alabama.
This one has me scratching my head. It just reeks to high heaven. It also smells of a dirty trick. I don't know if the Dems working with the news media tried to time this for max damage but it sure looks like it. The actual crime happened forty years ago, there are no real corroborating witnesses and if someone did a deep dive into any guys background you could probably come up with some type of sexual harassment charge if he's over 35. This whole thing is turning into a dangerous dirty slope. I hope the powers that be and women understand the ramifications of this thing. All it will take is one false accusation against a high enough profile guy and this thing will blow up in their faces. But back to Moore. I'm willing to call it now. The citizenry of the Republican party have finally dialed into the fact that this is a cultural war. They'll stick with Moore and the elite will accept it and swallow hard. The old rules are out the door. If you vote right and talk right and DELIVER then the base will stick with you. Moore will win on election day despite this "news".
3. Republican controlled Congress.
The Republican elite have finally discovered their true enemy and it is them. They just can't govern and even though they've pushed Trump to run their agenda during the first year of his tenure they can't get shit over the finish line. Expect year two to pivot to solid Trump issues. Immigration, Trade and an Infrastructure bill. The Dems will only be able to cry from the sidelines and the establishment will be forced to get it done. They tried the old Republican playbook and once again its failed. This party will turn populace whether they like it or not. What remains to be seen is what big business does. If they don't own the Republicans will they try and make common cause with the Dems and if they do will their base accept it?
Well that's it. There is more to talk about but I'm gonna go drink a protein shake and take more cold medicine. Later.
1. Virginia.
The news media is making this sound like a repudiation of Trump. As much as I think the guy is more harmful to himself than his enemies this isn't true. Have you looked at the electoral map? Northern Virginia, to be precise the suburbs of DC voted overwhelming Democrat. We shouldn't be surprised. Those are the homes of Federal Workers. They are either Obama holdovers or Republican establishment types. They are voting their pocketbook. Big govt is their meal ticket and if Trump's ideas of a leaner govt catch on they're in trouble.
This wasn't a real test. This was the power of 8 years of big govt being used to change a state. Virginia is no longer a southern state, its part of the NE corridor. The election there proves absolutely nothing.
2. Moore in Alabama.
This one has me scratching my head. It just reeks to high heaven. It also smells of a dirty trick. I don't know if the Dems working with the news media tried to time this for max damage but it sure looks like it. The actual crime happened forty years ago, there are no real corroborating witnesses and if someone did a deep dive into any guys background you could probably come up with some type of sexual harassment charge if he's over 35. This whole thing is turning into a dangerous dirty slope. I hope the powers that be and women understand the ramifications of this thing. All it will take is one false accusation against a high enough profile guy and this thing will blow up in their faces. But back to Moore. I'm willing to call it now. The citizenry of the Republican party have finally dialed into the fact that this is a cultural war. They'll stick with Moore and the elite will accept it and swallow hard. The old rules are out the door. If you vote right and talk right and DELIVER then the base will stick with you. Moore will win on election day despite this "news".
3. Republican controlled Congress.
The Republican elite have finally discovered their true enemy and it is them. They just can't govern and even though they've pushed Trump to run their agenda during the first year of his tenure they can't get shit over the finish line. Expect year two to pivot to solid Trump issues. Immigration, Trade and an Infrastructure bill. The Dems will only be able to cry from the sidelines and the establishment will be forced to get it done. They tried the old Republican playbook and once again its failed. This party will turn populace whether they like it or not. What remains to be seen is what big business does. If they don't own the Republicans will they try and make common cause with the Dems and if they do will their base accept it?
Well that's it. There is more to talk about but I'm gonna go drink a protein shake and take more cold medicine. Later.
Marine Scout Sniper wins in court!!!! THIS IS GREAT NEWS!
Thanks to Mobeus for the link!
via Marine Corps Times
This is good news and I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU THINK! Another of Amos' injustices that was foisted on the Corps has been overturned.
Of course its too late for this guy to get his name and honor back...too late to save the career of a guy that faced the enemy and won on a consistent basis but it does prove that justice, even if delayed too long, does exist.
Too many Marines are...how did Amos say it..."crushed" by those in senior leadership that are more politician than Marine.
Yeah boys. This shit is fucking fantastic.
Note: I was gonna wait and post this in about 4 hours so that it would be top of the page on Friday. I couldn't do it. This is too important...too significant to delay. Slowly the bad years are being dismissed. Of course more shit is piling up but one day the Marine Corps will return to its roots and focus solely on warfighting.
via Marine Corps Times
"A military court has dismissed charges against a former Marine scout sniper who pleaded guilty to urinating on Taliban corpses, finding that former Commandant Gen. James Amos had illegally interfered with the legal process at the outset.Story here.
Staff Sgt. Joseph W. Chamblin was reduced in rank to sergeant and orde red to pay $500 after he pleaded guilty to charges stemming from the 2011 incident in Afghanistan, which became a national scandal after video of the Marines urinating on the bodies was posted on YouTube in January 2012.
But neither Chamblin nor his defense attorneys knew at the time that Amos had replaced Lt. Gen. Thomas Waldhauser as the first convening authority in the case after telling Waldhauser that he wanted the Marines involved with the urination incident to be “crushed” and discharged, the Navy-Marine Corps Court of Appeals found on Wednesday."
This is good news and I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU THINK! Another of Amos' injustices that was foisted on the Corps has been overturned.
Of course its too late for this guy to get his name and honor back...too late to save the career of a guy that faced the enemy and won on a consistent basis but it does prove that justice, even if delayed too long, does exist.
Too many Marines are...how did Amos say it..."crushed" by those in senior leadership that are more politician than Marine.
Yeah boys. This shit is fucking fantastic.
Note: I was gonna wait and post this in about 4 hours so that it would be top of the page on Friday. I couldn't do it. This is too important...too significant to delay. Slowly the bad years are being dismissed. Of course more shit is piling up but one day the Marine Corps will return to its roots and focus solely on warfighting.
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