Armed forces of EU countries facing reduced, outdated military equipment

via AA.com

European armies are losing their strength, most of their military equipment are outdated and almost half of them are not available, a new report revealed on Thursday.

The report titled -- Building the European Armed Forces of the Future: More European, More Connected and More Capable -- was a joint work by the Munich Security Conference (MSC), McKinsey & Company and the Hertie School of Governance.

"Europe’s armed forces are faced with reduced and outdated equipment, including materiel stock shortages, as well as a general availability crisis. These challenges are exacerbated by undertrained military personnel,” the report said.

The EU countries had powerful air forces 25 years ago with 5,418 military planes and helicopters, but this has reduced to 2,486 today, largely due to cuts in defense budgets, operational malfunctions or delays in new projects.

Outdated Tornado jets and the CH-53G transport helicopters were still in use, going far beyond their planned operating life of about 30 years, it said.

"In some states, up to half of helicopters or infantry fighting vehicles are not deployable,” the report noted, adding that the armies were also overwhelmed by contributions made to various international security and peacekeeping missions.

Wolfgang Ischinger, the chairman of the Munich Security Conference, has warned that the Europeans had long relied on the U.S. on defense matters but Washington had started reducing its involvement in European security.

"We are almost 500 million Europeans and still largely depend on 330 million Americans for protection and for diplomatic initiatives that are essential for European security,” he said.

Story here. 

ZTQ-15 Light Tank on a street in China.

pic via Bmashina Tumblr Page.

Interesting.  The tank looks "right".  Gotta give them credit.  Their armor upgrade/next gen is moving right along.

The answer is simple.

Hard work.  We've got to do the hard work cause the Chinese ARE NOT resting, congratulating themselves on how far they've come or patting themselves on the back before the mission is accomplished.  They have their nose to the grindstone and they're getting shit done.  We work at trying to invent the next revolution in military affairs/transformation and they're trying to win the big fight coming in the next five to ten years.

A good enemy (don't get it twisted, I mean one that challenges you) can do one of two things.  He can make you better or he can throat stomp you. The Chinese are lining up to be a very good enemy.  It's up to us to decide whether we get better or throat stomped.

Open Comment Post. Nov 30, 2017

Seriously Royal Marines? You've gone from kinda strange to twisted freaks!

via Sputnik.

A British soldier was ordered to watch gay porn and masturbate in front of colleagues as part of a bizarre abuse routine.
The marine — who cannot be named for legal reasons — told a UK military court on Monday, November 27, how he suffered post traumatic stress disorder after being told to carry out the solo sex act after failing a map reading test.

The man objected to being put through the ordeal but was told in no uncertain terms by one of two men, now on trial at Portsmouth military court, that he had to conform to the rules. Corporal Danny Foster, 30 and Corporal Philip Beer, 34, are both appearing before the court over the ill-treatment of a subordinate.

The incidents are alleged to have happened at two Scottish nuclear naval bases, Faslane and Coulport, on the banks of the River Clyde between May and August 2014.

Story here. 

Did you catch the location?  These are the 43 Commando Fleet Protection Group...consider them even higher speed USMC FAST Company guys.

I don't know about the Royal Marines.

On one hand I still consider them to be part of the Marine brotherhood so this is batshit crazy.  On the other they're classed as Special Ops so I guess this is to be expected.

I always thought they were kinda strange in a unique Brit way but this is some twisted shit!

How do you even dream up stuff like this?

Blast from the past. Apollo 1 crew pray for a safe capsule...

pic via Robert Sullivan Flickr page.

The Apollo 1 crew expressed their concerns about their spacecraft's problems by presenting this parody of their crew portrait to ASPO manager Joseph Shea on August 19, 1966.

You don't know the history of Apollo 1 and the accident on the launch pad?  Go here and drink it in.  The irony of this photo is breathtaking....bonus points if you can listen to recording of the fire without being stunned by the calmness of men about to be burned alive.

Below are pics of their spacesuits.  I'm hoping Sullivan jumbled the caption and they weren't actually still in them...

Apollo 1 astronaut Gus Grissom still in his space suit

Apollo 1 astronaut Edward Higgins White II still in his space suit

Apollo 1 astronaut Rodger Bruce Chaffee still in his space suit

The Power of Amphibious Operations in the 21st Century...plus the formation that broke Marine Air...the Corps' patient X!

via Real Clear Defense.

The Navy and Marine Corps are acquiring new platforms and systems that will enhance the effectiveness of amphibious forces in operations across the spectrum of conflict. The stealthy F-35B, able to operate from large deck amphibs and small airfields, provides a particularly useful capability for attacking defended targets and providing targeting information for other platforms and weapons systems. Improved ship-to-shore connectors, including the MV-22 Osprey, the CH-53K heavy-lift helicopter, and air cushion landing craft will enable Marine Corps units to project power onto the land further and faster.

The impact of new aviation assets on future amphibious operations cannot be overestimated. An analysis about the future of amphibious operations by the RAND Corporation observed that “Marine Corps aviation is on a path to significantly alter what even ARG/MEUs are capable of doing, and it is important to shape the rest of the force to acknowledge this change. An ARG/MEU with F-35Bs and MV-22s is not just capable of local influence, but can project power and provide defense in ways impossible just a few years ago.”

Story here. 

Wow.  I've gone from being a Goure fan (of his writing and thinking that is) to questioning every idea he comes up with and wondering how much the govt is paying him for this clap trap.

Putting that aside for a minute I finally globbed onto what makes me so nervous with the thinking behind aviation transforming the way the Marine Corps does business.

They're always talking about it with how the Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) does work.

That's been bothering me and I finally laid my finger on it!

At best it's to be an early entry force.

The reality is that reinforcements better be on the way in a hurry or it better be tied into coalition/allied forces.

It is a potent force for "in extremis" operations.  It's excellent for amphibious raids, humanitarian assistance/disaster relief.

But straight combat ops as a standalone force?

It's not configured to operate that way.  I hear what you're saying.  What about Mattis' master stroke of combining two MEUs and doing the Afghanistan thing?

Insurgents.  Terrorists.  Goat herders with AK's.

Not the kind of forces we see today.  You know the type.  Terrorist organizations that are capable of beating nation state forces in a given region and are equipped with armor, are highly motorized thanks to Toyota's with Russian Machine Guns in the back that seem to grow on trees and enough RPGs to hazard any force if they get lucky and pick the right LZ.....

There is no way around it.  The Marine Corps needs to get back to basics.  Shortcuts don't exist.  You have to do the hard work.  That means rolling back A2/AD defenses, dealing with enemy armor properly and to end the fantasy born during the 1950's that vertical envelopment would be the magic bullet and building a force that can move by helo was the solution to future combat.

The formation that broke Marine Air..the Corps' patient X!

I've been doing a bit of thinking about the sad shape that Marine Air is in today and I finally tracked it down.  You might not believe it, but the formation that was suppose to highlight the utility, capability and combat power of an aviation centric Marine Corps is the same formation that broke it.

Specifically the SPMAGTF-CR!

Think about it.  Marine Air should be in it's heyday.  If you go by PR officers then we are seeing unprecedented capability being tossed our way.  The full allotment of MV-22's is coming online.  The AH-1Z/UH-1Y are in service, the F-35 is muddling along but they're confident and the wildly expensive CH-53K is about to enter production.

Instead we're seeing tragedy, Marines voting with their feet and desperation coming from HQMC with the current state of the wing.

Part of this is leadership.  The Commandant and his deputy focused exclusively on the F-35 while the Wing burned.  Ok, leadership failure is simple to diagnose and easy to solve.  Fix yourself or get someone in that can do better.

But the other more dramatic part is the theory/concept part of it.  SPMAGTF-CR was "invented" in 2011.  That was the heyday of Amos making his pronouncements that the Marine Corps needed to be relevant.  His thinking was that generational war against terrorism was the future and that a major war was almost unthinkable (he was wrong on so many levels).

Unfortunately he wasn't alone and several high ranking generals agreed.  They sought to make the Marine Corps over into a SOCOM support unit and aviation would be the ticket to ride.  SPMAGTF-CR was born and MAINTENANCE TOOK A HIT!  I need to somehow get documentation to prove my theory but if newspaper stories about the Wing's troubles are traced (and I've done that) then you can see a DIRECT correlation between the SPMAGTF-CR and increasing trouble.  My guess is that these "extra" deployments postponed/modified and delayed not only maintenance but also rest for the crews.

In other words the Marine Corps leaped before it looked.  It threw together a concept, tried to do it on the run and didn't take into account HUMAN factors as well as established maintenance procedures for equipment in the condition that ours was in at the time.

It sounds simplistic I know but do your own Google search of when you first heard of trouble in Marine Air and trace it to the birth/deployment of the SPMAGTF.  The connection is undeniable.

Open Comment Post. Nov 29, 2017

Telemark Battalion on exercise...

pics via Norwegian Army Instagram page.

Turkey goes rogue! Will deploy S-400 anti-air system....its a done deal!

via Defense News.

A top government official in Ankara has said the deployment of a long-range air and anti-missile defense system that Turkey plans to acquire from Russia will be deployed in the country in 2019.

Defense Minister Nurettin Canikli said the Turkish contract with Russia for a single S-400 involves an option for the purchase of a second.

“This contract has been signed and a down payment has been made. It’s a done deal,” Canikli said.

Story here.

Well ain't that something?

I have nothing against the Turkish people.  I'm a fan of several Turk defense corporations (especially FNSS).  But that batshit crazy President they have (I guess some would say we have that in common) is a different story.

This though.

Forget defying the US.  They didn't have to buy the Patriot and there were several other credible and capable NATO compatible systems they could have bought.

They defied NATO.

They just spit in the eye of the EU and basically said we don't want anything to do with your Union.

How do we classify Turkey now?  They can no longer be considered NATO compliant.  They have actively worked against European security.  They have (as have we) played huge games in the fight against ISIS.

Are they friend or foe or something else entirely?

"The Marine Corps Way Of War" Book Review...and a book giveaway!

Hey gents.  This is the long awaited second half of my review of the book, "The Marine Corps Way Of War".

I told you earlier that the first half was outstanding and that if the second half was even middling that I'd highly recommend the book to my readers and would pen a letter to the Sgt Major of the Marine Corps to push for this book to be put on the Commandant's Reading list.

Mission accomplished in a huge way!

This book has struck a nerve in me in ways I did not expect. 

Somethings need to be experienced and this is one of them.  I (arrogantly) like to think that when it comes to "all things Marine Corps", I might not be at expert level but I definitely advanced.

I had to rethink that after reading this.

This is part textbook, part history book with a big dose of "why" things went down the way they did.

If you're an Iraq Marine then you will get better insights into many of the fights you were involved in.

If you're a armchair Marine Corps historian you'll get a view of not just the frontlines but also a glimpse into what was happening back at Battalion and Regiment.

This is a must read boys.  Doubt me on many things but don't doubt me on this.

Quick side note.  You wonder why it took so long to get this out to you?  That unexpected bout of illness knocked me to my knees in ways I didn't expect. But that's just a part of it.  This is the next thing that has me jazzed about this book.

I've yelled to the rooftops for someone to explain to me why this "aviation centric" Marine Corps that all seem to be pushing is the way forward.  I've sat in my chair and easily punched holes in it and I'm sure some Majors and Lt Colonels have done the same at Quantico.

That's why the Afterword to this book shook me so bad.

I got what I wanted and at first I was enraged.  I read the author's words, punched walls, screamed at the moon and walked in the woods hoping a bear would pop out so I could throat punch the beast.

After I took a beat.  Composed myself.  Reread and analyzed his thinking...his thoughts...his message.  I realized that I got what I needed.

This books gives a nice how and why to how the Marine Corps conducts military operations.  Even better it gives a glimpse into where we're going.

Am I now onboard with the aviation centric Marine Corps?  No.  I'm not.  But I have a better understanding of the institution I love, the war that has cost so many so much and how we, the United States Marine Corps does the Marine "thing".

Well done.  Well written.  Highly recommended.

Book giveaway.  The publisher has been good enough to provide a copy of the book to give to a reader.  If you've read this far then you're in by just responding to this blog post.  I'll do the drawing on Friday a blog post in the open comments daily will inform the winner so they can get me their info to pass along so the book should arrive by Christmas.  For those that don't win? Buy it!  It's nicely priced and well worth your dimes!

Canadian Armor at Exercise Intrepid Lion 2017

pics via armeecdnarmy

This is the next reason for war in Africa? Slave trade in Libya (still ain't worth the fight)....

via Vanguard.

Libya’s UN-backed government says it is investigating allegations that hundreds of African refugees and migrants passing through Libya are being bought and sold in modern-day slave markets.

According to reports, the trade works by preying on the tens of thousands of vulnerable people who risk everything to get to Libya’s coast and then across the Mediterranean into Europe – a route that’s been described as the deadliest route on earth. Libya is the main gateway for people attempting to reach Europe by sea, with more than 150,000 people making the crossing in each of the past three years. “They [the refugees] are from several African countries and they say they have fled war, poverty and unemployment in their countries . “They have taken a tough journey through the desert and they have paid people smugglers to get to Libya to try to cross the Mediterranean to Europe.

Story here.

Let's go on and rip this band aid off now.  Even if this is true in every way that counts I still don't think this is enough reason for us to intervene in Libya or anywhere else in Africa.

Bad things happen all over the world.  From the United States to Africa onto Asia, S. America and Europe.

If our reason for action is because we see people in trouble then we can start at the Appalachian Mountains and move thru every major city and quite a few rural areas in America before we start focusing on things outside our borders.

Now the thing that is gonna have over half you guys cursing me, calling me a "Tom", a "cuck", a "wannabe" and the rest of the trash....I'm not so sure this is real.

We're seeing the same type of immigrant flow from the Middle East and Africa into Europe that we've seen for the past 4 years.  We're seeing fighting age men.  In the modern age those are not the people that you want to "enslave".  Too much trouble and too little return (and no, I'm not a slaver, have never wanted to be one...just trying to use my brain).

A young guy could rebel at anytime.  A young guy could possibly overpower his "owner".  No.  You wouldn't enslave fighting age men into slavery as shown in the vid. You'd go for women and pre-teen children.  The reasons in my mind are legion but I'm probably in enough trouble for today so I won't explain myself further.

I'm not sure what we're seeing but I don't believe it's what we're being told.  Is this a fictitious case for moving into Africa full bore?  Has the idea of killing terrorists worn so bare that we need a new motive for action?  In my mind it could be.  I'm not calling this a false flag, but I am saying it doesn't add up...I mean really, why now, why not 2 years ago?