Blast from the past....Air Launched Sortie Vehicle

 

Small Unit Ranger Tactics (SURT) course

 

lightningacademy_25thid The Small Unit Ranger Tactics (SURT) course offered here at 25th Infantry Division Lightning Academy sets our #LightFighters up for success before attending Ranger School at @fort_benning_mcoe.

#LightningAcademy had the pleasure of welcoming Soldiers from 25th Infantry Division United States Army Alaska (USARAK) to our SURT course last week. #AmericasArcticWarriors endured three weeks of strenuous training on the tropical side of the Pacific and now are prepared to take on the challenge of US Army Ranger School.

Lightning Academy serves as the U.S. Army’s Premier Pacific Training Venue and we are proud to have had the opportunity to develop expeditionary Leaders from our #25thID Alaska sister unit and look forward to continuing to set up all of our Light Fighters for #RangerSchool success!

Boxer Tracked...

 

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Invest in this. https://t.co/Jk2QDiahGt pic.twitter.com/BXkRLsNKX0

— Godzilla's Messiah (@LatestMessiah) August 9, 2021

Oh my God why!

Do you guys remember the Tracked Stryker Concept?  I was intrigued....thought it was crazy but kinda cool too.

But this?

I don't get it.  The Lynx is out there.  The RedBack.  The CV90. Hell even the Israeli Namer is out there if you want the big beast of IFVs.

The Battle Of Wake Island

 The Battle Of Wake Island.

This is the one that no one talks about and gets only a small mention in the history books.

Did you know the Japanese garrison at Wake held out till the end of the war?

Did you know that only ONE Marine escaped death or capture from that fight?

A quick down and dirty via Wikipedia...

Aborted USN relief attempt

Admiral Frank Fletcher's Task Force 14 (TF–14) was tasked with the relief of Wake Island while Admiral Wilson Brown's Task Force 11 (TF–11) was to undertake a raid on the island of Jaluit in the Marshall Islands as a diversion.[17]

TF–14 consisted of the fleet carrier Saratoga, the fleet oiler Neches, the seaplane tender Tangier, three heavy cruisers (Astoria, Minneapolis, and San Francisco), and 8 destroyers (Selfridge, Mugford, Jarvis, Patterson, Ralph Talbot, Henley, Blue, and Helm).[18] The convoy carried the 4th Marine Defense Battalion (Battery F, with four 3-inch AA guns, and Battery B, with two 5-inch/51 guns) and fighter squadron VMF-221, equipped with Brewster F2A-3 Buffalo fighters, along with three complete sets of Fire Control equipment for the 3-inch AA batteries already on the island, plus tools and spares; spare parts for the 5-inch coast defense guns and replacement fire control gear; 9,000 5-inch rounds, 12,000 3-inch (76 mm) rounds, and 3,000,000 .50-inch (12.7 mm) rounds; machine gun teams and service and support elements of the 4th Defense Battalion; VMF-221 Detachment (the planes were embarked on Saratoga); as well as an SCR-270 air search radar and an SCR-268 fire control radar for the 3-inch guns, and a large amount of ammunition for mortars and other battalion small arms.

TF–11 consisted of the fleet carrier Lexington, the fleet oiler Neosho, three heavy cruisers (Indianapolis, Chicago and Portland), and the nine destroyers of Destroyer Squadron 1 (squadron flagship Phelps along with Dewey, Hull, MacDonough, Worden, Aylwin, Farragut, Dale, and Monaghan).[17]

At 21:00 on 22 December, after receiving information indicating the presence of two IJN carriers and two fast battleships (which were actually heavy cruisers) near Wake Island, Vice Admiral William S. Pye—the Acting Commander in Chief of the U.S. Pacific Fleet—ordered TF 14 to return to Pearl Harbor.[19]

 War crimes

On 5 October 1943, American naval aircraft from Lexington raided Wake. Two days later, fearing an imminent invasion, Japanese Rear Admiral Shigematsu Sakaibara ordered the execution of the 98 captive American civilian workers who had initially been kept to perform forced labor. They were taken to the northern end of the island, blindfolded and executed with a machine gun. One of the prisoners (whose name has never been discovered) escaped, apparently returning to the site to carve the message "98 US PW 5-10-43" on a large coral rock near where the victims had been hastily buried in a mass grave. The unknown American was recaptured, and Sakaibara personally beheaded him with a katana. The inscription on the rock can still be seen and is a Wake Island landmark.[25]

Here 

The most interesting part of this is the composition of the defense force.

 1st Marine Defense Battalion Detachment, Wake – Major James P.S. Devreaux

Unit Commander            Remarks

5-inch Artillery Group Maj. George H. Potter

3-inch Artillery Group Capt. Bryght D. Godbold

VMF-211 (Marine Corps Fighter Squadron) Maj. Paul A. Putnam Equipped with 12 Grumman F4F-3 Wildcat fighters

Does this not sound like the WW2 version of the Marine Littoral Regiment?

Defense Battalion fought heroically but served only as pebbles in the road to the Japanese onslaught, not even speed bumps like hoped.

I worry that we're making the same mistake. 

Note.  Want to read a pretty remarkable life's story?  Check out the Wiki on BrigGen Devreaux.

If the Chinese make it ashore we're gonna need more anti-tank missiles...

 

PLA Navy demonstrates capability of new amphibious assault ship. pic.twitter.com/Swp60Wyjzn

— 彩云香江 (@louischeung_hk) August 10, 2021

J-20 operating near Taiwan's air defense zone...

via en.topwar.ru

It became known that the Chinese Air Force fighter entered the area of ​​responsibility of Taiwan's air defense. According to Taiwanese media, this is the second appearance of PLA airplanes in the last 4 days. It is noteworthy that a Chinese fighter appeared on the western coast of the island of Taiwan at a time when the U.S. Navy P-8A Poseidon carried out aerial reconnaissance.

According to reports from Chinese information sources, for the first time in a long time, China sent its fifth-generation J-20 fighter to Taiwan's air defense zone. In this regard, the following is emphasized: calculations of Taiwan's air defense systems were discovered and identified by the Chinese Air Force fighter, despite the fact that in China it is defined as "stealth."

Here 

Open Comment Post. 11 Aug 2021

 

A-10 Highway Landing

 

 U.S. Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II takes off on a Michigan State Highway in Alpena, Michigan, Aug. 5, 2021. Two A-10 Thunderbolt IIs from the 354th Fighter Squadron and two A-10s from the Michigan Air National Guard’s 127th Wing landed on a state highway as part of Northern Strike 21, a large-scale training exercise. This is the first time in history that the Air Force has purposely landed modern aircraft on a civilian roadway in the U.S.

Oshkosh Defense To Upgrade SBCT With 30 MM Medium Caliber Weapon System (MCWS)

OSHKOSH, Wis. (August 10, 2021) — The U.S. Army Contracting Command – Detroit Arsenal (ACC- DTA) announced that it has awarded Oshkosh Defense, a wholly owned subsidiary of Oshkosh Corporation (NYSE: OSK), a $99 Million order to upgrade an additional Stryker Brigade Combat Team (SBCT) with the 30 mm Medium Caliber Weapon System (MCWS).

In June 2021, the U.S. Army selected Oshkosh Defense and partners Pratt Miller Defense and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems to integrate the 30 mm MCWS onto the Stryker Double V Hull Infantry Carrier Vehicle (ICVVA1). The six-year requirements contract is for the production and fielding of the Oshkosh Defense MCWS for up to six Stryker brigades. The first delivery order covered 91 vehicles valued at $130 million. This latest award calls for an additional 83 vehicles.

The Oshkosh Defense team combined their best-in-class capabilities to deliver an MCWS that provides increased lethality, accuracy, and range while maintaining the mobility and survivability of the Stryker ICVVA1. “The Oshkosh Defense MCWS is a highly capable weapon that meets all requirements,” said Pat Williams, Vice President and General Manager of U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps Programs for Oshkosh Defense. “We are proud that the U.S. Army has ordered additional MCWS to outfit a second Stryker brigade.”

Since receiving the initial award, Oshkosh Defense’s Production Representative System Sample (PRSS) began government Risk Mitigation Testing, a planned component of the MCWS program schedule. “As part of the Risk Mitigation Testing, Soldiers have had the opportunity to interact with the Oshkosh Defense MCWS. The feedback from the first Soldier touchpoint has been very positive and reaffirms our Soldier-centric design,” Williams concluded.

1st Battalion, 3d Marines conducts offensive operations during Large Scale Exercise 2021

 

1st Battalion, 3d Marines conducts offensive operations on key maritime terrain during Large Scale Exercise 2021, Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Aug. 9, 2021. LSE 2021 is a live, virtual, and constructive exercise employing integrated command and control, intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, and sensors across the joint force to expand battlefield awareness, share targeting data, and conduct long-range precision strikes in support of naval operations in a contested and distributed maritime environment.

Warfighting is out. Competition Continuum is in...

Latvian SOF & Marine HMH-464 CH-53 Rappel Training B-roll

 

B-roll showing Latvian Special Operation Forces members conduct rappel training from a Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 464 CH-53E Super Stallion during Northern Strike 21-2 at the Camp Grayling Joint Maneuver Training Center, Grayling, Michigan, July 30, 2021. 

Northern Strike is a joint service, multicomponent, multinational readiness building exercise that allows units to complete training requirements in a condensed two week period. (U.S. Air National Guard video by Staff Sgt. Tristan D. Viglianco)