Pic of the day. July 12, 2011.

A soldier rushes through a stream during a training exercise in Kenya.

The 4th Battalion The Rifles (4 RIFLES) were in Kenya undergoing intensive training to be the British Army's next Spearhead Lead Element - a rapid response force ready to tackle a world-wide crisis at 24 hours notice.

This can range from a major domestic terrorist attack to the evacuation of British nationals overseas.

Around 700 personnel left their Wiltshire base and were joined by other units including artillery and engineers for a five week intensive exercise at the British Army Training Unit Kenya, otherwise known as BATUK.

Photographer: Sgt Adrian Harlen

100 Flights For F-35C

The F-35C fleet reached 100 total flights when F-35C CF-2 flew back to NAS Patuxent River, Maryland, after completing jet blast deflector training at the Naval Air Engineering Center at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey.

The Marine Corps has lost its fucking mind.

Is the desire to be cool...to be hip...to be part of the 'in' crowd so strong that common sense eludes those in charge?

Battle Rattle blog is milking these videos that Marines are putting on You Tube to the max.  At times its almost ghoulish.  At times its just sad and pathetic.

This time its sad and pathetic.

These posts of videos on the net showing Marines acting like a bunch of fucking idiots is beyond the pale.

Marines use the words...elite...hard core....shock troops....

These videos and the commands that are allowing them are tarnishing the reputation of the Marine Corps.  I have yet to see US Army Rangers posting vids like this.  I have yet to see the 82nd Airborne posting vids like this.  I haven't seen it from the 101st, 10th Mountain or 25th Infantry Division.

But we see Marines posting this tripe.  We see so called "Marine friendly" blogs posting and promoting this garbage.

Somethings got to give.  To be quite honest I had hoped that the new SgtMajor of the Marine Corps would have put his foot down on this issue.

Apparently he's asleep at the wheel on this.

Oh and before you go high and to the left and accuse me of blowing this out of proportion then consider this sad fact.

Marines have been convicted of conduct unbecoming for offenses that I consider far less embarrassing to the Corps.

"We are an agile, lethal force going down range"

Produced by Sgt. Elyssa Quesada.

Sgt. Quesada's been busy.  I hope she keeps up this pace once the deployment starts.  I'm pretty happy with the effort they're taking to get the word out about all the work that's done to just get ready to deploy.  

Impressive.

Chinook recovery op.

Remember the post I did here?  It covers the news from ISAF that a coalition helicopter had gone down in Afghanistan.  I wrote them to try and get further info but they wouldn't give.

I think I have it here.  Check it out.

Photo Credit: Sgt. Richard Wrigley, 1st ACB, 1st Cav. Division Public Affairs

A CH-47F Chinook cargo helicopter from the 1st Air Cavalry Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, lowers to the ground while sling loading another Chinook helicopter as a cloud of dust arises, July 6, 2011.

173rd Airborne in the breeze.

Nice photos but why is the 173rd still jumping the old parachutes?  I thought that everyone would be using the T-11 by now.  If you have any knowledge on it, then hit me up.

Check out the guy in the bottom pic closest to the ground.  He must be experiencing ground rush from hell...I'd pay money to see his PLF!

Operation Hammer Down II

U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagles, from the 389th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron, like the ones shown here, helped provide 176 consecutive hours of air support and drop more than 100 bombs in support of Operation Hammer Down II. Air Force close air support assets played a critical role in the success of the operation. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Michael B. Keller)

U.S. Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcons, from 555th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron, like the one shown here, helped provide 176 consecutive hours of air support and drop more than 100 bombs in support of Operation Hammer Down II. Air Force close air support assets played a critical role in the success of the operation.

Senior Airman Michael McAffrey from Tacoma, Wash., a joint terminal attack controller with the 116th Air Support Operations Squadron, Washington Air National Guard, patrols alongside a field near Khanda Village, Laghman province, Afghanistan, June 18. JTACS like McAffrey were a critical asset to Army ground commanders during Operation Hammer Down II.

U.S. Army soldiers from D Company, 2nd Battalion, 35th Infantry Regiment, alongside the Afghanistan National Army soldiers, advance toward a hill top to set up security during Operation Hammer Down in the Watahpur District of Kunar province, Afghanistan, June 26. The operation was a coalition effort to disrupt insurgents operating and training throughout the Pech Valley. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Tia Sokimson)

11th MEU's maritime raid force...more pics of oil platform training.

Beretta ARX160

Its butt ugly but the features are nice.  

F-35A first flight of AF-12

Lockheed Martin test pilot Bill Gigliotti flew the seventh production model of the F-35 Lightning II, F-35A AF-12, on its inaugural flight on 9 July 2011 from NAS Fort Worth JRB.

Lockheed Martin test pilot Bill Gigliotti was at the controls for the first flight of the fifth production model of the F-35 Lightning II, F-35A AF-10, on 29 June 2011 from NAS Fort Worth JRB.

Good for you buddy...you won...the ball is going to be a bust.

Guess what dumbass.

She said yes, now the ball will be a bust.

Every news camera in the social world will be at your ball, no one will be allowed to let their hair down and have a good time.

You won, everyone else lost.

11th MEU's maritime raid force

11th MEU's maritime raid force practices securing an oil platform July 9.

75th Ranger Regiment Combat Jumps.

Did you know that the Rangers have conducted several combat jumps during the war on terror?  I had in passing seen gold stars on jump wings and figured they were at Tora Bora. 

Ok, awesome. 

I get that.

What I didn't know is that they had conducted several other "listed" jumps in addition. 

via the Ranger website.

Special Combat recognitions (Combat Jump Operations)

* Regimental Reconnaissance Detachment Tm 3 conducts combat military freefall parachute drop onto Wrath Drop Zone in southeast Afghanistan on 10 November, 2001. In order to establish a Flight Landing Strip for follow on combat operations.

* Regimental Reconnaissance Detachment Tm 3 conducts combat static line parachute drop onto Shiloh Drop Zone in southeast Afghanistan on 21 November, 2001.  In order to establish a flight Landing Strip for follow on combat operations.

* Regimental Reconnaissance Detachment Tm 3 conducts combat military freefall parachute drop onto Tillman Drop Zone in southeast Afghanistan in July, 2004 in order to emplace tactical equipment.

*Regimental Reconnaissance Company Tm 1 conducts combat military freefall parachute drop with tandem passenger in Afghanistan on 11 July, 2009 in order to emplace tactical equipment.

Like I said previously.  These are the acknowledged combat jumps.  The after action of these wars is going to make for some fantastic reading.  Its going to be interesting to see the modifications to uniforms that are going to come once this stuff comes in out of the dark.

75th Ranger Command Video.

Turn your speakers up.

75th Ranger - Command Video from Fort Benning Television on Vimeo.

You can call me a 'fanboy' but if Special Ops needed to be expanded for the war on terror then the logical move wasn't to expand it across the board...the common sense move would have been to add another Ranger Battalion.

This war is about raids.  Rangers are some of the best "raiders' in the world and its a core competency.  Not an add on skill.

HMAS Childers...a patrol boat the Australian way.

(via Wikipedia) The Armidale class patrol boats are 56.8 metres (186 ft) long, with a beam of 9.5 metres (31 ft), a maximum draft of 2.25 metres (7.4 ft), and a displacement of 270 tons. The semi-displacement vee hull is fabricated from aluminium alloy, and each vessel is built to a combination of Det Norske Veritas standards for high-speed light craft and RAN requirements. The Armidales can travel at a maximum speed of 25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph), and are drien by two propeller shafts, each connected to an MTU 16V M70 diesel. The ships have a range of 3,000 nautical miles (5,600 km; 3,500 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph), allowing them to patrol the waters around the distant territories of Australia, and are designed for standard patrols of 21 days, with a maximum endurance of 42 days.

Elements of Power weighs in on the defense budget debate.

Two things...

“The nice thing about the defense budget is it’s so big, it’s so huge, that a 1 percent reduction is the equivalent of the education budget,” Obama said, immediately noting he was “exaggerating” the exact numbers.

And this...

Today, the Marines are stuck with aging airframes that have limited capabilities and are expensive to operate—a double problem. In contrast, the “B is a winner on both counts. The impact on the fleet is significant. The Marines go from three to one aircraft; and it gets a new aircraft with significant reductions in cost of maintenance.”
The fate of the F–35 is a case study in the President’s penny-wise, pound-foolish approach to defense spending.

Read the entire article but when need better leadership than we're currently getting...both in Congress and in the Administration.  I wonder how they think the unemployment numbers are going to look after all the reductions in force....I wonder if this entire budget battle isn't really about saving health care and not reducing the deficit....I wonder if anyone in D.C. actually cares.  I wonder.

Where does this suspended cadet go to get back his reputation?

Force Protection Timberwolf ...the latest vid.

Force Protection and the other competitors in the Canadian TAPV contest are slowly but surely letting information out on their products.  This latest vid from Force Protection was released on July 6.  It gives a much better view of the vehicle and at the end gives a run down of the partner companies.

A Company, The Highlanders, 4th Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland in action!

Soldiers with A Company, The Highlanders, 4th Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland, take up position on top of a compound after receiving indirect fire from insurgents in a small pocket of farmland in the southeastern corner of the district of Nahr-e-Saraj, July 2, during Operation ZMARAY SUK II. The operation aimed to disrupt insurgent activity in an area that had yet to see coalition or Afghan security forces.

Soldiers with A Company, The Highlanders, 4th Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland, rush a wounded soldier to the back of a Chinook HC2 helicopter so he can be evacuated, July 2, during Operation ZMARAY SUK II. The operation aimed to disrupt insurgent activity in an area that had yet to see coalition or Afghan security forces.

Highlander Vinny Spiewack, a machine gunner with A Company, The Highlanders, 4th Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland, prepares to fire on insurgents located on a hill 600 meters away in a small pocket of farmland in the southeastern corner of the district of Nahr-e-Saraj, July 2, during Operation ZMARAY SUK II. The operation aimed to disrupt insurgent activity in an area that had yet to see coalition or Afghan security forces.

Snipers with A Company, The Highlanders, 4th Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland, look for insurgents while resting on top of a compound in a small pocket of farmland in the southeastern corner of the district of Nahr-e-Saraj, July 2, during Operation ZMARAY SUK II. The operation aimed to disrupt insurgent activity in an area that had yet to see coalition or Afghan security forces.

Soldiers with A Company, The Highlanders, 4th Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland, make their way through a small pocket of farmland in the southeastern corner of the district of Nahr-e-Saraj, July 2, during Operation ZMARAY SUK II. The operation aimed to disrupt insurgent activity in an area that had yet to see coalition or Afghan security forces.

Navy announces plans for its Reduction in Force (RIF).

Wow.

Another unintended consequence.

You're about to put several thousand service men from each service out in the cold...with an economy that has a real unemployment rate of 18%...with a veteran unemployment rate of over 23%...

Things are about to go from bad to worse.  Read it about it here....