Tipsters! I need you!

If you have a tip, or know something news worthy then hit me up at SNAFU_blogspot@yahoo.com.

All info is considered eyes only and no names will ever be revealed without your permission to ANYONE.

DISCLAIMER:
IF they send a Marine Rifle Company along with some Human Intel Specialist (the old skool guys that are roided out with shaved heads and handle bar moustaches) and a 5 ton filled with water to waterboard me for a couple of days!  Then all bets are off.  Seriously though.  Get the word out.  Hit me up!

Concept art by Glen Angus: Roman Charge!

Nice bit of art work that was posted today.

Kinda visualizes (in a colorful way) my back to basics thinking for the Marine Corps.  Thrust, cut and move...or in todays parlance...Shoot, move and communicate.  Everything else is just fluff.

ISAF press release and 3rd MAW's problem.

Thanks Paul for hitting me with this ISAF press release....

KABUL, Afghanistan (Sept. 18, 2012) — Recent media coverage regarding a change in ISAF's model of Security Force Assistance (SFA) to the Afghan National Security Forces is not accurate. ISAF remains absolutely committed to partnering with, training, advising and assisting our ANSF counterparts. The ISAF SFA model is focused at the battalion level and above, with exceptions approved by senior commanders. Partnering occurs at all levels, from Platoon to Corps. This has not changed.

In response to elevated threat levels resulting from the "Innocence of Muslims" video, ISAF has taken some prudent, but temporary, measures to reduce our profile and vulnerability to civil disturbances or insider attacks. This means that in some local instances, operational tempo has been reduced, or force protection has been increased. These actions balance the tension of the recent video with force protection, while maintaining the momentum of the campaign.

We've done this before in other high tension periods, and it has worked well. Under this guidance, and as conditions change, we will continue to adapt the force posture and force protection. The SFA model is integral to the success of the ANSF, and ISAF will return to normal operations as soon as conditions warrant.

This is utter bullshit.

The men and women on the ground are about to revolt over this issue.  The ANA is not to be trusted and junior leaders will soon take action if senior leadership remains oblivious.

The lack of trust between the leaders and the led will only increase unless proper actions are taken to get this issue under control.

In short.  The troops are being let down by their leadership.  This cannot stand.

Onto a different subject.

The 3rd MAW suffered a horific blow that will reverberate across the Marine Corps.

To rehash.

A squadron rendered combat ineffective.

A squadron that saw its leader killed in combat by so called friendly forces.

A rotation schedule that is ready for the scrap heap.

Budgetary issues abound.  Unless the squadron's colors are cased then it will cost money to bring it back up to speed.  Unless Congress gives the Marine Corps a special wartime supplemental then you're looking at a chunk of money that was programmed for other uses beign rerouted to replace wartime losses.

Afghanistan is spiraling.  Its not out of control yet, but affirmative action needs to be taken.  If this suspension of training missions is temporary then that won't do.  It needs to be permanent and leadership needs to state loudly and proudly that the mission that was set forth for the military has been accomplished.

The terrorist are in Pakistan, not Afghanistan and all we're doing now is nation building.  The Afghans can build their own damn country.  TIme to go.

Confirmation. The attack on the Harriers was Green on Blue.

via CBS.

The strategy for getting U.S. forces out of Afghanistan depends on training Afghan soldiers and police to protect the country themselves, but on Monday the U.S. military suspended most joint field operations with Afghan forces because so many Americans are being killed by the men they are training.
Afghan government troops -- our allies -- have turned their guns on NATO forces 36 times this year, killing 51, most of them Americans. That is more attacks than the last two years combined.
The order effectively suspends "until further notice" most of the operations which U.S. and Afghan troops conduct side by side. At higher headquarters, Afghans and Americans will still work together, but in the field small unit operations putting Afghan soldiers alongside Americans -- the guts of the U.S. strategy to turn the fighting over to Afghans -- will be suspended unless an exception is granted by a commanding general.
The order was issued after a long weekend in which four American and two British troops were killed by so-called "insider attacks" -- Afghans turning their guns on their supposed allies.

Ths is too little too late.

Bear in mind this disturbing fact.  Leadership was willing to go along with groups of Soldiers and Marines being killed by their allies...until these insider attacks resulted in the loss of a eight Harrier jump jets.

That is the real turning point here.

The next target was going to be the airfield at Kabul and that would mean you'd see C-17's and civilian airliners burning on the tarmac.

That couldn't be allowed and that's why they terminated the program.  This is tacit confirmation that my tipsters were right.  The destruction of our Harriers was an INSIDE attack----a Green on Blue attack.

Guarding Camp Hansen

Hmm.

Didn't work at Camp Leatherneck.  Time to get back to basics.  No more focus on social issues.  No more silly follow the Army.

Time to do the Marine thing.  Do the three.  PT, Marksmanship and Small Unit Tactics.  Everything else is bullshit.

Next up?

Where the hell was the Military Police Battalion that is attached to the Wing and tasked with airfield defense?  Where are the "big" publications on the hows and whys of the destruction of this squadron?  You won't find them.  They're too busy writing articles on Women in the Infantry and giving whining Sailors a spot to cry about whether they should re-enlist or not.  Yeah I'm pointing fingers at you USNI Blog.  Pathetic bastards.

No worries.  If they won't do it, I will.  Stand by for fire heading downrange on this issue,  this afternoon.

VMA-211 CO killed in attack at Camp Leatherneck.

Thanks Lou G for the info.  I completely missed this.

via UT San Diego.

Lt. Col. Chris "Otis" Raible, commanding officer of the Yuma jet squadron whose Harrier fleet was decimated Friday at Camp Bastion, was among two Marines killed when insurgents infiltrated the main NATO strategic base in southwestern Afghanistan, Marine and family sources confirmed.

Raible, 40, died during an unprecedented breach on the sprawling base in Helmand province that also resulted in the destruction of six AV-8B Harriers and significant damage to two more jets from the unit he commanded, Marine Attack Squadron (VMA) 211.

Maj. Gen. Gregg Sturdevant, commanding general of the Marine air element in Afghanistan, said "Despite this tragedy, our Marines, sailors and civilians remain focused on the protection of our force and execution of our mission. I ask that you please keep the families of the fallen in your thoughts and prayers."

In addition to the two deaths, nine other coalition personnel were wounded in the brazen overnight assault on Camp Bastion, according to details released Saturday by NATO’s International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan. The injuries do not appear to be life-threatening.

Three refueling stations were also destroyed and six aircraft hangars were damaged during the attack on both fixed wing and rotor craft, coalition officials said. With each of the six Harrier jets destroyed costing at least $24 million, damages in the attack amount to well over $144 million.

The names and units of the dead have not been formally released by the Defense Department.

Raible's Arizona-based squadron, nicknamed “the Avengers,” is the only Marine Harrier unit serving in Afghanistan. The squadron is part of the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing headquartered in San Diego at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar.

After deploying to Afghanistan in April, VMA-211 relocated its fleet of AV-8B Harrier jump jets from Kandahar Airfield to the British-run airfield at Camp Bastion this summer, because of the drawdown and consolidation of Marine forces.

Raible flew the first jet to the base in Helmand province on July 1.

God Bless.

I wonder if he was targeted.  If he was then not only have our Afghan "allies" been penetrated but they should be considered no longer reliable and joint training missions should be halted.

NOTE:
Talking to my buddy again, but if this was a planned decapitation attack then this war has just gone to a new level.  PSD (personal security details) just became alot more important and will now have to extend to even on base duty.

Breaking! Camp Leatherneck attack was possibly a Green on Blue incident.

I've gotten a couple of e-mails that indicate that what happened at Camp Leatherneck was not only a well staged, complex attack against a fortified Marine Corps position...

But also a case of the biggest, most successful case of Green on Blue fire.

It is being suggested that Afghan security forces were penetrated and that the attackers came from those units that were assigned to assist in the defense of that base.

That would explain a couple of irritating questions that I've had.

1.  How could a force that large get that close to the base without being detected.

2.  How could the base be penetrated from outside forces before Marine could respond.

Yeah.  An insider attack by a large group of Afghans makes sense.  It puts the entire issue in a new light.  But this also makes something else clear.

If this is true then this well planned attack was intended to occur on 9/11.  This was anything but a hasty attack and could not have been pulled off in the time after the Arab world went up in flames over the "film."

And it begins. After attack spin from the Pentagon.

That was weak sauce.

Real weak.

When I'm expecting someone from the SecDef's or Commandant's or ISAF's office to tell me how we're hunting down every member of this terrorist cell and arranging a meeting between them and their maker, we get this nonsense.

Consider me unimpressed, depressed and wishing for better.

Who are these guys?

Reading between the lines in this CNN story it sounds like a SOCOM outfit was rushed to the scene of the troubles in Libya on that fateful night.

After the consulate was attacked and set on fire, a number of Americans escaped to a safe-house in another part of the city. But that came under attack too.

Mabrouk said he received a call from an official in Tripoli, who said he had been called by a "terrified" American in Benghazi.

The official was at the safe-house. Mabrouk says the Brigade asked the Americans if they needed help -- but were told that while the situation was dangerous, it was under control.

A few hours later, Mabrouk said he received another call from Tripoli about the arrival of a U.S. team at Benghazi airport that needed transport into the city.

He met the seven Americans, who were heavily armed but not in military uniform, on the runway and provided them with an armed escort, he said.

As soon as the two vehicles carrying the seven Americans arrived at the safe house, they came under intense attack -- including a volley of grenades and machine-gun fire. The assailants then fled.

Who are these guys?

I have no idea but we have a big base on the horn of Africa.  You have Special Forces, Rangers, MARSOC, SEALs and USAF Special Operations all there.

There is also that former LPD, now SOCOM mothership in the area...and of course you have SOCOM basically rampaging all over the African continent.

If you have any doubt about this whether or not the US was aware that the consulate might be attacked read this section again.

A few hours later, Mabrouk said he received another call from Tripoli about the arrival of a U.S. team at Benghazi airport that needed transport into the city.

That's fast response.

Real fast.

I'm sure more is to come.

NOTE:
My reader named Tom is under the belief that this scratch force came from the embassy.  Marine Security Guards are trained in personnel protection and of course they have infantry skill sets with additional CQB training added in.  So it is plausible.  But that leaves me with still more questions.  They flew from Tripoli to Benghazi?  Why not directly to the scene.  Why did the ambassador travel with Private Security instead of the State Dept's Diplomatic Security sections?  Rumor has it that the former SEALs were involved in some type of intel mission.  Was the diplomat part of that effort?  And perhaps most damning.  Was the Ambassador lured into a trap by former Ghaddafi forces that he was trying to bring to the peace table?

We're left with nothing but speculation but the truth will come out eventually.

Meanwhile...we're all looking at the Middle East and we have this from the Chinese....

photos from Alert 5....

The Chinese have absolutely no shame.  Its a copy...almost a direct copy.

But wait.  It gets better.  "Why the F-35 Blog" takes on the boys at Boeing who have obviously been smoking crack.  Go to his site to read the whole thing but check this part out....

In a clear signal to F-18 supporters in the Navy, Chadwick added this barb: "With the F-35 continuing to have technical difficulties and to continue slipping to the right, they have to make sure they have the right capability for the men and women who go in harms way."

Yeah.

The bubba from Boeing actually said that.  Piss poor timing on his part though.  I'm sure he had no idea the Chinese would reveal a SECOND stealth fighter under development.

Its beyond obvious.  China is our peer competitor and they're gearing up for a fight.  I like the F/A-18 but its yesterdays technology and will be easily outclassed by threat weapons.

We must keep pace.  We need the F-35.

NOTE:
Elements of Power blog gives a good primer and deconstructs the myths of the easily developed, flawless F/A-18 and compares it to the F-35's overblown issues.

Is VMA-211 Combat Ineffective?

My buddy Tom hit me with a question that I hadn't considered (thanks bud).

With the destruction of almost half its aircraft is VMA-211 combat ineffective?

By the classic definition the answer is yes.  If I recall correctly once you've lost 1/3rd of your forces then by US standards they've become combat ineffective.  I think the Russians push it to losses of 50 percent.

So not only do we have a loss of fast mover air support over Marine-istan, but we might be looking at the first Marine Corps unit since WW2 that is coded combat ineffective due to enemy action.

Fleet Anti-Terrorism Security Team Company Europe/Lisa Azul Final Exercise

FAST Company.  These Marines are soon to be tested.  Islamic studies specialists are assuming that this will die down after this weekend.  I beg to differ.  Monday will be interesting if history is a guide.

Most aircraft lost to ground action since Vietnam.

Tet Offensive is right.

That's how SOFREP Website described the recent flair up.

I'm still searching but if my Marine History is correct we haven't lost this many aircraft due to ground action since Vietnam.

It might stretch back even further...and we can consider these numbers scrubbed...I would bet that in the end we'll see the number of aircraft destroyed/written off to be many more than the 6 Harriers destroyed and 2 Harriers damaged that one of my readers informed me of.

If my instincts are correct then it'll be a much higher count.  We'll see but this is very bad news.  The only saving grace is that it wasn't much worse.

Worse than we thought. The attack on Camp Leatherneck...

A reader named "me" reports the following...

According to ISAF, the 15 attacked got in through the wire and wore US uniforms. They then hit the flight line destroying 6 Harriers, damaging 2 more, blowing up 3 refueling stations, and shooting up anything else. 14 were killed, 1 taken prisoner. 2 USMC were killed and 8 other personal were wounded but should recover.

Wow.

Fucking wow.

If this is confirmed then the terrorist just kicked the shit out of my beloved Corps.

6 Harriers lost?!

2 Harriers damaged?!

Untold other damage?!

Someone is going to lose his command....and a Marine Rifle Company (Rein) will probably be assigned to augment security.

SIDENOTE:
It just occurred to me.  If this is true then the terrorist have succeeded in affecting how Marine Air Support will be delivered.  A replacement Squadron is going to have to come from somewhere but where?  The MEU's need their Harriers.  That means they're coming from a stateside unit...NAVAIR is going to be busy refurbing those British Harriers for Marine Corps service...that might have been the best buy this decade.

And the hits keep coming...UPDATED.

via Fox News....

A man believed to be a local Afghan police officer shot and killed two NATO troops on Saturday, the coalition said in a statement.
The "insider" attack on the two soldiers occurred in Helmand province in southern Afghanistan, Fox News confirmed. NATO reported that another service member returned fire, killing the gunman.
The shooting Saturday came a day after insurgents in the same region stormed a sprawling British base, killing two U.S. Marines and wounding several other international troops in an attack inspired by an anti-Islam film produced in the United States and the presence on the compound of a high-profile target, Britain's Prince Harry.
NATO would not say if the gunman was a bonafide Afghan policeman or an insurgent who infiltrated the force.

Wow.

Just fucking wow.  


UPDATE:
THINK DEFENSE Blog sent this link indicating that the victims of this terrorist attack were Soldiers from the 3rd Battalion, Yorkshire Regiment.  Our sympanthy to the Regiment, the Soldiers families and the British people. 

Politics or Security?

Lets see....

Terrorist assault and kill our personnel in Libya....

Our embassys are under assault worldwide...to include friendly nations like Australia and the UK....

Bomb threats were called into two universities in the US.....

And yet we have no terror alert?  No stand to orders given to the Dept of Homeland Security?  No raised concerns about the possibility of terrorist activity here in the states?

Its inexplicable to think that the department doesn't have any concerns.  It boggles the mind that they haven't raised the threat index.

RUMOR CONTROL SAYS THAT DHS IS ON ALERT!  But the public is kept in the dark.  As much as the media likes to bang on the Bush administration, although they wouldn't give out details of the threat they at least informed the public OF a threat.

Yeah.  We're seeing politics trump the security of the American people.

SOFREP's post indicates "wishful" thinking led to deaths.

Check this out from SOFREP (but go to their site to read the whole thing)...

The Regional Security Officer at the Tripoli Embassy made repeated requests for security augmentation in Benghazi and Tripoli. State Department managers in Washington denied the requests. The  Department of State demanded the embassy transition to normalized security operations.  The fledgling Libyan government was supposed to be protecting the consulate,  but lacked the ability to provide an effective security force.
The State Department told the RSO not to request extension of the Department of Defense Mobile Security Detachment support in either Tripoli or Benghazi.
It is impossible to predict every terror attack. There are many false threats. The State Department has a difficult job and security is often seen as an impediment to diplomacy.

This is a damning report.

If true then Managers at the State Dept directly contributed to the deaths of our people in Libya.  The idea that WISHING for something to happen instead of realistically looking at a situation seems to be popular these days.  Also note that the British and French pulled their diplomats from Benghazi while ours remained.  Also note that it is alleged that not only did attacks occur in the months before this tragedy but it is also stated that a warning went out indicating that attacks were imminent.

IF this is true then we've seen a total failure of our State Dept.  A failure that helped contribute to the current troubles in the Middle East in a real sense, not in the made up way that some are trying to point to the movie to blame.

The obvious if annoying truth. AQ conducted a psy-ops and co-ordinated attack across two continents.

I'll be brief.

Its obvious although the intelligence agencies won't admit it (I'm going to tread gently on them because I'm POSITIVE that political considerations are now clouding matters of national security).

The US and its allies suffered a "mini" 9/11 on the anniversary of the original attacks.  In essence AQ conducted  a coordinated attack across two continents at two locations.  The attack against the Ambassador and the attack against Camp Leatherneck are OBVIOUSLY connected.  Additionally just like they did with the original attack (when they killed the Northern Alliance leader before they struck on 9/11) they launched spoiling and diversionary stunts by coordinating with Islamic Clerics to stir the peoples in countries throughout the region to riot in the street.

I'm not sure if they were seeking to divert attention, destabilize weak governments or to incite another Arab "Fall" but the results are obvious.

The United States Marine Corps and Navy are now facing an operational Ops Tempo that is almost unsustainable.  Deployment schedules will have to be altered in order to meet all the requirements for ships and Marines.  Many of our brother and sister Marines will probably be spending an unexpected Christmas away from home.

Most concerning should be the thought that...
1.  Intelligence did not pick up on chatter that an attack was coming.
2.  They did pick up on it, leadership was informed and chose to maintain the image of status quo for political considerations.
But for the first time since the original 9/11 attacks the enemy is inside OUR decision making loop.

31st Marine Expeditionary Unit helo ops.

U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Michael Russell

PHILIPPINE SEA (Sept. 13, 2012) - Marines from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (31ST MEU) load up in the back of a CH-46 Sea Knight helicopter during flight operations aboard the only forward-deployed amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6). The Bonhomme Richard Amphibious Ready Group (ARG), along with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (31st MEU), is participating in a certification exercise. The evaluated event determines if the 31st MEU is capable of doing certain missions such as humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations or non-combatant evacuation operations with the ARG

 I so despise how the Marine Corps is only talking about the MEU's doing disaster relief, humanitarian assistance or evacuation operations now.  This is definitely a reflection of the current occupant in the White House.  Meals on wheels anyone????...the Marine Corps is better than just that.  The real PRIMARY MISSION?  To defend the United States.

MARSOC seeks interoperability with Conventional Marine Forces?

Photo by Lance Cpl. Samantha H. Arrington

A Marine with 2nd Marine Special Operations Battalion, Marine Corps Special Operations Command from Camp Lejeune, N.C., jumps from a Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 252 KC-130J Hercules, above Marine Corps Auxiliary Landing Field Bogue, N.C., Sept. 12. The Marines conducted free-fall and static air-born sustainment training as part of routine quarterly training. "We are always seeking opportunities for interoperability between MARSOC and conventional Marine Corps units," said a MARSOC captain. "This is a great way to do that."

 I don't quite get this.  I thought that the whole point of MARSOC was to establish an independent Special Operations Force of Marines.  Why they want to reach back and operate with the conventional force of Marines is beyond me...especially when they yank personnel whenever needed to their Support Battalions.

I suspect that we're seeing part of a campaign by Marine Special Operations to get portions of Marine Air under its umbrella.