The Brits are unusual people...and the RAF Regiment is just plain weird.

via Breach-Bang-Clear.

I was wrong. The Marine Corps was wrong.

No graphics on this one guys.  Just plain rear view mirror gazing.

The F-35, EFV and the V-22 were too big a price to pay for the dream of over the horizon amphibious assault.

I was wrong when I said (and argued) that they were just what we needed.

We could easily have made due with say the S-92 in place of the V-22 and F/A-18E/F, instead of F-35s.  Our air power wouldn't be state of the art but it wouldn't be breaking the bank, it would be sufficient to carry out Marine Corps taskings and it wouldn't have put even "traditional" amphibious assault in jeopardy like we're facing now.

The Marine Corps was wrong when they continue to stick to the yardstick of over the horizon attack.  They're also wrong for attempting to design amphibious ships and vehicles to act in that arena.

It was a bridge too far then and now. The troubled development process that was painfully illustrated by the EFV was an early warning sign that we all missed.

I missed it.  HQMC missed it.  Marine Corps leadership missed it.

Marine Corps institutional fear about being rendered irrelevant has served it well in the past but this time it worked against us.  We guard amphibious assault so vigorously that we missed the obvious.

So what if it becomes a combined service effort that involves elements of the Air Force and Army.  So what if its not a pure Marine Corps and Navy effort?

The other two forms of forcible entry are as difficult to perform now as any...maybe more and the threat to those forces performing those missions is perhaps even greater, yet the Airborne and Air Assault Forces never seem to express the "fear" that the Marine Corps does.

The Marine Corps as an institution needs to have a serious come to Jesus moment and get its shit straight.  

70 million (down from 100 million) for a CH-46 replacement is a sign of mental illness.  A replacement for the Harrier that is coming in at 150 million dollars each when we can get F/A-18's that can perform the MARINE CORPS mission of providing close air support for our infantry is insane.  Delaying the replacement for a Amphibious Assault Vehicle that is almost 50 years old while we prioritize the buying of the above aircraft AND a CH-53K which I haven't mentioned yet is a sign of illegal drug usage.

I just acknowledged the false assumptions that I made regarding Marine Corps procurement.  Hopefully, someone in HQMC has the balls to tell the Commandant that we're on the wrong road and need to turn around.  If a blogger can see this so can those in charge of the Marines.

Women in the Rangers??? Navy SEALs????

relax feminist...take your anger out on the guys that like to morph female body builders...she is no where near this big in real life but it does illustrate the point...gender norming will be done to get women into the infantry...standards won't be lowered for women...they're going to be lowered for everyone.

via New York Times.

Women will be permitted to serve in the most intense and physically hazardous combat positions in the military, including the Navy SEALs, the Army Rangers and the Marine infantry, senior defense officials said Monday.

Read the rest of this nonsense over at the Times.

War is reality.

Its not the kind, friendly, backstabbing halls of Congress or Universities where they "discuss" the issues of the day.

Put women in Infantry units and the units will suffer.

Put them in the Rangers, SEALs, MARSOC, or Special Forces and those units will suffer.

Don't believe the bullshit about standards not being lowered.  They will, and from the looks of the politically correct bastards in the Joint Chiefs of Staff AND sorry son of a bitches that will do anything to make rank and what you see in the next war will be suffering the likes of which will make stomachs turn.

American women WILL be brutalized by the enemy.  They will be sexually assaulted, gang raped, drug through the streets and humiliated in ways that I can't begin to imagine.

But this is gonna happen which leads me to the next question.

If women can fight in our front line combat units then why are their domestic violence laws?  If two people are equal then its a simple physical confrontation.  If women can fight then isn't being a gentleman outmoded?

The elites are viewing this as a simple case of equality, but reality...both in society and combat will show that this is a decision that will have consequences in both arenas. 

Drug war in Mexico? Not when they're building improvised armored vehicles!

Its becoming obvious that we're no longer seeing a drug war in Mexico.  Quite honestly it hasn't been a drug war for a long time.  Its some type of quasi criminal insurgency with the goal of .... I have no idea what the real goal is but when you have the criminal insurgents building armored vehicles that take anti-tank weapons to destroy them, and can shake off machinegun fire then you have something weird going on.

Afghans take over security from NATO. How long before the unfinished civil war kicks off?

via Hindu Times.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai announced at a ceremony on Tuesday that his country’s armed forces are taking over the lead for security nationwide from the U.S.-led NATO coalition.
The handover of responsibility is a significant milestone in the nearly 12-year war and marks a turning point for American and NATO military forces, which will now move entirely into a supporting role. It also opens the way for their full withdrawal in 18 months.
“This is a historic moment for our country and from Wednesday all of the security operations will be in the hands of the Afghan security forces,” Mr. Karzai said at the ceremony, held at the new National Defense University built to train Afghanistan’s future military officers.
Mr. Karzai said that in the coming months, coalition forces will gradually withdraw from Afghanistan’s provinces as the country’s security forces replace them.

Put on your thinking cap and remember your history. What was one of the major clues that terrorist activity was soon to occur back in 2001?  I'll give you a hint.  A commander for this group was killed and intelligence analyst went crazy.

The assassination of Commander Massoud of the Northern Alliance.

Want a serious kick in the pants?  The military wing of the Northern Alliance reformed when the US began getting serious about peace talks with the Taliban.  Many, myself included, picked this up as a signal that peace wouldn't be allowed.  Once the US left, the war would be back on and the Northern Alliance would once again be back in action fighting their old foes.

So my question is simple.

How long before what we're seeing in Syria is repeated in Afghanistan?

Bell 525 Relentless Press Release

"The Bell 525 Relentless program truly exemplifies our focus on meeting the mission needs of our customers. When our Customer Advisory Panel told us they wanted a helicopter with best-in-class performance characteristics and passenger amenities across a range of mission needs, we listened," said John Garrison, president and CEO of Bell Helicopter. "The updates we are sharing today are further evidence we are delivering on our customer commitment to provide an aircraft that delivers unmatched, cost effective performance."

The Bell 525's enhanced specifications include a flight cruise speed at max continuous power and max gross weight of 155+ kts (306 kph), a range of 500+ nm (926 km) and a useful load of 7,400+ lbs (3,357 kg). The maximum gross weight for the Relentless is 19,300+ lbs (8,754 kg). The Bell 525 Relentless can also perform CAT-A take offs and landings to and from a helipad at maximum gross weight on a hot day.

Maricopa County Sheriff's Office Vehicles...

Concept Art. Man-Shark.

Japanese Work Alongside Marines for San Clemente Island Exercise. video by LCPL Reel.

NOTE:  I wasn't going to post this video, but it points out what appears to be a culture problem that I didn't see coming to the Marine Corps.

Do you see all that banter?  Have you seen how the General running that MEB has been grabbing as much screen time as possible?  Have you noticed that same General sounds more like a Senators Aid than a warrior?

My first thought was "Chesty would fuck these bastards up" if he was around today.

My second was...how did the Marine Corps become a place where a soft spoken Marine General (that sounds more comfortable at cocktail parties than battlefields) could rise in rank.

More than ever we need a reformer like Conway, Krulak, Gray or Jones as the next leader of the Marine Corps.  More later.

Tattoo Tuesday. Asian pivot edition.

First CH-53K to fly soon.

via AINonline.

The first four flying versions of the U.S. Marine Corps’ next generation CH-53K helicopter wereadvancing through assembly at Sikorsky Aircraft’s West Palm Beach, Florida, facility earlier this year. “We’re well beyond the paper side of the aircraft. We’re building this thing,” Marine Col. Robert Pridgen, H-53 program manager, told reporters at the Navy League conference in April.

When I first read this I thought it was a non story but a closer look revealed that they're reporting from the Paris Air Show so I would imagine there is work going on behind the scenes to get Germany and Paris to consider buying the beast.

Son of a fucking BITCH!

via ELP Blog.

Marines Put Marine Personnel Carrier On Shelf Due To Budget Constraints
The Marine Corps is putting the Marine Personnel Carrier, the complement to the Amphibious Combat Vehicle, on ice, and it may not be resurrected for 10 years, according to service, industry and congressional sources.


Well of course. When you have money going into a gold-plated USMC tac-air (MV-22, F-35 and the 53K), those ground elements (the reason why we have a Marine Corps) will suffer.

CDR Salamander writes that you should never blog mad.

Internet etiquette experts say you should count to 10 before you press the publish button.

I've counted to 100 and I'm left with this.

THAT SON OF A BITCH AMOS HAS GOT TO GO.  The USMC is now the funding source for the Air Wing?  We have two aviation commandants and a logistics bubba.  No one is looking out for the Ground Combat Element.

The Marine Corps as we know it is no more.  It is aviation centric and Amos will go down in history as one of the most ineffective and misguided leaders the Marines have ever known.  He needs to be throat punched. 

Is the USAF combat ineffective? Are they still mission capable?

I was doing my afternoon round of web military stories and happened across an AOL story on the USAF and the no fly zone in Syria.  One line stopped me cold.

“It depends on the risk you’re willing to accept,” Gen. Welsh told reporters this morning, in response to a question from the incomparable Tony Capaccio of Bloomberg News. The Air Force has currently had to ground about 33 squadrons, Welsh had already told the audience at an Air Force Associationbreakfast, 12 of them “combat-coded” fighter and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) units. Another seven have been reduced to doing only basic “takeoff and landing” training, although Welsh was optimistic the funds freed up by sequestering federal workers would buy back their readiness – albeit not immediately.
“If we have aircraft that would be needed to conduct a no-fly zone, and they haven’t been flying, hopefully we would have time to get them up to speed before we use them,” Welsh told the clustering reporters.

Uh.  Wow.

33 squadrons gone whether through combat or financial consideration is still 33 squadrons gone.

If that isn't bad enough the good General goes on to say that he "hopes they would have time to get (the remaining squadrons) up to speed."

That means that even with those type of draconian cuts, the remaining squadrons are not combat capable and would need to build up to deployment. Make no mistake about it, this isn't like a certification for deployment.  This is an issue of USAF squadrons not being basically trained to perform their mission sets.

By the Generals own words, we have at least a portion of our active duty USAF that is combat ineffective and mission incapable...unless they have time to get ready.  This is probably the most honest, scariest, most worrying statement that I've heard from any of the Service Chiefs.

I've seen waste in the DoD and believe that weapons systems are being bought that aren't justified (see previous post about the MV-22 vs. MH-60) but this shows me that Sequestration has gone from being an abstraction to an actual threat to national security.  We have got to get it fixed.

Is one MV-22 worth 4.5 MH-60R/S?

I was going over the Marine Corps aviation budget and the question must be asked.  Is one MV-22 worth 4.5 MH-60R/S?  via AOL

“In 2010 we have had a 28 percent increase in readiness; at the same time we’ve had a 19 percent decrease in maintenance costs, as measured by cost per flight hour,” an obviously pleased program manager replied when I asked him for the latest numbers. “I’m unaware of any other program that has demonstrated an increase in readiness while lowering flight hour costs.”

This news come fresh on the heels of the V-22 program landing an impressive commitment from the Pentagon for a $6.5 billion, five-year mulityear contract for 99 Ospreys. The average unit price for the V-22s ordered across that deal is $70 million, he told reporters here during a briefing at the Boeing chalet. While that isn’t, strictly speaking news (the redoubtable Rick Whittle reported that for us in February), he buried the information and we want to make sure you know.)

Sorry but I'm not entirely convinced that the speed that the V-22 brings is worth 4.5 MH-60s.

Not for Marine Corps mission sets.  There is no justification for the Marine Corps to have an all V-22 fleet of aircraft.

None.

NOT ONE.

The Marine Corps is talking about a financial trainwreck affecting procurement.  That's bullshit and Sweetman (listen up buddy cause I won't ever admit this again) was right.  We could have afforded the EFV, the MPC and or the ACV if we weren't paying (now 70 mill but at the time) 100 mill a piece for the V-22.

This is borderline criminal and the Corps is out of balance because of it.

The Brits have a problem with their carriers.

British Naval Aviation should be sitting pretty right now.

They're about to get their F-35B's...The USMC is already looking at using the MV-22 as a refueling platform and you can bet that someone in the Commandant's office (or in the Assistant Commandant for Aviation) is already looking at the concepts for an early warning version.

So with the purchase of the F-35B and a few V-22's in the future, you can have a pretty impressive fighter force operating from those flat decks.

Sharkey Ward though is throwing cold water on the whole idea. via his news letter.

The Air Marshal does not appear to understand that the decks of U.S. Navy and US Marine Corps carriers are 4 inches thick - whereas our new carrier decks are no more than 1 inch thick. The Air Marshal’s comments are therefore misleading at best. Scientific/engineering judgement is that our thin new carrier decks will not be able to withstand the thermal effects of F35B STOVL vertical landing operations. There is therefore a massive latent/hidden cost waiting in the wings for the provision of a new and much thicker flight deck for our new carriers. Gray and Hillier should both be required to provide this cost estimate and place it in the equation for comparison with cat and trap costs.

How much it will cost to reinforce the Elizabeth classes flight decks is anyones guess but it won't be cheap.

This will be fun to watch.

A400 Paris Air Show Flight Demonstration Pics.

The 1st Armored Division is in Jordan...

If you're going to test a concept AND have troops in place to carry out directives from the President then the Chief of Staff of the Army either has a crystal ball or planning that is beyond perfect.

via Army.mil and Bob...

WASHINGTON (Army News Service, June 3, 2013) -- About 100 Soldiers from the 1st Armored Division are now in Jordan, within the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility, as part of an advance headquarters element that will pave the way for follow-on Soldiers in the June "Eager Lion" exercise there.
Maj. Gen. Sean B. MacFarland, the new commander of Fort Bliss, Texas, and the 1st Armored Division, or 1st AD, will himself go forward in a few weeks to meet up with his deputy, who is already in place, in order to participate in the exercise.
"It's an opportunity for us to develop mil-to-mil relationships with the Jordanian armed forces," MacFarland said. "The 1st Armored Division is regionally aligned with the U.S. Central Command, or CENTCOM, area of responsibility, or AOR, so building on our ability to operate and establish greater bonds of mutual trust with the Jordanians is a huge benefit for our troops who are going over there, and familiarizing ourselves with Jordan."
The exercise will involve about 8,000 personnel. About 5,000 of those will be U.S., and about 3,000 will be Jordanian.
The 1st AD is "regionally aligned" with CENTCOM, something the Army has recently started to push. A regional alignment flags Army units to prepare to go forward and support combatant commanders as they address mutual threats and interests with partners; build capabilities of partners so they can handle things themselves; and increase influence to have access if needed.
Regionally aligned forces can include Army capabilities in direct support of combatant commanders every day. They also include personnel and units assigned to a theater, U.S. Pacific Command and U.S. European Command have the bulk of these. Additionally, regionally aligned forces include those units in an "allocated" status, given to a combatant commander for a specific mission for a specific period of time and under his direct control.

The 1st Armored Division is in Jordan.

The 26th MEU is in Jordan.

The Kearsarge Amphibious Ready Group is off shore.

USAF assets in the form of F-16 squadrons are on the way.

Additionally allied forces are suppose to be participating in this exercise.

When you have this many forces in a region ready to go several things can happen.  Either it can be something that you want because of a plan, or it can be forced action because of enemy activity.

Two words for you.  If you're a commander then they're in all caps.  Force Protection.

Hezbollah and the Iranians are our adversaries?  This will not be good.  Not because they're better than us.  They're not.  But they've practiced fighting combined arms organizations like ours when they go up against the Israeli's.

If that's a guide then we can count on one more thing planners might not be considering.  Hezbollah likes to kidnap soldiers. 

This is going to be anything but simple.

Skunk Works® -- 70 Years of Mission Driven Innovation

Kearsarge ARG Photoex...photos by MC2 Corbin Shea.

I've been so focused on the 26th MEU on the ground in Syria that I've forgotten that we have our ARG floating off shore in an almost classic cold war Russia vs. USA stance. This will be interesting to watch.

Iran sends its Revolutionary Guard (Immortals) to Syria. Will Rangers and MARSOC put the name to the test?

MARSOC recently had an award ceremony where the awardees were running around in SPARTAN replica headgear.

Interesting considering the fact that the Spartans didn't create special units and simply raised their entire force to elite standards...something that was once the hallmark of the Marine Corps.  I digress.  Persia...I mean Iran is reportedly sending 4000 of its troops to help defend Syria.

Pentagon planning has it that SOCOM is ready to conduct strikes to seize weapons of mass destruction (read that to mean chemical and certain conventional weapons ... more than likely MANPADS).

Which means that we could see the first real deal meeting between Iranian and US Special Operations (and I'm not counting reports that I've heard that Iranian Revolutionary Guards were advising rebels in Afghanistan).

This mission set (if it gets green lighted) will fall to the Rangers and MARSOC.  Special Forces would turn down a raid of this type without second thought (Its not their thing--not their mission set...and they won't plus up a mission just to satisfy planners or Flag rank if history is a guide).  MARSOC and Rangers would jump at the chance (Rangers especially train to conduct Battalion sized operations---MARSOC started off doing Battalion sized ops in Afghanistan but switched to the SEAL model after the first deployment)...which leaves me wondering about SEALs.

For the fanboys, memory is short, but SEALs had a very spotty record in the Special Ops game until recently.  In previous years, they had been mauled on several occasions when conducting platoon sized missions.  Additionally when going up against conventional forces they suffered an alarming mission failure rate that was often chalked up to poor intel/greater resistance than expected.

Syria is starting off as the war that no one wanted except for the extreme left (humanitarian hawks) and extreme right (global interventionist all the time--McCain and his cronies).  I'll be interested to see how McRaven, MARSOC, Rangers, SEALs and the aviation assets of SOCOM (along with the obligatory MV-22 that Amos will demand on at least a few missions) perform.

This is the fuse that could light the whole thing off...and with a President needing a distraction, and an economy that needs revving...maybe a large scale regional war is exactly what the policy makers actually want.

UPDATE:  Required reading.  Bob (thanks!) provided a couple of links that makes me wonder if this isn't further along in planning than even I thought.  Take a few minutes, digest it and ponder exactly what it means...

http://killerapps.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2013/06/10/the_us_has_5000_troops_in_jordan_for_an_air_defense_and_disaster_relief_excercise

http://www.army.mil/article/104693/1st_Armored_Division_troops_aligned_with_CENTCOM__ready_for_Eager_Lion_kick_off/

http://www.defensenews.com/article/20121021/DEFREG02/310210010/U-S-Israel-Kick-Off-Austere-Challenge-Missile-Exercise