22nd MEU Commander Relieved of Duty.

Thanks for the article Dom!

Read about this at the Marine Corps Times by clicking here.

If you follow the link and read the story, something is off on this one.  The guy just took command on the 28th of June and now he's relieved?

Whatever happened it was a shot out of the blue and they acted immediately.

Yeah, you guessed it.

Its gotta be zipper control, or the lack of it.

I fully expect a rash of career ending happenings with the Navy/Marine Corps suddenly pushing sexual assault to the front burner (ahead of warfighting).

Like my Senior Drill Instructor (he pushed it really hard...right behind being physically fit and being a Marine 24/7, but the others did too) always said.  

"When it comes to WM (woman Marine) don't look at them, don't talk to them, you damn sure better not date them and if you ignore me and marry one you better make sure you're stationed at different duty stations."

They don't know it but they're setting the stage for Female Marines to be ostracized, avoided and not trusted by their Male counterparts.

This will be fun to watch. 

ACV. Are we missing an opportunity.

Japan Ground Self-Defense Force officers observe a static display of assault amphibious vehicles July 12 at Camp Schwab as part of the Japan observer exchange program. “The JOEP members came here to inquire about the capabilities of the AAV platform,” said U.S. Marine Capt. John S. Kim “They want to know how the vehicles are employed and what its capabilities are in oceanic and land-based exercises.” Kim is the company commander of AAV Company, Combat Assault Battalion, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force

The question must be asked.

Are we missing a tremendous opportunity by delaying the development of the ACV?

The Japanese and Brazilians have already expressed interest in the AAV and would probably jump at a more modern vehicle (even if that vehicle was say the wheeled Marine Personnel Carrier certified to operate in surf conditions and capable of carrying 9 Marines).  Toss in the possibility to the winning manufacturer of getting improved economies of scale with regards to sales and you have one of the biggest armored vehicle projects going in the next 5 maybe 10 years and its international to boot.

Its the F-35 program, but for an optimized Marine armored vehicle and its a true bridge to operational compatibility with allied forces. Besides Japan and Brazil, you can bet that the S. Koreans would be interested as would Taiwan, Australia (eventually), Italy (ok, maybe not they're sold on wheels and have the SuperAv), Spain and a few others that are seeking to fully develop their amphibious forces.

Remember, the fastest growing segment of warship is the amphib and armored transport for Marines is something that many lust for.

Yeah.  We are missing an opportunity here.

Cold War Soviet Military Photos via War Diary Igor Korochenko

Awesome pic and site!  Thanks DWI!  Click here to go to the site.

Maybe I'm overestimating the "Red Menace" but my reading of history tells me (my opinion don't freak out) that we're lucky the Soviet's never called our bluff and launched a conventional attack on Western Europe.  I'm positive battlefield nukes would have been released and a full scale nuclear war would probably have been seriously considered when Soviet tanks started showing up in Bremerhaven.

China drilling in Japanese waters. This could get real!

Thanks Nicolae for the heads up!

via the Russian Times.  Read the entire article at RT, but consider this.  I thought nationalism was just a Chinese issue.  I was wrong.  A quick Google revealed that its sweeping the entire Pacific.  Even the countries citizens seem to be gearing up for conflict.

Japan has allegedly ordered geological survey ships to prepare for possible deployment after the Chinese were reportedly detected drilling in Japanese waters near the disputed area of the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, a source told Reuters.
The Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation (JOGMEC) has been ordered to put both its survey ships , the Shigen and the Hakurei, on standby and to prepare to deploy without any foreign members of staff on board, according to the source .
Japan warned China not to expand gas exploration in the East China Sea on Thursday, following a media report according to which Chinese state-run oil companies plan to develop seven new gas fields in the sea, possibly siphoning gas from the seabed beneath waters claimed by Japan, Kyodo news agency reported.
"We will never accept development of gas fields in the area over which there are conflicting claims in a unilateral manner," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said at a press conference. Though he added that officials are still gathering information to confirm the report.
After in 1968 it was discovered that oil reserves might be found under the sea near the territory of the islands in the East China Sea, sovereignty over them has been long disputed by Japan and China.
Meanwhile, three Chinese maritime vessels were spotted entering Japan’s territorial waters on Thursday morning, the Japanese Coast Guard reported. Beijing said was a routine surveillance and the ships later left the Japanese waters, but remain in the contiguous area, the coast guard added.

Yeah.

This is just the type of scenario where shit could get real.  REAL QUICK.

Opposing warships maneuvering close together....an accidental bump because you have two head strong commanders that are unwilling to experience the loss of face to a potential enemy...paint is scrapped...both commanders determine that the accident was an act of war and suddenly you have a border dispute erupt into an all out shooting war with several ships and several planes sunk and shot down.

Of course the UN, the US and the EU will rush in to try and calm the situation but you'll still have the first skirmish in what will inevitably lead to shooting war.

Its coming folks and our State Department and Pentagon are too weak, unthinking and unaware to stop it.

One miscalculation.  One nervous trigger finger.  That's all that stands between a HUGE regional war and a full scale depression.

AAVs end of life now 2030!

The USMC is about to set a dubious record.

They're about to have a vehicle in service for 60 years.  At least that's the plan. via Defense Media Network.

The “limited reset effort” currently envisioned would include a set of actions or processes that would restore the personnel variants “to the level achieved at the completion of the 2007 major rebuild.” In addition to an AAV end life of 2030, other assumptions supporting the effort range from a minimum throughput of 96 vehicles per year to an approved acquisition objective of all 1,064 vehicles.

Uh.

Fucking Wow.  Sorry.  Don't care if Amos is saying that he inherited this situation.  I don't care.  Its his watch now and this is fucking unacceptable.

This is insanity.

Now who still thinks we need F-35's more desperately than we need to fix the AAV issue? 

Side Note:  Can anyone think of a military power that still utilizes 50 year old armored vehicles?  I'd like to take a look at how it turned out if you can think of one.  Personally I can't.

Side Note 1:  This basically seals it too.  All the talk about a RFI being released at the end of this year is officially bullshit.  They won't actually start working on the Amphibious Combat Vehicle until 2020 at the earliest.  What this announcement is actually telling us is that the ACV is being effectively delayed until the F-35, MV-22 and CH-53K are purchased.  Bend over Ground Combat Element....you're getting fucked again (unless you're Recon or MARSOC that is).

NSA admits that they spy on practically every person in the US.

via The Atlantic Wire.

As an aside during testimony on Capitol Hill today, a National Security Agency representative rather casually indicated that the government looks at data from a universe of far, far more people than previously indicated.
Chris Inglis, the agency's deputy director, was one of several government representatives—including from the FBI and the office of the Director of National Intelligence—testifying before the House Judiciary Committee this morning. Most of the testimony largely echoed previous testimony by the agencies on the topic of the government's surveillance, including a retread of the same offered examples for how the Patriot Act and Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act had stopped terror events.
But Inglis' statement was new. Analysts look "two or three hops" from terror suspects when evaluating terror activity, Inglis revealed. Previously, the limit of how surveillance was extended had been describedas two hops. This meant that if the NSA were following a phone metadata or web trail from a terror suspect, it could also look at the calls from the people that suspect has spoken with—one hop. And then, the calls that second person had also spoken with—two hops. Terror suspect to person two to person three. Two hops. And now: A third hop.
Think of it this way. Let's say the government suspects you are a terrorist and it has access to your Facebook account. If you're an American citizen, it can't do that currently (with certain exceptions)—but for the sake of argument. So all of your friends, that's one hop. Your friends' friends, whether you know them or not—two hops. Your friends' friends' friends, whoever they happen to be, are that third hop. That's a massive group of people that the NSA apparently considers fair game.

I don't know why this isn't getting more airplay.

The US government has basically said that its spying on the entire population and no one is upset.

Quite honestly this should scare the fuck out of everyone.   Oh and spare me the talking point that "I'm not a criminal so I don't mind"....that's nonsense.  Its weak and it smacks of fear.

Blast from the past. Textron vehicles from "back in the day"....

Everyone talks about the Stingray Light Tank, but the vehicle that should have gotten a chance was the V-600.  It just looked right.

31st MEU aerial insertion at Talisman Sabre.

Marines and sailors with Company E, Battalion Landing Team 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, board a CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter from Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 265 (Reinforced), 31st MEU, for a raid rehearsal as a part of Talisman Saber 2013, here, July 17. Talisman Saber 2013 is a biennial training activity aimed at improving Australian Defense Force and U.S. combat readiness and interoperability as a Combined Joint Task Force. The 31st MEU is the Marine Corps' force in readiness in the Asia-Pacific region and the only continuously deployed MEU.  (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl Codey Underwood / Released)

Sex in the military.

The military isn't going to really get a handle on sex in the military (which in turn leads to the sexual harassment issue) until they actually come up with some type of neutering device that temporarily shuts down the sex drive in men and women.  Having said that, what do you think the response would be to a Commanding Officer issuing office hours to personnel that post suggestive pictures on the internet under grounds of conduct unbecoming?

Side Note:  I was searching for gun porn on a couple of sites when I ran into the above pics.  So erase the silliness.

Poland buying even more Wolverines.

via DefenseWorld (go there for the whole story).

Poland recently signed an agreement with Finnish company Patria Land Systems to extend a contract until 2023 for producing more AMV armored vehicles.
The original contract which was signed in 2003 expires this year. The new agreement allows producing, selling, upgrading and modifying AMV armored vehicles, with the additional rights to service and repairing for a period upto 2052.
"It's a good deal for the Polish and the Ministry of Defence," said Adam Janik, CEO of the WZM Military Mechanical Plant, Poland after the signing of agreements on further production of wheeled APCs.
Markku Bollmann, Vice President of Patria Land Systems said that the Finnish side is very pleased with the level of negotiations and the effect for which consists of a new cooperation agreement. "Our goal is to not only continue, but also to further develop the project. The agreement is also important for Patria, for generating new jobs.”

Uh.  Wow.

First they combat proved the vehicle in Afghanistan.  As a matter of fact it shined while the Stryker failed.

Now, Poland is about to take the act on the road and probably will develop modded vehicles that tickle customers in the right way.

So tiny Poland is doing what the mighty USMC can't.  Get a vehicle into production and into the hands of its troops.  Well done. 

Blast from the Past. Cold Weather Training.

From the Marion Fischer Collection (COLL/858), Marine Corps Archives & Special Collections

The Soviet Union and China almost destroy each other via Cracked.

via Cracked...(there are 4 other stories of "almost" wars so check it out).

Being the two predominant communist superpowers, the Soviet Union and Mao Zedong's China were technically fighting on the same side during the Cold War. In reality, though, the two countries had constant disputes, accusing one another of overreacting to shit and getting into arguments over territory -- hell, they were basically a married couple that only stays together because they are bonded by their mutual hatred of Sam from next door.

By the late 1960s, arguments escalated to the point of silverware-throwing. The Soviets had denied Mao aid to build an atomic bomb, possibly because he was unnervingly comfortable with the concept of nuclear war. Denied his toys and frustrated because the Soviets were ignoring his political views, Mao wanted some goddamn respect. So in 1969, the Chinese military invaded Soviet-occupied Zhenbao Island, which Mao claimed was originally Chinese territory. Things proceeded as you'd assume: Shots were fired, soldiers got killed, both sides moved more troops to the region, and shit got real.
Ownership of the island tipped back and forth, and things got more and more hostile. It looked like the two powers were set to rip each other apart before the baffled democracies they were supposed to be fighting had a chance to make some popcorn.
What Stopped It:
Mao backed the hell down.
When war fever-gripped both the Chinese and Soviet people, Mao realized that challenging an opponent that had a strong track record of kicking dictator ass and a bunch of nuclear weaponry might not be the most solid strategy, even if China had its own nuclear program up and running at that point. Meanwhile, the Soviet leaders were totally cool with a throwdown, calmly checking with the bemused Americans if theywould be OK with the Soviet Union pre-emptively nuking the shit out of China.
If the War Had Happened:
Two of the biggest armies at the time would have slaughtered each other, with or without nukes.
A Soviet war with China would have involved two incredibly large conventional armies getting into an epic slugfest. Knowing that both parties had access to tactical nuclear weapons and were led by some fairly ... volatile people, it would not have been impossible that either country would have also used tactical nukes to tip a bloody conventional war in their favor.

I love Cracked.  Not because its precise, but because its a quick, simple overview of events.  Probably one of the best ways I've seen to get the uninterested, interested in history. 

India raises Mountain Strike Corps.

via Times of India.

The cabinet committee on security (CCS) on Wednesday gave its approval for raising a mountain strike corps along the China border. This would be India's fourth strike corps, meant chiefly for offensive operations into enemy land, as well as India's first dedicated corps for offensive mountain warfare.
Sources said, the CCS, chaired by the PM, gave its final nod for the ambitious plan that requires over Rs 64,000 crore and spread over the next seven years.
The proposal has been hanging fire for the last several years, and had been delayed primarily because of financial considerations. CCS is not believed to have discussed Army proposal for two other independent infantry brigades and two independent armoured brigades to plug its operational gaps along the entire Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China. If all the proposals are approved it would result in a total financial outlay of over Rs 81,000 crore during the 12th Plan (2012-17) period.
By the time India woke up in the late 90s to China's modern infrastructure across the LAC, as well as rapidly modernizing military, it was too late to even play a catch-up game. Now, India is trying to build several strategic road links to the border, and to create a formidable military capability that can match up with the Chinese side. Many observers have said that it would take India several years before there is any parity with the Chinese PLA along the border.

Hmm.

If you're like me then the first thing you asked yourself was "what's a Strike Corps". Well according to Wiki, India has three different types of Corps.  Strike.  Holding.  Mixed.  Strike simply indicates an offensive formation which I assume (because the entry was clear) indicates either mechanized, helo-borne or specialist type infantry units (in this case mountain).

China has been making incursions into India at an increasing rate and this is just a natural reaction.

What many don't realize in the West (because we tend to focus on our own wars) is that China and India have tied up a couple times in the past and India has always laid the wood to them.  India's main problem is that it now has two threats to its land, plus an active terrorist threat.   India would welcome cooperation so that they could focus on terrorism and Pakistan... so the sabre rattling is foolish.

I hope our intel people are on this because something domestically must be going on to force all these bruised feelings in the region.

China and Indonesia are in a tift now.

via China Daily Mail.

Indonesia has revealed for the first time that it complained to China over its issuance of passports that feature a controversial map laying claim to almost the entire South China Sea.
The “nine-dash line” map featured in new Chinese passports was protested by Vietnam and the Philippines when they were released last year.
Immigration officials in both countries said they would refuse to stamp the passports because the map lays claim to disputed territory.
India also complained because disputed territory along its border with China is claimed by Beijing on the map.
Indonesia did not make a public statement when the passports were released, even though the map slices through the natural gas reserves of its Exclusive Economic Zone in the Natuna Sea, where multinationals ExxonMobil and Total are operating.
Foreign minister Marty Natalegawa said that Indonesia did lodge a protest with Beijing after the new passports were issued, sending a diplomatic note to the Chinese embassy in Jakarta a couple of weeks after they were issued.

Read the whole thing at the China Daily Mail...but one thing is obvious.  China is stoking nationalism and all the attempts at "understanding" are doomed to fail.

China apologist always forget the most basic fact about that country.  Its a communist dictatorship.  It might have embraced elements of capitalism in order to ensure its own survival, but at its heart its a repressive, classic, Communist state.

All it will take is a mid level officer flying a fighter, bomber or with his hand hovering over the launch button on a warship to make one mistake and this region will go up in flames.

From the look of the incidents between China and India, Japan, Vietnam, Philippines, S. Korea, Thailand and others....its gonna be sooner rather than later. 

Boeing's FastHawk Cruise Missile.

Thanks Sferrin.



Canceled during the Clinton Administration.  Nice cartoon....I wonder if it could have been made to work.  It also makes you wonder if the complete tilt toward stealth is worth the squeeze. 

Personnel cuts in the Office of the SecDef, JCS Staff, etc....?

via Defense Industry Daily.

US defense secretary Hagel announced a 20% cut of the staff at his office (OSD), in the joint staff, and the service chiefs' headquarters' staff, over 2015-19. More specific details to come, but estimates size the cuts at 3,000 to 5,000 people for $1.5B-$2B in savings.

I don't know the details on the cuts, but if they're actual cuts (and that would be a real surprise) then we're about to see the DoD actually shrink at the flabby sections instead of the muscle.

I'm not willing to pat him on the back yet but it strikes the right tone.  Careerist should be alarmed though.  If they're going after staff then the cuts to the force will be severe.  

Long Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM). Is it obsolete before it even reaches service?

U.S. Air Force Airmen from the 7th Munitions Squadron transport a Long Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM) toward a B-1 Bomber June 12, 2013, at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas. The weapon loading was part of a trial-run for munitions Airmen prior to the first captive carry test conducted by the 337th Test and Evaluation Squadron on June 17. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Damon Kasberg/Released)

The USAF is conducting a test of the LRASM onboard a B-1.  But it occurs to me that this missile is obsolete before it even gets into service.  Stats via Wikipedia.

Long Range Anti-Ship Missile
Type	Long-range anti-ship
Place of origin	United States
Service history
In service	Planned to enter service in 2015
Production history
Manufacturer	Lockheed Martin
Specifications
Warhead	1,000 lb blast-fragmentation penetrator[2]
Operational range	370 km (230 mi)+[1]
Launch platform	Mark 41 Vertical Launch System (VLS),F-35 Lightning II

I'm sorry but a cruise missile flying at medium altitude to get to the target area and then dropping low to make a sea skimming final run seems ok in theory, but the range is what has me doubting.

Modern anti-air missiles (at least some of them) will be able to launch on the subsonic missile while its cruising at altitude.  By definition it will be saturation attacks or expect mission failure.  According to Wiki, there was a planned LRASM-B that was to be supersonic but it was canceled.

I just wonder.

Is this the type of weapon that will win in the Pacific or is it simply about the illusion of progress?

31st MEU at Talisman Sabre.

Side Note:  Spartan Brigade is suppose to do an airborne operation....the jump into country it appears is part of their "Joint Forces Capability Certification".  I marvel at the Pentagon's swing toward the old Rumsfeld edict of being able to provide metrics to each and every moving part.  The paperwork alone must be back breaking.

13th MEU gearing up.

U.S. Marines with Battalion Landing Team 1/4, 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit, secure a rooftop as a flare illuminates the mount town during a Composite Training Exercise at Camp Pendleton, Calif., July 17, 2013. COMPUTEX is a scenario driven exercise aimed at integrating the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit and the ships of the Boxer Amphibious Ready Group through simulated real-world operational events.

Is there an Amphibious Assault Vehicle water speed limit?

What does the LVT-1, LVT-2, LVT(A)-1, LVT(A)-2, LVT-4, LVT(A)-3, LVT(A)-4, LVT-3C, LVTP-5, LVTP-7, AAV and AAV RAM/RS all have in common?

A water speed of around 8mph.

That's it.  Over 80 years of technological improvements and we're barely (and I mean JUST barely) moving faster than a World War 2 tracked landing craft when it comes to getting Marines ashore in armored transports.

The EFV was the first real attempt at a high water speed Landing Vehicle Tracked but it required a complicated drive and suspension system with the added benefit of packing more power than a M1A1 Abrams Tank (horsepower that is).

Everyone knows where I stand as far as the bird in hand versus one in the bush.

I want the MPC now.  Everything else (procurement wise) be damned.

If a water speed of around 8mph is the upper limit when it comes to Landing Vehicle Tracked without overpowering it and making it uber complex with the side issue of having it water plane then the MPC is making more and more sense.