LAPD Officer goes full BITCH mode via Everyday No Days Off Blog.

Uh.  Wow.  I don't know what happened before and from the sounds of things the driver did something squirrely to catch her attention....but....You would think that LEOs would be fully aware that a certain percentage of the public is actually trying to instigate situations where they can be made to look like pure jackasses on tape (the open carry crusaders I believe like pushing confrontations with police).

Surveillance State USA.  It goes both ways.

Side Note:  I'm surprised that LAPD is constantly accused of having a military focus and mindset but they let something as obvious as allowing female patrol officers have hair flowing the way that this officer does.  Pinned back and bobbed not for looks sake but for officer safety.  If she had to go hands on then she has hair waiting to be grabbed and for her to be yanked around like a rag doll.  If the guy was really violent then he could grab that hair, twist her around roll up the window and drive till all that was left was her head banging against his mirror.  Totally unsafe and I wonder why they allow it.

Blast from the Past. Convair R3Y Tradewind.

The SeaPlane as an assault platform?  As a Special Ops insertion platform?  For long range at sea rescue?  It'll never happen but the R3Y Tradewind makes you wonder about possible applications in our era.

Side Note:  This is one of those concepts put forward by Mike Sparks and the pics are from his website, Combat Reform.  He hates the Marine Corps the way that I hate Amos but he has some interesting ideas and even if you disagree he has some informative info. Quite honestly its also one of the major sites on the web for large parts of little known military history.  You should get over your bias and check it out.  But be warned.  His pages will kill dial up connections...high speed internet only.

Side Note 1:  I keep coming back to this concept because it so fascinates.  A P-3 aircrew that has to land or God forbid bail out in the open ocean is going to be in serious trouble.  Outside of the CH-47, CH-53 or the V-22, we just don't have the aircraft that can reach far enough.  Besides the V-22 I don't know of any that can get there FAST enough.  The Japanese and Chinese both operate Seaplanes in the Rescue role.  Considering the Pacific battlespace perhaps we should consider it too.

The UK's MERT and the MEU.

Note:  MERT means Medical Emergency Response Team.

Lieutenant Cmdr. Daniel J. Trueba, center, an emergency medicine physician with 1st Medical Battalion, 1st Marine Logistics Group, trains with members of the United Kingdom Royal Airforce, while conducting Medical Emergency Response Team training at Brize Norton Royal Air Force Base, England, July 23, 2013. As the Marine Corps transitions back to its amphibious roots, the Corps is considering creating its own emergency response teams to accommodate the independent nature of a Marine Expeditionary Unit. (Courtesy photo /Released)

via DVIDS.

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. – As the Marine Corps transitions out of Afghanistan and returns to its amphibious roots, it is posturing itself to bolster the expeditionary nature of the Corps. This realignment will be felt throughout the planning process, including medical operations.
Sailors with 1st Medical Battalion, 1st Marine Logistics Group, are currently focused on this objective. Commander Ronald L. Schoonover, Lt. Cmdr. John D. Moore and Lt. Cmdr. Daniel J. Trueba have put it upon themselves to find an option for upcoming challenges as the Marines focus their attention on Marine Expeditionary Units.
To find answers, the three sailors embarked to England to observe the United Kingdom’s Medical Emergency Response Team in training from July 21-27, 2013.
“The MERT team was one of the primary (casualty evacuation) vehicles for the theater in Afghanistan since we’ve been deployed there,” said Moore, anesthesiologist, 1st Med. Battalion, 1st MLG. “They’ve been responsible for multiple casualty evacuations of Marines. They do primarily point of entry to up to Role-3 medical transfers with critically injured Marines, sailors, soldiers, (Afghan National Army) and multi-national personnel.”
A role-3 medical facility is the most capable medical facility in the Afghanistan theater, and is capable of providing surgery to the acutely injured. The MERT’s job is to provide stabilizing care or damage control resuscitation while casualties are in transit. The team consists of one doctor, a nurse, two paramedics and four force protection airmen.

“We had to go learn about what they do,” said Trueba, an emergency medicine physician with 1st Med. Battalion, 1st MLG. “We don’t currently have that capability within the Marine Corps and Navy, to move our personnel from one spot to another. We went to learn from people who have been doing it since 2006. We wanted to tap into that experience as observers to see how things work,” added the Bountiful, Utah, native.
Since Operation Enduring Freedom began in 2001, the Marines have largely relied on teams like a MERT or U.S. Army Air Ambulance units. With the new transition, Marines and sailors deployed with a MEU need to operate independently overseas. It is Schoonover, Moore and Trueba’s goal to implement a team similar to the MERT or train Navy corpsmen deploying aboard a MEU to have the same capability.
“The Marine Corps doesn’t have a defined medical platform with medical personnel on board,” said Moore, a native of Memphis, Tenn. “Our objective here was to explore options to implement more standardized courses of action for the Marine Corps to conduct casualty evacuation operations in an environment that is more kinetic and expeditionary in nature as opposed to a static and mature theater where you have assets like the MERT and (Dedicated Unhesitating Service To Our Fighting Forces) that are stationed with the Marines in country.”
Although the three sailors do not want to copy the MERT, they wish to create a more flexible team that has the same capabilities of a MERT but can operate in almost any vehicle, whether that’s in the back of a CH-53E Sea Stallion or armored HMMWV, added Moore.
“The Marine Corps is saying that this needs to be developed,” said Trueba. “The 13th MEU is already starting to implement these things but I’m hoping since the 13th (MEU) started the process then the 11th MEU can move it even further, incrementing steps to developing this ability.”

 I'm not following the thinking here.

*  Why travel to the UK to get ideas from how they're doing things?  We have the examples of how the US Army and US Air Force handles medical emergencies.
*  Why are we seeking to incorporate this capability inside the MEU.  If we're expeditionary then getting the injured back to the ship is the goal.  If Navy helos can't do it then a ride in a CH-53, MV-22 or UH-1Y will do...unless they're talking about a mission module for aircraft...
*  We have a Special Forces example that we can follow and piggy back off if we really want to raise the level of our Corpsmen.  Have them attend the Army SF Medics Course (modified).

I think the question that need to be asked are rather simple.  Does the Marine Corps have the resources to have dedicated medivac helicopters or vehicles?  Does it make sense to develop modules that can be used in any vehicle to develop such a capability? Are we going to be operating so far from the medical facilities aboard ships to justify this capability?

But the biggest question is this.  Why are we replicating capabilities found in sister services?  

Saturday Wallpaper

S-92. The Next Air Force Rescue Helo?

via the Chicago Tribune.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Air Force has delayed the award of a contract valued at up to $6.8 billion for a new combat search and rescue helicopter program until the first quarter of fiscal year 2014, which begins October 1, spokesman Ed Gulick said.
The expected winner is Sikorsky Aircraft, a unit of United Technologies Corp, after all other potential bidders dropped out of the competition last December.
Gulick said the award date had slipped from the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013 due to several factors, including time required to complete an independent cost estimate and the impact of government furloughs.
He said an initial delay in the release of the terms of the competition for 112 new helicopters also played a role, but insisted it was not related to the number of bid submitted.
All but one of the contractors expected to bid for the work dropped out last December, effectively ceding the competition to Sikorsky and its key subcontractor, Lockheed Martin Corp.
Boeing Co, Textron Inc's Bell Helicopter unit, EADS and Northrop Grumman Corp teamed with AgustaWestland, part of Italy's Finmeccanica SpA, decided to skip the competition after concluding the bidding rules were so narrowly framed that they effectively excluded all but Sikorsky's Black Hawk helicopter from the competition.
The Air Force denies the competition was written to favor Sikorsky, arguing that it wrote the terms of the competition to be as clear as possible with potential bidders about what capabilities the Air Force wanted and could afford.
Frans Jurgens, spokesman for Sikorsky, said the company had received numerous queries from the Air Force during the competition, and looked forward to a contract award.
"During the last several months, Sikorsky has interacted with the Air Force to conduct an extensive evaluation of our CRH proposal. We are ready to begin work building a proven, cost-effective CRH-60 aircraft at the service's convenience," he said.
Dan Spoor, vice president of aviation systems for Lockheed Martin's Mission Systems and Training business, said Lockheed had spent a fair amount of time responding to queries from the Air Force that are called "evaluation notices."
Asked if the Air Force had changed its process as a result of the other bidders dropping out, Spoor said, "They had the same rigorous process that they've done in the past."
The Air Force has been trying to replace its aging fleet of Sikorsky HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopters for many years. In 2006, it picked Boeing's H-47 Chinook helicopter, but the Pentagon canceled the $15 billion contract in 2009 after multiple protests by the losing bidders.
Defense analyst Loren Thompson, with the Lexington Institute, said the Air Force was determined to make sure that this contract award was airtight, after several embarrassing acquisition problems in recent years.

Assuming sequestration doesn't kill the thing, then it looks like the S-92 will get its first DoD order.  While I like the concept of a product improved UH-60 (which the S-92 represents) I'm not sure that it fits what's needed in a Pacific shift.  You're talking about crazy long distance rescues over water.

Which brings me to the next real issue for the USAF.  The US Navy doesn't have any dedicated medical evacuation helicopters.  It does have Corpsmen and Rescue Swimmer scattered throughout the fleet.  Want to see something joint emerge?  Send a few rescue helos out to the LCS and have them form temporary detachments.  If nothing else experiment with the concept to see if it might bring value.

A shift to the Pacific and a real counterweight to Chinese aggression will require more work, more planning and more effort than I'm seeing so far.  Words are nice but it has to translate to action or its meaningless.

Blast from the past. Sikorsky Assault Support Patrol Boat.

via Sikorsky History Blog.

Sikorsky won a U. S. Navy contract to build a prototype ASPB (Assault Support Patrol Boat) boat. Sikorsky designed the ASPB for its environment, the ASPB warship was in reality a floating tank, and much more. It was approximately 50 feet long and 20 feet wide and powered by three Pratt & Whitney PT-6 turbine engines connected to three water-jet pumps. On smooth river water the ASPB could reach speeds of 50 miles per hour and maneuver in only water 4 feet deep. Also this type of drive system allowed the ASPB to turn rapidly, maneuverability was critical because of limited space within the delta rivers.
It had a central turret with a 105 millimeter howitzer and two 20 millimeter automatic cannons. The howitzer was the most command artillery piece in the Army's inventory and parts and ammunition was readily available. The howitzer is capable of firing directly at an enemy or indirectly at high angles over obstacles in support of our ground troops. The 20 millimeter cannons were rapid fire machine guns for short range attacks and also they were used to defend the ASPB. Both weapons allowed the ASPB to lay down fire outside the range of the Viet Cong's 300 meter range of their rocket propelled grenades. Also a small machine gun was installed in the bow of the ASPB for quick reaction defense in case of an ambush.
A unique armor system was designed for the ASPB called "bar armor". It is a light steel bar grill mounted 3 to 4 feet away from the hull and superstructure. This armor defeated the Viet Cong's rocket grenade by exploding the grenades armor piercing warhead against the "bars" before it reached the ASPB. The use of this armor allowed the ASPB to be designed with a lighter armored hull reducing the ASPB's overall weight.
The ASPB was delivered to the U. S. Navy at the end of 1969, but never saw operational use because the war ended. However the ASPB was used by the Special Forces to train for riverine warfare until 1980 when it was taken out of service.

The United States Navy was involved in protracted warfare in the Deltas of Vietnam and along its coasts.

In reaction to that fight they developed small boats that mounted 105mm Howitzers, 20mm Cannons and a 50 cal machine gun.

Fast forward to today and the US Navy expects to be engaged in battle along coastlines in what it now calls the littoral zone.  Its answer to that fight now is to develop a ship that mounts a 57mm cannon, two 30mm cannons weighs over 1500 tons and has a flight deck.

Who is right?  The Navy of the past or the Navy of today? 

Talisman Sabre 2013. Unimpressive.

I've been bored to tears with Talisman Sabre 2013.  Quite honestly the highlight of the entire exercise was the Airborne Unit that flew from Alaska and did a jump into theater.  That demonstrated something new and unique (at least as far as this exercise is concerned).  I'd love to see the US Army become a bit more involved and start working with the Air Force or even Sea Lift Command to marry up a Stryker Brigade or to deploy a Brigade or two from the 82nd into the area rapidly.

Marine Corps operations will be focused on the MEU and with real world ops continuing I don't expect to see much happening....a table top with MEB staff working with Army, Air Force, Navy and Allies might be the biggest thing we see there.

But back to Talisman Sabre.  Snooze fest galore.

The Dragon calls for restraint.

via ZeeNews.com

Beijing: China has called on countries involved in the South China Sea issue to avoid aggravating conflicts, as Manila continues to add fuel to its maritime dispute with Beijing.
The call was given by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi while addressing a high-level forum between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Bangkok on Friday, the China Daily reported on Saturday.
"We hope the relevant countries can also uphold this spirit, walk face to face with us and not take any further actions that might complicate matters. And especially not misjudge the situation and remake mistakes," Wang said.
The minister was speaking at the forum, which was part of celebrations for the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the strategic partnership between China and ASEAN.
Manila recently said that the country's arbitral proceedings against China's territorial claims in the South China Sea were officially under way.
China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei are embroiled in the dispute in the South China Sea over territory, sovereignty and two island chains claimed in whole or in part by them.
China claims the largest portion of territory, saying its right to the area comes from 2,000 years of history.
Vietnam hotly disputes China's account, saying Beijing never claimed sovereignty over the islands until the 1940s.
The other major claimant is the Philippines. Malaysia and Brunei also lay claim to territory in the South China Sea that they say falls within their exclusive economic zones.

I can't help but wonder, did they just call for calm or did we just see a bold faced threat wrapped in a smile.

Orion Spacecraft and NASA Launch System Concepts.

Note:  Either they're fighting for budget, real progress is being made, or someone has woken up to the importance of the space program on the psyche of the nation.  Regardless I'm seeing more and more info coming out on the Orion Spacecraft.

PHL's biggest warship vs China's first aircraft carrier via GMA News.

Read the article by clicking here.

The State Department has to get into the Pacific and develop some kind of regional defense pact.  Having said that, I am pleased by some of the moves being made by the Philippine armed forces (I will point out that some of the decisions seem to be made more in fear than as a part of a plan to modernize their forces).

This is another one of those cases where SOCOM has rushed in and is providing advisors to fight insurgents in the hills while the rest of the country is focused on the real threat that the Chinese represent.  What the Philippines needs isn't jungle fighters.  They're almost breed in the countryside to be able to operate in that area.  What they need are experts from our Surface Warfare, Anti-Sub, Aviation and Mechanized Infantry Community to show them how to deal with a modern force that is networked and operating in a combined arms fashion across Air-Land-Sea-UnderSea and Cyber.

If Hagel isn't lying about the effects of sequestration then this fall will tell us all we need to know about how things will play out in the Pacific.

Those that believe that a conventional war will not take place or rather could not take place are fooling themselves.  We're radiating weakness from the highest parts of our defense establishment.  Quite honestly if I was a Chinese or Iranian General I would simply wait till the fall to see if sequestration hits.  If it does, wait until US ground forces have finished shedding all personnel and then strike in a coordinated effort on two sides of the world.

Our future "super small but high tech force" won't stand a chance.

Fitness Chick Selfy...

Blast from the past. LACV-30.

Meet the LACV-30.  An unusual boat with a limited capability, limited service and proof positive that the Army should stay in its lane when it comes to ship to shore logistics.  via FAS.

The LACV-30 was designed to carry 25 to 30 tons of containerized cargo in an over-the-shore logistics operation. Because an average container loaded with military materiel weighs approximately 18 to 20 tons, LEA reported that the LACV-30, whether self-loading or not, could safely carry only one randomly chosen container. The agency questioned whether such hauling capability was worth the severe penalties incurred. LACV-30 used five to seven times as much fuel required (per container loaded) as for conventional lighters. Extensive training was required for operators (100 hours), navigators (35 hours), and maintenance personnel. The LACV-30 faced high unit production costs, and high operation and support costs (the extent of which was not fully known).
An Army executive meeting to review the program was held on 15 January 1979 with decisions made to accept the LACV-30 as a standard Army item, begin procurement of production items, and conduct a follow-on evaluation test with the initial four craft produced. A program was conducted on the LACV-30 to test proposed improvements to the craft prior to production. A contract for initial procurement of four LACV-30's with options for follow-on buys of eight more craft, was awarded to Bell Aerospace Textron in September 1979.
In 1980 GAO recommended that the Army not commit procurement funds for the air cushioned lighterage vehicle (LACV-30). The Army had not done a cost and benefit analysis between the vehicle and an amphibious craft (LAX-LX) to determine if on-hand assets could meet amphibian watercraft requirements. GAO questioned the procurement because the Army did not know firm requirements and did not know the true performance of the air cushioned vehicle. A contractor charged with evaluating the joint tests also noted major concerns which created questions as to the air cushion vehicles' viability. Their report questioned load limitations less than the rated 30-ton capacity. Heaviest loads carried during the joint tests were between 22 and 23 short tons. Fuel consumption averaged 130 gallons per hour, which is about five times as much fuel as that required for conventional lighters. There were adverse effects of blowing sand, dust, and salt water on personnel and equipment.

Go to FAS to read the entire article, but I find it interesting that the LARC-LX was a competitor and eventually "won" the battle.  Quite honestly it sets up what should be battle lines today (once we get our financial house in shape...if we get it in shape) between the LCAC and an upgraded LCU or even a return to a supersize LARC.

Ship to shore logistics isn't fancy but it is important.  Mobile Landing Platforms won't solve the problem.  Only viable connectors will. 

China develops its version of ATACMS or a short legged Pershing.

via the Free Beacon.

The Chinese military has deployed a new advanced short-range missile known as the DF-12 that was revealed for the first time in photos posted on the Internet this week.
Disclosure of the missile follows publication of an Air Force National Space and Missile Intelligence Center (NASIC) report describing China as having the most aggressive ballistic missile development program in the world.
“China has the most active and diverse ballistic missile development program in the world,” the report said, highlighting 13 variants of short-range ballistic missiles, including five new short-range missiles systems.
Beijing currently has deployed between 1,000 and 1,200 missiles opposite Taiwan, the island nation set up after China’s civil war that Beijing has vowed to use force to reunite with the mainland.
The DF-12 missile was disclosed in a post on a Chinese website Tuesday.

Read the entire article but you can add this as another log to toss on the fire of China's learning how to develop truly long ranged missiles.

The DF-12 itself doesn't excite.  Quite honestly I view it as an ATACMS or short legged Pershing.  Its not about where they are today.  Its where will they be in five years.  So we now have Stealth fighters using stolen F-35 tech (and the Program Manager isn't positive that the leaking has stopped), an aggressive ship building program, massive modernization of their conventional Army and Marine Corps, a unification of their Maritime Security Forces, a population that is being stoked with nationalist thinking and some very aggressive moves against almost every country in the region.

Yeah.

While they're doing that, we're planning on huge cuts in our own defense spending---while every other nation in the Pacific is increasing.

No one has fired a shot, yet right now it looks like China is winning.

Police State USA. Sheriff's Dept raids an animal shelter over a fawn!

Don't believe we're on a bad piece of road?  Click here to read the story and view a  vid of SWAT being used like a hammer when a cop on a beat would have gotten the job done.

SOCOM theory and a bad future.

Upgraded BMP-2.

Socom does all kinds of training to defeat insurgent and terrorist forces.  What it doesn't do and what always gets it into trouble is when they're faced with fighting conventional forces.

That's the dirty, filthy secret of SOCOM units.  When faced with conventional (or conventional acting) forces, they always come out second best.

1.  Scud Hunt in Iraq.  Special Ops units were either hunted down and killed, hunted and harassed or aborted their missions due to the threat of running into an Iraqi Rifle Company or larger.

2.  Assault on Panama.  A heavy SEAL unit was tasked with taking out Noriega's plane.  The unit ran into a buzzsaw of alert security, security that stood and fought and a blown approach to the objective.

3.  Assault on Grenada.  A SEAL unit got chopped up and had to be rescued by the 22nd Marine Amphibious Unit (love that name...we need to drop "expeditionary" and readopt "amphibious"...everyone is expeditionary now...amphibious is unique).  The only thing that prevented annihilation was a brilliant move by one of the SEALs to use alternative forms of communication.

4.  Small Unit Ops in Afghanistan.  The stories are legion and legendary about small units being fixed, fought and damn near annihilated in the Afghanistan mountains. I've been told that its worse than the official record indicates and that several missions resulted in "bad days" but they've been classified.  I list such talk as nothing but hearsay, but it must be considered.

I said all of the above to point out the obvious.  SOCOM and small units are always at risk of being destroyed by conventional units with superior firepower and mobility.

Heading into the Pacific the question must be asked.

Why is the West emphasizing Special Operations Forces while China is doing everything in its power to improve its conventional forces?

The answer is obvious.

In a war between China and the West,  SOCOM will be a bit player.  Regular US Army and Marine Corps units will either carry the day or lose and die.

The Counter Insurgency Mafia is leading us astray.  Raids, Raids and more Raids will not work in the Pacific.  Instead of facing unorganized and poorly trained insurgents, those SOCOM forces will be facing military styled internal security or regular infantry formations.

And against such a force, getting to work by parachute or scuba tanks will matter little.  What will matter is the weight of fire that can be brought to bear.  In such a scenario 16-30 rifles along with anti-tank weapons will be small comfort against 100-400 well trained infantrymen supported by artillery and armored vehicles.

What concerns is that leadership is aware of this.  But for some reason they've convinced themselves that for the foreseeable future Special Ops and airpower will be what is needed to hold the line until economic conditions improve for the US to modernize its forces.

I think its a fool's bet.

I think that China will notice, will bide its time until the cuts are deepest and make some type of move to gauge US reaction.  No reaction or simple protests to the UN will embolden them.  But that is probably the best that we can do even now.

If China makes a land grab in the Philippines then there is nothing anyone can do to stop them.

The military decline of the US has truly begun.

PAK-FA via War Machine.

Is the US Army suffering from an "aviation bias"?

via Daily Intercepts

Since the GCV is the Army’s second-highest acquisition priority after the WIN-T communications network and is being billed as the centerpiece of its armored formations of the future—replacing the Bradley Fighting Vehicle—Odierno told the audience that “we need the Ground Combat vehicle and we have to have it. Now, we might have to delay it because of budget cuts. I don’t know; we haven’t made the decision yet.”
While this wasn’t necessarily anything new, the GCV has taken its share of lumps in recent months, having been delayed in January and then being on the receiving end of a highly critical Congressional Budget Office report in April that evaluated several existing foreign infantry carriers that the government budgeteers said would meet most of the requirements of the GCV at a lower cost.
Still, the Army will do what it can to leave the program intact even as it prepares to absorb $52 billion in cuts in fiscal year 2014.

Sorry.  I'm running out of fucks to give for the plight that the services find themselves in.

The Army is following the USMC's lead by shielding its aviation programs and ignoring the issues with its armored forces.  Buys of the AH-64E and CH-47F are continuing.  Meanwhile the Ground Combat Vehicle (GCV) and the Armored MultiPurpose Vehicle (AMPV) appear to be on life support.

I  point to the Stryker and talk about Army modernization efforts but the reality is that it was only meant to be an interim vehicle and served more to bring into being a Brigade based operating doctrine more than fulfill a requirement for a new Army troop carrier.

I don't know the hows or the whys but it appears that in both of the services that concentrate on winning battles and wars on the ground, aviation is taking a seat of dominance over armored protection for the troops.

I've got to figure out why.

Soldiers turned hitmen.

via Fox News.

Mexican cartels are recruiting hit men from the U.S. military, offering big money to highly-trained soldiers to carry out contract killings and potentially share their skills with gangsters south of the border, according to law enforcement experts.
The involvement of three American soldiers in separate incidents, including a 2009 murder that led to last week’s life sentence for a former Army private, underscore a problem the U.S. military has fought hard to address.
"We have seen examples over the past few years where American servicemen are becoming involved in this type of activity," said Fred Burton, vice president for STRATFOR Global Intelligence. "It is quite worrisome to have individuals with specialized military training and combat experience being associated with the cartels."

Click here to read it all.

DHS has the ball it needs to make every person that ever served in the military suspect now.  I find it interesting though that the "ex-LT" would engage in such behavior.

Well maybe I shouldn't be surprised.  If a lying to the Senate, using improper command influence, record falsifying Commandant can get the full support of the SecDef, then why shouldn't it be ok for an Army Officer to become a hitman for the drug gangs in Mexico while on active duty?

Welcome to the new US military.

4th Combat Aviation Brigade conducting training.

Note:  Does anyone remember the "netfires" concept?  Couldn't help but remember the promise of that project when I saw the shipping container.  

Marine Armor Predictions.

I've been playing catch up on the latest news from the SecDef regarding his "fears" if Sequestration continues.

Oh and be advised.  It will continue.

And I keep coming back to the same issue.  What does this mean for the Amphibious Combat Vehicle?

It means bad news.  The Aviation Commandant has already delayed it 3 times and when Sequestration hits full force this fall, that will be the final nail in the coffin for this program.  We'll hear the same excuses that we did for the Marine Personnel Carrier.  Talk about how it'll be revisited.  Talk about how we can make do with the vehicle we have.  Talk about how this is managed risk.

But in the end, we'll have Marines riding into combat in 50 years old vehicles.

SideNote:  From what I'm hearing the JLTV is DRT...Dead Right There.  Notice no public discussion of the program?  Its because its being taken down to the river and held under until it stops kicking.