4 more female Marines fall short at Infantry Officer Course

via Marine Corps Times.

Four more women took on the Marine Corps Infantry Officer Course on Thursday and washed out, the latest chapter in the service’s ongoing research into which roles women should be able to fill in combat.
The women failed the school’s introductory Combat Endurance Test, a grueling exam designed to assess physical strength, stamina and the ability to make decisions while exhausted. They were recruited on a voluntary basis to attempt IOC at Quantico, Va.
All told, 81 male and female Marines began the initial endurance test yesterday at Quantico. Sixty-five men passed; 12 male Marines and four female Marines did not, said Capt. Maureen Krebs, a Marine spokeswoman at the Pentagon.

Everyone wants to say that people are being sexist because they don't believe women belong in the infantry.

That's not true.

If I was as biased as many believe then I'd be shouting about these results.  Instead I'm a little bummed.  These female officers were put through a meat grinder when the outcome was predictable.

Its biology, not sociology.

What infuriates me is that while Amos is running these experiments, no one is thinking about the damage being done to the psychology of these women.

I'm sure they're outstanding people, winners in every sense of the word.  But instead of being setup for continued success, the Marine Corps set them up for failure.  A hard charging female officer is now doubting herself. The Marine Corps did those 4 women an injustice.  There was no way they could succeed and everyone knew it going in.

NOTE:  What will be the bigger shame is if they're babying the females at SOI-EAST.  I'm told they are and that the instructors have been warned not to let any of the females fail.  If thats the case then what does that tell us?  I think its clear.  The Marine Corps will lower its standards for the led but not its leaders?  It really doesn't matter though.  Boot Camp and SOI isn't where the wheat is separated from the chaff.  Its in the fleet.  Even if every female at SOI graduates they won't last a year in the fleet.  Biology.  Not sociology.

Kilcullen confirms what survivalist, gun guys, preppers and thinking people already know...

Gizmodo has an article written by Kilcullen that is a confirmation read.

It confirms what most of the people on that read my blog already know.  Cities are breeding grounds for violence, the suburbs can become feral and crime is warfare by other means.

Crime is warfare by other means.

I've always thought that the only reason why we haven't already seen outbreaks of massive violence in the US and Europe is because of the social programs.  They're keeping a lid on the situation.  But one day interest rates will spike, the economy will take another nose dive and all bets are off.

That's when things become fun.

Watching the Saints...spitting lead...

I'm watching the Saints while laying souls to rest on World of Tanks...meet my T1 Cunningham Elite...Pain in a jalopy.

Navy SEALs. Publicity Hounds????

Just a few days ago, I set aside my critique of Admiral McRaven and gave him an atta-boy because he responded to a child's letter to him (and included a challenge coin).

I thought it was just cool.

But the next day I read that Navy SEALs were involved in a raid in Somalia.  via The Washington Times.

American commandos carried out raids on Saturday in two far-flung African countries in a powerful flex of military muscle aimed at capturing fugitive terrorist suspects. American troops assisted by F.B.I. and C.I.A. agents seized a suspected leader of Al Qaeda on the streets of Tripoli, Libya, while Navy SEALs raided the seaside villa of a militant leader in a predawn firefight on the coast ofSomalia.

 This whole thing seems orchestrated.  McRaven letting news of his response to a child being released to the public...and now news of the raid in Somalia.

The SEALs culturally seem to love publicity.

I hope Retired Lt General Vaughn is wrong but I see the wisdom in his words.....

“Now I’m going to tell you, one of these days, if you keep publishing how you do this, the other guy’s going to be there ready for you, and you’re going to fly in and he’s going to shoot down every damn helicopter and kill every one of your SEALs. Now, watch it happen. Mark my words. Get the hell out of the media,”

The SEALs had to call in air support for this mission.  

The firefight lasted for over an hour.

I don't know cause I wasn't there but from the outside looking in, this thing was dicey.  A firefight that lasts for over an hour?  In Somalia?  SEALs might soon going to go from being the hunters to being the hunted.

Confirmation of participation in raids of this type is only going to feed the desire of terrorist world wide to take a SEAL scalp (literally).

McRaven needs to follow Vaughn's advice.  Stay out of the media, keep the missions secret and don't even acknowledge having done the work.  It'll be less news for me to comment on, less news for the news media but it might help keep some of those Sailors alive.

F-35. American built, Russian inspired...never proven.

Yak 141.

The world's first Supersonic STOVL airplane.  Do you recognize the engine layout?  Basically the same as the F-35.  This airplane never went into production.

What does all this have to do with the price of tea in China?  It boils down to the fact that (and I hate having to admit this) STOVL capability and the airplanes that the USAF and USN need are totally incompatible.  You can share avionics, engine cores etc...but sharing airframes is a step too far.

The F-35.  American built, Russian inspired, never proven and an eventual failure.  How do we know?  Because even the daddy's of this design (the Russians) abandoned it. 

A-12 Avenger II, the X-32 and the F-35.

Consider this your weekend assignment.  I'm going to kill hogs and hopefully you'll be all over this when I get back.

Consider the A-12, X-32 and F-35.

They couldn't be more different yet they're all connected in a strange yet fascinating way.  The A-12, slatted to be the US Navy's next strike fighter...stealthy, a flying wing and designed to penetrate the toughest defenses on the planet unscathed.  But things went wrong.  Between the Navy adding requirements and specifications...the contractor allowing costs to balloon and the obvious delays all this brought on, the plane was cancelled, the Navy and the contractor were at knifes edge and the entire dept was put on warning.  DON'T DO IT THIS WAY EVER AGAIN.

Consider the X-32.  Boeing played it straight.  They didn't come in with "half" a plane, were well aware of the issues with the A-12..designed an airplane that met all the requirements including the DoD's supposedly number one priority of affordability...and they got beat when the DoD turned around and let Lockheed Martin enter a plane that didn't even have a bomb bay.  Additionally my beloved Marine Corps was so infatuated with hot and high performance that they didn't consider a couple of issues...1.  lift fans turn into empty weight for 99 percent of an airplane's flight profile and 2.  even the Russians didn't succeed in making this work on production vehicles (the crashes etc...are legion on the internet).

Now consider the F-35.  We've been dealing with this bullshit for 10 years.  When is enough, enough?  When do we finally say that we're done, it costs too much and we're not going to keep pumping good money after bad in an obviously failed program?

History tells the story.  Lockheed Martin continuing to peddle this jacked up airplane AND still selling production rights to anyone who will build it is telling.

Sequestration will continue.  The best thing the military can do is to cancel this program and fund other much needed projects....what say you?

C-130 unleashing hellfire (missile).

Blast from the past. Bristol 188 via HushKit.

This plane defies the saying..if it looks right it is right.  It was to be a MACH 3 testbed and barely made it to MACH 2.  Quite beautiful though.

I slam McRaven and SOCOM but this is cool...

Ok McRaven.  You get my atta-boy award for the day.  Too awesome!

F-35 trickeration. S. Korean Fighter Competition is a joke.

via AINOnline.

Lockheed Martin’s F-35A Joint Strike Fighter and the Eurofighter Typhoon are back in play for South Korea’s F-X III fighter requirement after that country made a sudden decision to reject the last remaining contender, Boeing’s F-15SE Silent Eagle, and restart the procurement process.
An executive committee of South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), chaired by Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin, met on September 24 and determined that the F-15SE “is not suitable as it lacks stealth features,” according to Yonhap News Agency. The defense ministry opposed the procurement agency’s selection process because it prioritized cost over combat capability, the news service said. A majority of the committee’s members “agreed that the South Korean Air Force needs fifth-generation combat jets to keep pace with the latest trends and to deter provocations by North Korea,” defense ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok told Yonhap.

Why even have a contest?

Why is the Eurofighter and Boeing playing this game?

Under the table deal making...industrial blackmail on an international scale...and phony pricing has already determined the outcome of this contest.

Lockheed Martin, the USMC and USAF have rigged this contest.  They want the price low and will do whatever it takes to see that the F-35 wins.

If the S. Koreans were smart they would face facts.  They're Lockheed Martin's bitch.  A proud people have been reduced to lap dogs for a corporation.  Its sad, but its true.  Don't feel bad.  The US Marine Corps feels your pain.

Hollywood Stuntz terrorized other people too.

Remember the guy that ended up in a comma because his gang decided to harass motorist and got ran over because the motorist feared for his life?

Well they were the only people that got harassed that day.  Here's a vid of them doing it to a Prius.

Good thing this happened in New York.  Between my truck rifle, my handgun and '33s sitting on a 4inch lift, the options are pretty good for my side in the deep south.  And trust me.  I ride light compared to some people I know.

Military Trained, Anti-Law Enforcement Shooter.

We've talked about it for ages here on SNAFU! but this is the first time we're seeing it play out.

Personally, the bad guys tactics are pretty good...except he didn't press his attack. If he did then the LEO would be dead. The LEO should have had gun out as soon as the guy refused to comply.

Is this a situation where political correctness is causing hesitation on the part of LEOs?

I would say yes.

I would also say fuck political correctness if you want another sunrise.

Female Marine tries the Infantry...gets fucked up.

Read the story here.

Pic of the day. A Kevin Martin1 Special.

How much law enforcement is in DC????

I'm watching the briefing on the DC shooting and I've got a question.  How many law enforcement agencies are in DC???  I'm counting...

1.  FBI
2.  ATF
3.  Secret Service
4.  Uniformed Secret Service
5.  Park Police
6.  Capitol Police
7.  US Marshals Service
8.  Homeland Security
9.  DC Police
10.  DEA
11.  ICE
12.  TSA (and I can't make out the rest of what's written on the raid jacket)

That's just the Law Enforcement Agencies.  Not counting the quasi-intel/security agencies.  If we count those then we're adding...

1.  CIA
2.  DIA
3.  US Army Intelligence Agency
4.  US Navy Intelligence Agency
5.  NSA

Oh and if we're looking at "special units for security in a national emergency" then you'd have to count "8th and I" that are slatted to provide security at Camp David and can be used in the city if ordered and the Army ceremonial unit.   I'm not sure if the USAF and Navy units also provide the same function.

Someone better deconflict DC with a quickness.

F-35 claims another scalp. US Army seeks to delay AMPV program.

via FedBuzz...

The Army wants to delay the start of its armored multi-purpose vehicle program by one year and raise its development costs by several hundred million dollars,according to Defense News.
The Army wants to buy 2,097 AMPVs over 13 years costing roughly $1.8 million apiece. The new draft request for proposals released Tuesday does not include an average unit manufacturing cost, unlike the March draft. The Army will now plan to award a five-year contract in May 2014 to one contractor that will manufacture 29 vehicles for government testing. This will be followed by a three-year low-rate initial production contract starting in 2020.

You can call this a face saving move.  This program is as dead as disco.  

Canadian Forces TAPV gets in the mud!

47% availability rate? Good job USAF!

I contend that stealth is too costly for fly everyday and train hard, then go to war type airplanes.  I also believe that the code will be cracked soon and all the money being spent on stealth will be seen as a passing phase of the development of warplanes.  Even saying that, David Axe has an eye opening article on B2 availability.  It ain't good.  Read it here.

Blast from the past. Pics from the Eastern Front via English Russia.

Motorcycle Gangster left paralyzed.

Above is a photo of one of the motorcycle "gang" that terrorized a family in supposedly safe New York.  The driver of the vehicle being terrorized did the only sensible thing and fled, using his car as a weapon.

I don't like the idea of a young man being paralyzed, perhaps forever but he was part of a mob that was harassing people.  I don't know if this is Karma but it sings.

Read about it here.