Valour Class Frigate. They once envied our gear...now we envy thiers.

via Naval Today.

he ship is being sent on a month-long patrol Aimed at strengthening South African Navy's relations with its African counterparts.SAS Spioenkop is the third of four Valour class frigates of the South African Navy built by the European South African Corvette Consortium.The ship is 121m long and 18 meters wide.
The frigates of this class were built to a modern stealth design to avoid enemy radar and infrared detection.
The ship is distinctive with a new propulsion system, Comprising of a water-jet drive, in addition to two propellers.
During the patrol, SAS Spioenkop sea will attend the concert in Senegal, and visit some African countries.
She is expected to return home at the end of November.

We once had gear that made allies envious.

Now their stuff makes us dream of equally capable gear.

Even tiny, backwards, economically messed up S. Africa has a more capable "LCS" than we do.

China double hulled aircraft carrier????

via IDRW.org

SOURCE: CHINA DAILY MAIL Qianzhan.com said yesterday in its report: China has to put an end to its old practice of countries Following others' footsteps. Sources say que through meticulous engineering and mechanical analysis, China will conduct research and development of the first 180,000-ton double hull aircraft carrier in the world. If successful, it will be the Chinese territory with movable maritime hegemony.

This is wild.  Crazy.  Is it possible?  We've seen the idea floating around Chinese military forum sites for a while but could they actually pull this off?  That would make one juicy target.

Question.  What do we have in inventory that can take out a Chinese Capital Ship?  Harpoons?  SDB's?  JDAM's?

We're going to need new anti-ship missiles. 

F-35. 10,000 Flight Hours? That's really bad news.

via Examiner.

The U.S.-led F-35 Lightning II program has achieved a milestone of 10,000 flight hours, prime contractorLockheed Martin announced Oct. 9.
Through September, F-35s had flown 6,492 times for a total of 10,077 flight hours, the company said.
All three variants of the stealthy fighter jet contributed to the accomplishment: the conventional-takeoff-and-landing F-35A, the short-takeoff-and-vertical-landing F-35B and the carrier variant F-35C. The F-35, also known as theJoint Strike Fighter, is being developed for the U.S. Air Force, Marine Corp and Navy and for international partners. The U.S. military plans to begin fielding the aircraft in late 2015.
Lockheed Martin’s announcement came less than two weeks after the Pentagon’s inspector general released a report identifying a series of “quality assurance” oversight problems that “could adversely affect aircraft performance, reliability, maintainability, and ultimately program cost.” The government F-35 program office and Lockheed Martin countered that they have already fixed most of the problems outlined in the report.

Interesting.

10,000 freaking flight hours and its not ready for prime time yet.  Oh and consider this boys and girls.  Think about other programs that were killed in the crib that failed less than the F-35....

*  Comanche
*  FCS
*  EFV
*  MPC
*  F-22 (program was truncated at around 200 airplanes)
*  B-2

And those are just off the top of the head without any real research.

You wonder why I hate this program?

Its simple.

It costs too much, has delivered too little, is way too late and won't effectively combat our peer competitor in aerial warfare.

We're paying for a Ferrari with a 10 horsepower engine, with cheap plastic seats that has an AM/FM radio for entertainment.  Its weird, its obsolete and its not what we wanted. 

Thanks for this link Don!

Check this out people.  The Vanity Fair article was the program manager basically yelling, praying, begging for the program to be canceled and now this...
Chief tester Gilmore, Jun 19, 2013:

"Although mission systems testing has been able to keep pace with the program plans for generating sorties and accomplishing the test points, the program is falling behind in achieving progress in delivering capability. This lack of progress is caused in part by the need to add unplanned testing to evaluate problems, such as the 221 added points for dedicated testing of the helmet mounted display system, as well as for regression testing of new software loads delivered to flight test, where 366 test points have been added already in calendar year 2013 to evaluate four new software releases [now to be changed]. . .We haven’t actually tested any combat capability,” Gilmore told senators, adding that there may not be enough time or money for full testing of these crucial capabilities in 2018, as scheduled. . . .We need to have more rigorous developmental testing. We need to let that testing proceed before we make production decisions."
http://tinyurl.com/k2cjj4c 

Another official with the program saying for anyone to listen...stop this madness.  Stop production until we can get this thing fixed!!!!  If the Marine Corps had done the same thing with the EFV like the Pentagon is doing with the F-35 then we'd have all the vehicles bought and in the fleet before we had it working properly.  But we didn't do that.  So why are we doing it with a much more complex machine?  It makes no sense.

China just got the engines for its stealth fighters.

Thanks Slowman!

via Want China Times.

The Saturn AL-41F — a Russian-built variable-bypass ratio turbofan engine — is likely to be sold to China together with advanced Su-35 fighters under the contract signed last November, reports Kanwa Defense Review operated by Andrei Chang also known as Pinkov, a military analyst based in Canada.
A source within Russia's aviation industry told Kanwa that he opposed the sale of the sensitive systems to China. Even though Russia will only provide 24 Su-35 fighters, the official stressed that he does not know their true intentions for wanting to purchase the Russian aircraft, adding that China may be able to steal Russian technology through the deal.
Alexander Mikheev, the deputy CEO of Rosoboronexport, Russia's state intermediary agency for exporting and importing defense-related products, stated that an initial agreement had been reached between Beijing and Moscow regarding the sale of the Su-35s. However, the formal contract will not be signed until next year. To prevent China from stealing Russian technology, Mikheev admitted that an additional agreement was signed to defend Russian intellectual property rights back in 2008.


China's J-15 carrier-based fighter is based on Russian blueprints, and many in Russia believe that a second agreement must be signed to protect Russia's interests. However, Mikheev told Kanwa that if China is willing to follow the first agreement then a second agreement is not necessary. Russian aerospace company Sukhoi estimated that among the 200 aircraft it produces, 100 will be sold to foreign nations, the report said.

China just got the basis for the engines to fit its 5th generation fighters.

Now, if you consider the stolen tech from Lockheed Martin and BAE, along with this development, it becomes obvious that the F-35 is just not going to be good enough in the fighter role to stay in production.

We're selling our airmen and allies a lie.

The F-35 won't hold up and stealth won't be enough to counter high flying, fast and long ranged Chinese 4th gen fighters, much less 5th gens coming out.

Time to admit that this has turned out badly.  Stop throwing good money after bad...and start on a 6th gen fighter design that can rule the skies. 

Japan's New Maneuver Combat Vehicle.

Thanks DWI!

General Dynamics Land Systems Europe SK 105. Outside chance for the 82nd Airborne Tank?

I have been trying hard to figure out what vehicles the US Army would pick to compete for the 82nd's Airborne Tank Regiment.

Immediately BAE's CV-90120T came to mind but after that I was stumped.  Many people suggested the French ERC 90, but that vehicle is out of production so what could fill the need?  Almost every vehicle that I came up with wasn't a light tank but actually a mobile gun system mounted on wheeled vehicles.

Larger offerings in this category that come closer to what I believe the army is looking for are not transportable or droppable by C-130.

Then I remembered General Dynamics Land Systems Europe still has a dinosaur from the '60's listed on their site.

The SK-105!

Stats follow via GDLSE website.

The SK 105 is a light tank family of vehicles with a rifled 105 mm gun. The latest version of the vehicle (A2) incorporates a 2-axis stabilized turret with electrical drives. It further provides its users with latest generation IR sights, a ballistic computer and the ability to fire APFSDS rounds for increased lethality.
Due to its low weight, the SK 105 can be transported by C-130 Hercules transport aircraft or amphibious assault boats. This vehicle is specifically designed for mountainous terrain or areas with reduced infrastructure and has an improved climbing ability and maneuverability compared to heavier main battle tanks.
Variants
SK 105 A1
SK 105 A2
Greif armored recovery vehicle
Engineering vehicle
SK105 driver training vehicle
Armored personnel carrier
Mortar vehicle

What has me most geeked about this offering (and the BAE product) is the fact that we're looking at a family of vehicles.

We could, if the Army follows through, finally see that long lusted for but never achieved...Mechanized Airborne Forces!

That would be a serious.  Serious.  Oh shit type force that would compete with the Marine Corps realistically as a forcible entry option.  Instead of seizing an airport and moving out at 3 miles an hour, you could either parachute or LAPES in a mechanized force that can go out and kick ass.

SIDENOTE:  I just realized when trying to see what Army procurements officials were looking at in finding an off the shelf vehicle, exactly how limited armor innovation is becoming.  There are no new designs coming out of any of the design houses except BAE.  Even there new concepts are getting crushed.  Remember the SEP?  That had all the hallmarks of an outstanding 8 or 6 wheeled APC.  Modular for real and not just a talking point and it could get no buyers.  Instead we're seeing improvements on vehicles that were designed in the 60's and 70's.  Once the current design teams break up or retire, armor development in the West is going to stagnate.  The only good news is that Russia and China aren't putting together anything outstanding either.  TURKEY, S. KOREA, JAPAN and SINGAPORE will probably become the leaders in tank development. 

CV-90120T for the 82nd??

Thanks Nuno for the link!

via National Defense Blog (click here to read it all)...

Army paratroopers gave up their tanks in 1997. Now they want them back.
“The infantry needs more protection and more firepower,” says Col. Ed House, Army Training and Doctrine Command manager for the infantry brigade combat team.

Even in these times of deep budget cuts and a projected steep decline in purchases of military hardware, senior Army officials believe that a light tank is a high priority that should be funded. In a future war, they contend, Army airborne forces would parachute into a warzone equipped with only light weapons and might have to confront more heavily armed enemies.
Army leaders understand that, after 12 years of war, the infantry brigades have a “capability gap,” House says in an interview from Fort Benning, Ga. “The forcible entry forces we put in harm’s way lack sufficient protected firepower platform.”
The current plan is to provide the XVIII Airborne Corps — a fast-to-the-scene 911 force — a flotilla of light tanks that can be flown by C-130 cargo planes and parachuted into the warzone.

Light tanks existed in the Army’s inventory from World War I until the end of the Cold War. Production of the 16-ton Sheridan ended in 1970 after approximately 1,700 vehicles were delivered to the Army. The last unit to operate the Sheridan was the 3d Battalion, 73d Armor Regiment of the 82d Airborne Division, which was inactivated in July 1997 following a wave of cost cutting. The Army considered buying a replacement for the Sheridan, the Armored Gun System, but that program was terminated after the Army had bought just six vehicles.
House says the goal is to replicate the functions of 3-73 although he admits it will be hard to locate a modern version of the Sheridan. “The tough part of this is to find a vehicle that fits in the back of a C-130 and can descend by parachute,” he says. “The Sheridan did that pretty well back in the 1990s.”
Training and Doctrine Command officials are scoping the market for existing vehicles that could perform a similar role as the Sheridan.
Up to 140 candidates are being considered, says Col. Rocky Kmiecik, director of mounted requirements at the capabilities development and integration directorate.

So what will the 82nd pick?

A better question what are the vehicles that will be in the competition?

The biggest factor will be the air droppable and armor ratings.  That's going to knock alot of vehicles out right away.  Especially the airdrop consideration.

Stryker won't make the cut.  Patria AMV?  Nope.  BAE SuperAv?  Nope.  VBCI?  Hell no!  So what does that actually leave us with.

I think we're going to see BAE do some mods to its CV-90120T.  I think we're going to see General Dynamics offer the LAV-25A2 with a 105mm cannon.  Perhaps the Terrex might be offered with a turreted main gun. But I seriously doubt 140 different vehicles are seriously being looked at.  I don't think there are that many vehicles on the market.

Yeah.  In the end it'll be the CV-90120T by a landslide.  And then the Army will cancel the program. 

WTF! Undercover cop riding with gang members also assaulted the motorist!

Oh this is too weird, sad and terrible to believe.

The Truth About Guns blog is reporting that an undercover cop riding with Hollywood Stuntz, participated in the assault on the unfortunate man and his family.

Read about this steaming pile here.

F-35. Not yet operational but already obsolete?

via The Disaffected Lib.

The authoritative military journal, Janes, reports that Lockheed's overdue, overpriced and under-performing F-35 Wunderjet is already encountering problems with obsolescence.
The United States has embarked on a technology refresh development track for the electronic warfare (EW) module of the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter to overcome obsolescence issues before the system has even made it into service.This has seen the US Naval Air Systems Command place a USD149 million contract to Lockheed Martin, as a modification to a previous advanced acquisition deal and covers the "redesign and qualification of replacement F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter Electronic Warfare system components due to current diminishing manufacturing sources".
This is consistent with the criticism recently leveled by Aviation Week's Bill Sweetman that the endless delays in getting the F-35 deployed have played into its main adversaries' hands, allowing them to develop technologies to counter the airplane long before it even enters service.

Interesting.

This airplane has been in development/production for over 10 years now.  A quick comparison to the Marine Personnel Carrier which the Marine Corps is delaying for approx a decade (if we're lucky) shows that Marine officials believe that the tech will have dramatically improved in that time frame and all current competitors will not be valid.

What happens when it comes to aviation?

A look at the F-16V tells a bit of the story.  AESA radar, big displays, more powerful engine...its getting close to having everything the F-35 has except for stealth.

What does the F-16V have that the F-35 doesn't?  Better agility, faster acceleration, better low speed handling and if properly equipped with conformal fuel tanks---range that gets you close to what we're seeing out of the F-35.  Plus its cheaper and more maintenance friendly.

Oh and keep an eye on the maintenance part of this fellas.  If the USAF is an example and if the complete buy of F-35's is authorized then you're going to see Air Wings bigger than Infantry Regiment (personnel wise).

Obsolete, killing the Marine Corps budget and changing our doctrine instead of augmenting it.  Why do we need the F-35 again?

You caught what, where? via Terminal Lance.

Colonel, I don't think your wife is gonna buy this~!

I need a LEO to explain how this was appropriate.

Operation Praying Mantis. Know Your History!

Marines inspect a ZU-23 23mm automatic anti-aircraft gun on the Iranian Sassan oil platform.

Do you remember or have knowledge of Operation Praying Mantis?

No?

Well you definitely should.  Name a naval engagement where....
*  Marines and Navy SEALs boarded Oil Platforms
*  Destroyers engaged ZSU-23's aboard Oil Platforms.
*  F-4 Phantoms made attack runs at a surface group.
*  Speed boats to attack various targets throughout the Gulf...including US flagged vessels.
*  Surface to air missiles were fired at a surface ship

via Wikipedia....

Action continued to escalate. The Joshan, an Iranian Combattante II Kaman-class fast attack craft, challenged USS Wainwright (CG-28) and Surface Action Group Charlie. The commanding officer of USS Wainwright directed a final warning (of a series of warnings) stating that the Joshan was to "stop your engines, abandon ship, I intend to sink you". Joshanresponded by firing a Harpoon missile at them.[5] The USS Simpson (FFG-56) responded to the challenge by firing two Standard missiles, while Wainwright followed with one Standard missile.[5] The attacks destroyed the Iranian ship's superstructure but did not immediately sink it, so USS Bagley (FF-1069) fired a Harpoon of its own; the missile did not find the target. SAG Charlie closed on the Joshan, with Simpson, then Bagley and Wainwright firing guns to sink the crippled Iranian ship.[5]
Two Iranian F-4 Phantom fighters then approached the Wainwright. One fighter left the area soon after the cruiser placed its 55B Fire Control Radar in search mode. The second fighter made a low-altitude approach towards the warship, which responded by firing two SM-2 missiles at the fighter. One hit the Iranian aircraft, blowing off part of its wing and peppering the fuselage with shrapnel. The Iranian pilot managed to land his damaged airplane at Bandar Abbas.[5]

You can read more here.  A few of the systems involved but definitely not all follows...

 Standard missiles

Iranian Combattante II Kaman-class fast attack 

 Boghammar speedboats

USS Merrill DD-976

Somalia Raid. Were the SEALs attempting a Ranger mission?

This one is courtesy of a comment made by Max Headroom.

The question is a simple one.

Were the SEALs given a mission in Somalia that would be better carried out by the Rangers?  Or MARSOC?

Company and Battalion sized raids are I'm sure a Ranger thing...and I believe MARSOC specialty.  Historically SEALs have had problems with large scale actions.  Panama comes readily to mind.  MARSOC is relatively new to SOCOM so I can see why their MIGHT have been hesitation to use them in the graveyard that is Somalia.  But Rangers have been throat punching in that region for decades.

Why weren't they given the mission...especially considering the environment?

We can look at the makeup of the raid (SEAL Team 6 plus another detachment/team of SEALs providing support) and it appearing that air support was laid on for support so I would think that resistance WAS expected.

The SEALs have been accused of getting the "juicy" missions because of McRaven being in the command chair at SOCOM.  Were the SEALs  given a mission they were ill suited to carry out successfully?  Would a Ranger Company/Battalion been a better choice?  

This story will make you want to punch walls...

Thanks for the article WILL!

via FoxNews.

The Pentagon is sending $50 million cargo planes straight from the assembly line to mothballs because it has no use for them, yet it still hasn’t stopped ordering the aircraft, according to a report.
A dozen nearly new Italian-built C-27J Spartans have been shipped to an Air Force facility in Arizona dubbed “the boneyard,” and five more currently under construction are likely headed for the same fate, according to an investigation by the Dayton Daily News.  The Air Force has spent $567 million on 21 of the planes since 2007, according to purchasing officials at Dayton’s Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. Of those, 16 have been delivered – with almost all sent directly to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, where some 4,400 aircraft and 13 aerospace vehicles, with a total value of more than $35 billion, sit unused.
The C-27J has the unique capability of taking off and landing on crude runways, Ethan Rosenkranz, national security analyst at the Project on Government Oversight, told the newspaper. But with sequestration dictating Pentagon cuts, the planes were deemed a luxury it couldn't afford.
“When they start discarding these programs, it's wasteful,” he said.
The planes are built by Rome-based Alenia Aermacchi, under what was initially a $2 billion contract, though that was scaled back.

Wow.

They paid for planes that they had no intention of using.

They're being sent directly to the boneyards.  How can we not do a complete audit of the Pentagon after hearing news like this?

They say you get the government you deserve.  We can't be this full of shit can we? 

SEALs get pushed back into the sea by primitives.

Thanks for the article NICO!

via NBC News.

The SEALs opted to withdraw.
U.S. military sources said they did so in stages, making their way down the beach, asking and waiting for further orders. The team, sources said, was still considering the option of returning to fight some more.
As air support was called in, the SEALs headed back to the beach and to their boat. A command decision had been made that the prize was not worth the risk of casualties to civilians and SEALs.
The SEALs escaped from Barawe without any deaths or injuries, according to sources and officials. And the target they sought to capture is still at large.
The SEALs were members of the same unit that raided Osama bin Laden’s compound in 2011, killing the al Qaeda leader.
“After the past few years and the bin Laden raid, everyone thinks these operations are easy – they’re not,” said a senior military official familiar with the operation. “The area doesn’t have the same support network for us as Afghanistan and Iraq.”

No racial or ethnic biased is intended in the title.  I simply state the obvious in terms of military power.

The SEALs were facing a primitive force and were repelled.  

They lost.

General Vaughn's warning is staring McRaven in the face and we have gotten no response from the Top Bullfrog.

What does this tell us about SOCOM?  What does it say about operations in the future?

I think it means that the entire dept is headed toward Ranger type operations.  No more platoon sized raids.  We're looking at Company or larger.  I wouldn't be surprised to see the number of SEAL Teams contract with each Team getting MUCH larger.

In other words we're going to see SOCOM looking more and more like a Marine Corps Infantry Battalion..additionally someone is going to have to take a serious look at the tooth-to-tail ratio of SOCOM.  

Things seem to be heating up in Brazil.

Two stories via Forcas Terrerestres...

The First...

The Navy of Brazil participates, Sunday, Operation conducted by the Security Bureau of the Government of the State of Rio de Janeiro (RJ-SESEG) in Complex Lins in order to contribute to the continuity of the program implementation of the Police Units Pacification (UPP).
Through the Fleet Marine Force, Brazil's Navy will provide logistic support to transport Special Operations Battalions (BOPE) and Shock (BPChq) of the Military Police of Rio de Janeiro (PMERJ), and the Coordination of Resources Special (CORE), the Civil Police of the state of Rio de Janeiro (PCERJ).
A Grouping Operating Marines, with 180 effective military will act in Operation. These military will operate 14 armored vehicles to ensure the mobility of the Police Forces in the following communities Complex Lins: Possum, Hill of Love, Cachoeirinha Waterfall Grande, Morro da Cotia, Black Clay, Red Clay and Hill Meeting.
Will be used six armored tracked vehicles M-113 four Caterpillar Amphibian Cars (CLAnf) and four cars Mowag Piranha personnel carriers.
The Commander GptOpFuzNav-VIII is Captain Rio-de-Fragata (Marines) JOSEPH WILLIAMVIEGAS .

Brazil's Fleet Marine Forces helping out their para-military police groups when they operate in the ghettos is nothing new.  It appears (and I'm not entirely sure) that they're sending a more substantial bit of armor this go around.

The second...

The 11th RC Mec, keeping his troops constantly adestrada held, on 02 October, a navigation instruction with armored EE 11 - urutu. The activity was held at Lake Hydroelectric Plant St. John II, here in Ponta Pora / MS.
A armored personnel carrier urutu, domestic manufacturing, is an amphibious vehicle, ie it is able to navigate. The instruction to all drivers of the 11th armored RC Mec, aimed to remind the preparation procedures of car navigation as well as maintaining the training of the troops.

 A couple of reasons why this caught my attention.  First, the Brazilian Army is serious about water ops.  Its something that the US Army will probably get more into once the turn to the Pacific fully takes hold.  The second thing is that the EE11's although not a modern design seem serviceable.  Additionally its curious that they sought out the assistance of Iveco instead of doing an in house improvement. Don't get me wrong.  They have a winner in production now, but Brazil was once on the leading edge of domestic armored vehicle production.

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.