US World War II Amphibious Tactics Army & Marine Corps - Pacific Theater

  US World War II Amphibious Tactics Army & Marine Corps, Pacific Theater

Exercise Steel Knight 2014

Tomorrow, Exercise Steel Knight 2014 kicks off. From Dec. 9 through Dec. 16, our Marines and sailors will be working around the clock to conduct an amphibious landing, helibourne raids and live fire exercises. Steel Knight supports the strategic pivot to the Pacific and reinforces our role as America's force-in-readiness.

I continue to chuckle at the effort being made to make the Marine Expeditionary Brigade the centerpiece of Marine Ops when every part of its construction yells that the MEU and MEF are the premier forces.

Steel Knight is just another example of the importance of Divisions in the Marine Corps.  Attempting to move to the "Brigade" just won't happen.  The Congressional Charter is based on Marine Divisions.  The operating tempo is based on Battalion Landing Teams.  If you can't change those two things then the MEB will remain a little used capability.  The future belongs to the MEU and MEF.

Top Wheeled Self Propelled Artillery Systems.

Wheeled Self Propelled Artillery is all the rage today.  The US Army has even proposed a version of the Stryker to fulfill the mobile howitzer requirement.  What follows is what I consider the top 5 vehicles.  I'm basing this off mobility, armor protection, IED protection, firepower and fire control systems.

5.  155mm SpGH ZUZANA
The Warsaw Pact are the fathers (at least in modern times) of the wheeled self propelled artillery concept.  This vehicle was an original and would prove devastating.  Luckily allied forces never faced its firepower.

4.  Archer.
This is possibly the most advanced wheeled system in the world.  It has an armored cab to protect against small arms fire, shell splinters and IEDs, and a very sophisticated fire control system.  Its greatest threat?  Artillery dies to pay for the F-35.  Don't believe me?  Ask the Norwegian Army why the Archer was cancelled for "late delivery" but the F-35, NH-90 still continue.  Artillery is and will remain the greatest killer on a modern battlefield.

3.  Caesar.
The Caesar is always lauded as the new breed of artillery systems.  I remain unimpressed.  Quite honestly if BAE married a few M-777's with MTVR's we'd have the same thing only better. Don't get me wrong---the Caesar is good.  It has strategic and tactical mobility.  It fires the full range of ammunition, it only falls short in protection.  Its main claim to fame would be that it mounted a howitzer on a truck instead of towing it and the truck uses standard automotive components reducing operating costs.

2.  Donar.
If the USMC wasn't having trouble finding money to take care of basic needs...and if the US govt was running a budget surplus, I'd be screaming for the Marines to at least evaluate the DONAR autonomous howitzer.  This is a howitzer that fulfills the dream that was DRAGON FIRE (the original 120mm mortar concept)....only in a bigger package.  Click on the link and read more about it yourself.  This is a winner that KMW just can't seem to sell.

So what is the best wheeled self propelled artillery system?  Drum roll please.....

The G6.
It has a big gun, outstanding mobility...including cross country, fires all modern ammo, was capable of dealing with IEDs before it was cool and is battle proven in some of the most inhospitable terrain found on this planet.  The G6 is without a doubt the best wheeled self propelled artillery system on this planet.

Terrorist at San Francisco University?

“I seriously can not get over how much I love this blade. It is the sharpest thing I own and cuts through everything like butter and just holding it makes me want to stab an Israeli soldier.”

Hmmm.  We have the President of the Muslim Student Association (university funded) stating that he wants to stab an Israeli Soldier.

This didn't happen in liberal Europe.

It happened right here in the US.  Read about it here.  Is making such a statement a terrorist act?  Probably not, but it should justify increased surveillance of this group.  The problem with the NSA spying scandal is that they're focusing on everyone without cause instead of focusing on obvious and credible threats....like this one.

A tragic blast from the past. This is why you DO NOT get involved in Africa.

Major hat tip to a reader that will remain anonymous.  I could give you his back ground but it would allow people to piece together his identity.  

via The AP.

BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) - Lt. Thierry Lotin, leader of a 10-man Belgian patrol, shouted into the radio: ''We've been disarmed and taken I don't know where. Two of my men are being beaten. Colonel, they're going to lynch us!''That was the last communication received from Lotin. Before long, all 10 would be dead - beaten, stabbed, hacked, shot and mutilated by Rwandan soldiers in a frenzy of hatred toward the Belgian U.N. peacekeepers.Three years later, Sandrine Lotin, widow of the 29-year-old lieutenant, still wants to know why her husband died in that far-away African land. So do the families of the other nine men. So does much of Belgium.''I could understand my husband dying on a mission,'' says Mrs. Lotin, who was pregnant at the time. ''But they didn't die as soldiers. They were murdered.''A special committee of the Belgian Senate is holding hearings on the April 7, 1994, deaths the day when Rwanda erupted in an orgy of bloodletting by Hutu extremists. Within weeks, at least a half-million Rwandans were dead, most of them minority Tutsis and moderate Hutus.The drama began shortly after the death of Rwandan President Juvenal Habyarimana in a still unexplained plane crash on April 6, 1994. Lotin and his men were given orders about 2 a.m. the next day to take Prime Minister Agathe Uwilingiyimana to the radio station to make an appeal for calm.When the 10 peacekeepers arrived at the prime minister's house, soldiers of the Hutu army opened fire with rifles and grenades. After about two hours, the prime minister ignored Lotin's advice and fled. She was caught and murdered.A Hutu officer ordered the surrounded and outgunned Belgians to give up their weapons or be killed. Lotin's battalion commander, Lt. Col. Jo Dewez, authorized him by radio to do so.Lotin and his men were taken to a Rwandan military base, where an officer accused Belgian troops of shooting down the president's plane. Soldiers at the base went wild with machetes, bayonets and guns. Four of the paratroopers were cut down immediately.Lotin and the rest ran to a building, where another was trapped and killed. A Rwandan soldier tried to break into the room where the survivors barricaded themselves, but Lotin killed him with a pistol he had kept hidden and grabbed the soldier's AK-47 rifle.The Belgians held out with those two weapons for three hours, when grenades dropped into the room through the roof ended resistance. All the bodies were stripped of valuables and mutilated.Two weeks later, faced with a shocked and distraught nation, Belgium's government withdrew its 450-man battalion from the U.N. force in Rwanda.
Names of the 10 Belgian soldiers;
Cpl Bruno Bassine, Cpl Alain Debatty, Cpl Christophe Dupont, Cpl Stephan Lhoir, Cpl Bruno Meaux, Cpl Louis Plescia, Cpl Christophe Renwa, Cpl Marc Uyttebroeck, 1 Sgt Yannick Leroy and Lt Thierry Lotin.

A classic no win mission that ended up in a no win situation leading to the deaths of some good men.

My advice to Marines that get sent on missions to Africa?  Do what you have to do to survive. A court martial is only a career ender.

These bastards will chop you up with machetes, skin you alive, beat you to death, drag your body through a street and then mutilate you so when you're finally recovered (assuming the wild life doesn't consume you first) all that's picked up are scraps.

The Middle East sucked donkey nuts.  Africa will be worse.  We definitely DO NOT need to get involved.

F-35 claims another victim. Norway pulls out of the Archer program.

Thanks for the heads up David!!

Noted aviation experts have been warning that the F-35 was so expensive that allied nations wouldn't be able to buy enough to satisfy homeland security requirements OR participate in expeditionary missions.

At one time I called them crackpots and idiots.

I was wrong.

My naivete in hindsight is breathtaking.

Not only is the F-35 costing allied airforces to basically dismantle themselves but its having the knock-on effect of destroying army's and Marine Corps too.  via FMV.

The Norwegian government announced today that they have chosen to leave the cooperation on the Archer artillery system. It began in 2007 as Archer turned out to have just as good, and in some cases better performance than alternative artillery system at a significantly lower cost.
Today, says Norwegian government that they intend to terminate the agreement.

- Archer is a modern, fast and accurate artillery system at a good price. The challenge has been to find the balance between protection and weight and it has been achieved. FMV has been about normal development, says Lena Erixon, Director General of FMV.
Cooperation with Norway has not been in vain. Sweden and Norway have shared in the development costs of the artillery system, and where the state has saved many hundreds of millions. However, it becomes less system to knock out the operation cost in the long run.
The first Archer The pieces have been delivered to the Swedish Armed Forces and FMV may formally pursue the acquisition on its own.
- We now have regular contact with the manufacturer BAE Systems to discuss how we move forward, says Lena Erixon.

I continue to marvel at this program.

Lockheed is predicting future profits that are a sight to behold.  I assume BAE and others involved can say the same.

But what's happening to other departments in those businesses must be bordering on disaster.  Lockheed Martin put forward a credible vehicle for the MPC program.  The F-35 killed it.  BAE has the Archer.  The F-35 killed it.

What does a military force look like that only has F-35's and nothing else?

I hope we never find out. 

Africa. Are we seeing a coordinated Islamic Terrorist campaign?

via The LA Times.

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa -- With dozens reported dead Thursday in clashes in the capital of the Central African Republic, the U.N. Security Council authorized the deployment of more French and African peacekeepers to contain the spiraling violence.

The unanimous French-sponsored Security Council resolution authorized additional peacekeepers mandated to use force to protect civilians. African forces in the Central African Republic are expected to increase from around 2,500 at present to 3,600 by year's end; the French force is expected to expand from 600 to about 1,200.

The crisis in the Central African Republic has worsened sharply in recent months, with sectarian attacks between rival Christian and Muslim groups, and warnings the country could descend into sectarian warfare or genocide.

Fighting between rival militias broke out in the capital, Bangui, early Thursday, according to news agency reports, as the shock waves of a rebel coup in March continue to reverberate. Witnesses and aid workers counted at least 98 dead, the Associated Press reported, adding that an AP reporter counted 48 bodies in a mosque. There were other reports of bodies lying around the city.

First Mali.  Then Nigeria...twice.  Now CAR.

Africa appears to be under coordinated attack by Islamic Terrorist.  

Things are going from bad to worse on that continent.  The next country to watch will be S. Africa.  If terrorist are there.  If terrorist can plunge that country into anarchy, then the entire continent will become a terrorist playground.  I said it once and was called a drama queen.

Africa is burning and SOCOM, State, Defense, CIA and other US departments appear helpless to even slow it down, much less stop it.

UPDATE!  Spoke too soon.  Looks like US forces could be headed to another war ... this time in Africa.  If you thought the Middle East was bad, wait till you see the mess there.  We will continue to be bled dry while our enemies watch, strengthen and plot.

F-35 quote of the day. Navy vs. SecDef.

via AOL Breaking Defense.

“A lot of it will come down to Navy vs. OSD [the Office of the Secretary of Defense],” saidRichard Aboulafia, a leading aviation industry analyst with the Teal Group. “OSD groans at the very possibility of more of these airplanes, because it undercuts the case for F-35″

The Navy IS breaking ranks and is going for more Advanced Super Hornets.

The F-35 IS costing more than expected and "creative" accounting won't keep that secret for much longer.

The death spiral IS here.

The only thing that keeps the cuts from coming now is the question of how.  How do you unwind this twisted knot of production agreements, jobs promises etc...once they figure that out, this program is DRT.  Dead Right There.

Marine Corps Propaganda going full tilt. 26th MEU was prepared to enter Syria.

via US News.

An expeditionary Marine unit was ready to execute rescue missions in and around Syria this summer at a time when the world waited for President Barack Obama to follow through on threats he would attack the war-torn nation.
Syria was at the top of the agenda for the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit leading up to its departure in early March for an 8-month deployment in and around the Mediterranean Sea and the Gulf of Aden. It proved to be a busy summer for the Marine Corps and Navy group, amid ongoing strife in that country's civil war, as well as heightened threat levels in nearby Egypt, the anniversary of the 2012 Benghazi attacks and planned military exercises in neighboring Jordan.
"When we left, we thought we'd be involved in Syria in terms of humanitarian assistance," said Navy Capt. Jim Cody on Thursday. "The refugee crisis was spilling into all the neighboring countries."

This is a non-story.  Anyone that pays attention to military matters knew this.  So the question becomes.

Why does the Marine Corps propaganda machine put this story out now?

I have a few ideas....

1.  The Inspector General is due to come out with a report concerning the Commandant's command influence charge.
2.  Budget cuts are going to be more severe than anticipated.  The Marine Corps is trying to show its utility to as wide an audience as possible.
3.  The draw down is going to be even more severe than reported.  The Senate approved a plan to accelerate it and its obvious that it has Pentagon support.

Either way, I've become suspicious of this Commandant's HQ.  Something is brewing.  I just don't know what.

Note:  I'm going to send the writer of this piece an e-mail to find out why he ran with an obvious puff piece.  I hope he answers.  If it is as I suspect and it was fed to him then my suspicions are confirmed.  If he dug it up to fill space then I'm glad I took US News off my daily read list.

This is why average citizens no longer trust police.

via NYTimes.

An unarmed, emotionally disturbed man shot at by the police as he was lurching around traffic near Times Square in September has been charged with assault, on the theory that he was responsible for bullet wounds suffered by two bystanders, according to an indictment unsealed in State Supreme Court in Manhattan on Wednesday.
The man, Glenn Broadnax, 35, of Brooklyn, created a disturbance on Sept. 14, wading into traffic at 42nd Street and Eighth Avenue and throwing himself into the path of oncoming cars.
A curious crowd grew. Police officers arrived and tried to corral Mr. Broadnax, a 250-pound man. When he reached into his pants pocket, two officers, who, the police said, thought he was pulling a gun, opened fire, missing Mr. Broadnax, but hitting two nearby women. Finally, a police sergeant knocked Mr. Broadnax down with a Taser.
The shootings once again raised questions about the police use of firearms in crowded areas and drew comparisons to a shooting a year ago, when officers struck nine bystanders in front of the Empire State Building when they killed an armed murder suspect.
Initially Mr. Broadnax was arrested on misdemeanor charges of menacing, drug possession and resisting arrest. But the Manhattan district attorney’s office persuaded a grand jury to charge Mr. Broadnax with assault, a felony carrying a maximum sentence of 25 years. Specifically, the nine-count indictment unsealed on Wednesday said Mr. Broadnax “recklessly engaged in conduct which created a grave risk of death.”

A few things.

Grand Juries are a joke.  They will indict anyone that is brought before them.  I don't know why we even bother anymore.

Next.  District Attorney's are a joke.  Well, at least some of them.  If you have a clown in the DA's office that is looking for a promotion or higher office then you can expect a parking ticket to turn into a crime against humanity.

Last.  NY police should be disarmed.  Believe it or not if what I'm reading is true then I don't blame them for the shooting.  A furtive movement --- especially to one's pockets is just an indication of a desire to commit suicide by cop.  So the shooting is justified.  I BLAME THEM 100 percent for hitting bystanders.  A civilian would be charged for those hit, even if the original target was justified.

This is why people don't trust police. 

Is the J-31 the future of fighters? Cheap, low cost stealth? Everything the F-35 isn't?

No spoilers.

Read it here.

Best fighter/attack planes by mission.

I had fun and loved the comments on the best tanks.  So next up is fighter/attack and following that we'll look at IFVs.  In keeping with the style of best tanks, this list is broken down by mission.  

Air Superiority...F-22.
This was tougher than you might imagine.  All the usual suspects were in the running.  Typhoon, F-22, F-15, SU-35, and Rafale.  I was tempted beyond belief to give the nod to the F-15.  You're the champ until you get knocked off.  Lets be honest too.  The F-22's qualities are all theoretical, plus its giving its pilots a type of coal mine lung, and it has yet to be proven in combat.  Same applies to the other airplanes in the air superiority role.  I knuckled under and just went with the consensus favorite.  No solid rationale except that everyone believes that its best.  Still .... the F-15.....

Close Air Support...A-10.
This is another no brainer...but a bit more difficult than you might imagine.  The A-10 can get in low, mix it up, take a punch and keep on jabbing.  But the other guys on my comparison list have strong points too.  The AV-8B Harrier can deploy on ship and can be their when the A-10 would have to stage from bases further away.  The Predator B drone can loiter forever and provide eyes in the sky while dropping bombs on the bad guys.  The AC-130 can provide precision firepower...if the area is SAM free...the list goes on.  The winning quality for the A-10 was its ability to hang and fight.

Multi-mission...F-18.
The only real competition in this area was between the Super Hornet and the Rafale.  Yeah we see models of the F-15 and SU-XX loaded with bombs and conducting this mission but the Super Hornet was designed out of the box to do this (along with the Rafale) so that gives those two a leg up.  The thing that put the Super Hornet ahead of the Rafale was its combat record and the fact that the US Navy along with Boeing is working hard to keep this airplane as up to date as possible.  In the end that was its saving grace and the thing that put it over the top.

Deep/Naval Strike...SU-34.
The West better hope that the Russians and Chinese never wake up and realize what a powerhouse they have in this figher bomber.  Its the Russian F-111, just modernized.  Quite honestly naval planners are always talking about (me too) anti-ship missiles but with the idea that Tu-95's or the Chinese equivalent or ships or land bases will be firing them.  But what happens if some Russian or Chinese admiral (or more likely staff officer) figures out that he can launch an all quadrant high speed attack using the SU-34 to take out an Expeditionary Strike Group?  What happens if they decide that the Stryker Brigade advancing can be decimated by a wing of SU-34's loaded down with the appropriate weapons?  This plane is big, its fast, it carries defensive missiles (some reported to be fired backwards) and it has all around defense suite.  You'll argue but this is the best of breed.

Below are my honorable mentions....

Gripen.
This plane is going to win orders.  Its just a matter of time.  Cost is becoming a factor world wide and soon the idea of using fighters in an offensive role will become secondary to just a homeland security mission set.  If costs becomes a factor then this planes only competition will be the Super Hornet.  Just like ObamaCare, many are going to get sticker shock from the F-35 and many will balk.  The Gripen has a bright future.

Typhoon.
It didn't win in any particular category but its a plane to watch.  The Europeans must keep it competitive into the future and that means upgrades will have to be made.  I expect to see a flurry of activity in the near future and that will mean this plane will finally get the items it deserves.  A high power AESA.  Efficient and powerful engines.  Conformal fuel tanks.  Oh and necessary upgrades to its attack/close air support capability.

J-20/PAK-FA.
We just don't know enough about these airplanes yet and the Central Intelligence Agency and the Defense Intelligence Agency along with Navy and Air Force Intel aren't telling us a thing.  The mystery continues.  In the future they might be the monsters that some imagine.  We just don't know yet.

F-35 news. Rep Forbes calls for Super Hornet production extension. UPDATE!

UPDATE:  Sydney Freeberg of AOL's Breaking Defense pointed out something that I neglected.  Representative Forbes is the Chairman of the House Armed Services subcommittee on Seapower.  I wonder.  He obviously has the briefings.  He obviously talks to the Chief of Naval Operations.  Is he being prodded by the CNO on this???

via USNI News.

“With future carrier-based aircraft still in development until 2019, I strongly believe that creating a single U.S. tactical aircraft supply chain at this time is too great a risk,” Rep. Randy Forbes (R-Va.), chairman of the House Armed Services Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee,wrote in a Dec. 4 letter addressed to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel. “The loss of industrial capacity provided by the F/A-18 manufacturing line will eliminate vital competition that could result in spiraling costs, leading to more expensive, less capable systems.”
Forbes further noted that not only will the Navy be left with a sole-source for tactical fighters—since only Lockheed’s F-35 would remain in production after 2016—but there would be reduced competition for subsystems manufacturers.
“This budget decision would also eliminate competition among aircraft radar and engine producers,” Forbes wrote.

Quite honestly I hadn't considered the ramifications to our industrial base when or if the F-35 becomes the only US fighter in production.

Randy Forbes has.

If its important to protect our armored vehicle production base, and I believe that it crucial, then its also important to protect our fighter production base.

Between the need to protect industry, an ongoing economic downturn, the strong Congressional delegation that supports Boeing products and continuing doubts among aviation experts, this should be a no brainer.

HMS Illustrious in the Philippines

Note:  The British effort continues.  The Japanese and our other allies efforts continue.  Why have we pulled out?

Relief effort in the Philippines cut short because of the Chinese?

via Bantay Spratly.

US pullout from typhoon relief a poser
US Air Force 535th Airlift Squadron crew aid a handicapped typhoon victim into a tightly packed C-17 aircraft for an evacuation at the airport in Tacloban City on Nov. 18, 2013. An Inquirer source privy to the US efforts in the storm-battered Eastern Visayas said Wednesday, Dec. 4, it was “too good of a coincidence” that the Americans ended its work in the Eastern Visayas, and eventually folded up the Joint Task Force (JTF) 505 a week after the arrival of China’s modern hospital ship Peace Ark. AP
MANILA, Philippines—Did China’s arrival trigger the United States pullout from its Supertyphoon “Yolanda” relief support efforts in the Eastern Visayas?
An Inquirer source privy to the US efforts in the storm-battered region said Wednesday it was “too good of a coincidence” that the Americans ended its work in the Eastern Visayas, and eventually folded up the Joint Task Force (JTF) 505 a week after the arrival of China’s modern hospital ship Peace Ark.
“The US spent more effort coming in and has not yet maximized utilization of their efforts when they decided to pull out,” observed the source, who requested anonymity.
The source, who took part in the coordination of the foreign militaries’ efforts in the Eastern Visayas, said that a US Landing Craft Air Cushion and Landing Craft Utility with military trucks were supposed to distribute relief goods in Eastern Samar but eventually, “they never got off the ships.”
The source also said that on board an LHT was a US Marine battalion that was supposedly going to be deployed to Basey and Macabot in Western Samar with a Philippine Marine battalion counterpart.
“But the US Marines never made it ashore,” the source said because the JTF 505 had been deactivated.
The source also said that China’s Peace Ark had been treating a number of patients.
But because of its sheer size, the hospital ship could not dock in Tacloban City’s port, which resulted in a “double handling” of the patients, which means they would have to be flown to the hospital by helicopter.
The source described the arrival of the US in the Eastern Visayas days after the powerful storm as “a game changer” as the government was clearly overwhelmed by the massive destruction brought by Yolanda.
The US was about to begin its relief operations in the towns of Guiuan, Hernani and Borongan in Eastern Samar when the JTF 505 was “disestablished,” the source said.
A statement from the US Embassy on Tuesday did not give a clear explanation on why the JTF 505 had folded up.

Ok.  Whats going on?

You put a MEU aboard ship, have them sail all the way to the Philippines and then you call off the mission before they even set foot ashore?

Additionally, you can bet that further relief efforts are needed.  That Typhoon was a monster and the Philippine people still need help.  The Brits are still there as are the Japanese, other countries and now China.

This is a mystery to me.  I hope the mainstream media investigates further. 

Stolen nuke truck found empty!

Mexican security officials say that a truck transporting nuclear materials has been found empty.  More to come.

GCV: Max Acceleration

Two things.

First.  Did you hear how quiet that thing is?  Use that engine with rubber tracks and you have 40-60 tons of vehicle that's quieter than most cars on the road.

Second.  You gotta love BAE.  They're still plugging away even though all seems lost with regard to the GCV.  Maybe they can offer it on the AAV upgrade, AMPV and other vehicles.

Stay in your fucking lane LTC.

Thanks for the article Dustin.  I needed something to fire me up this morning.

I'm not even going to quote this bastard.

You can read the article that has me punching walls here.  This guys background...via Small Wars Journal.

Lieutenant Colonel Robert L. Bateman is an infantryman, historian and prolific writer. Bateman was a Military Fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and has taught Military History at the U.S. Military Academy. He is currently stationed in Washington, D.C. Bateman has authored two books: "Digital War, A View from the Front Lines" (Presidio: 1999) and "No Gun Ri, A Military History of the Korean War Incident" (Stackpole, 2002). He's also contributed to or co-authored seven more. Bateman's byline has appeared on more than 300 print and major national web site articles.

And if you've taken the time to read the article then you have already seen the standard "non-affiliation" statement.   If not, I'm posting it below...

These opinions are those of the author and do not reflect the United States government, the United States Department of Defense, the United States Army, or any other official body. As for the NRA, they can sit on it. (Sorry, I grew up with Happy Days. "Sit on it" means something to those of my generation.) R_Bateman_LTC@hotmail.com.

My issue?

This LTC decided to insert himself into one of the most contentious issues facing the nation.  Additionally he did so by highlighting his rank and affiliation with the military.  If he had simply written the article without those three little letters in front of his name then there would be no problem and little controversy.

Instead this simmering little prick has portrayed himself in two lights.  First as a military officer that is FOR gun control (a liberal/urban policy)...AND as a military historian that is using his rank in the military to bolster his understanding of the issue.

I call bullshit on both counts.

The LTC violated DoD Directive 1344.10.  Read it here.  

He crossed the line, but that seems to be the "in" thing these days.  As long as military personnel promote liberal views they're good to go.  Support a conservative agenda?  Then its crucify them!

CH-47D to S. Korea. Fire sale at the Pentagon?

Thanks for the article Jonathan (forgive me...you've hit me with so much that I often don't credit you like I should...)

via Defense Aerospace.

WASHINGTON --- The Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress today of a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Republic of Korea for CH-47D Model Aircraft and associated equipment, parts, training and logistical support for an estimated cost of $151 million.

The Republic of Korea has requested a possible sale of:
-- 14 CH-47D Model Aircraft to include T55-GA-714A Engines, 2 per aircraft (14 ac x 2=28 engines)
-- 5 T55-GA-714A Turbine to be used as spares.
-- 16 AN/ARC-220 HF Radios
-- 32 AN/ARC-186 VHF AM/FM Radios
-- 16 AN/ARN 123 VOR ILS Marker Beacons
-- 14 AN/ARN-154(V) Tactical Air Navigation (TACAN) System
-- 16 AN/ARC-201D or AN/ARC-201E VHF FM Homing Radios
-- 16 AN/APN-209D Radar Altimeters
-- 16 AN/ASN-43 Gyro-magnetic Compasses

Also included are mission equipment, communication and navigation equipment, ground support equipment, special tools and test equipment, spares, publications, Maintenance Work Orders/Engineering Change Proposals (MWO/ECP), technical support and training.

The total estimated value for these articles and services is $151 million.

The CH-47Ds being considered for this sale are currently operated by U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) in the ROK. This proposed sale of CH-47D aircraft equipped with T55-GA-714A engines will be provided from U.S. Army inventory located at Camp Humphrey, South Korea. The T55-GA-714A Engines to be provided as spares will also be provided from U.S. Government inventory.

If this proposed sale is approved, the aircraft will be sold and transferred to the ROK incrementally once USFK begins taking receipt of new-production CH-47F model aircraft, a process currently estimated to begin in the January 2014 timeframe. The U.S. Army will not replace the CH-47D aircraft being proposed for sale and transfer to the ROK.

This proposed sale will allow the U.S. Army to avoid transportation and/or demilitarization costs in the amount of approximately $13.4 million.

This proposed sale will contribute to the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States by meeting the legitimate security and defense needs of an ally and partner nation. The ROK continues to be an important force for peace, political stability and economic progress in North East Asia.

The proposed sale will improve the ROK’s capability to meet current and future requirements for troop movement, medical evacuation, aircraft recovery, parachute drop, search and rescue, disaster relief, fire-fighting and heavy construction support. The ROK will use this enhanced capability to strengthen its homeland defense, deter regional threats, and improve humanitarian and disaster mobilization and response. These efforts support both ROK and U.S. interests and objectives, and are consistent with strategic and regional goals. This sale is also consistent with the U.S. strategic interests for stability in the Pacific Command Area of Operations.

The ROK is capable of absorbing and maintaining this additional equipment in its inventory. The proposed sale of this equipment and support will not alter the basic military balance in the region.

The principal contractor will be The Boeing Company in Ridley Park, Pennsylvania. There are no known offset agreements proposed in connection with this potential sale.

Implementation of this proposed sale will require the assignment of 18 U.S. Government or contractor representatives to the ROK to provide support, program management, and training for a period of up to 2 years.

There will be no adverse impact on U.S. defense readiness as a result of this proposed sale.

This notice of a potential sale is required by law and does not mean the sale has been concluded.

Hmmm.  Is this just a normal deal or is the US military conducting a fire sale and everything must go at amazing prices?  I'm not sure.  Funny thing is that I haven't heard of a S. Korean requirement for additional heavy lift helicopters.

Slowman...any info?

S. Korean Marine Corps AAV's on exercise.