Canadian and Romanian forces in Operation Reassurance 2014.

Romanian Army troops rappel from two IAR-330 Puma helicopters during a joint training exercise between the Canadian Air Task Force Romania and the Romanian Air Force (RoAF) on July 18, 2014 in preparation for the RoAF tactical exercise and evaluation in Campia Turzii, Romania during Operation REASSURANCE.
Photo: Capt Christopher Daniel, ATF 1401 PAO

Wow. Division Artillery is back in the US Army!

via Army Times.

The first step in the Army’s revamped artillery organization — one that will look familiar to some senior officers — took place Wednesday at Fort Bliss, Texas, when the 212th Fires Brigade re-flagged to become the 1st Armored Division Artillery.
The Army has been without such units, called DIVARTYs, since 2004, when a move toward modularity included a redeployment of artillery assets within the command chain for much of the fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.
It also led to some units going extended periods without sharpening some of their artillery skills. The new setup is designed to build those skills back up — fast.

Read the whole story but to me this is a no brainer.

If you're going to be relying on smaller, dispersed units then you better have some Ninja's working your supporting fires.  Additionally you better have enough cannons or tubes to make a difference.

Bringing back Division Artillery does all that and more.  Even better.  Tribal knowledge is restored.  Your career path is clear (if you're a cannon cocker) and expertise should be certain (if selection boards get it right). 

This is NOT the IDF that I know.

NOTE:  I've called this fight between Israel/Hamas a sideshow.  I hold to that but the tactical lessons learned are beginning to stack up to a point where this has to be front and center for a military blog.

via Times of Israel.

A group of 30 IDF reserve soldiers notified their commanders that they would refuse to enter the Gaza Strip in M-113 armored personnel carriers, military vehicles designed by the US Army in the 1960s and first used during the Vietnam War

and then this...

Following the deadly battle in Shejaiya, Sami Turgeman, the commander of the IDF Southern Command, said that the army was aware of the M-113′s faults but did not have the means to provide full protection to every soldier entering the Strip.

Just plain wow.

This is not the IDF that fought off several Arab armies.

These are not the warriors that rode into battle in antiquated MBTs and fought the Egyptians to a standstill and then took territory in the Sinai.

I DO NOT KNOW THIS IDF!  This is disappointing.  If these are the type of warriors that are protecting the Israeli nation then it won't last much longer.  I am a supporter of Israel.  My writings should make that clear....but this....this is bullshit.  Perhaps I held the IDF to too high a standard?

IDF M113 destruction clarified.

The above photo is of the Israeli Soldier that Hamas has reportedly taken captive.  If he is alive or dead is unknown at this time.

via Yeshiva World.

Seven IDF soldiers were killed in the Golani Brigade armored personnel carrier (APC) in Gaza earlier in the week. Using all scientific and medical technology available, experts have identified the remains of six of the seven soldiers. There has not been a trace of Sgt. Oron Shaul, the soldier which Hamas claims to have abducted.
It is now permitted to report that the APC was working to extricate a second APC that broke down. The commander and his radio man got out of the armored vehicle as they were working to attach a tow cable to the broken down APC. At that time a short range rocket was fired at the first APC. Commanders in the control center were watching the events in real time via footage from a drone surveillance craft above. They saw the APC explode into flames, commenting no one could have survived the explosion and subsequent fire.
Hamas nonetheless claims to have the soldier, not stating if he is dead or alive, adding Israel will have to pay dearly for any and all information regarding his status. Israel states that it is possible that personal effects of the soldier may have been scattered in the area, explaining how Hamas got hold of his ID card and other personal information.

Ok.

We finally got a bit of clarification of knowing how that M113 got torched.  Of course that raises a few more questions.  I don't know if its standard operating procedure in the IDF but in the USMC, you always put out security when recovering vehicles, at your FARPs etc...

Not trying to second guess them.  Just wondering out loud.

But this leads me to second question. What did Hamas use to cause that type of catastrophic damage?  Have they been taught to hit certain vital areas or are they using weapons that have much bigger warheads than we've seen so far?

Specifically we've all been talking RPGs but Hamas has used 9M133 Kornet missiles.  They could have caused this type of destruction and many of these missiles are floating around thanks to the chaos in Syria and Iraq.

An early "Lessons Learned" from the Israeli/Hamas conflict.

While many of you know that I consider the Israeli/Hamas conflict a sideshow to the world changing battle going on in the Ukraine, its still worth the time to do an early "lessons learned".

My take away?

1.  Armor matters.
The idea of Light Infantry/Special Ops etc... running around in heavy jeep type vehicles and being able to hook and jab with the enemy is a falsehood.  If you consider Gaza and extrapolate the fighting with some of the mega cities located in the Pacific...like Manila, Singapore etc...you come up with idea that armor matters.  Additionally vehicle protection systems like Trophy can make a difference.  But here's the kicker.  Like the Israeli's experienced we're going to have to work out different exit drills that will take our infantry farther away from their transports.  Greater dispersion of the infantry from their vehicles will make communication even more important.  I haven't seen any papers or writings on the subject but we need to get to work on it asap.

2.  Precision fires matter.
Much to my consternation, it appears that the days of calling in a grid square and having the cannon cockers destroy it are long past.  The Israelis are using their stocks of Spike missiles at an alarming rate.  The few times that they've used traditional cannon fire on targets its been a public relations nightmare with the "haters" in the media pumping up any death or injury as a war crime instead of a side affect of that thing we all know as the tragedy of combat.  But I'm especially talking about the use of naval guns here.  From my understanding they were used one time and the results were less than desirable.  We need to learn from that and adjust accordingly.

3.  In urban fighting airpower takes a back seat.
The IAF is the best in the region, some would say one of the best in the world.  But in this fight they're taking a back seat to the ground forces.  Is it because of the ROE?  Is it because of a lack of intel?  Or is it because they're just not the right tool for this fight?  I don't know.  What I do know is that at the end of the day its up to mechanized infantry along with tanks, artillery (precision and to a limited degree indirect), engineers and the rest of the ground combat element to do the majority of the hookin' and jabbin' in this fight.

This is what I'm seeing.  I might be seeing it wrong but it appears that the quantity and quality of your ground forces will be an important consideration for future fights.

NOTE:  Upcoming post.  What exactly is Light Infantry!  Is US military light infantry different from other nations?  Does anyone actually have Light Infantry units anymore?  And why Special Operations IS NOT light infantry!

The world is burning news. 2 Ukrainian SU-25's shot down. Is anti-air defenses now ascendant?

via NYTimes.

KIEV, Ukraine — Fighting intensified in the rebel-controlled region of Ukraine on Wednesday, with military officials reporting that two Ukrainian Su-25 fighter jets had been shot down near the village of Dmytrivka in the east.
Few details of the latest downings were available. But the news was reported as Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council in Kiev said the military operation to suppress the insurgents was advancing in the east, with government troops having retaken two cities in the Luhansk region as they continued an aggressive push from the north and west.
Officials said rebels had blown up a road bridge, a railroad bridge and train tracks in the city of Gorlivka, and they reported continued fierce fighting along a section of the border with Russia that remains porous. Ukrainian forces are increasingly desperate to seal that border to prevent resupplies of weapons or new fighters from entering Ukraine.

The title of this post is poorly worded but it does get me to the point.  Either we're seeing extremely poor airman-ship by the Ukrainian Air Force or it appears that anti-air defenses are ascendant and are finally holding their own against air power.

This has bearing on the US way of war.

Why?

Because we have a basic playbook.  First we send in UAVs and gather intel on potential targets...while attempting to learn about enemy air defenses.  Then we move on toward launching a full broadside of attacks against those defenses using cruise missiles, stealth aircraft etc...finally once those defense are down we go after command and control, strategic targets and once the USAF gets around to it their actual forces that will be attempting to put steel on American grunts closing with the enemy.

But what if we're seeing all that change.

What if UAVs will not be allowed to fly in even "limited" war situations?  What if medium altitude attack is challenged and not permitted?  What if close air support is actually fought with manpads all over the battlefield?

The threat forces have read our playbook and will act to prevent us from doing what we've become accustomed to.  They will challenge us and I'm afraid I don't see us developing any answers (well, the USN is, but the USAF, USMC and our allies are all looking slack eyed and silly).

Could we do a BMX-01 to our MTVR's?

Time to face facts boys and girls.

The ACV1.1 or MPC (as it should properly be called) is months if not years away.  In the meantime and between time we're going to need better protected transport for our forces ashore.

Is it possible to rapidly develop a protected troop transport based on the MTVR in the same way as Nexter has taken a truck body and developed the  BMX-01?

I hope so, because as things stand now Marine Armor is in shit shape.

Budget constraints mean IDF using vulnerable APCs

via Globes.co.il

The APC, which carried nine soldiers, became immobile as a result of a malfunction. Two soldiers got out before it was hit by a deadly missile that killed the other seven crew members. At least three APCs of this type suffered serious hits from RPG rockets fired at them in the course of IDF operations in the Gaza Strip during the second intifada.
In early 2011, the Ministry of Defense announced a grandiose NIS 10 billion plan to procure many hundreds of new generation of APCS, called the Namer (Leopard), which is based on a Merkava tank chassis. The Tank Program Directorate, which is also leading the development and production of the Merkava tank on which Israeli armor is based, developed the Namer. The Ministry of Defense defined the Namer as an APC adapted to the most up-to-date forms of warfare on the battlefield, which provides a solution for the threats to which IDF forces were also exposed during the Second Lebanon War. The innovative APC's armor also has the Trrophy (In Hebrew "Meil Ruah" or "Windbreaker") active armor system developed byRafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd., that automatically intercepts anti-tank missiles and RPGs. The system is also installed on Mark IV Merkava tanks and upgraded earlier generation tanks.

Read the whole story but I consider this a heartbreaking development...and something I can see happening to the USMC.

The Marine Corps is facing with its own self inflicted budget woes when it comes to procuring decent armor and if you've looked at the land battlefields of the Pacific then you can see that future battles will entail the same challenges facing the IDF.....But on steroids.

The issue?  Fighting in built up areas, urban areas, cities and slums.

Think Gaza is a complex battlefield?  You ain't seen nothing yet.  Compare it to a potential fight in Manila, or any other Asian city.

Marines will die because we're holding on to the antiquated AAV too long and we don't have a proper plan to replace it.

Question.

Have you heard anything from the ACV 1.1 industry day?  Have you heard anything about when they would re-start the competition?

I haven't and the reason is clear.  Industry has been yanked by the balls once again and supposedly the program is being delayed for the new Commandant to come on-board.  I would like to believe its to allow him to make a decision on where we go but I've been told its to protect additional funding for the F-35....the plane that keeps placing a communicable disease into the body of the USMC.  Its past time for some penicillin.  Kill that fucker and lets get some armor for our grunts.

F-35 News. Goure stumbled on the solution while trying to refute Farley.

Daniel Goure attempted to refute an article by Robert Farley (read Farley's article here) and while doing so stumbled onto the solution to the terribly overpriced, under-performing F-35.  Read the article here, but this is the answer....

The line is gone, the tooling is gone and the workforce is gone. In the current environment, the first new F-22 couldn’t come off the line for at least ten years, if ever. Might as well wait for a sixth-generation fighter to emerge.

We have the time to start the 6th gen fighter now.

We can accelerate its development, but this time do it right.  No joint program trying to take one air frame and do everything but simply share avionics...you know the Sweetman idea.

Like Farley said.  We have alternatives.  They won't be perfect solutions but it can be done.  The first thing that has to happen is that some brave soul has to have the courage to say enough is enough, and that its time to take our medicine.

The world is burning news. IDF information warfare in full swing.

Note:  The below graphics are from the IDF FaceBook page.  They also have a blog (here) that is doing a pretty good job of putting out their side of the story.  This is information warfare at its finest.

The world is burning news. Christians are being persecuted and its barely noticed.

via CNN

On Friday, the al Qaeda splinter group issued an ultimatum to Iraqi Christians living in Mosul -- by Saturday at noon (5 a.m. ET), they must convert to Islam, pay a fine or face "death by the sword."
A total of 52 Christian families left the city of Mosul early Saturday morning, with an armed group prohibiting some of them from taking anything but the clothes on their backs.
"They told us, 'You to leave all of your money, gold, jewelry and go out with only the clothes on you,'" Wadie Salim told CNN.

Read the entire story here.

Convert or die by the sword.

Just wow.  Yet we're suppose to be outraged and focused in on the Israeli/Hamas conflict?

IT'S A SIDESHOW! 

F-35 News. Norwegian model drag chute illustrations.

Hot Crazy Matrix - A Man's Guide to Women (Must Watch...Not safe for politically correct work spaces due to subject matter)

The Malaysian Airliner shootdown just became interesting.

via The Aviationist.

Iranian defense expert Babak Taghvaee believes the mistake was caused by the fact the Malaysian Boeing 777 was escorted over eastern Ukraine. Taghvaee is always very well informed and an extremely reliable source. Therefore, after he provided some details about this activity of the Ukrainian Air Force on ACIG forum thread about the war in Ukraine, we contacted him for some more insight.

I usually don't post from the Aviationist website.  Too many "watch this breathtaking"..or "unbelievable" ... or "intense" posts of vids that honestly irk the hell outta me.

This is different though.

Read the whole thing and while (in my opinion) he breaks down into the twisted double speak of conspiracy theorist in his post, the outlines are clear.

There is alot more to this story than we're being told and I am getting the strong suspicion that we're being spun.  I'm not saying that this isn't a tragedy of enormous proportions....but I am saying that there is a reason why those missiles were launched.  

31st MEU Mechanized Raid (AAV) B-roll by Lance Cpl. Alexander N. Pool

The world is burning news. Offensive underway in the city of Donetsk

via Russia Times.

A heavy firefight is underway in a section of the city of Donetsk, with cannonade heard downtown. Self-defense reports of pro-Kiev armored vehicles and infantry trying to cut through defenses next to the central railway terminal.
Ukrainian troops equipped with tanks and armored vehicles are making an attempt to break into Donetsk, a city of approximately 950,000 people, an official of the rebels' self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, Sergey Kavtaradze, informed Reuters.
The fighting is ongoing in several spots simultaneously. The heaviest fire is heard near the Donetsk Airport, currently held by pro-Kiev forces and next to the main railway station, which suffered an airstrike this morning.
Minister of Defense of People’s Republic of Donetsk Igor Strelkov has informed Novorossiya news agency that units of Ukrainian army launched attacks against communities of Avdeevka, Peski, Karlovka and Netailovo.
“The advancing tanks and motorized infantry on APCs are supported by artillery, howitzers and multiple launch rocket systems. We’re fighting a battle,” Strelkov said.

Hybrid warfare?

I'm not sure anymore.

This is turning into a full fledged conventional fight.  We're seeing combined arms being used by both sides.....

Israel/Hamas is a side show.  I still marvel that its getting more airtime in the US than these battles in Ukraine.

Ukraine is the place where history is being made and I'll say it again....No one is paying attention. 

Quote of the day...

Your quote of the day...and one I wholeheartedly agree with...

There needs to be something of an Inquisition brought to the USMC these days. Amos and the Flyboys need to be purged from the Flag Officer ranks and be brought low before the Altar of Infantry. That such Douhet dilettantes can be found in the organization is a travesty--PARALUS

I don't know how it happened and I hate using trendy terms, but when did Group Think become fashionable in the USMC?  I first noted it with the issue with gays in the military.  Whatever your opinion it should be observed that the Sgt Major of the Marine Corps and General Amos squashed any contrary opinion.

The same has occurred with women in the infantry.  Marines are aware enough of danger to know that speaking out on these issues...and others...will be career killers.

A looming recruiting crises is on the horizon and I for one couldn't be happier. The institution is broken and is in need of a return to its moral roots!  If the Marine Corps is going to become a laboratory for social experiments then its usefulness to the country as a war-fighting organization is over. 

IDF Armor controversy. Is this the future for the USMC?

via Haaretz.

The armored personnel carrier in which seven Golani Brigade soldiers were killed when it was attacked early Sunday morning in the Gaza Strip is the oldest model still in use by the Israel Defense Forces.
The American M113 APC was manufactured in the 1960s, and senior IDF officers were critical of the decision to send it, with its below-standard protection, into battle in the heart of the Shujaiyeh neighborhood of Gaza City.
The IDF, and the Golani Brigade in particular, has two APC models that are far better armored – one called the Achzarit and the newer Merkava APC, known by its Hebrew acronym Namer. The army hasn’t used M113s in Gaza for a decade.

First, lets talk IDF.  I'm becoming a little concerned.  Either the rules of engagement are so restrictive that they're taking unnecessary casualties or worse, this engagement is straining their military to a point that I did not think possible for an incursion that would seem standard fare for their forces.

Now lets talk USMC.

We've seen it before and we'll see it again.  Marines will be sent into combat ahead of schedule because some madman decides to act in a way that necessitates it.

Will we see 17 Marines killed in an ancient vehicle with video over head provided by F-35's because HQMC prioritized aviation over armored protection for its Infantrymen?

Today its the IDF, tomorrow it could well be the USMC. 

Trophy Active Defense System gets its baptism in fire. And IT WORKS!

Ironically the above video was posted by Hamas and shows an attack on an Israeli Merkava MBT.  The ironic thing is that it shows the failure of their anti-tank missile, illustrates that the Trophy Active Defense System work and also illustrates that this isn't so one sided a fight as we're being led to believe.

Check out this article from Globes English...

The system has since been declared operational, and is installed on Merkava 4 tanks, the newest tanks in the IDF Armored Corps fleet, and on the Namer APCs (APCs built on a Merkava tank frame). According to reports from the front, since the beginning of the ground operation last Thursday night, the system has successfully intercepted five anti-tank missiles that were aimed at armored IDF vehicles in Gaza.

Impressive.

We need to get this on our vehicles...the slat armor cages is getting old, inhibits mobility (both strategic and tactical) and is ineffective against the most advanced threats. 

The world is burning news. 21 Egyptian Soldiers killed at Libyan border checkpoint.

via New York Times.

At least 21 Egyptian soldiers were killed on Saturday when heavily armed gunmen attacked a border guard post near a remote desert oasis, according to an army spokesman.
The death toll appeared to be the highest for the military in a single attack in recent memory, and came as the Egyptian government has expressed growing alarm at threats from neighboring countries, and especially from Libya, an increasingly lawless state that shares a long border with Egypt.
The episode occurred around 6 p.m. near the isolated Farafara oasis in Egypt’s western desert, about 120 miles from the Libyan border. During the attack, one of the gunmen fired a rocket-propelled grenade that struck an ammunition cache, causing an explosion that killed the soldiers and wounded four others, according to a military statement.

Don't be confused.

The entire region is falling apart right before our eyes.  This situation is connected to the fighting in Libya, which is connected to the fighting in Syria, which is connected to the fighting in Iraq, which is leading to a brewing rebellion in Saudi Arabia, which is spreading to Jordan, Qatar and now we have evidence of even Egypt getting pulled into the mess.

Our State Dept and Pentagon are so far behind the power curve on these issues that its becoming concerning.

I no longer believe they can walk and chew bubble gum.