USMC puts out an Ebola Awareness video.

Ok.

THIS IS OMINOUS AS HELL!

WHY?

Because I was on active duty when the terrorists struck on 9/11.  I REMEMBER WELL that we received a flash message to our forces in the Pacific pushing us to increase security because chatter indicated that a terrorist attack was imminent.

We got hit later (the message went out in the summer...I'm gonna try and dig up the ALMAR that accompanied the message) but they missed the target.  They went after targets in New York and the Pentagon instead of our forces in the Pacific.

What has happened that made this announcement necessary?  What do they know that they're not telling us?

Rep. Chaffitz: Four Known Terrorists Were Apprehended at US Border in Texas on 9/10

This is the burning news on some of the sites that I frequent.

It would make sense that with porous borders, ISIS will be able to get inside the country with little problem.  All this does is reinforce the idea of carrying everyday.

Additionally since I've been using a Glock 26 w/10 round magazine, I'll use my adapter to start using G19 mags in it instead...along with a spare 15 rounder and keep a 33 rounder in my daily carry bag.

The incompetence of the people in D.C. is not to be underestimated.  Bovine waste product is bound to hit the fan sooner or later.  Its inevitable.

Liberating Kuwait

  Liberating Kuwait

Rushes....photo by Cpl. Caitlin Brink

Romanian Battalion fighting for new Russia in Ukraine?

Thanks MC for the link.

Battalion soldiers arrived in Donetsk to strengthen the ranks of those who have taken today opolcheniya.V oath of allegiance to the self-proclaimed People's Republic of Donetsk were foreign volunteers. One of the Romanian soldiers told LifeNews, that a whole battalion of Bucharest joined the army DNR because they stand for independence in any of its manifestations.

Wow on two counts.

First, if Romanians actually are fighting for "new" Russia then we're seeing a new kind of dynamic that I can't even begin to figure out.

Second, the separatists consistent.  If the overthrow of the old govt was considered a "yearning" for people to be free then how can the "yearnings" of the separatist be considered a bad thing?

Overall I thought we were heading to an endgame but it looks like a few more chapters are being written.  My hope for an end to hostilities is beginning to look more and more naive.

UK Armed Forces Commentary expresses fear before the Scotland vote...

There is real fear and loathing in the UK right now.  You can hear it in Cameron's voice when he talks about the subject.  Now you can read it over at UK Armed Forces Commentary Blog.  But its even worse than that.  According to UKAFC even if they vote it down, the divisions will be even bigger and the pain will continue no matter what.  Read it here but check out this tidbit.

What worries me, and surprises me in the worst possible sense of the word, is that the result is so uncertain. It is scary to me that it is such a close race, and that there is such division, and that i hear people saying that the heart tells them to break out of the Union. Sincerely, i never imagined something like this.
Even if the no wins, as i hope, it looks like it will be with a small majority from what i see, and this is still bad news. It is painful to see Scotland in this state, and so divided and eager to get out. Moreover, such a tight margin is a source of enduring uncertainty: will we go through a whole new drama in a few years time? How will this issue evolve? A break up would be a disaster, but the "neverendum" scenario that already some fear would be just as bad and in some ways worse.

From a purely armed forces focused angle, the uncertainty resulting from a narrow victory would make me hesitate a hell of a lot in going ahead with investment in Faslane, in the shipyards, in the spaceport for which Leuchars is in the shortlist of possible locations. How can huge investments be made with the real risk of turning out being money burned soon afterwards? How can the future of the armed forces, already strapped for cash, be further tied to Scotland with the risk of even greater damage if this nightmare lives on?

On the other hand, of course, not making the investments and bring stuff south of the border would only reinforce the divisions. It looks like a Lose - Lose situation. Very scary.

This is getting beyond good.

I've said that the ramifications of vote that supports breaking away will reach far and wide.

I'm more convinced of that than ever.

Pass the popcorn.  Yes or no, this is gonna be good.  We're seeing a history altering event and few people realize it.   

Power plant blown up in Ukraine?

via English Russia

Meanwhile they report that a few hours ago a major power plant was destroyed in Lughansk, Ukraine leaving over one million people around it without power. There is no estimate yet given if there any chance for the power to be restored in near future. There were two versions of whats happened – some say it was shelled by the rocket systems others say there were mines set before and they were activated now. Anyways this is pretty disturbing.

Interesting.

I wonder what the motivation is behind this move? 

Question. Has the UN finally become irrelevant?

I ask you all this question.  Has the UN finally become irrelevant on the world stage?

Remember back when the UK and France were pushing for action against Libya and President Obama made his famous lead from behind remark?  The UK didn't, neither did France and certainly not this liberal administration ask for UN assistance or permission.

Remember the issues in Ukraine?  The UN was on the sidelines.

Today we're talking about taking action against ISIS.  Not once has the Obama administration talked about getting the UN's blessings....and just today I read where the UN is pulling out of the Golan Heights and no one is even batting an eye.

Have we all missed a very important development?  Has the UN been rendered irrelevant when it comes to dealing with the world's most important issues?  Is it now only a glorified Red Cross that agitates when a humanitarian crisis erupts?  Is it headed toward becoming a modern day League of Nations....as in soon to be kaput...and no one is noticing?

China adding another branch to their armed force...a Space Force!

via Military Tech.

Increasingly strong reports continue to circulate that China is in the process of creating a fifth service within the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) structure – a force devoted to space operations. Unconfirmed reports, to be sure, but on the grounds there is rarely any smoke without fire it is worth examining the issue in more detail.
The PLA currently consists of ground, air and naval services as well as the curiously named Second Artillery service, which controls China’s ballistic missiles and nuclear arsenal. Reports now claim a fifth service dedicated to space operations is being created as a focus around which to integrate some of the partial initiatives taken in recent years. The latest report surfaced in Japan’s respected national newspaper Yomihuri Shimbun in August and, although the story has subsequently been deleted from the journal’s website, the claims that President Xi has ordered the action do seem credible.
In April, the English language paper China Daily reported a speech made by Xi to PLA Air Force officers, urging them “to speed up air and space integration and sharpen [their] offensive and defensive capabilities,” and to create “a new type of combat unit” to act as the platform in which to achieve the ambition. "The US has paid considerable attention and resources to the integration of capabilities in both air and space, and other powers have also moved progressively toward space militarization. Though China has stated that it sticks to the peaceful use of space, we must make sure that we have the ability to cope with others' operations in space,” he said.
Chinese academic literature also provides some food for thought. One recent report correlates the issues of space warfare and cyber warfare, making the statement that “space will surely be the main battlefield of cyber warfare.” Taken in conjunction with US claims that China has concentrated massive efforts on hacking into and stealing information from prominent companies in the US and European satellite and aerospace industries, it would certainly make sense that China is carefully managing the creation of an organisation to integrate and exploit its growing capabilities in this area.
Some of these capabilities include an already developed anti-satellite system, tested in 2007, 2013 and this year, which in Chinese eyes is an essential capacity that would help counter American GPS capabilities in the event of an open conflict. A US DoD report to Congress in 2013 observed that China’s space programme had produced 18 separate launches the previous year, many of which placed new space-based intelligence and communications satellites in orbit. The report also made the point that China is developing anti-satellite technologies.

Read it all here.

I've always known it but this seals the deal...this is aimed directly at the US. You talk stealth?  I talk sats.

If the Chinese can neutralize our satellites or destroy them outright then half the US military will be rendered ineffective.

We continue to waste money in the Middle East protecting Saudi Arabia, UAE and others while China is concentrating on defeating us on an inevitable future battlefield.

Ain't that grand. 

The crews didn't expect the area around the mission to be hot...

Thanks to the little birdy that sent me this link.

via Defense News.

In response to two of its CV-22 Ospreys being shot up over Juba, South Sudan, in December, critically injuring two service members, the US Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) has added optional armor to the flooring of the aircraft and may also incorporate forward-firing weapons.
AFSOC commander Lt. Gen. Bradley Heithold told reporters on Monday that armor panels developed for the bird could add 800 pounds of weight if the full “blanket” is used, but crews have the option to use the armor sheeting or not.
The two CV-22s were so vulnerable in the attack because the crews didn’t expect the area around the mission to be “hot,” so were surprised by the 119 rounds fired at the aircraft.
The optional armor, which is being fielded now, can be put on in pieces to protect only certain parts of the aircraft, but any extra armor will create tradeoffs, Heithold said, either in how many troops can be carried or how far the aircraft can fly before refueling is necessary.
AFSOC is also working with industry to develop a forward-firing gun, he said.

Ignore the issue with the armoring and adding of forward firing guns to the CV-22.  Think about this passage...

The two CV-22s were so vulnerable in the attack because the crews didn’t expect the area around the mission to be “hot,” so were surprised by the 119 rounds fired at the aircraft.

We're not talking about the Air National Guard flying a refueling missions behind the forward edge of the battle space.

We're talking about USAF Special Operations transporting SEALs to a landing zone in a country where fighting is happening.

I FIND THAT ASTOUNDING!

What kind of mindset has developed where worse case planning isn't taking place and intel is trusted to be 100%?

But back to the CV-22/MV-22.

Marine Corps Aviation has been working on a forward firing gun for the thing for more than a decade.  General Jones was pissed that it didn't have one and said this in a Time article (he was retired at the time)...

Retired Gen. James Jones, former commandant of the Marine Corps, told Time he'd always wanted the Osprey to have a forward-mounted gun, a .50-cal. under the nose - something he never pulled off as the Corps' top Marine.
Jones believes all assault support aircraft should have forward-facing weaponry, according to the article. He described it to Time as a fundamental belief stemming from his Vietnam War experience: Biggest and baddest is best.

Yet it still hasn't happened.  I'm looking for the quote but one Commandant even said we weren't gonna get it unless it had a forward firing gun.

My guess?  Ten years from now they'll still be looking for a solution. 

Royal Marines practise amphibious skills on exercise Albanian Lion

The Scotland vote. I hope they break away!

I'm loving this Scottish independence vote.  I hope they're not blowing smoke and will actually break away from the UK.

Why?

Because I've noticed that every "world leader" is against their independence.

To me that's telling.

Additionally I see this as another sign that globalization is breaking down.  The EU is still stagnating economically.  The sanctions against Russia did nothing and will probably be blamed for a recession on that continent.  London is a major hub for this fraudulent world banking system...and it has the added benefit of throwing British defense plans into total chaos, thereby forcing the Brits to stop pretending that they're a world power and to finally deal with the social programs, immigration issues and weird defense spending that has been plaguing them for so long.

Last, a vote for independence will probably have knock on effects around the world.

I say bring on the pain!  Bring on the misery!  Pass the popcorn, if they separate from the UK this will be fun to watch.

RoK Marines commemorate the 64th anniversary of the Landing on Inchon

The reenactment of the situation in the coastal hechimyeo assault wave of Marines landed and armored frigates Cheongju also KAAV the 64 anniversary of Incheon Landing Operation tradition gotta events held in Incheon Wolmido 15.

Something is going on with the F-35.

Something is going on with the F-35.  Why do I say that?  Because I've seen this "bullshit" before.

First.  Have you noticed the whole spat of articles that have come out in support of the F-35?  Then this video hits this morning?  Additionally the articles aren't containing any new information...they're just fluff pieces designed to say that all is well with the program.

Then you have that stealth budget request for additional F-35's that was stuck in the war funding bill...along with Apache helicopters for the Army (a sweetener to keep them from screaming at the top of their lungs).

What is going on?  I have no idea.  I do know that the political winds have shifted and that a Republican takeover of the Senate seems more likely than ever.  I know that budget hawks hold sway over the Republican party...alot more than the Neo-cons.

Then we have the continuing budget drama.  Obama Care is going to cost more than expected.  Sequestration is expected to continue.  And on top of all of that is unexpected spending on an unexpected war.

Budget?  Could it be that they see a fiscal trainwreck coming?  Allies?  Is someone getting cold feet and about to cut orders (I keep hearing that Italy is about to go down to 45...a yellow bird landed on my window sill).

I just don't know but whenever I see a PR blitz I get suspicious.

ISIS shoots down Syrian attack plane.

via Jerusalem Online.

ISIS shot down a Syrian Army battle plane that was implementing attacks in the city of Raqqa, the capital city of ISIS. According to Agence France Presse, the plane crashed into a house and several people were injured.

After the initial reports, ISIS took responsibility for the act. The Syrian plane had implemented five attacks this morning against ISIS positions in Raqqa, before it was shot down by ISIS. In his twitter account, a terrorist by the name of Lions of Islam wrote, “Thank Allah, we can confirm that a military plane was shot down near Raqqa.”
“This is the first downing of a plane since the Syrian regime began to operate from the air last July, after an announcement by the regime in June,” Rami Abdul Rahman, a human rights activist, told AFP.

Well ain't that grand?

You might as well steel yourself to the fact that they WILL get lucky against a US warplane...or transport...or refueler...or recon plane.

Then what will happen after they murder the pilot on YouTube?

Will we waste another 10 years trying to turn around a barbaric and uncivilized section of our planet, while spending ourselves into even worse bankruptcy?  I believe this whole thing will end badly.

A must read from Defense Media Network.

Defense Media Network has a must read on the evolution of amphibious ships from WW2 onward.

Pay close attention to the section on the Newport Class Tank Landing Ship.  Consider what it could do today.  Instead of buying fleets of MLP's, LCACs, LCUs and JHSVs, we would have maybe a dozen or so doing the job of a whole flotilla of smaller boats almost as fast but with a battalion of men and equipment from the MPS ships hovering offshore.

The UK's nukes should be moved to the US if Scotland votes independence? Seriously?

via express.co.uk

BRITAIN’S independent nuclear deterrent should be moved to the United States if Scotland gains its independence next week, senior military figures have said.
Speaking to the Sunday Express they said the plan would ensure that our four Trident missile-carrying Vanguard submarines would not remain in the hands of a Non-Nato foreign country and deprive Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond of any “leverage” in post -independence negotiations.
The call, which one senior US politician last night said would be “overwhelmingly supported” in Congress, comes only two days after Ministry of Defence chiefs finally green-lighted an impact assessment study on Britain’s defence in the event of a Yes vote on Thursday.
Last night Whitehall sources confirmed they were “very alive” to the US option, though, officially, the Ministry of Defence refused to confirm it was making any provisions for independence.
Speaking last night, Air Commodore Andrew Lambert, now attached to the UK National Defence Association, said: “The great leverage that Alex Salmond currently has over the British Government is the location of our nuclear defence base at Faslane. If the vote is Yes, we should move heaven and earth to move all our submarines out of Faslane as quickly as possible.
“We must decide how important, in the short term, the word independence is in terms of our nuclear deterrent. After all, we rely on the US for our missiles and for an awful lot of intelligence. Would it make a huge amount of difference if we asked the US if we could use a base to place our nuclear deterrent there as a temporary measure?

Just plain wow.

I mean seriously?  We're going to allow a foreign government, even a friendly one, to establish a base on US soil?  A base that houses nuclear weapons?

FUCK NO!!!!

I don't care how friendly we are with the UK.  They're testing my patience with this one.  And I can't say for sure but I think the backlash from this proposal would be pretty severe in the "Bible Belt" of the US.  Sure you'll have some that love money so much they'd pimp there mother so a nuclear base wouldn't make them think twice but foreign nukes on US soil?  I don't fucking think so!

NOTE:  Don't  hit me with the canard that foreign ships visit and that some carry nuclear weapons.  That's a temporary thing.  A naval base that services nuclear deterrent submarines is something else entirely.  

Army ditches armor while everyone else heavies up.

Thanks for the link Jonathan!

vai Defense News.

Frost & Sullivan analyst Wayne Plucker credited the conceptual vehicles as more sustainable than the multi-ton mine-resistant ambush- protected vehicle, and said they might allow troops to operate a week without support, from an “airborne beachhead.”
“My Marine colleague here called this, ‘too light to fight,’ ” Plucker said. “The Marines have several layers they can bring in via sealift, and this is the Army saying, ‘we can do this too,’ but they might need to finagle on the weights and sustainability. ... If we were inserting ourselves into Africa, say, not near a coast, it would probably work for a while.”
The LRV, envisioned for a six-scout squad, would host basic and advanced surveillance systems. Infrared systems, ground surveillance radar and links to UAVs would be among them. This would replace Humvees kitted with surveillance gear. Not meant as a fighting vehicle, it would have a medium-caliber weapon system and baseline protection against small arms, 152mm shrapnel and anti-personnel mines, with the ability to receive heavier armor.
The LRV’s capabilities development document is still in draft form; its estimated operating time frame is fiscal 2020. The platform is considered to be in the technology development phase with plans to hold a performance demonstration in the third or fourth quarter of fiscal 2015.
To be considered, the vehicles would have to be transportable inside or by sling load by a CH-47.
The MPF, envisioned for 2024, has an initial capabilities document scheduled for consideration in October by the Army Requirements Oversight Council.
In concept, the MPF would quickly engage enemy forces, protecting the infantry brigade’s freedom to maneuver.

The Army is in even worse shape than the Marine Corps when it comes to forming a coherent doctrine...or to use Pentagon-speak..."shape a direction for future armored/mechanized transport" of their forces.

I mean seriously!  They are going from a fully motorized force, into an airlanded intervention force!  I know that some will say that they're simply attempting to fulfill the vision of the force that General Shinseki laid out when he introduced the Stryker ICV as an interim vehicle.

I disagree.

We're looking at a US Army that is setting itself up for even worse trouble than what I see happening with SPMAGTF-CR's.

If they actually follow through with this we will see the 82nd Airborne Initial Ready Company being hung out to dry for 72 hours or more against forces that will have at least technicals, probably heavy anti-tank weapons and possibly even Chinese or Russian main battle tanks or armored personnel carriers.

The US Army is setting itself up for a bloodbath in a far off land.  Blackhawk Down will look like a picnic in comparison.

The Fuji Firepower Exercise 2014 (Japanese weapons overview)

Parachute Regiment Jackal high mobility vehicle roll-over...

pic via celer-et-audax.tumblr.com