Must Read!

Shepard of the Gurneys has done it again.  Check out his latest here.

15th MEU assault climbers course....photos by Sgt. Emmanuel Ramos

U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Dominique Sparacino repels down a cliff during an urban-climber course aboard Camp Pendleton, Calif., Sept. 30, 2014. Sparacino, 21, from Salt Lake City, is an assaultman with 2nd Platoon, Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment. Marines with 3/1will become the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit’s ground combat element in October. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Emmanuel Ramos/Released)

Note:  Why would what looks like an ordinary assault climbers course be labeled instead "urban"?  I'm really not sure but I blame it entirely on the constant training with local, state and federal law enforcement.  Sooner or later Marine Corps leadership will realize that the training and equipment does not translate to combat conditions.

Duncan (Ebola patient) and his family are confused. Prayers yes. Sympathy?

Duncan (the Ebola patient in a Dallas hospital) and his family are obviously confused.

I've heard and read news reports where they've stated that Duncan has taken a turn for the worse.  Every news anchor I've heard has stated that our prayers go out to him.

While that is undoubtedly true, I hope they aren't thinking that the American people are suddenly sympathetic to his plight.  I might be misreading public sentiment but I believe that people hope that Duncan recovers from this terrible disease, but at the same time believe that he has placed our entire country in jeopardy.

The next crisis?  Muslims worldwide are at Mecca.  If the disease is spread there and then those people travel back to their home countries (thanks Zebra for giving me this terrible thought) then we can see this thing break out worldwide.

One confirmed case is straining the Dallas county medical system.  One hundred would break it.  The same goes for New York, DC, Chicago or Houston.  They better crush this thing now and they BETTER determine a better way to keep it out of the country.  If they don't ... and flu season is rapidly approaching (which mirrors the Ebola in early stages)...this could begin to affect the economy.

The public doesn't trust the US govt on Ebola. Proof? Emergency supply sales jump.

Well it seems that the general public has voted with its wallet on whether or not it believes what the US govt is saying about the Ebola situation.  Proof? Emergency supply sales have spiked (note:  I'm watching a CDC press conference and its obvious by the words of the director that I'm right on this).  Story via Bloomberg.

His business isn’t the only one that’s booming in the wake of the U.S. arrival of the deadly infectious disease ravaging West Africa. Since the first case diagnosed outside of Africa was announced earlier this week, fears of a wider outbreak have been boosting sales of disaster-preparedness supplies from rubber gloves to surgical masks and plastic suits.
Sales of $124.89 disposable DuPont Co. (DD) Tyvek suits surged 233 percent in the 24 hours through 2:19 p.m. New York time on Amazon.com Inc.’s (AMZN) site.
Tripled Production
DuPont, which is based in Wilmington, Delaware, said in an e-mailed statement that it has tripled production of some items used for Ebola protection and has “worked hard to shift products geographically and made a available a broader range of styles suitable for various treatment levels.”
A message on DuPont’s website, which cites the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, recommends gloves, eye protection, face masks and fluid-resistant gowns to protect against Ebola infection.
Sales of 3M Co.’s (MMM) particulate respirators, starting at $22, were up 4,004 percent, according to Amazon’s data. Soap.com, a site owned by Amazon, said hand sanitizer sales jumped 20 percent this week.
Handbook Sales
Materials teaching how to deal with a potential Ebola outbreak also have gained in popularity. Sales of “Ebola Survival Handbook: A Collection of Tips, Strategies, and Supply Lists from Some of the World’s Best Preparedness Professionals,” which was published Sept. 22, rose 49 percent in the past 24 hours. Buyers of the book frequently also purchase Tyvek suits and respirators, according to Amazon, which encourages customers to buy all three together.
Thomas Frieden, director of the CDC, said this week there was “no doubt” that Ebola will be contained in the U.S.
Duncan was first seen by doctors on Sept. 25. He was sent home from the emergency room despite telling a nurse he had recently been in Africa, and hospital officials have blamed a flaw in the electronic medical records system for Duncan’s release.

I would ordinarily cheer this development but like an old SgtMajor I once knew always said...You can't get ready, you have to be ready.

Hopefully more of my fellow American will learn from this latest example and be ready from this moment on. 

30mm XM813 Turret Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle

ISIS shoots down Iraqi Mi-35 attack helicopter.

via Fox News.

BAGHDAD – Islamic State group militants armed with a rocket launcher shot down an Iraqi military attack helicopter Friday in the country's north, authorities said, highlighting their ability attack aircraft as a U.S.-led coalition expands its efforts to combat the extremists.
Fighters downed the Mi-35 helicopter between the towns of Beiji and al-Senniyah in northern Iraq, an official with the Iraqi Defense Ministry said. An official with the Iraqi air force corroborated the information, saying the helicopter's pilot and co-pilot were killed in the crash.

Well that didn't last long.

They just got the darn things and now ISIS is able to take them with (from all indications) RPGs.

Quite honestly the question that no one is asking is this.  Are attack helicopters still viable on the modern battlefield?  As much as I hate the USAF's stance on the A-10 is it possible that they are right?   

Ukrainian military to buy Tavor licensed rifles.

Thanks to Peter for the link...

via New.liga

Rifles are already being adopted, there were some days for the issue, and they officially entered service of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
Ministry of Defense of Ukraine until the end of the year to buy 500 assault rifles and 221 Fort Fort 224 special units. On this, answering the question of LIGABusinessInform , the head of the central Missile and Artillery Directorate of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Colonel Vitaly Otamanyuk.
"This weapon can be charged either the right or left side - it is important for right-handers and left-handers. Emission control rounds on the right side, you can safely in the field to replace the barrel, caliber rifles Fort 224 - 5.45 to 39 mm, this is the usual gauge that we got more out of the Soviet Union, but you can put the caliber 9 millimitrovy or 7.62 to 51, this NATO caliber. If I went to serve as somewhere outside of Ukraine, for example, NATO, through the UN, it is not necessary to carry an echelon of ammunition, I can get them there, because I have the trunk is NATO caliber.'s our perspective, "- said Otamanyuk.
According to him, these rifles have already been taken into service, have a few days for the issue, and they officially entered service APU. "Our first order before the end of the year - about 500 units. This weapon will be available primarily for units of special operations forces, and in the future - highly mobile assault troops and mechanized units for intelligence," - he said.
In addition, in the future, for the army will be taken two pistols - 17 Fort and Fort 14TPN.
Also, the Ministry of Defense beginning renovations AKS. "There is an ergonomic grip, folding stock, set the collimator - that is, we do not use the iron sight, because of which it is necessary to close one eye" - he said, adding that this year, the Defense Ministry plans to convert about 2 thousand machines Zone ATO. The first 120 improved machines have already been sent to the Donbas.

Interesting.

The manufacturers website is here.

PHIBLEX 15 ... Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Raul Moreno Jr

An Amphibious Assault Vehicle (AAV), assigned to the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), disembarks a Landing Craft Air Cushion, assigned to Naval Beach Unit (NBU) 7, in preparation for an amphibious landing exercise during PHIBLEX 15. PHIBLEX is an annual bilateral training exercise with the Armed Forces of the Philippines. NBU 7 and the 31st MEU are part of the Peleliu Expeditionary Strike Group, commanded by Rear Adm. Hugh Wetherald, and are conducting joint forces exercises in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of responsibility. (U.S. Navy Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Raul Moreno Jr./Released)

NOTE:  Cut the guy some slack on misidentifying the vehicle.  Happens to me all the time...happens to us all...

The blond haired, blue eyed chick that went Muslim...

Sorry I read the Quran to learn abt terrorist beliefs but ended up converting to Islam b/c of what it said. #MuslimApologies #sorrynotsorry

I'm still digesting this story.

I just don't know.

It does make me wonder if we might have a fight inside our own borders against terrorist sooner than I thought.

Read her article here.

Sidenote:  Don't get it twisted.  I'm not calling her a terrorist but (you have to read the article) she does as other Muslim's have and ISN'T fiercely pushing back against extremist in her new religion.  That is whats worrying...and if they're getting new converts....

Sidenote 1:  This also brings up another subject that I really didn't want to touch, but have to put out there...especially in light of the beheading in Oklahoma.  What about radicalization of Muslims in prison?  Could we be looking at the potential of not only worrying about released criminals re-offending but also being potential terrorists?  (Considering how the discussion goes this entire post might get deleted)

Legacy building via friends at Wall Street Journal.

Its no secret that I'm not a fan of General Amos.  What I didn't know is that I would lose confidence in the Wall Street Journal due to a fluff piece that is obviously being used as a legacy building device.  Read the article here but some tidbits...

The new reaction unit, described by Gen. Amos in an interview with The Wall Street Journal, is the outgrowth of an effort to remake the Marine Corps into a global "911" response force.

The USMC was calling itself America's 911 force since the 1990's.  Remake it?  Really?  Seriously?

Over the past four years, Gen. Amos has sought to transform the Marine Corps into a force focused on crisis response. Under pressure to trim spending and reorient the force, he has slimmed down headquarters units, shed tanks, and told the Corps to be ready to respond at a moment's notice.

Wow.  But wait it gets better.

"After our ambassador was killed, we sat back as a Marine Corps and asked what could we have done, what could we have offered the president," Gen. Amos said. "We didn't have any forces in the Mediterranean. We said we will build…a crisis response team."

This part is particularly annoying.  Forces were available (I stand by that...don't bother arguing, I won't debate it....I consider the issue settled) but decision makers both military and civilian failed to respond.

This fluff piece is legacy building and its obvious that the SPMAGTF-CR is what Amos is hanging his hat on as "leaving the Marine Corps better than he found it".

The problem is obvious though.  The concept as constructed is not sustainable.  The ops tempo will break the force unless they scale them back drastically.

The only good news?  Amos is gone soon.  Real soon.  Thank God!

Stunning truth from General Paxton, Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps.

Breaking Defense has a fantastic article about a "briefing" at the Center for Strategic & International Studies given by General Paxton.  Read it here (and I recommend you do) but a few tidbits...

Even the Marine Corps’ own latest innovation, the land-based and air-deployed SP-MAGTFs (Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Forces) — the newest one officially created this week in Kuwait — are “suboptimal” compared to traditional Marine Expeditionary Units (MEUs) embarked on ships, Paxton said...

That is huge!  I've been saying the same thing for months.  Quite honestly I don't understand the utility of the formation.  Its expanded from the size of a "Company Landing Team" up to now a full Marine Infantry Battalion.

But the focus of the symposium was Amphibious Shipping, a report that CSIS has done a report on (you can get a copy here).  The USMC has plans to place ramps on JHSVs and use them as transports for AAVs and MPCs from the sea base to launch points offshore.  Check out what he says about that....

Amphibious warships are built with self-defense systems and highly resilient hulls. By contrast, while the JHSV is “a great opportunity,” Paxton said, “we should not delude ourselves in terms of its survivability and we should not delude ourselves in terms of the sea state [i.e. rough weather conditions] within which it can operate.”
“It is, I think, a splendid platform [for] doing exercises and building partnership capacity,” he said. “You could take a look [at JHSV] if we had to do a NEO [non-combatant evacuation, e.g. of a threatened embassy] or casualty evacuation, if the threat posture wasn’t severe. [But] I don’t see how you can legitimately put it into an operations plan for a major theater operation — unless you are doing long-term, later follow-on operations [i.e. after the main threat was defeated], nothing to do with the assault echelon.”

Again!  THIS IS HUGE!  I've been saying the same thing...it even applies to the LCAC!

Adults appear to be reasserting themselves at HQMC.  I couldn't be happier.  If you have the time and the inclination you can check out the video of the event below.

How do you deal with civil disturbance or uncooperative infected people?

A little birdy in law enforcement hit me with some info about them making contingencies to deal with infected people because they can't wear decon suits while performing their ordinary duties and such....and that raises some uncomfortable issues.

What happens if you have identified a family as having an infected person and require them to be quarantined?

What happens if they refuse?  What happens if they disobey instructions and continues on there daily routine?

How would law enforcement respond?

Additionally what happens if you have a potentially infected person that is taken to the hospital and he becomes unruly?  What if family members are at that same hospital and join in.  Law Enforcement will be called in and they will not be wearing decon suits.  What if they have to go hands on?

Just one cluster of this will cause the US government to up the stakes and establish a "quarantine camp" to house, feed and keep an eye on those that are potentially contaminated.

All I'm saying is that this can get ugly real quick.  I don't care if you call me tin foil hat guy.  Get prepared.  If you're a reader of my blog then I am saying that you can call me crazy but do a little prepping if you haven't already.  If nothing happens then you have extra food, extra batteries, extra wood or whatever you use as alternate heating, extra bleach and water etc...

Hope for the best but for God's sake plan for the worst.

Contact tracing...

Thanks to ModernSurvivalOnline for the vid...



We are not being told the truth.

Consider.  The guy was walking around for four days.  Any contact he had with someone over those days has potentially been exposed.  IF they miss even one person then this will spread.

Now consider.  They estimate about 100 people have had contact and they need to be quarantined.

100 people need to stay in their houses, away from loved ones (well not really...they've also been exposed so we're potentially over one hundred already), not going outside and they need to be fed, watered etc...

Question.  Have you heard any reports that the local, state or federal authorities has turned to on that task?

Have you heard if they've contacted all 100 of those people?

NOTE:  If that isn't bad enough then consider this.  Zebra Dunn touched on it but what happens if you have a terrorist that somehow slips into the country, has infected himself with ebola and then exposes himself on purpose in a major city?  Well supposedly DHS is getting chatter that is being considered.  Check it out here.

ISIS Releases Images of Iraqi Soldiers Massacre at Camp Saqlawiyah Near Fallujah

All photos via IBT.com...read the story here.

The Netherland's is selling armored vehicles to Estonia...Dutch armor is the latest victim of the F-35.

via UPI

THE HAGUE, Netherlands, Oct. 2 (UPI) -- The Ministry of Defense of the Netherlands will sell 44 of its new CV90 infantry fighting vehicles to Estonia, it was announced on Thursday.The sale, announced in the Estonian capital of Tallinn during a visit by Dutch Minister of Defense Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, comes amid tension in Estonia over Russia's annexation of the Crimea region of Ukraine and machinations elsewhere in that country.
"Every day we are witnessing cases that demonstrate that peace is fragile and therefore it is not to be regarded as self-evident," Hennis said. "We cannot sit back and watch from the sidelines."
Estonia, once part of the Soviet Union, is a member of NATO. In February, Dutch forces will participate in military exercises in Estonia.
Dutch fighters, with other NATO aircraft, help patrol the skies over the Baltic since Baltic states have no air forces.
The Dutch Ministry of Defense said details of the sale of the armored vehicles are still being negotiated and are expected to be completed in December.
The sale of the 44 Swedish-made vehicles will leave the Netherlands with 149 CV90s in its inventory.
The Netherlands said cost-cutting was the impetus for the sale.
"The 44 CV90 are being divested as a result of the government resolution 'In the interests of the Netherlands' and the supplementary budget agreement of October 2013," the ministry said.

The idea that cost cutting is the reason behind this move is telling.  If you've been keeping up with internal Netherland's defense briefings then you'll know that they're essentially mortgaging their entire defense establishment to pay for the F-35.

The EU better move with efficiency toward a collective defense strategy beyond NATO now!  NATO or more properly said the US Army is no longer practicing the REFORGER exercise that were a staple of the 70's, 80's and 90's.

A smart, effective assault to gobble up territory will be over before the first US Army division is assembled for action and loading ships.

The new issue with the Ebola patients' family in Dallas! UPDATE.

UPDATE:  NBC News is stating that a freelance journalist has been diagnosed with Ebola in Liberia and will be flown back home for treatment.  Additionally Nancy Sniderman, NBC's Chief Medical Correspondant, is now under observation for 21 days.  They don't state if she will remain in Liberia or will be flown back to the US. 

Reports are coming out that the order by Dallas officials to have the family of the Ebola patient remain at home is already running into trouble.

According to the report...

1.  The family is pissed because they're being told to live in a house that IS CONTAMINATED!  The family is asking what to do with the patients clothing, bedding etc...They want to know if the house needs to be washed in bleach etc.

2.  The family only had enough food stores for 1 (One) day.  They made a call to the Sheriff's Dept to have food brought over.  Now the Red Cross is making deliveries everyday.

3.  A company is being brought in to decon the house.

4.  The number of potential contacts has increased from 80 to no between 80 to 100.

This situation is being rolled out slowly.  Since this has begun we have heard no good news...only bad.  Additionally the Ebola patient is being criticized for leaving the country AND lying on forms meant to contain the virus.

Long story short, this guy lied to get to America to spread this disease.  I don't care if it was done by accident.  Liberia should punish him after we get our turn.  25 years in prison if he survives should be sufficient.

Must read blog on Ebola in the US.

Just found a blog that is a must read when it comes to the Ebola situation in the US and where it might go in the future.

Its called the "Shepherd of the Gurneys" and can be found here.  I know that many people are saying that there is no cause for concern but I seriously doubt that.  Under reported is another virus that is attacking children all around the country and now we're dealing with this?

Something evil is brewing and I simply don't trust the govt to effectively deal with these new threats.

S-97 RAIDER photo

The Sikorsky S-97 RAIDER Unveiled

LCS. "Excuses to justify a complete dog's breakfast of a program..."

A tidbit, read it all at Cdr Salamander's house...

It still cannot conduct any warfighting primary mission areas. It is actually less combat effective than our USCG cutters at exceptionally higher costs, but that won't start the defense of the program.
Want to know how bad and undefendable the program is? Simple, they start making stuff up.


I let it pass last month - but no longer.

— Yesterday, Navy Secretary Ray Mabus said the task force review had been “thorough and exhaustive,” but declined to say anything more about the findings, according to POLITICO’s Philip Ewing. He also praised the overall situation with the LCS, noting recent accomplishments including the USS Coronado successful test firing of the Norwegian-built Kongsberg Naval Strike Missile.

Here is the ground truth, and in some ways is a mash-up of a few conversations I've been part of the last few weeks SEPCOR: this was nothing but a PR stunt.
All that happened was they loaded a missile on a truck. They drove it to the pier. They put it on the flightdeck of the LCS and utilizing a laptop disconnected from the ship's combat systems and launched it. All the guidance and tracking was done off-board.
Look at the pic. That setup is not ready for shipboard use, isn't designed for it, and this really has nowhere else to go.

So the US Navy is dealing with an F-35 it can't afford and an LCS that it can't get right.

I once thought they were the most squared away service during this time of confusion in the Pentagon.

Not anymore.

We're seeing the worst leadership of our military, both civilian and uniformed, in over 100 years ... at least.  These people will go down in history as breaking a fine institution.