Monday, January 12, 2015

The pussification and civilianization of the US Army picks up pace.

Thanks to Nico for this depressing link.

via Military.com
The U.S. Army wants to create specific physicalfitness tests aimed at ensuring that soldiers can meet the physical challenges of their jobs in wartime.
Army Chief of Staff Gen. Raymond Odierno is waiting on a recommendation that would create PFTs that are designed around the physical requirements of military occupational specialties such as infantry, cavalry, armor and others.
"I expect that the in the next several months Training and Doctrine Command will come forward with a recommendation," Odierno said during a Jan. 6 virtual Town Hall meeting with soldiers across the Army.
"This is maybe how I see it. I think there might still be a general PT test similar to [the current] pushups, sit-ups, two-mile run. But then there will be a functional test per by MOS that really focuses on what strengths should need to be in a certain MOS."
Odierno said he saw a recommendation for a new PFT when he first became chief, but it was "inadequate."


So he directed training officials to begin looking at qualifications for every MOS. The data collected from the effort will "help us to understand physiologically when we go to war, what are the requirements that we have to have for somebody to be able to do their job under stressful conditions.
This is such bullshit.

This is all about getting women into combat in such a way as to fool the idiots in society that standards are being maintained.  Functional tests for each MOS?  Really?  Seriously?

The US Army is about to become a bitch force that isn't worth deploying.

Hopefully the USMC will stay away from this foolishness.  If it doesn't then you can expect a gender-normalized force to go into combat and get raped (literally) by the enemy. 

With these new PT standards is this the future of Army support units?


Pandur II 8x8 IFV...the Czech Army buys more.

Thanks for the link Jonathan!


via Defense News
WARSAW — The Czech Ministry of Defense aims to order 20 Pandur II 8x8 armored personnel carriers (APCs) from General Dynamics European Land Systems. The deal is expected to be awarded in July, Czech Deputy Defense Minister Jiri Borovec said.
The new APCs will improve the military's command and communication capability, Borovec told local news agency CTK.
"The [supplied] vehicle should not differ significantly from the rest [of the Czech APCs]. And not only visually, but also in terms of their tactical-technical specification," said Gen. Petr Pavel, the chief of the General Staff of the Czech Armed Forces.
The Pandurs will belong to the military's 4th Rapid Reaction Brigade.
The planned contract will expand the APC fleet operated by the Czech Army. In March 2009, the country's government approved the purchase of 107 Pandur II vehicles for 14.4 billion crowns (US $609 million). The APCs were designed to replace the Czech military's outdated OT-64 armored vehicles, which were jointly developed by then-communist Poland and Czechoslovakia in the 1960s.
We're seeing it again.

A small nation is standardizing on one vehicle, developing a family of vehicles from it and I believe will save money without losing combat capability in the process.

The Pandur II seems like a good vehicle, I wonder why it hasn't achieved greater export success.

Breaking. 6 Terror Cell Members Identified in France.

Fox News is reporting that 6 Terror Cell Members have been identified in France and that one of the members was spotted driving the vehicle registered to the Black Widow that made her way to Syria.

I asked why the President would go to the memorial service in France.

He didn't.

Some have questioned why he didn't and criticized him for it.

They're wrong.

Police had indicated that a terror cell was active in France and with this info it appears that another attack is imminent.  To send the US President (fuck his politics) into that type of environment would have been foolish.  They made the right call.

One last thing.  Fox News is also reporting that Homeland Security is stating that they will increase Protective Security for VIPs in the US and abroad.

This ain't over.  Not by a long shot.  Despite everyone wanting the world to "go back to normal" the bad guys get a vote and they want chaos.

Ka 52 Alligator Attack Helicopter. Will AESA radar give it an advantage?



I hope you watched this vid till the part where they started talking about its avionics.  The closest analogy to this is the long dead Sea Apache concept which was rejected.

Question.  How much of an advantage will an AESA radar in this attack helicopter give it in a fight against the AH-1Z and AH-64E?  Before you answer consider that these helicopters were originally designed with an anti-helicopter mission in mind.

Has anyone considered that we've fallen behind in the attack helicopter race?

Sidenote:  Notice the simple yet elegant solution for forward firing that is displayed here?  Why can't a similar solution be used for the MV-22?

Fm 44-8 Combined Arms for Air Defense (revised 1999)

Thanks to Muzzlehatch for the info!




You would have thought (like I did) that the ground forces were not planning for small units to have to defend themselves against air attack.  By outside appearances it seemed like everyone was happily going along with the fiction that our airpower would sweep the sky and keep us safe from that threat.

Seems like some smart guy in the US Army thought differently and produced a manual in the 1980's, which was updated in 1999, that considered that possibility.

I never knew.

I'm glad to know that

Sunday, January 11, 2015

Coalition Warfare is ruining the US' reputation...

Thanks to Matthew for the link!

via McClatchy.com
GAZIANTEP, TURKEY — A U.S.-led coalition airstrike killed at least 50 Syrian civilians late last month when it targeted a headquarters of Islamic State extremists in northern Syria, according to an eyewitness and a Syrian opposition human rights organization.
The civilians were being held in a makeshift jail in the town of Al Bab, close to the Turkish border, when the aircraft struck on the evening of Dec. 28, the witnesses said. The building, called the Al Saraya, a government center, was leveled in the airstrike. It was days before civil defense workers could dig out the victims’ bodies.
The U.S. Central Command, which had not previously announced the airstrike, confirmed the attack Saturday in response to repeated McClatchy inquiries. “Coalition aircraft did strike and destroy an ISIL headquarters building in Al Bab on Dec. 28,” Col. Patrick S. Ryder said in an email.
He said a review of the airstrike showed no evidence of civilian casualties but offered to examine any additional information, “since we take all allegations seriously.” ISIL is an alternative name for the Islamic State.
U.S. officials acknowledged for the first time last week that they are investigating “at least a few” claims of civilian casualties as a result of airstrikes on Syria. “This is something we always take seriously,” said Pentagon spokesman Navy Rear Adm. John Kirby. “We are very mindful of trying to mitigate the risk to civilians every time we operate, everywhere we operate.”
This has been a private irritation for me for quite awhile.

Tremendous successes by US forces are watered down and instead the "coalition" is given credit.  Tremendous failures occur and it becomes "the US-led coalition".

Don't get me wrong.  I'm sorry if 50 people died in an airstrike, but war is war and no matter how much some want it to be painless it never will be.  People will die.  Innocent people will die.  Its always been that way and always will be that way.

But I know for a fact that US forces will go out of their way to avoid those type casualties.  I'm not so sure that some members of the coalition feel the same way.

Who am I talking about?  Well I'm not talking about Canada, Australia, France or the other European countries that are launching strikes with us.  I am pointing a finger at some of our Middle Eastern allies that have joined the fray.

Central Command and the Pentagon need to stop sullying the US' reputation and state plainly whether a US jet caused the deaths or not.  If we didn't (and I suspect they didn't) then you don't have to name the country...just make it clear that we didn't do the deed.



Read more here: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2015/01/11/252671_us-airstrike-in-syria-may-have.html?rh=1#storylink=cpy

What would you do? (humor)

via Zombie Apocalypse Survival Guide.


Nuking the planet from orbit would not be good enough.  This boys and girl is a vision from my most tortured dreams.  Not only a big ass spider but its fused with a big ass snake!

Sidenote.  I wonder if one day it will be possible to actually create a creature like this?  I doubt it but damn...if they could...GAME OVER MAN (I hope you picked up on the Aliens Movie theme of this post)!

Buy while you can. Restrictions are coming...


This post is for the gun guys in my audience.

Buy those unique items while you can.  Restrictions are coming...I can smell it.  With the terrorist attack in France, the rampaging idiots in Nigeria and a general realization by the populace that the world is indeed a dangerous place you can expect that short of outright bans (the Republicans wouldn't dare) there will be new documentation requirements.

And we only have ourselves to blame for it.

Remember those Tannerite videos I've complained about?  Now imagine Diane Fienstien getting up on the floor of the Senate showing one of those vids that illustrate how you can use this binary explosive to blow up a truck or barn.

Even the most pro gun Republican couldn't say no to the requirement to document who buys it.  Firearms?  Expect a push to pass a mandatory one week (or longer) waiting period to buy a gun while an extensive background check can be conducted (they'll use the excuse that the wait could disrupt planned terrorist attacks).

That's what I expect from this most recent incident in France.  If terrorist cells have been activated and if they strike then you can expect the left to go ape, soccer moms to be wetting their capri pants and the general public demanding something be done.

And gun guys gone wild gave them the evidence they need by posting videos of foolishness.

Sometimes we're our own worst enemy.

Infantry Weapons and their Effects 1943



The first part of the video really intrigued me.  Instead of designated Grenadiers old skool infantry allowed each squad member to fulfill the role.  I don't know if the idea of moving to rifle grenades has any merit but the idea should be explored.  An entire squad doing a rifle grenade time on target attack at an enemy position should get heads down.


I also found the anti-air drill fascinating.  The idea of using small arms to engage fast jets is probably out there today but how about attack helicopters?  If threat forces follows the example provided by the US and our allies in Iraq and Afghanistan then we will see gun runs being conducted against our forces...especially our expeditionary forces that might not have adequate top cover.  Again I don't know how practical it would be but if its a non-starter I haven't heard why.

Terror cells activated in France?

GIGN 


via CNN
French law enforcement officers have been told to erase their social media presence and to carry their weapons at all times because terror sleeper cells have been activated over the last 24 hours in the country, a French police source who attended a briefing Saturday told CNN terror analyst Samuel Laurent.
Hmmm.

World leaders are going to attend a rally in France to commemorate the incident and at the same time word goes out that terror cells have been activated?

Who is in charge of the President's security detail and how is this a good idea?

Spare me the "we must not bow to terrorism" jazz.  Appearances at social events or tweeting is NOT standing up to terrorism.  We saw the only real "stand" that takes place against terrorism when you saw RAID and GIGN storm the buildings where the terrorist were holed up.

The real question though is stark and simple.

How widespread is this and will we see attacks in the US, UK, Germany, the Netherlands or other parts of Europe?

Pass the popcorn.  This will not be fun to watch, but I don't think I can turn away.

Saturday, January 10, 2015

Terrorist attack America (a fictional account)

This is a fictional account of how I see a terrorist attack against the US going down.  It will be bloody, destabilizing, will throw the world into depression almost immediately and will change our way of life forever.  Oh and tell me if I'm just loony-toons for suggesting this possibility.

Situation Room.

The President is looking at reports of the attack in Cincinnati with amazement.  How did these bastards get into the country?  How were they able to effectively neutralize a cities police dept?  Why didn't we see this coming?  She keeps asking the questions but none of her advisers are able to give her answers.  Finally her CIA director steps up and gives the bad news.  Madam President.  We don't need to do an after action now.  We need to catch these sons of bitches and either kill or capture them.  After that's done we can bury our dead and do the blame game business.  She reluctantly agrees and makes a mental note to charge the CIA head with something...anything...as soon as its done.

What actually happened.

The reason why this terrorist attack was so successful is because they finally got smart.  Scary thing huh?  A smart terrorist organization!  These guys though...this new group out of West Africa...they were looking to make a name and they hit the prize.  Somehow they managed to steal a couple of local fuel delivery trucks, rigged them with explosives and instead of going for a body count at a mall or school went straight for the police and fire departments.  Because the thefts were local it didn't immediately set off alarm bells...and by the time an FBI nationwide alert went out the deed was done.

Oh and the attack was devastating.  The police station was leveled and 60 patrolmen were killed instantly, several dozen squad cars destroyed, ammunition/weapons rendered useless and the department in shock.  Worse though...as if things could be worse, is the fact that these hooligans simultaneously struck the fire dept.  An entire fire company was destroyed, to include the engines, the firemen, incident command truck and the building leveled.

First responders were out of action before the action began.

Then the horror.

Every municipality in the state (to include state troopers and national guard) were immediately activated and started sending people to help.  It was obvious that a terrorist attack had just happened but "we take care of our own first" is said only in private among first responders.  At the time it seemed reasonable.  The results however would be tragic.

The news hit and suddenly the streets were filled with people wanting to rubberneck.  If there is a tragedy then people want to see it.  They paid the price for their curiosity.  Interstate 75 was a crowded, stalled traffic mess when the news hit.

Terrorist team 1 (we have them numbered) struck on the open highway.  How the hell they got RPGs is still a mystery but with AKMs and those rocket launchers it was mayhem.  People were machine-gunned in their cars, large trucks were rocketed and God bless their souls a school bus was targeted and Hillcrest High School lost 50 students in a matter of seconds.

Luckily this was a small 3 man crew and some concealed carry holders put them down.  But the deed was done.  A major US interstate was hopeless jammed, if we had first responders available (and we didn't) they couldn't get there and approximately 250 US citizens were either dead or dying with no help coming for hours.

The pain intensifies.

The Governor declares a state of emergency, the President activates Northcom for action inside the US and the 82nd is called in.  No one says a word about civil liberties.  America is scared shitless.  Two maniacs in stolen fuel trucks along with 3 more guys faking a broken down car on the interstate just delivered a kidney punch to the US.  Additionally they succeeded in putting the US economy in a tail spin.

But that was just the beginning.

Everyone knows that the Mall of America is a potential target.  Soccer Moms could care less.  Teenagers either.  When Terrorist team 2 struck it was mayhem.  2 guys with backpacks full of ammo walked into the mall and simply starting shooting.  They just didn't care.  Men, women and children were gunned down.  Security cut and ran, a couple of concealed carriers were struck down because they hesitated and by the time SWAT arrived and made entry they were taken under fire while they were in their stack.  Officers were on the ground severely wounded when the two clowns did the unthinkable.  Everyone assumed that all they had in those packs was extra ammo.  No one thought that they were suicide bombers.  When additional SWAT officers and the Tactical EMS personnel moved up to help their comrades Terrorist team 2 ran out to the downed officers and detonated themselves.  We're still trying to get a total body count but its close to 500.

This is how you stall an economy.

Terrorist team 3 has been problematic.  They appear to be a sniper team that is moving from city to city killing motorist, pedestrians, people cutting their grass...even high school sports teams practicing.  These guys are obviously trained because they setup in good hide spots (we still don't have an ID or numbers) take no more than 10 shots and are using .308 caliber to get the deed done.  We think they're using an AR-15 based .308 (similar to the SR-25) that is suddenly so popular.  The problem is people are staying at home, trips to the market are super short and people are sprinting from their cars to whatever building they're going into.  The only good to come out of this is that the American people are taking fitness way more seriously now.

Just playing around but could this happen?

I was just wargaming how the incident in France could have been so much worse and this scenario jumped into my brain housing group.  Is it far fetched?  Is it totally implausible?  I hope so but I wonder.  We live in interesting times.

Does this shooting seem legit?



Watch the video first.

Now check this out from Mediatite.
The jury cleared him of wrongdoing, and this week also saw the release of dash cam video showing Morrison breaking down moments after he fatally shot Ramirez. In the video, you can hear him breathing heavily as colleagues try to calm him down. At one point, Morrison starts crying and says, “I thought he was gonna pull a gun on me.”
How a jury can see something like this and rule it a justifiable shooting is beyond me.

One thing is certain.

Civilians have a HIGHER standard to meet when it comes to use of force than police.

The fact that if I shoot someone I had better make sure I'm 100% right where LEOs can be .5%, that doesn't bother me.  What does bother me is the fact that there is a police officer somewhere that will defend this to the grave.  No matter the evidence it seems they always can justify the most insane actions by a colleague.  That's what makes me want to punch walls.

My opinion? The new Chinese Light Tank is built to counter the Japanese MCV

Japanese MCV

New Chinese Light Tank

Chinese Defense Blog is reporting that the new Chinese Light Tank is being designed to fight in mountainous terrain.

Maybe.

But after chewing on this a bit I believe that not only is it set to be given to their Airborne, Amphibious Mechanized Infantry, and Marine Corps...but I'm also guessing that it designed as a direct counter to the Japanese MCV.

Additionally I believe that just like the MCV, the new light tank is being built with the Senkaku Islands (sorry for that to my Chinese readers...I am an ugly American after all!) in mind.

In the scenario of it being a race to the islands the nation that gets there first might not be the winner.  The victory might belong to the nation that is able to land the most capable all around force...to include armor and artillery (this is a scenario which will make air support iffy at best...the JASDF, USAF, USN Air, and Marine Air will be battling for air superiority...ground forces will be on their own).

Do you believe that an "Air Enabled Ground Force" (SLD Info's term for Marine forces inserted by MV-22) will be able to hold the line against a Amphibious Mechanized Infantry Division and Chinese Marine Corps attempting a forcible entry with these light tanks and the other armor that has been trotted out? Someone should hope that the Combat Assault Battalion can arrive in time and when they do they better have more Javelins and TOWs ready to go than I've ever seen for it to be helpful.

Everywhere you look its becoming an armor heavy world.  S. America is upgrading, Asia is on an almost terrifying buying spree and Europe is moving forward with speed.  We don't even need to talk about the Middle East!  Africa is probably the only place in the world where a pure infantry force has a chance of success and even there only in places.

Ground combat is again becoming mech centric.  You would think that the Marine Corps learned that lesson well in the run into Iraq in 2003.

Friday, January 09, 2015

China has a new light tank.

Thanks for the link Joe.



Photos via China Defense Blog.

I predicted this.  If you remember I said that when China finally turns its attention to armored vehicles that we'd be seeing things that our Soldiers and Marines would give body parts for...ok, thats a little dramatic but you get the point.

The Chinese have a new expeditionary light tank to match up with their Airborne and Amphibious forces.

I'm gonna run some basic numbers but excluding air power I would bet that they've achieved "firepower superiority" when you compare a given US Army or Marine Corps unit to its Chinese counterpart.

We better get our heads out of the counter insurgency op forever type thinking.  The future bad guys are gearing up.

Here is the vid of French RAID unit engaging the terrorist in close quarters.

Thanks to Hecate for finding the vid.

Is Russia signalling that its getting into the terror game?

Thanks to Shas for the link.

Major Russian TV network says US intelligence carried out the Charlie Hebdo attack via
You ever see something that makes you immediately say WTF! followed by what is the game being played here?

The above did it for me.

I couldn't figure out what this could be about.  Russia is facing the same Islamic Terrorist Threat that the rest of the West is.

But then I took a step back in my Wayback Machine and discovered something troubling.  Supposedly the Soviet Union sponsored such groups during the cold war.  Could they be making a play to crush Chechen separatist at home while stirring the pot in the Middle East, while at the same time arming these groups covertly?

Yeah, it might be a step too far but I can't think of anything else.  What do you think the motivation for this could be?  I'm stumped.

Could Russia be getting in the terror game?

Terrorist cell confirmed. Two active hostage situations.

Looks like we're looking at a cell in France.  Check this out...
- Shots fired and second hostage situation (5 hostages) in a Jewish Kosher Supermarket just a few miles south of the building where the two Kouachi brothers are entrenched.

- single hostage taker in second location is presumed to be the gunman who shot two cops yesterday. He's got two AK-47s and is known to be a friend of the Kouachi brothers. His DNA has also been recovered in the first get-away car from Wednesday's attack, which had been stolen shortly before the attack, which means he was in touch with the Kouachi brothers shortly before they went on the rampage.He's well known to police and has been involved in drug related organized crime.

- French Forces have now to deal simultaneously with two terrorist hostage situations just a few miles from each other.

The situation in France. Will it be a bloody end game? UPDATED!

I'm betting on a bloody end to the situation in France.  They have a hostage, they have weapons and they're motivated.

I don't know how French cops/commandos (do you doubt that French military special ops units are involved) will go in but I hope its hard, God forgive me but the hostage is a secondary consideration and these rabid dogs need to be put down.

Curse me if you like but a message needs to be sent and social media isn't the way to do it.

As usual it comes down to a warrior with a gun to face down the beast.

**This is from my guy with direct knowledge (no name will be used on this)...
- early this morning the two terrorists did a "car jacking" in the area police had been deployed to. They were immediately engaged by first response Gendarmerie team. Shots were fired and a car chase followed.
- realizing that they were cornered, they got out of the car and went for the first building they saw. It's a small print shop a few miles north of Paris.
- there is one confirmed hostage in the building. All the surrounding buildings have been evacuated and the area is locked down.
- power and phone landlines have been cut off. Mobile phone is being jammed. So the terrorists are now totally cut off the outside world and have no more way to get real time info on what's happening outside.
- Police has started analysing the premises and are using thermal to make out locations of the three people inside the building (ie the two gunmen and the hostage).

- the SWAT team that is being deployed is the GIGN, which is the best option there is. The man in charge of the whole operation was the leader of the GIGN assault team that stormed the AF airbus hijacked by Algerian Islamists in december 1994. the GIGN has 1600 operations under its belt, 1500 arrests, 650 hostages saved. It is the best unit the French have for an operation such as this.


Regarding the other attack that happened yesterday morning in the South of Paris, with one cop killed and one critically injured, the suspect is still at large but identification is confirmed and it is now a certainty that this was also a djihadi terrorist attack.


That's for the latest regarding the main attacks. Will update you on the smaller retaliatory and terror sympathizer attacks later on. Not all cleared for release yet.
Later I received this....
Confirmed and official now: the suspect of yesterday morning's attack in southern Paris has links with the two Kouachi brothers. Contrary to what had been announced first, it seems there even if this wasn't maybe a synchronized terrorist attack, there was at least some form of cooperation or communication either before or after the Kouachi brothers attacked the newspaper on wednesday.
If my source is right then France is facing an active terrorist cell.

The situation in France. Cops aren't good outside of urban areas.

American Mercenary has a write up on the events in Paris.  Its a must read and you can check it out here.  One thing he wrote made me sit up and think. Check out this tidbit...
What is worrisome is that they have so far lasted further evading authorities than Tim McVeigh. But will they last as long as Dorner? Who knows, the future is unwritten.
But anyone who has been sued by a Muslim for defaming the prophet, better carry a gun.
Yeah.  How do you evade authorities?  You head to the woods.  Modern law enforcement world wide seems to be at a loss when it comes to operating in undeveloped areas.  Dorner lasted for a couple of weeks hiding in the mountainous forest of the Big Bear area.  Frein, the animal that gunned down two State Troopers evaded authorities for a weeks.

What do the two have in common?  They only got caught once they went into "civilization".

Now we see the terrorist in France that appear to have left the urban centers and headed out to the wilderness (I don't know France so wilderness is relative).

What do we know for sure?  We know that the terrorist are watching this incident carefully.  They have probably studied police response to the above mentioned incidents as well as the Boston Bomber case.  From my chair it seems that if terrorists can evade arrest for the first 24 hours, they will be able to continue to create havoc in a country for days (imagine if these terrorist chose to continue a killing spree instead of seeking escape!).  The initial response is critical.  After that all bets are off.  And if they make it into the woods then it just got even harder.

UPDATE 1HECATE confirms the hostage situation and says the following...
Just came out of morning briefing... Thing turned into hostage situation as two guys have been cornered by police and now entrenched in building with hostages.
This is going public as of now. Will give you more as it comes in.
Thee have been other retaliatory attacks as well as terrorist sympathizer attacks last night. Will send you details as soon as info is cleared

With all due respect how do we pay for this?



How do we pay for this especially in light of our deficit?  We don't even know the real costs of Obamacare and its full effect on the economy yet because so much of it has been deferred until the last two years of this President's time in office!

How do we reconstitute our military, fight an endless war in the Middle East, deal with infrastructure, absorb millions of new immigrants, deal with problems in the urban areas ....And pay for free community college?

I'm at a loss on this one.  Is this plausible or am I just too pessimistic?