Open Thread. Is social media worth the danger?

This is a serious question, so bear with me.

Is social media worth the danger that it brings?  If you voice any opinion (and trust me ... I disagree with much of what I read but simply move on) that is NOT politically correct then you're in danger of losing your job and becoming a social pariah.

To make matters worse (as if they could be worse) is that social standards are changing on a weekly if not daily basis now.

I'm of the opinion that a young man should stay as far away from social media as possible.  I also believe that Marines should be ordered to NOT use it in order to safeguard budding careers.

But that's my opinion.  

What do you think.  Is social media worth the career/personal danger?  Should we avoid it like the plague?

Sidenote:  Sven recommends that we simply educate our people...a tidbit from his comment (you can read the whole thing below)...

We recently had an issue in Australia where a person was sacked from their position as they had defamed their employer on social media. His defence tried to argue that this defamation had occurred in a private forum, i.e. Facebook and that his negative comments about said company were meant to be viewed by friends and family only. Sadly his lack of understanding of how Facebook works and his minimal efforts at security led to his comments being available to anyone who conducted a simple Google search.
Like I stated earlier, banning access or use to social media wil l only see more and more complex workarounds being developed to circumvent this ban and as such an education program for those involved in sensitive occupations i.e. armed forced, government, etc is the only solution I can think of.

This will be a good start but I wonder if this is a lasting solution with rapidly changing social standards.  What was ok yesterday will be a punishable offense tomorrow....and we have to remember that every Marine represents the institution...  

Humvee upgrade canceled. Why is the JLTV so vital?

via DoD Buzz

The U.S. Marine Corps has decided to shelve a planned upgrade of its Humvee fleet due to budget cuts, an official said.
The service had planned to modernize several thousand of the iconic military vehicles as part of an acquisition effort called the sustainment modification initiative (SMI). The effort was put on hold because of automatic, across-the-board spending reductions known as sequestration.
“The program was, in fact, terminated,” Bill Taylor, who oversees land systems for the service, told lawmakers Thursday during a hearing of the House Armed Services Committee on the Pentagon’s fiscal 2016 budget for ground force and helicopter modernization programs.
Both the Army and the Marine Corps are developing a Humvee replacement called the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle. But the new light-duty utility vehicle will only replace about a third of the Humvee fleet, meaning the Cold War-era design will remain in the inventory for decades to come.
The Corps’ modification initiative was aimed at upgrading some 6,700 Humvees known as the expanded capacity variant. The fourth-generation vehicles were modified to carry thousands of pounds of armor to protect troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, though they’re no longer driven outside the wire. The extra weight strained the suspension, engine and transmission systems.
Taylor said that while service leaders made a decision to sustain rather than upgrade the existing Humvee fleet, they may opt to pursue the enhancements if funding becomes available in the future. He was responding to a question from Rep. Tammy Duckworth, a Democrat from Illinois and a former Army helicopter pilot who lost both her legs while serving in Iraq.
“We were allowed to continue the nonrecurring effort associated with that program such that we have actually completed the development work and put three capability packages on the shelf,” he told lawmakers. “So, if in times of prosperity, the Marine Corps can return to those engineering proposals and reconsider instituting them in terms of procurement.”

I don't understand.

The Recap program was MUCH cheaper than the JLTV, promised much increased protection, would eliminate the need to provide parts for TWO DIFFERENT vehicles and would save cube space aboard ship.

What makes the JLTV so attractive that the USMC is ignoring a good enough solution and going forward with a more expensive program?

If you know then hit me up but I fear we're seeing the dark side of joint programs.  Once they're started you can't stop them if one of the partners deems it a "must have"...which begs the question.  If the Marine Corps can't afford to upgrade its legacy humvees then how is it going to afford to buy 5k plus JLTVs?

American Mercenary wades into the F-35 debacle...I make a minor correction to his research.

via AM..

Now Solomon has a very valid point that Congress holds responsibility for budgeting. But that doesn't excuse the Department of Defense as a whole from not taking the big stick to defense contractors who bust their budgets with no real consequences

That's just a tidbit...read it all here...now understand that I'm using American Mercenary as a foil to push my bigger agenda...I want to stick a fork in the thinking that the USMC is at fault for the F-35 catastrophe.

Required reading for the F-35 is found via The Internet Wayback Machine. 

Exhibit Number 1.  What are the roots of the F-35B?

Advanced Short Take-Off/Vertical Landing (ASTOVL) 1983-1994The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) began a program in 1983 to begin looking at the technologies available to design and manufacture a follow-on supersonic replace for the AV-8 Harrier. The program, known as ASTOVL, would eventually lead become a joint U.S.-U.K. collaboration. In 1987 the results of the ASTOVL program made clear that the technologies available were not yet advanced enough to generate a replacement that the U.S. and U.K. would have been satisfied with. At this time, DARPA secretly approached the Lockheed Skunk Works in the hopes that they would be able to develop an aircraft like they had hoped would have appeared from the first phase of ASTOVL. Lockheed told DARPA that they had some ideas that could be matured and that, if they were successful would meet the goals that DARPA was trying to achieve. At the same time, DARPA continued with ASTOVL Phase II as a cover for the covert work being done at the Skunk Works.
TOP OF PAGEi. STOVL Strike Fighter (SSF) 1987-1994In the late 1980s the Lockheed Skunk Works was involved in a classified, non-acknowledged program with NASA Ames that looked into the feasibility of designing a stealthy supersonic STOVL fighter. This was a cooperative program that utilized the assets of NASA (wind tunnels, personnel, super-computers, etc.) along with the expertise of the Lockheed Skunk Works in designing stealthy air vehicles. The results from this highly classified program proved that a SSF could be successfully flown. Management at the Lockheed Skunk Works was convinced that the SSF design could be sold to both the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Navy. (The U.S. Navy (NAVAIR) is the procuring office for Marine Corps aircraft.) The Skunk Works proposed a teaming between the USAF and the USN. The services agreed, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed between the services and the SSF program began to come out of the black.

Exhibit Number 2.  If the USMC had a separate program how did they become merged with Navy and Air Force efforts? 

What is known today as the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Program was originally known as the Joint Advanced Strike Technology (JAST) Program. The goal of the JAST program was not to have developed a new aircraft, but instead it was to mature the technologies that a new series of tactical aircraft could use.
JAST was chartered to mature technologies, develop requirements, and demonstrate concepts for affordable next-generation joint strike warfare. As JAST plans took shape, it became apparent that JAST would be funding one or more concept demonstrator aircraft starting in 1996–about the time the ASTOVL program planned to enter its Phase III (full-scale flight demonstrators). The ASTOVL project, as an advanced concept for a future joint-service strike/fighter, appeared consistent with the JAST charter. It was therefore agreed by the management of both programs, that JAST would become the U.S. service “sponsor” for the flight demonstration phase of ASTOVL, if Phase II were successful and if the concept appeared to be able to satisfy the requirements of at least two of the three U.S. services participating in JAST. However, FY95 budget legislation passed in October 1994 by the U.S. Congress directed that ASTOVL be merged into JAST immediately.

I rest my case.  This meme that Sweetman started MUST stop (and yeah I put this on Sweetman's desk because he's the first person to make this accusation.  I remember it well, because we went round and round about this when I was a rabid supporter of the F-35 program).

You can blame the Marine Corps for a number of things.  We're big boys.  We can take it.  But if you're going to try and saddle MY Marine Corps with the F-35 debacle then think again.

Blame your Congress Critter for this mess!  NOT the United States Marine Corps! 

Sidenote.  Make sure you head over to Internet Way Back Machine to read the now dead official JSF Program website.  I've made screen copies because I have a feeling that it will disappear even from that site soon.

The Leviathan -- Teaser

The Leviathan -- Teaser from Ruairi Robinson on Vimeo.

The Prepper Movement. Now its starting to scare even me...

I've always looked at the Prepper Movement as being harmless,  a movement where people across America decided to be prepared in case emergency. Even the federal and many state governments are recommending that people have enough emergency supplies to last 14 days.

Additionally while many focus on the firearms aspect of things, I've viewed that as the least important  Food, water, medical supplies, the ability to provide for warmth or cooling if the grid goes down...and how to use the gear you acquired were much higher on the list of things to do.

But now I'm seeing stuff like this and it scares the shit out of me.  Check out the pics below....

A long time ago (by today's standards) the Marine Corps actually taught how to construct such traps.  Oh and the first is called a bear trap.

Someone dug thru old SERE and Improvised Device Manuals (I don't know the FM number ...and yeah the Marine Corps taught from Army Manuals) and is now making this stuff public.

This isn't a big deal for city dwellers but for those of us that run around in the woods this is troubling. Imagine a couple of kids running around in the woods and they accidentally cross someone's property line and they have stuff like this planted?  If they've watched enough Vietnam war movies then they can add certain "substances" to make the wound even nastier.

Yeah.  Now the Prepper Movement is starting to scare me.

Sidenote:  The article is here.

Why does it seem like the US in retreat?

I don't usually buy into conservative memes when it comes to the current President.  They're overly simplistic, fail to take into account real world realities and many seemed tinged with more than a bit of racism (yeah, I've seen some downright obscene photoshops...stuff that would make a Klansman blush).

Having said all that, it does seem like we're in retreat worldwide.  Now we're evacuating Yemen?  At the hour of their greatest need we withdraw?

The optics on this are terrible.

We're fickle partners at best and at worst we'll leave you high and dry after you put it all on the line for us (and Yemen did that).

F-35 News. They did a simulation between the F-35 vs. SU-35?

via The American Thinker...

In fact, in battle simulations of the F-35 against the Su-35, 2.4 F-35s are lost for each Su-35 shot down. Pitting the Gripen against the Su-35 results in 1.6 of the Sukhois shot down for each Gripen lost. The loss exchange ratio of the Gripen against the F-35 is said to be breathtaking – in the Gripen’s favor.

The article for the most part is unremarkable.  Plenty of assertions are made that we've all heard before.  MOST ANNOYING is the meme that Sweetman started that pisses me off to this day.  The USMC did not ruin the F-35 by insisting on a STOVL model!  Why USMC Communications isn't pushing back against that is beyond me but CONGRESS combined three separate programs and pushed the issue!  NOT THE USMC!

Having said that I would love more info on this combat simulation.  Who did it, under what circumstances.  How could the Gripen have such an outstanding turn against the SU-35 yet the F-35 fail so horribly?

I ask that and I'm a critic of the airplane!

Additionally what about the other airplanes in play today?  How would a Typhoon, Super Hornet, F-16 Block 60 and others do?

 

F-35 News. Weekend Rant.

via Defense Industry Daily...

The Pentagon lowered the forecast procurement cost of the F-35 program by 2 percent today – that’s $7.5 billion in savings over a roughly $400 billion program. The fighters are slated now to cost a mere $159.2 million per copy, if the military does indeed purchase 2,457 of them.

Good news huh? The Pentagon announcement was Friday, but earlier in the week we heard this from DoD Buzz...

The cost to develop and build the Joint Strike Fighter fleet rose 1.88 percent over the past year because of delays in the production line and failures of the engine producer to bring down costs, said Lt. Gen. Chris Bogdan, F-35 Program Executive Officer.
The cost of the program rose by $7.4 billion to $398.58 billion in 2012-year dollars, according to the Pentagon’s Selected Acquisition Report that is released each year to Congress. The increase in costs means tax payers will end up paying $162 million for each fifth generation fighter jet by the end of the program at the current rate.
Bogdan blamed the increased costs on the decision to push back production of the F-35 and failures by Pratt and Whitney, the company building the fighter jet’s engine. The costs of the JSF engine increased by $4 billion, Bogdan said.

So which one is it?  Did the cost go up or is it going down?  Do they even know or are we the "human terrain" that is being manipulated, spun, lied to (accounting gimmicks are lies) and deceived?

Seabase & Seaplanes

Thanks to Lee for the document.

  Seabase & Seaplanes

Weekend Reading...New Wars Blog.

This is an oldie but a goodie.

Mike over at New Wars Blog put up some of the most thought provoking stuff to be found on the internet.  Unfortunately he's no longer blogging (I hope he's ok) but his blog lives on.

Want some good, blast from the past reading?  Head here and drink it all in.

Russia's Pak Ta Supersonic Heavy Transportation Aircraft

Sea Basing/ACV Wrap Up.

  Mpf Se Spmagtf

SPMAGTF-CR Sea Basing.

  Mpsron Laydown

MPSRON Laydown.

SEA BASING Summation.

This all leads to my wrap up with the sea basing concept (and to an extent the Amphibious Combat Vehicle).

Bear with me because I have to tell a little story.  Remember back when you were boot and you got the briefing from the Battalion Commander?  You left that meeting fired up ready to run into walls, you thought that it wasn't only possible but that it would be fucking easy as pie....you wouldn't even break a sweat getting it done!  Then halfway back to brief the troops on the Commanders Intent and you're looking at your notes and suddenly you ask yourself...What the Fuck just happened?  Hearing the briefs from Strock and Mullen will have you thinking you can run through walls...so a cooling off period was needed.  Lets just say that I had to chew on this a bit.

The Sea Basing Concept and the plan for the Amphibious Combat Vehicle look awesome.  With the ACV, it might be out of our hands.  I don't know the Washington landscape (and don't want to!) and it appears that there are budget games being played that I don't even want to dig into.  With the sea base we're looking at something different.  We have the capability NOW.  Its just a matter of advertising the capability to combatant commanders.

The ACV and the Sea Base.  Both are vital parts of the future Marine Corps.


Sidenote:  A little birdy told me that we could get the RFP for the ACV as soon as today and if not then definitely next week.  Heads up peeps!

Blast from the past. The potential of barges in Amphibious Logistics (Sea Basing) circa 1974

  Ad 0922406

Note:  This document is from Marine Corps archives circa 1974.

To paraphrase, the Marine Corps stands on the shoulders of our forefathers...

A terrible day at the office...eyes firmly shut holding on for dear life....

Like the Army Facebook Page says...this guys face says it all!  He's having a terrible day at the office, his eyes are firmly shut and he's holding on for dear life.

Must read about the role of Armor in the Battle of Debaltseve & implications for the US Army.

via Foreign Policy Blog

Finally, the Ukrainian experience indicates that combat vehicles which cannot protect soldiers from the threats they face on the contemporary battlefield are of limited value. These vehicles lack the capability to influence the fight. Based on the Guardian’s report, Ukrainian troops had a greater chance of escaping Debaltseve if they abandoned their vehicles. Most of the Ukrainian army’s vehicles are Soviet-era designs. This includes armored fighting vehicles such as BMPs and BTRs, trucks and utility vehicles, as well as towed and self-propelled artillery. Some new tank models have been introduced since Ukrainian independence, such as the T-84, but these vehicles are evolutionary upgrades of Soviet-era main battle tanks such as the T-72 and T-80, which also remain in service. Ukrainian troops haveupgraded some aging armored vehicles with field-expedient protection designed to prematurely detonate incoming rocket-propelled grenades. These modifications reflect the vehicles’ vulnerability to lightweight, portable anti-tank weapons. The key lesson here is that outdated vehicles cost money to maintain and employ, but add little to combined arms capabilities when facing a complex enemy force armed with heavy machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades, not to mention heavy artillery and tanks of their own.

Read it all here.

Colombian Army to acquire US Army Mobile Gun Systems.

Read the story here.

Russian Supersonic Strategic Transport Airplane?

via Sputnik News.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Russia plans to build a fleet of supersonic military transport aircraft with an unprecedented payload of 220 tons capable of deploying a full-fledged armored army to anywhere in the world in seven hours, Expert Online reported Thursday.
A fleet of 80 such aircraft, dubbed PAK TA, will be built by 2024 and will be capable of transferring 400 Armata heavy missile tanks or 900 light armored vehicles with ammunition to the American continent or Australia in 7-8 hours, according to the media outlet, which cited a military source who attended a closed meeting of the Military-Industrial Commission in Moscow.

Read it here.

The Pershing Heavy Tank T26E3

The Myanmar Insurgency. The fight you're not paying attention to.

Check this out from the China Defense Blog...

According to unverifiable local sources, the Kokang rebels scored a major victory by inflicting over 70 enemy casualties (there are graphic photos of the body-count elsewhere) belonging to the Tatmadaw 66th Light Infantry Division two days ago. The rebels credited their victory by the absence of the Myanmar air force

The services want into the Pacific in a bad way.

They better have a care.  That is a dangerous region.  Think about it.  This is the second time in the span of a couple of months where we've heard news that rebel forces have stood toe to toe with government forces and won.

Which brings me to a concern.

I hope that our Force Protection Officers are up to speed.

One of those "training" missions...one of those partnership missions...could turn real nasty real fast.


Sidenote:  Follow the link to read the story at Radio Free Asia.  This is already ugly.  Myanmar Air Force isn't flying because of fear of Chinese jets that have been in the area because of cross border incursions?  Refugees flooding over the border into China from Myanmar?  Increased crime caused by refugees?  China won't tolerate this "disorder" for long.  We could see military action to stabilize the situation.  This is one to watch.

The new G43.

Do I need the new Glock 43?

No.

Do I want it?

Hell yeah!  Damnit Glock!  Read about it here.