Singapore Army conducts field ops with Panzerlehrbattaillion 93 of the German Army

Multinational Amphibious Assault Conference. Good theory but are they aware of regional rivalries?

via Reuters.

A key goal of the Hawaii meeting would be to lay the groundwork for multilateral amphibious exercises, including drills between participant nations, even without U.S. involvement, the planning document said.
On Tuesday, the visiting military officials will observe a U.S. Marine exercise involving helicopter carriers, landing ships and other vessels that will create an offshore sea base that could be used in combat or to coordinate disaster relief.
Brigadier Richard Spencer, deputy commander of the British Royal Marines, who will attend the conference, said it would be a success if it paved the way for participating nations to run joint disaster relief efforts using marine forces.
"My inclination would be to start with a relatively realistic level of ambition ... I would rather set a low bar and achieve it," Spencer told Reuters on the sidelines of a defense conference in the Japanese city of Yokohama.
The U.S. Marines were the "logical integrator" for amphibious capabilities in Asia, which would interest allies like Japan, South Korea and Australia, said Michael Green, senior vice president at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.
"(It would) also be helpful to other partners dealing with vulnerabilities from natural disasters to encroachment and coercion by large maritime claimants," he said.

This is another one of those theories that sound great when you're at the school house but when you take it to the real world it starts taking on water.

Are they aware of the regional rivalries in the region?  

All are pointing toward China but seem to forget that Japan vs. Korea vs. Philippines vs. Vietnam vs. Singapore and on and on is not something that you can toss aside without thought.

Haven't they all wondered why there is no Asian NATO?

God save us from the Think Tank boys.  Before its over with they're going to destroy the Marine Corps.

HSBC Chief Economist warns about the next recession.

via Business Insider.

HSBC chief economist Stephen King is already thinking about the next recession.
In a note to clients Wednesday, he warns: "The world economy is like an ocean liner without lifeboats. If another recession hits, it could be a truly titanic struggle for policymakers."

Read it here. 

Sidenote:  Before all the "normalcy" mafia members attack I would like to point out two things.  First (if you read the article), King's examples of what could lead to the next recession deal with issues we're facing TODAY, not 10 years from now when we should be expected to have made a full recovery.  Next, I'm just the messenger.  Use this information as you will.

SNAFU!'s Scribd Page.

If you look to the right you'll see a new sidebar item titled "Rising" on SNAFU! Scribd".

What's the deal with that?

Alot of times I get documents of interest passed my way.  For example videos and brochures on the Marine Corps Amphibious Combat Vehicle program.  Other times readers send me items of interest like the Army's manual on internment/resettlement.  Whenever those items reach critical mass (meaning when enough people read them or download them) I get the following from the Scribd Team....

Hello, Snafu_Solomon_Blog --
Congratulations, your document, "USArmy InternmentResettlement", made Scribd's "Rising List." Share this news with your friends by Readcasting the document.
-The Scribd Team

So consider this a thank you to those that have taken the time to thumb through my uploads and a big HEY! I have this resource for those that don't know about it.

Check it out.  I think you'll find it interesting.

Did Russia just defeat the US diplomatically? UPDATED!

Thanks to Stane for the link.

via The Saker Blog.

For one thing, this means that the so-called “isolation of Russia” is now officially over, even for the “Indispensable Empire”.
Second, this is, as far as I know, the first official US endorsement of M2A. This is rather humiliating for the US considering that M2A was negotiated without the Americans.
Third, for the very first time the US has actually warned the Ukronazi junta against a military attack. This, at a time when the Ukronazis are in a state of bellicose frenzy and Poroshenko just promised to re-conqueor not only the Donetsk Airport, but all of the Donbass and even Crimea, show that for the very first time the US and Kiev are not on the same page.
Fourth, the USA has, for the first time, declared that if M2A was implemented, EU and US sanctions would be lifted. Interestingly, the Russians were not even interested in discussing the topic of sanctions

Jesus!  I don't know this blog.  I don't know if this is true.  I need to do a bit of Google-foo to find out.

If it is then Russia and the guy that everyone calls a 2nd rate former KGB agent just kicked the US' ass from here to the horizon.

The saddest part of all of this?  It wouldn't surprise me if this is true.

UPDATE!
I think I just figured this one out.  Ukraine is again a side issue.  What does the Administration want more than anything else?  An agreement with Iran on nuclear weapons.  They NEED and WANT Russia aboard to help sell the agreement.  Nevermind Iran's provocative actions.  The Obama admin wants that deal.  Nothing else is as important as justifying that Nobel Peace Prize.

Mohammed Cartoon shooting story changes.

via WSJ.

The traffic officer responded with his service revolver, wounding the two men, but they continued to fire. Four SWAT team officers arrived within seconds and engaged in a shootout with the attackers, who retrieved more weapons and ammunition. Dozens of rounds were shot before the two men were killed, Chief Bates said.
He declined to release the names of the five police officers who engaged in the shootout, citing “direct and indirect threats for their safety and the safety of their families.” A lawyer representing the officers declined to comment.

Read it all here.

Yeah. If you didn't have some "is this shit they're selling real" when you heard the original story about the guy engaging two AK carrying terrorist then something is wrong with ya.

But now.  Now we have to ask the next obvious questions.

How much did our intel agencies know and when did they know it.  Quite honestly I'm getting the whiff of a trap being planted for the religious fanatics.  I forgot the name of the LA Police team but they're famous for being cowboys....of getting whiffs of a major crime to be committed and then following the suspects until they're in the act and then putting them down like the dogs they are.  Of course that unit doesn't operate that way today but you get the idea.

I wonder if these guys were basically walking into a Garland Police SWAT ambush.  We're talking about tremendous response time, great shooting and a glorious outcome to a terrible event.

Almost made for hollywood don't you think?

Iranian Commander warns US about stopping his ship.

via Yahoo.

Tehran (AFP) - A senior Iranian commander warned the United States that a "fire might start" over an aid ship bound for Yemen on Wednesday after the Pentagon urged it to change course.

Brigadier General Masoud Jazayeri said it was Iran's right to deliver relief supplies to Yemen as a humanitarian ceasefire takes hold and rejected Washington's request that aid be taken instead to a United Nations hub to allay worries the cargo might be military.
"I should say frankly that Iran's restraint has a limit," Jazayeri, a deputy chief of staff, told Iran's Arab-language Al-Alam television late on Tuesday.
"Saudi Arabia and its novice rulers and the Americans and others should know if they continue to create obstacles on Iran's aid delivery a fire might start that would definitely be out of their control.
"My strict recommendation is that they let Iran and other countries deliver their humanitarian aid to Yemen."

Ok.  Consider me a knuckle dragging Neanderthal but that Iranian bastard just called us out.  Time to finish our beer and head out back to meet him.  

But seriously.  The US Navy ended its escort mission because the Iranian Navy continued to take ships "under control" and inspect them at their ports.  No negotiation can be conducted with these people.

We must act if for no other reason than to show the region that we are not to be trifled with.

A retired IDF General's view on the US, Russia and EU...

via Defense News, the quotes are from Retired Maj. IDF Gen. Ya'akov Amidror, former Israeli National Security Adviser

"The fact that the US president set red lines in Syria and didn't act on them is very important. More and more leaders in the Middle East understand that America is going out, not totally, but it is not the same America that these people and these leaders could count on 20 years ago.

&

On Russia: "They look at the Middle East differently. They think that it's better to deal with the terrorists they know than to let new terrorists come in. That's why they continue to support [Syrian President Bashar] Assad. And another thing, unlike the Americans, they keep their promises to their allies."

&

On Europe's role in the region: "Europe is not a factor anywhere in the Middle East. They don't have military means; they don't have determination; they don't have the stamina; they don't even have the system in which to make decisions. The only place where Europeans have some influence in the region is in Israel because it's a group of 28 democratic countries and what they think about us is very important for us."

Wow.

An extremely poor opinion of the current administration...maybe the past two administrations (he did give a 20 year timeframe).....an almost visceral disdain of Europe---no stamina or determination?  Yeah that hurts.  But I was intrigued by his view of Russia.  No love is shown but a grudging appreciation of their pragmatism.

What does this show?

Everyone in the Middle East, including our friends...HATE weakness.

Russian armor testing to be completed ASAP with a move toward full rate production.

Thanks to S300v4 for the link.

via TASS

SOCHI, May 13. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin set a task at a defense meeting on Wednesday to complete as soon as possible all the trials of military hardware for the army demonstrated at the WWII Victory Parade in Moscow on May 9.
"We need to complete all the trials within the shortest time possible and switch to serial production," he said.
The Russian president paid special attention to rearming Russia’s Army and modernizing their existing military hardware.
A part of new combat hardware was demonstrated at the parade held in Red Square on May 9 to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s Victory over Nazi Germany in WWII, Putin said.
"The performance characteristics of this new combat hardware considerably exceed the characteristics of foreign alternatives and this hardware is generally highly valued by military specialists," he said.
The Russian army should also use all the possibilities of the operational military hardware, Putin said.

This should have been expected.

The Russians since a great opportunity here.  They've made note at the rapid decline of armored forces in the West.  They've seen the declining defense budgets....they've made note of the arms buildup in the Middle East and Asia....

This is the time to strike.  Sales of the Armata armored vehicle family will boom.  Several countries in the Middle East, Africa and Asia are arming to the teeth.

These vehicles will be best sellers.

Exercise Hyena-15 (Polish Army) pics via Defence24

2nd Cav in Romania. Is it symbolism over substance?

pics via the US Embassy in Bucharest.

During the Cold War the United States Army stationed several divisions of armor in Europe.  It was symbolic but more importantly it was a credible deterrent to any aggressive acts against our allies in Europe.

Today's military leadership is trying to sell the idea that a symbolic...and only symbolic stance is good enough for the defense of Europe.

I find that interesting.  In other places symbolism is matched with SUBSTANCE.  Where?  S. Korea.  Japan.  In both cases you see full fledged, capable military units to deter the actions of possible aggressor nations.  That isn't even counting other units in the area that are also tasked with "helping out".

So why is the symbolism of 2nd Cav in Europe good enough?

I have no idea.  But this symbolic gesture just doesn't seem like a credible deterrent.

Seps massing 700 tanks in Donbass.

via Ukraine Times.

UNIAN: Ukraine's Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) headquarters says Russian-backed militants in eastern Ukraine have massed a force of 700 militant Russian tanks and 43,000 soldiers, of whom 9,000 are Russian servicemen, Ukraine's TSN news broadcaster reported.
Some experts expected an attack on May 9, celebrated as Victory Day in Russia and other former Soviet countries, but that day passed without much incident. However, the danger of possible active offensive operations is increasing, the ATO headquarters said.
Intelligence suggests that themilitants have restocked their weapon and ammunition supplies, and they are targeting the positions of the Ukrainian armed forces in order to improve their skills for the active phase of hostilities.

That is a division sized force if the reports are correct.

That's much bigger than I expected...and surprising.  IF these reports are correct then its obvious that Russia is resupplying the Rebels.  No way a force even half this large could survive in Ukraine without outside help.

But the size is what has my head spinning.  This is about to go into a full fledged conventional fight.  That will make this deadlier than ever.  Before it was outrageous with it just being a quasi-conventional fight dominated by artillery.  If it turns into a fully mechanized armored affair then the whole country will burn.

 

BHI H60 Helicopters Certified for Fire Fighting & Special Operations by FAA?

via Vertical Magazine.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) recently issued a groundbreaking restricted-category type certification to BHI H60 Helicopters, allowing commercial operation of Sikorsky UH-60A helicopters for firefighting and special operations.


BHI H60 Helicopters is a joint venture by longtime commercial helicopter operators including Firehawk Helicopters, Brown Helicopter and Dynamic Aviation.

This is the first type-certificate issued to a privately-held company outside of the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) and will allow the more than 60 UH-60A aircraft sold by the U.S. Army over the last 12 months to be commercially operated.


Firehawk Helicopters led the certification process, successfully obtaining approval in less than five months while working in conjunction with Aircraft Certification Management Services and the FAA Denver Aircraft Certification Office.

Firehawk Helicopters, Brown Helicopter, and Dynamic Aviation either operate or have available for acquisition over 40 UH-60/S-70 aircraft in total.

No big deal right?

Well think again.  Brown Helicopter (here) and Dynamic Aviation (here)  have the scent of being private contractors for SOCOM and CIA all over them.

Additionally the idea that a certification for Special Ops work indicates that they'll be used for exactly that purpose.  Taken alone this means nothing.  Add it to the list of craziness that SOCOM is involved in and its worth a further look.

US Marine Corps helicopter missing in Nepal...

Thanks to William for the link.

via Reuters.

Reuters India: U.S. Marine Corps helicopter reported missing in Nepal while supporting earthquake relief effort - U.S. Pacific
2015-05-12 17:21:34.274 GMT
U.S. Marine Corps helicopter reported missing
in Nepal while supporting earthquake relief
effort - U.S. Pacific Command
Reuters India @ReutersIndia

Small unit operations at distance that are aviation based.  This is a reminder of the danger.  Now you're going to see relief efforts suspended while a search is conducted.  Hopefully everyone is ok, but we have to ask.  What if this was a combat situation with an Aviation Element supporting a Company Landing Team?  We need to seriously think about this before we fully commit.

So this is what the extra hole on athletic shoes is for!

How many Microwave Crowd Control Weapons does the US military have?

video via SHTF Blog from Susan Duclos' YouTube Page.



The above video and massive armor movements in the Southwest US are being touted by some as signs that Jade Helm is more than what we're being told.

Let's ignore that.

Did you see all those Microwave Crowd Control Weapons in that convoy?

How many does the US military have?!!?!?!?!?!

That I find interesting...and a bit suspicious/alarming.  Question.  When has the US military ever used these weapons to defend a US embassy or military installation in a foreign land?  Answer.  Not ever.  Not even once.  They're not even part of the basic loadout for any Marine or Army unit.

If you have the answer then hit me up.  I'm more than a bit curious.  Also if you can identify the unit these vehicles are assigned to I'd appreciate that too.

Russian Coastal Missile Battery Exercise & a statement about this blog.

Below you see pics from the Russian Military Website showing "Crews of the coastal missile system "Bal" of the Pacific Fleet perform training firings"...good stuff and I'm glad that I've found a foreign website that is showing its military----this is the type of openness that the Pentagon is begging for with the Chinese----but I digress.  Fellow blogger American Mercenary pissed me off royally by accusing me of being a "useful idiot" because I posted news from a foreign, in the case in question, Russian news site.  If you've been following my blog for more than two minutes then you know I link to articles from around the world.  I sift through information that isn't "news" in the US so I can get different perspectives.  I allow conversations on the blog so that I can see how people from around the world view different military issues.  IF you want the talking points from just a US view this isn't the blog for you.  IF you want to believe that the US continues without rivals ...friendly, frenemies and enemies then this is not the blog for you.  If you're the type that can view the landscape as it is, recognize that the US is losing its military edge, its foreign policy is an absolute mess and certain concepts/procurements being put forth by military leadership is steaming piles of shit then welcome aboard!

Mistrals to China? Are the French trying to piss me off?

Thanks to Bryan for the link.

via Business Insider

The ongoing saga over France's potential sale of two Mistral-class helicopter carriers to Russia took a new turn Monday with Chinese media reporting that representatives from the French in Shanghai could propose a deal to sell the warships to China

Read it all here. 

Really?  Seriously?  Are the French trying to piss me off!  More importantly are they looking to screw an entire region beyond recognition?

If the Chinese get these ships then you can shave off at least two years on my estimate of them being ready for combat operations against the US and our allies.

The sad part?  These relatively compact ships fit projected Marine & Navy operating concepts perfectly.  If you're talking about independent amphibious ship operations then a squadron of these vessels would seem ideal.

If you follow the concept and the ships would come together for large operations then again, this is perfect.

I don't know the game being played here but it should be alarming to the Japanese, Australians, Singaporeans and even Koreans.  This is a bad idea.

IDEF 2015.

Many thanks to Aybars for the link.

Above you seen renders of the new Turkish fighter they're working on and displaying at IDEF 2015.  Unfortunately I've seen very little coverage of the event but Pakistan Defense Forum has you covered.  Check it out here.

Sidenote:  Remember the Tulpar IFV that was just displayed?  Many on the forum are indicating that its going to be the next Amphibious Assault Vehicle.

Jane's Defense Analyst see renewed assault in Ukraine in two months.

via Defense Blog.

A consensus is building among NATO officials and military analysts of the situation in Eastern Ukraine that Russia will renew its invasion of the region in the next two months.
However, there is also general agreement that the attack would take only after the 9 May Victory Day celebrations in Moscow, which President Vladimir Putin regards as reaffirming Russia’s continued position as a “great power.”
The predictions of a new Russian offensive by analysts have coincided with similar statements by officials such as NATO Supreme Commander, USAF General Philip Breedlove. Gen Breedlove testified to this effect before the US Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) on 30 April, stating that the sometimes on-sometimes off ceasefire agreed in February after the second round of Minsk negotiations had been utilised by the Russian forces to “reset and reposition”.
NATO’s assessment, he added, is that the Russian military’s goal is to secure the gains made on territory already taken in the Ukraine Donbass region, as well as to deploy for the launch of a late spring attack. “Many of their [the Russians’] actions are consistent with preparations for another offensive,” he said, adding that Russian forces’ activities were not just exercises but “preparing, training, and equipping to have the capacity again to take an offensive.”

Read it all here. 

Interesting.  If NATO is expecting a renewed Russian led offensive they're certainly not doing anything to "shape" the battlefield.

Is it just me or does this alliance seem to have more of an administrative/bureaucratic edge rather than warfighting element to it?  The staff flunkies might love all the paper pushing but when it comes to actually doing real work they seem out of their depth.