Weekend Warriors: Birth of the B-52 Why could they do it then but we can't today?

Ok, I'm sure Boeing embellished this story a bit .... but if they didn't wow!  The USAF stated that they wanted a jet engine, long range bomber (just out of curiosity wasn't the B-47 the first long range bomber?) and over the course of a weekend engineers from Boeing had a proposal ready to go?

We need to get the sense of urgency, the get it done attitude and the skill back into our defense design/procurement.

Why could they do it then but we can't today?

The Marine Corps and Close Air Support (1956)

A Marine Officer is kicked out for trying to protect fellow Marines...how did we get to this point?

via Washington Post.

A senior Navy Department official decided Monday to force a Marine Corps officer out of the service for his handling of classified information, three years after he was first investigated after sending a warning to deployed colleagues about an Afghan police chief whose servant later killed three Marines.
Maj. Jason Brezler will be separated from the Marine Corps following a decision by Assistant Navy Secretary Juan M. Garcia, said Michael Bowe, Brezler’s attorney. The case grabbed attention in Congress and among highly decorated senior officers in the military, some of whom advocated on Brezler’s behalf to let him stay in the Marines. Other service officials maintained that retired Gen. James F. Amos, the Marine Corps’ top officer when the investigation began, and other generals involved handled the case well.
“We will now proceed to a real court and prove that Commandant Amos and his generals illegally retaliated against Major Brezler because they were more concerned with politics and their careers than the lives of their Marines and the service of a good Marine who did the right thing,” Bowe said in an e-mailed statement. “I look forward to their cross-examination.”

Wow.  The Amos legacy is still kicking the Marine Corps in the head and Dunford was Commandant for too little time to dig into this...but Neller should have used his influence to fix this.

This is another sign that the Marine Corps has become infected with the idiocy that exists at the highest levels of the DoD.

Politics is more important than honor.  Good men will suffer to protect fools.  Major Brezler deserves better.  He was attempting to protect his fellow Marines and instead of medals he gets kicked out.

How could this happen in the United States Marine Corps?  Why would any leader allow this type of misjustice? 

Russia is feeling our pain now...

Russian honor guards carry the coffin of Russian Lt. Col. Oleg Peshkov at a ceremony at a military airport outside Moscow on Nov. 30. Peshkov was killed when the warplane he was piloting was downed by a Turkish fighter jet.

LtCol Peshkov finally made his way home.

For better or worse, Russia is about to feel the USA's pain.  I hope they're ready...they're hip deep into the Middle East now...and the Middle East doesn't like to let go.

STKinetics amphibious combat vehicle entry becomes the new Terrex 2.

  Terrex 2 Brochure Sep15

This is beyond interesting.

Before the Marine Corps changed the Marine Personnel Carrier into the Amphibious Combat Vehicle, we were basically looking at inland waterway "amphibiosity".  With the revamping of the contest to the ACV, swimming from ship to shore was now desirable...not necessary, but indeed desirable and manufacturers wouldn't be penalized for exceeding requirements.

Meanwhile STKinetics entered the "old" Terrex 2.  It was a product improved version of the Terrex 1.  Better suspension, horsepower....extremely impressive electronics and "adequate" swim.  It could cross rivers but taking it from ship to shore was out of the question.

But then STKinetics did what I thought was a bold move.  They reskinned the vehicle to improve its hydrodynamic performance and rechristened it the "new" Terrex 2.

How good was the vehicle?  Good enough to knock Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics out of the running...and putting them in a face to face with BAE/Iveco with their SuperAV.

Do I think they'll win? No.  BAE/Iveco will NOT be undersold...from reading between the lines I think they've labeled this a must win contest and while STKinetics has the support of the Singapore govt (along with BAE/Iveco they're the only company to have actually swam their vehicle from ship to shore from amphibious assault ships or so I've been told) so will BAE/Iveco (sources tell me that the Italian govt is extremely interested in this contest).

So if I still think that the SuperAV is the right vehicle for the Marine ACV contest, why am I so excited about the Terrex 2?  Easy!  This is a positive move toward having real integration among allied Marine Corps in the Pacific.  I think the Terrex 2 will win sales.  I think it will be bought by Marine Corps across the world (and they'll probably be competing against the SuperAV) and with its future sales we'll see real integration.

Flying off each others warships isn't integration that really counts.  What counts is being able to maneuver from ship to shore and then onto the objective without pause....to be able to get a Marine onto a piece of land and have him hold ground (or continue).

This could be a turning point for allied Marine Corps.  Instead of being naval infantry that gets off their landing craft at the beach and then marching inland, they'll be fully mechanized and can keep up with the USMC.  That will be different.  That will be real transformation in partnerships.

Slowdown in weapon modernization expected. Is the F-35 on the list?

via National Defense.

As it finalizes its budget request for the next fiscal year, the Pentagon has to find a way to close the approximately $15 billion gap between the amount of topline funding it hoped to receive and the level that was agreed upon in the recently passed Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015, Comptroller Mike McCord said during remarks at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington, D.C. think tank.
“There will probably be some slowdowns in some modernization programs,” he said.
The changes can be expected in “a few places,” but he declined to specify whether the F-35 joint strike fighter or other high profile programs would fall victim.

They're being cheeky.

The F-35 MUST be on that list because there is no other low hanging fruit left, every other project has already been delayed beyond reason and troop levels/benefits have been sliced to the bone.

So the real question becomes...why not state the obvious and say that the F-35 is going to be slowed down?

Easy.  They don't want to spook partner nations.  They don't want to feed "the trolls" (I'm probably included in that category).  In short they don't need the bad publicity.

The program office has climbed out on a limb, called the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs a liar in his testimony to the Senate, stated that high ranking USAF officers didn't know what they were talking about when they said that the Air Force was looking at buying F-15/16/18s so they're in a hurt locker.

I've noticed all this and soon so will the mainstream media.  Ultimately this means that the program, which once touted itself as being the most transparent in history is anything but.

Death spiral?  Nope.  Flat spin headed out to sea?  Yep.  We've just taken a step closer to the inevitable.  The F-35 is about to suffer the same fate of the F-22, and B-2.  Its about to have a severely truncated production run. 

Terrorists Acknowledge Heavy Losses in Aleppo

via Almanar

The Syrian army air force destroyed the ISIL terrorist organization’s headquarters and machinegun-equipped vehicles in the villages of Akolah, Rasm al-Abed, Hemeima big and Hemeima small, 40 km east of Aleppo city, the military source said.
Meanwhile, the Takfiri terrorist organizations acknowledged on their social media websites the killing of a number of their members, among them what it called “storming leader of special forces in Bab Amre battalion” Ali al-Daloub al-Fa’ouri and Amer al- Omar of the so-called Jaish al-Sunna, Jumaa al-Omar of the so-called Islamic Union ofAjnad al-Sham, and commander of al-Sham legion nicknamed al-Zaher Baibars al- Salmouni.
The Army’s air force carried out sorties against ISIL terrorist organizations’ dens in Hazazeh village and Deir Hafer 52 kilometers to the east of Aleppo.
The Air strikes destroyed vehicles and headquarters of terrorists with all arms and munitions inside.

Interesting.  It seems that the complaint that the Russians are only focusing on "moderate" rebels is not true.

We're seeing an offensive in progress along all fronts in the Syrian conflict.  The location of maximum effort changes but the overall plan is clear.  They're pushing in all directions simultaneously.

Obama Admin prepares to blame the military for ISIS failure and Turkey is dragging Nato into its dispute with Russia...

Be advised.  The Hill is an "insider" blog covering the political side of Washington DC.  It is my personal experience that stories are often placed in it for political impact and its used as a sounding board for talking points with the hope of "guiding the discussion" for the upcoming week.

With that in mind check out these passages and make sure to read the entire article...

President Obama is finding himself dragged into a tense standoff between Russia and Turkey even as he struggles to keep the U.S. military focused on the fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

Yeah.  You read that right.  The President is "struggling" to keep the US military focused?  Are you freaking kidding me?

I'm trying to stay calm on this one but WHAT THE FUCK!  If you've been a reader of my blog then you know that I slam military leadership on a regular basis.  But the thought that they need to be focused on ISIS and that its a struggle to do so is nothing but politics at its worst.

But hold on.  If you think the Obama Admin is saying maddening things then check out this statement from Turkey...

Istanbul said in a statement that the two SU-24 Russian aircraft were warned 10 times by radar over five minutes but that both jets proceeded to violate Turkish airspace for 17 seconds. One aircraft left, but the other one was shot down by Turkish F-16s conducting air patrols.
"The violated airspace is also NATO airspace," Turkey's statement said.

That statement is enough to have me punching walls.  The Turks do something idiotic and then attempt to hide behind NATO?  We really need to get them out of the alliance and rethink our dealings with them.

We're reaching an interesting stage in the war against ISIS/Syria.

What happens if the US lose the Kurds in the fight against ISIS?

Thanks to Leroy for the link!

via Al Jazeera

Moscow's retaliation is not just about severing economic and diplomatic ties. It is pursuing a policy that could tie Turkey's hands in Syria.
Ankara never received international backing for a safe zone across its border, but Russia has now ruled that out.
The deployment of S-400 anti-air missiles means Russia has effectively imposed a no-fly zone over Syria.
And now, Moscow seems to be moving closer to a group that has been the US-led coalition's main ground force in Syria - a group which Turkey, itself a member of that coalition, calls "terrorists".
The Syrian Kurdish forces (YPG) is a US-backed Kurdish group that has pushed the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) back from areas along the border with Turkey.
In an attempt to change the solely "Kurdish face" of anti-ISIL ground troops, it aligned with some Arab brigades to form "the Syria Democratic Forces" (SDF).
No doubt a further strengthened YPG will anger Turkey, which has long feared that Kurdish autonomy in northern Syria would stir up similar sentiments among its own Kurdish population.

Then this.

The rules may now have changed. The YPG has still not pushed west of the Euphrates, but along with its allies, and with the help of Russian strikes, the SDF are threatening Turkey-backed opposition groups in another key border crossing, Kilis, west of Jarablous.

Losing control of the northern countryside of Aleppo would be a setback for the opposition. Turkey, too, would lose influence.
But Russian President Vladim Putin seems to be eyeing an even bigger victory. He called on the Assad government and the political wing of the YPG to unite. This has still not happened - at least not officially.
But Syrian Kurdish officials have said they are ready to work with anyone fighting ISIL, and anyone who works for a united, secular and democratic Syria.
Such an alliance would change the battlefield and the balance of power on the ground.

Even I saw this coming.  The Kurds have been jerked around by the US for decades now.  We turn a blind eye to Turkish atrocities committed against them and promise the moon while basically delivering nothing.

Yet time after time they've demonstrated that they're the best fighters against ISIS (in my opinion) and now it appears that Russia is about to try to get them into their camp.

Could you blame them for going for it?  Russia will supply them with weapons and aid them to get that slice of Syria and Iraq that they so desperately want.

The bonus?  It will scare the shit outta Turkey.  The extra juicy bonus?  It will be a finger in the face of Obama, the State Dept and Pentagon.  The orgasmic part?  This one simple move will have the US losing the Kurds, and also the war against Assad.

If the Russians can bring the Kurds into its sphere then it takes an effective group of fighters off the board when it comes to toppling Assad.

The Russians are outsmarting our guys again.  The pathetic thing is that even a small time blogger could see this coming.

Most effective unarmed combat type civilian/uniformed? In my opinion Muay Thai Kickboxing.

Leroy and I got into a discussion about boxing and the defeat of Rhonda Rousey in MMA.

It evolved (in my mind) to a comparison of wrestling, grappling, Karate, Aikido, Systema and even Krav Maga.  I've seen demonstrations of them all and besides being useful only to those in peak condition, they also require some type of acrobatics/years of training to be effective.

But back to why I think Muay Thai is so effective.  Think about a fight in a relatively confined space.  Consider being encumbered by gear (if you're uniformed personnel) and think about the fight.

The last place you want to be is on the ground.  The last thing you want to do is to have to put hands on someone....you have them, they in essence have you.

Quick strikes.  Feet and hands.  Strike hard, get it over with, and no high flying acrobatics to get the deed done.  Most kicks in Thai Kickboxing are low, punches are fast and when it does require kicks at waist level or above, I contend that knee strikes would be a better option.

So why am I talking about it here?  Just shits and giggles.  Marine Corps Martial Arts has (or had...don't know if it still does) elements of Muay Thai in it.  Additionally its designed for combat, so worse case scenarios like ground fighting have to be built in.  But for the street cop or civilian?  If the fight ends up on the ground then you're in deep doo.  Either someone got really lucky or you're fighting someone really skilled.  Its past time for you to  up it to lethal force (hopefully you've been protecting your gun).  That's just my two cents...and like I said.  This is just mudballing and for giggles.  I'll probably take this post down.

Geez! Stop with the navigation errors!

via Brietbart

After accidentally crossing the border into Mexico with guns in his vehicle, a highly decorated former Marine was detained with his children and later released. He had accidentally crossed the border with hunting rifles after taking a wrong turn in Texas.
Retired Marine First Sergeant Jeromie Slaughter, 38, decided to take his 14-year-old son and 9-year-old daughter on a hunting trip to a deer lease located near Rocksprings, Texas,according to Click2Houston.com. His family said he had not been to the lease before and made a wrong turn.
Rocksprings is located approximately 70 miles from the Texas/Mexico border at Del Rio.
Slaughter’s family said he ended up on a road that led to Ciudad Acuna, Mexico. “He knew they were lost and when he seen the sign that said ‘no guns,’ you know, no weapons, he knew that he had gone too far,” Slaughter’s mother Beverly McKinney, told the Houston TV station.
He apparently ended up on a bridge leading to Mexico and realized he had nowhere to go. Upon arriving at the Mexican border crossing checkpoint, Slaughter asked for permission to turn around and return to the U.S. The Mexican authorities said no and detained him and his children after they discovered the three rifles and several dozen rounds of ammunition he was carrying.

Ya know.  This is getting tiresome.  What is it with Marines and the border with Mexico.  I get the gun part.  I don't get the idea of making a navigation error that has you riding into Mexico.  If I had to get on the side of the road cross the median and then risk getting ticketed by Texas law enforcement that would be preferable to dealing with Mexican police.  Even if I drew the attention of Border Patrol or INS agents it would still be better than crossing the border.

The only good news?  They were able to get this wrapped up quickly.  

To my fellow Marines I'd simply ask this.  Check your freaking maps and stop acting like boot LTs on their first field exercise.  I hope this doesn't happen again but if it does...please God let it be an Airman.

Turkey is only concerned about the Kurds...everything else is a distraction.

Thanks to Ronald for the link!

via BBC

A prominent pro-Kurdish lawyer and rights activist has been shot dead in Diyarbakir, south-eastern Turkey.
Tahir Elci was killed in a gun battle between police and unidentified gunmen. Two police officers also died.
He had been making a statement calling for an end to violence between the Turkish state and the Kurdish rebel group the PKK when he was shot dead.

 Ok.  The Turkish scheming is crystallizing for me.  ISIS, the US, and Syria are just sideshows for them.

They only care about crushing the Kurds.

I won't even take the time to try and research the history for this animosity.  I'm sure its ancient, doesn't make a damn bit of sense in the modern era and I would probably find it silly...at best.

Regardless.  All the countries that France is putting together for their REAL anti-ISIS campaign need to come to one realization.  Turkey is destroying Europe (through illegal immigration coming thru their borders), abetting ISIS and playing hardball because of the Kurd threat (in their minds).

With this comes my next epiphany.  Russia will align with the Kurds to play a part in their "payback".  I'm betting that's what Turkey really fears and I think those fears will come true.

One last thing.  Turkish intel/security trade craft is pathetic.  This assassination was sloppily done.

Just a few hours earlier they were giving thanks...

Thanks to SHTF Blog for the vid!



Just a few hours earlier they were engaged in a ritual of gluttony to give thanks for the blessings of the past year.

After that feast what do they do?  Rush out to buy trinkets and baubles that they don't need, will be used only a few times and discarded...and then they'll be onto the next "hot" must have consumer product.

I wonder.  Have these people even once thought about what they're doing and why?  Or is it simply a modern "herd instinct" and it's done not because of thought/desire for a product but simply because it's the thing to do.

Want to see the madness on full display?  Check out the vid below.  The only good thing?  They're getting good practice in for when they're fighting for food because the next "Katrina" in whatever form hits.  Fuck them all...and train harder.  Your fellow American is an idiot.

Jihadist meets his fate (mildly unsafe for work).

Thanks to SHTF Blog for the link!



Two things.  First.  The recognition but too late that he was about to suffer a metric ton's worth of pain and misery.  Second.  The almost inhuman cries of pain in the background.

Quite honestly it filled my heart with joy.

The Turkish shootdown of the SU-24 turns even more strange...

Thanks to Ulf Utho for the link!

via Hastings Tribune.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday called for sanctions against Turkey, following the downing this week by Turkey of a Russian warplane.
The decree published on the Kremlin's website Saturday came hours after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had voiced regret over the incident, saying his country was "truly saddened" by the event and wished it hadn't occurred.

Put aside the sanctions part of this article.  Sanctions are the current "hotness" when it comes to nation states expressing displeasure with each other and I feel its all an indication that the globalization scheme is breaking down.

What should catch your attention is what Erdogan said.  "Truly saddened"?  "Wished it hadn't occurred"?

Wow.

This is totally different from their initial stance.  I know many disagree but I think my cowboy pilot theory is spot on.

Want even more crazy speculation?  Turkish security/intel forces are known to work with ISIS...could the Turkish civilian leadership have lost control?  Could the swing to a quasi Islamic type govt framework finally be coming back to bite?  Could hardcore elements that they put in place suddenly be acting on their own?

Sidenote:  Syria and Iraq are covered by the most extensive electronic sensor net in the world today.  Why haven't we seen confirmation of the Turkish claims?  Additionally the recording of the Turks warning off the Russian airplane hasn't been released by another power.  Why?  We should not only have third party radar tracks but we should also have monitored communication.  There is something very wrong with this whole thing.  I can't put my finger on it but I sense shenanigans.

Blast from the past. The "Composite Air Strike Force"?

via Wikipedia.

In the aftermath of the Korean War, TAC developed the Composite Air Strike Force (CASF) concept, a mobile rapid-deployment strike concept designed to respond to "brush fire" conflicts around the world. A CASF included fighter bomber aircraft for both conventional and nuclear attack missions, as well as troop carrier, tanker, and tactical reconnaissance assets. TAC composite air strike forces were intended to augment existing combat units already in place as part of United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE), the Pacific Air Forces (PACAF), or the Alaskan Air Command (AAC).
In addition, the new Century Series of TAC fighters were making their first flights, designed from the lessons learned in the air over Korea. As these new fighters and new transport aircraft came on line, there were problems with each one. TAC pilots risked life and limb to iron out the problems and make these aircraft fully operational. Also, with the development of air refueling, TAC could now flex its muscles and demonstrate true global mobility. Deployments to Europe and the Far East became a way of life for TAC units. When Strategic Air Command abandoned its fighter escort force in 1957, those aircraft were transferred to TAC, further augmenting its strength.
The first deployment of the Composite Air Strike Force took place in July 1958 in response to an imminent coup d'état in Lebanon. TAC scrambled forces across the Atlantic to Turkey, where their presence was intended to force an end to the crisis. A similar CASF was deployed in response to conflicts between China and Taiwan in 1958.

When did we know that the USAF was no longer serious about close air support?  When they shuttered the Tactical Air Command.  They really should bring it back.

US finally pressing Turkey to close its Syrian border.

via The Wall Street Journal.

The Obama administration is pressing Turkey to deploy thousands of additional troops along its border with Syria to cordon off a 60-mile stretch of frontier that U.S. officials say is used by Islamic State to move foreign fighters in and out of the war zone.
The U.S. hasn’t officially requested a specific number of soldiers. Pentagon officials estimated that it could take as many as 30,000 to seal the border on the Turkish side for a broader humanitarian mission. Cordoning off just one section alone could take 10,000 or more, one official estimated.
It’s unclear how Turkey will respond. Turkish officials said they agree that tighter border control is necessary, and have begun implementing some measures. They suggested that the Pentagon troop estimates are inflated, but declined to give a number of their own.
In return for doing more to fight Islamic State, Turkey is seeking more financial help from Europe to deal with its 2.2 million Syrian refugees, as well as support for a safe zone in Syria—an idea that has been shelved by the Obama administration as too risky and complicated.

This is big stuff people.  Europe is finally willing to deal head on with the illegal immigrant problem.  That means the border needs to be sealed and they're pressing the US to press Turkey.   I don't think for one moment that this initiative is coming from the Obama admin.  This is backdoor moves by France and the UK to get this issue settled.

Why did it take so long?  Something is brewing inside the govts of the West....

“The game has changed. Enough is enough. The border needs to be sealed,” a senior Obama administration official said of Washington’s message to Ankara. “This is an international threat, and it’s all coming out of Syria and it’s coming through Turkish territory.”

What's not being said?  That Turkey should cut off support of ISIS.  I don't know what's prompting this but things are changing.  More to come I'm sure.

Have we ever seen major combat in a modern big city?

I use the "initiation" cutscene from the Call of Duty:Advanced Warfare as a primer for the subject I'd like opinions on.

In this video game, the N. Koreans have invaded S. Korea and are hookin' and jabbin' with the good guys (the US) inside the city of Seoul.

Have we ever seen major combat in a modern big city?  Urban combat is well known as  a meat grinder for infantry.  We all know about the heavy fighting in Fallujah.  We know about the battles that took place so long ago in Stalingrad.  But how would a fight in New York, Tokyo, Moscow...or perhaps more likely in Manila, Nairobi, Alexandria or Cairo look like?

We have never seen fighting in a major city in this age.  In the past, entire divisions could be sent into cities and after a few hours or days they would cease to exist.  How would a much smaller Army or Marine Corps fare?

Note:  For all those that would like to point to Hue City, Seoul, Aleppo, Beirut, Panama City, Grozny or Mogadishu I counter by saying that those cities were not developed to the point that we see today.

The BAE/IVECO SuperAV will be the new Landing Vehicle Wheeled (LVW-1) for the USMC.

You know by now that SAIC/Singapore Kinetics Terrex 2 and BAE/Iveco SuperAV were downselected in the USMC's ACV competition.

What you might not realize is "how right" the Marines finally got things.  Check this out from USNI News (March 2015).

Increment 1.1 was meant to have the ground protection Marines needed and would go ashore via surface connectors. Increment 1.2 would have a self-deploying capability at least equal to the 40-year-old Amphibious Assault Vehicles (AAVs) used today. And the third increment, if ever exercised, would add the high water speed capability that would allow it to plane over the top of the water instead of swimming through it.

What has me cheering for once is the fact that the ACV is turning out to be more than the old Marine Personnel Carrier Concept.  It is indeed shaping up as a real replacement for the AAV.  Even better?  We're not going to have to wait till 2020-something to start a new competition to fulfill the requirement to swim from ship to shore.

The BAE/Iveco model has been designed with the AAV replacement in mind from the start and it looks like the SAIC/Singapore Kinetics reskinned the Terrex to provide that same ability.

That's why BAE and SAIC got downselected while the Lockheed and General Dynamics models are on the outside looking in.

Those companies appear to have focused more on the MPC part...more on the wheeled IFV part of things instead of remembering that their customer was the United States Marine Corps and swim would be important too.

But I want to point out one part of this old USNI News article that actually tells us  who the ultimate winner will be...

Many of the competitors, “instead of [focusing] on just putting 10 seats for the 1.1, most of them are focused on ending up with 12 to 13 seats, for example. The swim quality, instead of focusing on the lower threshold requirement of, say, a level of 2 feet significant wave height, they’re actually focusing on building the vehicle to be able [to swim] at three [feet],” he said.

The SAIC vehicle has 11 seats.  The BAE has 13.  Swim ability will be equal to the AAV for both vehicles as will blast protection.  BAE will NOT be beat on price and they're ready to roll into full rate production now.

That's why I can call it today.  The BAE/Iveco SuperAV will be selected as the new Landing Vehicle Wheeled (LVW-1) for the USMC.

Erik Prince is recruiting S. American Mercenaries for the fight in Yemen...

via Fox News Latino.

In a program launched by Blackwater founder Erik Prince and now run by the Emirati military, the force of 450 Latin American troops – mostly made up of Colombian fighters, but also including Chileans, Panamanians and Salvadorans – adds a new and surprising element to the already chaotic mix of forces from foreign governments, armed tribes, terrorist networks and Yemeni militias that are currently embroiled in the Middle Eastern nation.
It is also an insight into how many wealthy Arab nations could wage their wars in the near future – especially in places like Yemen, Libya and Syria – as they deal with standing militaries unused to long-term, sustained warfare and populations that for the most part have little interest in military service.
"Mercenaries are an attractive option for rich countries that wish to wage war yet whose citizens may not want to fight," Sean McFate, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council and author of "The Modern Mercenary," told the New York Times.
He added: "The private military industry is global now," adding that the U.S. "legitimized" the industry with its heavy reliance on contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan over more than a decade of war in those countries. "Latin American mercenaries are a sign of what’s to come."

This has been talked about for the longest by my readers on this page but quite honestly I didn't believe it for one minute.  I guess I was wrong.  This might work but I doubt it...especially in Yemen.  Why?   I have yet to see any of the PMC companies (at least the ones that I monitor) address the evolving fights we're seeing.

Once it was possible to simply "buy" Ex SOCOM personnel and recreate teams that the US govt operates.

But the fight has evolved.  Yeah...I'm gonna beat this drum again.  We're seeing "terrorists"...whatever you want to call them...evolve into combined arms teams.

We're seeing these forces defeat nation state armies in the field operating the most high tech gear we have.

Until PMCs starting developing true combined arms teams...and hiring the personnel to man them then they will lose in the field.  Special Ops forces are vulnerable to conventional forces and what we're seeing in Yemen and Iraq are hybrid terrorist forces that are behaving more like conventional forces.

Regardless, this bears watching.  Looks like Prince is back in the game.