Saturday, January 15, 2022

Russia puts its Ropucha-class heavy landing ships (3 of them) to sea...exercise or opening move?

Bull Troop, 1st Squadron, 2nd Cavalry Regiment @ work...by Markus Rauchenberger

 

Joe Copalman Flikr Page... GOING DOWN

An infantry Marine exits a UH-1Y via fastrope at an urban training facility on the Yuma Proving Grounds. Shot for my article on how MAWTS-1 is keeping the Marine 'Yankee' community on the cutting edge and ready for the near-peer fight in the February 2022 issue of Combat Aircraft Journal.

Crime Watch. Could this be part of our supply chain issues? California is turning into warmed over dogshit...

 

New Combat Uniform Of Indian Army

 

Not a fan. It's not about the color but about the pockets. I personally believe that every force should have a basic 1st line gear...shit you carry in your pockets. STANDARDIZED with extra shit left to the individual Soldier/Marine. An approved knife. Pen + Rite In The Rain type notebook. Perhaps a small survival kit which contains a bit of food to help you make it if you get separated from your pack (would also include purification tabs and a collapsible water bottle).

But that's some old skool thinking.  When Vietnam Vets were talking and not in the midst of dementia or alzheimer's, they were swearing by that.  Wonder why we got away from it?

Mandatory vaccinations aren't just a US problem...Europe is fighting it too...

 

Why do I say Europe is fighting it too? Because we've seen massive protests in the UK, Germany, France, Italy and a few other countries. The power of govt is the undercover "big" issue of our time. Not covid, but the power of govt to regulate people...how far can govt reach into our private lives for the sake of the "greater good".

Truck question. I'm running 33's on my Bronco...

Pic ain't my rig...just representative.

I'm running 33's on 15.  Want better gas mileage.  I know.  Upgrade engine/transmission.  In the works!  But rolling resistance is something easy I can do right away.

Pie cutters are coming back in style (at least in my area) and I'm wondering.  When it was stock on 235's I got fabulous mileage. I've checked out the upgrade charts and 275/65-18s would give me the pie cutter I'm looking for to scratch back a little fuel economy.

Is the logic sound?  Will pie cutters actually deliver improved mileage or what?

Open Comment Post. 15 Jan 2022

 

Here they come.....China reports 5 new human cases of H5N6 bird flu

via BNO News
Chinese officials are providing only limited information about human cases of H5N6 bird flu and it often takes weeks before cases are publicly reported to WHO. Most cases are first reported by the Hong Kong Health Department, which is closely monitoring human cases.

H5N6 bird flu is known to cause severe illness in humans of all ages and has killed nearly half of those infected, according to WHO. There are no confirmed cases of human-to-human transmission but a woman who tested positive in July 2021 denied having contact with live poultry.

“The increasing trend of human infection with avian influenza virus has become an important public health issue that cannot be ignored,” researchers said in a study published by China’s Center for Disease Control in September 2021. The study highlighted several mutations in two recent cases of H5N6 bird flu.

Everyone is worried about nuclear warfare.  A few are worried about chemical warfare.

People hardly think about biological.

But here it comes. 

French forces @ exercise Orion

 

Friday, January 14, 2022

"Be afraid and expect the worst"

 NY Times

Hackers brought down dozens of Ukrainian government websites on Friday and posted a message on one saying, “Be afraid and expect the worst,” a day after a breakdown in diplomatic talks between Russia and the West intended to forestall a threatened Russian invasion of the country.

Diplomats and analysts have been anticipating a cyberattack on Ukraine, but proving the source of such actions is notoriously difficult. Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry did not directly blame Russia for the attack, but pointedly noted that there was a long record of Russian online assaults against Ukraine.

NOTE>I believe Russian hackers or proxies for Russia sent this message.

Ukraine ain't ready. 

They aren't in NATO.

They have rampant corruption and even have a brigade of Neo-Nazis.

Covid is running wild worldwide, people all over the country are tired of the restrictions, inflation is a problem and for the first time in my memory we're seeing empty shelves in the US.

Do you think that any Western govt will be able to rally their people to send troops to defend Ukraine?

Sorry.  It's harsh.  It ain't what you want to hear.  But it is the truth.

This is turning into a terrible term for Biden.  His presidency MIGHT go down as being incompetent beyond belief.

The Afghan withdrawal.  Terrible economy.  Empty shelves. Covid still raging after he declared independence from the virus along with many Americans not wanting to get on with life now that the "science" says we need to live with it.

Add a successful Russian invasion into Ukraine and Biden/Dems hopes are done in 22 and 24.

Putin holds Biden's fate in his hands.  Biden might be screwed anyway if he can't improve the previous but add an invasion of Ukraine to the mix and its all but over.  

He will be constrained like no modern president ever has been if the Republicans win.

You want Russian interference?  This could be the REAL interference. 

BlackTail penned it down. That new Large Surface Combatant that the Navy is pushing is an old 1980's project, the Baseline Cruiser!

Blacktail nailed it.

I flowed with alot of people and was thinking that the Large Surface Combatant sure looked alot like the Chinese Navy's Type 055.

We were wrong.

This thing matches up perfectly to the Baseline Cruiser Concept.  A concept that was birthed in the 1980s.

Amazing.

That's my biggest complaint.  

We had a generation of generals that trashed every idea during the "peace dividend", then we had a group that was totally focused on social issues, and now we have a group that is looking down the barrel of the Chinese shotgun and all they can do is turn back to the ideas that were earlier rejected.

Decision Dominance is the desired state in which commanders sense, understand, decide, act and assess faster and more effectively than our adversaries.

 

DEFIANT X: The Air Assault Mission from the Commander's Perspective...even manufacturers are targeting Army programs at the Pacific.

 
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OK. I'm kinda hyped about this ... Magpul x Maztech X4 System

Built Different (Super Squad Competition)

 

With Force Design 2030, why isn't the CB90 getting a serious look?

I like the ACV.

I think the legacy force needed the ACV.

But this new formation?  I can't see it.  Perhaps I don't understand what they're trying to do but no where in the planning do I see the need for the ACV.

I do see the need for the CB90.

LPDs acting as motherships could launch several CB90s to put Marines on the disputed islands, doing the littoral fight thing and could get out of dodge fast.

Plus they could launch from much further out at sea, could dart inside the island chains (seriously thinking about the Philippines and Indonesia) and even help with medical evacuation when Marine Air just can't do it.

The CB90 should be an easy pick for the new force.

That leg isn't broken. I've seen a broken leg....

A nice honor but some are still not satisfied...

PLA air assault brigade conducting landing exercise from a Z8-L helicopter.