Sunday, May 05, 2024

Balikatan 24: ACVs Debut in the Indo-Pacific

 

A pack of rampaging pit bulls. Everyday carry, proper bullets & solid bullet placement is a necessity against ANY predator..

Good reason to own a firearm
byu/EducationalCellist41 inFirearms
I've personally never seen a pack of raging pit bulls. I've seen a couple of dogs go after people but this many? Never. Against this threat (and many of the two legged variety), that 17 round magazine in your Glock 45 begins to look kinda small doesn't it. Ya got to carry. Ya got to have a spare mag. I don't advocate it but its been pounded so hard thru out my life that I guess some type of first aid (especially one to stop the bleeding) is a must have too (my thinking is that I make holes, I don't plug them up...but liability & humanity shit I guess).

Back on task.

These dogs were acting on some type of instinct, training or both. They weren't shooting, just biting.  Some animals shoot.

Your hip pocket training is now concluded.

Friday, May 03, 2024

Wonder how long this Ukrainian general has to live after saying this to the Economist...

 

This dude has apparently reached the point in life where he has no more fucks to give. Wonder how long this general has to live has an accident resulting in death or great bodily injury.

1st MARDIV Marines learn to integrate, counter drones.....past time to yank Air Defense from the Wing & put it into the Ground Combat Element

 

U.S. Marine Corps Capt. Madden Chapman, center, a low altitude air defense officer with 3rd Low Altitude Air Defense Battalion, Marine Air Control Group 38, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, teaches Marines during small unmanned aerial systems and counter-sUAS training at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, April 29, 2024. The purpose of the training is to improve the effectiveness and consistency of sUAS integration and C-sUAS tactics, techniques and procedures across 1st Marine Division. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Jaye Townsend)
I just added the caption to the first pic to show what the class was on.

That's not what I want to talk about.

What I am proposing is that Air Defense needs to be part of the Ground Combat Element and not the Wing.

It might have made sense in the past.  Hell it might make sense now, especially since the Marine Corps is no longer in the business of seizing ground.  

Maybe a force that whose reason for being is to sense and make sense doesn't need Air Defense to be part of the Ground Combat Element if the Ground Combat Element no longer maneuvers.

But I believe that this "Force Design" 2030 concept has a shelf life that is expiring as we talk.  It's days are numbered and the idea of the Marine Corps taking ground will come back in vogue.

With that in mind Air Defense needs to maneuver with the Ground Element and doesn't need the additional friction of confusing masters.

The Wing is morphing into a force that is at the beck of call of anyone and farmed out to any and all in penny packets galore. To be honest that's one of my biggest gripes with Force Design 2030.

The cohesive fighting unit that was once the Marine Air Ground Team that was zealously protected and arguments were held behind the scenes to see it fight as one is long over.

BUT when someone in Quantico gets their common sense back and sees the value of the MAGTF again and even before, Air Defense needs to be on call to protect Marine Ground.

Take the F-35s.  That's part of the reason why the Marine pushed for a "stealth" ground support platform isn't it?  Take the C-130s, use the V-22s for SOCOM, but at least have Air Defense available to protect the GCE when the rest of the Wing is playing pussy for the joint force (as in getting fucked).

AAS student conduct ACV training

U.S. Marines at the Amphibious Assault School, conduct amphibious exercise at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California, April 11, 2024. The Operator Certification Course ensures Marines possess the technical knowledge, skills, and proficiency required to safely operate the Amphibious Combat Vehicle in waterborne operations. The Marine Corps is taking a deliberate approach to fielding the ACV to the Fleet Marine Force to ensure our Marines understand the platform’s capabilities and can operate it safely and proficiently. (U.S. Marine Corps video by Lance Cpl. Adrian Estrada)

Open Comment Post. 3 May 24

 

It's an anomaly.  It's getting closer.  Your team is dead and backup is an hour away.  Your weapon is feet away and you're not sure you know it wouldn't kill the thing anyway.  Die fighting or end it all in one shot.  Decisions, decisions, decisions...
SCP - The Sun That Hates

Can the US Army hang anything else on the turret of the new M2A4E1 Bradley?

 

Ok I get it.

Gotta have anti-missile systems on your armor (Hello USMC!!!!! you got that brand new ACV but no Iron Fist..WHAT THE FUCK!!!) but look at that thing!

I got a dose of OCD so all that clutter on the turret is doing something to me.  I get it but geez!

B-Roll: 1st Bn., 11th Marines executes HIRAIN

U.S. Marines with Alpha Battery, 1st Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, execute an M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System rapid infiltration from March Air Force Base to Marine Corps Air-Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, California, May 1, 2024. HIRAIN is the process of identifying an enemy target from forward observation points and unmanned aerial vehicles, seizing key terrain for an aerial landing, inserting HIMARS using aircraft, destroying the target and retrograding back to a secure location. (U.S. Marine Corps video by Sgt. Emeline Swyers)

So let me get this straight.

You're operating against a peer foe.

You're going to identify the enemy target from forward positions, then you're gonna fly in INFANTRY to seize KEY TERRAIN for an AERIAL LANDING....you're gonna unload HIMARS, you're gonna destroy the target and then you're gonna get the fuck outta dodge before the enemy locates and micro fragments everyone?

WHO THE FUCK COMES UP WITH THIS SHIT AND WHY AREN'T THEY GETTING DRUG TESTED DAILY!!!!! 

Understand this isn't normal shit whoever came up with this fuckery are smoking.  They're on psychedelics.  This is pure fantasy shit!

2/10 FIREX 24

 

30 Sailors, Marines Injured in LCAC ‘Incident’

 via USNI News

An “incident” off Florida on Wednesday evening involving two Navy air-cushioned landing craft, or LCACs, left 30 sailors and Marines with injuries, including five treated at a Georgia hospital, the Navy announced late Thursday.

The service began its investigation into the mishap, which happened off the coast of Jacksonville, Fla., during a pre-deployment training exercise with amphibious assault ship USS Wasp (LHD-1) and amphibious transport dock ship USS New York (LPD-21), U.S. 2nd Fleet officials said in a statement posted online.

There were 18 sailors and 30 Marines aboard the two LCACs. Of the 30 who reported injuries, “five sailors were medically evacuated for further care at Savannah Memorial University Medical Center. Four of the five sailors have been released from the hospital after treatment,” according to the statement and a Navy official. “One sailor remains under medical care and is being assessed for further treatment. Sailors and Marines with minor injuries were treated aboard Wasp and New York.”

Fleet officials provided no further details about the incident.

Here 

An LCAC mishap?  That's something you don't happen often.  Wonder what was up with this.  The obvious guess is that some type of collision happened between the two boats but who knows.

Wouldn't be the first time for something like that....happens all the time with LCUs but people don't talk about that.

They want to use the entire III MEF as a stand in force???

 via Marine Corps News

“There’s been a lot of focus on the MLR, very appropriately so, what we were trying to do in Azure Dragon is validate our ability to stand in as a MEF, as a (Marine Air Ground Task Force),” Bierman said.

But having the force, a unit with 25,000 Marines, running as the stand in force sets up units such as the regiments to better exploit enemy weaknesses, Bierman said.

Here 

I was wrong.

I thought they were willing to sacrifice an MLR to the war god in order to pull the US into a war with China.

Nope.

They want to go big.  They want to put an entire MEF in the line of unrelenting fire to make sure the American people react emotionally instead of rationally to China's effort to retake Taiwan.

Amazing.

Plus they're trying to use the example of the Houthis as proof that the SIF concept works?  Grasping at fucking straws.

The entire Marine Corps leadership needs to be drug tested.

Thursday, May 02, 2024

If 5in guns are the future weapon of choice to destroy drones/missiles do we need to start adding more to our destroyers?

It kinda seems like the Navy is pushing hard to use a mix of microwave/laser and guns to handle the incoming drone/missile problem. If that's the case then do we need to start adding more 5in guns to our destroyers? Oh and on a sidenote let me remind you that once big deck amphibs had (I believe...doing this from memory) 3 on them on the old Tarawa class. 5in guns are back in style...at least for a little bit.

Yeah someone is gonna have to figure this out. How do you deconflict the airspace between low flying drones and attack planes/helicopters?

 

Redback IFV with a K21 turret w/40mm Bofors gun competing for Romanian contract

Wow. Didn't the Romanians go with the Boxer for their wheeled IFV? If the Redback wins this then they'll be following the Australian model. Wonder what's going on with the Lynx?

I don't fear the drone, but those bastards are starting to become a huge concern

Florida Sheriff gets it. Evil can never be dead enough

Ukrainian losses in the war have been greatly underreported...

 

I know the Russians have been making advances lately (its reported everywhere, didn't see a need to post it here), but to see this news? To see that Western intel officials are reporting it on background? I wonder how bad things actually are for the Ukrainians. More to the point. How close can the Russians advance to the border before Western leaders push for boots on the ground? Are the Russians working on that math or have they reached a point where they just don't give a fuck anymore and want all the smoke we got?