Tuesday, May 26, 2020
Combat Assault Company, 3rd Marine Regiment, conduct a live-fire exercise at Ulupa’u Crater Range Training Facility ...Pics by Cpl. Eric Tso
Note. Looking at these pics I have to wonder. Does moving LAR over to the ACV platform (with unique gear) and redesignating LAR/ACV battalions into CAC's (a total of 2...one on each coast reinforced) make sense? Each "Company Landing Team" will have within its ranks a cohesive unit able to provide protected amphibious assault across the beach and onto the objective, can conduct robust motorized raids, can detach an element to conduct "LAR" type missions and remain a more potent, deployable and flexible force. Just something to toss around. Its a sketch not a final form.
15th MEU Fast Roping from a Venom.....Pics by Cpl. Sarah Stegall
If you have to pick one platform to fast rope from in the US military, you can't go wrong if you pick a Venom. The absolute best ride you'll get.
New 600 Tons Cataraman class for the Taiwanese coast guard
That's one handsome ship but a little light to be dealing with 10K ton monsters that China is building.
Can you imagine how absolutely HORRIBLE the PT sessions are gonna be after this lockdown?
Was making my way round the internet this morning and came across one of my favorite Brit fitness coaches.
His post reminded me of one thing.
I feel absolutely sorry for those people that ate donuts and didn't PT that live in the Marine Corps during this pandemic.
That goes for all the services all over the free world.
Once this shit is over those PT sessions are gonna be absolutely HORRIFIC! If I had a bunch of spare change I'd buy up every bottle of Tiger Balm I could find and sell it on E-Bay at twice the price later.
One other thing. I've said it before but I absolutely mean it from the heart now. Health is wealth! Going back to the doctor today to get this sorted out (finally I hope) but afterwards its balls to the wall in the gym!
Monday, May 25, 2020
Satellite images from today capture China PLAN CV17 type-002 aircraft carrier leaving her home port
Satellite images from today capture #China PLAN #CV17 type-002 aircraft carrier leaving her home port pic.twitter.com/tq2S8jFNWn— d-atis☠️ (@detresfa_) May 25, 2020
Just plain wow. All this is open source. Can you imagine what our intel guys are seeing?
But back on task.
The Chinese are moving forward smartly. Effectively. Efficiently.
My readers are telling me that their catapult version is nearing completion too. If we drop down to 9 big deck carriers then the Chinese will rival us sooner rather than later.
The answer to our problem is simple and was put out by a CNO years ago.
Payloads over platforms.
Our Navy and Air Force have become platform centric. That's wrong. We need to become payload centric. The nuts and bolts of the fight at sea is what we should concentrate on.
If we have to attrit their forces that means our platforms must maintain distance while whittling away their numbers. We need to focus on increasing our stockpile (and modernizing rapidly) of munitions. We need missiles that can reach out and tag their ships and airplanes. We need the ability to reload/rearm our vessels at sea (quickly!!!!) and have them zoom out to punch them again.
The idea that any forward base (whether mobile or static) will be neutralized because they will be methodical in their attack.
Rogue fire? Glad its unmanned because it will fire its payload and will probably be destroyed before we can recover it (why are we going with JLTVs for this purpose instead of using refurbished HUMVEES instead?).
Instead of focusing on Cyber Operators on the battlefield we should push that function over to the Navy to utilize aboard their ships and the Marine Corps should focus on Electronic Warfare/Attack Operators operating at the MEU and above level.
Just a few thoughts but rest assured.
The Chinese aren't resting. They're training while we're sleeping.
Can anyone verify this K2 Black Panther MBT test in the Oman Desert?
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| via Semper Annoying Tumblr Page In May, 2018, K2 Black Panther main battle tank conducted a month-long +600km endurance & live fire test in the deserts of Oman. Turkish Altay MBT, derivative of the K2, suffered an engine failure and the German Leopard 2A6 was bogged down in a Wadi (dry riverbed) during an earlier testing. Meanwhile, K2 Black Panther successfully finished the trial without major issues. Oman's military was reportedly highly satisfied with the K2, but the decision-making process has been slow due to internal bureaucracy and now COVID-19 pandemic. While the bilateral agremeent is still being processed, Hyundai Rotem is modifying the K2 to better fit Oman's requirements. This includes heavy-duty air conditioning, intake filter, side skirt and increased IED protection up to STANAG Level 3 using lightweight (1 ton) Ceramic Matrix Composites armor. If the K2 deal is finalized, Oman's Army will reportedly also purchase 10 K600 Combat Engineer Vehicle from Hyundai Rotem. Source: Military Review / 밀리터리 리뷰 |
Memorial Day. Remember them....
This #MemorialDay, we pause to honor our fallen brothers and sisters. We will always remember their sacrifices for our nation. pic.twitter.com/qXMspCqwly— U.S. Marines (@USMC) May 25, 2020
Concept of an "Americanized" Absalon/Crossover type ship...by Ogden Dowcett
Note. This is from a much larger thread that involved the new Light Amphibious Warships the Marine Corps is seeking, to the new operating concept, HA/DR and the ACV...
Ya know if the Marine Corps and Navy takes their own planning guidance to its logical conclusion then the warship you see above is the future of Marine Corps amphibious assault ships.
Sea Fighting business up front, Lancing Party in the back.
It only makes sense especially if you're looking at "independent" ship operations, dispersed ops at sea and on land etc...
An Absalon type ship is really the ultimate solution. The only real solution that makes sense especially with austerity arriving AND the need to build up our war fleet.
Maybe not now but I'm willing to bet body parts that we'll be seeing something like you see above in US Navy colors within the next two decades...if not sooner.
So, this is my concept of an Absalon/Crossover type ship. It's not meant to carry, much less land, heavies. I see this carrying mediums or less while escorting an SLV. The only things I see landing from this ship in combat are AAV/ACVs, vehicles via LCVP, and Marines in CB90Hs /1 pic.twitter.com/cz1K3RHfqr— Ogden Dowcett (@ODowcett) May 22, 2020
Ya know if the Marine Corps and Navy takes their own planning guidance to its logical conclusion then the warship you see above is the future of Marine Corps amphibious assault ships.
Sea Fighting business up front, Lancing Party in the back.
It only makes sense especially if you're looking at "independent" ship operations, dispersed ops at sea and on land etc...
An Absalon type ship is really the ultimate solution. The only real solution that makes sense especially with austerity arriving AND the need to build up our war fleet.
Maybe not now but I'm willing to bet body parts that we'll be seeing something like you see above in US Navy colors within the next two decades...if not sooner.
Interview with Commander ‘Sharkey’ Ward...a must read from HushKit!
Article here.
This guy is a pure dee stud and if the Marine Corps was smart they'd send a strike team to scoop him up and haul him back to Quantico to consult on their future concepts.
Just kidding, I'm sure if they simply asked he'd be willing.
Why do I think so? Because I've been trying to get a flavor of the new Marine Corps operating concept and in doing the research I keep zooming back to the Brit Forces operating in the Falklands as the best, modern day example of what the Marine Corps is trying to accomplish.
Operating fast jets off alternative platforms? Sharkey and his boys were doing it. Operating off austere bases (that had been bombed out)? Sharkey and his boys did it.
The land actions are a miss (at least as I can tell) from what the Brits did, but if they had incorporated anti-ship missiles to support their fleet at sea with the addition of some anti-air to help protect their fleet from the land then I think what we're looking at is a USMC style Falkland operation in reverse.
Yeah its a bit of a stretch but I'm trying to wrap my head around what HQMC is selling. The Falklands conflict is the best that I've come up with in the modern era.
Anyway check out the interview. I love this dude. Good people. Hope you enjoy it too.
This guy is a pure dee stud and if the Marine Corps was smart they'd send a strike team to scoop him up and haul him back to Quantico to consult on their future concepts.
Just kidding, I'm sure if they simply asked he'd be willing.
Why do I think so? Because I've been trying to get a flavor of the new Marine Corps operating concept and in doing the research I keep zooming back to the Brit Forces operating in the Falklands as the best, modern day example of what the Marine Corps is trying to accomplish.
Operating fast jets off alternative platforms? Sharkey and his boys were doing it. Operating off austere bases (that had been bombed out)? Sharkey and his boys did it.
The land actions are a miss (at least as I can tell) from what the Brits did, but if they had incorporated anti-ship missiles to support their fleet at sea with the addition of some anti-air to help protect their fleet from the land then I think what we're looking at is a USMC style Falkland operation in reverse.
Yeah its a bit of a stretch but I'm trying to wrap my head around what HQMC is selling. The Falklands conflict is the best that I've come up with in the modern era.
Anyway check out the interview. I love this dude. Good people. Hope you enjoy it too.
Royal Navy Wildcat HMA Mk2 tests new missile
Article here.
Hmm. The real life example looks much better than the concept drawings. Is this the Royal Navy's solution to small boat swarms? Don't see them being effective against larger ships with CIWS. Interesting. I always thought that this solution was the way forward instead of building an ENTIRE CLASS of ship (hello LCS) to handle that mission. To be quite honest I always wondered why Riverines didn't adopt the anti-swarm ship role.
Hmm. The real life example looks much better than the concept drawings. Is this the Royal Navy's solution to small boat swarms? Don't see them being effective against larger ships with CIWS. Interesting. I always thought that this solution was the way forward instead of building an ENTIRE CLASS of ship (hello LCS) to handle that mission. To be quite honest I always wondered why Riverines didn't adopt the anti-swarm ship role.
Coronavirus didn't zap me. My response/the medical communities to the virus did...
A little useless information about me. I suffer from bad sinuses. The resulting sinusitis knocks me on my ass more often than I like to admit.
Usually I keep things under control with medication but this time things went sideways. The VA had this telemedicine thing going on and it got whacky. Notified my primary care of what was going on and the first thing was that ok, it sounds like you MIGHT have covid-19 so go to the local emergency room.
The doctor there not knowing of my medical past and apparently NOT listening to me tell him that this is an ongoing condition seemingly followed the book instead of what I was telling him.
In short I got a standard fare of antibiotics and since I felt better I kept it moving.
No big deal.
A week later I'm at work, dealing with the barbarians and I get this savage, banging on my head like a cherokee drum headache from hell.
Headache doesn't describe it. I broke out in a cold sweat (never experienced that before...weird), felt flush as hell, could barely keep my eyes open and I told my shift sgt that I had to break camp.
Just couldn't make it thru the rest of the day.
I diddy bop over to the ER and they tell me it could be migraines, it could be sinuses or it could even possibly be covid. At this point I'm trying to contain myself.
I tell the good doctor that we just got tested for covid at work earlier that morning. The Sheriff's Dept is full speed ahead on keeping the force "safe". Plus we get temps checked before we go in so I seriously doubt it covid. As for the rest I just don't know.
So this bubba tells me he's gonna give me some stuff for the pain (two shots...don't remember what but they worked ... FOR AWHILE!) and to see my primary for a catscan.
Ok. So far so good. I can get this solved and be back at work for the weekend (its my long weekend...Fri-Sun 3am till 3pm). Cool Cool.
I head back over to the VA and I get the cat scan and x-ray. The techs look at me like I have cancer and tell me I hope you feel better.
Yeah this story is dragging on but bear with me.
Finally my primary care calls and tells me I have SEVERE SINUSITIS that's showing up as a cloud on the right hemisphere of my head.
Ok. It's not death. Doesn't feel like death, but its' downright unpleasant. How do we fix this?
Super charged antibiotics. Is that all? Yep. You should feel better soon.
I start the regimen and Sunday morning I'm still blasted. Head still pounding. Its been a week of this thing with minor letup here and there and nothing is working.
I go to urgent care and they tell me I need a steroid to knock this down. I'm getting happy. Hoping for some Tren but will settle for Dianabol. Nope. This is an anti-inflammatory doodad plus another shot for pain.
So they hit me with the happy juice in my arm and in my ass and I'm on my way.
Sunday afternoon I get the best sleep I've had in a week.
Long story short?
Coronavirus didn't zap me. But my response, the medical communities response to this thing did.
And on balance my issues were minor. What about my fellow citizen that is facing much more severe health problems?
I don't have the answer but I do believe we're screwing this up. We've unbalanced things and I fear that good folks are gonna suffer from this thing. Not speaking of myself but for those other people that are going thru so much more.
Mon Funny. Wearing a mask from a Marine's point of view...
As a guy who’s had grown-ass sweaty men scream in his face for wearing a hat inside, being required to wear a face mask at Trader Joe’s really isn’t a big deal pic.twitter.com/MSDYjIBfm2— Maximilian Uriarte (@TLCplMax) May 24, 2020
This is really no big deal. I can get agitating about what is and isn't considered an essential business (gyms closed but liquor stores open??? churches closed but abortion clinics open???) but wearing a mask is some real low hanging fruit and IN MY OPINION pretty weak shit to get pissed about.
What do you think? This is an issue cause whether we want to admit it, phase 2 of this thing is gonna hit. My advice? Stock up on essentials now (assuming you haven't). Make note of what is and isn't in your stockpile and adjust accordingly.
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