3rd Reconnaissance Battalion

A U.S. Marine Corps paratrooper with the 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion glides over the island of Palawan during training as a part of Exercise Balikatan 2012 April 24, 2012 in Puerto Princesa, Palawan, Philippines. Balikatan is an annual bilateral training exercise designed to increase interoperability between the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the U.S. military when responding to future natural disasters. (DoD photo by Staff Sgt. Lyndel Johnson, U.S. Marine Corps/Released)

Dynamic Views.

Just a reminder that you can have SNAFU! your way.  On the bar at the top of  the page is a Dynamic Views button.  See this blog the way that you like best.  Its your choice.

Check it out.

5.11 B.E.A.S.T. F-450 Super Duty

Hmmm.

Not as cool as the MagPul UniMog but cool none the less.  I guess this is the new trend for gear makers/fire arms manufacturers...I'll be looking for the S&W Jeep.

When I find more/better pics I'll post them asap.

The Dark Knight Rises - Official Trailer

I'm NOT feeling the "aster" with this film...something seems off.

F-22 pilots ask to be reassigned. Kinda says it all don't it?

via Alert5 from PilotOnline.

Despite those precautions, the head of the service's Air Combat Command said a "very small number" of pilots have decided they're not comfortable flying the Raptor.
Gen. Mike Hostage didn't provide specific numbers during a media briefing Monday. He said he wouldn't force a pilot to fly a plane against his or her will - but he also made clear that person wouldn't "get a free pass to go do something else."

Disgraceful!

Read the whole article...its generally a fluff piece with this juicy nugget hid away, but the implications are obvious and stunning.

The USAF's premier fighter is killing its pilots, they don't have a solution and although he won't force pilots to fly against their will, they won't get a free pass to do something else!

Another case of leadership failure.

This is a sad time in US Military History.  

Luckily for the USAF, the F-35 is coming.  From the looks of things it can't come soon enough.

Type 45 destroyer HMS Diamond fires her first Sea Viper.

Pictures: LA(Phot) Ben Sutton, FRPU North

 via Royal Navy News

I don't know if I agree with their operational theory of letting destroyers command air elements but I can't deny that's a beautiful ship.

Sidenote:
Check out the first pic.  That's some aggressive maneuvering!

Commandant tries to tighten the reins.

First.

This from Battle Rattle...

The Marine Corps’ top general wants an end to the monkey business that, since the start of 2012, has cast a steady, unflattering light on an institution defined in no small part by the pride it exhibits in being a disciplined, moral fighting force.
“We are allowing our standards to erode,” Gen. Jim Amos, the service’s 35th commandant, laments in an internal memo distributed to all of his generals, commanding officers and sergeants major. Known as a White Letter, the sharply worded missive comes in response to “a number of recent widely publicized incidents” involving Marines misbehaving abroad.
Complacent leadership bears some of the blame, he says.

Second.

Check out this video.



Last.

Check out the Commandants words as reported by Battle Rattle again...

The Marine Corps’ top general wants an end to the monkey business that, since the start of 2012, has cast a steady, unflattering light on an institution defined in no small part by the pride it exhibits in being a disciplined, moral fighting force.

Long story short.

Its the Commandant's fault.

I bitched and shouted that the above video was foolish, I stated that it was nonsense and should not be allowed.  I wondered where this guys First Sgt, SgtMajor, or Commanding Officer was on this.

I was ignored.

But its a commonly understood that if you let little things slide they'll turn into big things.  Thats what the video represented...the beginning of the stupidity that struck the Marine Corps like a thief in the night.  The videos that appeared on the internet showing Marines in all kinds of compromising positions all can be traced back to the laxity that started with the flood of vids that had Marines asking celebrities out on dates.

And you know what?

HQMC cheered it on.  I even saw a Marine Spokesman basically endorse it.

That's the root cause of all this.  And if you had experience on the ground side then you would realize that laxity leads to discipline problems.

But on a side note I'm glad to see that the retired Marine Generals have finally spoken up.  This has the General's Club written all over it.

This is too little too late.  I don't think General Amos' tenure as Commandant will be looked on as great days for the Marine Corps.

24th MEU. African Lion Pics.

Photo by Lance Cpl. Tucker Wolf

Marines with Bravo Company, Battalion Landing Team, 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit and soldiers of the Royal Moroccan Army, perform dry fire rehearsal in preparation for the final exercise of African Lion 12, April 14, 2012. African Lion 12 is a joint and bi-lateral exercise between the Kingdom of Morocco and the United States that will involve more than 2,000 U.S. service members and approximately 900 members of the Royal Moroccan Armed Forces. The 24th MEU, partnered with the Navy's Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group, is deploying to the European and Central Command theaters of operation to serve as a theater reserve and crisis response force capable of a variety of missions from full-scale combat operations to humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.

Lance Cpl. Seth Jarboe, a 24-year-old Castle Rock, Colo., native, and rifleman with Bravo Company, Battalion Landing Team, 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit provides security as a CH-53 Super Stallion lands during rehearsals in preparation for the final exercise of African Lion 12, April 14, 2012. African Lion 12 was a joint and bi-lateral exercise between the Kingdom of Morocco and the United States that involved more than 2,000 U.S. service members and approximately 900 members of the Royal Moroccan Armed Forces. African Lion 12 was the first major exercise the 24th MEU participated in after deploying in March on a regularly scheduled eight month deployment with the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group.

Marines with Bravo Company, Battalion Landing Team, 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit and soldiers of the Royal Moroccan Army, perform dry fire rehearsal in preparation for the final exercise of African Lion 12, April 14, 2012. African Lion 12 is a joint and bi-lateral exercise between the Kingdom of Morocco and the United States that will involve more than 2,000 U.S. service members and approximately 900 members of the Royal Moroccan Armed Forces. The 24th MEU, partnered with the Navy's Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group, is deploying to the European and Central Command theaters of operation to serve as a theater reserve and crisis response force capable of a variety of missions from full-scale combat operations to humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.

Lance Cpl. Seth Jarboe, a 24-year-old Castle Rock, Colo., native, and rifleman with Bravo Company, Battalion Landing Team, 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit provides security as a CH-53 Super Stallion lands during rehearsals in preparation for the final exercise of African Lion 12, April 14, 2012. African Lion 12 was a joint and bi-lateral exercise between the Kingdom of Morocco and the United States that involved more than 2,000 U.S. service members and approximately 900 members of the Royal Moroccan Armed Forces. African Lion 12 was the first major exercise the 24th MEU participated in after deploying in March on a regularly scheduled eight month deployment with the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group.