The real argument against women in the Infantry.

BlackFive has a post up defending the decision to allow women to attend Ranger School.  A commenter named Grim has made the most fact based case against it....

Grim said...

A better argument: women are structurally at least four times as likely to be seriously injured in this kind of intense physical training, and possibly -- if the British army's experience is telling -- as much as eight times as likely.
This leaves three options for implementation, all of them bad.
1) Hold the line. Qualified women attend at full speed. Through no fault of their own, but simply due to the physics of body construction, we lose some of the best female soldiers in the Army to career-ending injuries; and/or we lose years of their careers to recuperation. This attains the stated end -- women who survive and get the tab will be due much respect -- but at a very high cost to the force, and the country.
2) Make another line. Men continue to attend at full speed. A second track for women, with a lighter physical load, is developed. Women with Ranger tabs end up the butt of jokes instead of getting the intended respect, because everybody knows they got the tab for less effort. This fails to attain the stated purpose of the reform, as the Ranger tab won't get the women any respect. This also severely damages the Ranger ethos, by making some Rangers more equal than others. A two-track elite is not an elite; only the top of the two tracks is the elite.
3) Abandon the line. Move the physical standards back to levels women can complete without sustaining the kinds of disabling injuries associated with the current physical fitness standards. This fails to attain the stated end, and actually achieves what Killcullen is worried about: it destroys the ethos associated with the Rangers.

And that's the real issue.

If women are allowed to serve in the Infantry...or go to Ranger School then you're going to have to lower the standards.  There is no if's and's or but's about it.

If you don't lower the standards then you're going to lose some outstanding individuals that could have served admirably in another career field.

If you make it a two track system where standards for women are different from men then you have just solidified them as second class warriors.

Men had to do more and be better to get to the same place.

THIS SOCIAL EXPERIMENT GOES AGAINST THE VERY FIBER OF THE MARINE CORPS AND ARMY.

This will end badly and the same feminist that are pushing this idea would never allow their own daughters to go through the training.  The same men that are so OPEN MINDED and don't care are the same men that would cringe at the thought of a woman they love going through this training.

Guys who are so behind this idea are either full of shit, lying to themselves or being politically correct.  Probably all three.

Australian Tiger. Wallpaper worthy.

The Siege. DVD movie of the week.

Your DVD movie of the week is "The Siege"...Watch it and think....what if we had a couple of active terrorist cells operating along the East coast corridor from Virginia up to Boston and over to New York City.

First custom gear, now custom weapons?

U.S. Army National Guard Sgt. 1st Class Michael Nelson, a Security Force member of Provincial Reconstruction Team Farah, provides security during a key leader engagement in Cin Farsi Village, Farah province, Afghanistan, June 9. SECFOR is made up of National Guard infantrymen out of Alaska who are responsible for ensuring the safety of everyone assigned to PRT Farah.

Wow.


Steve at the Firearms Blog caught this and it has me saying what the fuck!


Thats an ADCOR 10.5 inch upper on that soldiers weapon!  Gucci gear but is it authorized?  Is it effective at the distances required?  If it isn't then is this soldier risking the lives of his fellow troopers by not being able to provide adequate fire support?


The rapid fielding initiative has gotten out of hand.  Super expensive gear that doesn't work any better than the standard issue is being handed out like candy and no one is calling bullshit on it.  If this is an unauthorized weapon then the Army has much bigger worries on its hands than implementing DADT and getting women into combat.


If an unauthorized weapon is being used then the Army is fucked up from the floor up.  This IS BASIC SHIT!

Steroid mad thugs.

A short story about Syria's death squads.

via the Mirror.

“They used to smuggle weapons and drugs but now they are butchers,” said Michael Weiss, a Syria expert at the UK-based Henry Jackson Society. In return for letting them operate above the law, the Shabiha act as Assad’s enforcers. They murder opponents and terrorise Syrians into obedience. The Ghosts are fanatical followers of the Muslim Alawite sect which rules the country and have been brainwashed into thinking the Sunni majority are enemies.
Now the Shabiha, who can be seen in action in videos, are being told they are fighting for their lives as they will face revenge if the regime is overthrown. A source said: “Their mission is to terrorise the civilian population and conduct ethnic cleansing.”
They have been blamed for the murders of 108 civilians – including 49 children – in Houla a fortnight ago. The Shabiha are then reported to have shot dead 12 workers in Qusayr before 78 villagers were slaughtered in Qubair last week.
Dr Mousab Azzawi, who runs the Syrian Network for Human Rights from London but had treated some of the Shabiha in Latakia, said recently: “They were like monsters. They had huge muscles, and big bellies and beards.
“They were very tall and frightening and took steroids to pump up their bodies. I had to talk to them like children as the Shabiha likes people with low intelligence. That is what makes them so terrifying — the combination of strength and blind allegiance to the regime.”

Read the whole thing....I still don't think we should get involved but this will get nasty. nastier.

USNI blog news. Haynie got slapped down...again.

You have got to go to the comments section at USNI Blog.  

Haynie is on a feminist jihad cleverly disguised as a desire to improve conditions for all Marines.  UltimateRatioReg dismantles her argument, turns around and body slams the morons that attempt to come to her rescue---- its a sight to behold.  Oh and she gets prickly too.  I can almost hear the tears!

11th MEU. Is this rifle standard issue or Recon specific?

PACIFIC OCEAN (June 9, 2012) Sgt. Brenden Grace, assigned to the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit (11th MEU), demonstrates to Lt. j.g. Stephen Logan how to properly handle an M4 rifle on the aircraft elevator of the amphibious assault ship USS Makin Island (LHD 8) during weapons familiarization training. Makin Island and embarked Marines assigned to the 11th MEU are deployed to the U.S. 7th Fleet Area of operations. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Dominique Pineiro/Released)

The caption isn't specific but is the good Sgt with the Raid Force or line units?  If he's with Raid, read that to mean Recon which wouldn't make the rifle and its accessories unique.  If he's in one of the line units then wow.  Silencers have been talked about but to my knowledge, no one has acted on it for conventionals...new holsters yes, Vickers slings yes, nsn numbers for unit purchases of automatic or custom knives yes...but for this potentially revolutionary tool for conventional units...no.

On a sidenote I am still amazed that the US Army and Marine Corps are calling a carbine a rifle and complaining because they're not getting the performance of a rifle in that smaller package.  Additionally with all the stuff being put on these carbines they're now as heavy as a full size rifle.  You add a can to them and you have the length of a rifle too.  Like I said.  Amazing.

Tornado GR4 with Storm Shadow Cruise Missiles.