SEALs in the mist.

Damn.  All these guys (except for the dog handler) looked yoked up.  Strength training must be a new priority for this group.

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (July. 21, 2012) Navy SEALs conduct a capabilities exercise at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story during the 43rd annual Underwater Demolition Team (UDT)-Sea, Air and Land (SEAL) East Coast Reunion. The annual reunion started in 1969 and has expanded into a weekend of events, contests, and a SEAL capabilities exercise. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class William S. Parker/Released) 120721-N-AT856-131

CHC...a para-military, quasi governmental helicopter force.

 

CHC is a company that we all need to keep an eye on.  Right now the main focus of their work is in the oil/gas transport and SAR/Medivac role but to this guy looking into a murky future, I can see that role expanding to monitoring missions around the North Pole as well as conducting soveriengty missions.  Click here for more info.

International F-35 Fleet Begins Build Up at Eglin Air Force Base

ZM135, a British F-35B and the first international Lockheed Martin Lightning II, takes off from Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base on July 23, 2012, en route for Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. The U.K. officially took ownership of ZM135 (formerly known as 'BK-1') at a ceremony in Fort Worth on July 19, 2012. The jet will be used for operational testing and evaluation

Law Enforcement Battalions.

Marine Law Enforcement Battalions.

I've been watching this issue in the Marine Corps since early May.  I watched the renaming ceremony.  I peeped at them running ranges at 29 Palms.

And even though everyone (and I do mean everyone) is filling my inbox with news of this, I'm unimpressed.

A Marine hates to give the Army credit for anything but they do Battlefield Military Police work a million times better than the Corps ever could.  What the Marine Corps is trying to invent, the Army already has in spades.

Quite honestly the Marine Corps would be better served by disbanding Military Police (they use civilian police on base now) and using the boatspaces for an additional Infantry Battalion or two.  The story on this is here..but a tidbit.

The Corps activated three such battalions last month. Each is made up of roughly 500 military police officers and dozens of dogs. The Marine Corps has had police battalions off and on since World War II but they were primarily focused on providing security, such as accompanying fuel convoys or guarding generals on visits to dangerous areas, said Maj. Jan Durham, commander of the 1st Law Enforcement Battalion at Camp Pendleton.

The idea behind the law enforcement battalions is to consolidate the military police and capitalize on their investigative skills and police training, he said. The new additions come as every branch in the military is trying to show its flexibility and resourcefulness amid defense cuts.

Marine Corps Style MMA

Staff Sgt. Christopher B. Milam, Martial Arts Instructor Course instructor, Bravo Company, Combat Logistics Battalion 4, 1st Marine Logistics Group (Forward) grapples with a student here, July 14, during the final conditioning session. The grappling station was one of the many workout stations the students had to rotate through during the session.
(U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Mark Stroud)

Haley goes hardcore.

via Kitup.  Make sure you read it all...just a tidbit.

Fact:
The Second Amendment does not grant us this right. This right already existed. The Second Amendment merely prevents the government from infringing on it.

Fact:

There is a Scumbag criminal out there right now about to break into someones home in the middle of the night and hurt or kill someone. If you take away the Second Amendment then… the scumbag is still going to break into someones home in the middle of the night and hurt or kill someone.

Fact:
I can have my neighbors call 911 and tell dispatch: “A man just shot and killed everyone in my neighbors house and ran out the front door” or I can call 911 and tell dispatch: “A man just broke into my house and presented a lethal threat to my family and I killed him as he came through my front door.”

Fact:
When a gun is sitting on a table it is only a gun sitting on a table… When a killer picks it up, it’s only a tool that the killer picks up. When the killer shoots an innocent with the tool everyone forgets about the killer and blames the tool.

Great stuff.

15th MEU. Amphibious Assault Vehicle water gunnery

Photos by Cpl. John Robbart III

Assault Amphibious Vehicle Platoon prepares for their training off San Clemente Island, July 20. The AAV platoon practiced water gunnery, an advanced level of AAV gunnery, in preparation for the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit's upcoming deployment. The training was part of Composite Training Unit Exercise, the second at-sea period the 15th MEU and Peleliu Amphibious Ready Group have conducted since the MEU formed a Marine Air Ground Task Force in February. The training will prepare the two units to function as a blue-green team, capable of conducting a wide-variety of worldwide missions ranging from humanitarian aid to combat.

An Assault Amphibious Vehicle with AAV platoon, India Company, Battalion Landing Team 3/5, 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, prepares to suppress targets on San Clemente Island, July 20. The AAV platoon practiced water gunnery, an advanced level of AAV gunnery, in preparation for the 15th MEU's upcoming deployment. The training was part of Composite Training Unit Exercise, the second at-sea period the 15th MEU and Peleliu Amphibious Ready Group have conducted since the MEU formed a Marine Air Ground Task Force in February. The training will prepare the two units to function as a blue-green team, capable of conducting a wide-variety of worldwide missions ranging from humanitarian aid to combat.

An Assault Amphibious Vehicle with AAV platoon, India Company, Battalion Landing Team 3/5, 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, suppresses targets on San Clemente Island, July 20. The AAV platoon practiced water gunnery, an advanced level of AAV gunnery, in preparation for the 15th MEU's upcoming deployment. The training was part of Composite Training Unit Exercise, the second at-sea period the 15th MEU and Peleliu Amphibious Ready Group have conducted since the MEU formed a Marine Air Ground Task Force in February. The training will prepare the two units to function as a blue-green team, capable of conducting a wide-variety of worldwide missions ranging from humanitarian aid to combat.

Tiger Balm 2012 Overview