Raw Intel

Since the news broke, there have been a number of people working to use the sad news to try to reach out to troops/veterans that were at risk, as well as to educate about depression, stigma, and related issues. I could rant about ignorant posts and posters, but I'd rather focus on what's important: reaching out to those at risk, because if even one stops and thinks, and chooses not to follow... The new social media manager for Mission: VALOR, Army veteran Jennifer Wilkins Perminas, sent me a post yesterday that she wasn't satisfied with. I thought it bloody marvelous, and said so. Here's a small taste: His death brings me to a larger epidemic that I believe we need to dis…

Well ... I think it is more of a Syrian colloquialism. When on the receiving end of a MIG-29's 30-mm gun. View the full article

OK all you history buffs, all you former and active Harpoon players - all those who love their Navy and a good video game at the same time. Think about what, in even a modest manner, you would like to see for the official US Navy's first mobile gaming product. Let that warm and excited feeling soak in for a bit. Now, brace yourselves and head on over to my post at USNIBlog for the details. Gird your loins. As a side note, if you read this blog and are not also a member of the US Naval Institute, you should really consider joining. Look on the right side of the page for the widget, give it a click and find a few shekels. View the full article

Prototype No. 2011 of the J-20 project had its maiden flight last weekend. As previously discussed, No. 2011 has significant changes to the previous J-20 prototypes that we've seen in flight testing (No. 2001 and No. 2002). There were probably 2 more prototypes similar to 2001/2002 for the purpose of static and RCS testing. It seems like 2001/2002 are more like the demonstrator prototypes whereas 2011 is the first pre-production prototype. It's likely that the production version of J-20 will not see any major differences unless major problems are found in testing. The pictures below show prototype 2001 vs prototype 2011 from different view point with Chinese labels o…

The most frustrating thing about watching events unfold in the Ukraine is the realization that the United States apparently learned nothing from the Russian invasion of Georgia in 2008. If you recall the invasion of Georgia in 2008 by Russia, you will also recall it took place right in the middle of an American election. It would appear that timing favored Russia, because lessons were apparently not learned, indeed there is scant evidence the issue was truly studied. Today, in nearly every avenue of action, tactical options are being discussed on how to 'react' to Russia's occupation of Crimea. For the last 5+ years, time has been lost that could have been used develo…

Man I miss this guy. When I was in the Army and people asked me what I do, I used to say "I work for Ronald Reagan". He was glinting in the sun today and so I risked the ire of the airport cops to stand in the road and take this shot. He led from the front, and along with the Iron Lady and John Paul II stared down and shut down the Soviets, We could use some of that today. View the full article

Not really wading into the debate on the 2nd Amendment (let's keep it), but going after some of the morons who think they have the moral authority and bright ideas to change it/eliminate it. Take this supposedly retired LTC, Bob Bateman, writing in Esquire about how true gun control might be brought about... For starters, this retired LTC living in England is embarrassed by our country when among the Brits. There's plenty to be embarrassed about - first, I'd start apologizing to Her Majesty for Bruno Mars, the POTUS, and what we did with plaid in the 70s. But they owe us because that bumbling idiot, Piers Morgan, lives here. Anyway, I digress...you should read the Esquire…

I don't know more than anyone else here, but I think that some are getting a little too excited over what happened with the USS CHANCELLORSVILLE (CG-62). Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar; a training incident is a training incident. Most you need to know will come out in the investigation - but for those who need a refresher; An aerial target drone malfunctioned and struck guided missile cruiser USS Chancellorsville (CG 62) off the coast of Southern California at approximately 1:25 pm local time today, Nov. 16, while the ship was conducting a radar tracking exercise during routine training at sea. Our friend Galrahn over at ID really got a bone in his teeth on the inc…

How much faster would it be, and how much more range would it have. That was my first thought; what is your first tactical application? BM1 have some thoughts? View the full article

This is the official press release by the US Navy. PACIFIC OCEAN (NNS) -- An aerial target drone malfunctioned and struck guided missile cruiser USS Chancellorsville (CG 62) off the coast of Southern California at approximately 1:25 pm local time today, Nov. 16, while the ship was conducting a radar tracking exercise during routine training at sea. No Sailors were seriously injured, but two Sailors were treated for minor burns. The ship remains capable of operations, however it did sustain some damage and will return to its homeport of San Diego to have the damage assessed. The Navy is investigating the cause of the malfunction.That is very vague, so what if we add a bit…

The fact that operating fixed wing aircraft has a long and bloody learning curve is no news to readers here - but this stuff coming out of Chinese state media is interesting. Via our friend Wendell Minnick over at DefenseNews; In an unusual departure for mainland Chinese-language media, the Beijing-based Sina Military Network (SMN) criticized the capabilities of the carrier-borne J-15 Flying Shark as nothing more than a “flopping fish.†... What sounded more like a rant than analysis, SMN, on Sept. 23, reported the new J-15 was incapable of flying from the Liaoning with heavy weapons, “effectively crippling its attack range and firepower.†The fighter can take…

U.S. sailors lift a missile on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility, Aug. 31, 2013. The sailors, ordnancemen, are assigned to Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 323. U.S. Navy photo by Seaman Apprentice Kelly M. Agee View the full article

Our buddy Galrahn tweeted yesterday, For the fifth time in a week, a very serious defense person described Hagel to me in private as "an idiot" or "stupid." That is chilling. — Raymond Pritchett (@Galrahn) August 22, 2013 Not the first time I have heard that, but the guy was elected to quite a few offices. So, who am I to judge his IQ - though there are lots of brilliant idiots out there and very smart people who don't know squat about what they should - or know a lot of what is just wrong. SECDEF Hagel was hired for one reason; to preside over the more rapid decline of the US military so that the next President doesn't have enough to really do anything overseas - a…

Haven't tried the game, but the trailer is awesome: Haven View the full article

Are you reading Norman Polmar's posts over at navyhistory.org blog? Well shame on you if you aren't classics like this; After dozens of letters and many hundreds of manuscript pages exchanged between us, we finally met in March 1969 when Genda visited the United States. He was invited to the United States in part to participate in the Naval Institute’s distinguished visitor program. (I had been assistant editor of the Naval Institute Proceedings from 1963 to 1967.) During his visit Genda spoke at the Naval Academy to an audience of Naval Academy midshipmen and faculty, and area USNI members. When asked if the Japanese had possessed the atomic bomb, did he …

Click on this link (right click, save as) to see the actual signed memorandum by SecDef Hagel. Here is the text. Statement by Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel on the Distinguished Warfare Medal The Department of Defense announced on Feb. 13 the establishment of the Distinguished Warfare Medal to recognize the achievements of a small number of service men and women who have an especially direct and immediate impact on combat operations through the use of remotely piloted aircraft and cyber operations. I agree with my predecessor Leon Panetta that such recognition is justly warranted for these men and women and thank him for raising the level of awarenes…

It is all still here - and we're on a Russia kick today. On top of that ... it is the details, details that I like. Wearing a tie, and an ill-fitting one at that, on the bridge. Old school CRTs. Paper and crayons. What looks like very unsanitary Bakelite handsets ... but besides that ... they do have some nice lines those Russian ships. View the full article

Hey ... via the latest issue of Proceedings, this should ring a bell on the Front Porch; The Littoral Combat Ship is overpriced and underperforming, yet the Navy continues to support it. It’s time to abandon the LCS and replace it with a comparable vessel that costs the same, but is far more capable. There are several great candidates in other navies, but one we might consider is the Danish-built Iver Huitfeldt –class frigate. Welcome aboard for Plan Salamander since ~ 2005, though we have often offered up from the Swedish VISBY, Norwegian NANSEN, Dutch SEVEN PROVINCES, or the other Danish ship ABSALON - anything but the Little Crappy Ship ... but IVER HUITFELT i…

He copped to some of the charges against him. FORT MEADE, Md. – A military judge on Thursday accepted guilty pleas by Army Pfc. Bradley Manning to 10 lesser charges against him, leaving the ex-intelligence analyst to face 12 other counts for allegedly leaking hundreds of thousands of government documents to the WikiLeaks website. The acceptance of the "naked guilty pleas" -- meaning there is no agreement between the government and the defense that would limit the sentence – at a pre-trial hearing means that Manning faces up to 20 years in prison, even if he is ultimately acquitted of the most-serious charges against him. Col. Denise Lind, the military judge…

I've been in a grumpy, snarky mood all week - why stop now? I always thought that San Francisco was a bad place for Starfleet Headquarters - so Brussels is not bad by comparison. Look. NATO Headquarters Brussels. When Anders Fogh Rasmussen drives to his office in the Schaerbeek neighborhood of Brussels in the morning, he gazes longingly at a large construction site across the street. The site, where construction cranes jut into the sky, will eventually be the home of the new, 250,000-square-meter (2.7-million-square-foot) NATO headquarters. Price tag: more than a billion euros. In 28FEB13 Dollars - that comes to over $1.31 billion. That is a lot for an organization …