HG S2 (Intel Bot)

It never fails that in or around Veteran’s Day, someone decides to show the world what a total jackass they are. And this year doesn’t disappoint. Meet Sufolk University law professor Michael Avery. Professor Avery is a member of the law school staff. He’s a Harvard grad who also studied at Moscow University from ‘68 to ‘69 (and that tells you volumes). He once gave a talk in Cuba (with Fidel Castro in attendance) entitled "The Hypocrisy of US Policy Towards Terrorism." Another member of the law school staff sent an email around asking for support for deployed troops (including a law student from the school who is deployed) to include pretty basic stuff like “beef jerky, instant coffee, trail mix, etc†Now if you don’t want to participate in something like that for whatever reason, what do you normally do? That’s right, you simply ignore the email. It’s a free country. Leave others to do their thing while you do yours. Instead, our jackwagon decides he has to say something about the effort. “I think it is shameful that it is perceived as legitimate to solicit in an academic institution for support for men and women who have gone overseas to kill other human beings. I understand that there is a residual sympathy for service members, perhaps engendered by support for troops in World War II, or perhaps from when there was a draft and people with few resources to resist were involuntarily sent to battle. That sympathy is not particularly rational in today’s world, however. The United States may well be the most war prone country in the history of civilization. We have been at war two years out of three since the Cold War ended. We have 700 overseas military bases. What other country has any? In the last ten years we have squandered hundreds of billions of dollars in unnecessary foreign invasions. Those are dollars that could have been used for people who are losing their homes due to the economic collapse, for education, to repair our infrastructure, or for any of a thousand better purposes than making war. And of course those hundreds of billions of dollars have gone for death and destruction. Perhaps some of my colleagues will consider this to be an inappropriate political statement. But of course the solicitation email was a political statement, although cast as support for student activities. The politics of that solicitation are that war is legitimate, perhaps inevitable, and that patriotic Americans should get behind our troops. We need to be more mindful of what message we are sending as a school. Since Sept. 11 we have had perhaps the largest flag in New England hanging in our atrium. This is not a politically neutral act. Excessive patriotic zeal is a hallmark of national security states. It permits, indeed encourages, excesses in the name of national security, as we saw during the Bush administration, and which continue during the Obama administration. Why do we continue to have this oversized flag in our lobby? Why are we sending support to the military instead of Americans who are losing their homes, malnourished, unable to get necessary medical care, and suffering from other consequences of poverty? As a university community, we should debate these questions, not remain on automatic pilot in support of the war agenda. [all emphasis added]“ Shameful? It is shameful to support troops who’ve responded to an attack on our country and have given their lives to ensure those who planned the attack, executed it and then were given safe harbor by others were destroyed? One of the things the Ivory Tower allows, mostly because of rough men who stand guard in the night, is clowns like this can live in an alternate reality. And that alternate reality spawns stupidity that voices itself in email’s like Avery’s. He’s one of those who would be sure to be a first in the crowd to yell “war is not the answer†without realizing or really caring that war has indeed been the answer that has safeguarded our freedom and liberty and freed millions from tyranny and oppression. And the flag? God forbid we show the flag or voice any patriotism or support for those who protect us. No, that’s shameful too. How dare an American school display an American flag and show pride in being … American. Why that’s “excessive political zealâ€. It doesn’t denote pride. It doesn’t denote support. It doesn’t denote identification with certain ideals that make us specifically American. No it is a “political statement†because, well, its just so large. It takes a pretty isolated and insulated existence to make statements like Avery’s. The irony is that such cluelessness is actually founded in freedom in liberty. It is because of those rough men on the wall that Avery has probably never worried a day in his life about the existential threats those men guard against and, yes, kill, to afford him the opportunity to bloviate at will. And his defense, of course, would probably be he’s just exercising his free speech. Again, ironically, those that protect him without his thanks or the good grace to acknowledge what they do for him daily, will nod their head and tell him to have at it. Because they protect even the clueless and ungrateful. They understand that the freedom of speech they guarantee with their lives means even the most misinformed and obviously cosseted members among us have a right to spew their nonsense. And Avery has exercised that right. He now gets the other side of that right – others exercising their right to free speech and telling him what a ungrateful jackass he is. So, please, join me in exercising your right to free speech and remind the good professor how rights are guaranteed and how they work. View the full article

An interesting discussion going on at AskReddit about the comparisons.... Let's say we go back in time with a Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), since the numbers of members and equipment is listed for our convenience in this Wikipedia article , could we destroy all 30 of Augustus' legions? We'd be up against nearly 330,000 men since each legion was comprised of 11,000 men. These men are typically equipped with limb and torso armor made of metal, and for weaponry they carry swords, spears, bows and other stabbing implements. We'd also encounter siege weapons like catapults and crude incendiary weapons. We'd be made up of about 2000 members, of which about half would be participating in ground attack operations. We can use our four Abrams M1A1 tanks, our artillery and mechanized vehicles (60 Humvees, 16 armored vehicles, etc), but we cannot use our attack air support, only our transport aircraft. We also have medics with us, modern medical equipment and drugs, and engineers, but we no longer have a magical time-traveling supply line (we did have but the timelords frowned upon it, sadly!) that provides us with all the ammunition, equipment and sustenance we need to survive. We'll have to succeed with the stuff we brought with us. So, will we be victorious? I really hope so because I really dislike Octavian and his horrible family. Getting Atia will be a bonus. I think running out of ammo would be the most significant problem. How would the MEU fight a Legion on it's own terms? What about diseases from that era and diseases we bring forward? Food? We'd have to take on the Legion's own methodology of growing and raising our own food supply. I think militarilary it's a huge win for the MEU in the initial fight, but logistically, they'd be in for a helluva time once the ammo is gone. Actually, now that I think about it, I'd be more worried about the MEU once the coffee runs out... View the full article

CBC News is reporting that the Harper Government is at least pondering the idea of cutting their losses with the Victoria class submarines and replacing them with nuclear submarines. The Victoria class submarines have been plagued with problems since being acquired from the UK, and despite being described as the "military bargain of the century" when purchased for $750 million in 1998, they have become anything but. The submarines are currently all out of service, with HMCS Victoria the soonest to potentially return to service by late next year. The article describes the issues. One of the subs, HMCS Chicoutimi, has been in active service of the Royal Canadian Navy exactly two days in the 13 years since it was purchased from the Brits. The Chicoutimi caught fire on its maiden voyage from the U.K. to Canada, killing one sailor and injuring a number of others. It has been in the repair shop ever since, and isn’t expected back in service for at least another two years and $400 million more in repairs and retrofits. The article goes on: The other three would remain out of service until at least 2013. One may not be out of the repair shop until 2016. By that time, the submarines will have cost taxpayers an estimated $3 billion, almost enough to have bought all new subs in the first place. But the real problem is that by the time the whole fleet is in active service for the first time in 2016, the submarines will already be almost 30 years old with only perhaps 10 years of life left in them. High-ranking sources tell CBC News the government is actively considering cutting its losses on the dud subs, and mothballing some if not all of them. Defence Minister Peter MacKay is hinting they might be replaced with nuclear submarines that could patrol under the Arctic ice, something the existing diesel-electric subs cannot do. I'm not sure how the costs break out over a single budget year, but based on the article it sounds like Canada has already spent $1 billion and will spend $2 billion more by 2016, which suggests costs that average around $500 million over the next 4 years. That's a lot of money just to get 10 years out of four SSKs. If we do the math, basically the Harper government is faced with the very real problem. The repair costs will earn Canada 4 Victoria class SSKs that are already old for an investment cost of at least $75 million annually per submarine, and at the same time India is leasing the significantly more capable and new Russian SSN K-152 Nurpa for $900 million over 10 years - $90 million annually. Something tells me Rep. Joe Courtney (Conn) could come up with a few ideas here - just saying. What would it cost to refuel and refit a Los Angeles class submarine for a second time to add 15 or so more years to the submarine? In 2005 the cost was slightly over $200 million, so even if we estimate the total refit per submarine to be around $350 million (serious modernization), Canada would only be spending $1.4 billion for four SSNs with a service life of 15 years vs $2 billion for four SSKs with a service life of 10 years. Another big advantage for Canada would be they could use the rest of the money to put their sailors through existing US Navy submarine training schools and use existing US contractor services for upkeep, both of which would allow Canada to save a bunch of money. The cost difference for the hardware would be $25 million per sub per year for SSNs vs $75 million per sub per year for SSKs. While it is true the operational, maintenance, and personnel costs will be higher for SSNs than it would be for SSKs, there are likely enough cost savings to be gained through existing US infrastructure that it's hard to believe the SSNs would be so much more expensive as to make it a bad deal. I'm just floating this idea, but really trying to highlight that leasing Los Angeles class SSNs would likely be cost neutral (or perhaps even cost saving) for the Harper government given the big problems Canada is facing with the Victoria class. I don't know if the US Navy even has four 688s that they would be willing to sell to Canada (although in a time of short term budget cuts impacting the Navy, now is the time to talk about this type of thing). I also don't know if the US and Canada can work out a realistic agreement that would give Canada the ability to utilize US Navy infrastructure for training and other services related to 688s. I do know that going down the road of supporting foreign SSNs would be good for either/both Electric Boat and Newport News, because when one looks at the trends they are having in Australia with their submarine industry - a deal with SSNs with Canada now would go a long way towards getting process and framework for this type of high end military deals in place so when our next very close ally comes along - we have a system and experience in place to support such agreements. View the full article

I'm just gonna come out and say that this argument hasn't aged well: Employing a squadron of stealth fifth-generation F-22s along with other select capabilities would help reduce the need to expend significantly more resources while reducing operational risk. Coercive diplomacy backed by naval presence, decisive air power, and accurate weapons in the region would allow the U.S. and others to negate Libyan air defenses and air forces. The world-class capability inherent in the F-22 also bears a psychological-intimidation factor that sends a clear message that no Libyan aircraft will fly without consequences. Simply talking about a no-fly zone should highlight the urgent need to recapitalize the U.S. Air Force with modern aircraft (in addition to upgrades of the legacy fleets). Using fifth-generation F-22 aircraft for a no-fly zone mission would allow the Air Force to operate above the Libyan skies with impunity. An F-22 Raptor does not need to destroy enemy air defenses first, because it is not vulnerable to this threat, unlike some fourth-generation aircraft. I suspect that the four month grounding of the F-22 in the midst of the campaign might have made things... awkward. I wouldn't bother with this (obviously, replacement aircraft could have been found) were it not for the fact that the op-ed was such a bald effort to shill for the institutional interest of the USAF. View the full article

Ummmm, yep. Rex just about nails it. In the main, the establishment American media abandoned its critical faculties during the Obama campaign — and it hasn’t reclaimed them since. Much of the Obama coverage was orchestrated sycophancy. They glided past his pretensions — when did a presidential candidate before “address the world†from the Brandenberg Gate in Berlin? They ignored his arrogance — “You’re likable enough, Hillary.†And they averted their eyes from his every gaffe — such as the admission that he didn’t speak “Austrian.†The media walked right past the decades-long association of Obama with the weird and racist pastor Jeremiah Wright. In the midst of the brief stormlet over the issue, one CNN host — inexplicably — decided that CNN was going to be a “Wright-free zone.†He could have hung out a sign: “No bad news about Obama here.†The media trashed Hillary. They burned Republicans. They ransacked Sarah Palin and her family. But Obama, the cool, the detached, the oracular Obama — he strolled to the presidency. Palin, in particular, stands out as Obama’s opposite in the media’s eyes. As much as they genuflected to the one, they felt the need to turn rottweiler toward the other. If Obama was sacred , classy, intellectual and cosmopolitan, why then Palin must be malevolent, trashy, dumb and pure backwoods-ignorant. Every doubt they hid from themselves about Obama, every potential embarrassment they tucked under the blanket of their superior sensibilities, they furiously over-compensated for by their remorseless hounding of Palin — from utterly trivial e-mails, to blogger Andrew Sullivan’s weird speculations about Palin’s womb, musings that put the Obama “Birther†fantasies into a realm near sanity. (We are now seeing an echo of that — with a new book promoting all sorts of unconfirmed gossip about Palin, including her alleged sexual dalliance with a basketball star.) As a result, the press gave the great American republic an untried, unknown and, it is becoming more and more frighteningly clear, incompetent figure as President. Under Obama, America’s foreign policies are a mixture of confusion and costly impotence. It is increasingly bypassed or derided; the great approach to the Muslim world, symbolized by the Cairo speech, is in tatters. Its debt and deficits are a weight on the entire global economy. And the office of presidency is less and less a symbol of strength. To the degree the press neglected its function as watchdog and turned cupbearer to a Styrofoam demigod, it is a partner in the flaws and failures of what is turning out to be one of the most miserable performances in the modern history of the American presidency. View the full article

Learn and adapt ... learn and adapt. Using attack helicopters from the sea appears to be in vogue, again. The concept appeared dormant, but gained new attention in Europe when the French and U.K. moved to deploy on ships the Tiger and Apache helicopters in support of military operations in Libya. Australia also has plans to deploy its Tiger ARHs from ships. Now Russia is joining the mix. The country's military is conducting trials to clear the Ka-52 for ship-borne operations, with the Northern Fleet using the Vice Adm. Kulakov for at-sea trials. When I saw that pick, my puzzl'r started tingl'n and I said, "Ah, ha! I've seen that concept before!" Indeed I had ... but we took a pass on it. Meet the Sea Apache. I bet the Riverine guys - not to mention the SEALs - would have loved to have such a capability with a NAVY stamp on it over the last decade. I know the "career path management issues" that are so important on active duty would make it problematic - because as we know that is the most important thing - but imagine two-to-four squadrons of these aircraft in a det-rotation cycle at home in the Reserves. You would be beating pilots away with bullwhips to get a billet there. The original proposal still had the 30mm gun, but even with that deleted - not too shabby. Weapons planned for use with the Sea Apache include Harpoon, Stinger, Sidewinder, Sidearm, AMRAAM, Penguin, and Hellfire missiles, as well as 127mm Zuni and 70mm FFAR rockets. The Harpoon, Penguin and He!Ifire missiles wouId be used against large naval targets, the Sidewinder and Stinger in the air-to-air mode, and the 127mm Zuni and 70mm FFAR rockets against smaller water borne targets and ground targets. A variety of missiles/rockets could be carried at the same time giving the Sea Apache the capability of engaging different types of targets on the same mission, making it a very versatile and useful naval aircraft. Performance goals specified for the Sea Apache by the Navy include a 370km mission radius, and a four hour endurance on station. Check out what LMT can do with the 'ole 70mm rocket now days. You want precision strike with minimal collateral damage? Here you go! Oh well - different world with different leaders with different vision. Hat tip Lee. View the full article

Paul made this observation in an email; If this is for real, it makes the Tomcat look petite He's got a good point. Look at the size of the people relative to the aircraft. More importantly; check out that weapons bay. Unlike other internal weapons bays for internal air-to-air missiles - the J-20s is massive. Give it a look. Looks deep. That almost seems less a weapons bay than an old school bomb bay with plenty of room for all sorts of toys. How far back does it go behind that huge access door that is down? Perhaps, because it is a single, vice a folding door like the F-22, it just seems big. But ... the J-20 is a big bird. Are we really looking at what people think we're looking at? Here is the Chinese J-20, Russian Sukhoi T-50, and the USA F-22. The F-22, no small bird, looks nimble by comparison. I don't know about you - but the J-20 looks less like a fighter and more like a penetrating attack aircraft; almost an update of the F-111 concept. Even with allowances for Chinese technology not being as compact as Western technology (which I think is slightly a bogus argument in 2011) - that bird is big for a reason. I don't think air superiority is it. View the full article

In this age of austerity I am an unrepentant and unapologetic supporter of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF). Let's get a few things straight about what that means. It means I think this jet and the program are absolutely critical to our national defense and our continued air dominance. It means we made a very bad mistake cancelling the F-22 program after 182 aircraft (to replace 700-800 aging air superiority fighters) and the JSF is the last and greatest hope for bridging that self-inflicted 5th generation fighter gap and retaining our technological and tactical air edge. Perhaps what it doesn’t mean is important as well. My support requires a well thought out and managed project that maximizes the taxpayers dollars by minimizing waste. But I also understand what “developmental aircraft†means, and thus, as critics zero in on every little hiccup and glitch, I’d point out that’s the purpose of testing the aircraft as it goes from concept to reality. They test to ferret those problems out and fix them before they go into full production. At this time the testing on the JSF is going very well. That said, it was with great pleasure I accepted an invitation from Lockheed Martin to see the JSF’s cockpit demonstrator at its sprawling Marietta complex. It is at that facility that houses the soon to be shut down assembly line for the F-22. But it is also where the center wing fuselage of the F-35 is being built and the place with a state-of-the-art stealth coating facility for the fighter is located. That brings up another critical reason for fully funding and building the F-35. Jobs. These aircraft will provide good paying jobs for hundreds of thousands of Americans in an area that is critical to our national security. We’re not talking about make work projects at tax payer expense, but a true contribution to our national defense. In Marietta alone, the Lockheed Martin plant employs 8,200 Georgians. The JSF employs 1,000 of them and has created 500 additional contractor jobs as well. And that’s one state. Aerospace business is one of our major industrial success stories in an otherwise dismal sector. We rank at the top in the aerospace business in the world, and the JSF will help keep us there. The cockpit demonstration was interesting for a variety of reasons. I won’t go into the details of that because Wendy Stewart did a fabulous job of that in her post here a couple of weeks ago. But, suffice it to say, I got to see all the whiz-bang cool stuff up close and personal. For instance a mockup of the pilot’s helmet. It has the Heads Up Display (HUD) in the visor of the helmet. That means regardless of where the pilot looks, all that critical information is still available to him. More impressive though was the sensor array that gives the pilot 360 degree vision outside the aircraft. He can literally look down at the floor of the aircraft and the infrared sensors located outside the aircraft will create a view of what is below the aircraft. As one of the engineers said, it’s like Wonder Woman’s invisible airplane. The cockpit itself is an amazing array of digital information on a touch screen. I could spend paragraphs trying to describe everything, but as my wife, who accompanied me and is a pilot herself said, it was amazingly uncluttered. Instead of a vast array of gauges, switches, buttons and dials, the pilot configures his touch screen display as he wants it and then calls up any other information he needs when he needs it. Of course we had a couple of politicians on hand as well. Senator Saxby Chambliss of GA and Rep. Phil Gingrey in whose district the Lockheed Martin plant is located. Both are firm supporters of the JSF, as might be expected, but Chambliss also serves on the Senate Armed Services Committee. When questioned by the media about the possibility of cuts to the program he was adamant that this is one program that must be fully funded. And he made a good point. He said we have a pretty woeful record of deciding who our next potential enemy is going to be. So it behooves us to prepare for the worst case scenario. And he’s right. It also maintains our technological edge which has served us so well in the past 60 years as we’ve easily gained and maintained air dominance in every type of fight in which we’ve engaged during that time. That has given us a record that is one I’d like to see continued unbroken. We’ve not lost a soldier or Marine engaged in ground combat to enemy close air support. Why? The bad guys have just never been able to muster the ability, regardless of the intensity of the conflict, because we’ve been able to overwhelm and destroy them before they could ever pose a threat to our ground troops. That is a capability we must continue. We owe those we’re going to put in harm’s way the very best in technology, capability and firepower. The F-35 provides that and more. It is an aircraft critical to our future national security and it is just as critical we ensure that it doesn’t go the way of the F-22. UPDATE: Gen. Petraeus had much the same message for Congress as that of Sen. Chambliss as he spoke at his retirement ceremony: We have relearned since 9/11 the timeless lesson that we don't always get to fight the wars for which we're most prepared or most inclined. Given that reality, we will need to maintain the full-spectrum capability that we have developed over this last decade of conflict in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere." View the full article

Maybe it's Baghdad Bob. Sump'n. Here is a problem; a free press relies on honest information from government sources and industry in order to produce stories. The press also should make sure and have the right reporters focus on the right areas. When you have government sources living in PPTland, industry in full Bu11sh1t Bingo mode, and the press is full of restaurant and theater critics - I guess you git howlers like this from The Australian. They carry three helicopters and special forces units with armoured vehicles that can roll off a ramp into action, while fast gunboats can be launched from the stern. All at once? On bank holidays too? Does it as well? Good googly moogly. Where does one start? Three - counting Fire Scout - really? How much of a surprise for special ops forces using that ramp again? Define "gunboat." Wait, it gets better. ... it is protected by Mk 110 57mm guns made by BAE Systems, plus missiles for air, land and underwater targets. The warships' sleek silhouettes reflect their stealth technology, while the stable trimaran design suits the South China Sea, which is swept by typhoons every summer. Fella, switch to decaf. It has yet to find a missile that can do anything ashore - nothing works yet. It has minimal AAW self-defense and even then only at short range, and no one has ASW missiles any more (ahhh, ASROC nukes; let me tell you a story ..... ). Even if they did - they can't do all three at once. Ahem, back to now. The LCS going to the South China Sea is LCS-1, monohull. Don't you people Down Under have google? The one you are thinking about is the one on the upper-right of this post. Experts say the ships are superior to any known Chinese vessel in their ability to combine anti-submarine, minesweeping, surveillance, reconnaissance and troop deployment missions. On PPT, maybe. OK. Next week let's put LCS-1 as now equipped on one side of Wake Island, and any of the 83 or so Chinese Houbei Class as now equipped on the other. We'll even play make-believe and give it, ahem, three Fire Scouts. Place your bets. If the LCS, as now equipped, can get pass the 8 C-802, I think the 57mm will best the 30mm ... so at least we have the PLAN in a gun fight ... I think. I guess we have to repeat. LCS does not have an ability to conduct ASW. All that is in development and PPT-land - same with MIW. It can do recon, and put troops ashore in a permissive environment; so it has that for now. Check back in a year or two, we might have a partially mission capable mission module that is operational in some way. ... they are seen as a potent symbol of US might. If symbols are overpriced, undermanned, underarmed, short ranged, and incapable of effectively changing its mission once it gets one with the equipment to do it - then sure, that last statement might be more accurate than the author thinks. Military journalism fail. I don't know who the reporter, Michael Sheridan, uses as his "experts," but dude - seriously - pop me an email next time. (NB: Before the "butbutbut" brigade starts in comments. Pic above is from NewWars in 2010. When you take the cost of the LCS baseline model, add in 2-3 mission modules, logistical and infrastructure to support such above a "normal" multi-mission ship's deployment requirement along with the shorter ship life of LCS ... and you get .....) Hat tip QMC. View the full article

Loaded to the K-MAX (click to view full) With its 5,145 lb empty weight (2.3 metric tons), the K-MAX UAS cannot quite convey the same sense of graceful lightness as its Hummingbird Boeing competitor, coming at slightly less than half the weight. Belonging to a different weight class shifts the Lockheed Martin/Kaman helo to a different mission focus, with a clear emphasis on battlefield cargo resupply. K-MAX has a useful load of 6,855 lb (3.1 tons) vs. 2,500 pounds for the Hummingbird. Up to 6,000 lb (at sea level) can be attached to the cargo hook which is attached to a curved trolley system. Payload at 10,000 ft is still rated above 5,000 lb. (more…) View the full article

Just lovely. Our "friends' the Pakistanis, the best allies money can rent, have apparently continued hedging their bets as far as who will be their sugar daddy. With the planeloads of loot we have been supplying them, which they tranship almost immediately to Dubai, in jeopardy they have continued to play footsie with the Chinese. "The US now has information that Pakistan, particularly the ISI, gave access to the Chinese military to the downed helicopter in Abbottabad," said one person in intelligence circles, referring to the Pakistani spy agency. The Chinese engineers were allowed to survey the wreckage and take photographs of it, as well as take samples of the special "stealth" skin that allowed the American team to enter Pakistan undetected by radar, he said. If you thought the people taking the most advantage of the bin Laden raid to advance themselves all worked at the White House, think again. Amidst the faux outrage that we violated the physical sovereignty of a nation that hosts more jihadists than anywhere on Earth, is a calculated bit of extortion writ large. The Pakistanis have been shaking us down for years, but since the gravy train from DC is likely to be shut down in favor of high speed rail to nowhere, they are holding a bidding war for BFFs.The Chinese have been playing expansionist politics all over their hemisphere and Pakistan is a great place to tweak our noses. We have spent untold billions to gain Pakistani support for the efforts to shut down safe havens on their border w/ Afghanistan.The problem all along has been they are the founding funders of and continued supporters of the same groups we pay them to "fight". Now of course they have some interest in keeping the jihadi elements marginalized, but most of their "help" involves telling us where to find the ones who are out of favor with them. Then we send those guys some Hellfire and everyone pats each other on the back. Granted this involves the deaths of some evil bastards, but in the long war it is sound and fury signifying nothing. We never set out with a strategy to change the dynamic in the region. Consequently we have played whack-a-weasel and deployed combat forces to fight a one year war ten times, rather than acknowledge that it was a struggle of a decade (at the minimum). Now our efforts, and yes successes, over the past year and a half are set to be undone by the exigent priority of our Commander Campaigner in Chief's, himself. Our allies are giving our enemies/bankers a battlefield tour of the pieces of our military technology they have not yet been able to steal. The Biden Magic Ninja plan has shown it's horrifically fatal flaw and the nation can't even barely remember we have men and women fighting and dying every day. The sad thing is that people I trust have told me we have made tremendous progress against the Taliban on the ground, but that is not where this war will be won or lost. The solons of Washington are now busy protecting their slots at the government trough and the only question seems to be whose pet projects get the primest cuts when the Pentagon cash cow goes to the slaughter. If I sound bitter and disgusted, you have a keen perception. It is sickening to watch clowns with a strategic vision as long as the next 24 hour news cycle use our use our military for political gain and destroy our national security out of short-sighted inability to control their own power-hungry gluttony. So poxes on all of their houses. I trust none of them to make choices for the public good. Their greater society is burning and they argue over tips for the fiddler. I wish we had the will or wisdom to try and win in the Hindu Kush, but I fear we don't. Secretary of Defense Panetta made a speech using the word victory while he was at SOCOM last week. Maybe he can explain to his boss how that works. Absent that, we can only hope that the American people realize that change is what we need next Fall. View the full article

The following press release was put out by Juliet Marine Systems, Inc. Keep in mind this is a press statement... Juliet Marine Systems, Inc. (JMS) announced Aug. 10 that the US Navy/USPTO have removed Secrecy Orders previously applied to GHOST. For the first time, Juliet Marine is able to release photographs of GHOST, the first super-cavitating craft, to the public. GHOST was designed and built by US Citizens for the US Navy at no cost to the government to protect US sailors, servicemen and servicewomen. Development of the first ever super-cavitating craft, in many ways, is as difficult as breaking the sound barrier. GHOST is a combination aircraft/boat that has been designed to fly through an artificial underwater gaseous environment that creates 900 times less hull friction than water. GHOST technology adapts to manned or unmanned, surface or submerged applications. Any Navy possessing GHOST technology could operate in international waters undetected and would have an overwhelming advantage against conventional ships. GHOST is specifically designed for Fleet Force Protection at its present size. GHOST technology is scalable and JMS is currently discussing a plan to build a larger Corvette-sized vessel (150 feet) by partnering with a large international defense company. The US Navy could reduce its Naval footprint and financial exposure by deploying a squadron of GHOSTs from Bahrain, which would free up larger assets, such as destroyers and cruisers, saving costs in manpower and maintenance. GHOST is ideal for piracy patrols and could be sea-based to provide protection from pirate attacks that cost our government an estimated $1.5 billion each year. The world-wide shipping industry could be provided with substantial fuel savings using JMS hull friction reduction super-cavitation. A squadron of GHOSTs would not be detectable to seeking enemy ship radar and sensors. GHOST can carry thousands of pounds of weapons, including Mark 48 torpedoes, and would be virtually unstoppable. The GHOST platform and technology could reduce the need for LCS completely with the capability to travel long distances and conduct the same missions. GHOST could make LCS a defensible platform for combat - LCS is not currently rated for combat. Today, Iran has the capabilities to stop the US Navy from operating in the Straits of Hormuz, a critical passage for most of the oil our country uses. The Navy compares GHOST to an attack helicopter with regard to its capabilities for force protection. GHOST can deliver forces to any beach location quickly and quietly with enough weapons to conduct a hot extraction. GHOST is designed to provide military game changing advantages for the USA. I've read this around 8 times today, and I still laugh out loud every time. The technology sounds interesting, but the press statement sounds like a TV infomercial. And it will shine the Admirals shoes and trim the CMCs hair and..!!! What? Is this legitimate? I am so confused. View the full article

The 2-503rd rocking in Afghanistan during OEF X (2009-2010): View the full article

Interesting. OPNAV NOTICE 5400 (PDF) from August 1st is worth a few comments. 1. Purpose. To approve the change in permanent duty station (PDS) for Carrier Strike Group (CSG) NINE per reference (a). 2. Background. Per POM-12 guidance, Navy will resource and align CSG staffs equal to the number of operational CVNs. CSG-9 will change PDS from Everett, WA to San Diego, CA and will change carrier assignment from USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN (CVN-72) to USS RONALD REAGAN (CVN-76). LINCOLN will shift homeport from Everett, WA to Newport News, VA for Refueling and Complex Overhaul in August 2012. CSG-9 will be reassigned to REAGAN, homeported in San Diego, replacing CSG-7 due to CSG-7 deactivation. The deactivation of CSG-7 brings the total number of carrier strike groups to nine, and there is no reason to believe the Navy will operate more than nine carrier strike groups for the next several years, despite the US Navy currently owning 11 carriers. This is one example of where budget cuts to the Navy are already having impacts. The key word in POM12 guidance is "operational CVNs." Neither USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) nor USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) are being considered operational right now because of Refueling and Complex Overhaul (RCOH). USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) will not complete her RCOH until around September of next year, and USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) won't begin her RCOH until sometime next year and will not be considered operational again until sometime in 2015. The key point is that the Navy appears to be skipping a deployment for USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72), probably to save more money. With the retirement of USS Enterprise (CVN-65) looming after one more deployment, the Navy will simply transfer the CSG-12 from Enterprise to Roosevelt after the deployment, allowing the number of CSGs to remain 9 until the USS Ford (CVN 78) is ready - which may not be until all the way out until 2017-2018 time frame as shake downs for the first in class tend to take awhile. That basically allows the Navy to buy time and keep only 9 Carrier Strike Groups all the way out until after the complex overhaul of USS George Washington (CVN-73) - in the 2018 time frame. Why is this important? Because the Navy will only maintain 9 CSGs for the next 7-8 years instead of 10 CSGs, even though throughout some portions of that time the Navy will have 10 or even 11 available (not operational) aircraft carriers. This simple organizational move means the Navy doesn't have to support an extra air wing for awhile, and limits the total F-18 fighter shortfall so the Navy doesn't have to buy that extra wing either. The Navy is also avoiding the costs of supporting the personnel of the extra air wing, and this move also buys extra time for working out problems with the F-35C. The law may say the Navy must operate 11 aircraft carriers, with an exception for the drop to 10 aircraft carriers after the retirement of USS Enterprise (CVN 65) and the completion of USS Ford (CVN 78), but as far as the Navy is concerned there will only be nine operational carriers for most of this decade. These are the efficiency moves the Navy is doing to shave costs during lean budgets, but note this move is in response to the cuts already made - not the future cuts coming. Operations and readiness are almost certainly going to take a hit with budget cuts, because they always do. Little moves like this - organizing below actual capacity - is a way to avoid hollowing the force in the short term, but it does result over time in contracting the force. View the full article

David Axe has done an excellent job retelling the history of the Littoral Combat Ship. The final program that the Navy has developed today has been around since 2003 - roughly eight years, although David Axe does go back further to tell some of the back story that began with DD-21. It's a really good article, and I think everyone should read it. I don’t know how it influenced you, but I thought it was good enough to inspire me to write - alot. Four posts with a new one every few hours. View the full article

My kind of girl. View the full article

Today was the official casing of the colors for the Walter Reed Army Medical Center. An awful lot of military folks have moved through there over the years and have received some of the best medical care in the world. There may have been some glitches, but all in all it was a safe haven for our wounded and sick. There was quite a going away party today and I attended w/ my girlfriend who is in the Wounded Warrior program there. The Golden Knights jumped in and started things off which is always fun. My girl went to introduce me to a double amputee skydiver who used to be a member of the Knights and actually returned to the team after losing both legs at the knee. Funny thing was I already knew him and had gone through the SF Weapons course with him back in the day. Dana Bowman was there to jump in later with the Ranger Group. One of the great parts of the Walter Reed family was the Mologne House, a hotel right on post where our wounded and their families could stay while rehabilitating. It opened in 1997 and was named for a former commander of Walter Reed, Gen. Lewis A. Mologne. His widow Rose has remained a major force in the lives of many of those who have spent time there and she and my girlfriend are good friends.We got a chance to say hi to her today. Most of the programs from Walter Reed have survived and will move to Bethesda, which is being renamed to include the Walter Reed legacy and to Ft. Belvoir. But a piece of our military history closed today and that is a bittersweet thing. Thanks to all the talented and dedicated medical personnel who have done so much for the patients who needed them. View the full article

Our good friend TSO has a post up at The Burnpit regarding Seattle University's School of Law. Only, they seem to only be interested in their own law. Not the one of say, the Federal Gov't or the Constitution. “Passionate about issues facing veterans in our community? Interested in educating active service members about their rights? Looking for a concrete way to support the men and women who join the military? “The training covers rights and resources for active service members and their families such as types of discharges (Conscientious Objector, Hardship, etc), Family Plans (for caring for children while service members are deployed), and Court Martial and AWOL procedures.†Reading this passage, one would think this would be a veterans assistance group, although more in line with IAVA than say, VFW or Legion. But you'd be VERY wrong- they are more into finding ways to get you OUT of the military, and/or protest the military, than in helping veterans out of any particular situation. It's disgusting. TSO goes into lawyerly detail both at Burnpit, as well as over at our farm team site, ThisAintHell.us. Check it out, then lets chuck the SMDC out of Seattle Law School... Wolf View the full article

First, if you don't read Day By Day by the most excellent Chris Muir, you should. It is also that time of year when he raises the money that lets him keep going. Second, if you don't read Delta Bravo Sierra, by the most excellent Damon Shackelford, you should. For there is Strange, and then there's Army Strange. And, if you want to get a bit of the background, along with some outstanding art by some other military artists/cartoonists, you need to check out The Best of Military Cartoons, Volume 1. I've seen an advance copy, it is a great introduction to today's military cartoons, and it is now up for pre-order. LW View the full article

Want to see the next bubble? Over at FT, they have it for you - if you want to see it (click image for larger). According to the report , between 1990 and 2006 — the year in which issuance of Asset-Backed Securities (ABS) peaked — assets with the highest credit rating rose from a little over 20 per cent of total rated fixed-income issues to almost 55 per cent . Think about it. More than half of the world’s debt securities were, for all intents and purposes, considered risk-free . In 2006, that was nearly $5,000bn of assets. The financial crisis had a lot to do with triple-A ratings being slapped on to subprime securities which didn’t warrant them, we know that . The report says between 1990 and 2006 ABS accounted for 64 per cent of the total growth in the amount of AAA-rated fixed income, compared with 27 per cent attributable to the growth in public debt, 2 per cent to corporate and 8 per cent to other products. But watch what starts happening from 2008 and 2009. The AAA bubble re-inflates and suddenly sovereign debt becomes the major force driving the world’s triple-A supply. The turmoil of 2008 shunted some investors from ABS into safer sovereign debt, it’s true. But you also had a plethora of incoming bank regulation to purposefully herd investors towards holding more government bonds, plus a glut of central bank liquidity facilities accepting government IOUs as collateral. Where ABS dissipated, sovereign debt stood in to fill the gap. And more . It’s one reason why the sovereign crisis is well and truly painful. It’s a global repricing of risk, again , but one that has the potential for a much larger pop , so to speak. Once again - the issue isn't govt revenue - it is spending. Anyone who thinks we are going to have a steady state shipbuilding budget through 2030 is, in a word; high. View the full article

One of America’s oldest military organizations will celebrate its 204th birthday this month. The Washington Light Infantry (WLI), headquartered in Charleston, S.C., has participated in every conflict since its founding in 1807 and is still in service today. The unit is named in honor of Gen. and President George Washington. The unit’s flag was given to them by the widow of George Washington’s cousin, Col. William Washington. The “Eutaw†Flag is believed to be the last remaining battle flag from the American Revolution, and is still used today by WLI. The unit also participated in the founding of The Citadel, the Military College of South Carolina, in 1842. From Midlandsbiz.com: At least two WLI members – U.S. Marine Maj. Gen. James E. Livingston and U.S. Army Sgt. Francis S. Currey – are recipients of the Medal of Honor. And Maj. Gen. Robert Livingston, the adjutant general of S.C., is an honorary member of WLI. “The WLI and its members not only demonstrate, but set the example of what we know to be the finest qualities found within the American spirit,†says Maj. Gen. [Jim] Livingston. WLI has an interesting history, which you can read about here. View the full article

The Salamander underground comes through. The report to Congress on Fire Scout referenced earlier this week can be found here. You have to skip the first 11 pages of letters to Congressmen and Senators to get to the meat. Head to the link above, give it a read and then come back. Let's discuss. Here are my Top-3. 1. Since Milestone C, the program has conducted extensive flight testing collecting 1,500 MQ-8B flight hours between March 2007 and March 2011 . Contractor developmental test pilots executing developmental test plans flew 1,250 of those hours. These developmental tests were not operationally realistic, and yielded little insight into the operational effectiveness of the system . The tests were conducted in a controlled environment with no opposing forces and at whatever pace was needed to collect required engineering data. No tests were conducted in adverse weather or with any form of electronic combat . Navy operators flew the remaining 250 hours in a littoral environment, taking advantage of shipping that happened into the field of observation and with no ground truth (time, space, position information) available. 2. There are limited data from which to assess the reliability, maintainability, and availability of the system. The contractor does not use standard Navy maintenance procedures, tools, and tracking and reporting software while maintaining the systems used during developmental test. While the aviation detachment aboard the USS Halyburton does follow standard Navy maintenance practices, the detachment includes additional personnel and contractor technical representatives that will not be present once the Navy fields the system . 3. The ground control station user interface software generates actions unrelated to operator actions or intent. As an example, during flight, if an operator deletes a target from the target list, it results in a lost link that requires execution of the emergency procedure to regain control of the air vehicle. In one recently discovered anomaly, the space bar on the keyboard acts like an “Enter†key for the currently selected window. Inadvertently hitting the space bar activates the selection in that window. Operators aboard the USS Halyburton discovered this anomaly when the air vehicle operator’s headset cord inadvertently hit the space bar and activated the self destruct countdown timer . ... and we deployed it to Libya. What are your Top-3? View the full article

The Department of Defense (DoD) announces that Deputy Defense Secretary William J. Lynn will leave the post later this year. A replacement is expected to be found by the autumn. Two House Foreign Affairs sub-committees held a joint session to consider the extent of Somalia’s piracy and crime networks, the influence of the Islamist al Shabaab group and the growing humanitarian crisis affecting almost 3 million Somalis. More and more shipping companies are ignoring the UN’s IMO, and hiring armed guards to fight pirate attacks. The IMO is expected to cave soon, and introduce vetting procedures for guards. Following Russian President Dmitry Medvedev’s demands for a report on the country’s defense order for 2011, Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov confirms that contracts for the 2012 state defense order will be signed by the end of the year. Serdyukov followed up by accusing the missile designer Yuri Solomonov of having a grudge against the Defense Ministry. The Director-General of the UK’s Military Aviation Authority (MAA) says the organization has made ‘great strides’ in its mission to provide independent and autonomous regulation of the Defence Air operating and technical domains. The MAA was formed in the aftermath of an RAF Nimrod MRA2 crashing near Kandahar, Afghanistan. Italy follows its decision to scale back its overseas operations by announcing the withdrawal of its aircraft carrier the Garibaldi from NATO’s Libyan operation. Airbus Military signs a strategic agreement with Indonesia’s PT Dirgantara (PTDI) with the aim of revitalizing the Indonesian aerospace sector. The agreement is expected to result in Airbus placing more manufacturing work with PTDI. The Indonesian company is a supplier for the C212 transport and CN-235 surveillance aircraft. Michael J Pelosi and Dr Carlo Kopp assess the Chinese J-20 stealth, using a Physical Optics Radar Cross Section simulation program, and a RAM literature review. Overall verdict: it could become a full stealth fighter like the F-22A Raptor with changes, but currently shares some stealth strengths and weaknesses with the F-35. View the full article

Kyle Mizokami has a fine piece up at the Diplomat about the prospects for a Japanese amphibious fleet: Humanitarian Assistance/Disaster Relief missions are typically supported by naval vessels. The March Tohoku emergency, as well as the January 2010 Haitian earthquake, saw multinational fleets sortieing to the assistance of island nations. In both instances, natural disasters disrupted local airports and port facilities, slowing the flow of relief into the disaster zone. The design of naval vessels, such as the USS Essex in Tohoku and the Italian aircraft carrier Cavour in Haiti, made them key to opening up affected areas. Self-sufficient in food and power, and designed to serve a large expeditionary force, such ships are designed to project large amounts of military force abroad into less than ideal conditions. If one substitutes aid and assistance for force, the usefulness of naval designs is readily apparent. It’s no wonder then that Humanitarian Assistance/Disaster Relief missions are typically carried out by naval vessels. A large ship of a naval design would be an ideal platform for responding to Japan’s natural disasters. Japan is an archipelago of 6,852 islands, and more than a third of Japan’s population lives within ten kilometers of the coast. Although most islands are connected in one way or another, earthquakes and tsunamis can incapacitate those connections, damaging bridges and ferry docks. A disaster relief vessel could simply sail from one island to the next to provide assistance. Furthermore, Japan's terrain is mostly mountainous, with communities often connected by roads and railroads cutting through rugged terrain. While a disaster might close such routes to emergency traffic, a HA/DR vessel could simply sail around them. The Patterson team in Thomas Barnett's Wikistrat competition played Japan, and advocated extending the Hyuga production line in order to further develop the JMSDF's relief assistance capabilities. Of course, larger purpose-built amphibious ships would work even better. View the full article

If you think I am being unkind to the Greek military - well, I'm not. From AFG to HOA to Libya - pound for pound few NATO nations have contributed less to the war effort than Greece. Heck - even Bulgaria contributes trigger pullers in a fashion. I'm not being unkind, I'm being honest. What we do know is that the Greeks have a spending problem that even the present American administration would have trouble understanding. Their military doesn't help much with the problem, it seems. When a military officer dies, his pension continues for his unwed daughter as long as she remains unwed. Considering the Greek marriage stats - that is just pathetic. Don't just smile - with our contributions to the Greek economic bailout - you're children are borrowing money from the Chinese to pay for it. As for some of our military retiree welfare mentality - that is a subject for a different day and a different post. Hat tip CATO. View the full article