Cobra Gold live-fire amphibious assault exercise

Amphibious assault vehicles from the forward-deployed amphibious dock landing ship USS Tortuga and the Royal Thai Navy medium landing ship HTMS Surin participate in a live amphibious assault. Tortuga is part of the forward-deployed Essex Amphibious Ready Group and is underway participating in Exercise Cobra Gold 2012, an annual Thai-U.S. co-sponsored joint and multinational exercise designed to advance security throughout the Asia-Pacific region and enhance interoperability with participating nations. (U.S. Navy photo by: Lt. Cmdr Mark C. Jones)

A CH-46 Sea Knight helicopter flies past the forward-deployed amphibious dock landing ship USS Tortuga and the Royal Thai Navy medium landing ship HTMS Surin during a live amphibious assault exercise. Tortuga is part of the forward-deployed Essex Amphibious Ready Group and is underway participating in Exercise Cobra Gold 2012, an annual Thai-U.S. co-sponsored joint and multinational exercise designed to advance security throughout the Asia-Pacific region and enhance interoperability with participating nations. (U.S. Navy photo by: Lt. Cmdr Mark C. Jones)

Amphibious assault vehicles from the forward-deployed amphibious dock landing ship USS Tortuga land on the beach as CH-26 Sea Knight helicopters provide close air support during a live-fire amphibious assault exercise. Tortuga is part of the forward-deployed Essex Amphibious Ready Group and is underway participating in Exercise Cobra Gold 2012, an annual Thai-U.S. co-sponsored joint and multinational exercise designed to advance security throughout the Asia-Pacific region and enhance interoperability with participating nations. (U.S. Navy photo by: Lt. Cmdr. Mark C. Jones)

Amphibious assault vehicles from the forward-deployed amphibious dock landing ship USS Tortuga land on the beach as aviation ordinance is dropped from an F/A-18D Hornet during a live-fire amphibious assault exercise. Tortuga is part of the forward-deployed Essex Amphibious Ready Group and is underway participating in Exercise Cobra Gold 2012, an annual Thai-U.S. co-sponsored joint and multinational exercise designed to advance security throughout the Asia-Pacific region and enhance interoperability with participating nations. (U.S. Navy photo by: Lt. Cmdr. Mark C. Jones)

Cobra Gold continues...

BAN CHAN KREM, Kingdom of Thailand -- Marines with Amphibious Assault Vehicle Company train with Royal Thai Marines at the AAV gunnery range at the Ban Chan Krem training area here Feb. 13. AAV Company, Combat Assault Battalion, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, trained side-by-side with Royal Thai and Republic of Korea Marines during Exercise Cobra Gold 2012. Cobra Gold is a recurring multinational and multiservice exercise hosted by the Royal Kingdom of Thailand designed to advance regional security by exercising a multinational force from nations sharing common goals and security commitments in the Asia-Pacific region. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Brandon L. Saunders/released)

BAN CHAN KREM, Kingdom of Thailand -- Royal Thai and Republic of Korea Marines demonstrate their weapons handling skills on the firing line at the Ban Chan Krem range here Feb. 13. During the training counterparts were coached on the fundamentals of combat marksmanship by U.S. Marines from Combat Assault Battalion, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force. Cobra Gold is a recurring multinational and multiservice exercise co-hosted by the Royal Kingdom of Thailand and the U.S. designed to advance regional security by exercising a multinational force from nations sharing common goals and security commitments in the Asia-Pacific region. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Brandon L. Saunders/released)

A Royal Thai Marine engages targets after receiving professional military instruction on combat marksmanship here Feb. 13. During the training, the Royal Thai and Republic of Korea Marines were assisted by coaches from Combat Assault Battalion, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, during Exercise Cobra Gold 2012. Cobra Gold is a recurring multinational and multiservice exercise co-hosted by the Royal Kingdom of Thailand and the U.S. designed to advance regional security by exercising a multinational force from nations sharing common goals and security commitments in the Asia-Pacific region. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Brandon L. Saunders/released)

"The World's Premier Raid Force"

Rangers from 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, as part of a combined Afghan and coalition security force operating in Ghazni Province, Afghanistan, await a CH-47 for extraction. Department of Defense photo by U.S. Army Pfc. Pedro Amador

Get your SRB's cleaned up.

Wow.

Another reduction in force.  Involuntary lay off. 

Whatever you call it this is bad news for many.  No matter how you slice it there will be some bitter people.  There will be people that have served multiple tours outside the wire.  Served in outposts and not at a big base having party nights or chasing ass.

Check this out from Bloomberg.  Read the whole thing but the Marine Corps specific part is below.

The cuts in uniformed personnel are in keeping with proposed steps such as eliminating eight Army brigades, five Marine infantry battalions and four of the Corps’s tactical air squadrons. The Air Force would lose 303 aircraft and six fighter squadrons, while the Navy jettisons seven cruisers and 2 dock landing ships.
“In preparing this budget, we endeavored to avoid the mistakes of previous drawdowns that attempted to maintain more force structure than the budget could afford,” the department wrote in a Jan. 26 summary of its five-year priorities.

and then this...

Today’s budget proposal fleshes out the cuts for each of the military branches.
Army forces would be reduced by less than 1 percent to 1,115,300 in 2013 and then drop to 1,048,200 in 2017. That’s still far greater troop strength than in February 2002, a year before the U.S. invasion of Iraq, when the Army numbered about 480,000 on active duty.
The Navy would have 1.7 percent fewer personnel, or 385,200 in 2013, and faces a reduction of 3.9 percent to a total of 376,600 people in 2017.

The Marines would be down to 236,900 in 2013, or 2 percent fewer than this year. By the end of 2017, the Marines face a reduction of 8.3 percent from this year to 221,700.

The Air Force will have 501,000 personnel in 2013, or 1.9 percent fewer than this year. In 2017, Air Force personnel will decline to 499,300.  (NOTE*  I don't know who came up with Marine Corps end strength for this article but they jacked up beyond recognition...this reporter needs a fact check)

More than a few people have stated that they've worked this out this time and that between those that leave voluntarily and those that are substandard, there will be no disruption or hurt feelings.

I hope they're right.

Too funny.

Grilled Cobra? Yum yum!

I prefer mine with fried bananas but to each his own.

SOCOM makes a power grab.

McRaven wants to not only be head of SOCOM but also seeks to be a "SUPER" combatant commander.  I can't imagine this going over well in the Pentagon but hey...Obama likes SEALs, and he's (McRaven)  striking (making his power play) at the height of SEAL popularity (with Act of Valor coming out and the string of high publicity missions).
From Military.com.

The top U.S. special operations officer, who oversaw the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, is seeking new authority to move his forces faster and outside of normal Pentagon deployment channels, The New York Times reported Monday.
The newspaper said Adm. William McRaven, who leads the Special Operations Command, is pushing for a larger role for his elite units who have traditionally operated in the dark corners of U.S. foreign policy.
The plan would give him more autonomy to position his forces and their war-fighting equipment where intelligence and global events indicate they are most needed, the report said.
It would also allow the special operations forces to expand their presence in regions where they have not operated in large numbers for the past decade, especially in Asia, Africa and Latin America, the paper noted.
The Times said that similar plans in the past had foundered because of opposition from regional commanders and the State Department.
The military's regional combatant commanders have feared a decrease of their authority, and some ambassadors in crisis zones have voiced concerns that commandos may carry out missions that are perceived to tread on a host country's sovereignty, the paper said.

Bold Alligator is a wrap.

Bold Alligator is finished.

What will be interesting is to read the lessons learned.  Areas for improvement, additional training, etc...When I get my hands on the official de-brief so will you.