The ALMAR on Women in Combat Policy.

Check it out and read how carefully the guidance is laid out.

One thing annoys me to no end though...The survey...

Its pure bullshit and every Marine knows it.

If the Commandant wouldn't listen to his Marines on an issue as simple as roling sleeves what makes you think that he would give force to a no vote on Women in combat?

I guess it really doesn't matter.  This policy roll out has more to do with Obama's re-election strategy than it has to do with advancing women's rights.  Its clever and cunning.  If the Marine Corps fights the issue then he can over ride the military and dare Congress to stop him---he'll say that they're trying to continue its war on women...or the Marine Corps can lay down like a lap dog (which its doing) and he can brag to the liberals on both coasts and say how he's fighting for womens rights over the objections of women hating men.

Assignment of Women to Ground Combat Units

Commandant of the Marine Corps speech on the state of the Marines.

NOTE:

This is a long talk...but the first 5 minutes are telling.

The Commandant basically defends not only himself but the other Joint Chief's of Staff with regard to them doing their job.  He talks about dereliction of duty and how they are doing what's necessary in a joint environment.  My thought is wow.  So the other services are having issues with their leadership and where they're taking their services.  So its not just a Marine thing.  The next thought is that he protests too much.  Obviously the pin pricks are starting to hurt.

Good.  Grab some Makers Mark...pour a couple dozen shots and make it through the whine fest.

F-35 In-Flight Refueling with External Weapons

The F-35's latest drama..A labor dispute.

Wow.

I get the point that the union is trying to make.

Lockheed has been making record profits and they only want there share.

But damn it.  This could be the straw that breaks the camels back.  If they haven't thought about this carefully then the Dem's in the Senate could actual team up with that idiot McCain and make Sweetman/Cox and Air Power Australia (along with the other lackeys and hangers on) smile with glee.

This could kill the program.

Then not only will Lockheed Martin, the US Military and our allies but also the workers lose and lose big.

I hope I'm wrong but this is the wrong time to be pushing this issue.  Management and Labor are both idiots.

Management pushed, Labor pushed back and they're both about to get a big stick up the behind with a total lack of vaseline.

How long before SOCOM goes purple?

The Joint Force mafia has a dream of the services losing all identity and going purple.  The thinking is that the competition between the services is destructive and wasteful.

I believe that they're the same crowd that gives out medals to everyone at athletic events.  Kinda taints the desire to be the best don't it.

But I digress.

One area where they've made the greatest strides to achieve this joint force utopia is SOCOM.

In my mind its not a matter of when but rather of how long it takes for SOCOM to become its own unique, service irrelevant force.

I don't know whether that will be a good or bad thing...What happens when there are no more SEALs, Green Berets, Rangers, USAF Special Ops or Marine Special Forces?  Just simply US Special Ops.

I'm really unsure.  What I believe will happen is that you will see the services simply re-invent these same units to perform those missions for the Combatant Commander.  Remember SOCOM is also pushing to operate outside the sphere of influence of the CC's..the SOCOM Chief of Staff or whatever they call him will be conducting wars world wide.

Will they get a seat on the Joint Chiefs of Staff?  Or will they fall under the Director of the CIA?  Or even the State Dept?  Or will they report directly to the President?

Will they fall under intelligence or law enforcement?  Intelligence will give them greater lattitude in mission sets but law enforcement will perhaps open the door to more countries.  Will they perhaps be split in two...a dark and light side.  It boggles the mind.

I can't wait to see it.

USAF Common Vertical Lift Support Platform (Huey)...games or reality?

via Defense News.

The UH-1N Huey has been a fixture in the U.S. Air Force since the 1970s. And that won’t be ending any time soon.
Air Force Global Strike Command is looking at flying the helicopters for another 30 years, meaning some could fly until they are 70 years old.
The Air Force is asking defense companies for suggestions on how to increase the venerable Huey’s endurance, range, speed, survivability, navigation and communications capabilities to meet Pentagon requirements for guarding nuclear intercontinental ballistic missile fields in the northern U.S.
The Air Force also wants to be able to fly the choppers in all types of weather, states an April 17 request for information. The goal is to install these capabilities on UH-1Ns between 2014 and 2018.

Read the rest at DN's site.

My question is this.  Is the USAF serious (which means they're crazy) or are they simply playing budget games?

The UH-60 is flying for all the services in one form or another and is still in production.  It would be simple to piggy back on an Army or Navy buy of that airframe and have new helicopters for their security teams to fly out on.

If the UH-60 is too expensive (which I doubt) then they could buy Army National Guard Lakota helicopters.

They could get Sikorsky S-92's for a song (Sikorsky would love to have a US military service induct those aircraft into service)....

Heck even Bell Helicoper would love to get a military sale for their new Super 525....

The point is simply this.

Why are they looking to upgrade these helicopters instead of getting new builds?  Oh and before you go high and to the right, I have nothing against upgraded equipment.  In most cases thats a sensible solution...but we're talking about the aircraft that help protect our nuclear missiles.

If we're going to have anything thats new, it should be protecting our nuclear weaponry.

And that's my point.  If I think that way then surely Congress Critters do too (or I would hope they do) so this has to be a budget game...right?

Marine Personnel Carrier Advice.

A bit of unsolicited advice for the Marine Corps Personnel Carrier Program Office.

Pick the best all around vehicle despite the price and work from there.

If the second best vehicle is the cheapest then its a no go.  If one vehicle has dazzling electronics but can't hack it in rough terrain then its a no go.  If it can swim like there is no tommorrow but has little room for future growth and is under armored then its a no go.

Its value time.

The best all around vehicle is what the Marine Corps needs....ITS BACK TO BASICS.  For all the hammering that the AAV receives its served in one form or another for 40 years.  Why?  Because we got the basic vehicle right.

We concentrated on what was important and didn't get caught up in "whats fashionable at the time" mindset.

I would contend that the Bradley suffered from a single type war mindset.  It was designed for the Fulda Gap...Desert Storm 1 just happened to fit into the Army's concept of operations...and we had wide open territory to fight in.

Notice that the Bradley hasn't appeared in Afghanistan and the Stryker has suffered when operating in that environment.

The Marine Corps should not make that mistake.

Despite being lighter in weight than the Stryker, the LAV-25 has performed well for both the USMC and the Australian Army in that theater.  We need a vehicle that has the longevity and performance value that both the AAV and the LAV-25 have given us.

Additionally it might be wise to flow some of our MPC's over to the LAR Battalions so that we can simplify logistics.

Having looked at all the candidates...the Terrex, the Havoc, the Super AV and the Piranha III...I believe that the Havoc is the best all around vehicle in this competition.

Its already been with our AAV Battalions out at Pendleton and its reportedly a great performer.  Additionally it swims well, has outstanding cross country mobility and can carry a proper number of Marines.

Its time to get these vehicle issues off the table.  Get the MPC competition done poste haste.  Pick the Havoc and get these vehicles into the hands of our AAV and LAV Marines this year or next.

11th MEU Recon gearing up.

The unit is deployed aboard the amphibious assault ship as part of the Makin Island Amphibious Ready Group, which is a U.S. Central Command theater reserve force. The group is providing support for maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet area of responsibility.  Photo by Sgt. Elyssa Quesada