Sunday, June 03, 2012

Politically correct Marine Corps bows to pressure again...

via Herald Online.com....
— A controversial decision by commanders to again refer to a Beaufort F-18 squadron as the “Crusaders” has been reversed by a three-star general, according to Marine Corps officials.
Lt. Gen. Terry Robling, deputy commandant for aviation, issued an order April 30 that Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 122 discontinue use of the Crusaders nickname and a logo that featured a red cross on a white shield. The squadron will retain its identity as the “Werewolves,” said Lt. Col. Joseph Plenzler, a Corps spokesman.
Robling’s order came about a month after the unit’s commanding officer, Lt. Col. Wade Wiegel, announced during a 70th anniversary party the unit again would be known as the Crusaders, a nickname the squadron used from 1959 to January 2008.
In 2008, the squadron changed back to its World War II-era nickname, the Werewolves, before a combat deployment to Iraq later that year. The name change was partly because unit commanders thought the Crusaders nickname would not be well-received by Iraqis and others in the region.
Wow.

I'm not surprised in the least.  Notice that the Commander tried to maintain tradition...esprit de corps....tried to maintain a touchstone to the past and was summarily over ruled by the Deputy Commandant for Aviation?

The closer Marine Corps leadership is to Washington the more pussified they become.  And you wonder why patches like this are so popular among the troops....

 I got these images from the MilSpec Monkey store page.  But the Deputy Commandant for Aviation is going to recieve a special patch from me...I hope it inspires him the next time he has to make a decision...I wonder if they make it in digital pink?

N
Read more here: http://www.heraldonline.com/2012/06/02/4017150/marine-corp-fighter-squadron-drops.html#storylink=cpy

German Boxer IFV with Lance turret

Interesting.  via Defesa Global.
Germany´s Rheinmetall Defence is to show at Eurosatory 2012 international exhibition a ARTEC GmbH BOXER equipped with the LANCE turreted weapon system. The turret is armed with a 30mm gun and additional armament such as smoke grenades launchers and a coaxial light machine gun.
BOXER is being deliveries in several configurations to the Royal Netherlands Army and to the German Army. Some of the Piranha IIIC amphibian wheeled armoured vehicles procured by Spain´s procurement agency DGAM (Dirección General de Armamento y Material) for the Spanish Navy marines Infantería de Marina (IM) are equipped with LANCE turreted weapon system. LANCE system is also available in a remote controlled variant (as LANCE RC).
A BOXER command post vehicle of the Germany Army will be also displayed as well as the 4×4 AMPV (Armoured Multi Purpose Vehicle) light armoured vehicle, the brand new Amorok M lightweight vehicle, TG, HX and SX series of tactical trucks from Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicles GmbH (RMMV), SLR observation system, Vingtaqs II combined electro-optical reconnaissance and battlefield radar system mounted on the AMPV vehicle as a mobile reconnaissance solution, FOI 2000 laser target marking system (in service with Sweden and Norway) for forward artillery observers and forward air controllers, Gladius (IdZ-2) dismounted soldier system and as well as Rheinmetall Air Defence AG Skyshield MOOTW/C-RAM air defence system.
At the event, RMMV is showcasing an advanced version of the protected HX series heavy tactical truck equipped with and active protection system.
Vingtaqs II system will be integrated into the reconnaissance variant of AV-8 armoured vehicle being developed by Turkey´s FNSS Savunma Sistemleri AŞ and Malaysia´s DRB-HICOM Defence Technologies Sdn Bhd (DEFTECH) for the Royal Malaysian Army (RMA).
At the Paris based event, General Dynamics European Land Systems-Mowag GmbH is showcasing a Piranha 5 weeled armoured vehicle equipped with a LANCE turret.

Miss America...



Unashamedly stolen from Black Five's website.  

Pour a shot of JD, turn up your speakers and if someone complains...you kick their ass!

24th MEU's Battalion Landing Team at Eager Lion 2012.

All photos by Staff Sgt. Robert Fisher



NOTE:  One of the best things the Marine Corps has done in the past few years is to attach 120mm mortars with artillery instead of the infantry. 

NOTE 1:  If you download the pics then you'll get the accompanying caption.  I won't take the time to add it to the pages unless the names of the Marines are included.  Just my choice on how to do things.

Marine and Jordanian Attack Helos train at Eager Lion 2012.

All photos by Staff Sgt. Robert Fisher



 

The Military...its different but some want to "nasty" it up...

The military is different but some want to 'nasty' it up...not by raising the standards of the military but by lowering it to that of the general society.


I get it though.


Many look at the military, see how it is held in high esteem and want to destroy it since they can't measure up/or are too chicken shit to join it.  Even military kids hold themselves to higher standards...



Wow.  Not talking or playing grab ass like you see all around the country.  Actual respect at colors.  Love it.

Saturday, June 02, 2012

Brits (Special Boat Squadron?) rescue citizens...

via Navy Times...
KABUL, Afghanistan — It was a risky, but successful operation: British and other NATO forces stormed a cave tucked in the mountains before dawn Saturday and rescued two foreign female aid workers and their two Afghan colleagues being held hostage by Taliban-linked militants.
Helicopters, flying under the cover of darkness, ferried the rescue team to extreme northeastern Afghanistan where they suspected the hostages were being held. After confirming the workers were there, they raided the site, killed several militants and freed the hostages, ending their nearly two-week ordeal.
Helen Johnston, 28, from Britain; Moragwa Oirere, 26, from Kenya; and their two Afghan colleagues were kidnapped May 22 while traveling on horseback in Badakhshan province. The four work for Medair, a humanitarian non-governmental organization based near Lausanne, Switzerland.
“They were kidnapped by an armed terrorist group with ties to the Taliban,” said Lt. Col. Jimmie Cummings, a spokesman for the U.S.-led military coalition fighting in Afghanistan. “The kidnappers were armed with heavy machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades and AK47s. ... The hostages were being held in a cave in the mountains.”
This is interesting because of this tidbit at the end of the article...
British Prime Minister David Cameron approved the rescue operation Friday afternoon after becoming increasingly concerned about the safety of the hostages. The mission was carried out by British troops in cooperation with other NATO and Afghan forces, Cameron told reporters outside 10 Downing Street in London.
Interesting on a couple of levels...

Did the British PM have to approve it because British citizens were involved?  And second, did they operate outside Joint Special Operations Forces Afghanistan?  I guess the real question is this.  Was this a purely British mission?

I almost think that it was.

The British military, politicians and people are still smarting over a bungled rescue attempt earlier by US forces.  Its one of the few public black eyes that has been laid on the footsteps of SEAL Team 6...and to be fair there are still questions as to what exactly happened.

Either way outstanding.  

Marine Corps BAMCIS

BAMCIS (Begin the Planning, Arrange Recon, Make Recon, Complete Planning. Issue Order, Supervise)


Roger that Sir!

15th MEU. Air Combat Element on display....

All photos by Lance Cpl. Timothy Childers

A CH-53E Super Stallion from Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 364, 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, takes off from the flight deck of the USS Peleliu during Phibron 3 and the 15th MEU's PHIBRON-MEU Interoperability Training exercise off the coast of Southern Calif., May 31. The exercise is the MEU's first time at-sea as an entire Marine Air Ground Task Force and gives Marines and sailors the opportunity to become familiar working together as a blue-green team.
An AH-1Z Cobra from Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 364, 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, hovers above the flight deck of the USS Peleliu during Phibron 3 and the 15th MEU's PHIBRON-MEU Interoperability Training exercise off the coast of Southern Calif., May 31. The exercise is the MEU's first time at-sea as an entire Marine Air Ground Task Force and gives Marines and sailors the opportunity to become familiar working together as a blue-green team.
A CH-46E Sea Knight from Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 364, 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, lands on the flight deck of the USS Peleliu during Phibron 3 and the 15th MEU's PHIBRON-MEU Interoperability Training exercise off the coast of Southern Calif., May 31. The exercise is the MEU's first time at-sea as an entire Marine Air Ground Task Force and gives Marines and sailors the opportunity to become familiar working together as a blue-green team.

Update on military breastfeeding mothers.




Thanks DRAKE1 for getting me to this vid!

Not one woman in uniform has the right to bitch or complain about how men view them.  There sisters put them in this light.  There sisters are pushing this issue.  There OWN sisters are making the case that women are different from men.

When you hop into the back of a CH-53 to do a TRAP mission and you see a female pilot sitting there can you blame a PFC for looking at her wondering if she's lactating?  Heaven help guys doing PT in mixed sex units....

And guess what girls...you did it to yourselves.

Sidenote:  I notice NOT one of the big boy military blogs is touching this with a ten foot pole.  AMAZING.  What a bunch of fucking cowards.  You're bad and bold with every fucking thing else but this issue you won't touch????  Kiss my ass you bunch of arrogant clowns.