Wow. Division Artillery is back in the US Army!

via Army Times.

The first step in the Army’s revamped artillery organization — one that will look familiar to some senior officers — took place Wednesday at Fort Bliss, Texas, when the 212th Fires Brigade re-flagged to become the 1st Armored Division Artillery.
The Army has been without such units, called DIVARTYs, since 2004, when a move toward modularity included a redeployment of artillery assets within the command chain for much of the fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.
It also led to some units going extended periods without sharpening some of their artillery skills. The new setup is designed to build those skills back up — fast.

Read the whole story but to me this is a no brainer.

If you're going to be relying on smaller, dispersed units then you better have some Ninja's working your supporting fires.  Additionally you better have enough cannons or tubes to make a difference.

Bringing back Division Artillery does all that and more.  Even better.  Tribal knowledge is restored.  Your career path is clear (if you're a cannon cocker) and expertise should be certain (if selection boards get it right). 

This is NOT the IDF that I know.

NOTE:  I've called this fight between Israel/Hamas a sideshow.  I hold to that but the tactical lessons learned are beginning to stack up to a point where this has to be front and center for a military blog.

via Times of Israel.

A group of 30 IDF reserve soldiers notified their commanders that they would refuse to enter the Gaza Strip in M-113 armored personnel carriers, military vehicles designed by the US Army in the 1960s and first used during the Vietnam War

and then this...

Following the deadly battle in Shejaiya, Sami Turgeman, the commander of the IDF Southern Command, said that the army was aware of the M-113′s faults but did not have the means to provide full protection to every soldier entering the Strip.

Just plain wow.

This is not the IDF that fought off several Arab armies.

These are not the warriors that rode into battle in antiquated MBTs and fought the Egyptians to a standstill and then took territory in the Sinai.

I DO NOT KNOW THIS IDF!  This is disappointing.  If these are the type of warriors that are protecting the Israeli nation then it won't last much longer.  I am a supporter of Israel.  My writings should make that clear....but this....this is bullshit.  Perhaps I held the IDF to too high a standard?

IDF M113 destruction clarified.

The above photo is of the Israeli Soldier that Hamas has reportedly taken captive.  If he is alive or dead is unknown at this time.

via Yeshiva World.

Seven IDF soldiers were killed in the Golani Brigade armored personnel carrier (APC) in Gaza earlier in the week. Using all scientific and medical technology available, experts have identified the remains of six of the seven soldiers. There has not been a trace of Sgt. Oron Shaul, the soldier which Hamas claims to have abducted.
It is now permitted to report that the APC was working to extricate a second APC that broke down. The commander and his radio man got out of the armored vehicle as they were working to attach a tow cable to the broken down APC. At that time a short range rocket was fired at the first APC. Commanders in the control center were watching the events in real time via footage from a drone surveillance craft above. They saw the APC explode into flames, commenting no one could have survived the explosion and subsequent fire.
Hamas nonetheless claims to have the soldier, not stating if he is dead or alive, adding Israel will have to pay dearly for any and all information regarding his status. Israel states that it is possible that personal effects of the soldier may have been scattered in the area, explaining how Hamas got hold of his ID card and other personal information.

Ok.

We finally got a bit of clarification of knowing how that M113 got torched.  Of course that raises a few more questions.  I don't know if its standard operating procedure in the IDF but in the USMC, you always put out security when recovering vehicles, at your FARPs etc...

Not trying to second guess them.  Just wondering out loud.

But this leads me to second question. What did Hamas use to cause that type of catastrophic damage?  Have they been taught to hit certain vital areas or are they using weapons that have much bigger warheads than we've seen so far?

Specifically we've all been talking RPGs but Hamas has used 9M133 Kornet missiles.  They could have caused this type of destruction and many of these missiles are floating around thanks to the chaos in Syria and Iraq.

An early "Lessons Learned" from the Israeli/Hamas conflict.

While many of you know that I consider the Israeli/Hamas conflict a sideshow to the world changing battle going on in the Ukraine, its still worth the time to do an early "lessons learned".

My take away?

1.  Armor matters.
The idea of Light Infantry/Special Ops etc... running around in heavy jeep type vehicles and being able to hook and jab with the enemy is a falsehood.  If you consider Gaza and extrapolate the fighting with some of the mega cities located in the Pacific...like Manila, Singapore etc...you come up with idea that armor matters.  Additionally vehicle protection systems like Trophy can make a difference.  But here's the kicker.  Like the Israeli's experienced we're going to have to work out different exit drills that will take our infantry farther away from their transports.  Greater dispersion of the infantry from their vehicles will make communication even more important.  I haven't seen any papers or writings on the subject but we need to get to work on it asap.

2.  Precision fires matter.
Much to my consternation, it appears that the days of calling in a grid square and having the cannon cockers destroy it are long past.  The Israelis are using their stocks of Spike missiles at an alarming rate.  The few times that they've used traditional cannon fire on targets its been a public relations nightmare with the "haters" in the media pumping up any death or injury as a war crime instead of a side affect of that thing we all know as the tragedy of combat.  But I'm especially talking about the use of naval guns here.  From my understanding they were used one time and the results were less than desirable.  We need to learn from that and adjust accordingly.

3.  In urban fighting airpower takes a back seat.
The IAF is the best in the region, some would say one of the best in the world.  But in this fight they're taking a back seat to the ground forces.  Is it because of the ROE?  Is it because of a lack of intel?  Or is it because they're just not the right tool for this fight?  I don't know.  What I do know is that at the end of the day its up to mechanized infantry along with tanks, artillery (precision and to a limited degree indirect), engineers and the rest of the ground combat element to do the majority of the hookin' and jabbin' in this fight.

This is what I'm seeing.  I might be seeing it wrong but it appears that the quantity and quality of your ground forces will be an important consideration for future fights.

NOTE:  Upcoming post.  What exactly is Light Infantry!  Is US military light infantry different from other nations?  Does anyone actually have Light Infantry units anymore?  And why Special Operations IS NOT light infantry!

The world is burning news. 2 Ukrainian SU-25's shot down. Is anti-air defenses now ascendant?

via NYTimes.

KIEV, Ukraine — Fighting intensified in the rebel-controlled region of Ukraine on Wednesday, with military officials reporting that two Ukrainian Su-25 fighter jets had been shot down near the village of Dmytrivka in the east.
Few details of the latest downings were available. But the news was reported as Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council in Kiev said the military operation to suppress the insurgents was advancing in the east, with government troops having retaken two cities in the Luhansk region as they continued an aggressive push from the north and west.
Officials said rebels had blown up a road bridge, a railroad bridge and train tracks in the city of Gorlivka, and they reported continued fierce fighting along a section of the border with Russia that remains porous. Ukrainian forces are increasingly desperate to seal that border to prevent resupplies of weapons or new fighters from entering Ukraine.

The title of this post is poorly worded but it does get me to the point.  Either we're seeing extremely poor airman-ship by the Ukrainian Air Force or it appears that anti-air defenses are ascendant and are finally holding their own against air power.

This has bearing on the US way of war.

Why?

Because we have a basic playbook.  First we send in UAVs and gather intel on potential targets...while attempting to learn about enemy air defenses.  Then we move on toward launching a full broadside of attacks against those defenses using cruise missiles, stealth aircraft etc...finally once those defense are down we go after command and control, strategic targets and once the USAF gets around to it their actual forces that will be attempting to put steel on American grunts closing with the enemy.

But what if we're seeing all that change.

What if UAVs will not be allowed to fly in even "limited" war situations?  What if medium altitude attack is challenged and not permitted?  What if close air support is actually fought with manpads all over the battlefield?

The threat forces have read our playbook and will act to prevent us from doing what we've become accustomed to.  They will challenge us and I'm afraid I don't see us developing any answers (well, the USN is, but the USAF, USMC and our allies are all looking slack eyed and silly).

Could we do a BMX-01 to our MTVR's?

Time to face facts boys and girls.

The ACV1.1 or MPC (as it should properly be called) is months if not years away.  In the meantime and between time we're going to need better protected transport for our forces ashore.

Is it possible to rapidly develop a protected troop transport based on the MTVR in the same way as Nexter has taken a truck body and developed the  BMX-01?

I hope so, because as things stand now Marine Armor is in shit shape.

Budget constraints mean IDF using vulnerable APCs

via Globes.co.il

The APC, which carried nine soldiers, became immobile as a result of a malfunction. Two soldiers got out before it was hit by a deadly missile that killed the other seven crew members. At least three APCs of this type suffered serious hits from RPG rockets fired at them in the course of IDF operations in the Gaza Strip during the second intifada.
In early 2011, the Ministry of Defense announced a grandiose NIS 10 billion plan to procure many hundreds of new generation of APCS, called the Namer (Leopard), which is based on a Merkava tank chassis. The Tank Program Directorate, which is also leading the development and production of the Merkava tank on which Israeli armor is based, developed the Namer. The Ministry of Defense defined the Namer as an APC adapted to the most up-to-date forms of warfare on the battlefield, which provides a solution for the threats to which IDF forces were also exposed during the Second Lebanon War. The innovative APC's armor also has the Trrophy (In Hebrew "Meil Ruah" or "Windbreaker") active armor system developed byRafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd., that automatically intercepts anti-tank missiles and RPGs. The system is also installed on Mark IV Merkava tanks and upgraded earlier generation tanks.

Read the whole story but I consider this a heartbreaking development...and something I can see happening to the USMC.

The Marine Corps is facing with its own self inflicted budget woes when it comes to procuring decent armor and if you've looked at the land battlefields of the Pacific then you can see that future battles will entail the same challenges facing the IDF.....But on steroids.

The issue?  Fighting in built up areas, urban areas, cities and slums.

Think Gaza is a complex battlefield?  You ain't seen nothing yet.  Compare it to a potential fight in Manila, or any other Asian city.

Marines will die because we're holding on to the antiquated AAV too long and we don't have a proper plan to replace it.

Question.

Have you heard anything from the ACV 1.1 industry day?  Have you heard anything about when they would re-start the competition?

I haven't and the reason is clear.  Industry has been yanked by the balls once again and supposedly the program is being delayed for the new Commandant to come on-board.  I would like to believe its to allow him to make a decision on where we go but I've been told its to protect additional funding for the F-35....the plane that keeps placing a communicable disease into the body of the USMC.  Its past time for some penicillin.  Kill that fucker and lets get some armor for our grunts.