Archive for March, 2006
Recon ramp-up (subscription only)
Between the expansion to 42 modular combat brigades and the requirements of fighting the Long Global War on TerrorTM (‘World War 4′ for those of you keeping score at home), the Army has decided that it needs more recon personnel. A lot more. As in nearly almost three times as many as it has today.
“Reconnaissance, surveillance and target acquisition is a highly important task in any type of military operation, but that is particularly true when you’re conducting a counterintelligence campaign such as in Iraq or Afghanistan,” said Lt. Gen. David Petraeus, commanding general of the Combined Arms Center at Fort Leavenworth, Kan.In its first 16 years here, roughly 180 soldiers a year went through the 33-day Long Range Surveillance course. Last year, the training cadre pushed through 275 soldiers; this year, the cadre will churn out 400 recon soldiers in eight classes of 50 students each.
By 2007, that number will double to 800, and it still won’t be enough to meet the Army’s projected need of 1,100 recon soldiers a year to man the new RSTA squadrons.
MO recently posted on the plans to greatly increase the number of snipers in the Army and plans are being made to enlarge the special forces. This move to expand recon capability is a similar move in a similar direction, and it’s being made for similar reasons.
Read the rest of this entry »
Here are a couple of shots of a Seal Delivery Vehicle (SDV) being loaded onto USS Dallas (SSN 700):
Norfolk, Va. (Feb. 6, 2006) – A SEAL Delivery Vehicle (SDV) is loaded aboard the Los Angeles-class fast attack submarine USS Dallas (SSN 700) in preparation for a Special Warfare Training exercise. SDV is a “wet” submersible, designed to carry Seals and their cargo in fully flooded compartments to provide a dry environment while preparing for special warfare exercises or operations. U.S. Navy photo by Chief Journalist Dave Fliesen (RELEASED)
For more info on the SDV, follow this link.
Note that this is not the Advanced SEAL Delivery System, a mini-sub whose woes were recently covered on Defense Industry Daily.
Yesterday I posted a pic of USS Oriskany arriving in Pensacola, preparing to be “sanked” as an artificial reef in May. Here’s another:
Pensacola, Fla. (March 22, 2006) – Tugboats turn the decommissioned aircraft carrier USS Oriskany (CVA 34) prior to mooring at Allegheny Pier onboard Naval Air Station Pensacola. Known as the “Big O,” the 32,000-ton, 888-foot Oriskany is being delivered to Pensacola, where it is being prepared for its final journey. Oriskany is schedule to be scuttled 22 miles south of Pensacola in approximately 212 feet of water in the Gulf of Mexico May 17, 2006, where it will become the largest ship ever intentionally sunk as an artificial reef. After the Oriskany reaches the bottom, ownership of the vessel will transfer from the Navy to the State of Florida. U.S. Navy photo by Megan Kohr (RELEASED)
For the sake of the Navy, I won’t even mention “schedule to be scuttled”…
Read the rest of this entry »
Set Condition 1 has some info on the contenders: Bushmaster meets the competition in the US
Airborne Combat Engineer notes The Army is looking at off-the-shelf vehicles and asks Why not buy an interim replacement for the Humvee?
Joe Katzman: Hummer Deathtraps Suck: Take 2
UPDATE: I knew I’d seen another good post on the Humvee problem just recently. In an update to his post, Joe K points out Washington Park Prophet’s, um, The Humvee Problem.
For the record, Murdoc isn’t necessarily down on the Humvee. But Murdoc’s down on the fact that our military seems to be reacting in slow motion to this problem.
Yes, the military is a massive bureaucratic juggernaut that’s about as easy to turn as a loaded supertanker and I realize that it can’t just replace the Humvee overnight. But it almost seems like the decision-makers are waiting it out, hoping that Iraq settles down soon enough to head off a major course change. This, of course, doesn’t seem terribly likely to happen in the first place, and it ignores the fact that we’d then be facing our next military challenge with the same Achilles heel. Not to mention the number of lives and limbs lost between now and then.
Similar to my position on Marines in Iraq using the lightly-armored Amtrac, I recognize that just up and switching vehicles because of a particular shortcoming in a particular environment isn’t generally wise. But this environment is here to stay, as is the shortcoming, so it makes sense to make a few adjustments.
No light vehicle is ever going to be bomb-proof. Some of these IEDs blow tanks to pieces. But a vehicle better-suited to the environment would do wonders for the cause.
Do not forget that every potential enemy is eating the Humvee’s performance up. Potential terrorist/insurgent/jihadists are stockpiling IED material as we speak. Just as the US military is increasing the number of special forces operators and snipers, insurgent groups around the world are upping the number of bomb-makers in their ranks, hoping (waiting) for a chance to blow a passing Humvee loaded with infidels to smithereens. You know it’s true.
Air Force Predator UAV Engages Insurgents Placing IED
CENTCOM press release:
Balad Air Base, Iraq — An MQ-1B Predator unmanned aerial vehicle engaged three anti-Iraqi forces in the process of placing an improvised explosive device along a road near Balad Air Base yesterday evening. The Predator launched an AGM-114 Hellfire missile against the group.The Predator monitored the three individuals for about half an hour while they used a pick ax to dig a hole in the road, placed an explosive round in the hole and strung wires from the hole to a ditch on the side of the road. When it was clear the individuals were placing an IED, the Predator launched the 100-pound Hellfire missile, resulting in the deaths of all three insurgents.
“This is a prime example of how airpower is supporting the fight on the ground,” said Brig. Gen. Frank Gorenc, commander of the 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing at Balad. “We’re able to provide a persistent view of the battlefield to commanders on the ground, and if called upon, put a weapon on a target within minutes.”
At least this strike took out some insurgents as opposed to expending a Hellfire on just the bomb itself.
U.S. Army Pfc. Raymond Dale, assigned to B Company, 1st Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, provides security for dismounted troops as they speak to local citizens in the Al Ghazaliyah area of Baghdad, Iraq, March 20, 2006. U.S. and Iraqi soldiers conducted a patrol of the area. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Kevin L. Moses Sr.
Super high-res available from Defend America.
Been seeing an awful lot of short-barrelled M249s lately. Are they getting more popular than earlier, or am I just noticing them more often? Seems like maybe troops and units back for their second or third deployment might have decided to go with the shorter barrels given the typical duty they’re performing.
UPDATE: Meanwhile, 1-87 INF scores: Terrorist turned over to MND-B soldiers by relative
BAGHDAD — The relative of a terrorist turned him over to Multi-National Division — Baghdad Soldiers March 27, accusing him of conducting drive-by attacks against Iraqi Army troops in Baghdad.Soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, responded to the relative’s tip and went to the suspect’s house. The Soldiers searched the house and found two AK-47 rifles, a 9 mm pistol and body armor. [emphasis Murdoc's]
Two wild guesses:
- The relatives have known for some tim that the guy was a terrorist and only decided to turn him in when they learned he was attacking Iraqis and not just Americans.
- The body armor was really crappy stuff and not able to protect against rifle fire. But that won’t always be the case.
Airborne Combat Engineer answers the question on everyone’s mind. With a chart and everything.
Issues Related to Navy Battleships (.pdf)
A reader tips me off to this Government Accountability Office report from December on the battleship issue (such as it is). In short, as the battleships don’t really meet current or projected requirements in several key areas as fire support platforms, the report basically comes across as being against keeping the battleships, either by reactivating them or by keeping them in inactive status.
DOD is in the process of reviewing a draft joint fires requirements document for expeditionary operations in the littorals which was developed primarily by the Marine Corps in May 2005. The draft requirements document shows that planned capabilities will help to mitigate existing gaps in joint fires capabilities if programs such as the advanced gun system for the new DD(X) destroyer and the extendedrange munitions for existing DDG destroyers are implemented as currently planned. However, current and planned DOD capabilities for joint fires will not fully meet DOD’s needs because they will not provide sufficient capabilities such as engaging moving targets in restricted weather conditions or providing a sufficient quantity of fires over a short period of time. DOD officials believe that although some gaps in joint fires capabilities exist now and will continue to exist in the future, the risk associated with these gaps is acceptable and will not significantly affect the combatant commanders’ ability to execute war plans. Moreover, they do not believe that keeping or modernizing battleships would be cost effective nor would the modernized battleships significantly reduce the risk in comparison with other planned capabilities that DOD is funding. [emphasis Murdoc's]
The Microsoft IE7 page says to download the Internet Explorer 7 Beta 2 Preview “released March 20th”. I had installed a Beta 2 preview on March 3rd, so I thought this was a newer version. I downloaded it but it wouldn’t install because it “was already installed”.
I never did get the disappearing masthead problem I noted earlier figured out, and the HTML formatting buttons on SBC Global’s online email page (which my wife uses extensively) were nowhere to be found. Otherwise, I had no problems with IE7. I guess I’d like to have an “open in new tab” option from the ‘Favorites’ menu like Firefox has, though.
Anyway, I had been hoping that the newer preview would fix the two issues I was having, but since I couldn’t get it to install (or maybe it really isn’t a new version) I uninstalled IE7 altogether. Unlike some reports, I had no problems whatsoever uninstalling.
Gulf of Mexico (March 22, 2006) – The decommissioned aircraft carrier USS Oriskany (CVA 34) is towed from the Intracoastal Waterway to Allegheny Pier on board Naval Air Station Pensacola. Known as the “Big O,” the 32,000-ton, 888-foot Oriskany is being delivered to the air station while it is being prepared for its final journey. The ship is scheduled to be sanked 22 miles south of Pensacola in approximately 212 feet of water in the Gulf of Mexico May 17, 2006, where it will become the largest ship ever intentionally sunk as an artificial reef. After the Oriskany reaches the bottom, ownership of the vessel will transfer from the Navy to the State of Florida. U.S. Navy photo by Mr. Jeff Doty (RELEASED) [emphasis Murdoc's]
I don’t write the captions, folks. I just copy and paste. From Navy News Stand.
