Archive for November, 2008
Found this at Militaryphotos.net and was unfamiliar with the vehicles:
Anti-aircraft battalion 26th Div ROKA's Bi Ho (Flying Tiger) SPAAG fires 30mm guns during trainning. 2008.11.19 An-hung training range.
The Bi Ho is a homegrown South Korean self propelled anti aircraft gun system. A lot of great photos from a show here.
UPDATE: Meanwhile, Strategy Page notes that budget crunches threaten to slash Korean K-2 tank production.
Marines with 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines, 2nd Marine Division, fire a shoulder-launched multipurpose assault weapon during a field exercise, Oct. 23, on a platoon assault range here. The battalion was here for about a month conducting pre-deployment training. The five companies in the battalion took aim on five different ranges throughout the training which consisted of a platoon assault course, vehicle mounted heavy machine gun courses, mortar ranges, combat marksmanship program courses, and a known distance course. (Official Marine Corps Photo by Lance Cpl. Thomas J. Hermesman)
See Mountain Warfare Training prepares Marines for upcoming deployment for more info.
Clerks of the Commissary Depot at Aquia Creek Landing, Va. Taken in February, 1863.
There is a military axiom which says:
Amateurs discuss tactics. Professionals discuss logistics.
Great captains from our earliest days have understood that having an army does you no good if you cannot feed it, clothe it, arm it, and train it. This was a lesson learned, and that right well, by both sides during our own Civil War.
During the Civil War, the daily ration for an enlisted man in the Federal Army was as follows: (from US Army Regulations, (rev) 1863)
Meat:
- 12 ounces of pork or bacon, or
- 1 pound and 4 ounces of salt or fresh beef
A NATO Sea Sparrow missile is launched during a live-fire missile exercise aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69). Dwight D. Eisenhower is conducting carrier qualifications in the Atlantic Ocean. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd class Jon Dasbach/Released)
Inside a U.S. hostage rescue mission
American businessman rescued in Afghanistan
US Supreme Court allows sonar use
US Navy can practice again
General Dynamics Awarded F-35 Lightning II Gun System Contracts
The F-35A will carry an internal 25mm gatling gun. The B and C models will need to carry an external gun pod.
Norway Chooses F-35 To Replace F-16s
Taking Lightnings instead of the Swedish-built Gripen
Skittish Israel Pares F-35I Extras
Customized Lightning model came in at $200 million per copy
AKLightning Bolt
Videos of left-side charging handle for AK clones
Pakistan army practices shooting drone aircraft
Wish they’d spend more time actually shooting bad guys
He’s moving on to Commentary Magazine’s online blog Contentions.
Somali pirates pocket at least $1.67 million
The dollar total is for only one of the ships. The figure for the second is unknown. Earlier this week, another chemical tanker was released for $2.5 million. Owners of the oil tanker taken on Saturday are currently in negotiations.
This is sure to discourage pirates.
Murdoc votes we tell ship owners that we’re all pulling our naval assets from the area if they make payments.
Car Makers say Bailout a Defense Issue
In an increasingly anxious campaign for a $25 billion government rescue, Detroit’s Big Three car makers and their allies in Washington are warning the demise of the auto industry will damage U.S. national security.
Indirectly, maybe. Big maybe. But the Big Three’s direct impact on military production is minimal.
Some things would certainly have an indirect impact on the military The supply base would shrink if the Big Three go under, for instance, meaning that some parts may be harder to get or become more expensive. There would be a sort of “brain drain” as the workforce shrunk and a lot of good people retired or moved on to other things. The ability to ramp up production in a truly catastrophic scenario would be greatly reduced. All of these things do matter and should not be ignored, but I’m not at all convinced that it’s worth bailing out the auto industry for gazillions of tax dollars so they can go on being bad businesses.
Much of what the Big Three contribute to the military can fairly easily be picked up by Toyota or other international manufacturers with US operations. If the Army needs pick-up trucks, they can be ordered from Toyota and built in the US.
Additionally, if the UIS makers really do go TU, the vultures will swoop in to feast on the remains. Parts of the industry with military contracts or the potential for such will be among the tastier morsels, I would think, and will go on in some fashion. As I said recently, there’s some good meat left on some of those bones.
In short, I think making claims that the US auto industry needs to be bailed out because our national defense depends upon it are exaggerated. However, when making decisions about what to do, the overall picture of US industry cannot be ignored.
More automotive bailout links:
As Iraq improves, so do recruiting numbers
The number of young people considering a military career has significantly increased for the first time in about five years, buoyed by more positive news out of Iraq.
Murdoc would guess that the national employment situation has even more to do with it than the situation in Iraq. Even during the darkest days, the military met recruiting goals nearly every month.
India sinks suspected pirate mother ship
An Indian naval vessel sank a suspected pirate “mother ship” in the Gulf of Aden and chased two attack boats into the night, officials said Wednesday, as separate bands of brigands seized Thai and Iranian ships in the lawless seas.
A multinational naval force has increased patrols in the waters between the Arabian Peninsula and the Horn of Africa, where pirates have grown bolder and more violent. The force scored a rare success Tuesday when the Indian warship, operating off the coast of Oman, stopped a ship similar to a pirate vessel described in numerous bulletins. The Indian navy said the pirates fired on the INS Tabar after the officers asked to search it.
“Pirates were seen roaming on the upper deck of this vessel with guns and rocket propelled grenade launchers,” said a statement from the Indian navy. Indian forces fired back, sparking fires and a series of onboard blasts — possibly due to exploding ammunition — and destroying the ship.
They chased one of two speedboats shadowing the larger ship. One was later found abandoned. The other escaped, according to the statement.
